Even though the Lowry High School football team hasn’t played a game since November 2019, a second member of the Buckaroos is headed north to the Frontier Conference to continue his career at the next level. Lowry senior Kole Mattson signed a letter of intent to attend College of Idaho this upcoming fall in Caldwell, Idaho.
The calendar says March, but fall high school sports are in full swing in Northern Nevada. Last summer the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association moved the calendar around and placed fall sports in March and April due to Covid-19 and the restrictions that were in place.
The Reno Aces are beginning the first field renovation in franchise history, replacing the original field from when the stadium was built in 2009. The new field will bring Major League quality and standards to the biggest little city.
There’s no need to worry about geography in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Get ready for plenty of talk about the so-called “S curve” instead. And don’t worry — it’s not that complicated. With the entire tournament taking place in or near Indianapolis, there is no reason for the four geographic regions that have been a part of past NCAA brackets. The NCAA doesn’t have to ensure the best teams play closer to home.
The Reno Aces have a schedule for the 2021 season. The season will consist of a six-game series each week, with every Wednesday off as a travel day. The 142-game slate begins at Greater Nevada Field on April 8 against the Sugar Land Skeeters, and ends on September 21 at home against the Salt Lake Bees.
Aiming to connect STEM principles with shooting sports, Extension’s 4-H Youth Development Program has launched a virtual workshop series that teaches youth about physics through disciplines such as archery, air pistol, muzzleloader, shotgun and rifle. This first-of-its-kind program in Nevada, was adapted from curriculums from 4-H programs in Colorado and Idaho, making the science, technology, engineering and math connection using the popular sport.
There was some good news last week, but it came too late to save a basketball or a wrestling season, as high school seniors lost out on another opportunity to play and showcase their talents after having its 2020 spring season canceled as well. “From our hearts, we’re sorry,” said NIAA Assistant Director Donnie Nelson. “Time has simply run out on the winter sports season, and the basketball and wrestling seasons are now officially over. We certainly feel for our seniors.”
The last time Lowry High School senior Anthony Peterson put on a football uniform was in November 2019, as the Buckaroos played in the Northern 3A playoffs in Elko. At the time, little did Peterson or anyone else know, that would be one of the final high school games in 16 plus months. Despite many states playing high school football in the fall of 2020 or the spring of 2021, Covid-19 has shut the sport down in Nevada. Despite all the bad news, Peterson has found a bright spot and will play for Eastern Oregon University this fall. The Buckaroos have had a history of sending players to the small NAIA school in La Grande, Ore., for the past several years.
The major league season is scheduled to start April 1 with the New York Yankees hosting Toronto and Detroit hosting Cleveland, part of an opening-day schedule of 15 games.
Professional baseball will stay in the Biggest Little City for at least 10 more years, as the Reno Aces have accepted an affiliate invitation from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 10-year agreement comes after the team signed Major League Baseball’s Professional Development License (PDL). “We are overjoyed to continue our longstanding partnership with the Arizona Diamondbacks,” said Aces president Eric Edelstein. “Northern Nevada is fortunate to have such incredible Major League partners, and our entire community has earned this opportunity to represent Triple-A Baseball in the new Major League Player Development system.”
After almost 25 years of use, the Lowry High School football field will be getting a new look with a brand new scoreboard that will feature LED lighting.
Former Reno Aces catcher Blake Lalli, who managed the Arizona Diamondbacks’ AA minor league team in Jackson in 2019, has been named the new manager of their AAA affiliate in Reno.
So much of it looked familiar — from the heartfelt rendering of the national anthem, to the silvery, star-studded halftime show, to Tom Brady standing there at the end with a mile-wide smile, awash in confetti.
Last Sunday, Nevada embarked on a pivotal four-games-in-eight-days stretch. This Sunday, the Pack walked off the Lawlor Events Center court with four-straight wins, and key sweeps of UNLV and Boise State after a 73-62 victory over the Broncos.
The stadium was full of cardboard cutouts and people in masks. A poet — yes, a poet — introduced us to some real heroes, and one of them handled the opening coin flip like she had done it 100 times before. On the field a woman joined the crew in stripes for the first time in a Super Bowl. Even the commercials reminded us — at times somberly — that this was a season like no other in a time unlike any other.