John Gordon & Minnesota Twins Baseball

When I was hired at the radio station many years ago one of my jobs was "running Minnesota Twins baseball" on KSOO 1140 AM. Tonight marks the last night I will "run" a Minnesota Twins game with John Gordon calling the game. He will retire after calling 25 years worth of games for the Minnesota Twins.

For me John Gordon was Minnesota Twins baseball. That's when I first became a fan of the Minnesota Twins. As a kid growing up I listened to him and Herb Carnel all the time.  I never had cable tv growing up so listening to the radio was the only way to go. John first came to Minnesota in 1987, the first year we won a world series. I remember sitting in the living room with the game on tv and listening to John and Herb's call from WCCO radio as the Twins went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games. The older I got the more and more I listened to Twins baseball. I would listen to Twins baseball playing basketball in the driveway or driving tractor on the family farm. I still remember where I was when the Minnesota Twins won 15 games in a row in 1991 before they went on to beat the Atlanta Braves in 7 games in the World Series. The highlights of my summers growing up were always going to at least one Minnesota Twins baseball game at the Metrodome with the family. One of the last family trips we took to the Twins game was "Kirby Puckett Weekend". I will never forget that weekend because my favorite baseball player growing up was being honored by the Minnesota Twins. Kirby Puckett was also John Gordon's favorite player as well. His favorite call was the home run he hit to send the Twins to the 7th game of the World Series in 1991.

Fast forward to April 1998 when I get hired by the radio station to "run Twins baseball". John Gordon has had so many great calls over the years. Just this year I was "working" the game on May 3rd when he called Francisco Liriano's no hitter but my favorite of all time is the homer that Kirby hit to send the Twins to the 7th game of the 1991 world series and then the gem that Jack Morris pitched the next night to win the second world series for the Minnesota Twins.

I have been truly blessed to listen to John Gordon over the years and call that work. I think I can safely say that he has touched so many lives around Twins territory that he will be missed. "Touch'em all John Gordon, Touch'em all!" You deserve it! Thanks for a great 25 years with the Minnesota Twins!

Just in case you missed it...

I am going to take a break from South Dakota high school sports just a minute and talk about the WNBA. For those of you that missed it and I know there are a lot of you... The WNBA just finished up their 15th season with some exciting basketball this past summer. With all the professional teams in Minnesota not doing so well the best team in Minnesota is the Lynxs. For those of you that missed it the Minnesota Lynxs just completed their best season in franchise history finishing 27-7 and on there way to the WNBA Finals vs either the Atlanta Dream or  the Indiana Fever starting on Oct 2nd at the Target Center! Congrats to Lindsey Whalen, S. Augustus, Maya Moore, C. Wiggins and the entire Minnesota coaching staff!  Just when you thought a Minnesota team couldn't give you something to cheer about you have the Lynxs! Hope you check them out the next time they play on ESPN2. They are a good team that is fun to watch. Good Luck in the finals.

We will have high school football this Friday at 8pm on 1140 KSOO AM. It will be the Lincoln Patriots hosting the Sturgis Scoopers at Howard Wood Field.

Go Lynxs! 

Football Friday on ESPN 99.1 FM

Join ESPN 99.1 tonight for high school football with Brad Peterson and Jeff Fyling starting at 5:40pm for the Lincoln Patriots and the Brandon Valley Lynxs. Also on the schedule tonight are Sioux Falls O'Gorman traveling to Sturgis, Sioux Falls Roosevelt traveling to Stevens and Washington traveling north to play Watertown. Can Mitchell bounce back after there tough loss last week to BV? They travel to Pierre to take on the Govs. Also in AA Brookings travels to Yankton for the Bucks homecoming. Some other games of interest tonight include #2 in 11B Tri-Valley (3-0) at Dell Rapids starting at 7pm. Harrisburg travels to Hartford tonight to take on West Central, both teams 3-1 with the winner getting the upper hand in the playoffs.  Another game in Sioux Falls tonight is the Sioux Falls Christian Chargers playing host to McCook Central/Montrose in their homecoming game. Some exciting games of high school football tonight! Keep it tuned in to ESPN 99.1 for all your up to date scores from around the area and a great game between the Lynxs and Pats! What are some other games that I missed that you would like me to talk about? If you want to hear the game click on the link below. Thanks for listening and reading my blog! By the way, the sports buffet starts at 3pm!

http://www.espn991.com/

How old do you have to be to play competitive sports?

As we wait for the high school basketball season to get started I am going to ask a question that I would like feedback on... In our local paper this past weekend they were talking about the stress of an athlete on kids. My question to you is how young do you start your kids in competitive sports? Can kids handle the pressure that comes with sports at a young age? Are we pushing our kids to hard in these sports?

In my opinion I feel that its the parents responsibility to choose when they feel their child is ready to play the sport they want but the child has got to want to do it. Every year it seems to me that kids are getting younger and younger when playing competitive sports and its because that is what the parents want not the child. Play because you love the sport not because mom or dad made me try it... Your turn. I want to hear from you. Thanks for listening to ESPN 99.1. Listen this Friday as Brad Peterson and Jeff Fyling have the call at 6pm cdt with the Lincoln Patriots and the Brandon Valley Lynxs. Can the Pates knock off the Lynxs after the Lynxs upset Mitchell? Also answer my poll question about who you think the early favorite to win  the state title in "AA" football will be. Thanks for reading my blog. Tell a friend!

2011/12 season of high school sports

I'm back with a new look! The famous Michael Jordan line from when he came back into the league. I know I told you I was going to blog about the Minnesota Twins during the summer but my summer got away from me and before you know it here we are in the football season already. I am really excited for another basketball season that is still two months away. As the time gets closer to start the basketball season I will be previewing most of the teams around the area and making my wild predictions on how I think the season will unfold. So follow my blog so you can stay tuned to my basketball preview coming really soon.  Also tune into ESPN 99.1 for all your high school football coverage with Brad Peterson and Jeff Fyling.

Question I want comments about: Teams and Players to watch in the upcoming 2011/12 high school boys/girls' basketball season? Thanks for reading.