The Common Man Dan Cole will be the featured speaker at the 23rd Annual CAB Company Banquet on March 24 at the Old Ptacek’s Event Center. This will be the second time the popular KFAN radio personality will speak at the annual event. Currently living in Woodbury, Cole is known as one of the most unorthodox broadcasters in the Twin Cities – and one of the most successful. The radio trade publication Talkers Magazine named Cole as one of the top 100 sports talk radio broadcasters in the country. Tickets will be available soon.

Senior grappler Ben Olson improved to 19-4 on the season after a third place finish in the Cadott Invitational Wrestling Tournament. Olson is the #4 ranked wrestler in Division 2 at 106 pounds by Wisconsin Grappler. Junior Lono Thomason evened his overall record to 7-7 in the 138-pound class division by winning three matches on Saturday. Wisconsin Grappler has local powers Baldwin-Woodville and Amery ranked #5 and #6 respectively in the state team rankings. The top ranked team in Division 2 is Prairie Du Chien.

Here is the list of the teams in the Prescott girls sectional bracket with better than a 500 record heading into this week. Elk Mound (110), West Salem (10-0), Prescott (8-1), Somerset (9-2), Ellsworth (8-3), Altoona (6-4), Osceola (6-4), St. Croix Falls (6-1), Northwestern (6-4), Barron (5-3).

Here are the boys teams in the Cardinal sectional bracket with better than a 500 record heading into this week. West Salem (9-0), Prescott (9-0), Osceola (8-0), Northwestern (8-1), Wisconsin Dells (7-3), Somerset (7-4), Elk Mound (6-2), Wautoma (6-4), St. Croix Central (5-4), Black River Falls (5-4) and Colby (4-2).

The Prescott boys basketball team continues its ascent in the most recent state rankings. The undefeated Cardinals enter the week with a record of 9-0 and are currently ranked #3 in Division 3. West Salem continues its stranglehold on the #1 ranking with the 9-0 Brillion Lions ranked #2.

Uffda. That’s the response many of those with Scandinavian ancestry have given in response to the upcoming boys basketball schedule. Starting with a Jan. 13 game in La Crosse against Onalaska Luther – the #5 ranked team in Division 4, Head Coach Nick Johnson and his charges will play six games in 12 days. The combined record of the six teams heading into this week is 40-16.

Congratulations to Jordan Malmlov on scoring point number 1,500. The senior bombardier has now scored 1,514 points, third best all-time behind 2020 graduate Parker Nielsen and 2018 alumnus Peter Brookshaw. Malmlov is averaging 28 points per game this season, which ranks him 11th in Wisconsin. Prescott all-time scoring leader is Bella Lenz with 1,811 career points.

Speaking of Lenz, the Michigan Tech sophomore guard led the Huskies with 18 points as they defeated Wayne State by a score of 86-71. Lenz’s performance included 8-8 from the line, six assists, four rebounds, three steals, and two blocks, marking her 13th game of 10 or more points this season. Earlier in the week, the Huskies defeated Saginaw Valley State 69-53. With the two victories Michigan Tech improved to 5-1 in conference place and 13-3 overall. The Huskies and Northern Michigan are tied for second place, both a half game before conference leader Grand Valley State.

Winners of eight in a row, the Prescott girls basketball team is readying for a crucial Middle Border Conference matchup with Highway 10 rival Ellsworth. The Panthers feature talented junior Molly Janke who recently scored the 1,000th point of her career.

The University of Wisconsin-Stout women’s basketball team improved to 4-0 in conference play with victories over River Falls and Platteville. Against the Falcons, Prescott alumna Haylee Yeager scored six points and pulled down nine rebounds as the Blue Devils won 74-59. Against the Pioneers, Yeager scored seven points in Stout’s 72-61 road victory. The Blue Devils improved to 12-3 overall on the season.

Racine St. Catherine suffered their first loss of the season to Division 1 Westosha Central. The Angels entered this week ranked #5 in Division 3 and are now 9-1on the season.

Interesting. Six of the top seven-ranked teams in Division V are private schools. Can you say competitive balance?

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: The early catch and release season for trout began last Saturday and runs until May 5, 2023. During this time, anglers are invited to fish for Wisconsin’s four inland trout species but are reminded that all trout caught will need to be immediately released. When the general inland hook and line season opens on May 6, 2023, anglers may harvest these species while following bag limit regulations and length requirements. Additionally, the DNR is accepting applications for the Angler Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation (Angler R3) grant program. Funding from the grant program is used to help grow the number of anglers in Wisconsin and expand angling activities. Cost-sharing funds can be awarded to individuals or community-based organizations, Wisconsin tribes, universities and schools. The deadline to submit grant applications is Feb. 15, 2023.

When it comes to the Wisconsin outdoors, there are few things more aesthetically pleasing than walking along the banks of a trout stream or sauntering through the woods on a sunny October afternoon.

Headshaker of the week: As a person who likes to keep score when attending basketball or baseball games, I was extremely disappointed there was no hard copy game roster for the recent Holiday Tournament in Hastings. As I purchased my ticket, the friendly ticket takers said team rosters could be accessed by taking a picture of a QR code. Perhaps there are others reading this who would also rather read an actual newspaper instead of a virtual copy on a lap top or iPad. The same could be said for reading a book and literally turning the pages rather than scrolling on a reading tablet. Give me a roster I can hold onto, peruse during the game, and use as a scoresheet. So print those rosters for those of us who were born in the mid to late 20th century. Not doing so is a headshaker.