Update from the High School Rodeo Finals

Here is an update from Wyatt Lytton, one of the Lake County Rodeo athletes currently at the state rodeo finals in Bozeman.

We are having a great time. We had two goes Friday, slack and performance. Our girls and boys have made a great showing in their events. Some of us have gone out two rounds and some are up today. Don't have it confirmed who is to come back for Sunday's championship go round. It all depends on the final standings. We have all given our best so no matter what the outcome is we are happy with our year.

We had the battle of the districts before the rodeo last night. The theme was games. There is five districts, and our district game was scrabble. We had fun getting our idea together for this competition. We did not win although we felt good about it. And ours was funny, we had spelled out in the arena with all of us holding a squad, "district five five rocks". It turned out great and you could read it! Last night after the rodeo, we had a hypnotist entertain us. This guy was amazing. He was great and wowed all of us with his ability to hypnotize my buddies.

More will certainly be on the way!

Update from the High School Rodeo Finals

Wyatt Lytton is sending updates via text on the Montana High School Rodeo Finals. Here is his first update after one day of competition...

Thursday was the first day of competition. It was a cloudy wet day, but in rodeo you still compete despite weather. Our rodeo group is doing well. Some of us got our first round done with a time or score and some came up empty. All in all the spirits of everyone is great.

The arena is in great condition. Bozeman is putting on a great finals! We had a dinner last night for all competitors. It is in support of tobacco free rodeo, which High School rodeo declares. It was a full house and a great dinner. We are in slack this morning and performance tonight.

All of us from the valley are up at different times these next two days. We are supporting one another and having a great rodeo finals.

"RODEO YOU GOTTA LOVE IT!" as we all say!

More will certainly be on the way!

Morning coffee... Things aren't going so well in Miami

Now Miami has to win two straight games for their NBA title.

It's that kind of pressure that's going to make the stress put on Lebron and the Heat in Game 3 and 4 seem like nothing. After all the hype and talk throughout the entire season, Miami is just one loss away from elimination.

This isn't going to be about stats, this isn't going to be about the eight points anymore. This is again, going to come down to Lebron's Legacy. It's dangling by a thread right now.

Sure he had a triple-double in the Game 5 loss to the Mavs but the dude disappeared again in the big moments. He's averaging in these Finals just 2.2 points in the fourth quarter. That's pathetic.

Forget "Jordan wouldn't do that." We can go right down the list. Bird wouldn't do that, Magic wouldn't do that. Kobe wouldn't do that. Shaq. Iverson. Reggie Miller. Hakeem. Malone. Stockton.

These guys came through in the clutch, they battled when it meant something. Sure, they didn't have the success as Jordan but at least they SHOWED UP. Lebron hasn't. True he had a triple double and if you watch him he does do things out on the court that are important but he's not even the alpha dog on his team. He's not the go-to.

And if that's the case, what is the legacy of a supporting player?

And with that, headlines....

Lebron and Wade make fun of Dirk being sick...
And that turned out soooo well for them.

Lockout could spell a rash of injuries for NFL players
And that was working out so well before the lockout, I mean injuries were getting less and less common right?

L.A. Coliseum events manager doing side deals
Apparently, like Reggie Bush, this guy was getting er done during the Trojans run as well.

Photos from the Torch Scholarship Run

Here are images and results from the Torch Scholarship Run last Saturday in Polson.

Here are the results...

Age Group Winners Results
Half Marathon Results
5K Results

Mavs find Heat's kryptonite... high fives

One might say that Lebron's no-show in game 4 or Dirk's performances in the fourth quarter have led Dallas to a 2-2 tie with the superstar-laden Miami Heat. But that might not be the case, high fives could be the Mavs' secret weapon.

The Mavericks, with 250 slaps, hugs, taps or bumps, are almost twice as touchy-feely as the Heat, who had only 134 instances of televised contact. In those three games, the Mavericks were 82% more likely to high five.

The concept of "chemistry" on a sports team has become the stuff of cliché over the years. Nobody seems to have the same definition for what it is, or what produces it. But last fall, three researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, took a serious look at one of the most obvious signs of camaraderie on a team—touching.

The study, which was titled "Tactile Communication, Cooperation and Performance: An Ethological Study of the NBA," was authored by Michael W. Kraus, Cassy Huang and Dacher Keltner. After reviewing broadcasts of games from the 2008-09 season, they concluded that good teams tend to be much more hands-on than bad ones. Teams whose players touched the most often were more cooperative, played better and won more games, they said.


Hear that Lebron!?!?!? Get your high-fives together!

Morning Coffee... What do you mean I hit a walk-off?

Milwaukee's Nyjer Morgan hit a walk-off double against the Mets last night, the only problem was, he didn't realize he had won the game for his team. Here's part of an interview with the TV crew...

“Honestly, Core, I thought we were winning (laughs). Basically, I was up there just trying to take him up the middle. As soon as I got the hit, I just thought it was a regular routine double down the line. And basically, I looked behind me and I heard the crowd yelling and here come the guys coming off the bench. And that’s when I kind of figured, ‘Oh, I just walked ‘em off!’ (laughs)”

This is his first walk-off hit of his career so the Brewers should make a point of not telling Morgan the score for the rest of the season.

And with that, headlines...

Allen Iverson wants to make NBA comeback
And it's not for the NBA Alumni game...

Oakland A's fire manager, because they don't like being in last place
Many thought this team might be the AL West leader but an eight-game losing streak put an end to that.

Terrelle Pryor turns down the CFL
It's going to suck when the NFL turns down Pryor.

Mission Valley Rumble Video

Here's video from the Mission Valley Rumble last Friday in St. Ignatius...

Lake County Golf Roundup for June 9

Hole-in-one
Joe Meyers recorded his second hole in one on a glorious sunny day at the 9th hole at Polson Bay Golf Course. The 9th hole was playing 168 yards and Joe used a 6-iron. Witnesses were Eric Farley, Tim Reid and Burt Cannon.

Wallace named to Hall-of-Fame
Roger Wallace, Polson's PGA Director, was inducted into the Community College of Spokane Hall of Fame last weekend.

Wallace played for Spokane Falls Community College and led the 1979-80 golf team to the NWAACC title and he was named to the NWAACC All-Tournament first team. He was the first male golfer to be named to the Hall of Fame.
-Courtesy of Cameron Milton.

Polson Golf League Results
Week No. 6 Match Medal
June 7th, 2011

Team vs. Team Results
Valley Glass (7) vs. Whealson (9)
Kokanee (10) vs. Roy Sturm Construction (6)
Hu Beaver Builders (4) vs. Glacier Bank/Valley Business (12)
Steve's Painting (12) vs. Anderson Broadcasting (4)
1st Citizens Bank (0) vs. DRS (16)
True Value (6) vs. Wallaces Golf Shop (10)
Just Us (3) vs. Binks Links (13)
Harbor Light vs. Bye

CURRENT STANDINGS
MOUNTAIN DIVISION
Glacier Bank/Valley Business - 66
Whealon Construction - 64
Binks Links - 47
Hu Beaver Builders - 45
Steve's Painting - 38
1st Citizens Bank - 30
Roy Sturm Construction - 26
Anderson Broadcasting - 16

LAKE DIVISION
DRS - 68
Kokanne - 59
Harbor Light Furniture & Flooring - 51
Just Us - 49
Wallaces Golf Shop - 46
True Value Hardware - 38
Valley Glass - 29

Results
Low Gross - $10 Josh Maki
Low Net - $10 Bill Boettcher
Long Drive - #1 Todd Bassett $10
Long Drive - #6 Brad Walter $10

-Courtesy of Cameron Milton

Morning coffee... Lebron, we have a problem

While I will admit that the amount of hate people are piling on Lebron right now is ridiculous, there is one glaring statistic.

8 POINTS! Mavs win. Series tied 2-2. Uh-oh.

He did lead the team in assists with seven but when did people talk about Michael Jordan and his fantastic assist totals? If Lebron James were wired the same way as Jordan and going to come through in competitive moments like him, he wouldn't have eight points.

You'll have to credit the defense of the Mav's Shawn Marion, who could probably guard the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with success, because the Chosen One hasn't really spread his wings in this series. That's an issue, perhaps the Heat will still win because Lebron is a really versatile player and does plenty of other things out on the court (The reason the Heat are so good isn't their offense, 3-on-5 isn't the best game plan, it's their DEFENSE. It's swarming), but when you start talking about legacies and Lebron's place of history, people will say this...

8 POINTS!

And with that... Headlines...

Maurice Clarrett blames OSU players for bringing down the Buckeyes football program
I'm glad we're weighing in the moral judgement of a man that has been in jail more often that out on the field in the NFL.

Royals fan catches home run ball with popcorn bucket
Their team isn't good so they have to stay entertained somehow.

Great nephew of shortest MLB baseball player ever gets drafted
Perhaps you have heard of 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel, who drew a walk in 1951 and was the smallest and lightest player in the majors. Well he great nephew was just drafted and stands a whopping 6-foot, four-inches.

Lakers rally past Mariners

Still, the Mariners scored eight runs in the first three innings against a Class AA team. Not too shabby.

(From the Daily Interlake)

Michael O'Connell doubled four times in a 5-for-5 performance at the plate and drove in four runs to help rally the Kalispell Lakers to a 13-8 American Legion nonconference baseball victory Tuesday evening over the Mission Valley Mariners at Griffin Field.

Mission Valley jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Kalispell responded with five runs in the bottom half of the second inning.

The Lakers finally took control with a four-run sixth inning.

"We need to get rid of the slow start," Lakers coach Ryan Malmin said. "Our seniors did a good job of taking charge of things in the second inning. After about the third inning, we settled down and did a pretty good job."

Dominic Eickert also swung a hot bat for the Lakers, going 3-for-4.

Alex Stanley and Joe Pistorese added doubles for the Lakers.

Kalispell (16-5) plays a league doubleheader at Great Falls on Friday.

Mission Valley 341 000 000 - 8 9 1
Kalispell 050 024 02x - 13 15 4

Josh Rustad, Justin Evertz (6) and Jack Humphreys; Louis Freudenburg, Sidney Schenck (5), Cody Dopps (9) and Kendrick Lee. W - Schenck. L - Rustad.

MISSION VALLEY - Humphreys 1-5, Jacob Young 1-4, Evertz 1-5, Chris Clary 0-4, Robbie Gauthier 1-2, Kevin Hagadorn 0-3, Rustad 2-4, Austin Von Tom 1-4, Dalton Molhzon 2-4.

2B-Humphreys; RBI-Humphreys (2), Young, Evertz, Clary, Rustad.

KALISPELL - Lee 1-4, Dominic Eickert 3-4, Michael O'Connell 5-5, Joe Pistorese 1-5, Sean O'Connell 3-4, Alex Stanley 1-4, Scoob Decker 1-4, Dopps 0-1, Matt McLean 0-1, Dillon Eaves 0-1, Nate Bengston 0-4.

2B-M. O'Connell (4), Stanley, Pistorese, Lee; RBI-Eickert, M. OConnell (4), Pistorese (2), S. O'Connell (2), Bengston (2).

Mariners B vs. Dillon Cubs Photos

Here are some photos from the Mission Valley Mariners B team doubleheader split against Dillon on Sunday in Polson...

Morning coffee... What do you get for second place at the French Open?

Because thats what Roger Federer got after Rafael Nadal beat him 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1 in the finals. That ties him with Bjorn Borg for the most French Open titles with six and he has 10 overall.

It's also the fourth time these two players have matched up in the French Open Finals, but really does that come as a shock to anyone?

I will say this about the French Open. I understand that the world doesn't revolve around America (yes it does) and a sport shouldn't make a special consideration just for a specific country but why the heck should I have to get up early in the morning to watch the French Open Finals? I understand that the globalization of the sport has a certain affect on things, but they should try to accommodate perhaps the largest consumer market on earth.

I mean you're not going to see baseball, basketball or football play a final at seven in the morning. Tennis is an awesome sport, but when they have things like this happen, it hurts things.

And with that, here are headlines...

Did you know that Vancouver has a 2-0 lead in the NHL Finals
I didn't either, but that Canucks have something going. Perhaps the Northwest could get a championship!

Shin-Shoo says DUI affecting his performance for the Cleveland Indians
Who knew that hard drinking would hurt your performance in athletics?

Johnny Bench chews out Buster Posey for having season ending injury, also chews out the San Diego Chicken
Perhaps the greatest video of vehicular responsibility I have ever seen.