FRIDAY, AUGUST 3:
Baseball: State “A” American Legion Baseball Tourney @ Fossum Field, Aberdeen
   12:30 p.m.: Aberdeen (21-37) vs. Brookings (39-10).
         5 p.m.: Sioux Falls West (37-22) vs. Valley Springs (31-24)
     7:30 p.m.: Rapid City Post 22 (41-28) vs. Sioux Falls East (36-17)
  State “B” Amateur Tourney @ Cadwell Park, Mitchell
   11:00am: Dimock/Emery vs. Larchwood        1:00pm: Crofton vs. Garretson
     5:30pm: Wessington Springs vs. Alexandria 8:00pm: Irene vs. Lake Norden Lakers
  State “A” Amateur Tourney @ Riverside Park, Yankton
     5:30pm:   Renner Monarchs vs. Sioux Falls Saints 8:00pm: Castlewood Ravens vs. Mitchell Mad
Dogs

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4:
Baseball: State “A” American Legion Baseball Tourney @ Fossum Field, Aberdeen
  State “B” Amateur Tourney @ Cadwell Park, Mitchell
   11:00am: Canova/Howard vs. Four Corners    1:00pm: Renner Old Timers vs. Tabor
     5:30pm: Martin vs. Clark                             8:00pm: Akron vs. Winner/Colome
  State “A” Amateur Tourney @ Riverside Park, Yankton
    5:00PM:  Pierre Rattlers vs. Brandon Merchants      7:30pm      Rapid City A’s vs. Vermillion Red Sox
Golf:  SDGA Two-Woman Championship @ Lakeview, Mitchell
   (Kelsey Bortnem, Vonda Bjorkland-Volga, Morgan & Lauren Fitts-Brookings, Marilyn Skyberg-DeSmet)

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5:
Baseball: State “A” American Legion Baseball Tourney @ Fossum Field, Aberdeen  
  State “B” Amateur Tourney @ Cadwell Park, Mitchell
   11:00am:  Milbank vs. Parkston Rock Bass 1:00pm: Harrisburg vs. Parkston Mudcats
  State “A” Amateur Tourney @ Riverside Park, Yankton

Golf:  SDGA Two-Woman Championship @ Lakeview, Mitchell
   (Kelsey Bortnem, Vonda Bjorkland-Volga, Morgan & Lauren Fitts-Brookings, Marilyn Skyberg-DeSmet)
  USGA Mid-Amateur Qualifying @ Minnehaha, Sioux Falls   

MONDAY, AUGUST 6:
Baseball: State “B” Amateur Tourney @ Cadwell Park, Mitchell

TUESDAY, AUGUST 7:
Baseball: State “B” Amateur Tourney @ Cadwell Park, Mitchell

BANDITS…Rapid City Post 22 moved one win away from a South Dakota American Legion state baseball tournament championship berth with a 4-2 win over Brookings on Thursday in Aberdeen.
   Jose Melendez and Cody Carlson combined to hold Brookings to two runs on 11 hits.

STATE “A” LEGION…Thursday scores from the state “A” American Legion baseball tourney in Aberdeen:
Sioux Falls West 8, Watertown 1 (Watertown eliminated)   Aberdeen 17, Spearfish 15 (Spearfish eliminated)
Rapid City Post 22 4, Brookings 2     Sioux Falls East 17, Valley Springs 16

STATE “B” AMATEUR…Thursday’s scores from the state “B” amateur baseball tournament in Mitchell:
Britton 3, Avon 0     Clear Lake 2, Dell Rapids Mudcats 0 (Ben Bartling throws 3-hitter)
Salem 5, Redfield Pheasants 3    Lennox 8, Miller-Wessington 2

MVFC…Defending national champion North Dakota State is the choice of Missouri Valley Football Conference coaches and media to win the 2012 league title.
    Northern Iowa is second, followed by Youngstown State, Illinois State and Indiana State.  South Dakota State is sixth, and South Dakota eighth in the ten-team conference.
    Jacks head coach John Stiegelmeier says the top five teams are all quality squads.  97621   :14   “great football league”.
    Four SDSU players – wideout Aaron Rollin, offensive lineman Bryan Witzmann, defensive back Winston Wright, and defensive lineman Andy Mink – are named on the pre-season team.  Stiegelmeier says those individuals can play at all levels.  97622   :15   “league to watch”.
    Stiegelmeier says it’ll be a fine line between conference contender, and also-ran.  97623   :25   “are too good”.
    Stiegelmeier says the Jacks have to cut down on turnovers to improve their chances.

SELL-PENN STATE…South Dakota State athletic director Justin Sell says the harsh penalties the NCAA recently levied against Penn State in light of a sex abuse scandal should serve as a message to other member institutions.
    Sell says thoughts are with the victims and their families, and says the university was at great fault.  He says SDSU’s working around the message left by investigations and penalties given to Miami, Syracuse, Oregon and other schools.  97627   :27   “in those modes”.
    Sell says the lesson learned is athletic departments must be forthcoming, make sure individuals involved are cared for, and quickly act to correct any rule violations.  97628   :20   “you pretty hard”.
    Sell says coaches and student-athletes should realize there’s no more wiggle room.  97629   :09   “happened out there”.
    SDSU athletic director Justin Sell.

BROOD COUNTS…Early brood counts indicate there could be more pheasants in Brookings County this fall.
    Conservation officer Jeff Grendler says counts are ongoing across the state.  97624   :15   “statewide population estimate”.
    Grendler says, of the routes he’s run in northern Brookings County, numbers are up.  97625   :19   “to more pheasants”.
    But Grendler cautions is difficult to say how substancial increases around the state will be.  97626   :21   “had for nesting”.
    Drought conditions have prompted the opening of some conservation reserve acres to emergency grazing and haying – Grendler says the impact of that won’t be seen until next year.

BIGLER BABY…A funeral is set for the 5-month-old son of Southwest Minnesota State men's basketball coach Brad Bigler and his wife Heather.  Services for Drake Bigler will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at First Lutheran Church in Marshall.
   The boy was killed Saturday when a pickup collided head-on with an SUV carrying Bigler family members.
   Brad Bigler's surgeon says the coach continues to improve. His wife's 74-old-grandmother, Sharon Schuler, also is making progress.
   The pickup driver, 38-year-old Dana Schoen (shohn) of Starbuck, faces three criminal vehicular homicide or operation charges. The complaint says Schoen had a blood-alcohol content of 0.351 percent — more than four times Minnesota's legal limit of 0.08 percent.
   Schoen was released from jail after making bail Tuesday. A court hearing is set for Oct. 17.

USD NOW OFFICIAL…It is official: the University of South Dakota has now completed the transition to Division I. The university received a letter from the NCAA verifying approval for active Division I membership, effective at the beginning of the 2012-13 academic year.
   Active membership in Division I means that all Coyote teams now have full eligibility for NCAA postseason competition, as for the last two years, only outdoor track and field was eligible to advance/compete at the NCAA National Championships. South Dakota student-athletes will also now be officially considered and ranked in the NCAA national statistics for the first time.

SDSU-USD SOLD OUT…South Dakota State University ticket officials say all reserved tickets for the Nov. 17 football game against the University of South Dakota have been sold — one day after single-game tickets went on sale to the general public.
   Fans still interested in attending the game can do so by purchasing standing-room-only tickets. Reserved tickets remain available for the other four Jackrabbit home games during the 2012 season.

GPAC POLL…Northwestern received the top spot in the coaches’ poll and Morningside received the top spot in the inaugural media poll as the Great Plains Athletic Conference held its Football Media Day.
   Northwestern edged Morningside 78-76 in the coaches’ poll thanks to a 6-4 edge in first-place votes. Morningside took the media poll by a 76-74 margin thanks to a 5-3 edge in top votes.
   In the coaches’ poll, Hastings finished third, Dakota Wesleyan, Doane and Midland tied for fourth, and Nebraska Wesleyan finished seventh. In the media poll, Doane finished third, followed by Hastings, Midland, Nebraska Wesleyan and Dakota Wesleyan.
   Concordia, Briar Cliff and Dordt finished in the bottom three spots in both polls.

RUSHMORE BOWL…The 20th Annual Rushmore Bowl is set for 4 p.m. on Aug. 31 as Rapid City Stevens takes the field at O’Harra Stadium against Spearfish. At 7 p.m. Rapid City Central takes on Sturgis.
   The Rushmore Bowl benefits all activities at Central and Stevens –- sports, academics and the arts.