Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
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For the second time in two years, injury has knocked Kimball wrestler Jonathon Withrow out of district competition—and a possible trip to state. Last year a concussion kept him from the big dance. This time around, the damage is more serious: a tear in his labral ligament that may require surgery. Even in physicians determine that physical therapy will suffice, Withrow is out of action until the football season. “There’s nothing you can do about it,” he said with a philosophical shrug. In practice after the holiday moratorium, Withrow felt a...
Over the past week I spent several otherwise valuable hours watching “Playmakers” for the sixth or seventh time. For those unfamiliar, ESPN put out “Playmakers” as a mini-series—or, rather, a soap opera for men—back in 2004. It explored life in a fictional NFL team, including references to steroids, cocaine, in-fighting and homosexuality. In response, the league threatened to pull football highlights if the series continued on to a second season. ESPN caved in, cancelling out one of the best dramas seen on television. Freedom is not free, w...
One afternoon I stopped by Racks, a liquor store on the eastern fringe of Scottsbluff. More than a dozen cars and trucks were scattered around the lot, yet inside the clerk slouched behind the counter, all alone. Everyone, he told me, was out back. The cleverly titled Backaracks opened a few months ago, filling out the cavernous space with flat screens, memorabilia, tall stools, billiards and the other familiar sports bar accoutrements. Like so many venues associated with the sports bar genre,... Full story
Single malts from the reaches of Scotland achieved snob appeal during the 80s and 90s, thanks to their unique and often demanding character, as well as America’s newfound appreciation of more “authentic” items. Now, clearly, the market has started to evolve beyond the merits of malts aged 12, 18 or 21 years. Balvenie, a Speyside distillery, produces what they call “doublewood” malt, aged first in the favored American oak casks softened by bourbon then finished in Spanish sherry barrels—presumably to impart a fruitier haze to the finished 12... Full story
In the end, Kimball won in convincing 45-31 fashion Tuesday night at Bridgeport. But the Bulldogs took control from the start and proved difficult to shake. Jason Amateis and Jaime Gonzalez gave the home side a quick 6-0 jump start on back to back threes. The Longhorns drew even with 6-0 run of their own, but it took a netter by Zack Rockhold-O’Brien at the end of one to wrest the lead away. Kimball led 9-8 after the first. “They like to slow things down,” Mike Daum said, explaining the laggi...
Tuesday night’s tense 49-45 win at Bridgeport may have ended with a sigh of relief, but the Longhorns never breathed easy. Down by five in a game they had never led, Kimball began to claw their way even a few minutes into the third quarter. Danika Daum’s put back at the 5:52 mark and another moments later by Darbi Klinkhammer nudged things onto a favorable precipice. Deep into the period, momentum finally tipped in the Longhorns’ favor. Peering in from beyond the top of the key, Kinkhammer spott...
Players, coaches and fans came to the same conclusion after Friday night’s 51-34 home loss to Sidney. “They’re a good team,” said Darbi Klinkhammer, “but we just didn’t show up to play.” The Longhorns turned the ball over four times in the first three minutes, staking Sidney to an 8-0 lead. They were shunned by the rim on their end of the court, hitting just one of eight from the field in the first period. The Red Raiders, meanwhile, tacked on 6 more points, upping the ante to 14-2 before Klinkhammer weighed in with a lay up and a couple for...
Things can change suddenly in basketball. Midway through the third quarter on Saturday evening it looked as if the Longhorns were on their way to win number eight. Austin Pile hit a free throw to extend an 8-2 run. Kimball was on top 32-25 and on a hot streak, having converted 5 of 8 from two-point range in the second period alone. “I thought it would be close,” Mike Daum admitted. “But at that point I thought we could keep the lead.” Sidney’s Cody Frerichs picked at the Longhorns advantage...
With Rowdy Keller and Jonathon Withrow sidelined due to injury, Kimball held little hope of winning Thursday’s home quadrangular on team points. Still, two match wins and one exhibition victory allowed the Longhorns to claim some success from the event featuring two Wyoming squads—Lingle-Ft. Laramie and Southeast—and the familiar blue and gold of the Morrill Lions. Tatum Morgan captured the team’s first match victory on the night, pinning Southeast’s Sean Feagler after almost two minutes o...
Sometimes I wonder if modern pundits and newly minted representatives can even define words like “negotiation” and “compromise.” They are in the dictionary, of course. But most people proclaiming fundamental political beliefs are frightened of books, magazines, websites and even newspapers not churned out by their own kind. When strung together into ideas, it seems, words challenge their hard and fast version of the world. Besides, when a belief is held firmly, as a changeless thing, no amount of logic, fact or persuasion will cause this type t...
Pork tenderloin, cheese curds—the menu leaves no question as to Culver’s birthplace. The relatively young burger chain started in the heart of cheddar country, home to such delicacies as the mild, squeaky, newly solidified bits of acidified milk. Deep fried, they still yield little but some of the unique texture and gentle flavor that distinguish Wisconsin cheese curds. In adopting the “cook to order” model, Culver’s also pays homage to roadside diners scattered throughout the Midwest…w...
The uninitiated might think Irish whiskey brandishes the same pugnacious, brawling character as the “Hell on Wheels” railroad laborers of the wild, wild west--and it is distilled to a greater proof than American bourbons. But blended Irish whiskey owes its popularity to a much less volatile nature. Tullamore Dew, for example, approaches you with fresh, citrusy aromas wrapping around mellow notes of malt and oak. The taste is balanced, with wood and buttery caramel nodding to orange and spice as they pass. The finish is long and more ass... Full story
Despite the lopsided 58-23 result, Caleb Reuter insisted after Saturday’s game that Morrill had been a tough team to put down. “They’re not big, but their guards box out,” he noted. “It wasn’t easy.” The Lions did gain an early 4-2 advantage thanks to a short jumper and a put back by Taylor Lackey. And Jacob Ramirez netted a clever shot from about eight feet out later in the opening period. But the hosts fell silent over the next five minutes. Meanwhile the Longhorns found their mark again and again. Jordon Berger stamped out the early Morrill...
Kimball looked like a different team on Saturday, at least compared to the night before--and Taylor Wismer knew why. “Once our shots start falling we get pumped,” she said. In Friday night’s win over Pine Bluffs, the Longhorns hit on only 17 percent of their shots from the field. Saturday at Morrill, it was a different story: a precise 20 of 29 from inside the arc, a 64-31 road win and a 6-1 start to the season. “It has been a few years since we were 6-1,” noted head coach Ken Smith. The conte...
Brenton Soule beamed after Banner County’s 51-36 victory over Hyannis on Monday. “It was awesome,” he exclaimed with a broad smile. The Wildcats entered Monday night’s home game winless on the year, and just five minutes before had seemed on the verge of letting this one slip away, as well. Although the home side led throughout much of the night, Hyannis closed to within three, 39-36, when big man David Safarik pounded one in from the paint. Banner County tried to counter, but a shot sailed wide. But Soule came sailing into a patch of unguard...
Four different Longhorns scored in the first eight minutes of play coming off the holiday break. A fifth Kimball player—Jessica Hanks—pilfered the ball twice, once feeding Shelby Vogel off the steal for an easy lay up. The eventual outcome, 42-16 in favor of Kimball over visiting Pine Bluffs on Friday night, suggests a team clicking despite a couple weeks of vacation. But the first quarter ended with only 8 Longhorns’ points on the board, thanks to 4 of 13 shooting from the floor and a couple of errant free throw attempts. “A typical first g...
Mike Daum misfired on his first attempt after returning to the lineup following a preseason injury. A few seconds later, however, Kimball fans were treated to a more familiar sight: A well aimed shot lobbed easily from the wing, giving the Longhorns a 3-0 jumpstart on their way to 56-35 romp over Pine Bluffs on Friday. “It felt really good,” the 6’8 junior said of his first points after the lengthy rehab. “It will only get better,” he added. Daum was admittedly erratic in his return, convertin...
When you are Banner County’s girls basketball coach, you learn to look for silver linings. Despite being overshadowed by visiting Hyannis 71-19 on Monday night, Brittany Cooper saw evidence of progress in her young and undersized squad. “Our pace was a lot better,” she observed. “They were aggressive and we matched it.” Unfortunately for Cooper and her side, the Longhorns were also taller and more experienced. Hyannis center Savanna Jamison took full advantage, scoring 19 points in a torrid first quarter performance and 24 on the night. “S...
I’m not much for resolutions, although clearly there’s plenty of room for improvement. For example, I could resolve to learn a musical instrument. But that would require a lot of time, beginning with lengthy lessons in reading music—and I’d rather lounge on the couch watching sports. I could also resolve to visit the weight room once in awhile. Of course, before that happens I need a spell of rehab on a nagging rotator cuff injury—which would necessitate a prolonged period away from my couch and all those channels dedicated to soccer, f...
There’s no pretense about this place. Why should there be in little Hershey, Nebraska? But even the name—Butch’s—conjures mental images of a portly, no nonsense shop owner in a stained white apron plying his cleaver in the days of neighborhood joints and “Father Knows Best.” And, yes, it is a steakhouse, which wedges the Hershey mainstay into an already crowded file of small town grills serving choice, glistening slabs of red meat. Order a strip or ribeye and you know what to expect. Eve...
If whiskey is perfect, there is no reason for flavored versions. Yet distilleries persist… Black Velvet is a leftover from the days when languid women splashed across slick magazine advertising pages to lure Sports Illustrated readers into the vice-ridden world of blended whiskey—if they could tear themselves from the Borkum Riff or smokeless tobacco adds on the facing page. Black Velvet’s Toasted Caramel delves into the same novice market. Regional whiskeys carry hints of grain, barrel, age and the very climate in which they were born. Flavo... Full story
Nick Stull’s ride began in the dusty small town rings of Nebraska’s high school rodeo circuit. It ended on the national stage. A win at Mitchell nudged the Kimball saddle bronc rider into the top four. He knew what was at stake as the final go loomed at state. In the first round he watched as points leader Chauncy Hesseltine of Thedford held on for full time, the only cowboy to earn points. The next day Stull again hit the dirt. Meanwhile Triston Eklund topped the board--again the only com...
The calendar year ended with a form of redemption for Kimball, as the Longhorns pounded Hershey on December 14--nine months after the Panthers knocked them out of playoff contention in the 2011-12 district finals. It was a year of emotion and accomplishment: a new crop of Kimball starters capturing the school’s sixth consecutive WTC title, their first win over Chadron in perhaps two decades, Potter-Dix’s Ty Ottoson repeatedly topping 30 points per game, Longhorns’ head coach Bruce Tjosvold’s 100...
Before the start of 2012’s volleyball schedule, senior hitter Emily Poss promised that Kimball would be hard to beat come the regular season. After the first triangular, her words seemed prophetic. The Longhorns topped Garden County and the Bulldogs—again—to take their record on the young season to 3-0. They faced Bridgeport in the nightcap, taking control 25-19 in the first before battling to a 25-20 win in the second. But the third set against Garden County put Kimball’s newfound confidence on...
The track and field season passed by in a flash as the likes of Taylor Holz, Dalton Lockwood, Peppiina Raisanen and Brent Bussinger blazed a trail to Omaha. In all, Potter-Dix sent 11 to state, Kimball seven and Banner County four. Even before the schedule began, Potter-Dix’s Holz made news by signing a national letter of intent to run for the University of Wyoming. She proceeded to dominate the field in both the 100 meter dash and 100 meter hurdles on her way to an invitation to Omaha. At Mitchell in early April, for example, Holz won the 1...