By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

Two of my favorite hobbies are sports and video games. Luckily, for me, those two go hand in hand. Over the years, we have seen a trove of both good and bad sports video games. The mainstream ones range from EA’s FC (FIFA), UFC, NHL, Madden and College Football to MLB The Show and NBA 2K. And then there are the ones slightly off the beaten path. Each genre provides its own fun and frustrations.

In my childhood, I was fortunate enough to have access to some cult classics. My dad owned a Nintendo 64, and with it were games like 1080 Snowboarding, Cruis’n World and WCW vs. NWO Revenge. Growing older, I played NFL 2K5. My step-dad downloaded a version of NBA Jam on our home computer. I’m sure some of you played that in arcades back in the day. I sunk hours into arguably the best sports video game ever made: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. My teenage years were largely spent playing FIFA (now FC). These days, I spend a lot of sports video gaming time playing College Football 27 in an online dynasty with friends of mine.

The College Football franchise died a sad death in 2014, back then it was named NCAA Football. It had a counterpart, NCAA Basketball, that was cancelled after 2010. In my opinion, this was one of, if not the, first domino to fall with college sports heading toward NIL. A former D1 basketball player realized EA was essentially using his likeness for its game that was making money, and he wasn’t earning a cut. Now, every player in college football gets a small check from EA for the new college football games. But, for more than a decade, one of the most popular sports gaming franchises laid dormant.

Rumors have been swirling that that the College Football franchise might be shuttered again due to rising NIL payments to players. That’s awful rich, coming from a company like EA that reported $7.5 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2026. The gaming industry suffering from executive greed is its own topic. I could go on about my disappointment in the direction sports video game studios have been going for the last several years, but I would rather highlight some of the more off-the-beaten-trail ones..

If you want to get really out there, did you know there was a Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup game? That was another one I had the luck of being able to play, even if it’s a made-up sport. Other fun ones I wish would make a comeback are the NFL and NBA Street games. They were a lot goofier and grittier, and they stayed away from the polished versions of the sport. Boy, were they fun.

I’ve only scratched the surface with what sports games are out there. Countless others exist from golf to fishing to demolition derby to chess to tennis to boxing to swimming to bowling and all the way back again. Some are serious versions, hyper focused on realism and proper simulation. Others are zany, less dressed up, and more focused on fun sports games. I enjoy both.

Many of those other sports games have gone by the wayside, seeming to never return again. Some have made a comeback, like Backyard Baseball. A game that had many 1990s and 2000s kids gripped put out a new version of the classic to great fanfare. I would love to see these older franchises make triumphant returns and for these developers to have a little more fun with their games. A lot of the minor details, goofy game modes and general fun have been lost over time in favor of pleasing the competitive scene for sports games.

Have a favorite sports game from your childhood, or one you still play today? Feel free to reach out to me let me know at cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette                                                     

I have written in the past about why I’m not a fan of the College Football Playoff (CFP) system. When it began in 2014, I was intrigued. After all, that year did provide some memorable moments and entertaining games. On the surface, “more” games played by the best teams against each other should be better for us fans, right? Depending on whom you ask, this has or hasn’t been the case. Well, whether any of us like it or not, the playoffs are expanding from 12 teams to 24.

I was 16 in 2014 when the playoff began, so I didn’t think too much about whether or not I liked the playoff format or how it would alter the future of the sport. When it expanded in 2024 to the 12-team format, I formed an opinion that I continue to hold today. I don’t like the playoff, and I don’t like how it altered the college football landscape.

I sometimes wonder, are my feelings just another case of nostalgia? Because, naturally, all the best music, movies, sports and culture happened when I was a kid. Funny how that works. I try not to be too blinded by my childhood memories, but, for the life of me, I can’t figure out exactly why I feel the way I do about the CFP. I finally saw someone express it in a way that fully resonates with me.

College football’s regular season used to be the best regular season in American sports. The NBA and MLB are too long, and most of the games simply don’t matter. In the NFL, most of the games do matter, but there are enough bad teams in a 32-team league that we are bound to get a few stinkers each week. But, in college football, if a team wanted to make the National Championship, it could not take a regular season game off or it would cost the season.

That meant dominating the conference mattered. Beating the most-hated rivals mattered. If Alabama or Auburn want to make the National Championship, they were going to have to go through one another. So, when No. 1 Bama and No. 4 Auburn met in the Iron Bowl (their rivalry game name) a week before the conference title game, it had massive implications. It resulted in arguably the greatest moment college football has ever seen.

That loss to Auburn knocked Bama from No. 1 to No. 3, kicking them out of the National Championship game. They would eventually lose to No. 11 Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. Auburn’s win sent them from No. 4 to No. 2 and got them a spot in the national championship. 

If that result happened today, well, both teams would still be guaranteed a spot in the playoff. The regular season no longer has the same punch it once did, and the problem is now nationwide. Before, Ohio State and Michigan needed to beat each other. Now, they don’t. Texas and Oklahoma. USC and Notre Dame. Georgia and Georgia Tech. Heck, in recent years, both Iowa and Iowa State have flirted with making the playoff. In the past, if one or the other wanted to be in the post-season, they would need that Cy-Hawk trophy in their cabinet. Not anymore.

Before, a team needed to be perfect — or darn close to perfect — to make the most prestigious games in the sport. Now, teams can take a week off here and lose a game there. It doesn’t matter. The conferences are blown up, rivalry games are losing their significance, bowl games don’t carry the same meaning, and the sport is fundamentally different than what it was just a decade ago.

I am now convinced that this is not one of those cases where I am blinded by nostalgia. For so many reasons, the direction this sport is heading is wrong, and it is losing sight of what made it great in the first place. If you want a lesson in why chasing a fancy new post season isn’t always the way to go, just ask NASCAR fans how their sport is doing since the formats were messed with.

Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

I tried to find a synonym for running that starts with the letter K, so this titled rolled off the tongue the same way “Rochholz is running wild” did, but alas, I could find no good K words that would do the trick. That does not change the fact that ACGC’s Preston Kent is once again proving he is one of the most dominant cross country runners in class 1A.

Going back in time, ACGC qualified for the state meet as a team when Kent was a freshman. The Chargers placed second behind Lake Mills, and Kent got his first postseason experience at a young age. He would finish 93^rd in 18:18. ACGC qualified for state again during his sophomore season, this time placing ninth. But, Kent improved his performance greatly. He placed 51^st in 17:26, improving his time by nearly an entire minute. He went from having the slowest time at state for the Chargers to the second fastest.

The Chargers would not qualify as a team in his junior season in 2025, but Kent did as an individual, placing seventh at the qualifying meet in 16:48, another big jump in his time. That time of 16:48 was the fifth fastest in school history. And, at the state meet that year, he once again greatly improved his placement, finishing 28^th in 17:06.

That brings us to 2026, where Kent has had an electric start to his senior campaign. He won the team’s opening meet at the Southeast Valley Invitational in 17:24. Kent then won a shortened race, but a win nonetheless, in ACGC’s second meet in 12:10 at Woodward-Granger. At the Gilbert Cross Country Meet, facing competition from various levels, Kent finished 19^th in 17:13, not too far off from his time at state last season.

The cancellation bug also hit ACGC, as Kent wouldn’t race between Sept. 10 and 24. A big gap but, nonetheless, Kent finished second in 16:41, his best time of the season, and would be an improvement on his time from 2025. It would still remain the fifth fastest behind Justin Reinhart’s 16:36 from 2022, but was a sign that Kent was not slowing down despite the lengthy break. Another cancelled meet saw Kent run on Oct. 5 at the Glenwood meet, where he would pick up another win, this time in 16:47.

Kent ran in the Jim Klein Invitational on Oct. 8 and ran another excellent race, placing second in 16:40, improving on his time once again. That means so far this season, Kent has three wins, broke his own best time twice, two second place finishes, and a 19^th place finish racing against various class sizes.

Kent all but seems guaranteed to make state again for his farewell season, and it will go down as one of the best seasons in ACGC cross country history. He is currently ranked ninth as an individual in 1A. His time of 16:40 this season would have placed 11^th at the state meet last year, but it appears he could be on track to finish faster than that. With a state qualifier still to go, it will be fun to see where Kent will cap off an excellent high school career with the Chargers.

Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

It’s possible no team has seen more meet cancellations than Panorama cross country this season (except for maybe nearby ACGC). The state has experienced one of its wettest months in recorded history, and cross country teams and courses have paid the price. Even still, that has done little to slow down Kylie Rochholz and her historic senior campaign. 

Rochholz has been a staple on both Panorama’s track and field team as a long distance runner and the cross country team since she was a freshman. In 2023 she finished ninth at the state meet. Ninth. As a freshman. Only four freshmen in total placed in the top 20, and only one other freshman finished above her at the biggest race of the season. She stepped back a bit the following season, finishing 14^th at state, but, again, this was still impressive for any sophomore. Her junior year season was hampered with injury woes, causing her to miss the state meet and robbing her of being a four-time qualifier.

There’s little doubt that Rochholz would have qualified for state last season had she been healthy. Despite fighting those injuries, she placed 16^th at the conference meet. If you take her time of 21:26 at the conference meet and put it into the state-qualifying meet where she would have ran, Rochholz would have finished 12^th. I understand courses vary greatly, and times are not universal, but, despite her ailments, she was putting together solid races. Panorama still raced well overall at that meet, placing fourth. But, a healthy Rochholz performance likely would have sent them to state once more.

Rochholz had the summer to get healthy and return with a vengeance, and that she did. She won the Southeast Valley Invite in the first race of the season, but immediately she and the rest of the Panthers had to deal with three straight meet cancellations. Rochholz shows up for the ACGC meet and places second, finishing in 19:06 — a new school record for any female at any cross country race.

Thought that was good? Well, just four days later at the Ogden meet, Rochholz wins the meet in 18:51, absolutely crushing the school record she just set herself. Want to know a fun fact? Rochholz finished one place ahead of the only other freshman who had a better time than her at the 2023 state meet, Madelyn Grothus of Madrid, on both of those record-setting runs. How cool is that? Two of the best runners in 1A have been battling it out for the top spot for four years.

Even coming off of an injury-plagued junior year, and dealing with three cancelled meets this season, in just three races, Rochholz has produced two wins, one second-place finish, set a school record, and then broke her own record.

Panorama will run again in the Jim Klein Invitational next week, then at the West Central Activities Conference shortly after that, then the state qualifier. It will be fun to see if Rochholz can keep up the break-neck pace she has been on this season through the end of the year.

If that wasn’t cool enough for this Panorama and ACGC sports follower, the Chargers, just a few miles down the road, have an eighth grader consistently placing inside the top 10 at meets. When Rochholz graduates this year, it looks like Vivian Crawford will take the reins from her as one of the area’s most dominant runners, likely emulating the successes that Ava Campbell had in her years as an ACGC runner. I am consistently amazed at the athletic talent that comes from this area of Guthrie County.

Reach out with comments, suggestions, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

I’ve written about many different things sports can be in this column in many different ways. One thing I haven’t written much about, though, is winning and losing. If you currently have, or had, children in sports, you probably told them, “Sports aren’t just about winning” at one time or another, whether it be to console them after a loss or relax them after some frustrations. Well, if they are not about winning, then what are they about?

The thing is, sports are about winning and losing. Athletes play to win the game, not to lose it. Winning feels great. Losing feels awful. And who wants to feel awful? When you watch your favorite team win, it can boost your mood. When you watch your team lose, like how I just watched the Green Bay Packers get completely embarrassed on Thursday Night Football, it can tarnish your mood. Anyone who says winning and losing don’t matter is lying, or at least not telling the full truth. Those things do matter, but they are not the entire reason we play or watch sports.

Look no further than recreational sports once you reach adulthood. For roughly 95% of us, the last “meaningful” sporting games we played were in high school. There are no real stakes involved in recreation and coed sports, but they offer something different like access to a community, some exercise and many memories. I look forward to playing pick-up basketball games with my longtime friends. We get to catch up, joke around, sometimes argue, and play some basketball. I’ve made more new friends than I could have possibly imagined by playing in a coed rec soccer league the past four years. Grabbing Mexican food and some margaritas at the end of each season feels better than any win we had during the season.

One thing many Americans are asked when they meet people overseas is if our cheerleaders are real. They also want to know what American football is like. Meanwhile, many countries have now adopted baseball and basketball as major national sports.

Some foreigners say the United States has no culture. I say you need only look at our professional sports teams. Culture, tradition and rivalries are the result of the passion that comes from fans of teams in the NFL, MLB and NBA, as well as local high schools.

Above all else, sports are an escape from daily life. They help us forget about our problems, trials and tribulations. When I’ve had a bad day, I can go shoot hoops for a couple hours or hit some shots (soccer ones, of course). I can also turn on the TV and watch my favorite team. Sometimes, that’s a good thing. Sometimes, that’s a bad thing.

For others, sports provide an even bigger escape. Just look at the tradition started by the Iowa Hawkeyes and their fans in waving to young patients in the nearby children’s hospital. How many kids in the Make A Wish program have chosen to meet their favorite players over the years? These athletes inspire countless numbers of people to make efforts to pull their entire family out of poverty just by playing a game.

Sports make us laugh, cheer, cry, boo and everything in between. They involve community, respect, tradition, culture and competition — all wrapped in one. Sometimes, they play out like a fairytale. Sometimes, they play out like a nightmare. Yes, they are about winning and losing, but they have always been — and always will be — about much more than that, too.

Reach out with comments, complaints, story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.

By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette

For those of you who tuned into Monday Night Football to watch the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Denver Broncos, you might have seen the Chiefs score on a play you either have never seen or haven’t seen in a while. That is, unless you’re an ACGC or similar sized school football fan.

At the start of the fourth quarter, the Chiefs were on the goal line, seeming primed to add to their 24-10 lead. The Chiefs have one of the greatest offensive minds in football history leading their team in Andy Reid. The coach, earlier in that game, was caught smiling before his team went for it on fourth down. Reid, almost never smiles. Period. So, it was even more surprising to see the walrus-stached coach flash a grin before Kenneth Walker broke free for a 60-yard TD.

No grin was caught on camera before this Chiefs TD, also scored by Kenneth Walker, which was technically a pass because Patrick Mahomes tossed it forward. The Chiefs executed a wing formation play, which is basically extinct in the modern NFL and largely extinct from all levels of college football. Reid, Mahomes and Walker broke some of it down in the post-game press conference. If you’re an ACGC fan, you’ve been watching plays similar to this one for years.

Teams like ACGC and other schools all over the state have been running power option style offenses like this for decades with incredible efficiency. The Chargers have been dominating the area for years and have barely reached more than 10 passing completions in a season doing so. It completely flies in the face of what “modern” football is to most people. Even Lincoln High School, where I went, ran the Wing T offense during its most successful period of football in the last 30 years. Just look at these highlights. You would never expect to see a 4A or 5A school running an offense like this today. But it worked for Lincoln, it works for ACGC, and it still works at the highest level of professional football.

That is something I love about football. It takes shape in so many different ways. ACGC, old Lincoln, most of A, and 1A football use option, deception and pitches. Look to the bigger schools, and most all of them run some form of spread, air raid, or multiple offense to move the ball.

In the NFL, the entire league has become pass heavy. But in the chess match that is football, leave it to a coach like Reid to break an old classic like he ran on Monday night. The Broncos didn’t even know who had the ball until he was in the endzone. This is one of the many reasons why football is such a great sport. On the surface, it’s one of the most physical and brutal sports one can play. Underneath, a seemingly endless stream of plays, calls, audibles and adjustments exist. And just when you think defenses have started to figure it out, a veteran like Reid breaks out a play most haven’t prepared for since the 1930s.

Reach out with comments, suggestions story ideas and more to cyote@dmcityview.com.