American Legion
Minnesota Division I
State Tournament
GAZETTE

The 2006 Minnesota American Legion Tournament got underway at Excelsior/Minnetonka on Wednesday with the program's annual banquet held at the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest.

Dick Jonckowski, the voice of the Gopher baseball and basketball teams, emceed the event.

Rob Fornasiere, assistant coach of the Minnesota Gophers Baseball team, was the featured speaker, and he called the Minnesota Legion tournament the best in the nation.

Both Jonckowski and Fornasiere noted how many Minnesota teams advance through the national regionals and make it to the World Series. Two Minnesota teams have won the national championship in the last seven years.

The American Legion presented three awards at the banquet.

Todd Oakes, also an assistant coach with the Gophers and a former pitcher and coach in the San Francisco Giants system, was named Graduate of the Year. Oakes played yourth baseball in Spring Grove.

North St. Paul was named Post of the Year, and Ron Adams, coach at North St. Paul was named Coach of the Year.

Fornasiere talked about the importance of a good attitude.

"You can't change your physical ability, but you can adjust your attitude," he said. "You've got to take responsibility. Transfer of blame is a national pasttime in America."

"There are no life barriers. What you can imagine, you can accomplish."

Polls are only guesswork, but they can provide an indication of the teams to beat. This year's final Minnesota American Legion Baseball Coaches & Media Poll, which uses a panel of voters across the State of Minnesota, had the following results (accumulated points and first place votes is shown in parentheses.)

1. Eden Prairie* (139, 13)
2. Coon Rapids* (103, 1)
3. West St. Paul* (96)
4. Burnsville* (79)
4. Rochester Redhawks* (79)
6. Apple Valley (44)
7. Moorhead* (41)
8. Tri-City Red (40)
9. St. Paul Hamline* (22)
10. St. Paul Park* (21)
11. Bemidji* (18)
12. Grand Rapids (16)
12. Excelsior* (16)
14. Forest Lake (11)
14. Hopkins* (11)
14. New Ulm Gold* (11)
17. Mahtomedi (4)
17. Alexandria (4)
17. Hermantown* (4)
17. Westphal Armstrong* (4)
21. Rochester Patriots (2)
21. New Prague (2)
21. Thief River Falls (2)
24. Eagan (1)

*Earned State Tournament berth

For a list of voters and week-by-week poll results, take this link to the MN Statewide American Legion Coaches & Media Poll.