Up Next Andover

The Rebels travle to Andover Friday night to face the Huskies who are led by Brett Tester who is averaging 19 points a game.

Here are the other conference games for Friday with a big one going on at Maple Grove.

Centennial vs. Maple Grove at Maple Grove, 7:00 pm
Blaine vs. Elk River at Elk River, 7:00 pm
Coon Rapids vs. Anoka at Anoka, 7:00 pm
Osseo vs. Park Center at Park Center, 7:00 pm
Champlin Park vs. Andover at Andover, 7:00 pm

CP 93 - Coon Rapids 48

The Rebels are involved in their first "Mercy Rule" (if a team gets up by 35 the clock does not stop running) game as they steam roll the Cardinals to get back on the winning track. They race out to a 17-5 lead that they turn into a 61-33 halftime lead and never look back. Theisen led the way with 27 (six 3's) as three other Rebels scored in double digits. Very good team shooting (51% from the field and 44% from beyond the arch) night as the Cardinals can't make a basket in the second half and only score 15 points. Baker led the Cardinals with 21 points. The Cardinals had scored 96 points in there win last week against Andover.

The Box:
Theisen 27
Zimmermann 16
Duberry 13
Munneke 11
Williamson 6
Hager 4
Starck 2
Walker 3
Sandstad 2

Of Note:

• Teams second straight game with 10 or less free throw attempts
• Team season high 16 steals
• Season high 93 points

Conference Scoreboard Watching:
Park Center 74, Blaine 72 F/OT at Blaine
Elk River 43, Centennial 71 F at Centennial
Champlin Park 93, Coon Rapids 48 F at Coon Rapids
Anoka 51, Osseo 87 F at Osseo
Andover 55, Maple Grove 76 F at Maple Grove

Next Up Coon Rapids

The Rebel start a 3 game road trip with their first stop in Coon Rapids Tuesday at 7pm.

The Cardinals are led by Ben Baker and have three other players averaging double digits. The Cardinals almost hit the century mark last night in their 96-87 win over Andover.

Osseo Continues Streak With Win Over CP

MinnesotaPreps.comvisit www.mnphotonet.net for high quality game photographs
by Michael J. Much

It was double header night at Osseo Thursday evening with the Girls game followed by the boys. Osseo continues to win. They lost their first game of the season against a very highly ranked Henry Sibley team and had not lost a game since. [details]

Champlin Park at Osseo Thoughts

As Ernie Banks once said, "Let's Play Two" as I'm in Osseo for a girls and boys doubleheader. Girls JV goes way over and we don't get started with girls game until almost 6:30. Osseo girls hang on 57-52. CP had an early 15-4 lead in that one. Once again I miss out on pizza, but the hot dog was worthwhile. Now to the important action.

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CP goes with an interesting defensive choice in the boys game. Kyle Zimmerman (CP best big) guarding DJ Phillips (Osseo's PG). Sam Dower doubled on every touch but usually not by Zimmerman in a surprise. CP catches a break when Jayvin Reynolds picks up his 2nd foul 2 minutes in and he's gone for the rest of the half. The 1st 10 minutes are back and forth before Josh Pella breaks the press with a dunk and then off a Jasper Duberry steal he makes 1 of 2 FTs for a 17-14 Champlin Park lead at 6:53 of the 1st half. Nick Djerf with 4 of Osseo's 6 in a row as he finishes that spurt with a steal for 2 to put Osseo on top 20-17 at 5:40. Zimmerman makes 2 free throws after an offensive rebound and its 20-19 Osseo at 5:31. Osseo then goes on a 12-2 run capped by a nice set to get Dower a alley-oop dunk (we'll describe this later). Bobby Fischer off the bench with 2 triples in the run. 32-23 Osseo at the half. Dower with 12 and 5 in the half. Zimmerman 8 and 5.

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Bobby Fischer with 2 more 3s for Osseo early in the half to offset a couple of CP triples. Osseo leads 38-29 3 minutes into the half. Zimmerman and Scott Theisen get buckets and the margin is only 5. The Orioles counter with a 12-2 run of their own over the next 5 minutes as Djerf gets 4 in the run. 50-35 Osseo with 9:10 to play. Theisen with 2 layups on nice feeds from Pella before a Dower bucket. Then Dower picks up his 4th foul (all in 2nd half) at 7:21 and it looks like CP has some life. That foul sends Zimmerman to the line down 52-39. He misses the front end. Osseo then gets 9 of the next 11 with Dower out (Djerf 5) and they have a commanding 61-41 lead when Dower returns at 4:47 (did he really need to come back in?). He gets a nice assist to Djerf and a couple of free throws and a bucket in that time. Osseo wins 75-54.

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For Champlin Park, Scott Theisen leads the way with 20 points and I had 7 rebounds for him. 13 of those points in the 2nd half. They're now 7-5 and 3-1 in the NW Suburban. 3 league road games await them. Overall I thought they did an alright job on Dower, but did a poor job rotating to shooters. DJ Phillips is the guy you want to force to beat you. CP didn't take care of the ball when they had their chance with Dower out.

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For Osseo, they are now 4-0 and stand alone on top of the NW Suburban. 10-1 overall with 10 wins in a row after that opening loss at Sibley. Great job by the Osseo bench. Nick Djerf with 15 points and Bobby Fischer (he plays basketball and chess too?) with 14 (4 triples) off the bench. John Rowland with 10 off the bench. They needed it with no one besides Sam Dower over 4 points from the starting lineup. Dower finishes with 20 and 10 on my sheet and had a couple of monster blocks in the 2nd half. Everything inside tonight, no settling for FT line jumpers which is nice. I'd like to see him show a counter or something else besides that lefty jump hook. They've got a good one vs Wayzata on Saturday and I'll be in attendance.

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Play of the DayIn our play of the day, a look at the lob dunk for Dower at the end of the 1st half. Standard 1-4 high set with Dower on left elbow. Point guard takes the ball 1 or 2 dribbles 1 way and then comes back to the other side (we'll say right to left in this case). Left wing clears out. Right wing comes over the top of a Dower screen to the left box. Dower pops back to the top of the key for the pass from the PG who's on the left side now. The wing that cleared comes off a down screen from the other post and gets the ball at the right wing. Dower then gets a back screen from the guard that previously curled to the left box and they throw it up to him.

CP 54 - Osseo 75

The Rebels square off with the predicted conference winner. The Rebels keep it close for the first 14 or so minutes of the first half as Sam Dower makes his presence know with some finishes around the basket and a couple of blocked shots. Osseo never gets control of the game and go on a late run to take a 32-23 lead into the locker room but you had a feeling that Champlin was still in the game behind Zimmermann's 8 points. The other 15 points are sprinkled thru out the line up.

The second half starts and Osseo starts to pick up some fouls with Dower (20 points) picking up two quick ones (over the back on offensive rebounds) and goes to the bench. The Rebels go into their 1-3-1 zone and start to get back in the game on a couple of 3's by Theisen (20 points) and cut the lead to 5. The Orioles start to show some patience and rotate the ball to get some easy shots around the basket as Bobby Fisher (14 points) knocks down a couple of 3's to keep the Orioles lead in double digits.
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Dower returns breifly because as he picks up 2 more quick fouls and heads back to the bench. The Orioles get a couple of quick steals and breakouts that sends Osseo on another run that the Rebels do not answer ... game over. Osseo's coach Theisen does a masterful job in his rotations and is able to get the maximum prooduction out of his bench as they do journey man type work. I would say 8-9 players played meaningful minutes and made some type of contribution at some point. The Orioles bench easily outscored their starting line up and where the ones who were able to scrap there way around and build the lead. No one steps up or gets anything going for the Rebels as they play this one out.

The Box:

Theisen 20

Zimmermann 12

Williamson 6

Munneke 5

Duberry 3

Walker 2

Of note:

• The Rebels 5 game winning streak comes to an end.
• Was clear that the Orioles only had one deep threat on the floor (Fisher) which the Rebels never figure out.
• Osseo's half court traps gives the Rebels problems.
• Dower should have easily fouled out of this one but the refs went to sleep watching him play. He got his four fouls in 2-3 minute pairs.
• The Rebels collectively don't show enough BIG game energy.
• Zimmermann not able to finish around the basket as Osseo sent players at him in waves.
• Duberry is 1 for 8 and doesn't attack the basket after consistently beating the Oriole guards and finishes with one 3 pointer and no free throw attempts.
• The Orioles pick up their 7th foul in the 2nd half with 8 minutes left and up 12 points, the Rebels don't take advantage of it.
• Rebels score a season low 54 points

Armstrong To Join Northwest Suburban In Fall of 2010

Posted on January 15th, 2009 – 2:10 PMBy Michael Rand

The estimable John Millea is on vacation, taking what sounds like a lovely cross-country driving trip in January (he’s in Indianapolis right now), but he called in moments ago with some breaking news:

Armstrong High, one of the five Classic Lake schools looking for a home because that conference will dissolve after the 2009-2010 schoolyear, has been accepted into the Northwest Suburban Conference. Armstrong — which previously had been denied application to the NW Suburban — will begin competing in the conference during the fall of 2010.

The Northwest Suburban currently has 10 schools: Osseo, Champlin Park, Maple Grove, Andover, Centennial, Anoka, Coon Rapids, Park Center, Elk River and Blaine.

The other four Classic Lake schools — Edina, Minnetonka, Hopkins and Wayzata — are still looking for new conferences. All four had applications to the Lake Conference denied earlier this week. Hopkins and Wayzata also were turned down previously by the Northwest Suburban.

It is required by MSHSL rules that the Classic Lake schools file applications to join a minimum of two conferences; after that the MSHSL can place them into conferences.

Minnesota: Hopkins Humbles Sibley at Home

Royce White and Trent Lockett help Royals take showdown between state's top two teams. Thursday, January 15, 2009

By Matt Krumrie

MaxPreps.com

Starting Five

1. Hopkins Holds off Henry Sibley: In a match-up of the state’s two top teams, Hopkins showed why it is ranked No. 1 in the state with a 77-66 win over No. 2 Sibley Friday in front of 2,800 fans at the Sibley gym in Mendota Heights. Hopkins stars Royce White and Trent Lockett led a balanced attack with 13 points each, while teammate Marcus Williams added 12. Sibley was led by Mike Bruesewitz with 15 points and Maurice Hernandez with 15. Hopkins led 43-33 at halftime in a game that featured six players who have signed with Division I programs, including White (Minnesota), Lockett (Arizona State) and Bruesewitz (Wisconsin).

2. Champlin Park Challenging in Northwest Suburban: Osseo entered the season as the favorite in the Northwest Suburban Conference, and so far, the Orioles are living up to expectations at 3-0 in the conference and 9-1 overall. One team that could be ready to challenge in the conference race is Champlin Park. The Rebels defeated Blaine 75-73 Tuesday to move to 3-0 in the conference (7-4 overall). The Rebels lead the conference in points per game at 72.6 and have a balanced attack led by Scott Theisen (16.4 points per game), Kyle Zimmermann (15.2), Jasper Duberry (14.1), Josh Pella (11.3) and Tyler Munneke (7.7). In that win against Blaine Zimmermann scored 25 and Duberry 20 to lead the Rebels, who face Osseo Thursday evening.

3. Owatonna Rolling: Owatonna appears to be one outstate threat teams will have to deal with this year. The Huskies improved to 5-0 in the Big Nine and 8-2 overall with a 63-48 win over Rochester John Marshall Tuesday. Kyle Melcher scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds, Spencer Busho scored 11, Taylor Steinbauer 9 and Vaughn Thada 8. The Huskies are tied for first in the Big Nine Conference with Mankato West, the top-ranked team in 3A. Owatonna is ranked No. 8 in 4A. The two teams square off for the first time Friday in Mankato.

4. Awesome Blossom Playing Awesome: Blooming Prairie remains on top of the Gopher Conference with a 65-45 win over J-W-P this week. Cooper Nelson scored 15 points to lead BP, who improved to 5-0 in the conference and 8-1 overall. Matt Zellmer scored 14 and Israel Clark 12 in the win for BP.

5. Cooper Cruising: Nine games, nine wins for the Robbinsdale Cooper basketball team. Led by Rodney Williams (15.9 points per game), a Minnesota recruit and one of the most high-flying players in the country, Cooper is far from one dimensional. Other key players for the Classic Lake title contenders include Kenquane Brown (15.2), Quincey Bethea (13.1) and Joe Bright (13.3).

Minnesota: Hopkins Humbles Sibley at Home

Royce White and Trent Lockett help Royals take showdown between state's top two teams.

By Matt Krumrie

MaxPreps.com

Starting Five

1. Hopkins Holds off Henry Sibley: In a match-up of the state’s two top teams, Hopkins showed why it is ranked No. 1 in the state with a 77-66 win over No. 2 Sibley Friday in front of 2,800 fans at the Sibley gym in Mendota Heights. Hopkins stars Royce White and Trent Lockett led a balanced attack with 13 points each, while teammate Marcus Williams added 12. Sibley was led by Mike Bruesewitz with 15 points and Maurice Hernandez with 15. Hopkins led 43-33 at halftime in a game that featured six players who have signed with Division I programs, including White (Minnesota), Lockett (Arizona State) and Bruesewitz (Wisconsin).

2. Champlin Park Challenging in Northwest Suburban: Osseo entered the season as the favorite in the Northwest Suburban Conference, and so far, the Orioles are living up to expectations at 3-0 in the conference and 9-1 overall. One team that could be ready to challenge in the conference race is Champlin Park. The Rebels defeated Blaine 75-73 Tuesday to move to 3-0 in the conference (7-4 overall). The Rebels lead the conference in points per game at 72.6 and have a balanced attack led by Scott Theisen (16.4 points per game), Kyle Zimmermann (15.2), Jasper Duberry (14.1), Josh Pella (11.3) and Tyler Munneke (7.7). In that win against Blaine Zimmermann scored 25 and Duberry 20 to lead the Rebels, who face Osseo Thursday evening.

3. Owatonna Rolling: Owatonna appears to be one outstate threat teams will have to deal with this year. The Huskies improved to 5-0 in the Big Nine and 8-2 overall with a 63-48 win over Rochester John Marshall Tuesday. Kyle Melcher scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds, Spencer Busho scored 11, Taylor Steinbauer 9 and Vaughn Thada 8. The Huskies are tied for first in the Big Nine Conference with Mankato West, the top-ranked team in 3A. Owatonna is ranked No. 8 in 4A. The two teams square off for the first time Friday in Mankato.

4. Awesome Blossom Playing Awesome: Blooming Prairie remains on top of the Gopher Conference with a 65-45 win over J-W-P this week. Cooper Nelson scored 15 points to lead BP, who improved to 5-0 in the conference and 8-1 overall. Matt Zellmer scored 14 and Israel Clark 12 in the win for BP.

5. Cooper Cruising: Nine games, nine wins for the Robbinsdale Cooper basketball team. Led by Rodney Williams (15.9 points per game), a Minnesota recruit and one of the most high-flying players in the country, Cooper is far from one dimensional. Other key players for the Classic Lake title contenders include Kenquane Brown (15.2), Quincey Bethea (13.1) and Joe Bright (13.3).

School & Games Could Be Canceled Do To Weather ... Projected Temperture Is -17

Up Next Osseo

The Rebels travel to Osseo on Thursday to take on the #5 ranked Orioles (9-1 with their lost coming against #2 Henry Sibley by 7 points) at 8pm. The Orioles are led by senior Sam Dower who is headed to Gonzaga next year. Dower is currently scoring 25 points a game and is coming off a 38 point outburst Tuesday at Coon Rapids.

The game will be broadcast live by Channel 12 Sports and will have the Czar (Twin Cities Boys Hoops) in attendance and reporting with his detailed game analysis.

The game is a part of a Girls/Boys double header in which the Lady Rebels game tips at 6pm.

The Full Court Press

Johnson won last night at the buzzer. (Picture)

Ryan James
MinnesotaPreps.com Senior Writer

Basketball season has hit a feverish pitch with amazing plays coming from gyms all over. So far this season word has circulated of amazing games taking place from every corner of Minnesota. And last night buzzer beaters highlighted the action in the Twin Cities as several games were won at the buzzer.

At Minneapolis Henry senior Evan Gray put the finishing touch on a game with a three-point jumper curling off a screen. Gray's triple highlighted his 23-point night and a 67-64 win over Minneapolis South.

Meanwhile in St. Paul, Johnson guard Dion Suggs-Young added to lure as a late game performer as he penetrated and created a lay-up for Lamar Anderson who reversed the ball in at the buzzer for the game winner. Dion's assist gave Johnson the city conference lead and a 69-67 victory over St. Paul Central.

North of the Twin Cities there was yet another game winner in the North Suburban Conference. The Rebels of Champlin Park stayed unbeaten in conference play when junior guard Jasper Duberry scored off the bounce to make the score 75-73 when the buzzer sounded. Duberry's late game two points was his biggest field goal on the way to a 20-point outing.

Also last night the Orono single game scoring record of 45 points was broken. The record had stood since 1971 (it was held by Tom Quammen and later tied by Keith Segner in 1994) but was broken last night by sophomore Jordan Smith who scored 49 points in an 78 to 75 win over Annandale. Smith scored 32 points in the second half making eight of ten shots from beyond the arc in that period of time. Overall Jordan sunk 11 of 15 three point attempts and 18 of 31 shots overall.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

CHAMPLIN PARK 75, BLAINE 73

Junior guard Jasper Duberry made a short shot in the lane at the buzzer, giving the Rebels a victory over the Bengals in the Northwest Suburban. Senior forward Dylan Rodriguez scored a game-high 34 points for Blaine, which tied the score at 73-73 with 31.3 seconds remaining. Rodriguez scored 25 points in the second half as Blaine battled back from a 10-point deficit at halftime.

CP 75 - Blaine 73

Jasper Duberry's buzzer beater turns the Bengals back as Kyle Zimmermann has a workhorse game.

After taking a 40-30 halftime lead and leading by 10 most of the game, the Rebels hold off a furious last minute comeback by the Bengals.

The Box:
Zimmermann - 25
Duberry - 20
Theisen - 12
Munneke - 6
Williamson - 4

Of Note:

• Zimmermann new season high with 25 points & 9 boards.
• Duberry new season high with 20 points.
• The Rebels are 20 of 23 from the free throw line.
• Duberry & Zimmermann combine to make 19 of 20 free throws to BOTH move into the Tribs top 10 list. Click here to view.
• Zimmermann awesome on the boards.
• Theisen 3 of 5 from the arch.
• The Rebels winning streak hits 5

Boys Basketball Team Fund-Raiser

Friday January 16, 2009 9pm Start

All Levels Of Play Welcomed

Put Together Your Team!$20 Per Player

Includes three games of bowling, shoes and great prize opportunities including sports tickets and merchandise, silent auction items and raffle prizes

R.S.V.P. to Jeff Munneke at munneke@timberwolves.com

Sundance 24 Lane Bowling Center

We have upgraded to a 24 lane bowling center with Qubica/AMF SPL synthetic lanes and a new interactive scoring system – including 37” LCD flat panel monitor.

Next Up Blaine

The Rebels travel to Blaine Tuesday to take on the slumping Bengals at 7pm. The Bengals are on a six game losing streak after winning their first 3 games. The Bengals have been picked by some to finish #2 in the conference. The Bengals are led by seniors Dylan Rodriguez and Billy Giddings who has committed to Southwest State.

CP 78 - Centennial 70

Kyle Zimmermann
The Rebels lead from the beginning to end in this one but could really never shake the Cougars. The Rebels took a 33-30 halftime lead behind the outside shooting of Tyler Munneke. The 2nd half begins and the Rebels run out to a 15 point lead only to see the Cougars cut it to 3 points behind a couple of mini runs by Peterson and Adams (they both scored 15 each).

The Rebels started feeding Kyle Zimmermann in the post and the crafty forward scored on 4 straight possessions on a variety of moves and attacks around the basket. The Cougars didn't seem to have any who could cover him as he scored inside and out whenever he wanted to finish with a team and season high 21 points.

Jasper Duberry
Zimmermann went to the bench for a rest with about 6 minutes left and did not need to return as Duberry (18 points) and Theisen (16 points) finished off the Cougars. The Rebels controlled the glass as they made some nice outlet passes to Duberry who got out and consistently beat the Cougars down the floor for lay ups or fouls. Duberry had a stretch where he was 7 for 8 from the line on four straight fouls by the Cougars. The win gives the Rebels their scond straight conference win.

The Box:
Zimmermann 21
Duberry 18
Theisen 16
Munneke 11
Williamson 4
Hager 2

Of Note ...

• Theisen records his 1st double double with 10 rebounds.
• Zimmermann matches his season high 21 points, 1 rebound short of a double double.
• Duberry matches his season high 18 points.
• The Rebels shoot 38 free throws (made 25)
• The Rebels make only 1 of 9 threes (Munneke made 3 LONG 2's)
• The Rebels have four players in double digits
• The Rebels 3rd straight game with double digit steals (13)

#1 Tacks On Another Win

Henry Sibley’s Chris Halvorsen couldn’t protect the ball as he tried to pass while being pressured by Hopkins’ Trent Lockett. Photo by Jim Gehrz, Star Tribune

The Royals and their stellar lineup took this battle, but signs point to a March rematch in 4A. Lots of numbers came to mind before Hopkins played at Henry Sibley in a Friday night nonconference matchup of the top boys' basketball teams in Minnesota:

1: Hopkins' ranking in Class 4A;
2: Henry Sibley's ranking;
6: NCAA Division I signees in the starting lineups;
17-1: Teams' combined record. However, some other numbers hold more importance:
77-66: The final score in Hopkins' victory over the Warriors.
78: Days until the 4A state championship game is played at Target Center, when we could see a rematch.

Friday's game had all the trappings of a lose-and-go-home postseason scenario. The 3,000-seat gym in Mendota Heights was packed to the rafters, ticket sales were stopped 45 minutes before tipoff, and about 500 fans who arrived after that were turned away. The intensity was feverish long before tipoff; the Henry Sibley student section booed the Hopkins players when they walked into the gym during the junior varsity game, 90 minutes before varsity tipoff.

CLICK HERE to read the full article. Courtesy: Star Tribune

The Latest on Conference Shuffling

Preps Insider

The wheels are continuing to turn on possible conference changes. This all began, of course, when the five-school Classic Lake Conference announced that it will disband after the 2009-10 school year. Those schools (Armstrong, Edina, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Wayzata) are in the process of applying to existing conferences, with no luck so far. Some themes are emerging…

The Northwest Suburban
Armstrong, Hopkins and Wayzata have all applied to join the Northwest Suburban and all three have been denied. But that doesn’t mean one or two of those schools could still end up in the NW Suburban. Once those schools formally filed letters of application to the NW Suburban, MSHSL rules mandated that the league reply with a decision within 30 days.

Some in the NW Suburban felt the 30 days wasn’t enough time, thus the denials. The NW Suburban schools will meet again next week, with the possibility that they will reconsider one or two of the Classic Lake applications.

Armstrong has the best chance to be accepted, and Hopkins is also a possibility, although facing longer odds than Armstrong. There seems to be very little sentiment in the NW Suburban for accepting Wayzata as a member.

Conference Realignment Update - Armstrong, Hopkins & Wayzata Want In The Northwest Suburban Conference

Posted on January 7th, 2009 – 5:26 PMBy John Millea

The five Classic Lake Conference schools are looking for new homes with the impending dissolution of that league. Here’s what is happening…

–Armstrong applied to the Northwest Suburban but was turned down. Armstrong may turn to the North Suburban and apply there, but Armstrong officials don’t feel the North Suburban is a great fit for them.

–Hopkins and Wayzata have applied to the Northwest Suburban and are waiting to hear if that conference will accept their applications.

–Edina, Minnetonka and Wayzata have applied to the Lake Conference. Lake superintendents and principals will meet next week to consider those applications. If they are turned down by the Lake, expect them to apply next to the Northwest Suburban.

I get mixed reactions in talking with people from the Classic Lake schools. While an official from one school was optimistic today about being admitted to another league, someone from another school was very pessimistic, and others fell somewhere in between. The theme, I would say, is major uncertainty.

The Northwest Suburban is spearheading efforts to find a solution before the MSHSL has to step in, as mandated by the bylaws, and place the Classic Lake schools in new leagues. Representatives from eight metro conferences will meet for the second time later this month, and they will discuss realignment of several leagues.

Today I was told by someone from the Northwest Suburban that when the eight leagues meet again, they will consider an idea I proposed in the Star Tribune in late November. To read that column, CLICK HERE.