Peter Brookshaw clubbed his team-leading ninth home run on Saturday as the North Dakota State Bison took two of three from South Dakota State last weekend. The Bison won the series opener by a score of 10-2, dropped the second game by a score of 9-8, and won the rubber game of the series on Saturday by a score of 5-4. Brookshaw and the Bison travel to Texas Tech this week for a three-game series against the Raiders in Lubbock, Texas. Brookshaw is hitting .319 on the season and leads the team in several offensive categories. 

The Prescott Cardinal softball and baseball teams and coaches are hoping their respective seasons will begin next week. Same holds true to Head Boys Golf Coach Jay Bartsch and his crew, who like the baseball team, have been forced inside as of this spring. Coaches, fans, and players most likely remember the spring of 2013 where games and matches did not begin until the final week of April. My guess is many around Wisconsin will begin to circulate the idea of an April 1 start date for spring sports, a proposal considered a few years back that received a lukewarm response from baseball, basketball, volleyball and football coaches. 

The Prescott Hall of Fame Committee is accepting nominations for induction into the Hall Fame this coming September. Nomination forms can be found on the Prescott School District website and are due on June 1.  

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: The DNR reminds families, mentors and young hunters there's still time to plan for the 2023 youth turkey hunt happening statewide April 15-16. Each year, the youth turkey hunt gives hunters under 16 the opportunity to gain valuable hunting experience and feel the excitement of turkey season before the regular season begins. Youth hunters must have a spring turkey license, stamp and valid harvest authorization for any period. All of these are available online through Go Wild, the DNR's license portal, or in person at DNR service centers and license agents around the state. Additionally, youth hunters must have completed hunter education or participated in the mentored hunting program to be eligible for the youth turkey hunt. To participate in the mentored hunting program, youth must be accompanied by a qualified adult of 18 years of age or older, and the adult may not accompany more than two youth hunters at one time. More information on mentoring a hunter is available on the Mentored Hunting webpage.

Remember when school district staff members used to be athletic coaches? Now don’t try to spin this statement into some kind of negative commentary about me believing non-staff members should not be coaches. Never said that and will never say that. But over the past two decades fewer and fewer school staff members coach athletics and there are a number of theories as to why this is happening. Years ago, it was extremely rare for a non-staff member to be an athletic coach. However, around the country today it’s commonplace and becoming the new normal. 

Yawn. Once again the National Federation of High School Sports and the WIAA have made Sportsmanship and Bench Conduct a point of emphasis for the 2023 High School Baseball Season. But wait…this year Sportsmanship and Bench Conduct are a “Primary Point of Emphasis.” The NFHS and the WIAA are again alarmed at another increase in players and ejections from a year ago. Sorry folks, the numbers will continue to increase until coaches, players, and umpires decide once and for all that embarrassing, sophomoric, and “4-year-old kid having his lollipop taken away from him by his big sister behavior” of coaches and players will not be tolerated. Until the teaching and expectations of sportsmanship are taken seriously by coaches, players, and umpires, there is no reason to bring it up during pregame coaches or captains conferences. 

Headshaker of the Week. I am guessing lots of people were watching basketball over the weekend, including the women’s national championship game between Iowa and LSU. Sadly, those watching were again witness to another example of pathetic sportsmanship near the end of the game between the Tigers and the Hawkeyes. LSU Player Angel Reese was mocking Iowa Player Caitlin Clark as the game ended. Classless. Incidentally, Clark is by no means innocent either for her shenanigans in the semi-final game against South Carolina. Her antics, albeit not as bad, were also ridiculous. Whatever happened to humility in sports? Who is teaching the player of today that this kind of behavior is okay? Why do players act this way? Why do coaches allow it? Why do fans, young and old, applaud it? And mark my words, the same ridiculous behavior is going to find its way into the high school game…wait, it already has. What a headshaker. It is exasperating.