For a person who has spent most of his life in rural parts of the state, I’ve been fortunate when it comes to rubbing elbows with Minnesota sports figures.My first encounter with a professional athlete came in the early 1970s when a businessman from my hometown used his connections to hook up five of us (a good friend of mine and three others) with free tickets to a Twins-Royals game.This connected man was best known for owning the local sporting goods store back home, but I held him in high regard for a different reason. As a teenager in the neighboring town of Rothsay, Dave Carlsrud shared many stories with me about being the boyhood catcher of Minnesota Twins’ starting pitcher Dave Goltz.I can’t remember much about the game Carlsrud brought us to, but the highlight of the trip came after the contest. With our connection leading the way, we found ourselves in lower levels of Metropolitan Stadium, waiting outside of the doors to the Twins clubhouse.While we waited outside the clubhouse, I got to meet then Twins’ owner Calvin Griffith and caught a glimpse of Rod Carew as he emerged from the clubhouse doors. Then, when Goltz joined our fivesome after his post-game shower, a wide-eyed boy got to shake the hand and converse with a man who would become a 20-game winner one season.My other brushes with fame were less personable experiences.When covering Ellsworth’s appearance at the state basketball tournament in 2002, I ran into Trent Tucker (a former Minnesota Gopher and future first-round draft choice of the New York Knicks) in the media hospitality room. After chatting with Tucker for five minutes, I persuaded him to pose for a picture with me that I still have, but it’s yet to be framed.Prior to that experience, a friend and I purchased the opportunity to watch a championship fight on a big screen television in a Fargo hotel in the early 1980s. Part of the package included mingling with Minnesota Vikings players Tommy Kramer and Ricky Young while gulping down chicken wings in a hospitality room prior to the fight.Since I didn’t care for Kramer (my nickname for Two-Minute Tommy was Tammy Kramer), I spent my time chatting with former Viking Bob Lurtsema. I can’t remember what I said, but I remember blowing Bench-Warmer Bob’s mind with an off-handed comment about something before scaring him away for the rest of the night.As much as I treasure the memories of meeting those sports figures, they pale in comparison with those of a family here in Luverne.Instead of eating chicken wings with Bench-Warmer Bob, Curt Jr. and Sandy Maxwell and Austin Maxwell recently ate a Thanksgiving dinner served by players and coaching staff members of the Minnesota Timberwolves.To honor families serving in the military, Quest and the Timberwolves staged an event named Operation Minnesota Heroes Month. The event featured an opportunity for families to have dinner in Target Center if they were lucky enough to win a chance through a lottery.Sandy Maxwell decided to throw her hat into the ring and enter the lottery. Her daughter, Erin Lammert, is a member of the National Guard, and currently is training in Mississippi for a soon-to-come tour of duty in Iraq.The Maxwells bucked the odds to become three of more than 300 people from throughout the state to receive an invitation to Thanksgiving Dinner served by the Timberwolves. They accepted the offer and broke bread in the Target Center Nov. 20.After being welcomed by the NBA team’s cheerleading squad as they entered the building, the Maxwells listened to speeches delivered by KFAN Radio’s Tim Allen and Timberwolves player Mark Madsen, among others.Although the speeches were interesting, it was the dinner — and hosts — the Maxwells will never forget.As the local family went through the line to receive their food, they found themselves on the receiving end of green beans served by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, gravy served by head coach Dwayne Casey and coleslaw coming off a spoon held by Kevin Garnett.Curt Jr. said Coach Casey was a little stingy with the gravy, but he did enjoy his chat with Minnesota’s new leader and with the players who were on hand for the event."It was a pretty neat deal," Curt Jr. said."They said we could bring our cameras but to leave our pens (for autographs) at home. All of the players were approachable. If anyone wanted to talk to them, they took the time to do it."After talking with Curt Jr. and Sandy about their experience in the Target Center, it was apparent they had a pretty good time.One thing is for sure, they had a lot more fun meeting and eating with the Timberwolves than I did trying to avoid Tommy Kramer inside a hotel in Fargo.

My wife and I sure enjoyed the article in the Nov. 23 issue of the Star Herald telling about the Kenneth coffee club. It sure brought back a lot of memories for me. My parents, Ray and Elsie Hoffer, were the owners of the Kenneth Grocery Store from 1967 until the mid-1970s. I sure recognized a lot of the names of the individuals in the article. My brother and I had just graduated when my parents sold their home in Lismore and moved to Kenneth. We would help out at the store sometimes and got to know some of the families from the Kenneth area. I remember that my parents would put in some long days running the store. They always commented that it was some of the best days of their life, mostly because of the good friends that they made while living and working in Kenneth.Glen HofferBrandon, S.D.

By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team drew a tough assignment to open the 2005-06 season Tuesday night.After having their scheduled opener against Central Lyon snowed out on Monday, the Patriots traveled to Pipestone Tuesday to take on the Arrows.The home-standing Arrows played a physical game on their home court and it paid off in the form of an 85-47 victory."They played a really aggressive, hard-nosed defense that took us out of our offensive rhythm," said first-year H-BC coach Jason Blosmo."Their full-court pressure caused problems for us early. We didn’t handle the press, and they took advantage of our miscues."Pipestone gained control of the game by outscoring the Patriots 52-19 in the first half.H-BC played better in the second half, but the Arrows managed to sport a 33-28 scoring advantage in the final 18 minutes to win by 38.Kerri Fransman drained five three-point shots and led the Patriots in scoring with 15 points. Chelsi Fink added 11 points for H-BC.Amanda Tilstra led H-BC with six rebounds, while Stacy Bush, Brittany Helgeson and Kari Roozenboom charted five rebounds each. Bush passed for six assists and charted two steals, as did Tilstra.The 0-1 Patriots play in Fulda Friday. H-BC hosts Central Lyon Monday before playing in Adrian Tuesday.Box scoreFransman 0 5 0-1 15, Bush 3 0 0-0 6, Tilstra 1 0 1-2 3, Fink 2 1 4-6 11, Helgeson 2 0 3-4 7, Roozenboom 2 0 1-3 5, Hoyme 0 0 0-0 0.Team statisticsH-BC: 15 of 50 field goals (30 percent), nine of 16 free throws (56 percent), 28 rebounds, 27 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseEllsworth first-year girls’ basketball coach J. Fisk had a hunch what Southwest Christian wanted to do against the Panthers during the season-opening game for both teams Tuesday in Edgerton.Unfortunately for EHS, knowing something and doing something about it are two different things.As expected, SWC came out with a full-court press. The Panthers prepared for SWC’s pressure, but it didn’t pay off as the E-Gals took advantage of 15 Ellsworth turnovers to help record a 63-39 advantage over EHS."I knew exactly what they would do, and we couldn’t do anything about it," Fisk stated."They pressed us early and forced us into a number of turnovers. It was a man-to-man press, and we couldn’t handle it."SWC, a team expected to contend for the Red Rock Conference championship this winter, gained control of the game early by outscoring the Panthers 33-18 in the first half.The situation didn’t improve for EHS in the second half, when the E-Gals used a 30-21 scoring cushion to win by 34.Amy Tiesler led the Panthers with 15 points and three blocked shots in the game. She charted three assists along with teammate Amanda Connors.Rosie Lewis scored 10 points and led EHS with six rebounds. Mya Mann recorded two steals for the Panthers.The 1-0 Panthers host Lake Benton tonight and Lincoln HI Tuesday.Box scoreTiesler 7 0 1-2 15, Connors 0 0 0-4 0, Kramer 2 0 2-2 6, Mann 1 0 0-0 2, Kvaale 1 0 2-2 4, Kix 1 0 0-0 2, Timmer 0 0 0-0 0, Lewis 5 0 0-0 10.Team statisticsEllsworth: 17 of 41 field goals (41 percent), five of 10 free throws (50 percent), 21 rebounds, 15 turnovers.SWC: 26 of 60 field goals (43 percent), 10 of 23 free throws (43 percent), 24 rebounds, six turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne boys’ hockey team opened the 2005-06 season in Mankato Saturday.The Cardinals were hoping to deliver first-year head coach Chris Medill a win to begin his career, but Mankato East had other ideas.The Cougars rolled to a 12-0 lead after two periods of play on the way to a 13-1 victory.ME, which outshot LHS 50-14 in the game, scored four goals in the first 17 minutes of play before erupting for eight goals in the second period.The teams skated to a draw at one in the third period, but the issue had been settled at that point.Sophomore Camerin Nath-Huls netted Luverne’s third-period goal.Adam Ossefoort stopped 33 shots in net for the Cards.Luverne, 0-1 overall, hosts Benson Friday before playing in Fairmont Tuesday.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls were unable to record their first hockey win of the season after skating against a pair of strong opponents Saturday and Monday.The Cardinals scored a season-high four goals during a seven-goal loss to Mankato East Saturday in Mankato. Sioux Falls Blue spoiled Luverne’s home opener by besting the Cards by eight goals in the Blue Mound Ice Arena Tuesday.Luverne, 0-4 overall, hosts Benson Friday (5:30 p.m.) and Watertown, S.D., Saturday (3 p.m.) before skating in Fairmont Tuesday.SFB 8, Luverne 0Visiting Sioux Falls Blue received goals from six different players during Tuesday’s eight-goal victory over the Cardinals in Luverne.Sammy Galliger led the charge for SFB by recording a hat trick in the second period.Morgan Greenfield, Alyssa Hanisch, Jamie Tiede, Melissa Dusing and Melissa Haight added one goal each to the winning cause.After Greenfield and Hanisch gave SFB a 2-0 lead in the first period, the visitors put the game away by scoring five times in the second stanza. Galliger accounted for three of the goals. Tiede and Dusing added one goal each.Haight scored the lone goal of the third period.Alison Brands stopped 23 of 31 shots in net for LHS. The Cards finished the game with 15 shots on goal, with 13 coming in the first and second periods.ME 11, Luverne 4The Cardinals netted a season-high four goals during Saturday’s road game against Mankato East.Mikki Fitzer found the net twice and Katie Dahl registered one goal and three assists to lead the Cardinals during the contest.Luverne, however, couldn’t keep up with the Cougars.ME received a four-goal effort from Carey Hoffman and Olivia Ferraro and Katie Wiese chipped in three and two counters respectively to lift the Cougars to a seven-goal win.Hoffman opened the scoring 30 seconds into the game before Fitzer tied the game at one at the 14:15 mark of the first period. Dahl and Paige Olson set up Fitzer’s first counter.Hoffman, Ferraro and Wiese netted one goal each after Fitzer’s tally to give the Cougars a 4-1 cushion at period’s end.Ferraro scored twice and Wiese added another goal in the first 13:08 of the second period to give ME a 7-1 lead. Fitzer countered with a power-play goal (Dahl received an assist) to make it a 7-2 game before the second period was complete.The Cards trailed by four (7-3) when Stephanie Steensma netted an unassisted power-play goal 28 seconds into the third period, but Hoffman answered with two goals to make it a 9-3 difference.Dahl scored Luverne’s final goal after being set up by Fitzer with 6:50 left to play, but ME scored the final two goals of the game to win by seven.Brands made 27 saves in net for LHS, which was outshot 38-17 in the contest.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls’ basketball team opened the 2005-06 season in promising fashion Saturday.Hosting Murray County Central for a non-conference contest, the Cardinals rallied from a seven-point deficit in the second half to pull out a 50-47 victory.The victory was sweet for LHS head coach Jason Phelps, who said losing tight games had been a problem for his team in recent years."We’ve had a lot of close games like this over the last four years, and we couldn’t get over the hump. It was nice to see us win a similar game," he said.Another nice thing about the win is that it came against a quality opponent.MCC is a team expected to challenge for the Red Rock Conference title this season, but the Rebels couldn’t knock off the Cardinals in the opener.The Rebels led 27-25 at the intermission before opening the second half with a 5-0 surge to gain a 32-25 lead.Luverne battled back to trim the difference to one point (34-33) when Samantha Gacke drained a free throw with 11:39 remaining in the game, but MCC countered with another 5-0 spurt to lead 39-33.The Cardinals responded to the challenge by putting together an 11-2 run capped by Maggie Kuhlman’s three-point shot at the 5:28 mark of the second half to move in front 44-41.MCC did sport a 46-44 advantage as the second half progressed, but the Cards moved in front to stay (48-46) when Kuhlman hit a three-point shot with 1:48 remaining before icing the contest with a pair of free throws with 23.9 seconds left to play.The game’s first half turned into a showdown between Kuhlman and MCC’s Rachel Christiansen.Kuhlman, who converted five of seven three-point shots and led all players with 23 points in the game, scored five of her 15 first-half points during a 7-0 LHS’ run to open the game.The Cards led 10-2 when Erin Hoiland sank a three-point shot, but MCC countered with a 17-2 run to gain a 19-12 advantage at the 8:11 mark of the first half.Luverne overcame MCC’s run by outscoring the Rebels 13-7 in the final eight minutes of the first half and trailed 27-25 at the break.Christiansen lifted MCC to a lead at the intermission by scoring 16 of her team-high 17 points in the opening half."We were concentrating on stopping her in the first half, but it didn’t work out," Phelps said."We didn’t change anything defensively from the first half to the second, we just played better. They had trouble getting her the ball."Kuhlman, who Phelps credited with playing a solid game, made seven of 12 shots from the field and collected six rebounds.Gacke led the Cards with nine rebounds and shared the team lead in steals (six) with Mindy Nieuwboer. Hoiland added two assists to the winning cause.The 1-0 Cards host Southwest Christian (6 p.m.) tonight.Box scoreKlein 2 0 0-0 4, Nieuwboer 2 0 0-2 4, Snyder 3 0 1-2 7, Kuhlman 2 5 4-4 23, Hoiland 0 1 1-2 4, Vogt 0 0 0-0 0, Gacke 2 0 4-6 8.Team StatisticsLuverne 16 of 52 field goals (31 percent), 10 of 16 free throws (63 percent), 28 rebounds, 21 turnovers.MCC: 18 of 43 field goals (42 percent), nine of 19 free throws (47 percent), 28 rebounds, 22 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team drew a tough assignment to open the 2005-06 season Tuesday night.After having their scheduled opener against Central Lyon snowed out on Monday, the Patriots traveled to Pipestone Tuesday to take on the Arrows.The home-standing Arrows played a physical game on their home court and it paid off in the form of an 85-47 victory."They played a really aggressive, hard-nosed defense that took us out of our offensive rhythm," said first-year H-BC coach Jason Blosmo."Their full-court pressure caused problems for us early. We didn’t handle the press, and they took advantage of our miscues."Pipestone gained control of the game by outscoring the Patriots 52-19 in the first half.H-BC played better in the second half, but the Arrows managed to sport a 33-28 scoring advantage in the final 18 minutes to win by 38.Kerri Fransman drained five three-point shots and led the Patriots in scoring with 15 points. Chelsi Fink added 11 points for H-BC.Amanda Tilstra led H-BC with six rebounds, while Stacy Bush, Brittany Helgeson and Kari Roozenboom charted five rebounds each. Bush passed for six assists and charted two steals, as did Tilstra.The 0-1 Patriots play in Fulda Friday. H-BC hosts Central Lyon Monday before playing in Adrian Tuesday.Box scoreFransman 0 5 0-1 15, Bush 3 0 0-0 6, Tilstra 1 0 1-2 3, Fink 2 1 4-6 11, Helgeson 2 0 3-4 7, Roozenboom 2 0 1-3 5, Hoyme 0 0 0-0 0.Team statisticsH-BC: 15 of 50 field goals (30 percent), nine of 16 free throws (56 percent), 28 rebounds, 27 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseTwo Hills-Beaver Creek High School athletes will compete as members of Luverne teams during the upcoming winter sports season.Eighth-grader Tyler Hanson is a member of the Luverne High School wrestling program. Seventh-grader Courtney Hoogendoorn is a member of the LHS gymnastics team.Hanson will be wrestling for Craig Schneider, a first-year coach at LHS.The Wisconsin native hopes to rebuild an LHS program that has struggled on the mat in recent years.Luverne is coming off a 1-17 campaign in 2004-05. Nine letter winners return to the mat this season.Hoogendoorn will be a member of what should be a competitive gymnastics team this winter.Luverne compiled a 6-5 record last season, when the Cardinals fielded a team without a senior.LHS coach Phoebe Flom said her team returns five all-around performers with varsity letters from the 2004-05 season.