Feb. 11, 2026
By Greg Koelker
By the time you read this, our mountain man Mark will be skimming the clouds over “the Pond.” Did I mention he’ll be judging Olympic Slopestyle Snowboarding this weekend on an Alp near Livigno, Italy – of course I did. I plead proud pop defense.
Speaking of defense, how about that Super Bowl? The Seahawks D and the Patriots D were outstanding. I kinda felt bad for Drake Maye getting sacked 5 times, but then I thought, “He’s only 23 years old and playing in the superbowl.” And while his team lost, Maye and each of teammates got a $103,000 bonus. The victorious Hawks each received a $178,000 bonus, so . . . Drake still has a long career ahead of him. The last time I got a $103,000 bonus was, well, never. Based on the price of a beer $22.50 and hot dog $20 at the game, that bonus would’ve come in pretty handy.
Okay, onto the elephant in the locker room, uh, rather the Bad Bunny. I don’t speak much Spanish and I am not into Latin Pop or Hip Hop either, but I thought the half-time show was fun. It was upbeat, colorful, funny, made me want to get up and dance (I didn’t) and told an American story. As for those naysayers about Bad Bunny’s choice for the Super Bowl half time show, he is an international super star and a US Citizen, and he ended the show with God Bless America.
Speaking of the Olympics, the Canadians’ successes have been overshadowed by school shooting headlines from British Columbia. Damn!
With the warmer temps and melting snow cover – Yay! – shed hunters are in the fields and woods. High schoolers Auden Slaght and Brady Loken have been out here and found one heavy 10 point antler so far.
As our current snow pack melts, major league pitchers and catchers are due to report Friday to spring training in Arizona or Florida. The Brewers surprised me, trading National League Rookie of the Year finalist Caleb Durbin, and Andruw Monasterio and Anthony Seigler, all infielders. In return they picked up a pair of left handed pitchers and another infielder. We really liked Caleb Durbin. I hope Brewers management knows what they are doing; okay, probably better than me I guess. Once again, baseball fans will have to pay to watch most MLB games including the Crew. If you stream your television viewing, you will be able to get most of the Brewers games on the Major League Baseball app for $99 for the 6 months give or take season. One game ticket is probably more than that. (A beer and hotdog will be somewhere around $15 combined.) This is less than Bally was last year. The Brewers open at home vs the White Sox on March 26.
Until next time, get out – I do realize that it is far from time to put away the snow shovels but one can hope, right? More on our personal Olympic reporter playing in the Italian snow soon.
Pray for peace.
Greg Koelker is a lifelong resident of the Driftless region along the Mississippi River. He is the acclaimed author of the “Grouse Hollow Journal,” a column that celebrates rural life, nature, family heritage, and the traditions that bind communities together. While technically focused on the “outdoors,” his writing often explores broader themes of community values and education.
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