Articles

From the Catbird Seat...Due process versus the court of public opinion

Our dirty laundry is hanging out, and it’s flapping in the breeze. If you haven’t heard by now, Duluth attorney Bob Mathias, representing the complainants against Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys head hockey coach Dave Esse, released a statement last Friday to the local newspaper and other area media outlets.

League champion Wilderness heads into playoffs

The Minnesota Wilderness effectively had another league championship locked up months ago. They’ve had it locked up officially for nearly a month.

• Nick Szopinski
• Photo gallery: Minnesota Wilderness end league play on top

Board chooses company for facilities study

The Cloquet School Board has selected Kraus-Anderson Construction Company of Circle Pines to conduct a district-wide facilities study which officials hope will be the first step on the road to a new middle school.

’Jacks fall to East in playoff semifinal

It was supposed to be a game of special teams – and boy, was it ever. Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys hockey Coach Dave Esse said before his team’s Section 7AA semifinal with Duluth East that his team needed to score a power-play goal and hold the Greyhounds’ power play off the board for the team to have a chance. That didn’t happen.

• Blocked shot
• Dincau
• Beau Michaud

CEC boys easily win first Section playoff game

Fourth-seeded CEC rode a pair of goals from Karson Kuhlman to a 6-2 win over Forest Lake Tuesday to earn the team a third matchup of the season against Duluth East in Saturday’s noon section semifinal at Amsoil Arena.

• Michaud fires
• Kuhlman
• Bender fires a one-timer
• Celebration

Injuries force Moose Lake to forfeit first-round playoff game

After finishing its regular season with a record of 0-25-0, the Rebels forfeited their first-round Section 5A playoff game to Sauk Rapids on Tuesday night.

Board considers complaint about boys hockey coach

The Cloquet School Board will wait until after the hockey season to finalize an ongoing evaluation of Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys’ head hockey coach Dave Esse.

’Jacks end season too soon

After an impressive 4-0 win over seventh-seeded St. Francis/North Branch in the first round of the Section 7AA playoffs Thursday, the Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls’ hockey team dropped a heartbreaking 6-5 double-overtime decision to Elk River/Zimmerman in the semifinals on Saturday night.

• Langenbrunner
• Photo Gallery: CEC girls out after two playoff games

Boys Hockey Roundup...News about Cloquet-Esko-Carlton and other area teams

The Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys’ hockey team snapped a three-game losing streak with an important 4-2 win over Stillwater on Saturday night at Northwoods Credit Union Arena. In the meantime, the Moose Lake Area boys (0-22-0) lost two games last week.

• Gage Mohelsky

Hockey playoff season is here!

The hockey playoffs are in sight for three area teams, one of which has already clinched its league championship.

Columns

From the Catbird Seat... On the Road

Sunday night – It seems odd for the byline of a local column to be from out of state – in fact, from out of the Central time zone – but on column production day this week, your correspondent is in the Mountain Time Zone.

Fight fiercely, Harvard

Longtime readers of this space know that your correspondent is a dinosaur.

From the Catbird Seat... Stealing Headlines

With spring training just under way and the thoughts of many sports fans now turning to the boys of summer, the National Football League has to find a way to stay in the headlines.

Stealing Headlines

With spring training just under way and the thoughts of many sports fans now turning to the boys of summer, the National Football League has to find a way to stay in the headlines.

In the catbird seat... What do we do with A-Rod?

I don’t suppose it should come as much of a shock that as the new baseball season opens, the talk of the town isn’t pitchers and catchers reporting, it’s who has been rumored to be taking what illegal drug.

Aggressive hockey is back in town

One of the greatest sports movies ever made, Slapshot, contained a marketing slogan as one of its subplots that could be used to describe the 2008-09 UMD men’s hockey team.

From the Catbird Seat... Bowled over – thank goodness

As any regular reader of this column knows, my favorite words in the English language are “pitchers and catchers report.”

From the Catbird Seat... Winning the right way

It is an unfortunate fact of life in high school sports that from time to time, games will be played where one team is much better than the other. That’s the case in college and professional sports as well, but in high school the differences can be more pronounced. One such incident has made national news.

From the Catbird Seat... Until someone gets hurt...

For those of us scratching our heads at the thought of the phrase “NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals,” rest easy. You’re in good company. Just a few weeks ago, when the NFC’s representative in the Super Bowl was being dismantled – not just beaten, mind you, but dismantled by the Minnesota Vikings, what was going through your mind?

From the Catbird seat – The smoke has cleared

The smoke has cleared. The boat has reached bottom after sinking on home turf. It’s now time to evaluate – honestly – the season of the Minnesota Vikings and ask the question every fan asks when a season ends.