In the Huddle

This week's guest is Northern State assistant athletic director Zach Flakus. He talks about the 20th annual Wolves on the Water Walleye Tournament, which will be May 9-10 at the New Evarts Lodge near Glenham on the Missouri River. Proceeds go to support Northern State athletic scholarships and recruiting. Call the NSU Foundation at 626-2550 to enter; cost is $210 per team.

Aberdeen Central graduate Taylor Mehlhaff talks about this weekend's NFL Draft. Mehlhaff has been the starting kicker at the University of Wisconsin for the past four seasons and has a chance to be drafted this weekend.

This week's guest is Aberdeen Central senior Sophia McDermott. The South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association recently named McDermott as the Class AA player of the year. She talks about her team, coach and her season.

Randy Baruth is this week's guest. Randy is the assistant men's basketball coach at Northern State. He was the featured speaker this week at the Mr. and Miss South Dakota Basketball Awards program. He also talks about the new NSU basketball recruits from Serbia.

The coach of the Aberdeen Smittys high school spring baseball team is this week's guest on the American News Sports Internet radio show. John Krogstrand talks about his team as they prepare for the Final Four State A Tournament in Yankton Monday. The Smittys have won the state title three times in the last four years, including last season. Aberdeen will face Mitchell in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Monday.

Aberdeen Area Running Club president Gaylan Lang is this week's guest. Lang talks about how the club organized last fall and how its membership has grown from 14 to around 100 in a short time span. There is a running event at 9 a.m. Saturday, the Schwan Financial Group Aberdeen Dash, at Swisher Field in Aberdeen. Lang also talks about Aberdeen hosting the USA Track and Field Dakotas Junior Olympics Track and Field championship on June 14 at Swisher Field. Registration deadline for that event is June 9.

Nick Pharris of the American News Digital Medial team is this week's guest. He talks about the godirttracking.com Web site, how it works and its benefits. The site, godirttracking.com, is sponsoring tonight's auto races at 7 at Brown County Speedway in Aberdeen.

Coach Rick DenHerder is this week's guest. DenHerder is the women's fast pitch softball coach of the newly formed Black Hills Gold, a team of South Dakota all-stars who will play Team USA in Rapid City on July 15.Making the Gold's 18-player rooster was former Presentation College standout Jennifer Bourdon of Duck Lake, Saskatchewan. Her sisters, Heather and Kim, were named to the five-player alternate squad. The triplets were standout softball and volleyball players for the Saints until they graduated in 2007. Team USA will be concluding its Bound 4 Beijing Tour next month as it prepares for the 2008 Olympic Games in August. Since softball became an Olympic sport in 1996, the USA women have won all three gold medals.

Bruce Conley of Sioux Falls is this week's guest. Conley is the director of news information at Augustana College. Before joining Augie in 1990, Conley was a sports writer for the Argus Leader for 28 years. Conley talks about the North Central Conference, which will end after 87 years with a farewell party in Sioux Falls on Saturday. Conley talks about his memories of the conference, including a 1992 football game in Brookings between South Dakota State and Augustana that featured seven future professional football players.

The seventh annual Northern Blast Soccer Tournament will be Friday through Sunday in Aberdeen. This week's guest is John Borchard of Aberdeen, who is the tourney director. He will talk about the event, which will feature about 50 teams and 750 players playing matches throughout the weekend at the Moccasin Creek Soccer Complex. Action will start at 5 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. There will be divisions for boys and girls ranging from 10 and under through 19.

This week's guest is Wade Merry of Sioux Falls. Merry is the executive director of the South Dakota Golf Association. He talks about the upcoming Match Play Championship at Moccasin Creek Country Club in Aberdeen July 10-14.

Amy Albrecht is this week's guest. Amy is the director for the 2008 C.C. Lee Youth Tennis Tournament that will be played in Aberdeen Monday and Tuesday. The long-time tourney annually draws some of the best youth tennis players from across the state. The event for ages 12 and under to 18 and under draws out-of-state players as well, including one from Indiana this year. Albrecht, a former conference chaqmpion for Aberdeen Central who will be a senior this fall at South Dakota State, talks about this year's tourney.

This week's guest is Keith Kusler. He is the director for the 22nd annual South Dakota All-Star Games in Aberdeen next week. The games feature many of the top athletes in the state who graduated from high school last spring. Also, the 57th annual South Dakota Coaches Clinic will be conducted at the Ramkota Hotel and Aberdeen Convention Center during the week. All-Star game schedules are: Tuesday - Golf at Lee Park Golf Course at 1:15 p.m.; wrestling at Wachs Arena at 6 p.m.; girls' basketball at Wachs Arena at 8 p.m. Wednesday - Golf at Lee Park Golf Course at 10 a.m.; volleyball at Wachs Arena at 6 p.m.; boys' basketball at Wachs Arena at 8 p.m. Thursday - Golf at Moccasin Creek Country Club at 9:30 a.m.; football at Swisher Field at 6 p.m. The All-Star cheer team will perform at halftime of both basketball games and prior to the football game.

Taylor Mehlhaff began his quest this week to win one of 32 jobs available in the world. The Aberdeen Central graduate is trying to win the job of the New Orleans Saints kicker. The Saints open their NFL training camp Thursday in Jackson, Miss., although the team ran their players through a series of tests yesterday. Mehlhaff, who is this week's guest, talks about life in the NFL and his upcoming competition with nine-year pro Martin Gramatica as they try to win the Saints kicking job. "Martin is a very good kicker," said Mehlhaff. "He also is a nice guy. I have great respect for him and his abilities. It is going to be an interesting competition."

Butch Raymond is this week's guest. Butch is the commissioner of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. He talks about the new, expanded NSIC which recently added four schools: Minnesota-Duluth, Augustana, St. Cloud State and Minnesota State, Mankato. Northern State is a member of the NSIC. For the first time, the NSIC will host a football media day on Monday in Mankato where the NSIC coaches poll will be released.

Gary Nelson of the Lee Park Golf Course is this week's guest. Nelson said his public course has had a great year and he talks about a couple of upcoming big events. Nelson also talks about what it takes to prepare a course for winter.

This week's guest will be Hecla farmer-rancher and well-known collegiate basketball official Bill Richter, who will be inducted into the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame this fall. Richter's 40-year baseball playing career included 10 years in his home state of Minnesota, but he also made his mark in South Dakota. Richter was a standout catcher at St. Cloud State, and moved to South Dakota in 1972. He played most of his amateur career with the Claremont Honkers before they disbanded in the late 1990s.

This week's guest is Northern State athletic director Bob Olson. He talks about the expanded Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the importantance of Wolves Club memberships. Those memberships play a key role in funding the NSU athletic department.

Presentation College athletic director Rick Kline is this week's guest. Kline talks about his school's new coaches and the fall seasons ahead. He also talks about upcoming changes at the school, including a new partnership with Dakota Broadcasting radio.

Aberdeen Central athletic director Gene Brownell is this week's guest. He talks about the sixth annual McDonald's Hub City Bowl on Sept. 5 at Swisher Field in Aberdeen. At 5 p.m., Aberdeen Roncalli will host Milbank in a Northeast Conference game. At 8 p.m., Aberdeen Central will host Brandon Valley. The event is a shared fund-raiser for the athletic booster clubs of both schools, so no passes will be accepted. Also at halftime of both games, a football will be auctioned to help with the fund-raiser.