SPORTSBEAT by Peter Jakey: Into the teeth of an ice storm, on the tournament trail

The timing of last week?s winter storm could not have been worse for fans traveling to Kellogg Arena for the Rogers City?s third consecutive trip to the team state finals. An ice storm was heading for mid-Michigan Thursday morning, but in northern Michigan a full-blown snowstorm was expected to hit. I believe 9 & 10 News, which seems to inflate their anticipated snow totals, had Presque Isle County in the 20-foot range. All right, it was more like a foot, but if 20-foot helps their ratings then that is probably what they?ll have on their graphic. The dilemma was this: head into Thursday?s ice storm and see how far I could get down the tournament trail to Battle Creek, or wait and leave Friday morning. That could have proved disastrous as my driveway could have been socked in, and I would have been shoveling a path to M-65 for an hour or two. Advance general manager Beth Kowalski suggested leaving Thursday and seeing how far I could drive.

Maybe the ice storm would not be as bad — you just never know what the weather is going to be like. My entire family was going, but more than 12 hours earlier, so my wife stepped up her packing efforts. For me, packing is easy. I need my camera, note pad, tape recorder, pen, and deodorant. Oh, and maybe a razor. That took all of 20 seconds. For Lisa, she needed about two-and-half-hours, but to her credit, she rarely forgets anything. We finally left a little after 5 p.m. with heavy snow falling. It was no more than 40 miles per hour from Posen to Grayling. The goal was to reach a motel north of Lansing in Dewitt, but that had to be changed to Mt. Pleasant.

My next problem was finding a hotel room with a decent rate. There is nothing more frustrating than going into a town and searching for a room for a couple hours, so I called my brother on my cell phone and asked him to bring up Travelocity on the Internet. I gave him my credit card number, got the directions, and kept on motoring down US-27. It worked out perfectly, as the hotel was a stone throw from the highway. My boys even had time to jump in the pool. The next day, the roads were smooth all the way to Battle Creek. Other than the 12 fans from Rogers City who made it to Cereal City, the same circumstances kept many people from making the trip. They stayed home and listened to Erik Nadolsky call the action for 99.9 The Wave. He left Rogers City about 5:30 a.m. Friday morning and didn?t encounter too many problems. It sounded as if my original plan would have worked out, but you never can tell.

?Bronson fans, who had to travel only about 45 miles to Battle Creek, filled an entire section at the arena. That is every seat from the front row to the back wall. There was a lot of support, and hopefully for next year?s trip to state, weather will not be an excuse to head down and cheer the wrestlers to victory. ?Nerves are tight at the finals. That includes the athletes, coaches, and fans. One fan was not where he should have been before the Division IV quarterfinals match as I watched a guy walk right into the ladies bathroom. I just stood and waited until he came out to see his reaction. He was looking around to see if any body saw him. I told him I wouldn?t tell any one.

?Junior Jerome Gapczynski joined the Century Club and passed his father Lee on the career victory list. Jerome had an outstanding 46-14 season and ended the 2006-07 season with a 4-2 decision in Battle Creek. (Johannesburg) It is the site of the Class D basketball tournament. They have such a nice gym. Fans can watch the scoreboard and keep track of how many points their favorite players tally. It is also a well lit gym. The popcorn is not what is it used to be, though, as someone got a little crazy with the salt on Tuesday night. I noticed several unfinished bags sitting in the stands after the game. It was a good game for Posen. Onaway did not play all that bad, but the Vikings were smoking from outside and played their best game in a month. Posen goes for its fourth straight district title Friday. It would be five consecutive titles if the Vikings did not let a second h

alf double digit lead slip away against Hillman when Aaron Hincka and Matt Ponik were sophomores.

(On the way home from Joburg) John Pines did another superb job doing the play-by-play of Tuesday?s quarterfinal final hockey match between Alpena and Davidson. When I got in the car it was 2-2 and the game was headed to overtime. In the build up of the overtime, he had some great stats of Alpena?s great success in the quarters and also told fans back home that one shot would put them in the final four or ?one shot will send them home.? The shot came from Alpena?s Gerald Krajniak to send Alpena to the semifinals.

On other note: Former RCHS standout Andy Keller, who wrestled the last five years with the CMU wrestling program, finished third at the MAC tournament in Buffalo. He ahd been 4-0 in MAC duals this year.

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