Congratulations to Steve Block, Ryan Berg, and Jaci Kosin on being chosen as the newest members of the Prescott Hall of Fame. A member of the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, Block finished his high school coaching career with an overall record of 411-142 and led Prescott to the state tournament five times and Ellsworth twice. Block’s Prescott charges won the state championship in 1994 and finished as the state runner up in 1988. The Menasha, Wis. native also led Ellsworth to a state runner up finish in 2012. As head coach of the Prescott High School dance team, Kosin led countless squads to state dance championships and helped establish a dance program that continues to be envied around Wisconsin. A 1974 Prescott graduate, Berg enters the Hall of Fame as one of the most accomplished alumni of the past half century. An accomplished engineer, Berg has been recognized for excellence by numerous professional organizations during his career. Congratulations to all three inductees.

The Prescott Hall of Fame Banquet will be held on Saturday, Sept. 30 in the Prescott High School commons. Tickets for the event are $25 and will be available for purchase Aug. 1. This will be the fifth Prescott Hall of Fame induction. Previous inductees include Mike Ptacek, Kay Harris, Howard “Doc” Laney, Mary Beeler, Bernie Lepley, Dorothy Algren, Nick Johnson, Brady Behrendt, Dallas Eggers, Dick Hoffman, Nicole Eggers, Nick Schommer, Roy Finley, and Char Magee. Let’s hope there will be a great crowd to help celebrate the accomplishments of this year’s Hall of Fame Class.

The Hall of Fame Committee urges people to nominate those they believe are worthy of Hall of Fame considerations. 

“We know there are a number of people out there that would be great candidates,” said Vice Chair Jeremy Kerg. “All the nomination information and forms are available on the Prescott School District website. We are hoping we get more nominations for the 2024 induction.” 

Somerset Head Baseball Coach Zac Eichten was one of three coaches selected to coach the West Team in the annual Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association All Star Classic this past weekend in Oshkosh. A double by St. Croix Falls’ Brayden Olson drove in Altoona’s Evan Gustafson in the bottom of the seventh as the West defeated the East by a score of 2-1. Eli Condon of River Falls picked up the win for the West. The West posted two more wins pummeling the North by a score of 12-3 and finishing the weekend undefeated with a 9-7 win over the South. Gustafson was named the MVP of the tournament. The Oregon State recruit went 6-12 during three games including a homerun, double, and six runs batted in. 

Prescott senior Lila Posthuma has accepted a basketball scholarship offer from NCAA Division I Bradley University. Located in Peoria, Ill., Bradley plays in the Missouri Valley Conference. Posthuma becomes the first Prescott girls basketball player to receive an offer to play at the Division 1 Level. Brava Lila Posthuma. 

Since 2017, the number of baseball and softball umpires in the youth baseball and softball leagues have been on the decline — with 6,229 in 2017 falling to 4,995 in 2022, according to the National Umpire Association. Between 2018 and 2022, youth sports lost nearly 20,000 umpires at the high school level, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. A number of umpires decided to call it quits during Covid-19, but many others cite the uptick in abuse against umpires and referees in youth sports. Hundreds of officials had just had enough of the abuse. Unquestionably, there is a nationwide shortage of officials. Just ask Prescott High School’s Andrew Caudill and other area athletic directors about the difficulties of finding officials.  It is a problem that is not going away. 

The 20-round 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will take place July 9-11. The draft had previously been 40 rounds as recently as 2019 and in 2020 the new collective bargaining agreement moved the draft to 20 rounds or 614 picks. A number of players with Wisconsin connections are hoping to be selected.  

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: The DNR will host an educational hunting webinar for people interested in learning how to hunt black bears in Wisconsin on Wednesday, July 12. The webinar will include information on bear biology and management, bear hunting rules and regulations, and the most common techniques used to hunt bear in Wisconsin.

“Wisconsin has a strong bear hunting tradition, and the opportunity generates a lot of interest from hunters,” said Bob Nack, DNR Recruitment, Retention and Reactivation Team Supervisor. “Due to the high level of interest and permit wait times, many hunters don’t get the chance to gain a lot of bear hunting experience. This webinar will provide a basic understanding of what it takes to hunt Wisconsin black bears.”

Following a presentation by DNR staff, the audience will have opportunities to ask questions that panelists will answer at the end of the program. The webinar will be recorded and available online.

Headshaker of the week: I understand during Covid there was a dearth of live competitive sports on ESPN and other sports-related cable channels. It was during this time where one-hour corn hole competitions were even aired during prime time. Fast forward to June 2023. While surfing scores of cable channels I came across a live, yes, live American Corn Hole Association competition. Fist pumping, muscle flexing, and all sorts of competitor gyrations were on display during my five minutes of viewing, let alone the hilariously raucous behavior of the fans in the stands. National televised corn hole competitions? It’s a headshaker.