A Sports Buffet on September's First Day

The first day of September brings sports fans a plethora of options, from the Twins to high school football.  Here's the menu of what's taking place that day.

First up is the Twins as they try to end a 13 game losing streak against the Chicago White Sox in a 7:10 game at Target Field.  The St. Paul Saints are also in action as they host the Winnipeg Goldeyes at 7:05 at CHS Field.  A heads up if you plan to take the Green Line light rail to Lowertown.  The game could be a sellout as have the majority of the games since the Saints new ballpark opened last season.

The Vikings are also home as they try to focus after losing their quarterback Teddy Bridgewater for the season due to a torn ACL. They will wrap up the preseason against the Los Angeles Rams at 7 PM at US Bank Stadium.  It's also your chance to see the first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, Rams quarterback Jared Goff.  Warning.  This game is sold out so you might want to buy a ticket from a scalper or head to TCF Bank Stadium to see the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers open their 2016 campaign against the Oregon State Beavers.  It could be a big year for the maroon and gold as quarterback Mitch Leidner returns from a foot injury.  It's also the first full season under head coach Tracy Claeys.  Game time is 8 PM.

If you don't have a ticket for baseball or football and don't want to smash your piggy bank or bust your bank account for tickets, the high school football season gets underway.  Some games to consider are Totino-Grace at Eden Prairie in a rematch of the 2014 Class AAAAAA final, the battle of District 279 as the defending AAAAAA champion Osseo Orioles travel to Maple Grove to take on the Crimson and a great outstate battle takes place down Highway 7 when the two time defending champion Becker Bulldogs take on the five time state champion Hutchinson Tigers.

But wait, there's more.  There's also high school soccer and volleyball.  And where will HSGN be on that abundant sports night?  HSGN will not have to worry about bottlenecks on the freeway because there is a soccer doubleheader at St. Louis Park as the Orioles will host the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders with the girls game at 5 PM and the boys game at 7 PM.  The author of this blog is in his 21st year as the public address announcer so that's where HSGN will be.

So those are some of your choices for September 1.  Take your pick.  Plenty of options for the casual or super fan.

Mpls. Washburn Millers Late Goal Stops SLP Orioles

There seems to be an epidemic going around the St. Louis Park stadium of the one goal loss disease and Tuesday night it spread over to the Orioles girls in their home opener as Marli Rajacich scored the game winning goal with 1:34 left in regulation time to lead the Minneapolis Washburn Millers to a 1-0 win.

Neither team would score in the first half.  But the Millers, ranked eighth in Class AA, almost took the lead on a shot from Rajacich but Oriole goalkeeper Anna Roethler made the save.  Another shot bounced off the football crossbar.

As the second half moved on, it looked like the game would remain scoreless and head into overtime.  Not so as Lizzie Mewes made a left cross pass to Rajacich and she put it past Roethler with 1:34 to go and it would be the game winner.

The game was played minus a functioning scoreboard and it resulted in time being kept on the field.

Washburn improved their record to 1-0-1 and will head to Minneapolis Southwest on Thursday, August 30 for a 5 PM game with the Lakers.  St. Louis Park fell to 0-2 and will host the Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders, also on the 30th at 5 PM.

St. Cloud Tech Tigers Top SLP Orioles

Monday night was the battle of orange and black as the St. Cloud Tech Tigers made the trek down I-94 to St. Louis Park and made the most of it as Mohamed Abdi scored the game winning goal with 7:58 left in regulation to lead them to a 3-2 win over the host Orioles.

It was the first home meeting between St. Louis Park and a school from The Granite City.  It was also the Tigers regular season opener.
The Orioles got a good break in the early going after a Tiger foul.  It would mean a free kick for St. Louis Park and it would be up to Miguel Ocampo to take the kick from outside the penalty area.  He booted the ball past a five player Tech wall and it landed into the net.  Abdi would even the game at one when he rebounded Edgar Waldusky's shot and scored.  The Orioles would regain the lead while Tiger goalkeeper Bryan Helminick was playing a bit far out of the net and Jacob Stillman found an opening to tally.  But Tech was not done as Khalid Gelani scored from the right side with 6:09 left in the first half.  Both teams went into the halftime break even at two.

The second half looked like a very physical and defensive and defensive battle as both goalkeepers Helminick of the Tigers and Felix Hengel of the Orioles mad several outstanding saves.  But it was Abdi who converted the game with 7:58 to go while Hengel played outside the net and Abdi would score the game winner, though he left for a few minutes due to being shaken up.  He would return late in the game.  St. Louis Park was unable to send the game into overtime and it would be a happy bus ride home for the Tigers.

St. Cloud Tech improved to 1-0 and returns to action Tuesday, August 30 as they host the Sartell-St. Stephen Sabres at 7 PM at Husky Stadium on the St. Cloud State University campus.  St. Louis Park lost the second straight game, both by one goal and fell to 1-2.  The Orioles wrap up a three game home stand on Thursday, September 1 with a 7 PM game against the Cretin Derham Hall Raiders.

Wayzata Trojans Spoil SLP Orioles Home Opener

It was opening day for the St. Louis Park Orioles boys soccer team in their newly renovated stadium but Tyler Stevens put a damper on the opener by scoring two goals, including the game winner with 3:03 left in regulation time to lead the Wayzata Trojans to a 2-1 win Saturday afternoon.

Among the new amenities at the St. Louis Park stadium include a new concession stand, real bathrooms and an upgraded sound system.

Now to the game.  Defense played a role, especially for Oriole goalkeeper William Phelan. Erik Williams header almost put the Trojans ahead but Phelan made the stop.  Wayzata did get on the bard as Stevens scored off a corner kick with 10:27 to go in the first half.  The Trojans led 1-0 at halftime.

St. Louis Park tied the score in the second half as Ian Lockhart's line drive kick went to the left side of Wayzata goalkeeper Collin Kubinski and into the net.  But would there be overtime on this cloudy Saturday afternoon?  Not so, according to Stevens as he headed in a corner kick with 3:03 left to go and it would be the eventual game winner.

The Trojans improved their record to 2-0 and will host the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars on Tuesday, August 30 at 7 PM.  The Orioles fell to 1-1 and return to action on Monday, August 29 as the St. Cloud Tech Tigers head down I-94 for a 7 PM game at the stadium.

All's Well as Endwell, NY Goes for US Little League Title

Thousands of fans in the Triple Cities area (Binghamton, Johnson City and Endicott) could be making the 113 mile trip to Williamsport, PA to see the Maine-Endwell Little League battle for the United States championship against Goodlettsville, TN Saturday afternoon in the 2016 Little League World Series.

The winner advances to Sunday's World Championship against the Korea-Panama winner.  ABC, which has carried the Little League World Series since 1963 will carry the game that begins at 2 PM on KSTP-TV.

Here's a look at how Maine-Endwell made it to the US final.  Ryan Harlost had three hits and struck out five Rhode Island batters en route to a 7-2 win.  Their next game was against Goodlettsville, TN and got only three hits but came away with a 3-1 win.  They earned their championship berth thanks to Jude Abbadessa's six RBI's to beat Bowling Green, KY 13-10.

Goodlettsville's road to the final started with Robert Carroll's two run walkoff double to beat Bend, OR 3-2.  They would lose their next game to Maine-Endwell 3-1 but would bounce back in their next game to beat Chula Vista, CA 4-2.  They would clinch their berth in the finals with a seven run fifth inning to rout Johnston, IA 14-3.

Maine-Endwell's success is another chapter in the Bingahamton area's long baseball history that goes back to 1877, with teams called the Crickets, the Bingoes and the name that had the longest run, the Triplets.  From 1932-61 and 1965-68 the Triplets were a Yankees farm club and many players went on to The Bronx including Whitey Ford, Vic Raschi, Bobby Richardson and Thurman Munson.  The triples had short stints as an affiliate with the Milwaukee Braves and the Kansas City Athletics.  The Triplets folded in 1968 but baseball returned to the Triple Cities in 1992 when the Williamsport Bills moved to Binghamton and became the Mets.  Next season the team plans to change its name.

Can Maine-Endwell do well and add to the area's baseball success?

Happy Birthday to a Couple of Game Show Icons

It's rare that HSGN will do two consecutive game show posts since the focus is also on sports.  But on Thursday, two game show host have the same birthday.  They are Monty Hall and Regis Philbin.

If you plan to celebrate their birthdays, you better look for a cake that can hold 180 candles.  Hall is now 95 and Philbin turned 85.  Here's a look back at their hosting careers.

First up is Hall, best known for one of TV's classic game shows Let's Make a Deal.  But before he started making deals in 1963, he came to New York from Canada and began his hosting career filling in for Warren Hull on the original Strike it Rich and for Jack Barry on the scandal tainted game Twenty One.  He also had a one season stint as the analyst on New York Rangers radio broadcasts alongside the late Jim Gordon.  He did only home games until he hit pay dirt in 1960 when he replaced Jack Narz on the first game show produced by Merrill Heatter and Bob Quigley Video Village.  The show was a larger than life board game that was originally produced in New York until CBS moved the show to California and Hall has stayed there ever since.

After CBS cancelled Video Village in 1962 (it would be the last morning game show CBS would air for 10 years), Hall had his biggest success when he co-created and hosted Let's Make a Deal that debuted on December 30, 1963.  The show would be a big hit and would run on NBC until 1968, then moved to ABC after contract negotiations broke down with NBC.  It became a bigger success on ABC, leading into The Newlywed Game and also had a couple of prime time runs that also delivered outstanding ratings.  The show ran until July 1976 but Hall would also host three revivals, the last aired in 1990 when he replaced Bob Hilton who was fired due to low ratings.  He also serves as a consultant on the current version that's hosted by Wayne Brady.

Hall, along with his partner Stefan Hatos, also produced another hit Split Second, hosted by Tom Kennedy.  The fast paced game show where Kennedy told contestants to "look at the board" ran for three years on ABC.  Hall hosted a short-lived revival in the 1986-87 season.

As for Philbin, he began his hosting career with one of the worst game shows to air in 1975, The Neighbors.  The show featured five femal neighbors who answered questions about how they knew each other.  It was not interesting at all and it perished from ABC after 13 weeks.  Philbin went on to another unsuccessful show, Almost Anything Goes, serving as a sideline reporter.  Based on the British show It's a Knockout, it wasn't a knockout in the ratings.

Philbin became an icon when he became the host of a game show that was popular in Great Britain but made it's debut in the USA in 1999.  The show was Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.  It was ABC's first prime time game show since Let's Make a Deal, The Newlywed Game and The Reel Game left the network in 1971.  The show became a big summer hit and returned to prime time the following season.  The network version ran until 2002 then entered syndication hosted by Meredith Vieira, Cedric the Entertainer, Terry Crews and currently Chris Harrison.

But it was Philbin who made the prime time show a hit with his pleasant personalty and his sense of humor that put the hot seat contestant at ease that also earned him a Daytime Emmy Award in 2001.  He also made famous one of the most famous catch phrases in game show history "Is that your final answer?'

So Happy Birthday to Hall and Philbin.  And that's our final answer.

Another Version of Break the Bank Gone Bust

In the last entry written about game shows, HSGN did a story about the short-lived 70s version of Break the Bank that was cancelled due to ABC expanding their soap operas One Life to Live and General Hospital from 30 to 45 minutes.  This week, HSGN looks back at the mid 80s incarnation of another show that used the title Break the Bank.

When Richard Kline, who directed many episodes of the Barry-Enright game shows such as The Joker's Wild and Tic Tac Dough, he left the company after the death of Jack Barry in 1984 to form his own production company Kline & Friends.  The first show the new company came up with was another version of Break the Bank that debuted in the fall of 1985 with Gene Rayburn, best known for hosting Match Game as the host.

This version of Break the Bank was much different from the Tom Kennedy hosted version.  The game was played by two couples, some married, some boyfriend/girlfriend who earned seconds to use in the Prize Vault. Rayburn asked a question and the first couple to hit their buzzer got to answer the question.  If they answered correctly, they earned seconds that increased with each question.  Each correct answer was a clue to the identity of a person place or thing like Super Password.  Up to six clues were played in each puzzle and the first couple to solve two puzzles won the game and took the seconds accumulated in the main game to the Prize Vault.

The main game was executed well because the home viewer could try and solve the puzzle, an important aspect of a successful game show.  But Break the Bank's downfall came in the Prize Vault round.  In came the show's assistant, former Miss USA Julie Hayek and she opened the vault that featured several stunts for the couple to attempt using the time they earned.

Among the numerous stunts used on the show were the couple trying to identify voices from impressionist Louise DuArt, reciting a tongue twister or doing aerobics.  Each completed stunt earned a bank card.  When time ran out, the couple took their cards to the vault and insert one in the code reader.  The readout would display one of two messages.  "Wrong Code" or Break Bank."  Break bank meant that they would break the bank which could be worth more than $20,000.

This hodgepodge of a mess resulted in low ratings and Rayburn was fired after 13 weeks.  He was replaced by Joe Farago and the format was changed.  The two couples no longer played for seconds.  Instead they earned money and bonus prizes by solving puzzles.  Each correct answer was still a clue to the puzzle's identity.  The first couple to earn $2000 or more won the game and went to the Prize Vault.

The Prize Vault round was also changed.  A Master Puzzle was played and a couple could earn up to 10 bank cards.  The longer it took to solve the puzzle, the fewer the cards they earned.  After the couple solved the puzzle, they went to the vault where they picked from 40 bank cards.  Thirty eight of them had cash or prizes.  One card broke the bank while the last one would read "Bankrupt" that lost their winnings.  The couple insert the cards they won into the reader.  If it was cash or a prize they kept the prize.  They could stop at anytime, but if the bankrupt card came up, the game was over.

The one bright spot for the show was announcer Michael Hanks.  a prolific voice over artist, he was a very good announcer in his first game show stint.  It was unfortunate that no other packager used him on any other game show.  According to imdb.com, he was the announcer for the short-lived talk show Dr. Laura.

Farago and the format change did little good for the ratings and after 39 weeks of original episodes, Break the Bank went bust.