I've been fortunate enough to cover alot of big games and outstanding performances in my many years in the high school broadcast booth. I was courtside as the Mosinee girls basketball team brought home a state championship. I called a Wausau Newman sectional championship game won with a tip-in at the buzzer and a Colby High School football title in which the key touchdown came on a fake punt. I described a Derek Abney punt return for DC Everest where he was pinned inside his own five yard line and somehow slipped through four tacklers and went the distance for a score. I've called hockey goals scored by my son. I've called Wausau Log games that were blow outs and also nailbiters including East winning one year on a last second field goal. I did a game where East QB John Lakus hit Ben Fischer with a 99 yard TD pass in which Fischer caught the back end of the football in stride. Fischer was one of the best hoops players I've ever seen and went on to win a D-2 national title at Winona State. I've watched guys who would go on to star for the Badgers…Chris Ghidorzi from West, Andy Crooks and of course, Mark Zalewski. Zalewski was an absolute beast…making tackles sideline to sideline from his linebacker spot and then punching in a bunch of touchdowns at fullback as well. As many of you know, I have also seen alot of struggles on the field too. The East football program fell on hard times and didnt win many games that last few years. That's what makes this years rejuvenation so much fun. It has been said that you can't really enjoy the winning without first experiencing the losing. It certainly does make it sweeter and the Jacks going 3-0 to start this season has been something to see. Friday's nights 45-44 OT win over Mosinee will go on my mental highlight reel as one of the best games I've had the pleasure to broadcast. Not that it didnt have moments that made me cringe (four turnovers from East turned into points by Mosinee made this game much closer than it should have been). But it was watching Mosinee QB Trey Fitzgerald combine with WR Drayton Lehman time after time to move the football. East couldnt cover Lehman who finished with 18 catches breaking a Mosinee record set by the great Kole Heckendorf. It was watching The East defense come up with some key stops when they needed them including stopping Fitzgerald just shy of the endzone on a two-point conversion in overtime that would have won the game. And it was watching another incredible performance from Lumberjack senior Donovan Leverette. Leverette, playing cornerback, knocked away two would-be touchdowns but it's been his work at tailback that has been nothing short of amazing. My unofficial stats have him at 740 yards and 10 touchdowns thru 3 games including 312 and 4tds on Friday night. He has used outstanding cutback ability and excellent speed to make every time he touches the ball a chance to break a long one. Credit must also go to his offensive line led by seniors Caden Weis, Owen Coulson, Owen Beasley and juniors Ethan Forbes and Jarvis Cobbs along with TE Jake Thome. They have opened up some big holes and Leverette is using them to get to the 2nd and 3rd levels on almost every run. It isnt often that you get a chance to see an exceptional talent like this so I strongly urge you to get out to Thom Field while you can. The remaining East schedule looks like this…
Sept 13 at Rhinelander
Sept 20 at Wausau West (Log Game at Thom Field)
Sept 27 Medford (at Thom Field)
Oct 4 at Kingsford Michigan
Oct 11 Antigo (at Thom Field)
Oct 18 at Lakeland
And then? Who knows…East will be eligible for the playoffs this year if they can win enough games. Being 3-0 (for the first time since 2004) makes that very possible. Congrats to Coach Kevin Grundy and his staff for engineering this turn around and congrats to the seniors who have weathered alot of losing to get to this point but stayed with it and are now reaping some rewards for their work.
The Lumberjacks will move back into the Valley Football Association next season with West, DCE, Spash, Rapids and Marshfield.
You can hear a podcast of the East/Mosinee game
here
. I apologize in advance for missing the first TD. I think I need my eye prescription changed.!
The Milwaukee Brewers are right back in the hunt. Two games back in the wild card chase with four games looming against the hapless Miami Marlins. They did it with contributions from Corey Spangenberg, Tyrone Taylor and a 3 run bomb from Tyler Austin. Just like we wrote it up at the beginning of the season!! LOL. This team is not going away. I have a ticket for the last home game on the 22nd. Hope it matters!
Christian Yelich continues to do Christian Yelich things….
Tonight, .@ChristianYelich became the 10th player in @MLB history to record a 40/30 season.
C. Yelich – 2019
R. Braun – 2012
A. Soriano – 2006
J. Bagwell – 1999, 1997
A. Rodriguez – 1998
B. Bonds – 1997, 1996
L. Walker – 1997
E. Burks – 1996
J. Canseco – 1988
H. Aaron – 1963
The Badgers are the only team in the country that hasnt given up a point thru two games. They get two weeks to prepare for a Michigan team that needed double OT to beat Army. Jack Coan looked good and if Jonathan Taylor is not the front runner for the Heisman right now, we need an investigation.
The Antonio Brown situation is really annoying to me. You know that Patriots cooked this up with Brown and his agent. The Raiders should not have released him. They should have suspended him and let him rot on the sidelines instead of rewarding him for this kind of bs behavior. Just another reason to dislike New England…
Helen Mirren is staying busy. The Catherine the Great mini-series is coming to HBO and she has a new movie on the way as well…
Today in 1977 the first TRS 80 sold at Radio Shack. In 1978 they cost 599 bucks. That was alot of money back then. Did anyone have one?
Covers Of The Day
Quotes Of The Day
“Trump refused to meet with Robert Mueller face to face but he invited the Taliban to spend time with him at Camp David.”-Adam Parkomenko
“I have to admit that I did not have “secretly invite the Taliban to Camp David three days before 9/11″ on my Donald Trump Batshittery Bingo Card”-Jeff Tiedrich
“Ask yourself what @FoxNews would be saying if Obama had agreed to secretly meet with Taliban leaders on US soil. Ask yourself what your Republican relatives would be saying.”-Steve Silberman
“Holy shit. Trump has primary challengers, but his party is cancelling primaries to deprive their voters a chance of unseating him. Republicans are so into suppressing voters they don’t even want REPUBLICANS to be able to vote. “-Alyssa Milano
https://twitter.com/cnnpolitics/status/1170320847…
“What is the cost of less than 3 miles of Trump’s ineffective border wall? Denying 552 children of military families the new school they need and forcing them to remain in overcrowded classrooms. Promises broken. As usual, Trump puts his ego first. “-Senator Patrick Leahy
“The grift never ends. His buddies are making money on kids in cages for $750 a night, he's making money off the US military in Scotland, his son-in-law gets a billion from the Middle East, and his “people” back him all the way.”-Thom Hartman
“Trump is a man in his 70’s with an unhealthy lifestyle – there are some who wish for his natural demise.
I personally don’t.
I want him to be beaten to the point of humiliation in 2020.
I want him to stand trial after he loses.
And I don’t want Pence being POTUS.
Ever…”-Stu Cameron