Sports

Be listening for our sports updates at 6:10am, 7:20am, 8:20am, 12:20pm & 5:20pm on Hometown Radio KEYL AM1400 & FM 103.1 and 99.7FM Hot Rod Radio 

Area high school sports schedule

(Events are subject to change due to weather conditions or other factors)

Friday, January 17, 2025

Basketball - Boys - Browerville-Eagle Valley at St. John's Prep 4:45pm

Basketball - Boys - Swanville at Osakis 5:45pm Varsity game at 7:15pm on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio

Basketball - Girls - Browerville-Eagle Valley at Paynesville 5:00pm

Basketball - Girls - Osakis at Eden Valley-Watkins 5:45pm

Basketball - Girls - Benson at Swanville 5:45pm

Gymnastics - Morris at Albany 6:00pm

Hockey - Girls - Prairie Centre Blue Devils vs Litchfield-Dassel-Cokato in Litchfield 5:00pm

Saturday, January 18, 2025

Wrestling - Osakis at Park Center 10:00am

Wrestling - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville, West Fargo, Grand Rapids, Breckenridge, Detroit Lakes, Park Rapids, Wheaton, Wahpeton, Fargo Davies, Fargo North, & Bismarck Legacy at Moorhead 10:00am

Wrestling - Little Falls at Eastview 10:00am

Monday, January 20, 2025

Basketball - Boys - Sebeka at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 4:45pm

Basketball - Girls - Browerville-Eagle Valley at Pillager 6:00pm

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Basketball - Boys - Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa at Upsala 4:45pm

Basketball - Boys - Swanville at Holdingford 5:45pm

Basketball - Boys - Osakis at Morris 5:45pm

Basketball - Boys - St. John's Prep at Maple Lake 5:45pm

Basketball - Girls - New York Mills at Browerville-Eagle Valley in Clarissa 5:00pm

Basketball - Girls - Bertha-Hewitt at St. John's Prep 5:30pm

Basketball - Girls - Upsala at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 5:45pm

Basketball - Girls - Osakis at Minnewaska Area 5:45pm

Basketball - Girls - West Central Area at Swanville 5:45pm

Wrestling Triangular - Pine City & Rocori at Little Falls 5:00pm

Wrestling Triangular - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville & Ottertail Central at Osakis 5:00pm - All 3 matches will be broadcast on 99.7 FM Hot Rod Radio

Gymnastics - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville at Maple Lake 6:00pm

Gymnastics - Albany at Paynesville 6:00pm

Hockey - Girls - Detroit Lakes vs Prairie Centre Blue Devils at the Todd County Expo Arena in Long Prairie 5:00pm

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Basketball - Girls - Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa at Osakis 4:15pm

Basketball - Girls - Swanville at East Central 5:30pm

Basketball - Girls - Royalton at Upsala 5:45pm

Basketball - Boys - St. John's Prep at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 4:45pm

Basketball - Boys - Upsala at Osakis 4:45pm

Basketball - Boys - Browerville-Eagle Valley at Swanville 4:45pm - Varsity game at 7:15 on 99.4 FM Hot Rod Radio

Wrestling Triangular - Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville & New York Mills at Bertha-Hewitt-Verndale-Parkers Prairie in Bertha 5:00pm

Wrestling Quad - Osakis, Quad County, & Paynesville at BOLD in Olivia 5:00pm

Wrestling Dual - Little Falls at Pierz 6:00pm

Gymnastics - Little Falls at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville in Long Prairie 6:00pm

Hockey - Boys - Prairie Centre North Stars at Breckenridge/Wahpeton 7:00pm

KEYL and Hot Rod Radio are proud of our Sports Director - Kevin Houdek 

KEYL/KXDL Sports Director Kevin Houdek honored with WCCO Viewers’ Choice For Best H.S. Football Announcer In Minnesota 

Kevin Houdek has been calling games for the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle Thunder for 30 years. His knowledge of the teams and the game sheds a bright light for those who can’t attend.

“People all over the country [listen in],” Houdek said. “A guy from Browerville that’s down in Arizona, I’ll get a text from him every once and a while, you know, saying, ‘Great game.'”

On this night, the Thunder are playing the Staples-Motley Cardinals. Both teams were 0-2 — and hungry for a win.

“It’s not life or death,” he said. “It’s to have a good time and stay professional, and remember you’re broadcasting for two teams, not just your home team.”

Kevin Houdek (credit: CBS)

Sports teams and the media often clash, but Houdek has earned the respect of Activities Director Dan Zetah.

“Our coaches … really like him and respect him,” Zetah said. “He’s very savvy with the numbers, with stats. You ask him a stat about something, he’s got it right there.”

Listening to Houdek — as he delivers names and stats with computer-like precision — might be overwhelming to some, but it’s like poetry to someone who’s into the game.

“I think you can get some broadcasters … that can maybe get a little more opinionated or maybe get negative more, if you want to use that term. He doesn’t get that way at all,” Zetah said.

And it’s clear that Houdek loves his work.

“It’s so much fun,” he said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve appreciated it even more. Even at this level, I go to a game and every night I know somebody’s going to do something amazing.”

So if you’re ever driving through central Minnesota on game night, tune your radio to 1400 AM to hear the small-town guy who, in his own way, has hit the big time.

“A teenager’s going to pull off a big play, or they’re going to play their best game ever, and everybody’s having fun, and I’m having fun, too,” Houdek said.

-- Courtesy WCCO

 

KEVIN HOUDEK NAMED SID HARTMAN MEDIA AWARD WINNER

 

He was recognized at the 11th Annual Minnesota Football Honors on April 29 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

 

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - April 16, 2018 - Longtime radio sports director and broadcaster Kevin Houdek will receive the Sid Hartman Media Award from the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation. He was recognized at the 11th Annual Minnesota Football Honors on April 29 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Houdek has spent 30 years as the sports director at KEYL/KXDL Radio in Long Prairie, Minnesota. Last fall he won WCCO TV’s Viewers’ Choice Award for Best High School Football Announcer. Houdek has been providing play-by-play for the Long Prairie-Grey Eagle Thunder for three decades.

In addition to football, Houdek has broadcast other high school sports including volleyball, boys’ and girls’ basketball, boys’ and girls’ hockey, wrestling, baseball and softball. He has covered Minnesota State High School League state tournament games for many of those sports for his station and the Minnesota Sports Broadcast Network.

Houdek is a Minnesota native who attended Danube High School before getting his associate’s degree in radio and television broadcasting at Brown Institute in Minneapolis. He is also a volunteer coach for youth baseball and wrestling and women’s slo-pitch softball, and is a 15 year veteran of the Long Prairie volunteer fire department.

The Sid Hartman Media Award is named after the Star Tribune’s most famous sports writer who is still covering local teams at age 98.