The ButteCast with Bill Foley

01/07/2025

In 2003, the head coaching job for the Butte High girls’ basketball team was not very appealing. It was so unappealing that I’m not sure the school got more than one person to apply for the job after Tom Pomroy Jr. decided to give up coaching and focus more on his growing family in June. Butte High only expected one varsity player back from the previous team that won a playoff game but fell just short of a state tournament berth....

In 2003, the head coaching job for the Butte High girls’ basketball team was not very appealing. It was so unappealing that I’m not sure the school got more than one person to apply for the job aft…

01/06/2025

We closed out 2024 with a podcast featuring former Butte High Bulldog and Oregon Duck Cody Carriger. So, what a better way to open 2025 than with a podcast featuring Cody’s older brother, Jaison. Jaison Carriger was a standout athlete at Butte High School before taking an academic scholarship and walking on to play football for Butte native Mick Dennehy at Utah State....

We closed out 2024 with a podcast featuring former Butte High Bulldog and Oregon Duck Cody Carriger. So, what a better way to open 2025 than with a podcast featuring Cody’s older brother, Jaison. J…

01/06/2025

Butte High wrestling siblings Will and Mattie Stepan are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week. The honors come after the Stepans battled to strong showings at the annual Tom LeProwse tournament in Bozeman. The tournament, of course, is named after the late Butte Sports Hall of Famer. Will Stepan is a senior who has signed to play football at Montana Tech....

Butte High wrestling siblings Will and Mattie Stepan are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week. The honors come after the Stepans battled to strong showings at the annual Tom LeProwse tou…

01/05/2025

Following is the Knights of Columbus Athletic Club’s four-man basketball schedule for the week of Jan. 6. There are no games scheduled for Monday because of the FCS National Championship football game. Tuesday7 p.m. — Jellyfam vs Washington Generals8 p.m. — Someday Starters vs Poi Time Wednesday7 p.m. — Jellyfam vs Cook8 p.m. — Cook vs Someday Starters9 p.m. — Parish vs Washington Generals Thursday7 p.m. — Poi Time vs City Bois8 p.m. — City Bois vs Parish

Following is the Knights of Columbus Athletic Club’s four-man basketball schedule for the week of Jan. 6. There are no games scheduled for Monday because of the FCS National Championship football g…

01/05/2025

DILLON — Four shooters from Butte claimed titles Saturday at the Elks South District Hoop Shoot free throw contest at the Straugh Gymnasium. The first-place winners advance to the State Hoop Shoot contest, which is Feb. 8 in Livingston. All the District contestants previously won their Lodge contest in Anaconda, Butte, Deer Lodge, or Dillon. Butte shooters to claim victory were Ava Jurenic (in the girls’ 8-9 age group), Jerzi Nichols (girls’ 10-11), Tenley Osborn (girls’ 12-13) and Dawson Luedtke (boys’ 8-9)....

DILLON — Four shooters from Butte claimed titles Saturday at the Elks South District Hoop Shoot free throw contest at the Straugh Gymnasium. The first-place winners advance to the State Hoop Shoot …

01/05/2025

Butte High swept the boys-girls hoops doubleheader with Butte Central Saturday night at the Butte Civic Center. The Bulldog girls won the opener 58-16 before the Butte High boys held off the Maroons for a 62-51 win. Cadence Graham scored 16 points to lead the Bulldog girls in scoring. Autumn Clary added 13 points off the bench, while Brityn Stewart scored 10, and Franki Salusso tossed in nine....

Butte High swept the boys-girls hoops doubleheader with Butte Central Saturday night at the Butte Civic Center. The Bulldog girls won the opener 58-16 before the Butte High boys held off the Maroon…

01/04/2025

Butte Central and Livingston split a varsity basketball doubleheader Friday in Livingston. The Rangers won the girls’ game 56-36 before the BC boys rolled to a 70-23 victory in the nightcap. The Maroons have little time to rest before they play Butte High Saturday at the Butte Civic Center. The varsity girls’ game is set for 6 p.m., with the boys following at 7:30....

Butte Central and Livingston split a varsity basketball doubleheader Friday in Livingston. The Rangers won the girls’ game 56-36 before the BC boys rolled to a 70-23 victory in the nightcap. The Ma…

01/03/2025

Butte High’s girls’ and boys’ varsity basketball teams swept the Bozeman Hawks in a non-conference twin bill Thursday night at the Butte Civic Center. The Bulldog girls won 47-39 before the Butte boys completed the sweep with a 70-64 victory. With his game-high 31 points in the nightcap, Butte High junior Hudson Luedtke closed within six points of moving into fourth place on the Bulldog boys’ all-time scoring list....

Butte High’s girls’ and boys’ varsity basketball teams swept the Bozeman Hawks in a non-conference twin bill Thursday night at the Butte Civic Center. The Bulldog girls won 47-39 before the Butte b…

01/02/2025

By Bill Foley When the ButteCast debuted in September of 2022, the podcast and website were not intended to be sports focused. Sure, it will always slant more toward sports than news and politics, but the sole point of the site is not sports coverage. It is to shine the spotlight on interesting people and characters in Butte and around the state....

By Bill Foley When the ButteCast debuted in September of 2022, the podcast and website were not intended to be sports focused. Sure, it will always slant more toward sports than news and politics, …

01/01/2025

The end of 2024 has been an exciting time in the Mining City. A lot of that excitement is because Butte High graduate Tommy Mellott and the Montana State Bobcats will play in the FCS national championship football game on Monday. Seeing the success of “Touchdown Tommy,” got some of us thinking about some of the greatest athletes in Butte history....

The end of 2024 has been an exciting time in the Mining City. A lot of that excitement is because Butte High graduate Tommy Mellott and the Montana State Bobcats will play in the FCS national champ…

12/31/2024

The 11th Lil Dribbler Basketball League will begin Saturday, Jan. 4 at East Middle School. The league will run through March 29, with the exception of three dates (Jan. 25, Feb. 8 and Feb. 22) when the gym is not available. A different gym will be used those dates, if one is available. The program, which is basically an open gym for little kids, runs from 9 to 11 a.m....

The 11th Lil Dribbler Basketball League will begin Saturday, Jan. 4 at East Middle School. The league will run through March 29, with the exception of three dates (Jan. 25, Feb. 8 and Feb. 22) when…

12/31/2024

Milt Popovich’s name jumped right off the program when I opened it up. In a post-Christmas visit with my father-in-law, Pat Mulcahy, he handed me a photocopy of the game program from when the Montana State College Bobcats played the Montana State University Grizzlies at Clark Park in Butte on Oct. 30, 1937. (Go to the bottom of this column for photos of that program....

Milt Popovich’s name jumped right off the program when I opened it up. In a post-Christmas visit with my father-in-law, Pat Mulcahy, he handed me a photocopy of the game program from when the Monta…

12/31/2024

Following are the Butte High girls’ basketball subvarsity reports for the December portion of the Bulldogs season, as provided by coaches. The report includes road games against Belgrade, Dillon and Boulder and home a game against Billings Skyview. Butte High sophomores 60, Belgrade sophomores 11BELGRADE — The Bulldogs never trailed as they rolled to a season-opening rout of the Panthers Dec....

Following are the Butte High girls’ basketball subvarsity reports for the December portion of the Bulldogs season, as provided by coaches. The report includes road games against Belgrade, Dillon an…

12/29/2024

12/27/2024

A little more than a decade ago, a Montana Standard sportswriter set out to pick the greatest athlete in the history of the Mining City. That was a monumental task since Butte has such a rich sports history. It seemed like a crazy project for a writer who just moved into the state. To make a long story short, I disagree with just about everyone selected in his countdown to No....

A little more than a decade ago, a Montana Standard sportswriter set out to pick the greatest athlete in the history of the Mining City. That was a monumental task since Butte has such a rich sport…

12/25/2024

Butte High senior Sam Sampson still has one more high school football game to play. The recent Montana Tech signee was named to the 78th Montana East-West Shrine Game. He will play receiver for the West Side when the game is played June 21 in Great Falls. Rosters for the East and West were released on Christmas morning. Sampson is the lone player from the Mining City selected for the state's premier all-star football game....

Butte High senior Sam Sampson still has one more high school football game to play. The recent Montana Tech signee was named to the 78th Montana East-West Shrine Game. He will play receiver for the…

12/24/2024

As I made my way through the Election Day crowd at the Butte Civic Center, trying to find the right table to get my ballot, I saw Ed Kelly making a bee line toward me. “I owe you an apology,” Ed said. “You owe me an apology?” I asked. “For what?” As it turns out, he did not really owe me an apology at all....

As I made my way through the Election Day crowd at the Butte Civic Center, trying to find the right table to get my ballot, I saw Ed Kelly making a bee line toward me. “I owe you an apology,” Ed sa…