Monthly Archives: January 2010

Barefoot for bare feet

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Haiti is a country ravaged by poverty, violence and disease. It’s a place where food, clean water and medicine are scarce — and that was the case even before the earthquake hit.

 Most people there go without basic necessities, so shoes and socks are often an afterthought, especially for children.

Right now, thousands of kids are walking barefoot through the rubble of Port-au-Prince and Jacmel.

So what’s a few hours walking barefoot on a basketball court?

Tonight, the coaches for Worthington and Fulda’s girls’ basketball teams are coaching shoeless in an effort to raise money and footwear for the earthquake victims in Haiti.

“Barefoot for bare feet” is an organized effort by basketball coaches from around the country who are now pacing the sidelines without shoes to help with the relief effort.

Fulda head coach Gregg Slaathaug learned of the project through a story on KELO about South Dakota State men’s head coach Scott Nagy, whose adopted six-year-old daughter Naika is originally from Haiti.

Nagy coached barefoot on Saturday in the Jackrabbits’ game against Oakland (Mich.), and a portion of every ticket sold during the game went toward the cause.

It gave Slaathaug an idea. He and Worthington head coach Eric Lindner decided they could go shoeless in tonight’s Trojan/Raider matchup, too.

“We’re going to coach barefoot, so if we can get people to donate some money at the door, then we’re going to get that money to Coach Nagy so he can get it to his non-profit organization,” Slaathaug said.

Nagy’s story has been picked up by ESPN and sports media outlets across the Midwest. His goal is to collect $30,000 and 2,000 pairs of shoes and distribute them through Samaritan’s Feet, a charitable organization based in Charlotte, N.C. 

More than 300 coaches have joined the cause, including La Salle men’s head coach John Giannini and IUPUI men’s coach Ron Hunter, who was the first one to coach barefoot two years ago.

Tonight, our area high school coaches are doing their part.  Admission to the game in Worthington will be reduced, so fans will have the chance to give a free-will donation at the door.

It should be a sight to see: Lindner and Slaathaug stomping up and down the bench in their bare feet.

I’ve seen both the Trojans and Raiders play before, so I’ve had the chance to see both coaches in action.

I don’t see Lindner having too much of a problem. He’s usually pretty calm and reserved on the Trojan bench (Of course, you can afford to be more relaxed when your team is cruising along at 11-1).

I’m not so sure about Slaathaug, though. The Raiders’ coach can get pretty intense. Sometimes it seems like he exerts as much energy pacing the sideline as his players do running the court.

“I don’t know, I hope I don’t slip and fall down,” he laughed.

All for a good cause, coach.

If you can’t make it tonight – no problem. To donate $5 to Samaritan’s Feet, text “SHOES” to the number 85944.

For more information, visit the web site www.samaritansfeet.org. My hat’s (and shoes) off to all of the coaches.

Worthington Open to provide quality wrestling

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I remember it like it was yesterday.

About a year ago, I was still settling into my role as the sports editor position and the Minnesota West beat. Having worked under former editor Kevin Kyle for a year, I knew that January meant the Worthington Wrestling Open.

I had heard the stories of the Open, and having done some research before last year’s tournament, I knew I was in for a treat.

It didn’t disappoint.

I watched as a pair of University of Minnesota wrestlers worked their opponents thoroughly. I remember watching as Ryland Geiger breezed through his 197-pound class. Atticus Disney was doing the same at heavyweight, and I couldn’t help but think, were we watching future NCAA, World or Olympic champions?

I watched last year as Geiger won his matches, 20-6, 14-5, and dismantled his final opponent, 20-5. The 197-pounder didn’t want to earn falls; instead, he would give up the escape point only to earn three more for a near fall.

Disney didn’t win by the same margin. Instead, he chose to pin his opponents. He earned two falls on his way to the Open title.

It is again time for the Worthington Open.

Saturday will mark the 21st year of the Open, and again, promises to bring some of the most talented wrestlers from the Midwest.

The Gophers plan to bring a strong contingent of grapplers again this year. Northern Sun conference teams, including Augustana, St. Cloud State, Minnesota State University, Mankato, and Southwest Minnesota State also plan to bring wrestlers on Saturday. Minnesota West will have a good number of competitors as well.

Due to weather and other conflicts, I haven’t had the opportunity to watch the Bluejays yet this season. But with a dual on Friday and the tournament on Saturday, I am looking forward to seeing this year’s MW team take the mat.

Saturday should provide a real treat. Heavyweight Seth McGregor, who is redshirting this season for the Bluejays, will wrestle in the Open against some of the best heavyweights in the region. McGregor has experienced his share of success so far this season at various opens — including a championship at Dakota Wesleyan — and I can’t wait to see him in action.

But while McGregor will be a draw for the hometown team, don’t overlook the rest of the competition. Talking with MW head wrestling coach Bob Purcell, the list of past NCAA champions and Olympians who have wrestled at the Open is lengthy.

Olympians Tully Thompson and Daniel Cormier have wrestled at the Open. Brock Lesnar, who is a star on the Ultimate Fighting Championship circuit, also competed in Worthington.

With more than 100 wrestlers taking the mat Saturday, a future star may make a splash.

Wednesday, coach Purcell and I sat and talked about years past.

Years from now, people may very well talk about the 2010 Worthington Open. And on Saturday, I’ll be right there, taking in the tradition and the exceptional wrestling this weekend will offer.

McGwire admits to steroid use

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Is anyone surprised?

With Mark McGwire being a person of interest for congress a few years ago, it seemed that his admission was almost a matter of time.

Now, we know the truth.

Mark McGwire, arguably one of the greatest home run hitters of this generation, was cheating.

Years ago, McGwire admitted to the use of Andro, which at the time, wasn’t illegal in Major League Baseball. Now it is.

With his pending employment as the Cardinals’ hitting coach, McGwire has finally set the record straight. But what now?

Will his place on the all-time home run list be marked with an asterisk? Will he be in the Hall of Fame? Should anyone ever linked to steroids be in the Hall?

I would argue no. Granted, baseball players haven’t always been squeaky clean. But in this current day of steroid use, I think no one who is proven to have used roids should be allowed in the Hall.

This would include Alex Rodriguez. No matter how many championships he goes on to win or how many home runs he hits during the remainder of his career, he should never be allowed in the Hall.

McGwire received just a fraction of the percentage needed to be inducted this season, and it’s my guess that will only taper off.

Someday, perhaps there will be a Hall that could include Pete Rose, McGwire, Barry Bonds, Rodriguez and whoever else decides to come clean in the next few years.

But for now, keep the Hall clean. Because right now, it looks like that’s all that’s clean in baseball.

Friendly competition: Meinders, Bucholz combine to score 68 points

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Everything was going right for Travis Meinders.

In the second day of the Daily Globe-Trojan Holiday Classic, Worthington’s senior guard was scoring in nearly every way possible.

“I didn’t even know how many I had throughout the whole game,” Meinders said. “I was just playing to win. All I wanted to do was win.”

But for Meinders, his opposition provided a little extra incentive.

Not only were the Trojans vying for their own tournament’s championship, but Meinders was facing a friend on the opposite team — Perham’s Ben Bucholz.

“Me and Ben just go at it,” Meinders said. “Ben is a really good friend of mine. We roomed together at (South Dakota State University), and we just like to go at it and talk back and forth. It was fun.”

And they didn’t disappoint.

The two matched each other shot-for-shot, point-for-point.

In the end of what proved to be epic performances between the two teams and players, Meinders scored more points. But Bucholz came away with the 65-60 victory.

It wasn’t until later when Meinders realized what he had accomplished.

“When I got home that night, I was sitting in the recliner and my mom told me,” Meinders said. “It wasn’t really an exciting reaction because it still hurt from the loss. It didn’t really hit me to the next day.”

When the final buzzer sounded, Meinders had scored 35 points — the third most in Worthington’s history.

“It feels good to be next to all the great athletes who came through Worthington,” Meinders said. “I was just playing the game. I let the game come to me. I did what I had to. But unfortunately, we ended up short.”

Bucholz nearly matched Meinders’ output, scoring 33 points. The two combined to score 68 points that night, more than 50 percent of the game’s scoring.

“He said, ‘I can’t believe you beat me in points, that was my goal,’” Meinders said. “I beat him last year, too.”

Last year, Meinders scored 28 points. Until his 35-point performance, that was his career high.

The all-time WHS mark was Troy Timmons’ 41 points in 1991 against Jackson.

Marty Jorgensen scored 38 against Marshall in 1966 and had two 35-point performances that same year.

Perhaps the only thing that stopped Meinders against Perham was foul trouble. Picking up his third foul in the first half, Meinders was sent to the bench.

“I got that third foul and I looked at (Coach Vorwald) and he was telling (Zach) Houselog or (Mike) Singsaath to come in,” Meinders said. “I was like, ‘No, I’m fine, I’m fine, I can stay in.’ He was like, ‘No, you’re not, you’re coming out.’ It was really frustrating.”

But once he got back in the game, Meinders picked up right where he left off.

“It wasn’t really too much different,” Meinders said. “I might have had a few more shots, but they were all falling. It just felt good. Everything felt good that night. The flow was there, the rhythm was there, it just came right off my hand really nice.”

On one occasion, Bucholz connected on a 3. Meinders then came down the floor and matched his friend with a 3 of his own.

“I told Ben that he better step it up a little bit more on defense if he was going to stop me,” Meinders said. “We were just jawing back and forth. But it was fun.

“Too bad he wasn’t a guard so we could actually guard each other. But he’s pretty good.”

Meinders first met Bucholz during AAU basketball. But then a South Dakota State basketball camp brought the two closer together. Since then, the two have kept up.

“We keep texting each other throughout the season,” Meinders said. “We text a lot and talk quite a bit, actually.”

But despite all the talking, the Daily Globe-Trojan Holiday Classic provides the two an opportunity to play against each other.

“I think its pretty fun,” Meinders said. “We get pretty competitive on the floor. We like to compete against each other.”

And compete they did. But scoring points isn’t something new for Meinders. So far this season, he has averaged 22 points per game, and is only 14 from scoring his 1,000th career point.

With colleges calling on both players, neither have made their decision yet.

“We only play against each other this one time, that’s it,” Meinders said. “We were talking about college. He hasn’t decided where he wants to go yet, either. He’s like, ‘We should go to the same school and play together.’ It could be a possibility.”

But before Meinders takes his game to the next level, he still has some unfinished business with the Trojans. Tasting defeat for the first time this season, WHS will now look to recover against conference foe Pipestone Area Tuesday.

“We definitely need that throughout the season,” Meinders said. “Last year when we played Mankato West, we got beat by 20. You need that. You need a measuring stick to see where you’re at. Then you need to improve from that game and that’s what we’re going to do.”