It makes no difference what sport you are talking about. All high school athletes can tell you about the last game they played. Whether it be the last basket, the last at bat, or the last touchdown, high school athletes reminisce about those moments quite often. They opine about those forever moments chatting with family at the kitchen table. They share stories with their teammates at class reunions and ponder what could have been with their buddies in the morning over coffee and in the evening at a local watering hole. The realization of playing your last high school game is a gut punch to the stomach. High school sports inevitably bring disappointment — the missed shot at the buzzer, the strikeout that ends the game, the fumble late in the fourth quarter. These moments sting, especially for young athletes. As tough as losing might be, it’s the lessons of resilience that make high school athletics so significant and important. It has always angered me hearing others poke fun at former high school athletes as they talk about their high school playing days. Not me. There’s something special about how a 57-year-old can still vividly remember their game winning single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Or the 44-year alumnus who lights up remembering their game winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Or the incredible memory of draining a three pointer at the buzzer to give your team a state championship. Sound familiar? Win or lose, there is nothing like the magic of high school sports. Nothing. 

The Prescott High School softball team begins practice next week and the 2026 Cardinal baseball season commences on March 23. However, high school baseball pitchers and catchers can begin next week. Head Coach Brad Matzek and longtime Assistant Coach Duane Miller expect approximately 30 players out this spring. Head Softball Coach Nick Johnson also expects 25-30 girls out for softball this season. 

It will be either St. Croix Central or Osceola playing for a chance to advance to the WIAA State Tournament. The winner will take on the winner of the other sectional semi-final game between Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau and Stanley-Boyd. 

For some, March means the beginning of spring. For others it’s the month of corned beef and cabbage. But for others its “March Madness,” the NCAA Division 1 Basketball Tournament. A time where young and old, novices and experts, urban and rural, introverts and extroverts fill out their respective tournament brackets in hopes of winning any one of the following: cold hard cash, a gift certificate to an area restaurant, or a free round of golf. Additionally, I’ve always found it quite amusing when “Draft Kings” Bill, who watched almost every tournament game on a split screen TV, loses the office pool to Tom, who chooses his winners based on the team’s mascot. 

March is also the time when basketball fans will have multiple opportunities to watch the best basketball film of all time – “Hoosiers.” Sure, there are some locals who say nothing beats the basketball scenes involving Flubber in “The Absent-Minded Professor.” I’ll agree, they are quite comical. But nothing, no not “Teen Wolf,” comes close to the realism of the 1986 David Ansbaugh classic. Save for the idiotic romantic relationship between the coach and the teacher, the film is an iconic basketball film all fans should watch. 

North Dakota State College of Science softball pitcher Ella Stewart is 4-1 with 29 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched for the 16-1 Wildcats. The 2024 Prescott alumnus has also homered to the perennial junior college softball powerhouse. The Wildcats are coming off a 54-14 season that culminated last spring with a Division III Junior College National Championship. Stewart is coming off an impressive first year when she finished with a record of 12-2 and an ERA of 1.60. Stewart struck out 150 hitters in 105 innings pitched. 

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: With the conclusion of the 2025 deer hunting seasons, the DNR shares a summary of the year’s chronic wasting disease (CWD) sampling efforts. For the 2025 season, the DNR focused its efforts on increasing sample collection in designated 2025 Fall Priority Areas. Most of the 87% of the positive detections were in the Southern Farmland Zone. In the area the disease is most prevalent and believed to be connected to farm-raised deer in the southwest portions of the state. The Department reported Pierce County has four positive samples this season. 

Headshaker of the week. For generations, college students in the United States have pursued degrees in fields like science, education, math, business, and economics—areas of study most people recognize right away. Then every so often you stumble across a major that makes you stop and read it again. Recently while browsing the roster of a college athletic team, I came across this major: Leisure Studies. Huh? What? At first glance it makes you wonder—do students earn a degree in napping, hanging out with friends, or taking long walks in the park? A little research shows it actually focuses on how people use free time through recreation, parks, tourism, and community activities, which sounds a bit more substantial than the name suggests. Still, I can imagine one student asking another, “What’s your major?” and hearing the reply, “Leisure Studies.” The natural reaction would be a puzzled, furrowed brow look, followed again by, “No, really—what’s your major?” The answer, “I told you. Leisure Studies.” Wow. Perhaps universities should consider a name change for this new field of study. With no explanation or context, one could believe that yawning and putting your feet up are part of the syllabus. A University Catalogue including “Leisure Studies” as a field of study? Now that’s a headshaker.