By CHRIS WALTERSKIRCHEN
The University of Montana softball team has yet to play their first game or even produced their first Media Guide and yet one of their freshman recruits has already appeared on a UM team poster and on the team photo. On the Grizzly basketball poster and media guide before the 1997-98 seasons featured a photo the Grizzly basketball team celebrating their Big Sky tournament. In the photo Griz star Brandon Dade is holding the 13 month old daughter of teammate Kirt Walker. Now Dani Walker is all grown up and an outstanding softball pitcher. Kirt Walker was a scoring machine while playing High School basketball for the Darby Tigers.
The Grizzly basketball schedule isn’t out yet for the 2014-15 season, but the PAC-12 has their conference schedule set for the coming season and Griz fans might be torn on February 19. The 19th of February is a Thursday and that night the Utah Utes will be in Corvallis Oregon to face the Beavers of Oregon State. Larry Krystiowiak’s UTES are coming off a 20 win season while Wayne Tinkle OSU Beavers haven’t been to an NCAA tournament since 1990.
When you hear Justin Beiber’s name you don’t think football, but here one for you. In the 2008 season the Green Bay Packers had a running back by the name of Justin Beaver. Justin Beaver had led Wisconsin-Whitewater to a pair of division III titles before spending time with the home state Packers.
The last time the Major League baseball All-star game was held in Minnesota was 1985 and the national League won for the 22nd time in the previous 24 All-Star games. Something about that 1985 loss must have sparked the American League as they have won 20 of the intervening 29 All-Star Games. The first time the All-Stars came to Minnesota was 1965 and mangers for that all-Star game provide an interesting story. The traditional arrangement was for the pennant winning managers from the previous season to get the assignment for the All-Star Game. However both managers from the 1964 World Series had switched teams and leagues, so Twins Manager Sam Mele got the AL manager’s spot and then Phillies manager Gene Mauch got the National League gig. It would be Mauch’s only All-Star appearance.
Derek made his first appearance in a major League game on May 29, 1995 at the Kingdome in Seattle (to put that in perspective, that was 2 days after A Carousel for Missoula opened its doors for the first time). Jeter was part of 7 World Series, and he was playing for the Yankees in September of 1998 when Cal Ripken ended his record streak of consecutive games.
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Chris Walterskirchen has been an observer of Montana sports for nearly half a century. A Kalispell native, Chris has worked in various capacities for professional and college sports organization of at various times: ranging from announcing and statistical work to the concessions and even a stint as a costumed mascot.
Chris has academic degrees in communications and elementary education. His style of sports trivia involves more than just who won and who lost, but also focuses on the obscure or human side of sports. In this blog you will learn things like the Grizzly football team has won 210 games over the 19 seasons since they have had Monte as their mascot or that UNLV is the only school that both the Griz and Lady Griz have both faced in the NCAA basketball tournament
When not following sports Chris enjoys taking care of animals of all kinds (a peacock rescue?) and reading to pre-schoolers.