Area high school athletic teams have been gearing up for Monday, the official start of practices for many fall high school sports in the Cornhusker State. Area high school football, girls softball, girls golf and boys tennis teams will see their first official practice sessions Monday. Girls volleyball plus boys and girls cross-country wait a week for the start of fall practices on Monday, Aug. 17...

Yours truly has witnessed some truly magic moments in Nebraska football history as a Husker fan watching in person and on TV, and as a photographer fortunate enough to have sideline access at Memorial Stadium. Some of my favorites -- Eric Crouch's touchdown catch against Oklahoma. ...

I enjoy what I perceive as one of the greatest jobs on the face of God's green earth. I have a front-row seat to experience one of the passions in my life -- sports -- and I get the opportunity to try and bring those sporting events to life in black and white for Gazette readers. ...

'm going to admit, there has been a few times that I've thought about paying a late-night visit to the new McCook Community College Events Center. I've driven past the new $10 million home for MCC athletics many times on my way home in the past month, eagerly anticipating the Wednesday, Aug. ...

Make sure to extinguish your fireplace fires Saturday night, because Santa Claus is coming to town. So Ol' St. Nick doesn't burn you and leave your toy stash short, don't burn him first with flames at the bottom of your flue Christmas eve. Will Santa treat you well? Have you been good? We'll know the answer to those questions early Sunday morning...

It's the Nebraska Class B high school football equivalent of the Super Bowl Friday night, Sept. 2, at Weiland Field. Hope all the sports fans (and everyone else) are making plans to be on hand when our McCook Bison host the Aurora Huskies in another edition in the classic high school football rivalry that has developed over the past few years...

Tis the season, the wonderful time of the year for celebrating Christmas with family and friends. The time of giving, especially to those less fortunate and to those in need. The time for celebrating another year of waking up alive each morning (as opposed to the alternative) The time for reflecting on the year that is almost past, and time to start thinking about all those new year's resolutions we will make and break, probably within a few months, weeks, days, even hours after the first tick of the clock in 2011 comes a week from Friday night.. ...

I've been having this mental image ever since I sat down for a few minutes Wednesday night and watched Sports Center on ESPN. Imagine Memorial Stadium, football Saturday in Lincoln, the Sea of Red with wall-to-wall carpet. A real Crimson (Scarlet) Tide.....

I would reason a guess that ol' Hank Jr. is warming up, getting ready to belt out the musical question many football fans anxiously await about this same time every year. I'm ready -- are you? Ready or not, the pigskin season is fast approaching. The NFL teams have been at work already this week in their respective training camps. ...

Husker football fans will likely mark this day, Friday, June 11, 2010, as a day in infamy. For better or worst. The scenarios, the speculation, rumors have been flying all around the Cornhusker State this week with the likelihood that Nebraska will bolt from the Big 12 Conference to join the Big Ten. ...

Ya-hoo! Is everybody in the pool? How's your NCAA men's basketball pool going? C'mon, be honest. How many of you had Murray State a 13th seed upsetting No. 4 seed Vandy? Or even better, how many of you March Madness prognosticators correctly tabbed Ohio, a 14th seed, upsetting No. 3 Georgetown? That's Ohio U., the guys in green -- not The Ohio State U. Buckeyes...

I'm sure some people might give me a dazed look when I say that the McCook girls basketball team is improving. The Bison girls have not won a game at the varsity level yet this season. First-year head coach Jeff Ellis inherited a young, inexperienced squad, and his team struggled early in the campaign...

Is there a full moon hitting major college football coaches? It's always a crazy, coaching-carousel time after the regular season and around bowl games, as coaches jump to greener pastures or jockey to fill the void left by coaches jumping to greener pastures. Or coaches do crazy things -- perhaps under the pressure of winning to placate the big-bucks boosters at their respective universities -- like order players locked in closets, or motivate players with a halftime grab and slap...

There's been a certain lady that hides in the back room of the Gazette building (she knows who she is) that has been singing Christmas carols for the last few weeks, and I'm sure she has crooned a few bars of "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas..." So I'm giving her a little bit of credit for the winter weather that has blanketed us this week...

I'd love to complain about the recent frigid weather that has rolled into our area, but I can't forget it was shirt-sleeve weather about a week ago. What were the temperatures last week, the first few days of December, perhaps in the 60s for a day or two? Sixties in western Nebraska in early December? I'll take that any December, even if it means suffering the cold and snow that we've seen these past few days...

Tis the season to be thankful for such things as stretch pants, extra notches in your belts, double-XL shirts. Hope all the sports fans out there had a wonderful Thanksgiving and survived the Turkey Day festivities, both the pre-dinner stuffing of the turkey and all the hard work preparing the holiday feast, and the stuffing that came after you sat down to enjoy dinner...

Hayes Center head coach Scott Jorgensen shouldn't be too hard to spot in Lincoln next Monday. First of all, he will be one of only 12 head coaches of Nebraska high school football teams still in action in the state playoff championship games. If he doffs his hat, the new hair style will be a dead giveaway...

I've heard a few devoted Husker football fans in recent weeks complaining about the state of the Cornhusker State's beloved Big Red. Those fans, along with all the former national championship coaches now employed as sports writers for the state's big daily newspapers (my small attempt at sarcasm) have offered opinions on the struggles of Coach Bo Pelini's offense this season. ...

Did it snow in Hastings today? That probably would have been a plus for the McCook Bison girls softball team. Not rain nor snow or sleet slowed down McCook during the Class B-6 District Tournament at Chadron last weekend. The Bison dropped a one-run decision to Lexington in opening-round action last Thursday dropping the locals into the loser's bracket. ...

Another 'Kodad' Moment