Greg Lee

It's with equal parts relief and trepidation that a handful of North Idaho high school football teams approach their early season-opening games tonight. Relief in that preseason practices have finally concluded; trepidation in that those preseason practices haven't prepared them for their openers.

The Lewis-Clark Twins used a familiar formula to secure the Class AA American Legion state championship Monday. The Twins combined hot hitting with solid pitching and defense as they handled the upstart Idaho Falls Russets 12-1 in a run-rule shortened seven innings at McEuen Field in Coeur d'Alene.

The only way to describe the Lewis-Clark Twins' come-from-behind 10-9 win over the favored Boise Senators is improbable. After all, the defending state champion Senators had a 9-2 lead and were six outs away from advancing to the Class AA American Legion state title game Sunday afternoon at McEuen Field.

If folks were wondering why the Boise Senators came into the Class AA state tourney heavily favored to repeat, they should understand clearly after Saturday evening. The Senators played flawlessly while the Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen made more mental and physical errors than one could count.

With the game in the balance in the late innings, Coeur d'Alene Lumberman coach Jim Straw had the key players in the right spots. Max Lyons, one of Coeur d'Alene's hottest hitters of late, ripped a single to drive in what would prove to be the game-winning run in the eighth inning. Then Straw handed the ball to Dan Lau, the Lums' closer.

McEuen Field has seen its share of quality baseball over the last six decades, but nothing like the caliber of play that will be witnessed this weekend. The Coeur d'Alene Lumbermen will play host to the Class AA American Legion state tournament, which will begin a four-day run Friday. It marks the first time the AA tourney has been held in the Lake City.

Matt Seeley is equally exhilarated and troubled by his best Ironman finish ever. Seeley was within two miles of his first Ironman victory last year at the Ford USA Coeur d'Alene Ironman when Chris Legh pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind win.

What Eastern Washington prep basketball fans knew already about University's Angie Bjorklund, North Idaho fans found out firsthand Tuesday. Bjorklund, a Parade All-American who is rated the best sophomore in the nation by the College Coaches Association, scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Metro all-stars to a runaway 87-62 victory over the Region all-stars before an estimated crowd of 1,000 at Coeur d'Alene's Lake City High School in the 12th annual Jack Blair Memorial Girls AAU All-Star Basketball Classic.

For a few moments Saturday morning, light smoke from a nearby controlled burn drifted above Eastern Washington University's Woodward Field. It was seemingly symbolic, because on the track the Newport High boys team was doing its own version of a controlled burn. The Grizzlies, with their red-dyed hair, looked like fire in motion as they streaked to their first state championship.

A fund-raising effort has been launched to replace the 35-year-old gym floor at Coeur d'Alene High School's Elmer Jordan Court. "It's outlived its life," said Rusty Reyes, a Coeur d'Alene booster who is spearheading the renovation project. "The floor sits on concrete and there's no cushion, so it fatigues knees and joints."

Sandpoint High boys soccer coach Randy Thoreson would have been proud Monday morning. The Sandpoint Strikers, featuring five players off Thoreson's state championship teams, combined with a cast of all-stars from Pacific Northwest colleges to knock off the Boise Nationals 2-0 in the U-19 Idaho State Cup final at Coeur d'Alene High School.

The Boise Nationals and the Boise Capitals are invading Coeur d'Alene this weekend. This isn't some sort of political propaganda expedition. It can only mean one thing: state soccer cup.

BOISE – The season started with an injury to their top pitcher who didn't throw until the next-to-last game of the year. In between, there were three suspensions followed by two players quitting. So if one had asked Post Falls High baseball coach Mick Zeller if he thought his team would end up playing in the State 4A championship game, he would have answered with an emphatic no.

BOISE – Priest River High track coach Jared Hughes didn't know his girls team had a chance to corral a 3A state title until the seedings were posted last Sunday. According to seedings, Priest River was positioned to win by three points.

BOISE – Intermountain League athletes left their marks all over the State 3A track meet Friday. But Katie Poston's attempt at another state-meet record never got airborne. A day after tying the shot put state record, Poston never got untracked in her favorite event, the discus. After her first throw clanged into the chain-link fence encircling the ring, her second flew out of bounds.