Desktop Sportsman (09/02/09)

• Sean Scallon

Sean Scallon

Talk about it

— There will be a clean-up of Legion Park in Plum City on Sept. 12 starting at 8 a.m. Lunch will be provided to volunteers at noon and volunteers are needed to clean up flood damage in the park caused by the heavy rain storm that forced Plum Creek out of its banks and into the park back on Aug. 13.

— Plum City’s Kyle Gilles will be playing football for UW-Stout this season.

— One of the little tidbits of Prescott High School football history found in their well put together program is the fact that Kirby Symes, before he came to Ellsworth, helped start-up the Prescott program back in 1951. Not only did Kirby start Ellsworth High School wrestling, but Prescott football as well. Perhaps he should be nicknamed “The Creator.”

— Construction on Boyceville’s new press box and concession stand is proceeding (as Plum City fans will see this Friday) but probably won’t be done before the end of the season.

— Somerset’s wrestling program will have co-coaches this season as Mike Kappers stepped down. They will be Mitch Flandrick and Dan Singer. Speaking of Somerset, former all-state player Mike Schactner will be playing professional ball down in Australia.

— Last weekend was Mike Maves first on the sidelines at Evansville High School, his hometown. The Maves family still has their home in Hudson which they plan to move back to during the summer to play ball with the Hager City Skeeters but Maves found a teaching and coaching position in Evansville and is staying with relatives and friends there.

— Am I surprised Brett Favre decided to yet again make another comeback and play for the Vikings this season? Only in the timing. All the stuff about his daughter wanting him to play in another Superbowl and his injury keeping him from reporting to training camp is touching but not believable. Farve was close to the truth when he describes the joys of playing on Sunday afternoons. If he could make his will he would play until he was 70 just so he could stay in a football uniform. Despite having big ranch out in the southern Mississippi countryside, nothing has replaced football as the primary focus in Favre’s life. One doesn’t know whether to laugh, cry or shake one’s head.

— Will there be those Vikings players resentful of Favre’s ability to stay out of training camp and off-season workouts? Maybe a few of the younger ones. But it’s been the older players who kept texting Favre while he was still trying to make up his mind. They want him on the team badly and could care less if sage Rosenfels or Tavaris Jackson have hurt feelings. They should consider themselves lucky to have NFL jobs to begin with. Indeed, given their age, they would probably want to skip living in a dorm room in Mankato for two or three weeks and other “voluntary” workouts themselves. More power to ya’ Brett, they probably would say.

— While the Vikings have hogged the stage this preseason, the Packers have been as quiet as church mice. But they way they’ve played in the preseason suggest they may very well be a factor in the NFC North as well. Really, they were never that far away to begin with. If the new 3-4 defense can stop people, Aaron Rogers has shown he can put up yardage as good as Farve can.

— A quick college football preview: The Gophers will be improved on paper and enjoy playing outdoors but their record may not reflect it given the tougher schedule. The U should finish about the same as last year. Meanwhile down in Madison, Wisconsin can do better this season provided they stay healthy, provided they settle on a quarterback and provided everyone learn their lesson from 2008.

Tags: desktop sportsman, sports