Indians come up just short of WBE in soggy overtime tilt, 14-13

Sept. 03, 2010 12:15 a.m. | The offense committed four turnovers, didn't have a first down in the first half and still the Menomonee falls football team was on the very cusp of an emotional overtime win against host West Bend East Thursday night.

Because after Matt Christensen's four-yard TD rumble on the Indians third play of overtime closed the deficit to 14-13, Falls coach John Baker rolled the dice, knowing how tired his remarkably game defense was after holding the physically-better Suns at bay for most of the evening.

He and the Indians (0-2) went for two and the win, but Justin Johnson's rush was stopped and Falls came up two yards short of its first win of the season.

"We were gassed," he said of his defense. "We had to go for the win and I wanted to give the offense a vote of confidence. Our defense kept us in the game, and the offense made a big play at the end to give us a chance."

The big play was senior wide receiver Ndiva Malafa's diving 25-yard grab of Greg Roble's pass on the second play of overtime. The play more than made up for the four-yard loss the Indians had suffered on first down, and set up Christensen's TD burst up the middle.

It's just August, but the Falls v-ball team is thinking big after routing DSHA

Aug. 31, 2010 10:12 p.m. | Loose and relaxed, laughing and having fun, you'd never think that the Menomonee Falls girls volleyball team was playing archrival DSHA Tuesday night in a match that will likely go a long ways towards determining the Greater Metro Conference championship.

And if you thought the Indian players were having fun, you should have taken a look at the smile on the face of their coach, the usually intense taskmaster in training J.C. Bruns.

But then again, the Indians gave Bruns everything to grin about, blitzing the defending GMC champion Dashers with a workmanlike 25-18, 25-18, 25-17 decision.

"Sometimes they just get me very relaxed," said Bruns, "and tonight for a long time, it was looking like we were playing just any old team, but I reminded them that they were playing DSHA. I reminded them after we won the first two games that we were in this position against them last year (only to lose the next three and the match)."

"We didn't want the sleeping giant to awake so I told the seven returnees, 'Remember what happened and then change it!'"

Missed opportunities seal Falls' fate in opener

Aug. 28, 2010 3:20 p.m. | For a brief, shining moment it seemed like last year for the Menomonee Falls football team in its season opener Friday against Oconomowoc.

People hadn't even settled in yet, their bellies full from the pregame corn roast that is the tradition before every Falls season home opener, when junior Matt Christensen took the opening kickoff at his own two, slid toward the sideline and picked up some blocks.

The next thing you know, the crowd was on its feet, Christensen was in the end zone, and the Indians were in a place they were accustomed to all last season: Ahead, 6-0.

But that's when the memory of the previous season wore off and the reality of a new team, with new expectations and lots of new players in position came to the fore.

'Couldn't quite get it done'

Special football preview section now online

Aug. 26, 2010 12:18 p.m. | We're just hours away from the first official games of the 2010 high school football season and there is no better way to find out the latest news on your favorite team then to check out NOW's comprehensive football preview page.

The page is packed with videos on area teams, a roundtable discussion from our sportswriters previewing the top teams to watch, position by position breakdowns, an interactive poll, photo gallery and more.

Go to NOW's 2010 football preview section.

Win free tickets to a la Carte at the Zoo

Aug. 20, 2010 6:56 a.m. | Want to "feast with the beasts" this weekend?

We have some free tickets to the Journal Sentinel's a la Carte at the Zoo - and they're yours if you visit our Facebook page and tell us what you like most about the Milwaukee County Zoo.

The first 10 people who post a comment on the page will earn the pair of tickets. There is one catch, though. It's too late to mail them out, so you have to stop by our Waukesha newsroom sometime before 6 today to pick them up.

For details, check us out on Facebook.

Obama touts 'green' business in Falls event

Aug. 16, 2010 11:36 a.m. | Menomonee Falls — President Barack Obama arrived in southeastern Wisconsin Monday touting "green" manufacturing and searching for the green of campaign cash for his fellow Democrats.

Obama kicked off his brief appearance in the state by visiting ZBB Energy Corp., a Menomonee Falls manufacturer of energy storage systems.

There, he was accompanied by outgoing Gov. Jim Doyle and U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, who is in a tough fight for re-election.

"The reason I'm here today is because, at this plant, you're doing more than just making high-tech batteries," Obama said. "You're pointing the country towards a brighter economic future."

Later Monday, Obama was due to appear at the U.S. Cellular Arena for a fund-raiser for the Democratic Party and gubernatorial candidate Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

Detour routes traffic through southwest edge of Falls

Aug. 13, 2010 3:06 p.m. | Waukesha County's Department of Public Works and the Canadian National Railroad will close CTH K (Lisbon Road) at the rail crossing east of STH 74 (Waukesha Avenue), beginning Wednesday for maintenance. The work should be completed with the roadway re-opened by the end of the business day on Aug. 20.

During the closure, the crossing will be repaired and the roadway approaches will be resurfaced. Traffic will be detoured north on STH 74 to CTH VV (Silver Spring Drive), then east on Silver Spring Drive to CTH V (Town Line Road) then south to CTH K (Lisbon Road). Go to waukeshacounty.gov and click on the Road Closures button for a map.

Last chance to win State Fair tickets on Facebook

Aug. 12, 2010 8:04 a.m. | With just a few days left of the Wisconsin State Fair, you still have time to score free tickets from NOW Newspapers.

All you have to do is "like" NOW Newspapers on Facebook and respond to our last status update and tell us your favorite story from our papers this week.

A random drawing will be held at 8 a.m. Friday and announced on Facebook.

Winners will receive a four-pack of tickets to the fair, which begins runs to Sunday. Winners will have to pick up the tickets in our Waukesha office, 1741 Dolphin Drive, Suite A, 53186.

Voting for our All-Suburban Baseball team ends this weekend; vote now and you could win Brewers tickets

July 30, 2010 9:52 a.m. | There's still time to help us select the best players and coach in the area for our 2010 NOW All-Suburban Baseball Team, but you need to get your votes in before 11:59 p.m. on Sunday.

Check out our nominees and their stats, and then vote for the players and coaches you think are most deserving. You can vote once a day, and everyone who votes will be entered in a random drawing for a pair of box seats to a Milwaukee Brewers game.

Vote now

Storm debris will be picked up by Waste Management, village

July 26, 2010 10:12 a.m. | Menomonee Falls officials are encouraging residents and business owners who have had storm damage to report the damage to Waukesha County by calling 211.

Any storm-related debris should be placed out at the curb or shoulder with regular household trash. Waste Management will continue with regularly scheduled weekly garbage pick-up. Due to sheer volume, Waste Management may not be able to collect all of the storm-related debris. The remaining storm-related debris placed along the curb or shoulder will be picked up and disposed of by the village.

Major appliances including dishwashers, water heaters, air conditioners, clothes washers and dryers, freezers, microwaves, refrigerators, stoves, furnaces and dehumidifiers will not be picked up as part of this clean-up. Major appliances may be dropped off at the Orchard Ridge landfill, W124 N9355 Boundary Road. The disposal charge onsite is $15 per appliance.

Germantown, Menomonee Falls baseball photo galleries now online

July 25, 2010 7:22 a.m. | Sixth-seeded Germantown won its third straight tournament game by one run and earned a berth in this week's state finals with a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Menomonee Falls yesterday. We've just posted a photo gallery from that game, a gallery from the Warhawks' sectional semifinal victory over Slinger and a gallery from Falls' semifinal win over Brookfield Central.

The Warhawks' Tyler Thicke pitched a complete game against Falls, allowing only an unearned run. Germantown sophomore outfielder Jimmy Doedens hit a two-run homer in the third inning.

Menomonee Falls advanced to the sectional title game with a 1-0 victory over Brookfield Central. The Indians ended the season at 33-11 and had won 13 consecutive games before falling to Germantown.

Menomonee Falls vs. Germantown gallery

Germantown vs. Slinger gallery

Thicke pitches upset-minded Germantown to state

July 24, 2010 9:26 p.m. | Eight days ago, at the end of a disappointing, mistake-filled senior night loss to Pius XI, Germantown baseball coach Parrish Wagner talked about the upcoming WIAA playoffs, how the Warhawks would set their pitching up in order to play three games.

An idea that would take them all the way through to the sectional final and a possible trip to the state tournament. A tall order for the sectional's sixth seed with an 11-16 record going into the event and scarcely any momentum behind it.

"But these kids just believe in each other," said one Warhawk parent, shortly after Tyler Thicke pitched the underdog Germantown team to its first state tournament berth since 1986 with a highly unlikely 2-1 win over sectional top seed Menomonee Falls Saturday evening.

"Obviously, its the thing everyone hopes for," said a happy Wagner afterward. "...You'd like to say you saw it coming, but you never know. We had Tyler (an Indiana recruit) built up slowly, playing it safe the entire way and then (sophomore Brian) Keller comes through in the semifinal (a 3-2 eight-inning win over Slinger earlier in the day) which allowed us to save Tyler (for the final)."

"But no, you can never really see anything like this coming."

Upset special: Germantown beats Falls to head to state

July 24, 2010 7:59 p.m. | Germantown got a two-run home run from Jimmy Doedens in the third inning and a six-strikeout, two-walk effort from pitcher Tyler Thicke to upset top-seeded Menomonee Falls, 2-1, in a WIAA sectional final Saturday night in Germantown.

The unlikely win means the sixth-seeded Warhawks (14-16) are headed to the state tournament, which starts in Stevens Point on Wednesday.

We'll post a complete game story and photos from the final soon on GermantownNOW.com and MenomoneeFallsNOW.com.

Warhawks top Slinger in extra inning battle

July 24, 2010 5:40 p.m. | The Germantown baseball team got an RBI single from catcher Eric Brown in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Slinger 3-2 this afternoon in a WIAA sectional semifinal in Germantown.

With the win, the Warhawks advance to a sectional final game this evening against Menomonee Falls, with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

Germantown overcame a 2-0 deficit.

Jimmy Doudens hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of seventh to tie score at 2 before Brown came through with the extra-inning heroics.

Germantown got a complete game from sophomore Brian Keller, who at one point retired 15 batters in a row.

Falls advances in sectional with win over Brookfield Central

July 24, 2010 3:42 p.m. | Menomonee Falls beat Brookfield Central, 1-0, in an old-fashioned pitchers' duel this afternoon at a WIAA sectional semifinal in Germantown.

The Indians scored the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh and final inning in a victory that puts Falls one game away from the state tournament.

Brookfield Central losing pitcher Mike Mierow struck out the first two hitters in the seventh, then Falls designated hitter A.D. Gonzalez ripped a double down the right-field line. Ryan Romens looped a singled down the left-field line that brought home Gonzalez.

Winning pitcher Adam Rubatt allowed five hits and struck out 10. Mierow allowed six hits and struck out six in the loss.

Falls will meet the winner of this afternoon's Germantown-Slinger game in the sectional title game tonight.