A friendly grandparent pointed out to me after my column last week that Panorama has a Shooting Sports Club. The only shooting sport I have been personally familiar with is basketball, and trap shooting, admittedly, has been out of my depth of knowledge. It is still an interesting sport, nonetheless, as I am learning.
Trap shooting originated sometime during the late 18th century, according to Britannica, when marksmen were trying to improve their hunting skills. The British opted to shoot live pigeons released from cages or boxes instead of clay disc. Luckily, that practice, and British cuisine, didn’t translate over to the Panorama Trap Shooting Team. Apparently, the group has served pulled pork lunches at events. I think I’m becoming a trap shooting fan. If anyone reading this has information on ACGC’s club program to pass along, please let me know.
Club competitions can be difficult to acquire results for. There are many of them, and they do not all have the same governing body as school sports do with the IHSAA and IGHSAU. I have started to keep up with the Panorama team on its Facebook page. Yesterday, the team hosted its third annual Panorama Panthers Trap Team Club Champion Competition at Fin and Feather Shooters.
Incorrect placement
Panorama and ACGC golfers have been competing at sectionals this week. Let’s hope none of them ran into the problem many golfers experienced at the NAIA Women’s Nationals on Wednesday, May 14. The NAIA released a statement saying the pin on hole 5 was “incorrectly placed in a challenging position.” Watch the video HERE. It reminds me of what happened at the Iowa State Girls Golf Championship that went viral in 2022. Watch that video HERE.
Dekkers makes headlines
Former Iowa State starting quarterback and Iowa native Hunter Dekkers made headlines this week when it was announced he was signing with the New Orleans Saints. Dekkers’ stint in Ames was brief after being caught up in the university’s sports betting scandal a few years ago.
Dekkers has completed quite the comeback after losing his NCAA eligibility during the ordeal. The West Sioux High School grad took his medicine. He sat out the 2023 season and had his appeal for reinstatement denied by the NCAA. He enrolled at Iowa Western Community College, leading the team to an appearance in the NJCAA national title game. Recently, Dekkers appeared on former NFL Head Coach Jon Gruden’s Inside the FFCA series. The Saints have a murky QB situation after Derek Carr’s retirement, meaning, there’s a chance Dekkers may see an NFL field just a few short years after his NCAA dismissal.
NBA draft
NBA fans were treated, or tortured, during the draft lottery on Monday, May 11. Cries of “rigged,” “unfair” and “how can this be” echoed in and around league spheres. Back in early February, the Dallas Mavericks became public enemy No. 1 in the Lone Star State after trading their superstar, Luka Doncic, for pennies on the dollar to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mav’s were 26-23 at the time, eighth in the Western Conference. After trading their star, and a few injuries later, the Mavericks finished the season 39-43 — just bad enough to get them into the draft lottery. The Mavericks had a 1.8% chance to land the No. 1 overall pick— and that’s exactly what happened. It is the fourth-lowest odds in league history. Orlando had a 1.52% chance in 1993, Cleveland had a 1.7% chance in 2014, and Chicago also had a 1.8% chance in 2008.
Duke University standout, Cooper Flagg, is one of the best prospects of the past 20 years and is most certainly going to be a Maverick. Did the NBA brass reward the Mavs for sending the future face of the league to one of its biggest markets? Probably not. But what is for certain is that Flagg will be wearing blue and white again next season.
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