Week 11 NFL Picks

Well, thanks to this guy here, I'm Tebow and one (see what I did there?) with my week 11 picks already. How dare I think that supposedly one of the NFL's best defenses could shut down a guy who completed two passes in week 10. My bad.

SKC Bison give North Idaho College a scare

North Idaho College needed a late surge to get past SKC for the 80-71 victory on Thursday night in Pablo. However, it was an evening that was about more than basketball as the Bison retired Marvin Hudson-Lewis' number with a ceremony before the game.

Lewis drowned earlier this year in South Dakota after helping lead the Bison to a AIHEC National Championship. Members of Lewis' family from Washington State and South Dakota were able to make the game and were part of the ceremony. 

The Bison took the floor with only four players and Lewis' jersey was put at center court for a ceremonial tip-off. Lewis was listed as an official starter for the Bison and appeared in the final box score for the game. 

SKC came out strong behind excellent three-point shooting and held a 18-14 lead midway through the first half. North Idaho College would go on a 10-0 to gain the lead but the Bison would go away and only trailed 38-31 at the half. 

The battle continued against the Cardinals in the second half and with 9:43 left in the contest, Dennis Sangrey hit a three to pull within four points of NIC at 54-50. The Cardinals would respond with an 8-0 run to take the 62-50 lead. The Bison would continue to fight and Ralston Moore hit two free throws to make it 74-69 NIC with two minutes to go but the Cardinals would finish out the game on a 6-2 run for the victory. 

D.J. Fish continued to showcase his skills, posting a double-double for SKC with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Moore had 19 points as well and Sangrey posted 11. Isiah Martin scored 12 points. The Bison's defense forced 24 NIC turnovers but their shooting was 39 percent from the field to the Cardinals' 53 percent. 

Against a perennial powerhouse in junior college basketball, the Bison played strong with NIC and their tough early-season schedule should get them geared up for Montana Tribal College Athletic Association play. SKC will travel to Dillon this weekend and play the University of Montana JV squad on Friday and Saturday. 

NIC 80, SKC 71

NIC - 38 - 42 - 80

SKC - 31 - 40 - 71

Bison Stats - 

Isaac Wal - 1 rebound

Ralston Moore - 19 points, 1 steal

Dennis Sangrey - 11 points, 2 steals

Sonny Eppinette - 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist

Trent Ashley - 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist

Isaiah Martin - 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals

DJ Kemmer - 3 points

DJ Fish - 15 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist

Jonathan Allen - 1 point, 1 assist

James Bible - 6 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals

NIC Stats -

Jordan McCloud - 11 points, 6 rebounds

Antoine Hosley - 7 points, 2 assists

Connor White - 5 points, 1 rebound 

Kwame Bates - 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal

Keon Lewis - 21 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists

Michael Middlebrooks - 13 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks

Edrico McGregor - 6 points, 6 rebounds

Tyrell Lewis - 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist, 1 steal

Kay Sherman - 1 point, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls

Here are photos from the game... click here to buy full prints from the game. 

Click on "Read More" to see the full gallery.

The best team in 22 years

Make sure you pick up this week's copy of the Leader, we tried to do things a bit differently and do a complete recap of the awesome season that the Ronan Chiefs have had. Coach Benn and his team has been competing in Class A for many years when their enrollment numbers clearly put them at a disadvantage against the much larger teams in the Northwestern A. However that didn't stop the Chiefs from beating NWA champ Columbia Falls last season.

Going into this season, Ronan faced numerous questions from the media and community on just how they would perform against the top teams in Class B. The result? One of the best teams in Ronan's history and certainly a season nobody will forget anytime soon.

Read the story here.

Leader Sports Report Episode Three

Here's the Leader Sports Report Episode Three, Dylan and Brandon talk about college football, Ronan football and Polson volleyball in this week's episode...



Leader Sports Report Episode 3 by Brandonwhansen

Thoughts on the Sandusky and Penn State case

Polson soccer player and occasional Leader columnist Riley Lemm shared his thoughts on the Sandusky scandal at Penn State on his blog, Mas Sports.

College sports are going crazy, by crazy I mean crazy screwed up.

If you havent turned on your TV or read your newspaper you might not know about the Penn St. mess. Penn St.’s defensive coordinator of the late 90′s, Jerry Sandusky, is under allegations that he molested 8 different boys. Sandusky was coaching under the legend Joe Paterno who was recently released from employment at Penn St., following pressure by the media.

Check out the full post here.

Two Lady Pirate volleyball players named to all-state team

(FROM THE DAILY INTER LAKE)

Regular season and Northwestern A divisional champion Polson placed two players on the Class A All-State volleyball team, while Whitefish and Libby both had one selection.

Named from Polson are senior Riley Kenney and junior Shalaina Duford.

Abby Strellnauer was Whitefish's all-state selection. Selinna Maefau was Libby's all-state pick.

Strellnauer and Maefau are both seniors.

Those four players also made the all-conference first team along with Shaun Rowe, a senior from Columbia Falls, and Marlow Schulz, a sophomore from Whitefish.

Second-team all-conference selections were: Josie Anderson, sophomore, Frenchtown; Kenzie Clay, senior, Polson; Lauren Wepprecht, junior, Libby; Emily Sullivan, freshman, Whitefish; Gabrielle Stenger, senior, Columbia Falls; and Taylor Peterson, junior, Columbia Falls.

Honorable mention all-conference selections were: Kelsey McFadden, junior, Whitefish; Heidi Rausch, junior, Polson; Ashley Johnson, senior, Polson; and MacKenzie Banner, junior, Polson.

Polson and Whitefish advanced to the Class A State Volleyball Tournament.

Conservation group worries about park funding cuts

Here's a story from Jim Mann of the Daily Inter Lake as he talks about how the potential US Government deficit could affect Glacier National Park and in turn the local economy of the communities around Flathead Lake.

The National Parks Conservation Association is sounding an alarm over the potential impacts on parks if the so-called congressional “supercommittee” fails to develop a plan for trimming $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over the next 10 years.

If the committee of 12 lawmakers fails to do so by a Nov. 23 deadline, a mechanism in the legislation that established the process in August would initiate $1.2 trillion in across-the-board federal spending cuts.

The association calculates that could result in 9 percent cuts to National Park Service budgets, or about $231 million.

“If the supercommittee process fails, there will be real consequences for our national parks, jobs, visitors, and communities across the country,” said Craig Obey, NPCA’s senior vice president of government affairs. “The federal deficit debate should be about smart budgeting that strengthens communities, produces jobs and protects the heritage that binds us as a national community.”

In a report released last week, the organization stresses the importance of national parks as economic engines that support and define surrounding communities.

Glacier National Park is the namesake for more than 150 businesses in the Flathead Valley and the park has an estimated economic impact of at least $2.5 billion, according to research conducted by state tourism officials about eight years ago.

“Glacier’s impact to our economy is enormous, there’s no doubt about that,” said Michael Jamison, Crown of the Continent program manager for the association. “And now we’re asking the community to return the favor by supporting the park that supports the economy. It’s a two-way street.”

You can read the full story on the Inter Lake's website here.