Sports during the pandemic has largely been discussed in binary terms — “Let them play” vs. “Sports are too unsafe.” Both arguments are overly simplistic, especially when it comes to high school basketball on Montana Indian reservations.

Basketball is akin to religion for Native Americans, and canceling this season is out of the question for many of them. That doesn’t mean they’re deprioritizing COVID-19. In fact, some Native schools have canceled basketball for safety reasons, and people involved with Native basketball programs that are playing feel conflicted because they know firsthand how destructive COVID has been to their communities.

I wrote about this ambivalence last month.

Basketball is ‘oxygen’ for Montana Native Americans. COVID-19 has filled this season with challenges.

Few students in the world are qualified enough to even consider attending the California Institute of Technology, let alone get accepted. In December, I wrote about one of those rare students: a baseball player in Great Falls, Montana.

‘It’s kind of unreal’: Great Falls pitcher Cameron McNamee to attend one of world’s top schools

UPDATE (4/10/21): Caltech accepted another Montanan, a basketball player who has been through some rough experiences in recent years.

I tested positive for COVID-19 in late-October. I wrote about my experience (luckily mild) and the limitations of personal responsibility.

Victor Flores: I tried to be responsible. I got COVID-19 anyway.

I could put this story in my COVID-19 sports coverage section since it focuses on a high school athletic director, but it has nothing to do with sports. It’s about four family members on a Montana Indian reservation who got COVID-19. They all recovered, but as I detail in the piece, “recovery” is a relative term.

“I was like, ‘Well, if this happens to go the bad way, I’m going to be at peace with it because I really miss my brother and I really miss my son,’ ” said August “Tiger” Scalpcane, the aforementioned AD who nearly died from COVID-19.

‘This could go either way’: After COVID-19 scare, Lame Deer’s Scalpcane family still recovering

Nursing homes and assisted living facilties in Billings have avoided COVID-19 outbreaks as of this writing, but the coronavirus has still drastically altered life for residents and workers, sometimes in ways that are difficult to see from a distance.

Isolation, uncertainty make life in Montana care homes taxing during pandemic

Jessy Davis’ scary rodeo injury was just the beginning of a crazy month and a half in Utah.

Power bareback rider Jessy Davis feels fortunate after life-threatening injury, earthquake and COVID-19 peril

 

In September, several items (including two cars) belonging to Columbus High School football players and coaches were stolen during one of their games. I wrote three stories — the breaking news, the charges against the suspects and the suspects’ pleas — about the theft in the weeks after it occured, and another development happened in March (with more to come as of March 26).

Deputies arrest suspects in theft at Columbus-Three Forks football game

Suspects charged for theft at Columbus football game

Suspects plead not guilty in massive theft at Columbus football game

Suspect in Columbus locker room thefts pleads guilty, faces sentencing

 

This was a fun story to work on. It focuses on the relatives who start for the Jordan boys basketball team, and it explores why nearly 150 people with the last name Murnion live in a small eastern Montana county.

With 5 Murnions in starting lineup, Jordan displays ‘highest form of chemistry’

Famous Lefthand is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever profiled, and not just because he almost died.

Being Famous: Brushes with death have strengthened Hardin’s Famous Lefthand

UPDATE (8/17): Lefthand’s father died in June, and his grandfather passed away a month later. I wrote about both men here.