In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are the thanks and no thanks as we near the end of 2022. Enjoy.

Thank you to all those who choose to officiate high school sports. A standing ovation to all those referees who have to at times endured bratty teenage athletes, relentless complaining from coaches, and obnoxious spectators screaming pleasantries from the stands. Without game officials there wouldn’t be any games. Hats off to all of you.

No thanks again to watching Major League Baseball. The pitching changes, the delays, and all forms of analytics are making America’s pastime more and more difficult to watch. The sport is in trouble and I think they know it.

Thanks to the elimination of requiring back tags for deer hunting and mandatory in-person registration for a successful harvest. Although many hunters viewed registering their buck as a way to inflate their own ego and hunting prowess, more and more hunters are realizing such braggadocious behavior is equally ego inflating on social media.

No thanks to the seemingly endless number of deer seasons in Wisconsin. Gun, crossbow, bow, muzzleloader, youth hunt, antlerless, holiday hunt…and on and on. The five-month season is overkill…no pun intended.

Thanks to the Badger State for all of the wonderful state parks available to all citizens. From Willow River to Copper Falls, to Kettle Moraine to Pattison State Park there are public lands everywhere for all to enjoy. Remember… a great stocking stuffer is a Wisconsin State Park admission sticker.

No thanks to the impossible to understand competitive balance proposal being considered by the WIAA. What will come of it will be anyone’s best guess. In the meantime, the public vs. private school tournament placement debate will continue. Thanks to the Prescott High School girls golf team for winning their third consecutive state championship. It’s not easy to repeat, do it twice, and then win number three by storming back from a sizable deficit was unbelievably impressive.

Hats off to Head Coach Chad Salay and members of the 2022 Prescott girls golf team.

No thanks to the WIAA computerized process being used to determine tournament seeding. Relying solely on an automated system has led, and will continue to lead to problems connected to bracket assignments. In a perfect world, head coaches would vote and determine postseason matchups. The WIAA has tried that with basketball and baseball. Unfortunately, stories abound of head coaches sabotaging the process by voting in a way that would benefit their own team.

Thanks to Reagan Hoverman for his impressive coverage of local sports. The man seems to be everywhere and has done a yeoman’s job covering all athletic activities at several area schools. Bravo to Mr. Hoverman.

No thanks to insisting on calling a 14-team conference the Big 10. With UCLA and USC joining the conference grows to 16. My Hastings (Nebraska) math tells me that 14 and 16 are four and six more than 10. Come on… change the name.

Thanks to Athletic Director Andrew Caudill and the impressive Prescott Cardinal website. Game schedules, previews, players of the game, players of the month, and a sort of a where are they now alumni section are now just a click away courtesy of Mr. Caudill. Bravo.

No thanks to the continued march toward athlete specialization in high school sports. The smaller the school the greater the opportunity to play multiple sports. Those who specialize may find themselves in their mid-30’s saying, “I should have played more than one sport in high school.”

Thanks to the kids in town who still play catch in the backyard, play football at recess, and shoot baskets on the playground instead of doing the same in the basement with a game console in hand.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.