One Woman's Proud Legacy

Who will be the next champion to savor the sweet kiss of WSHSHP immortality? Stay tuned.

Commissioner Rudy presents 2008 WSHSHP winner Aviva Kapust with her well-deserved hardware.

The WSHSP Trophy Has Arrived...

...and Lord is it magnificent. And huge.

Stand by for photo op.

2008 WSHSHP Britney Spears Award

Honoring the Most Shameful Drop in Performance by a WSHSP Veteran

WINNER

Bill Bisesto (San Francisco, CA)
2007: 11th Place/203 points
2008: 42nd Place/43 points

RUNNERS UP

Tony Landgraf (San Francisco, CA)
2007: 2nd Place/320 points
2008: 17th Place/ 216 points


Shauna Rudy (San Rafael, CA)
2007: 6th Place/254 points
2008: 21st Place/189 points

2008 WSHSHP Circle of Champions

Honoring those far-seeking souls who correctly chose the ultimate state champion:

• Aviva Kapust (San Francisco, CA)
  
• Dylan DiBona (San Francisco, CA)
  
• Erik Moe (Westlake Village, CA)
  
• Chris Batty (New York, NY)
  
• Lucas Rudy (San Rafael, CA)
  
• John Stephens (Fort Worth, TX)
  
• Joe McCormack (Tiburon, CA)
  
• Mark Krajan (Marina del Rey, CA)
  
• John Waldschmidt (San Rafael, CA)
  

2008 Rookie of the Year: Lucas Michael Rudy

Honoring the Best Performance from a First-Year Participant:

WINNER:
Lucas "Indy" Rudy (San Rafael, CA)
5th Place/290 points

RUNNERS UP:
Joe McCormack (Tiburon, CA)
7th Place/275 points

John Orta (Oakland, CA)
9th Place/255 points

2008 Most Improved Prognosticator: Christopher Batty

Honoring the Most Improved Point Total Amassed by a Single Participant in Consecutive Years:

WINNER:
Christopher Batty (New York, NY)
2007: 33rd Place/90 points
2008: 4th Place/292 points

RUNNERS UP:
Aviva Kapust (San Francisco, CA)
2007: 27th Place/151 points
2008: 1st Place/302 points

Mark Krajan (Marina del Rey, CA)
2007: 30th Place/110 points
2008: 10th Place/249 points

Are You Listening, Mr. Moe?

Lots of people, not just this reporter or Appleton United fans, are still irked about with the ridiculous illegal necklace call last Friday. The Wisconsin Radio Network's Bill Scott sums it up best:

The punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime.

Am I trying to say rules are meant to be broken? Am I coming down on the wrong side of the law here? I don't know. I just don't like seeing games decided by officials. They should be decided by the players, on the field, and in this case, Appleton's top goal scorer wasn't around to see this one through, and that's a shame.

I can almost guarantee the official who made this call is right now being recruited by the San Francisco Parking Authority. This guy's got the literal, short-sighted view it takes to be a truly witless enforcer of the law, and SFPA is not going to let him go without a fight.

Meet Your 2008 Wisconsin State Champions

The 26-0-0 Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes.

BREAKING NEWS: Kapust Makes History; Captures Her Second WHSHP Crown

A stunned hockey world is still trying to digest the news that Aviva Kapust has become the WSHSHP's first two-time champion, barely fighting off a late surge by Dylan DiBona to win this year's title by a scant two-point margin (302-300). A last second addition to this year's field, Kapust was written off by everyone--including this reporter--after a disastrous first round that her selecting the likes of Stevens Point Pacelli over Northland Pines and Rhinelander over Wausau East, but look who's smiling now. Rounding out the Top Three is Erik Moe, who figure skates his way to his first medal since 1978. More details to follow.

Eau Claire Dominating Game After Two Periods; Outlook Grim for Hall and Orta

Trasher is right; the Old Abes are an unstoppable force. 2-0 after two, but the shots tell the real story: 29-10, in ECM's favor.

Necklacegate 2008

Trasher had an excellent interview with Coach Pete Rothering from Madison Edgewood and fearlessly asked a question re: yesterday's bizarre unsportsmanlike call on Appleton's Matt Paape. Rothering said all the right things, that he would never have made that call, and God knows my maroon-and-gold heart wants to believe him. But the point is: Someone did.

Here's the problem: I'm pretty sure Matt Paape didn't decide between the second and third periods to put on a necklace. (I mean, I used to change the color of my contact lens between shifts back in my day, but I was widely considered a maverick.) So let's assume the necklace was on Paape's person the entire game. Yet no call was made until late in the game, when momentum has shifted entirely in Appleton's favor, and the Crusaders were holding on by the skin of their teeth. A bizarre coincidence that Appleton's best player is removed from the equation? Please. This ain't the Commissioner's first rodeo. Either someone--a player, a coach, a stick boy--tipped off the ref, or the latter exercised incredibly poor judgment by taking matters into his own hands. Both scenarios make me throw up a little in my mouth. Talk among yourselves.

Brawn vs. Finesse Underway

The only thing we know for sure right now: No one out there is wearing a necklace.

Time for the WIAA to Bid Adieu to Alliant Center?

A lot of trash talking on WiHP forums re: the deteriorating conditions at the Alliant Center. Malfunctioning scoreboards, poor lighting, poor sightlines, medieval locker room facilities, rickety boards, and, worst of all, ice so crappy it's been compared to the Moes' backyard rink from the 80s.

True, this storied facility used to be the proud home of the Wisconsin Hockey Badgers but, like me, it's now a dying relic of a simpler time. One wonders how long this rocky marriage between commerce and quality can continue. Let's hope it ends soon and amicably, if only for the kids' sake.

UPDATE: Mr. Hammett reports that the WIAA just signed a new long-term deal with the AEC, sealing the WIAA tourney's fate as a second rate event for years to come. Meanwhile, our brethren to the north are playing their state tourney at the fan- and player-friendly Xcel Center in St. Paul. Sigh.

Friday Recap: ECM 4, Superior 2

The Old Abes are one game away from a remarkable undefeated season after a 4-2 defeat of Superior. Former Miami Dolphins football coach Don Shula, spied yesterday at the Alliant Center ordering four Badger Bratwursts "for some friends," has already insisted that an asterisk be placed next to ECM's record due to rumors that several ECM players are actually ringers from the ECHL's Elmira Jackels.