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Mason City Globe Gazette
The Wild Story of the Mason City Bats
This story took several months of research to complete. It is the story of the Mason City Bats, an independent league baseball team that existed for only two months in the summer of 1994. The league was begun by a Minneapolis-based strip-club owner named Dick Jacobson, and thanks to financial mismanagement, the league folded before its first season was over.
The Mason City Black Bats were an all-black baseball team that called Mason City home in the summer of 1932. Comprised of former players from the Texas Black Spiders, the Black Bats provided some memorable moments, such as the first night baseball game in Mason City history, and employed Jimmy Claxton, the first black American ballplayer to appear on a baseball card.
3. Low team vaccination rate leads to headaches for Sioux City Explorers
The Sioux City Explorers were forced to get creative in the summer of 2021, as the X’s low team vaccination rate led to just one Explorers player making a team road trip to Winnipeg. I discussed the reason for the low team vaccination rate, as well as what the team had to do in order to play those games up in Canada.
Sioux City East senior Sean McManamy was a standout pitcher for the Black Raiders last summer, but was also an interesting figure because he was undergoing training to become a commercial pilot. A fun story about a fun kid.
This is the story of Bob Sanger, head coach of the West Hancock Eagles since 1968. He took a step back from coaching in 2018 to get treatment for Leukemia, and his son Mark took over head coaching duties. After this story was published, the team went on to win the state title.
6. Newman Catholic wins state championship
Newman Catholic is an Iowa high school baseball powerhouse. It is a small, private, catholic high school that has sent plenty of players to play college and even professional baseball. I covered the team in the summer of 2019, and wrote this story after the Knights clinched their third consecutive Class 1A state title.
7. West Hancock beats Grundy Center to win state title
I covered this team throughout the 2019 season, and wrote this story after the West Hancock Eagles won their third state title in school history. This is the follow-up story to the Bob Sanger profile. His son Mark was the head coach for the championship game.
8. Mohawks to Hawkeyes: Meyer sisters reunite at Iowa
The Meyer sisters were two of the best girls’ basketball players in Mason City High School history. Both were members of the 2016 state title squad, and both now play basketball at the University of Iowa. I covered a game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, and wrote this story.
The NIACC baseball program is a junior-college powerhouse. The entire coaching staff took jobs with MLB organizations during the 2019 offseason, and a high number of players have gone on to Division I colleges or been drafted into the pros. I went to a practice and observed the technology and analytics that the team uses to separate themselves from other JUCO programs.
Seth Ashland is a super-fan of the Clear Lake athletics programs, and a beloved town figure. After being diagnosed with autism at a young age, the doctors didn’t expect him to be able to speak. Now, Seth is the PA announcer for the Clear Lake JV baseball team, and attends almost every sporting event the school puts on.
11. Chad Sundermeyer prepares to hike the Appalachian Trail
Mason City native Chad Sundermeyer was preparing to hike the Appalachian Trail back in March of 2020. I told the story of why he wanted to complete the 2,200 mile journey, and gave a little bit of context and history of the AT.
12. Column: I tried to be an athlete and now my body hurts
As part of my monthly column for the Globe Gazette, I tested my hitting skills against one of North Iowa’s best baseball players. It went just as I expected.
Seattle Times
13. Chase Budinger transfers skills to volleyball
Former NBA player Chase Budinger is known for his earth-shattering dunks, including one over P. Diddy at the 2012 NBA Slam Dunk contest. In 2018, he came to Seattle with a brand new job, professional volleyball star.
14. Courtney Force living up to expectations
Courtney Force, the daughter of racing legend John Force, had a pretty successful Funny Car career of her own. I wrote a story about the relationship between the two, on and off the track.