More on state volleyball

For those looking for some more information on Cuba City -- Eau Claire Regis' semifinal opponent in the WIAA Division 3 state volleyball tournament -- there's some in this article from the Wisconsin State Journal.

Or, there's always the trusty WIAA Web site, which basically has the entire state tourney program PDF'd.

For more on Regis, make sure to check out Thursday's Leader-Telegram. I'll try to check in from the Resch Center -- which after a brief debate, John Casper Jr. and I have determined is in Ashwaubenon -- with thoughts from the Ramblers' performance at state. I'll also inform you how my cheeseburger-heavy meal at Kroll's West was (prediction: greasy and delicious).

- Joe Ziemer

More from Lisa Stone

I had a chance to catch Badgers women's basketball coach Lisa Stone's Monday press conference and chat with the former Blugolds coach while visiting my brother in Madison this week. Here's a few extra quotes from Stone that didn't make the article in Thursday's Leader-Telegram.

On senior guard Jolene Anderson, the preseason Big Ten player of the year:
"What’s been great about Jolene is watching her development. Here’s this kid from the middle of nowhere. She’s done everything we’ve asked her to do. I’m not sure there’s any other records she can break. But it’s never been about her. It’s always about the team, and she wants this team to have the best season ever.

"She’ll leave as the most decorated women’s basketball player in the history of the program. I think we all know that. I think she wants to leave her mark on the team’s success versus her individual success."

On what improvements she wants to see from her team, picked to finish second in the conference by Big Ten coaches and third by media members:
"Defensively, we have to get better. We have to be better defensively. We want to be among the conference leaders in defense. In order to do that, we have to continue to grow at a fast pace. The expectations shouldn’t be a secret with everybody back. I’d like to be better defensively and offensively, I’d like to have a third and fourth scorer. We’ve got two in double figures on a consistent basis. We need a third and fourth scorer in double figures to make us that much more of a weapon offensively."

On looking to her three seniors -- Anderson, guard Janese Banks and forward Danielle Ward -- for leadership on a team with seven sophomores and three freshmen:
"No question. You challenge them. Jolene and Janese are our seniors and our captains. They’re people that you rely on to get some things done. Their leadership is how they practice and their attitude and their passion for the game. That’s my job, to continue to demonstrate that to them. Then they can therefore give it to their players."

- Joe Ziemer

Chetek players sporting blond hair

I was up in Chetek this afternoon to do a story on running back Elliot Waterhouse and the Bulldogs' spectacular season.

It wasn't long before I noticed that all of the players — and even coach Jay Dachel — had died their hair blond. Apparently it's a ritual in Chetek to do that if the team makes the playoffs. Dachel agreed to do it after the Bulldogs' 14-0 victory over Mondovi.

This is the second time Chetek has advanced to a state quarterfinal in three years. The Bulldogs also made it this far in 2005 when it lost to Somerset 42-21. This year the opponent is Stanley-Boyd, a team that features multi-dimensional quarterback Kyle Thorpe and deep-threat wide receiver Nick Summerfield.

The Orioles coach, Jeff Koenig, is also no stranger to Chetek. He used to be an assistant with the Bulldogs and served on the same staff as Dachel.

I asked Dachel if there's a friendly wager on the line, like the loser has to rake the leaves in the yard of the winner. "No, nothing like that," Dachel said. "Just bragging rights. But maybe that's a good idea."

The third-round game begins at 7 p.m. Friday night in Stanley.

What do you think of the Dairyland now?

For those that frequent the wissports.net message boards, you've probably seen a few threads dissing the Dairyland Conference when it comes to football.

While that may be true in years past, this postseason is forcing all the haters to take a step back and give credit where it's due. There were three Dairyland teams that won their first-round playoff game (Eleva-Strum, Independence/Gilmanton and Alma) and the Cardinals and Indees will meet in a Division 7 state quarterfinal game this Saturday.

We all knew that Eleva-Strum would make it to this level, but not too many thought I/G would make it. But the Indees pounded Almond-Bancroft in the first round and edged Wausaukee in the second to advance to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 1994.

After Eleva-Strum's 48-6 pounding of Hilbert on Saturday, I asked coach Warren Behm if it was a statement victory for his team to beat a team like Hilbert after spending most of the year beating up teams in what some consider to be a mediocre conference.

"I don't spend any time thinking about those things," Behm said. "I want our kids to play their best ball and know their game as best they can. They've done that all year. Hey, today we had three teams play from the Dairyland. I think that's a statement in itself to the quality of Dairyland football. I think we do have quality football in the Dairyland and it's going to continue to grow."

- John Casper Jr.

Welcome to L-T Sports Extra

Greetings.

Welcome to our second home on the Internet. In our never-ending quest to give Leader-Telegram readers the best sports coverage in northwest Wisconsin, we've decided to add another outlet for our passion.

This blog will complement the coverage found on the sports pages of the Leader-Telegram and the links on www.leadertelegram.com. It will feature in-depth analysis of your favorite local sports teams, links to other media outlets and, from time-to-time, an explanation of how we do things here. We will use it for live updates from championship events, and to post breaking news and updated scores.

It will also allow you, the reader, to leave immediate feedback or ask questions. It will be an informal exchange, to be sure, but we will never post anything that is innacurate or misleading. What we put on this page will be as important as what we put in the pages of the print and online editions of the Leader-Telegram.

So sit back, relax and hit ctrl-D to bookmark this page. We will do our best to keep you informed of the local sports scene 24/7, so come back often and post a comment or two. You'll be glad you did.

- John Casper Jr, Leader-Telegram sports editor