Finally after 35 years, Coach Turnquist is taking a team to Madison to play for a state championship.  West De Pere is playing for a state title next week after an exhilirating 17 -7 victory over Waupaca.

Defense ruled this game, forcing five turnovers and not allowing Waupaca’s offense to get on track.  This game came down to the wire though as Waupaca’s defense denied the Phantoms, who were without 2000 yard rusher Beau Bellmore,  time after time.

West De Pere’s jumped out to a 10 – 0 first half lead, only to see Waupaca block a punt early in the 3rd quarter that was returned for a touchdown.  Following an interception midway through the fourth Waupaca moved it down to the West De Pere 12 yard line before a big defensive stop forced Waupaca into an unsuccessful field goal attempt.  Then came the drive that sealed the victory.

West De Pere moved out close to midfield and was faced with a 4th and 3 with just over two minutes remaining.  Classic coaching and execution followed as the Phantoms forced an offsides by using the snap cadence to move into the 3 point stance.  Waupaca held again though forcing a 4th and 1 with 50 seconds remaining, rather than punt the Phantoms went for it.  Waupaca collapsed the defense inside as Zac Rottier went outside right tackle and scampered 42 yards for the TD.  With the dagger applied the Phantoms defense finished the Comets off with two sacks to end the game.

Next up: the state championship game next Friday at 10:00 am against Reedsburg

Great ad.

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is Sean Duffy over in the WI-07.

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8th Congressional district candidate Marc Savard points out how Congressman Steve Kagen doesn’t get it when it comes to this country’s economic problems.

First a great comparison with Santa Claus.

Santa Claus is a good man with good intentions. I believe Congressman Kagen too genuinely believes he is doing the right thing when he comes back from Washington with bags of goodies for certain folks in the 8th District.
Yet the catch is that Santa Claus actually works and creates his own products, while Santa Kagen takes our work product, siphons off some for others among the Washington tax-eating crowd and then distributes back what might be left for us, at his discretion.

Next pointing out what the these recent “solutions” from Washington are really doing.  Hint – they aren’t the great deal they appear to be.

So, while the recently announced extension of the new homebuyers tax credit, and now the additional program of tax credits for existing home buyers ,sounds like a great deal, all it is doing is artificially creating a market and distorting sales that the free market forces would and should handle on its own. Just as the cash for clunkers program drew sales forward and did nothing for overall sales in the long run, so does this sound bite policy do nothing for the overall health of the economy and home sales in the long run. And just as the auto industry started with a limited policy of “cash back” programs to spur sales, now the consumer won’t buy a car without one. The same will happen with the home builders industry. Buyers will now wait to purchase until they see the next “cash back” program come from Washington, further distorting and destroying sales in the long run.

In conclusion what the sound solution really is while pointing out who the real problem is.

What we need is for Congress to start dealing with the big picture , which is to get their out of control spending under control and lower tax rates across the board. These policies are the only sound solution to the dire situation that Congress has created, yet it looks as if Congressman Kagen and Speaker Pelosi just don’t get it. Washington is not the answer to our country’s economic problems,  it is the problem. (Source: Santa Kagen – Savard for Congress)

Which means Congressman Kagen, as part of the problem, needs to be sent back private practice in November 2010.

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That’s the rallying cry for West DePere today in it’s Division 3 semifinal game.

Bill Turnquist, 63, has put in some long hours as West De Pere’s coach the past 35 years, and it would be fitting for his Phantoms to be able to give him something back now.

Those who know him best would love to see Turnquist have an opportunity to coach at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison next week with a chance to win the program’s first state championship.

“More so for Coach Turnquist than for anything or anybody else, it would mean the world to him,” West De Pere defensive coordinator Jack Batten said. “He doesn’t need it to validate his career. I think what he has done for kids and the community stands by itself regardless of whether he wins a state championship or not. But I think for his own peace of mind, getting the final crown and winning the state championship would mean the world to him.”

Even if it happened, chances are Turnquist would downplay his role in the achievement, instead saying it’s the players and assistant coaches who make the Phantoms successful.

It would be Turnquist being Turnquist.

He’s humble, quiet, caring and hard-working. He’s passionate and intense about football. Perhaps most of all, he deeply cares about West De Pere High School.

“He is all of those things,” said Jodi Gibbons, the West De Pere activities secretary who has worked at the school for 32 years. “And very private. He is just a very private, humble man.”

So private that when some of his close friends are asked for the best Turnquist stories, most say there are none.  ( Source: West De Pere wants D3 state berth for Turnquist – GBPG)

Great article about a great coach and great person. Go read the whole thing.

with a Division 3 semi-final game against the Waupaca Comets THIS Saturday.

Image via Wisconsin High School Helmets (www.mghelmets.com)

When: 1:00 pm

Where: Kimberly High School

West De Pere has been in this position before, although it hopes the result will be different this time around. The Phantoms reached the semifinal round in 2004, only to lose a heartbreaker to Rice Lake 34-27 in overtime.

It’s a tough matchup this time against the defending state champs in Division 3.

The Phantoms will face a stiff challenge against the defending state champion Comets, who have won two of the last three state titles and have won 25 of their last 26 games.

Waupaca has had little difficulty this postseason, outscoring its three opponents 109-14. It includes a 49-7 win over Hayward/ Lac Courte Oreilles in a quarterfinal Saturday.

The Comets had the best defense in the Eastern Valley Conference, allowing just 8.8 points and 157.3 yards per game. Since a 26-7 loss to Ripon in Week 4, it has allowed 37 points over its last eight games and has allowed no more than nine points in any contest. It also has posted three shutouts during that span.

The Phantoms should have what it takes to counter the Comets so this will be a good game.  The key question is will the Phantoms be at full strength.

West De Pere coach Bill Turnquist said after a second-round win over Green Bay Notre Dame that the health of his team would be a big factor in this playoff run, and the focus shifts to the health of running back Beau Bellmore. The Bay Conference player of the year fought through injuries during the win over Notre Dame to rush for 316 yards on 39 carries, but he was limited to 15 carries in a quarterfinal win over Kewaskum and left in the third quarter. (Source: West De Pere faces defending champs – GBPG)

Should be a packed house for this one – see you there fellow Phantom alumni.

to an American icon.  The first episode of Sesame Street aired today in 1969.

A man landed on the moon; a little weekend music festival mushroomed into Woodstock. And a big yellow bird and his fuzzy friends took up residence on a street where the air is always sweet and the sky is always sunny.

The year 1969 was a busy one for big events, and 40 years later, lots of anniversaries are popping up at the intersection of history and pop culture. But when it comes to stirring whirlwinds of memories and before-and-after reflections, the debut of Sesame Street is at the top of the list.

As proof of that status, take this simple test: Try to imagine a world without Muppets.

“I think it’s all but impossible to do, but even if you can, what a sadder and drearier world that would have to be,” says Michael Davis, author of the best-selling Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street.

“It’s not just an iconic piece of a past magical time; it’s still standing, growing, evolving. Here’s a show on a medium where things often don’t last 40 minutes, and it’s lasted 40 years and is still going strong.”

Amazingly episode 4187 airs today.

When episode 4,187 airs Tuesday (the official anniversary date), Sesame Street will be a show broadcast in 140 countries around the world and averaging 5 million viewers a week in the U.S. It holds the record for most Emmy Awards given to a single show with 122. But numbers don’t really tell the story. Plenty of children’s shows regularly score higher ratings than Sesame Street.

“If you see the other stuff, it reminds you of how great Sesame Street is just because they’ve been going for so long and they turn out a very high-quality product,” says Michael O’Malley. The 40-year-old Rowlett native grew up watching Sesame Street and continues to watch with his children.

All that “other stuff” is just another sign of Sesame Street ’s success.

In short Sesame Street is the gold standard when it comes to children’s programming.

Sesame Street recognized the power of the relatively new medium of television as a learning tool, with teachers and education researchers helping to create strategies for its on-air content.

“It’s still the gold standard in children’s television for its use of research and work with real children,” says Dr. Cynthia Schiebe, a New York-based developmental psychologist who specializes in media literacy. Henson and company made perhaps their most important breakthrough by making Sesame Street fun and smart, allowing all the lessons to flow from that.

It’s always been good entertainment first and good-for-you entertainment second, whether it was Bert and Ernie as an odd-couple comedy team, the Count as a silly-scary sophisticate or celebrities singing about this letter or rhapsodizing about that number. That 40-year procession of celebrities forms an encyclopedic timeline of pop culture fads and phases, from Carol Channing and Itzhak Perlman to Natalie Portman and Jack Black.

Michelle Obama adds her name to the list of first ladies visiting Sesame Street that began with Barbara Bush and continued with Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush. The current first lady visits in Tuesday’s episode to help the Muppets with a vegetable garden. Decades after Muppet star Kermit the Frog first sang about the difficulties of “being green,” this season will focus on nature and the environment. (Source: After 40 years, ‘Sesame Street’ still stands out – Dallas Morning News)

Here’s the “original” opening:

Here’s the 40th season opening:

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courtesy of a last-second FG.

Image via Wisconsin High School Helmets (www.mghelmets.com)

Randy Hill has kicked longer field goals this season. Until Saturday afternoon, the West De Pere placekicker hadn’t kicked one bigger.

Hill’s 26-yard field goal as time expired propelled the Phantoms past Kewaskum 24-21 in a WIAA Division 3 quarterfinal game at West De Pere. The kick capped a 10-point, fourth-quarter comeback for the Phantoms, who have won 11 straight after dropping their opener at Seymour.

“I’m normally taught just to keep my head down and listen to the crowd, but I kicked it and I had to look up right away. I had to see it go through, if it did or not,” Hill said. “Thank God that it did.”

West De Pere let the game clock run down to 3.3 seconds before calling time. Sophomore Jay Tollefson snapped the ball to holder Michael Linssen and Hill split the uprights.

“I just wanted to stay warm, keep it loose,” said Hill who hit from 40 and 42 yards in warmups.

A strong defensive performance in the 2nd half, along with a strong running game made the winning FG possible.  More impressive was the fact the Phantoms were without Beau Bellmore most of the 2nd half.

Behind 21-14, the Phantoms dominated the fourth quarter. West De Pere held Kewaskum (10-2) to minus-4 yards on five plays while gaining 93 yards on 24 snaps itself.

The bulk of those yards came from Zac Rottier. Running behind tackles Rlki Kodanko and Tony Romenesko, guards Travis Feaker and Garrett Schuh, center Kyle Steuck, tight end Tyler Van Sistine and fullback Trevor Cherney, the junior reeled off 48 yards on 11 tries in the quarter filling in for Beau Bellmore.

Rottier had runs of 11 and 10 yards on the game-winning drive.

“It was scary at first because you never want to lose a player like Beau,” Rottier said. “It’s a tough loss, then I figured I had to step in. I had to prove that we’re a team and we can do this as a team.”

Bellmore, who rushed for 108 yards, was helped off the field by Romenesko and Steuck early in the third quarter. The Bay Conference player of the year returned to field one kickoff and take one lateral before retiring.

After basically cruising all season following the Seymour slip this was a hard fought victory.  Here’s what Coach T had to say:

“There were a lot of momentum changes in the game,” West De Pere coach Bill Turnquist said. “You know we jumped out to a really quick lead 14-0. We had a number of turnovers (three) that really hurt us. We haven’t been doing that all year.”

“We haven’t had that opportunity to fight back and score at the end of the game like this all year long,” said Turnquist of his team which had outscored its opponents 428 to 123 through 11 games. “This is a good one, one we can enjoy.” (Source: Last-second kick propels West DePere past Kewaskum – GBPG)

Up next for the Phantoms: a match-up with the high-flying Comets of Waupaca, with the winner earning a spot in the state championship game.  Game time and location TBA.

Now Howard physician Marc Trager has put his name in the  ring.

The Republican field of candidates running to challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Appleton, gets bigger today as Howard physician Marc Trager announces his run for Congress.

Trager, who served in the U.S. Air Force, will make a number of announcements today across the 8th Congressional District, in Green Bay, Marinette and Appleton.

“Our campaign will target the economic and social issues important to families in the district, bringing new ideas and a fresh approach to the needs of Northeast Wisconsin,” Trager said in a release.

Trager filed for candidacy with the Federal Election Commission earlier this week. Other Republican challengers include Marc Savard and Reid Ribble. (Source: Marc Trager seeks GOP nomination in 8th district – GB PressGazette)

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This Week’s Post Was Written By Greta

Col. Henry J. Cook

Past National Commander, Military Order of the Purple Heart, after serving over fifteen years with MOPH, gaining invaluable experience while in the positions of National Aide-de-Camp, Chapter Commander, Region Commander, National Junior Vice Commander and National Senior Vice Commander.

He was a career Special Forces (Green Beret) officer for thirty-three of the total forty-two years that he was on combined active and reserve duty. His combat tours began in 1967-68 when he operated behind enemy lines in for extended periods of time conducting operations with native guerrilla troops as the Executive Officer of the 4th Mobile Guerrilla. He saw additional combat in 1969-70 when he led a U.S. Special Forces Mobile Strike Force Battalion (MIKE FORCE), consisting of Green Beret officers and sergeants leading Cambodian mercenaries, again working behind enemy lines as well as reacting to attacks on friendly bases, often requiring that his unit be parachuted into hostile drop zones.

Later, he participated in Desert Shield (Saudi Arabia), Desert Storm (Kuwait) and Iraq, and Operation Provide Comfort (Support to Kurdish refugees in Northern Iraq.

For his valor and military skills, Colonel Cook was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device for Valor and two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device and one Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart with One Oak Leaf Cluster, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold and Silver Stars, Joint Services Commendation Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Special Forces Combat Diver Badge, Special Forces Tab, and numerous other U.S. and foreign decorations.

Henry Cook is now twice retired, as a soldier and as a lawyer and resides in Diamondhead, Mississippi. He is a member of the Pro Bono Consortium representing veterans who appeal denial of claims and is a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims. He’s been a member of the Mississippi Bar Association since 1978 and also serves as a Municipal Judge Pro Tem in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Other significant contributions to veterans by Henry Cook include: a major role in the creation of the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial in Ocean Springs and helping raise over $500,000 to help MOPH members in Louisiana and Mississippi who lost everything during Hurricane Katrina. In addition to MOPH, he also belongs to Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Special Forces Association (SFA), Special Operations Association (SOA), Military Order of the World Wars (MOWW).

You can read more about Col. Henry in this PDF file on pages 31 & 32.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.