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Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior Alexander Smith battles for a puck in front of the Eagle River goal during Saturday’s 6-1 Crimson Bears win over the Wolves at Treadwell Arena. (Klas Stolpe for the Juneau Empire)

Sports

JDHS opens season by icing Eagle River

Crimson Bears hockey puts football-size scores on visiting Wolves

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé varsity volleyball team celebrates a comeback five-set win against Ketchikan High School on Saturday night at JDHS. Ketchikan won the first two sets before JDHS won the next three, all by close back-and-forth scores until the fifth set which the Crimson Bears won decisively. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sports

JDHS, TMHS volleyball teams celebrate Senior Nights with wins over Ketchikan

Crimson Bears win five-set comeback thriller; Falcons continue strong season with straight-sets win.

Emily Wright, an assistant attorney for the City and Borough of Juneau, explains legal ramifications of the state’s new ban on transgender girls participating in girls high school sports to the Juneau Board of Education on Tuesday night at Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sports

Legal, moral concerns raised by local school and city officials about state’s transgender sports ban

School board seeks more input after hearing ban violates city bylaws and maybe state’s Constitution.

A lone berry hangs from a bush on the edge of a muskeg in which the author and his wife sought a buck, but found a doe. (Photo by Jeff Lund)

Sports

I Went to the Woods: Muskeg mornings

Twenty minutes after the first call and maybe two after the last sip of coffee, a gray body…

Amanda Savikko bowls a frame during the Juneau Special Olympics local games Sunday at Pinz bowling ally, where teams and participants were selected for the upcoming state games in Eagle River. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sports

Local Special Olympics participants get into a free-for-ball knockdown

Three four-member bowling teams in weekend tournament advance to statewide event next month.

Jed Davis of Thunder Mountain High School, right, and Evan Andrew of Mt. Edgecumbe High School face off in the 125-pound division during the Southeast Showdown at TMHS on Saturday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sports

TMHS finishes top among boys on home mats in Southeast Showdown wrestling tournament

Ketchikan takes overall title, Falcons second in two-day, co-ed competition among eight schools.

NBA basketball legend Carlos Boozer looks to move the ball in the second half of an NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)

Sports

Carlos Boozer opens up about lessons learned and dreams come true

QA covers his book, lifelong friends in Juneau, faith and Kobe Bryant.

Fisheries biologist Randy Brown of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Fairbanks handles a net used for dolly varden trout in northern Alaska. (Photo by Katrina Liebich)

Sports

Alaska Science Forum: Finned adventurers nosing into the Arctic

A few years ago, Randy Brown wondered if he might lose $50,000 he had just won as part…

Thunder Mountain High School’s Kara Strong (16) knocks the ball past Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé’s Evelyn Richards (12) and Remi Starks (2) during the two local teams’ play-in game to reach the championship of the Juneau Invitational Volleyball Extravaganza at JDHS on Saturday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sports

TMHS finishes second, JDHS third as Chugiak repeats as champs at JIVE tournament

Crimson Bears overcome season-long struggles to make semifinal against high-flying Falcons.

AI will attempt to replicate the feeling of a crisp morning in a snowy drainage, but it will never be the same…right? (Photo by Jeff Lund)

Sports

I Went to the Woods: A new era

I asked the artist if he had Instagram.

A sign opposing the participation of transgender girls in girls sports is propped against a fire hydrant outside of the George A. Navarre Admin Building on Thursday, June 8, 2023, in Soldotna. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Sports

Ban on transgender girls from girls’ sports teams approved 5-3 by state school sports association

Juneau officials say enforcement specifics — and if they affect any local athletes — to be determined.

Thunder Mountain High School’s Jenna Dobson (4) knocks the ball past a Mt. Edgecumbe High School player on Saturday night at TMHS. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sports

Four-four time: TMHS volleyball defeats Mt. Edgecumbe by 3-1 set scores on consecutive nights

Falcons remain among state’s best teams with pair of physical back-and-forth victories.

Juneau’s high school tennis team finished second overall in the ASAA Alaska State Tennis Championship that ended Saturday in Anchorage. (Photo courtesy of Mona Mametsuka)

Sports

Juneau tennis team swings into second overall at state tournament

Team takes first place in mixed doubles, second in girls doubles and third in boys doubles

Colony High School’s Morgan Ainsworth sprints for the finish line against Chugiak High School’s Aaliyah Fields at the ASAA/First National Bank Alaska Cross Country State Running Championships in Palmer on Saturday. (Peter Pounds / Alaska Sports Report)

Sports

Juneau girls finish second at state D1 cross-country championships

Local boys team finishes fifth; three Juneau girls and one boy finish in top 10 individually.

Jayden Johnson (4), a junior for the Juneau Huskies, looks for room to run against Anchorage South during their game Sept. 30 at Adair-Kennedy Field. The Alaska Sports Report calls Johnson “most explosive player in the state” as the state playoffs begin Friday night. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire File)

Sports

Huskies begin playoffs Friday night; here’s how the eight teams stack up

#8 Juneau faces #1 West Anchorage, but “Jayden Johnson is the most explosive player in the state.”

Nikki King (16), a senior, attempts to block a shot for Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé during the team’s game against Mt. Edgecumbe High School on Thursday night at JDHS. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sports

JDHS volleyball, missing two key players to illness, loses to Mt. Edgecumbe

“We have to start focusing on the small wins,” coach Jody Levernier says.

Jayden Johnson (4) and Hayden Aube (2), seen here against Dimond High School on Aug. 19, were the biggest offensive playmakers for the Juneau Huskies this season and were used according during the team’s opening playoff game at Anchorage West High School on Friday night. The Huskies, seeded last in the eight-team conference, took an early lead and battled on even terms with top-ranked Anchorage for most of the first half before losing 48-7. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Sports

Huskies get into first-half dogfight with top-ranked Anchorage West before losing 48-7 to end season

Juneau takes an early lead, then loses it on a few critical plays resulting in Anchorage touchdowns.

Carlos Boozer, a former Juneau high school basketball player and retired NBA all-star, talks with a student at his basketball camp in Juneau in 2017. (Nolin Ainsworth/Juneau Empire File)

Sports

Carlos Boozer memoir includes full life story, Juneau years

NBA star and hometown hero pens “Every Shot Counts”

The Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé volleyball team faces off against Bartlett High School during bracket play in the 2023 West Spiketacular Tournament in Anchorage on Saturday. JDHS won the play-in match to get to the final four in the Bronze Bracket, but lost its subsequent game in straight sets. (Screenshot from video by JDHS volleyball)

Sports

Juneau’s teams fall short in 2023 West Spiketacular Tournament in Anchorage

TMHS goes 9-3, JDHS 0-12 in pool play; both local teams knocked out early in bracket rounds.

Runners start the combined DI/DII Region V Boys Cross Country Championship race on Saturday at Treadwell Mine Trails. (Klas Stolpe / For the Juneau Empire)

Sports

JDHS, Sitka sweep region XC titles

Cross-country champions cite strong team chemistry.