By CHRIS WALTERSKIRCHEN
Forty years ago this week a political decision that would change American history had its origins in mutual allegiance to a pro sports team. South Dakota Senator George McGovern won the Democratic Presidential nomination and selected Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton as his running mate. In a 2001 interview McGovern acknowledged that he knew little of Eagleton’s personal life beyond his time in the senate, but had gotten to know Eagleton through fondness for the st. Louis Cardinals. Eagleton resigned 18 days after being nominated after reports surfaced concerning his being treated for depression.
The football team of the University of Southern Utah enters their first official season in the Big Sky Conference sporting a 3 game winning streak against current members of the league. Over the past four seasons they went 10-10 against teams in the Big Sky Conference. A win over a FBS school last fall gained the T-Birds some extra attention, a convincing win over UNLV.
At the start of the 2012 Major League baseball season twelve former Missoula Ospreys were in the “Bigs”. Pedro Ciriaco was not in the Majors at the start of the season, but is now making a difference for the Boston Red Sox. Since joining Boston in late June Ciriaco has hit over .400 while playing in the Red Sox Infield.
On Friday July 27th the Seattle Mariners will formally inducted former stars Randy Johnson and Dan Wilson into the team’s Hall Of Fame. It is appropriate that pitcher Johnson and catcher Wilson be inducted at the same time as the battery produced some of the finest moments in Mariners history. Ironically the date of the Hall Of Fame Ceremony falls on the 37th birthday of another former Mariners star, Alex Rodriquez.
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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.