Thank you all for a memorable 2019 and Happy Holidays

It might be a day late to wish you all a Merry Christmas, but I'll do it anyway.

On the other hand, it's certainly not too late to reflect on what has been a memorable year in Havre, on the Hi-Line, and in the sports world and beyond.

Now, I'm not really going to go into detail about what has happened this past year. You all are fans, you know what all went down in our wide world of sports around these parts.

But I will say this, it was another special one, and when you see our Top Sports Stories of 2019 in Friday's Havre Daily News, I think you'll agree.

Yes, there were a lot of memorable moments in sports the past 365 days, and many we'll never forget.

I mean, no one is going to forget seeing Havre and Box Elder win state championships for the second straight year. Yes, what the Blue Pony girls and the Box Elder girls have going right now, it's called a dynasty, and we don't ever forget dynasties.

No, there's a lot we won't forget about this last year in sports, including me. Having said that, I promise you I'm doing everything in my power to forget this year's Cat-Griz game.

But, I'm not going to forget anything I covered, whether it was a state championship, the Havre Invite swim meet or a Thursday night Frontier Conference doubleheader in the Armory Gymnasium, it's all memorable to me.

I'm certainly not going to forget the snowstorm for Northern's homecoming game back in September. Nope, I don't think any of us that were there will ever forget that crazy day.

And it's days like that, though, that makes this job and my life special because I don't forget — at least not yet anyway. I pretty much remember everything I do and see in this job. Why? Because I love it.

And that's why, as a new year is about to begin, a year that will be my 18th at the Havre Daily News and 16th as sports editor and a new decade for that matter, I'm not just here to reminisce but to say thanks.

First, thank you to my publisher Stacy Mantle, my photographer Colin Thompson, my new sports writer Aarron Thompson, and the entire crew at the Havre Daily News. Without all of you, this column wouldn't even exist.

Next, a big thank you to my wife, Amy, and my entire family. Like every year, 2019 wouldn't have been memorable without you, and I can't wait to do it all over again in 2020.

And lastly, I have to give a huge shout out to everyone who makes doing what I do possible. To the coaches, athletic directors, referees and fans, what you do every day, makes what I do a lot of fun. Thanks for your help and your cooperation, but most importantly, thank you for reading our newspaper, and continuing to support what we try to do here, and that's to bring you the best possible local sports coverage we can.

And last, but certainly not least, thank you to the athletes, of all ages. None of this matters without you. You all, those of you who participate in a sport, any sport, you're why I became a sports writer. Telling your stories is why I do what I do. I love it, I enjoy it, and I'm into just as much as I was the first time I ever wrote a story or covered a game, which was a long, long time ago now. So again, thank you all.

And with that, that's it. It's time to put a big shiny bow on 2019. It's time to look forward to winter sports, things like state wrestling, Armory basketball nights, the 9C tourney, tennis in the spring, playing golf and deeing Glacier Park with my wife this summer, fall football, including the 2020 Cat-Griz game, and, then, to writing another column about how memorable 2020 was — and I know that will be the case because that's just the way it is around here.

So, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to all of you.