Pressure rising

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Feb. 18, 2016

Pressure rising

Allenton native getting ready for Daytona 500 as rookie’s car chief

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

The days leading into the Daytona 500 are both exciting and scary at the same time.

“There’s a lot of money, prestige on the line,” said Greg Emmer, an Allenton native and the car chief for the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stop Ford of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie Chris Buescher. “It sets the tone for the first half of the season.”

The Daytona 500, which is Sunday in Daytona Beach, Florida, is the first race of the season for the Sprint Cup Series. It’s also the race every driver wants to win. It is NASCAR’s Super Bowl.

Emmer said imagine if the Slinger Nationals at Slinger Superspeedway was held in April at the start of the season rather than July, the season’s midway point.

“Our biggest race is the very first one of the season,” he said. “There is no preseason. There is no regular season. That in itself is a daunting task. It’s a pressure point. This is what starts your season off.”

He wouldn’t have it any other way. “We love the pressure,” Emmer said. “It builds throughout the 10 days we’re (at Daytona). It’s the reason we do it. It’s an addiction.”

For Emmer, who attended Slinger High School and recently turned 30, there is pressure on him.

Emmer is going into his 12th season in NASCAR. This year is his second as a car chief.

The car chief is like the top assistant coach for a race team. The “head coach” is the crew chief.

The crew chief is responsible for the pit crew, the driver and what changes he wants to make to a car. As a car chief, Emmer is bestowed the responsibility to make those changes happen.

Last year, Emmer was the car chief for 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne.

“The pressure is definitely way higher than just being a mechanic,” Emmer said. “I’m in charge of the entire race car. To be at this point, I had to be a mechanic of every part of the race car.”

From 2007-11, Emmer held several roles while working on the pit crew of David Ragan. Then he worked on Greg Biffle’s pit crew (2012) and Carl Edwards’ crew (2013-14).

In NASCAR, crew members generally have specialties that help improve or fix a car. For Emmer, he did just about everything, which helped him elevate to key role with Bayne’s team in 2015 and Buescher’s team this season.

“It’s not something just anybody can do,” Emmer said. “It takes a lot of hard work. You have to keep your head down and keep going. It’s daunting at times, overwhelming at times, but the support is a tremendous asset.”

One of Emmer’s key responsibilities as car chief is to make sure the car is ready and passes technical inspection at every race track every week. If a car doesn’t pass tech inspection, lots of money can be lost, which adds to the pressure.

The ante is increased at Daytona.

“It has an aura that makes it special,” Emmer said. “It’s awesome and scary at the same time.”

Again, it’s an addiction and a desire to compete that keeps Emmer going and eager for Sunday’s race.

Emmer believes drivers like Biffle and Edwards have helped him reached the status he has in the sport.

“Those guys are superstars in the sport,” Emmer said. “You learn, as a team, being with those guys that it makes everybody better. They perform at a high level every weekend.

“When they win, it makes people notice who’s on that team. It advances everybody’s career. It’s a great feeling to have talented drivers like that.”

Emmer and Buescher’s crew chief, Bob Osborne, believe they have a talented driver in Buescher — the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion.

“Bob and I, think very highly of Chris,” Emmer said. “He’s very talented. He’s been working really really hard at it.”

Buescher, a 23-year-old native of Prosper, Texas, who was once coached by road-racing veteran and Hartford native Dick Danielson, won two races last season with the XFINITY Series. He also had 11 top-five finishes and 20 top-10 finishes.

Buescher is also a former ARCA Series champion (2012) and ARCA Series Rookie of the Year (2011).

“He drove his way to this level,” Emmer said. “Everything he drove, he succeeded with. For me, that’s a very important part. We’re looking forward to continuing that success with him. We think he’s going to be a superstar.”

This season, the goal for Emmer is to help Buescher win Rookie of the Year in a class that also features Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott, who will start Sunday’s race from the pole position.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Emmer said.

OUTDOORS: Fly fishing catching on at Muskie Expo

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Feb. 13, 2016

Fly fishing catching on at Muskie Expo

Show runs through Sunday at Fair Park

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

TOWN OF POLK — A new venue meant new opportunities for the promoters and organizers of the Muskie Expo.

They took advantage of it.

This year, for the first time — as the event celebrated its 25th year, but first at Washington County Fair Park — a fly fishing presentation was available for anglers.

For more than 30 minutes, Dan Boggs, a certified casting instructor and fly fishing guide, shared more than 25 years of tips, tricks and secrets of fly fishing, specifically on muskies, which is considered a growing area.

It’s what brought Joe Girouard of Rockton, Illinois, to the show.

“I want to get into it this summer,” he said.

Girouard loves an adrenaline rush. He’s a 911 dispatcher and a volunteer fireman.

“It’s all about adrenaline and that’s why I muskie fish,” he said.

Girouard got somewhat of an introduction to fly fishing muskies last year. He caught the fish on a light-weight spinning reel with a small bait.

“That was really exciting, because the fight was different,” he said. “This is taking it 10 steps further.”

This summer, he wants to try it. But first he needs to learn how to do it. That’s where Boggs fit in.

After his lengthy presentation where more than 20 people stood and watched at one time, Boggs offered one-on-one opportunities for curious anglers.

Girouard stepped right up and flung away on the reel, applying the techniques he had just learned from Boggs.

“I hadn’t touched a fly rod in 30 years,” Girouard said.

“I’m really happy they added it to this year’s show,” he added. “We’ve been to the show for the last several years and the new venue is great; love the new venue.”

He also said you couldn’t beat standing next to a pro and learning the tricks of the trade.

Armed with knowledge, Girouard can’t wait for the ice to melt.

“It’s a test of your skills,” he said of the appeal of fly fishing compared to fishing with a mechanical reel — the latter being used by “gear heads,” as they’re jokingly referred to.

“You’re taking the mechanics out of it,” he added. “It’s giving you, as a fisherman, the best toe-to-toe fight. It comes down to you.”

According to Boggs, muskie fly fishing has been around for centuries. But with the advent of mechanical reels, muskie fly fishing lost its following until recently.

Boggs compared muskie fly fishing to deer hunting. You can either gun hunt or bow hunt. It’s the same thing with fishing for muskies.

Bow hunting and fly fishing are for people who like to be hands-on or have a natural rush, he said “It is the most vicious fish we have in Wisconsin,” Boggs said. “To be able to go toe-to-toe with them, bare hands, is real cool.

“If it swims, I want to catch it on a fly rod.”

Boggs and the company he is with — Blackwater Fly Fishing — had been at the Muskie Expo for the last three years. This year was the first time he had the space to do a demonstration.

In previous shows, muskie fly fishing displays were minimal.

This year, there are vendors from several spots in Wisconsin and a vendor from Tennessee. It was possible because the event moved to the county this year.

The event outgrew its former facility — the Wisconsin Products Pavilion — at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis. The two expo buildings at Washington County Fair Park are about 52,000 square feet combined.

The facility at State Fair Park was about 30,000 square feet.

On top of that, growing frustration of traffic and rising parking fees led to a needed change.

“We added probably another 20 booths and added more seminars and workshops,” said Doug Reuter, event promoter.

The agreement between the event and the Fair Park is for three years, but the contract could get extended if both parties are happy.

“Hopefully it works out,” Reuter said, adding he doesn’t want to move the event often.

The show runs through Sunday.

OUTDOORS: Concern looms for sturgeon spearing season

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Feb. 10, 2016

Concern looms for sturgeon spearing season

Water clarity may be the worst in 10 years

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

Area fishing enthusiasts are holding their breath as spearers get ready for the 2016 sturgeon spearing season — a one-of-a-kind tradition, which opens Saturday on Lake Winnebago in Fond du Lac, Winnebago and Calumet counties.

“There’s a lot of discussion, but a little different than the last two years,” said Ryan Koenigs, DNR senior fisheries biologist stationed in Oshkosh. “We had better conditions. There was more excitement.

“This year, there’s similar buzz, but it’s a little different. They’re questioning water clarity and conditions, and what it means for this year’s season.”

In the 2014 and 2015 seasons, water clarity was the best it had been in a tradition that goes back to the early 1930s. Last year’s harvest of sturgeon was the sixth-best all time and the largest since the harvest cap system was established in 1999. In 2014, it was the 10th-best all time.

“Water clarity is the biggest predictor of spearing success,” Koenigs said.

In those two seasons, water clarity was at 12-15 feet. Koenigs said when he and his crew tested the water two weeks ago, the clarity was at 4-7 feet.

Dale Jenkins, who works at an ice shanty rental business on the east shore of Lake Winnebago, said clarity is at about 7 feet.

The lake is 21 feet at its deepest, but about 15 feet, three miles off shore. Sturgeon are bottom-dwelling fish so the better the water clarity, the easier it is to see the fish as they swim by the fishing hole.

Koenigs said the population for sturgeon is strong, which is why the harvest cap was raised for a second straight year.

“Things are going very well with our population,” he said, adding the rise in harvest cap is “a strong sign of a healthy population.”

The challenge will be to catch the fish. The mild winter has offset the lake’s transformation of mud sliding into the lake from the shore and the water freezing over compared to 2014 and 2015.

Also of concern is the ice depth.

Shawn Wendt, who maintains an ice shanty rental shop on the west shore — West Shore Fishing Club — said he had to cancel the rentals for this weekend because of concern the ice was not deep enough.

“It is getting better,” Wendt said. “We have some spots that only had 11 inches on it, now they’re 12 1/2.

“Our bylaws say that we need everywhere to be at least a foot. If we get this cold snap, it should help us.”

Temperatures are predicted to be well below freezing for the next few days, which should help.

Wendt cautioned spearers to “use their heads” before going out onto the lake. It’s recommended those with reservations with shanty shops should double check to make sure their reservations are still being honored.

Wendt said he urged those who made reservations to wait a few days after the opening day to let conditions of ice depth and water clarity improve.

Because of the mild winter, it is also anticipated the season will go the full 16 days.

Rules state that the lake sturgeon spearing season ends when either after 16 days or when the harvest cap is meet, whichever comes first.

In 2014, the season was six days. In 2015, it was eight days. The season has gone all 16 days in five of the last 10 years. In 2012 and 2013, the water clarity was 8-10 feet and the season lasted 16 days.

“It might be the worse water clarity since 2006,” Koenigs said.

The 2006 season ranks as the 10th-worst all time with only 225 fish harvested from Lake Winnebago.

But Koenigs also believes no matter the conditions, it won’t scare away spearers who are looking to score the big fish.

In 2014, 106 fish were caught in the Lake Winnebago chain that weighed more than 100 pounds.

The sturgeon spearing season is arguably as popular, if not more popular, than the gun deer opener in November. The reason? It’s unique.

Koenigs said he is aware of only one other area that has sturgeon spearing season: Black Lake in Minnesota. The harvest there, however, is nowhere near what Lake Winnebago offers.

“We have one of the strongest sturgeon populations,” Koenigs said. “This is a very unique opportunity.”

Started in the winter of 1931-32, sturgeon spearing, like deer hunting, is a family, community tradition. Crowds gather at the registration stations to see the size of the fish someone brings in.

In the 1960s and 1970s, poaching was a problem. People illegally harvested these unique fish, specifically during spawning time or mating season — when the fish are most vulnerable. The poachers sold the meat on the black market. Soon after, Sturgeon for Tomorrow, a preservation group for sturgeon, was formed.

Dale and John Jenkins are heavily involved in that effort, as was their late father.

“We probably wouldn’t be sturgeon fishing as it is now,” John said. “We would’ve been so depleted.”

The DNR also stepped in and put limits on harvests. At one time, people could buy a tag for 25 cents, catch a sturgeon, buy another tag for 25 cents and go back on the lake.

Now, it’s one sturgeon per license and the population is heavily monitored with required registration at stations throughout the lake region.

“Regulation of over harvest, legal and illegal, has helped protect the fish,” Koenigs said.

But what makes sturgeon spearing popular? The social aspect.

“There’s more to the sport than looking down the hole and spearing the fish,” Koenigs said. “I don’t think the draw is actually getting the fish. The tradition, the culture, the social aspect is what makes it important to a lot people in the area.”

It’s why Dale and John Jenkins do it. It’s why Wendt does it.

“We’ve been doing this our whole lives,” Dale said.

“It’s not like deer hunting,” Wendt said. “It’s more exciting. You’re with your whole family and friends.”

It’s a tradition unlike any other.

“It’s one of a kind,” Wendt said. “It’s the one spot in the world where you can do something like this.”

WHAT ONCE WAS ...

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Feb. 6, 2016

WHAT ONCE WAS ...

In 1960s, West Bend hosted Sports Show featuring sports legends

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

The timing was just right for the Knights of Columbus in West Bend.

In the late 1960s, the organization had meetings where they could find a place, such as church basements — any place that had an opening.

“We were looking to raise funds,” member Dick Schacht said.

The group also hosted or sponsored softball tournaments and bowling tournaments.

“We did just about everything to raise funds,” Schacht said.

In their 20s at that time, Don Baierl, a fellow organizer, said the goal was to get a clubhouse. Today, that building is the Columbian on Highway D on the northwest side of West Bend. The organization came up with an idea to host professional sports figures for a fundraiser and it was held at West Bend High School, which is now Badger Middle School. It was held in late January, after the football season had ended. Schacht used a connection to get the idea going: Green Bay Packers tackle Ron Kostelnik.

“I just made all these personal phone calls,” Schacht said.

The have times changed.

“You couldn’t get within 10 miles of them now,” he said.

It was at the height of the Vince Lombardi years with the Packers. In the inaugural year of the event, the Packers were coming off the NFL championship, beating the Cleveland Browns 23-12, on Jan. 2, 1966. The inaugural Sports Show was 28 days later.

In year two, the Packers had just won the inaugural AFL-NFL Championship Game, later called Super Bowl I.

“We had a captive audience,” Schacht said. “People would go stircrazy. So they’d come to these. We had really good turnouts.”

Tickets were $1 for adults and 50 cents for age 12 and younger. The event drew 1,500-2,000 people and took place from 1966 to 1970.

In a February 1967 West Bend News article about the show, Schacht, one of the event’s organizers, said the mad rush for free autographs reached a point where the format had to change. It was because the event was getting top-notch athletes, future Hall of Famers, relatively cheap, even for those days, compared to paying thousands of dollars for players of similar stature making appearances today.

“The Packers were having some pretty good years at that time,” Schacht said. “It was prime time for all of us here.”

“Our timing was good,” he added.

It was a relief.

“We were scared as hell because we were committed for all these guys,” Schacht said. “I remember I was as nervous as all get out. ... Were they going to show up?”

The only funds the organization had were membership dues, which were $2 per person. It was a risk putting on an event like this.

The list of sports celebrities that attended the event include the Packers’ Jim Grabowski, Kostelnik, Willie Davis and Elijah Pitts.

The list continued — Eddie Mathews of the Milwaukee Braves, Ron Bull (Chicago Bears), Mike Ditka (Chicago Bears), Charlie Grimm (Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Braves manager), Frank Howard (Washington Senators outfielder), Ray Krzoska (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee basketball coach), Bob Long (Atlanta Falcons and former a Packer), Johnny Morris (Chicago Bears) and John Powless (Wisconsin basketball coach).

The term “celebrity” was a loose one at that time, unlike today.

It wasn’t hard to track down the phone number for an athlete, call them and invite them to an event. Long before days of endorsement deals and multi-million-dollar salaries, professional sports athletes often made public appearances for a few bucks.

The asking price was around $50-$100. The most expensive was Hall of Fame Notre Dame football coach Ara Parseghian — $500.

They were all household names then and most still are almost a half-century later.

There was an attempt to get Hall of Fame Packers quarterback Bart Starr.

Schacht remembered visiting Starr’s house, which was on the same street as Kostelnik. He met Starr’s wife, Cherry. At the house, the garage was filled with Coca-Cola because Starr was doing commercials for the soda company.

There was also an attempt to get Gale Sayers, Hall of Fame running back for the Chicago Bears (1965-71). Schacht said Sayers wanted to come, but his friend, Brian Piccolo, who was the basis for the 1971 movie, “Brian’s Song,” was ill.

“They were very open,” Schacht said of the athletes’ desire to make public appearances such as these.

Schacht recalled a time when Grabowski visited a local child in the hospital. The child saw Grabowski as a hero.

The event went away because it had “run its course,” Baierl said. The organization had what it wanted. The hall opened in 1973.

“The money we used from all these events was used as a down payment on the building,” he added.

Other communities were catching on and began doing the same thing. And because of that, the price tag on the athlete appearances went up.

“They weren’t going to come for $100 anymore,” Baierl said.

Fifty years later, as Super Bowl 50 will be played Sunday, the memories of this event are once-in-a-lifetime.

“We raised a lot of money,” Schacht said.

Germantown’s Edmonds ready to compete with Michigan’s elite

Daily News (West Bend, Wis.)
Published: Feb. 4, 2016

Germantown’s Edmonds ready to compete with Michigan’s elite

Warhawks’ Zachowski signs with St. Cloud State

By NICHOLAS DETTMANN

Daily News

GERMANTOWN — A president, world leaders, actors, actresses, astronauts, Super Bowl MVPs and Hall of Famers in football and baseball have attended the University of Michigan.

Germantown’s Conner Edmonds admitted that’s intimidating.

But a roughly 30-minute conversation between him and Wolverines football coach Jim Harbaugh eased the nerves he had as he accepted a preferred walk-on offer to play for Harbaugh and the Wolverines in the fall.

“It meant the world to me,” Edmonds said.

“It definitely made me feel a lot more comfortable about coming to Michigan,” he added. “I was nervous. I didn’t know what was the plan, but he laid it for me and how it could happen.”

Edmonds signed the offer Wednesday.

“It’s starting to sink in,” Edmonds said. “Not 100 percent yet.

“Right now I’m just enjoying the process. But then I know when I get there in the summer and the fall, I’m going to have to work hard and prove myself.”

Edmonds’ teammate Brad Zachowski was also recognized by Germantown on Wednesday as he signed a National Letter of Intent to play football at St. Cloud State in Minnesota.

“I’m very excited,” Zachowski said. “I’m blessed for the opportunity.”

Edmonds, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound tight end, also considered offers from Air Force Academy, Cornell and Valparaiso, and several Division II programs, while Zachowski, a 6-2, 195-pound wide receiver, had an offer from Sioux Falls and several preferred walk-on offers, including Bemidji State.

Edmonds said he plans to study athletic training or personal training at Michigan. Zachowski wants to pursue pharmacy.

Last season, Zachowski was first-team All-North Shore and All-Region by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, and first-team Daily News All-County.

“It was fun, but it was also pretty stressful at times,” Zachowski said of the recruiting process. “There’s lots of planning, decisionmaking, tough calls.” For Edmonds, he will join a program that is generating national buzz. Heck, Michigan even threw a party for its signing day, “Signing of the Stars.” At the party were four-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Tom Brady, Future MLB Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, WWE legend Ric Flair, NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski, Hall of Fame football coach Lou Holtz and Super Bowl MVP and 1991 Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard. Country music singer Josh Gracin was also on-hand.

That’s Michigan. It draws the brightest minds and the best talent, and they often make an impact on the world with more than 450,000 living alumni, according to the school’s alumni association. His future coach played in the NFL and coached in a Super Bowl.

“It was different,” Edmonds said of meeting with Harbaugh. “I was nervous walking in there. Sitting there he made me feel like I’ll be a part of it.”

As maybe a credit to what Michigan sees in Edmonds, he was voted firstteam All-NSC despite missing some games because of an injury. In his senior season, he had eight catches for 93 yards and a touchdown.

Yet, Michigan still made an offer. And when it came down to deciding, Edmonds was grateful for how genuine and honest Harbaugh was with him.

That’s why he picked Michigan.

“It was a tremendous opportunity,” Edmonds said. “I couldn’t turn it down.”

Even if football doesn’t pan out, Edmonds knows a degree from Michigan is an attention grabber — another reason to go to Michigan.

“The future is bright both athletically and academically,” Edmonds said. “Going there will help me not only four years, but for 40 years.”

Edmonds announced a week ago he was going to Michigan, which came not long after he was told by Germantown coach Jake Davis about the offer from the Wolverines.

For a visit, Edmonds attended the Michigan-Michigan State game.

“It was unreal,” Edmonds said of the atmosphere of a stadium that holds more than 110,000 people.

As a preferred walk-on, he knows he will have to work hard to get into the lineup. It was an issue he considered when making the decision.

“They play a lot of tight ends, so that could still be an opportunity,” Edmonds said, adding the challenge of trying to excel at Michigan was worth pursing.