he Langdon-Munich Cardinals boys basketball team continued their run through the meat of their schedule. They played at Cavalier on Jan. 23 and won 66-29 then lost to two Class A division teams - 52-46 at home to Northern Cass on Jan. 25 then 57-39 at Thompson on Jan. 27.

The height of nervous breakdown season As we finally see the end of January as the light at the end of the tunnel, winter sports are at their busiest for our area. So many things are going on in basketball, hockey and wrestling that it is tough to keep it all straight, although we are trying our level best to do so. We went through a cold snap that saw -30 plus below degree temperatures, and now the hope is for a warm up to get ready for Tournament Time that starts the second week of February. Lots of things are happening or are about to happen, so let’s talk about a few of them.

The Langdon-Munich boys basketball team had an interesting week. They had a game at Park River-Fordville- Lankin postponed on Jan. 17, lost at Griggs-Midkota 66-57 on Jan. 18, then played one of their best games of the season in winning at home over Drayton-Valley-Edinburg on Jan. 21. The Cards are now 5-3 on the season and played at Cavalier on Jan. 23. They will host Northern Cass the afternoon of Jan. 25 with a varsity tip-off scheduled for 4:30pm. In the week ahead, the Cardinals play at Thompson on Jan. 27 then have a big District 3 game at home versus North Border Jan. 31. The game at PRFL has been rescheduled for Feb. 11, and the team and program will be hosting a Burger Night fundraiser at the Langdon Eagles Club on Jan. 24 from 5-8:00pm.

Another season passes for our Vikings Well, the inevitable happened since we last visited. Our Minnesota Vikings had another season come to an end, once again in embarrassing fashion, as the Vikes lost in a Wild Card playoff game to the LA Rams 27-9 on Jan. 13. For our favorite team, they have now lost 32 playoff games (21-32 playoff record), the most of any team that has not won a Super Bowl. Now, before the season started, did anyone of you really think they would make the playoffs, much less winning a title (unless of course, you’re me, the eternal Vikings optimist)? The Vikes this year sold us on gritty play, winning several close, exciting games, and making believers out of many. The path to the promised land of their first-ever Super Bowl was, of course, dashed in their first playoff game played in Arizona due to the wildfires in Los Angeles. We are told from several people that were there that it was at least two thirds Vikings fans, which made it kind of like a home game, but that did not matter either. We aren’t going to blame players, coaches or what have you for what happened in the game (although we certainly could), it’s just sad to see the season come to an end after so many fun times watching them this year.

The Langdon Blades 19U hockey team continued a very busy stretch in their schedule, playing home games versus Crosby and Richland on Jan. 10-11 then traveling to play Bottineau-Rugby on Jan. 12. The Blades won on their Senior Night over the Comets 4-2, as seniors Catelyn Goodman and Alora Berke were honored before the game along with their parents. From there things got tough for Langdon. They lost to the Rangers 4-1 and ran out of gas at Bottineau, losing 7-1. After the weekend, the Blades girls are 3-51 on the season and travel out west to play at Richland and Watford City Jan. 18-19. The Langdon boys junior gold team had last weekend off, and they are also out west this weekend, playing at Crosby, Watford City and Richland Jan. 17-19.

Langdon-Munich played two boys basketball games around the weekend of Jan. 11. They were shocked at home by Larimore 68-51 on Jan. 10 then came back with a nice win on the road at Lakota, winning over Nelson County 64-46. After those two contests, the Cardinals record stands at 4-2 overall. They have an important District 3 game at Park River-Fordville-Lankin on Jan. 17 then hit the road to play in Glenfield against Griggs-Midkota on Jan. 18. In the week ahead, the Cards host Drayton-Valley-Edinburg on Jan. 21 then meet Cavalier for the second time this season at the Tornadoes on Jan. 23. Here is a recap of their last two games:

After losing four games in a row, the Langdon-Munich Cardinals girls basketball team was looking to get going with their 2024-25 season as they opened up the District 3 portion of their schedule. The Lady Cards played and won at St. John 66-47 on Jan. 9 then rolled to a big 71-32 victory over Midway-Minto at home on Jan. 14. Langdon-Munich has now evened up their record at 5-5 on the season and continued their district schedule at North Star on Jan. 16. They then will play what should be a fun non-conference game in Langdon versus the defending State B champion May-Port-C-G Patriots at 12:30pm on Jan. 18. The Cardinals will continue their district slate with a home game in Munich versus North Prairie on Jan. 20, A very busy week concludes with them playing in a boys-girls double header versus Drayton-Valley-Edinburg on Jan. 21. Here is a recap of their last two games: Langdon-Munich 66, St. John 47 Against the Woodchucks, the Cards sped out to a 24-5 lead with 12 points from Avery Lorenz in the first quarter. After leading 42-19 at halftime, St. John would come back a bit in the third quarter. They got within 4836, going on a 17-6 run. They would not get any closer, as Hilary Haaven, who went 6 for 7 from the field on the night, hit three big 3-pointers at the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth to put the game away.

The North Border Eagles boys basketball team is still ranked third in the latest media Class B boys basketball poll, receiving one first place vote. The Eagles played at Cavalier on Jan. 9, and even though the Tornadoes were still looking for their first win of the season, this game would be close and intense for much of the ballgame. A strong fourth quarter gave North Border a 59-43 win. The two teams will play each other again in Walhalla on Jan. 27. The Eagles are now 7-0 on the year and have 10 days off before their next game against Richland in Colfax on Jan. 19. They then have a big showdown with 10th ranked Midway- Minto on Feb. 21. That game has been moved from Pembina to Walhalla to hold the big crowd expected for the match up. The Eagles will also host Hatton-Northwood in Walhalla on Jan. 25.

The North Border Eagles are still ranked third in the latest Class B boys basketball media poll and, once again, received one first place vote this week. The Eagles played two District 3 games at home in Walhalla versus Park River-Fordville-Lankin on Jan. 3 then in Rolla against the North Prairie Cougars on Jan. 7. North Border beat the Aggies 62-54 and after a slow start, rolled to a 63-41 victory. With the wins, the Eagles are now 6-0 on the season. After playing at Cavalier on Jan. 9, they will get ready for a huge District 3 showdown with Midway-Minto in Pembina on Jan. 21. Here is a recap of their last two games: