In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are the thanks and no thanks as we near the end of 2023.  Enjoy 

Thanks to the Prescott Hall of Fame Committee and all those who attended the 2023 Prescott Hall of Fame Banquet. The largest hall of fame banquet crowd ever witnessed the induction of Ryan Berg, Jaci Kosin, and Steve Block. 

No thanks to the Prescott Hall of Fame detractors who have criticized and ridiculed the selection process. Critics not only lambast a process they know little about, those same individuals fail to nominate for Hall of Fame Consideration. 

Thank you, Major League Baseball on implementing a pitch clock, limiting pitching changes, and curtailing hitter timeouts.  

No thank you to a game that still has too many strikeouts and way too many down times. Major League Baseball…it’s time to move the mound back. 

Thank you to the Prescott girls’ golf team on winning another state championship and keeping Cardinal athletics on the map. Well done Head Coach Chad Salay and the Prescott girls’ golf team.

No thanks to the WIAA for the possibility of moving the Prescott girls’ golf team to Division 1 for tournament play, all due to the success the Cardinals have had over the last several years. 

Thank you to Peter Brookshaw on turning scores and scores of Prescott boosters into North Dakota State Baseball fans over the last five years. Congratulations on your exploits with the Bison and best of luck as you continue your baseball career in the spring of 2023. 

Thank you, Denny Olson for your half century of work on the Prescott High School football chain gang. The lifetime Prescott resident easily surpassed former United States Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglass who served a mere 36 years on the federal bench. 

Thank you to all the volunteers in the community of Prescott who make events for those of all ages possible. A special thank you to the volunteers who make the Prescott baseball and softball fields among the best complexes in the Middle Border Conference. 

No thanks to those who deride, criticize, and pillory people who give up their most precious resource - time - to help others, while those who complain seldom, if ever, show up to help. 

Thank you, Prescott alumnus Joe Peine for putting pen to paper and covering prep sports in Prescott and the surrounding communities. 

No thanks to the waning influence of small town and big town print newspapers. For this old Cornhusker, there still is something to be said for reading the morning newspaper coupled with a cup of coffee. Sorry folks, reading the news on an iPad or laptop just doesn’t do it for this old newsprint dinosaur.

Thank you, Reese Ptacek for thrilling us on the volleyball court throughout your high school career. A soon to be Jayhawk, Ptacek brought fear to the opponents at the net both offensively and defensively. And thank you to Head Coach Tracey Budworth for leading the Cardinals to a share of the conference championship and winning their first regional championship since the Presidency of Ronald Reagan. 

No thanks to televised corn hole, pickleball, or poker championships. You have got to be kidding me ESPN. I would rather listen to ABC Commentator Chris Schienkel, the longtime voice of televised professional bowling, wax poetic about the performance of Earl Anthony during the 1974 Firestone Open in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Thanks to the kids in town years ago who played a different sport in the fall, winter and spring and still had time to go fishing, hunting, and just be a kid. And even a greater thank you to those teenagers who continue to do all those once they get to high school. 

No thanks to AAU and other club sports for promoting individual achievements ahead of team goals. Sadly, the allegiance of many high school athletes today is not connected to their high school colors or their hometown playground teammates. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.