There are two kinds of spark plugs. The inanimate one starts an internal combustion engine. The human kind ignites or inspires something. Recently Cardinal basketball fans have been treated to the latter. I am guessing loyal Milwaukee baseball fans remember Paul Molitor who spent the bulk of his Hall of Fame Career with the Brewers. The St. Paul native was dubbed “The Ignitor” for his innate ability to spark the formidable Milwaukee offense of the 1980’s. Last week Prescott boys basketball fans witnessed a local ignitor - junior Gabe Turner- come off the bench to score 17 points and spark Prescott to a 63-50 victory over their Highway 10 rivals the Ellsworth Panthers. Turner drained five three pointers as the Cardinals rebounded from a gut-wrenching triple overtime loss to St. Croix Central earlier in the week. 

The WIAA released the pre-tournament seeding placements for the fast-approaching tournament season. Head Coach Nick Johnson and his charges currently occupy the #3 spot, looking up at #2 seed Osceola, and conference leader and #1 seed St. Croix Central. For the Cardinal girls, Head Coach Owen Hamilton and his club are the #4 seed entering the final two weeks of the regular season. Elk Mound is the #1 seed, St. Croix Central the #2 and Baldwin Woodville the #3. Both Hamilton and Johnson know a great deal can change over the final two to three weeks left in the season.   

From the WIAA: Volleyball will move to electronic seeding for the Tournament Series beginning in 2026. An initial electronic seeding report will be released approximately two weeks before the beginning of the tournament series with the official seeding released just before the commencement of the playoffs. The seeding criteria will include a team’s own winning percentage, opponent’s winning percentage, opponents’ opponent winning percentage, and head-to-head results across all consecutive seeds. Additionally, two cross country recommendations were approved by the WIAA Board of Control. Billed hats, caps and visors will be added as permitted headgear. A second is a clarification that permits face and body paint, symbols and temporary tattoos to be displayed; however, much to the chagrin of former Minnesota Viking Hall of Fame defensive tackle John Randle, full-face solid block color, or markings that are offensive or that distract from the integrity of the competition are prohibited. 

Southwest State Pitcher Cullen Huppert and the rest of the Mustangs will open the 2026 season this weekend in Fort Scott, Kan. for a four-game series against the University of Minnesota-Crookston. Last year Southwest State finished with an overall record of 22-23 and finished ninth in the 14 team Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. 

North Dakota College of Science sophomore pitcher Ella Stewart tossed a three-hit shutout against Dawson Community College on Saturday. Stewart struck out five in the dominant 14-0 victory. The Bobcats, the defending national champions, opened the 2026 season with a four-game sweep last weekend. 

Minnesota State long distance runner Madison Matzek finished second in the 3,000-meter at the University of Minnesota Classic Indoor Meet last Saturday. Matzek finished with a time of 10:13.34, three seconds behind first place teammate Amanda Overgaauw. Ava Budworth, another Prescott Cardinal alumnus, also competed for the University of Wisconsin-Stout. Budworth ran personal bests in the 400- and 200-meter races. Matzek is a 2023 Prescott graduate and Budworth is a 2024 alumnus.

The Northwest Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Clinic was hosted by University of Wisconsin-River Falls Head Coach Steve Bartlein and his staff this past weekend. Fifteen area coaches attended the event that was highlighted by River Falls native and Major League Pitcher J.P. Feyereisen. Unfortunately, a concerning trend has developed regarding attendance at in person baseball coaching clinics in the Midwest. The number of participating coaches has dropped significantly over the past decade. Apparently instructional or comedic baseball videos on YouTube and Tik Tok are enough for many of today’s baseball coaches. We will see what the attendance will be like this weekend at the annual Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association in Madison. 

From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources: The DNR announced the approval of stewardship funding for Friends Grants to 29 nonprofit organizations for improvements at DNR-managed properties across the state. The State Building Commission approved the funding for 32 projects totaling $499,144 in stewardship grant dollars, leveraging $572,061 in matching contributions and $3 million in total project costs. Among the recipients will be the Friends of Willow River and Kinnickinnic State Parks with funds used to improve the Universal Kayak and Canoe Launch at each park. 

Headshaker of the Week: Whenever I cross the Highway 10 bridge I always look to the north to gaze at portable ice shanties, bucket sitters, cars and trucks atop the ice on the St. Croix River. As the temperature increases so do the number of anglers on ice. And we all learned when we were little that when the temperature rises above 32 degrees, ice and snow will melt. Recently, I witnessed a couple vehicles as close to open water as that group of Bald Eagles sitting along the edge of the ice perusing the surface for an easy aquatic meal. Driving near open water on the St. Croix River? Now that’s a headshaker.