The Genz

The South Dakota football team is finishing its spring season in a flourish. Tonight, the Coyotes will host their annual spring game at 7 p.m. in the DakotaDome. It is an opportunity for Coyote nation to catch a glimpse of the team as it focuses on turning around its 4-7 season of 2010. In the previous blog, we addressed the Coyote defense. This blog will focus on the offense, through the eyes of offensive coordinator Wesley Beschorner. Clearly, Beschorner understands that his team needs to add consistency to the game. With nine of 11 offensive starters returning, include key players at quarterback, running back, offensive line and wide receiver, it is a matter of doing the small things and finishing. "We wanted to get better on the little things," said Beschorner, a Lohrville, Iowa, in his sixth season as a coach for USD, including his third as offensive coordinator. "We have some very talented players. They showed definite ability last year but the key is showi...

Since I was a kid, I always dreamed of someday playing in the major leagues. I always imagined what it would be like to step up to the plate, before 60,000 screaming and somewhat delirious fans and hit a game-winning home run. Or, I see myself taking a walk around the mound, picking up the rosin bag, tossing it aside, clicking my cleats on the rubber, releasing a deep breath, and stepping onto the mound where I take the fastball signal, rear back and let it go, A moment later after a big whoosh, Casey is walking back to the bench with a big frown. Dreams often allow us to steal away to a different world - one in which we live out our ultimate fantasy. For most of us, that is where those dreams stay -- la la land. However, every now and then we find someone that has seemingly lived their dream. When I first read about the baseball exploits of Charles "Deacon" Philleppe, I wondered if the South Dakota baseball great had played...

As fall happens, the sports culture is unfurled. It is in those autumn days that baseball winds down, football starts anew as do a host of other sports. Whether it is in the concluding days of the baseball season or opening Friday night of high school football, the elegance of sports is unleashed. For those engaged as players, fans, supporters or for other reasons, games become like novels, played out in human drama. Part of this beauty in sport involves the culture of supporting teams. It is in the clothes we wear, the way we cheer, the behavior before, during and at games and the captivating ways to involve those from across the spectrum. Bands play, young music-interested persons sing, and whole towns unleash their passion on those contested events. From the field to the lockers rooms and in the stands, the event is defined by the rhythm of cheers, play and conversation. These moments are seemingly transcending, beginning under human cover at home and elsewhere...

VERMILLION, S.D. -- As South Dakota football enters week two of spring practice, head football coach Ed Meierkort has his troops focused on "finishing." For him, the answer to future success is both  easy and difficult. "It really comes down to this - winning teams make plays and losing teams do not," said Meierkort, the seventh year coach with a 48-30 overall record at USD. Four times in 2010, South Dakota led in the fourth quarter, only to end up on the wrong side of the final score. The result was a 4-7 campaign, which was the first at South Dakota since 2003, a year before Meierkort arrived on campus. According to Meierkort, "real games" not "blowouts," are contests decided in the fourth quarter and generally come down to four or five plays during the encounter. "I can handpick those plays against Minnesota and I can do the same against North Dakota State," he said. "Against the Bison, when they came up with a 50-yard pla...

 Some memories are worth reliving -- over and over. After watching what the 2010-11 South Dakota women's basketball team accomplished in 2010-11, I couldn't help but reflect on Coyotes' 2007-08 women's basketball season, which include a memorable postseason run. Ryun Williams' current Coyote team had a remarkable second half of the season and a 20-11 record, including a historical first, winning the University's first postseason game in DI history.  In Reflection  Smiles form when your Alma Mater, whether it is high school or college, taste success. When someplace that remains part of who you are enjoys winning moments, you bask in the glory. I always pay attention to Gettysburg High School (SD). When they do well, I smile a bit and every now and then, give a "heck yes" to the Battlers. When they fail, as has been the case numerous times in the football playoffs, I also feel some of the anguish that envelopes team members and supporters. I fe...