One in, one out in DAC AD chairs

Now would not seem like the ideal time for a school in the Dakota Athletic Conference to be in search of a new AD.

That's the case at Dickinson State, however, where Roger Ternes is leaving for the same job at Division III Wisconsin River Falls.

The level of uneasiness among the remaining five DAC schools is significant.

With Minot State all but set to join the NSIC and Black Hills State and Dakota State both headed down the Division II tracks, the upcoming season will be the last one the conference has the requisite number of schools (six) to have an automatic bid into the NAIA national tournaments.

Jack Denholm is getting thrown into the fire at Valley City State. Denholm was announced as VCSU's new AD on Monday.

To go along with the "Now what" scenario in the conference, he also has to help shepherd in new golf, track and field and cross country teams.

Jamestown College (Lawrie Paulson), Mayville State (Mike Moore) and Dakota State (Gene Wockenfuss) are fortunate to have steady, experienced people in charge of their athletic departments during a tumultuous time.

Ternes had been at DSU 11 years and is an alum of the school, but as one high-ranking DAC official told me recently, "We have a lot of good people at our institutions. Hopefully we don't lose too many of them through all of this."

That's a familiar sentiment among the remaining five DAC schools as they try to prevent an exodus of administrators and coaches to more stable situations.

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Not getting drafted seems to be having little effect on Jamestown College pitcher Alex Kreis.

The Grand Forks native finished the first half of his Coastal Plains League season with a 3-1 record and helped the Florence (S.C.) Redwolves win the first half title by firing a complete game on Sunday.

Kreis was the DAC pitcher of the year for the Jimmies and he still has one more season left at JC.

The CPL is serious wood-bat baseball.

Kreis has teammates from South Carolina (CWS finalist), Clemson (CWS qualifier), Notre Dame, UAB, UNC-Charlotte among other D-I schools.

The Florence team has produced a handful of Major Leaguers, most notably perennial All-Star Kevin Youkilis (Boston Red Sox), Ty Wigginton (Baltimore Orioles) and young outfielder Tyler Colvin, who is about the only good thing to come out of the Chicago Cubs' rotten season.

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Linton's Kyle Carr is back on the mound, pitching for the Williamsport Crosscutters -- the Class A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Carr was a three-sport star at Linton in football, basketball and baseball.

Years ago at the Jamestown Civic Center after another standout game in the Region 3 tournament, I remember asking Dan Carr -- Kyle's Dad and basketball coach -- where he thought Kyle would end playing college basketball.

In Dan's typically unassuming style he said, "Well, I don't know. He's a pretty good pitcher, too."

Kyle ended up pitching three seasons at the University of Minnesota and was drafted by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2008 MLB draft.

He had arm problems last year and was let go by the Twins, but he's pitched in three games so far with the Crosscutters, allowing three hits, three runs with three strikeouts.

He's still only 23 years old and he's big (6-foot-5, 200 pounds), left-handed and throws 90-plus MPH -- three things you can't teach.

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Nearly 20 million people watched the United States/Ghana World Cup soccer match on Saturday, making it the most watched game in U.S. history by a wide margin.

The huge number was especially impressive, considering it was on a Saturday afternoon smack dab in the middle of summer.

The question is, now what?

The NHL was able to capture and transfer the buzz from the Olympics into strong TV ratings for the remainder of the season and then made a killing in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It's not going to be that easy for Major League Soccer (MLS), though.

For one, the MLS is the minor leagues -- that's not their fault either, but even the best American players play overseas where soccer is king.

Secondly, soccer on TV is an acquired taste, at best.

I've enjoyed the World Cup quite a lot. But I'd have no shot to sit through 10 minutes of the Seattle Sounders and the Columbus Crew.

MLS commissioner Don Garber is a smart guy and he knows he has to strike while the iron is hot.

Meanwhile, bandwagon soccer fans like myself will wait patiently for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at daves@jamestownsun.com