The Genz

With Mitchell (SD) teams ranked #1 in both girls and boys basketball, it begs the question of how many times a high school has won both championships in the same year? With the help of the South Dakota High School Activities Association yearbooks, dual  boys/girls championships by the same high school has occurred six times in 36 years, since the start of girls championships in 1975. Before listing the six schools that have won boys/girls titles in the same year, it should be pointed out that the girls' first champions were Jefferson (65-33 over Mobridge/NWLA) in Class B and Yankton (39-34 over Watertown) in Class A. The boys championships date back to 1912 when Redfield defeated Lake Preston, 33-25, in the original one-class system. The six dual boys/girls champions include: 1978 : The Yankton Bucks captured the boys A title in a 58-35 win over Watertown while the Yankton Gazelles defeated Belle Fourche, 64-54, for the girls A crown. 1982 : The Pierre Governors won ...

Conversation about  Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning's future hit a fever pitch this week on sports talk radio, TV, newspapers and the Internet. Everyone seems to have an opinion on whether Manning remains a member of the Indianapolis Colts, retires, or if the future Hall of Famer will wear different colors next season. Even Manning himself, apparently, doesn't have the answer. In a column in the Indianapolis Star , Manning said: "I mean, it's 20 degrees, it's snowing, the building is absolutely empty except when you see coaches cleaning out their offices. I guess it's the reality of the football world, just not something I've had to deal with very often. But I'm in there every day, so I have to sit there and see it. Everybody's being evaluated and I'm no different. It's not the best environment. I just want to pay tribute to all those guys. It's unfortunate because so many o...

Editor's note -- This story was featured in a Coyote Lore column I wrote for the RedEye publication earlier this year. Since Carl Hoy was a remarkable man, who always cared for students first, I wanted to share the story as part of my Pride of the Dakota Series that I do periodically in this blog. The monthly RedEye publication is put together by PrintSource in Vermillion, S.D. and is a tabloid on The University of South Dakota athletics, past and present . Carl B. “Rube” Hoy has been gone 38 years, but his life philosophy still offers a roadmap for anyone that wants to believe anything is possible. Hoy was one of the most colorful personalities to grace the campus of The University of South Dakota.   A Coyote men’s basketball coach and then athletic director from    1927 to 1956, Hoy gave his heart and soul to young people. All his life, he stressed teamwork and helping others while living out his passion of coaching his “University boys.” His daughter Nancy ...

Every now and then, a game stirs conversation, not for one day or week, but generations. Such will be the case, I believe, with the classic 2011 prep football battle between Lincoln/Washington in a jaw-dropping President Bowl matchup early in the season. Lincoln's 37-36 come-from-behind victory ranks among the best ever, at least from this prep observer. Recently, I was talking with a friend about the prep football season and how the state championships included just one game that went to the wire (Tri-Valley's 18-14 win over McCook Central/Montrose in 11B). As we carried on the discussion, the talk centered on the best games of the year, including the pulsating finish turned out in the Washington/Lincoln game at the President's Bowl. The week two encounter featured a two-time defending champion, ranked #1, on a 27-game winning streak against a third-ranked team that had arguably the AA's most explosive offense with one of the state's greatest-ever qu...

It has been a couple of months since the prep football season concluded and with it some of the great performances in memory. With the new year started, it is proper to take a look back at some interesting facts about SD prep gridiron doings, past and lately. In the 2011 SD High School championships, all the higher seeded teams won titles, including Waverly/South Shore in 9B, Canistota in 9A, Bridgewater/Emery/Ethan (11-1) in 9AA, Tri-Valley in 11B, Dell Rapids (11-1) in 11A and Roosevelt (11-1) in 11AA. Three teams finished the year undefeated, Tri-Valley (12-0), Canistota (12-0) and Waverly/South Shore (12-0). Two champions, BEE and Dell Rapids, had only one loss and that was to a titlists from another class. Dell Rapids lost to 11B's Tri-Valley, 21-14; while BEE fell to 9A's Canistot, 34-26. And, Roosevelt? They lost only to SF Washington, 34-29, in the final week of the regular season. Dell Rapids in 11A and Bridgewater/Emer...

Every time I watch a college basketball game, the image of John Wooden always seems to pop into my mind. I am not sure why. In truth, I was never much of a UCLA fan. During the Bruins’ winning years, I often rooted against the Bruins, always hoping they would fail. But, in the end, the Wooden-led teams most often prevailed and in a classy way. Coach Wooden was always kind and respectful of opponents and everyone he met or talked with; was a keen mind and brilliant strategist on the basketball court. At least from this writer’s perspective, Wooden, who died in 2010, was not only the greatest-ever college basketball coach but also a great man. Nearly every day, I am reminded about Wooden from clippings that hang in a frame on my bedroom wall. Years ago when my uncle Ed Ralston passed away, he left some old clippings, including several from the San Diego Union about Wooden’s final championship, his 10thin his 12 years. While I did not root for UCLA, I always respected the school...

Sometimes I just shake my head. I wonder why honoring committees, whether it be state, university or professional, wait until a person is gone before they are recognized. Having worked with both the University of South Dakota Coyote Sports Hall of Fame and now with the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, I can tell you first-hand that a lot of candidates have credentials that make them deserving ofn recognition. I know it is a difficult task in making  decisions on who deserves enshrinement. It takes a lot of deliberation and hard work. Still, I wonder why we don't act when we know a deserving person is in the final stages of life. I acknowledge that sometimes, it can't be helped. And, yes, decisions on Hall of Fame inductions (and other honoring events) is subjective. Still... Until it was announced earlier this fall by Baseball's Veteran's Hall of Fame Committee, Ron Santo, one of baseball's all-time greats at third base, was continually bypass...