Sports

Rick Casillo comes over the last drop as he comes down the Happy River Steps heading to Puntilla Lake, Alaska, during the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The world’s most famous sled dog race starts Sunday, March 7, 2021, without its defending champion in a contest that will be as much dominated by unknowns and changes because of the pandemic as mushers are by the Alaska terrain. (Bob Hallinen / Anchorage Daily News)

Pandemic forces route change, other precautions for Iditarod

This year’s Iditarod will be marked by pandemic precautions, a route change, no spectators and more.

 

Juneau-Douglas High School head basketball coach Robert Casperson gets his hair cut on stage by senior Treyson Ramos during a school assembly Wednesday, holding up his end of the bargain that he would shave his head if his team won the state championship title. Casperson said he trusted the 2016 team's senior class a lot.

Even in unprecedented times, elements of Region V basketball remain

For some, the Region V tournament is the last time they put on a jersey. For others it’s a catalyst.

 

Courtesy Photo / Heather Holt Thunder Mountain High School girls basketball seniors stand at mid-court prior to a Saturday game against Mt. Edgecumbe High School. TMHS won the game 55-34. Thunder Mountain High School girls basketball seniors stand at mid-court prior to a 12:30 p.m. Saturday game against Mt. Edgecumbe High School. TMHS won the game 55-34. (Courtesy Photo / Heather Holt)

Big wins, tough losses mark busy week

Juneau teams play packed week of games as regular season winds down.

 

Courtesy photo / Heather Holt The Thunder Mountain High School varsity boys beat Sitka in an away game Feb. 19.

Juneau basketball teams have solid weekend of games, home and away

JDHS boys continue their undefeated streak, now 12-0

Courtesy photo / Heather Holt The Thunder Mountain High School varsity boys beat Sitka in an away game Feb. 19.
Meki Toutaoilepo rises up for a shot against Mt. Edgecumbe High School. Thunder Mountain High School won makes against MEHS on Wednesday and Thursday. (Courtesy Photo / Heather Holt)

Juneau hoops teams notch six wins in stuffed week

JDHS boys, girls and TMHS boys all notch victories.

Meki Toutaoilepo rises up for a shot against Mt. Edgecumbe High School. Thunder Mountain High School won makes against MEHS on Wednesday and Thursday. (Courtesy Photo / Heather Holt)
(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Coach’s Comments: JDHS boys basketball

Submitted by Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé boys basketball coach Robert Casperson.

(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Youths play sandlot baseball at Miller Field in the summer of 2020. After COVID-19 sidelined a competitive season last summer, local players gathered to play sandlot ball. Thanks to a city-approved COVID-19 mitigation plan, the Gastineau Channel Baseball and Softball Leagues are planning a full, competitive season this summer. Registration is now open for players between the ages of 5 and 16. (Courtesy Photo / Geoff Kirsch)

Take me out to the ball game

The Gastineau Channel Baseball and Softball Leagues expect a full, competitive season.

Youths play sandlot baseball at Miller Field in the summer of 2020. After COVID-19 sidelined a competitive season last summer, local players gathered to play sandlot ball. Thanks to a city-approved COVID-19 mitigation plan, the Gastineau Channel Baseball and Softball Leagues are planning a full, competitive season this summer. Registration is now open for players between the ages of 5 and 16. (Courtesy Photo / Geoff Kirsch)
Thunder Mountain High School player Mackenzie Gray, left, competes with Mt. Edgecumbe High Schoool in Sitka on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021. (Sitka Sentinel / James Poulson)

TMHS girls play tough defense in trio of games

The Lady Falcons were the only basketball team who got to compete this weekend.

Thunder Mountain High School player Mackenzie Gray, left, competes with Mt. Edgecumbe High Schoool in Sitka on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021. (Sitka Sentinel / James Poulson)
In this March 2018 photo, Aliy Zirkle runs her team during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska. There has been another dramatic change to the world’s most famous sled dog race this year because of the pandemic, with officials announcing Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, that the ceremonial start has been canceled. (AP Photo / Michael Dinneen)

Iditarod drops ceremonial start over crowd-size concerns

Officials announced Friday that the ceremonial start has been canceled.

In this March 2018 photo, Aliy Zirkle runs her team during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska. There has been another dramatic change to the world’s most famous sled dog race this year because of the pandemic, with officials announcing Friday, Feb. 5, 2021, that the ceremonial start has been canceled. (AP Photo / Michael Dinneen)
Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé player Tias Carney shoots during a game against Thunder Mountain High School on Jan. 30, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Lexie Razor)

JDHS boys and girls outplay TMHS over weekend of games

The crosstown rivalry is settled until the next games.

Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé player Tias Carney shoots during a game against Thunder Mountain High School on Jan. 30, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Lexie Razor)
Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé senior Cooper Kriegmont shoots during a basketball game against Ketchikan on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Kriegmont scored his 1,000th point during the two-game series. (Courtesy photo / Lexie Razor)

Shoot well, shoot often: JDHS player crosses 1,000-point mark

The senior credited his coaches and his teammates for the opportunities

Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé senior Cooper Kriegmont shoots during a basketball game against Ketchikan on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Kriegmont scored his 1,000th point during the two-game series. (Courtesy photo / Lexie Razor)
Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé senior Cooper Kriegmont shoots during a basketball game against Ketchikan on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Kriegmont scored his 1,000th point during the two-game series. (Courtesy photo / Lexie Razor)

Good to be back: Short run up leads to mixed results against Ketchikan

“It doesn’t matter what the outcomes were,.”

Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé senior Cooper Kriegmont shoots during a basketball game against Ketchikan on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Kriegmont scored his 1,000th point during the two-game series. (Courtesy photo / Lexie Razor)
Joar Leifseth Ulsom, right, wearing a bib with ExxonMobil lettering on it, congratulates Peter Kaiser on his win in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska. The world’s most famous sled dog race has lost another major sponsor as the Iditarod prepares for a scaled-back version of this year’s race because of the pandemic, officials said Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. ExxonMobil confirmed to The Associated Press that the oil giant will drop its sponsorship of the race. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)

ExxonMobil becomes latest sponsor to sever Iditarod ties

The world’s most famous sled dog race has lost another major sponsor.

Joar Leifseth Ulsom, right, wearing a bib with ExxonMobil lettering on it, congratulates Peter Kaiser on his win in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome, Alaska. The world’s most famous sled dog race has lost another major sponsor as the Iditarod prepares for a scaled-back version of this year’s race because of the pandemic, officials said Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. ExxonMobil confirmed to The Associated Press that the oil giant will drop its sponsorship of the race. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)
High school basketball will see the boys Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé and the girls of Thunder Mountain High School square off against Ketchikan beginning Jan. 22, 2021. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Back in battery: JDHS coach talks return of boy’s team to court

JDHS’ boys team and THMS girls will play Ketchikan beginning Friday evening.

High school basketball will see the boys Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé and the girls of Thunder Mountain High School square off against Ketchikan beginning Jan. 22, 2021. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire High school basketball games in Juneau will resume with empty bleachers on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 as local teams face off against Ketchikan.

Basketball teams get ready to rumble after shortened preseason

The audience will be at home, but basketball is basketball.

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire High school basketball games in Juneau will resume with empty bleachers on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 as local teams face off against Ketchikan.
Winter sports enthusiasts set up for a run at Eaglecrest Ski Area. (Eaglecrest Ski Area)

Maybe it’s raining at sea level, but Eaglecrest is chillin’

Get up there. Good weekday conditions precede a rough forecast for the weekend.

Winter sports enthusiasts set up for a run at Eaglecrest Ski Area. (Eaglecrest Ski Area)
A dipper has captured two small fish. (Bob Armstrong)

On the Trails: Even at solstice time, wildlife is everywhere

Sometimes you don’t need to even leave the house to see something interesting.

A dipper has captured two small fish. (Bob Armstrong)
Allison Smith, a member of the Juneau Nordic Ski Club, passes another skier on her way along Montana Creek Road. Ski trails around Juneau will soon be hiding clues for Juneau Nordic Ski Club's ski-o’cache event. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)

Grab your skis and phone — it’s time for ski-o’caching

Juneau’s Nordic Ski Club offers a new event

Allison Smith, a member of the Juneau Nordic Ski Club, passes another skier on her way along Montana Creek Road. Ski trails around Juneau will soon be hiding clues for Juneau Nordic Ski Club's ski-o’cache event. (Ben Hohenstatt/Juneau Empire)
Thomas Waerner, of Norway, arrives in Nome in March to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The 2021 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will be about 140 miles shorter than normal as a result of complications stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, race officials announced Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. The teams will no longer embark on a 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) journey to Nome but instead will take a roughly 860-mile (1,384-kilometer) loop that starts and ends in Willow. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)

2021 Iditarod race in Alaska to be about 140 miles shorter

Associated Press ANCHORAGE — The 2021 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will be about 140 miles shorter than normal as a result of complications stemming… Continue reading

  • Dec 22, 2020
Thomas Waerner, of Norway, arrives in Nome in March to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The 2021 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will be about 140 miles shorter than normal as a result of complications stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, race officials announced Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. The teams will no longer embark on a 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) journey to Nome but instead will take a roughly 860-mile (1,384-kilometer) loop that starts and ends in Willow. (Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News)
Eaglecrest Ski Area, seen above, is delaying its opening until colder weather and snowfall replenish areas affected by warm temperatures and heavy rainfall. (Courtesy photo / Chris Miller)

Eaglecrest opens for the season

The ski area will be open almost every day through Jan. 10

Eaglecrest Ski Area, seen above, is delaying its opening until colder weather and snowfall replenish areas affected by warm temperatures and heavy rainfall. (Courtesy photo / Chris Miller)