Friday, November 19, 2010

MSU men's basketball team shorthanded

Minnesota State men's basketball team has already run into some problems with the roster as they participate in a California tournament tonight and Saturday. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m. CST and can be heard on KYSM 1230-AM.
Senior A.J. Wilson, a transfer from Murray State, has been dismissed from the team for what coach Matt Margenthaler called an "attitude that was detrimental to the team." Wilson didn't appear to want to play here, and his actions and attitude were Randy-Moss-like.
Senior Andre Gilbert, a transfer from Kansas State, has been suspended through the weekend for violating team rules. Gilbert has been recovering from an ankle injury and must have been late to practice or some other minor violation that caused Margenthaler to leave Gilbert at Mankato.
Mike Bisenius will be sidelined through December after suffering a paritally collapsed lung during a fall in practice. Bisenius has been bitten by the injury bug during his time at Minnesota State and hasn't been able to get on the court. His presence would be helpful as the Mavericks have had to go small with the lineup.
Guard Anthony Brant, who is probably the team's best perimeter threat, will be out for another week with a knee injury.
The team will probably only go nine deep in the two games this weekend, then hope for some of the others to get healthy. It's been a rough first month of the season for the Mavericks.

New Ulm Cathedral vs. Minneota, Class A football semifinals

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

And then there was one; Cathedral still standing

Four area high-school football teams made it to the state tournament, but New Ulm Cathedral is the only one to make it out of the quarterfinal round.
Mankato West lost to Mahtomedi, though that outcome might have been different had the Scarlets added to their 14-7 lead with the first drive of the third quarter.
Nicollet lost to Underwood, which definitely benefitted from poor weather. Nicollet's spread offense struggled in the cold, snow and wind, but that's the deal you make when you choose that offensive style in Minnesota.
Le Sueur-Henderson was rolled by DeLaSalle, but the Giants might have preferred to play outdoors, as scheduled Saturday. Instead, the game was moved Monday to Metrodome, which highlighted DeLaSalle's speed and size.
Cathedral disposed of Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in the quarterfinals, but the Greyhounds' challenge is tougher in the semifinals Saturday against Minneota, which was rated No. 1 for most of the season before taking a loss. Minneota has won four state championships, including last season.
Cathedral will need to rely on its tested formula of a ground game that controls the ball and the clock and a stingy defense that rarely gives up more than one score per game.
Cathedral has only advanced to the championship game once, in 2006, but lost in the finals. Another trip to the championship game wouldn't be out of the question.
You can follow my live blog from Saturday's game.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

What to watch for in high-school playoffs

The high-school football tournament begins Friday, with four local teams playing this week.
Mankato West takes on Mahtomedi at 7 p.m. Friday at Chanhassen. You can follow the game by clicking on the Cover It Live icon on this page or on the Free Press home page.
West hadn't been challenged until last week's Section 2AAAA championship game against Marshall, and its a testament to the team's preparation that the first tight game wasn't the last. West will need to play better to beat Mahtomedi.
Le Sueur-Henderson survived a four-game losing streak to rebound oin the postseason. The Giants were seeded fifth in Section 2AAA and defeated St. Paul Highland Park (4), Waseca (1) and Minneapolis Washburn (2) to advance to the state tournament for the third time in four seasons.
In Class A, New Ulm Cathedral lost the season-opener at Springfield, then waited nine game to get revenge, defeating Springfield in the championship game. Cathedral has a lot of state-tournament experience but haven't got out of the quarterfinals in the last two seasons.
Nicolle has been runner-up in Class Nineman three times since 1999, including last season's loss to Stephen-Argyle in the championship game. But Stephen-Argyle, which has seven state titles in the last 11 seasons, was eliminated in section play.
If Nicollet could get to the championship game, the oppponent might be Edgerton/Ellsworth. Those teams tied for the Southern Confederacy title but didn't play each other this season.

Mankato West football live blog