First-year Chippewa Valley Predators Tanner Walker, Brandon Kimball and Zach Culbertson walk into an Eau Claire bar after a game. Walker, 20, Kimball, 19, and Culbertson, 20, are three of the youngest members of the Predators, who have a median team age of 27. The age difference between the three newcomers and their teammates is something they rarely are allowed to forget.
As Keldric Stokes exited Sea Foam Stadium in St. Paul last summer after a 21-7 defeat in the Northern Elite Football League Championship, a feeling of disappointment flowed through him. The Chippewa Valley Predators, the team he quarterbacks, lost to the St. Paul Pioneers, giving the dynasty its sixth consecutive Elite Bowl title.
Senior Blugold is already a published poet, and his life journey serves as fuel to his writings. It’s 12:30 p.m. on a Tuesday inside Hibbard Hall and a class full of students begin to pile into room 323. The class, English 276, titled Poetry, is filled with students who display diverse levels of knowledge on the subject.
The Spectator's sports editors decide once and for all who would win, Batman or Superman. A few decades ago that last sentence would’ve ended with Superman, but times have changed and we live in a world dominated by Batman fandom, merchandise and films. Speaking of films, since his first movie was released in 1978, the Superman six-film franchise has made almost $668 million, having most recently released “Man of Steel” in 2013.
For 39 minutes and 39 seconds it was the UW-Stout men’s basketball team’s night. Leading UW-Oshkosh by one with 30 seconds remaining, the Blue Devils needed one final stop after missing their third consecutive bonus free throw. One stop to capture their first conference win in nearly two years. Titans guard Alex Olson caught a pass from the left wing, dribbled to the right elbow and pulled up over the entire UW-Stout defense to bury the go-ahead bucket.
Woodbury clung to a four-point lead late in its game against Suburban East Conference leader Cretin-Derham Hall on Friday night when Royals senior guard Jace Klinkner caught a swing pass on the right wing, set his feet and launched an uncontested three-point shot. As the ball was in the air, two Raiders started leaking out in transition in hopes that a missed shot would result easy layup at the other end, a nightlong staple of Cretin-Derham Hall's game plan.
UW-Eau Claire senior has potential future in both MMA or WWE after graduation. Walking down the entrance ramp at World Wrestling Entertainment’s Monday Night Raw, UW-Eau Claire senior Jennifer See felt the electricity running through Minneapolis’ Target Center. As she made her way to the end of the ramp and set her eyes on the the 20-by-20 ring, the electricity in the air landed near See’s feet and shot up her body.
Three years ago, Adam Hjelter was staring at a near-300-pound barbell. After a deep breath, he thrust the weight up over his shoulders and immediately knew something was wrong. With severe pain shooting down his back, the then-sophomore transfer from UW-Superior realized something soon after the injury.
Upon entering Carson Park on June 18, Eau Claire native Jake Sparger didn’t exactly know what to expect. He’d joined the Rochester Honkers less than a week earlier and wasn’t sure if he would make a mound appearance inside the baseball field he once called home. Sparger’s family sat in the grand stand hoping to see him pitch live.
“Here’s the deal I’m the best there is. Plain and simple. I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence.”. Pissing excellence. The phrase that changed the lives of teenagers and adults across the world in 2006 when “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” was released. The story of Ricky Bobby, played by Will Ferrell, follows the rise, the fall and then re-rising of one of the most talented NASCAR drivers in the nation.
Champion powerlifter Mariah Hamm is a record-setting competitor and one of the top lifters in the world. After a long day of classes, senior Mariah Hamm opens the door to 405 Graham Ave. Awaiting her is a set of two bare staircases, but at the bottom sits her sanctuary. A basic gym. Filled with squat racks, benches, machines and free weights, but for Hamm this place feels like home.
There aren’t any contract negotiations, player buyouts or sitouts. There are no threats of relocation or strikes because of a collective bargaining disagreement. Professional sports are driven by the dollar, where your favorite player might end up on a different team someday because of a nicer contract, thus crushing the loyalty aspect.
I can’t even believe what started as an inside joke in the office came to be a great debate between my sports editor and me. He might put up a seemingly good fight, but let’s be real, besides the entertainment factor, there’s little to no good reasons to have Segways on campus. If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard about this Segway idea on campus, don’t fret, because it’s not real.
Senior golfer Kate Engler is preparing for a WIAC Championship repeat, while adjusting to life on the greens without her former head coach. In Angola, Ind., lies a scenic and challenging 18-hole championship golf course. These nationally respected grounds known as Zollner hosted the National Collegiate Golf Championships three times, most recently in 2012, when the UW-Eau Claire women’s golf team finished in third place.
