Rich's sometimes disjointed rambling

Excuse me if my short-term or long-term memory is lacking, but after picking up the Laramie Rangers American Legion season poster, I began to wonder. Was this the first Rangers poster? I told Laramie manager Sean McKinney I thought it was. I believe it is the first poster in my 19 years of covering the team. Now, I could be wrong. I was in Washington for the 1999-2001 seasons, so that is a possibility. Regardless, it is a sharp looking poster and it is great for McKinney, his players and the program as a whole to come up with one this season. It features a few returners, including all- staters Jon Sorenson and Skyler Joy, along with outfielder and catcher Sean Gardea, pitcher and outfielder Jason Rodriguez and pitcher and utility player Coleton Wilson. Of course, there is the season schedule and the beautiful Laramie sunset in the background of Cowboy Field. All in all, it's a job well done.

The honors keep coming for Laramie High School senior Stephen Michel. The University of Wyoming-bound track athlete was one of 10 Wyoming senior athletes to have been selected as finalists for the Milward Simpson Athlete of the Year Award. The boys’ and girls’ winners of the award will be announced on June 21 during the Wyoming Sports Hall of Fame Banquet in Casper. The other four finalists for the boys award are Cody Emrick of Sundance High School, Erik Heiss of Kelly Walsh High School, Skyler Hoopes of Lusk High School and Rob Johnson of Tongue River High School. The five girls' finalists are Chelsey Lybeck of Cheyenne Central High School, Jordan Merback of Kelly Walsh High School, Maggie Ochsner of Lingle-Fort Laramie High School, Kristen Scheffler of Lovell High School and and Kelsey Scott of Douglas High School. Scheffler will be attending UW on a women’s baskletball scholarship this fall. Michel won eight letters and six all-state awards in track. In outdoor track, he won fiv...

A number of University of Wyoming student-athletes not only enjoyed success on the field of competition in the spring semester of 2008, but they excelled at a high level in their academic fields as well. A total of 177 out of 364 UW student-athletes achieved a semester grade-point average of 3.00 or higher during the 2008 spring semester. That equates to 49 percent of the student-athlete population at UW . In addition to the 177 individuals who achieved a semester GPA of 3.00, 156 individuals maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher, which is 43 percent of the student-athlete population. A total of 91 Cowgirl and Cowboy student-athletes were named to either the President’s List, Vice President’s List, Dean’s List or Freshman Dean’s List. The criteria for the President’s List is achievement of a semester GPA of a perfect 4.00. The Vice President’s List honors those students who achieved a 3.50 or higher GPA for the semester. Dean’s List honorees must earn a 3.40 GPA fo...

GILLETTE -- It was a tough weekend for the Laramie Rangers AA team at the Riders/Rustlers Spring Classic American Legion baseball tournament. Action was rained out on Saturday and Monday. The Rangers would go on to drop a pair of games on Sunday in its only action, falling to Rapid City (S.D.) Post 320 11-10 and to host Gillette 9-1. It was a heartbreaker against Post 320, as the Rangers led 9-7 going into the bottom of the sixth before the Rapid City team would take the lead with a three-run inning. The Rangers came back with a run in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 10-each, before Post 320 won the game with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Mike Hudson paced the Rangers offensively in the game with a pair of singles and one double and two RBI. Mike Garner finished with two singles and two RBI and Max Schoen and Jason Rodriguez both had a pair of hits, with Schoen knocking in two runs. Garner took the loss on the mound, giving up three hits and one run in the final inning....

In an interesting move, Tony Granato is returning as coach of the Colorado Avalanche. The team said Thursday that Granato will take over from Joel Quenneville, who parted ways with the Avalanche two weeks ago by mutual agreement. Granato was 72-33-17-11 when he led the team from 2002 to 2004. He has served as an assistant for the Avs since the 2005-06 season. We'll see if we can get some of the old spark back to the team.

The good news for the Laramie Rangers Wednesday night was that they showed some signs of improvement against Post 6. The bad news is they still lost to the Cheyenne team, 19-9 in six innings at Powers Field in Cheyenne. Laramie jumped on Post 6 with seven runs in the first inning, only to see Post 6 respond with seven runs in the bottom of the first. The Rangers scored single runs in the second and third to go up 9-7, but saw Cheyenne score the game's final 12 runs, including seven in the bottom of the third. The seven-time defending state champions are now 3-0 against Laramie this season, outscoring the Rangers 50-17. For Laramie, second baseman Rylan Harding, first baseman Mike Garner, right fielder and pitcher Jordan Rhodine and left fielder Mike Hudson all had two hits. Harding, catcher Jon Sorenson and third baseman and pitcher Max Schoen all had two RBi in the game, with Sorenson hitting a two-run home run. Cheyenne finished with 16 hits against Laramie pitching, inclu...

The state champion Laramie Plainsmen placed four players on the Class 4A All-State boys’ soccer team. In voting by the state’s coaches, Laramie was represented by keeper Andrew Eslinger, defenders Cody Suder and Keith Kyhl and forward Sean Gardea. The Plainsmen won their second-ever state title on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Casper Kelly Walsh. In the three games, Laramie outscored its opponents 4-0. --- Class 4A Boys All-State Team GOAL KEEPERS: Zack Johnson - Kelly Walsh Andrew Eslinger - Laramie TJ Stender - Sheridan DEFENDERS: Erik Heiss - Kelly Walsh Chris Jorgenson - Natrona Ben Owens - Green River Kyle Howe - Rock Springs Cody Suder - Laramie Brad Ramsey - Cheyenne Central Keith Kyhl - Laramie Kyle Regan - Cheyenne East MIDFIELDERS: Pete Schiel - Cheyenne Central Adrian Beckham - Cheyenne Central Ben Borin - Cheyenne East Jorge Arenas - Cheyenne East Jonathan Whipple - Cheyenne Central Luke Underwood - Kelly Walsh Matt Neely - Kelly Walsh Gentry Shreve - Natrona Kevin Gold - Ro...

Laramie High School's Stephen Michel left no doubt this past weekend at the Wyoming State Track and Field Championships in Casper. He is the top male athlete in Wyoming track and field history. Michel won four state titles on Friday and Saturday and set state records (all-classifications) in three of them. There have been some great track and field athletes throughout the years in Wyoming, but no one can top Michel's feats. On Friday, Michel had a personal best in winning the long jump (23-feet, 8 inches). That was the only record he didn't shatter. On Saturday, he set new Wyoming records in winning the 100-meter dash (10.65 seconds), 200 meters (21.36) and triple jump (48-9 1/2). Michel turned in a record 10.50 in the 100 prelims. On Saturday, Michel ended his Plainsmen career with 12 indoor and outdoor championships. He'll now turn his attention to the University of Wyoming after signing a letter-of-intent earlier this spring. If you compare his times and distances l...

The Laramie Rangers AA American Legion baseball team bounced back from a season-opening rough start to take a pair from the WESTCO Zephyrs ( Scottsbluff - Gering , Neb.) on Sunday in Scottsbluff . Laramie won the first game 11-3 before taking the nightcap 8-6. The Rangers are now 2-3 on the season. In the previous weekend, the Rangers were outscored by Cheyenne Post 6 and Gillette 46-15. In the first game, Laramie scored five runs in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth to pull away. Max Schoen got things going for Laramie with a two-run single in the second inning and then added a RBI double in the fourth. Also in the fourth, Skyler Joy and Rylan Harding had RBI triples. Schoen added another RBI double in the fifth. The 14-year-old Schoen finished with three hits and four RBI to lead the Rangers. Joy had four hits, with Harding adding a single and a triple. Coleton Wilson picked up the win on the mound, scattering seven hits in five innings. Barry Thomas pitched the fina...

History is just a shot or two away for the Laramie High School soccer teams. Both the Plainsmen and Lady Plainsmen are playing for the Wyoming state soccer championships Saturday at the UW Soccer Stadium. The Laramie Lady Plainsmen continued their solid play Friday to advance to the title game by dumping Casper Natrona 4-0 in the semifinals and will face Cheyenne East in Saturday's finals. East edged crosstown rival C heyenne C entral 2-1 in the other semi. The Laramie-East matchup will begin at 2 p.m. The Lady Plainsmen, now 15-1-0, have outscored their opponents 10-0 in the two state games, beating Rock Springs 6-0 on Thursday. The Plainsmen, 14-1-2, earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over rival Cheyenne Central on Friday and will face second-ranked Casper Kelly Walsh at 4 p.m. on Saturday in the title game. Kelly Walsh beat Cheyenne East 4-1 in the other semifinal game on Friday. Two wins by the Laramie teams would mark the first time both schools have won state soccer title...

It proved to be a good first day for the home teams. Both Laramie High School soccer teams opened the Wyoming State Championships in L aramie with shutout victories. It didn't take long for the No. 1 Laramie Lady Plainsmen to get going in the first round, as they blasted Rock Springs 6-0. Laramie scored all six goals in the first half. The top-ranked Plainsmen, meanwhile, had another outstanding defensive effort, blanking Green River, 2-0. The win sets up a semifinal matchup for the Lady Plainsmen (14-1-0) against Casper Natrona on Friday. Natrona edged Gillette 2-1. The other semifinal contest will pit Cheyenne Central vs. Cheyenne East. Central routed Star Valley 7-0, while East edged Kelly Walsh 2-1. Both semifinal games will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. Laramie plays Natrona on the UW field #2, with the East-Central matchup on UW Field #1. In the loser-out games on Friday, Kelly Walsh faces Star Valley at 9 a.m. on UW Field #1 and Rock Springs plays Gillette at 9 a....

If the name sounds familiar, there’s a reason: Bob Knapton isn’t exactly a stranger to Laramie and the University of Wyoming. The new Laramie High School head football coach’s brother, Jeff, was a four-year letterman as a defensive lineman for the Cowboys the mid-1980s. His oldest son, Gabe, is the starting middle linebacker at UW as a redshirt freshman. Bob Knapton, who played linebacker for the University of Northern Colorado with current UW linebacker’s coach Marty English, was officially named the new Plainsmen head coach Wednesday night at the Albany County School Board meeting. He replaces Neil Waring, who resigned this season after three years at the helm. It’s been a tough go for their once proud LHS football program, as the Plainsmen have struggled to a 7-36 record in the last five years. Since finishing 9-1 in 2000, the Plainsmen have had three winless seasons -- one each under Deti Jr., Phil Treick and Waring.

Interim UW wrestling coach B en VomBaur has stepped into a nice situation, as the Cowboy wrestling program's recruiting class is ranked 11 th in the country by W.I.N. Magazine. “A nationally ranked recruiting class is a step in the right direction and a taste of things to come for this program,” VomBaur said. “Our staff worked very hard to sign guys that are a good fit for the Wyoming wrestling team and it looks to be the best recruiting class in several years.” Before longtime head coach Steven Suder resigned after a decorated 19 year career, he assembled one of the best recruiting classes in Wyoming history. Eric Jones (149-157) of Auburn, Wash., is ranked seventh in the nation. L.J. Helbig (184-197) of Mason Mich., along with Idaho 215- pounders Jacob Scharbrough of Weiser High are both ranked eighth and Alfonso Hernandez of Blackfoot High School, is ranked 11 th . They have combined for five state crowns and will add some much needed depth to the Cowboys middle and he...

Wyoming's Jay Petsch opened the decathlon in fifth place on Wednesday to begin the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. Petsch has 3,408 points, with BYU's Chase Dalton leading after five events with 3.690 points. Petsch placed third in the 100-meter dash in 11.16 seconds, then slipped to sixth in the long jump with a leap of 20-feet, 9 1/4 inches. He was seventh in the shot put at 34-7 1/5, seventh in the high jump at 5-7 1/4 and first in the 400 in 49.18. "Jay is doing a great job and hanging tough with some of the best in the conference," Wyoming assistant coach Quincy Howe said . "He ended the day on a great note by winning and setting a new personal best in the 400-meter dash and in the 100-meter dash. He is a tough competitor and will leave it all out on the track tomorrow." The decathlon and heptathlon will finish up Thursday with the final five events, beginning at noon. (MT)

Bundle up state soccer fans. You'll at least need some winter outerwear for Thursday's opening round games. The forecast for Thursday is rain and snow and highs around 46 degrees. The rest of the tournament looks better weather-wise, especially Saturday when it could be back in the upper 60s and sunny. Despite the weather, the Class 4A and 3A tournaments have the makings of some outstanding soccer. For Laramie fans, it could be a special tournament. Both Plainsmen and Lady Plainsmen teams go into the tournament No. 1 -- a first-ever for the Laramie programs. The Lady Plainsmen are nothing but on a roll, winners of 13 straight games after a season-opening loss to Gering , Neb., in which the Laramie roster wasn't at full force. The Plainsmen have just one loss on the season as well and a couple of ties and have been playing very well as of late. Being No. 1 going into the tournament doesn't guarantee a thing. Both Laramie teams have to play their game to come out succ...

It was a tough season opener for the Laramie Rangers AA squad. Laramie had its original opener rained out on Saturday, but was able to take to the field on Sunday against Cheyenne Post 6 and Gillette. The Rangers fell to Gillette 15-7 and to Post 6 16-3. In both games , one bad inning proved to be costly. Laramie gave up 11 runs in the third inning against the Roughriders and 10 runs in the second inning against Post 6. Post 6 also beat Gillette 9-4 on Sunday. Update: The Rangers returned to action Monday night and dropped a tough 15-5 decision to Post 6 in Cheyenne. As was the case in the first two games, Laramie played well at times, but a couple of late innings made it a lop-sided defeat. Laramie led 5-4 before Cheyenne scored the game's final 11 runs in the last two innings.

I'm a little surprised about this: Joel Quenneville is out as coach of the Colorado Avalanche after three seasons. Quenneville was 131-92-23 in Denver, but just 2-2 in playoff series after inheriting a team that was on the slide after a decade of dominance in the NHL. Avalanche general manager Francois Giguere said that the decision was mutual. "After meeting with Joel, we mutually agreed that the best decision for both parties involved is to go separate ways," Giguere said in a team statement. Quenneville was an assistant with the Avalanche during their Stanley Cup run in 1996, then was hired away by St . Louis. He spent eight seasons with the Blues, becoming the team's winningest coach with 307 victories. In 2004, Quenneville became the fourth coach in Avalanche history. Quenneville coached his 800 th game this season, joining Bob Pulford and Jacques Lemaire as the only coaches in NHL history to both play and coach in 800 or more games. The Avs were swept...

University of Wyoming basketball coach Heath Schroyer has announced basketball camps for this summer -- the Little Shooters’ Camp and the Cowboy Shooting Camp on June 10-11, Father/Son Camp on June 7-8, and the Instructional Camp on June 12-15. The camps will also feature current and former UW players. You can find more information on their website: www.wyomingathletics.cstv.com and click on men’s basketball and 2008 summer camps. Schroyer is also announcing his team camp: Cowboy Team Camp on July 6-8. The Cowboy Team Camp includes 8 th and 9 th grade leagues, as well as junior varsity and small and large varsity leagues. For more i nformation , contact the men's basketball office at 766-5114.

The Laramie Rangers will open the season this weekend in Cheyenne against Post 6 and Gillette. They won't open their home schedule until June 4 against Scottsbluff, Neb. In between, it will be a tough slate for the American Legion AA team, with several strong opponents. Of course, this weekend the Rangers will face the seven-time defending state champions for a pair of games and last year's state runner-ups for a pair. Laramie will then hit the road for a twinbill at Scottsbluff on May 18, face Post 6 again on May 21 and then compete in the Riders Spring Classic May 24-26 in Gillette, where it will face Rapid City, S.D., Gillette and Spearfish, S.D. On May 29, Laramie will travel to Greeley, Colo., to face the Greeley GoJos. It might be an understatement to say that Rangers manager Sean McKinney isn't backing down. To get your program back up to a strong level, you have to play a strong schedule. The Rangers are doing just that. The Rangers will have a nice home schedule on...

The University of Wyoming athletics training room was recently named Co-Sports Medicine Staff of the Year at the 2008 Mountain West Conference physicians and athletics trainers meeting in Las Vegas. BYU also earned the honor, which is named after long time BYU athletics trainer George F. Curtis ATC, who recently retired. This is the first year of the award and it is voted on by the members of the committee. “This is an honor to receive this award. It is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the sports medicine staff at the University of Wyoming,” Wyoming head athletic trainer Robb Williams said in a release. “You win with great people. We have those people here that are supported by a great athletics department and university who strive for superior health care for our student-athletes. Our whole organization of health care providers will all share in this honor.” This is an annual meeting made up of physicians and certified athletics trainers from the MWC, which has gather...

The University of Wyoming athletics department recently released the results of a market research study "designed to understand Wyoming football fans and their experience." There were a couple of surprises and many facts that UW fans probably already knew. The biggest surprise in my mind was the survey on attendance. The survey indicated that the current record of the team played less of a factor than the opponent and the weather in attendance. Evidently, it doesn't matter how good the Cowboys are; just as long as the weather is nice and the opponent is good. I just find that hard to believe. I understand that if the weather is bad, the crowd will likely be less than normal. That's a given. But to me, if the Cowboys are 7-0, compared to 2-5, you're going to see more fans in the stands. As far as I am concerned, that is a given. The survey also wasn't kind to the city of Laramie and to UW in its attempts to promote a good time for the fans. Data reveals tha...

Laramie is consistently turning into a little soccer town. The Blizzard youth program has always been strong and has produced quality programs. Laramie High School is now reaping those benefits. Both LHS teams recently completed the regular season as 4A East Conference champions. with their 2-1 win over Cheyenne Central on Monday, the Plainsmen (8-0-2 in conference, 10-1-2 overall) won what is thought to be their first-ever regular-season title. The Lady Plainsmen (10-0-0, 11-1-0), after suffering a short-handed loss to Gering , Neb., to begin the season, haven't lost since. Both teams now going into their respective regional tournaments (boys at Gillette, girls at Cheyenne) this weekend as the No. 1 seeds . All the Plainsmen and Lady Plainsmen are playing for is seeding for next week's state tournament in Laramie. Both have clinched state berths. Veteran Laramie boys coach Andy Pannell and Lady Plainsmen coach Anne Hawley should be congratulated for not only building these...

Congratulations to former UW deputy athletics director and senior woman administrator Barbara Burke for being named the recipient for the 2008 Dr. Albert C. Yates Distinguished Service Award. The Dr. Albert C. Yates Award, named in honor of the former Colorado State University president, is bestowed upon an individual who has successfully supported, promoted and exemplified the ideals of the Mountain West Conference or a member institution. Burke is just the seventh recipient of the award, joining Linda Estes, former New Mexico senior woman administrator; Elaine Michaelis , former BYU head volleyball coach and women's athletics director; LaVell Edwards, former BYU head football coach; Rudy Davalos , former New Mexico athletics director; Dr. Larry Gerlach , former Utah faculty athletics representative and Marsha Smeltzer , former Colorado State senior woman administrator. An active member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of America ( NACDA ) and National Ass...

Continue to bear with me as I complete my makeover (my Website, not me personally. I'm a lost cause there). This is an attempt to make somewhat of a living as an I nternet journalist. Previously on Wyoming Sports.org, there was no way I could sell advertising on my Web provider. Now I can. As I have now changed Web providers, hopefully I can do a few things that I couldn't before. There are still plenty of bugs to be worked out (on the Web and in my own mind). I'm going to attempt to put on some previous articles that I had on the previous site from spring football and Cowboy and Cowgirl basketball. Not all, but some for archive purposes. And I hope to get going for some updated coverage soon at UW , Laramie High School and the youth scene ( particularly American Legion and Colts baseball this s ummer ). Eventually, I hope to have a little of everything (at least of what I can manage) once I really get going. That leads me to a little advertising. If there are any prospec...

If you are a fan of Denver pro sports -- Rockies, Nuggets, Avalanche and Broncos -- yikes. First of all, I would qualify myself as a fan of some of those teams, although none are No. 1 on my personal list. At this time, the Rockies would be my No. 2 team in baseball (Twins No. 1). I'm not a big hockey fan mainly from the lack of exposure to the sport. But when I follow hockey, I root for the Avs . The Nuggets, well, let's put it this way ... if I were a big NBA fan and wanted to get behind a team, I'd love to get behind the Nuggets. But I'm not, so I can't. The Broncos ... let's just say I follow them because of the proximity , but it doesn't hurt my feelings when they lose. As a Packers fan, need I say more. Now lets go back and revisit what is going on with these programs. Rockies: I'll still maintain that they have a good, young and talented team. Unfortunately, after last year's late-season triumph, you could almost say that they are in a sopho...

The Front Range Invitational is still scheduled to go on Saturday at the Louis S. Madrid Sports Complex. The meet will be the second ever at the complex, as the Cowboys hosted the Wyoming Invite last May. The teams competing for the traveling Front Range Invite trophy will be the University of Colorado, Colorado State, Northern Colorado, Air Force Academy and the University of Wyoming. The meet begins with the field events at 10 a.m. and the track events starting at high noon, with the gates opening at 9 a.m. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for kids, University of Wyoming students are free with valid student I.D. Entrance is through the main entrance at the South end of the track, located at the corner of 30 th and Willett Street. The Cowboys and Cowgirls have four regional qualifiers thus far this season in senior Cowgirls Gretchen Johnson in the 5,000-meter run and Kate Burton in the hammer throw. Junior thrower Courtney Gougler has also met the regional qual...

Former University of Wyoming All-America tight end Jay Novacek was selected to the 2008 College Football Hall of Fame Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) Class on Thursday. Novacek was one of 15 individuals picked for the 2008 class by the National Football Foundation ( NFF ) & College Hall of Fame. Novacek , who played at Wyoming from 1982-84, was named a Consensus All-American in 1984. He still holds the NCAA record for highest average gain per reception by a tight end in a single season (22.6 yards per reception in 1984). He was not only a First Team All-American in football, but also earned All-America honors in track and field in ‘84, placing fourth at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in the decathlon. Novacek caught 83 career passes for 1,536 yards and 10 touchdowns during his three-year college career at Wyoming. He went on to win three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys at the conclusion of the 1992, ‘93 and ‘95 seasons. Novacek was twice named...