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(10:50) Time to put this one to bed. The Grizzlies held on to claim a 33-27 win over the Wild, giving them their second win of the season.

I think I can say that this is, without a doubt, by far, (another superlative here), the best game the Grizz have played all season.

They looked together on defense. The offensive line played great. Bartik made one or two mistakes and they missed out on some opportunities, so there's room for improvement, but still a strong performance.

It's amazing what some stability and two weeks to get everything figure out can do for a team.

On a sad note, this is my last Live Blog.

I'm in my final days with the News-Miner (I took a job 4,000 miles closer to home) and I don't know what will become of Raeder of the Lost Blog, but I'm sure my replacement, Josh Armstrong, will give you the type of coverage (eg. sarcastic) that you've grown to expect.

Thanks for tuning in.

Peace,

Adam Raeder

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(9:35) That should do it folks.

Daniel Dumas broke up a pass in the end zone intended for Ford.

Turn over on Downs.

Fairbanks ball with 2:26 to play, 33-20 Fairbanks.

I'll hit you up again after the game.

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(9:24) The Wild are getting frustrated.

You can see it out on the field.

33-20, 4:45 left.

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(9:21) Another deep attack to Parks.

Bartik finds the wideout streaking down the left side. Just a great pass by the QB. 39-yard TD.

33-20 Fairbanks, 6:50 to play.

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(9:20) Interception Dumas.

Daniel Dumas picked Smith in the corner of the end zone as the Wild went deep on their first play. Fairbanks ball.

7:20 left to play, 27-20 Fairbanks.

Tick.

Tock.

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(9:11) The Grizzlies haven't trailed yet. They're not about to start now.

One play after missing a wide open Parks, Bartik found him for a 42-yard strike along the right boards.

The kick is good.

27-20 Fairbanks, 9:28 4Q.

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(9:06) The Grizzlies were on the wrong end of that call as opportunity turned to disaster.

On the Wild's first play, what looked to be a forward pass (it was close) was ruled a backwards pass and the bounce missed a diving defender and popped right up to Taylor, who ran 30 yards for the score.

BUT... they also mixed the extra point.

20-20, 11:07.

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(9:03) And the Grizzlies are back in front, BUT...

They missed the extra point. That could loom large.

Bartik tucked his head and plowed in from one yard out, right behind Josh Craft as the Grizzlies retake the lead.

20-14 Fairbanks, 11:52 4Q.

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(8:58) I think we have our first proposal in Grizzlies history!

Two Grizzly fans are engaged to be married.

Ladies, that could have been you!

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(8:56) END 3Q, 14-14.

Fairbanks goes into the fourth driving, facing a 1st-and-10 at the Wild 15.

Now, can they finish?

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(8:51) The defense does its job.

The Wild had good field position, starting at the 25, but couldn't do anything with it, turning the ball over on downs.

Fairbanks takes over at its own 22.

14-14, 2:26 3Q.

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(8:47) Want something to worry about Fairbanks fans?

OK, you probably don't, but tough. Bartik has missed on his last five pass attempts. Only one, the last one, was the receiver's fault.

After a very good first half, it's been rough going for the QB in the second so far.

14-14, 4:47 3Q.

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(8:43) The defense is back to looking strong.

Thanks to good pressure up front, and a few penalties caused by that pressure, the Grizzlies held, forcing the Wild to punt from their own end zone.

But Sutton couldn't field the punt cleanly, so Fairbanks will start at their own 9.

14-14, 7:19 3Q.

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(8:37) The red zone game has to be a concern for the Grizzlies.

After stalling inside the Wild 10, Stuvek missed a 24-yarder.

14-14, 10:00 3Q.

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(8:11) HALFTIME 14-14.

A low-scoring affair in Fairbanks. Going into halftime tied is a heck of a lot better than Fairbanks is used to of late, but they've got to feel like they were one or two miscues away from taking control of the game.

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(8:09) Bo Bartik and the Grizz caught a huge break.

A Bartik INT was called off on an offsides penalty.

Fairbanks just missed a 29-yard field goal with 4.4 seconds left in the half.

Alaska now gets the ball back with .3 seconds to go.

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(8:02) Derek Zak bailed the Wild out.

Facing 2nd-and-goal from the nine, Smith faded back to pass and found no one open. He scrambled to his right, and, for NO GOOD REASON, Zak left his guy alone in the back left corner to help out on Smith.

Why? Who knows. If Smith ran, Zak wasn't going to keep him out of the end zone.

But that left Nian Taylor wide open for Smith to throw across his body to.

And, to make matters worse, Zak then hit him late.

14-14, 1:00 left in the second quarter.

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(7:53) Fairbanks dodged a bit of a bullet.

Smith had a wideout WIDE open streaking down the middle, but his throw was just a bit long and landed harmlessly on the Carlson turf.

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(7:52) The Grizzlies are back on top.

Bartik found Parks on a wheel route to the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown.

With a defender in close coverage, Bartik had very little space to throw the ball to, but he put it right in Parks' bread basket.

14-7 Fairbanks, 6:08 2Q.

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(7:45) One beautiful pass. One bad mistake.

Bartik had Fairbanks in good shape after a 40-yard pass to parks, but his next pass went off the hands of Donny McCumby and into the hands of a Wild defender.

One play later, the Wild score, with Smith finding former Grizzly Thomas Ford for a 35-yard strike.

BIG swing right there. The kind the Grizzlies don't usually recover from.

7-7, 8:34 2Q.

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(7:40) Smith is looking to run too quickly.

The Wild quarterback isn't letting his deep routes develop, tucking it at the first hint of pressure.

It had been working, but his last run, on third down, was stopped for no yards.

Another Wild punt.

Fairbanks takes over at their own 3.

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(7:35) End 1Q 7-0 Fairbanks.

OK, all there was was a kickoff before the quarter ended, so not much to report.

Thanks to a personal foul after the touchdown, the Wild will start on their own 6-yard line.

If the defensive line can keep the speedy Smith contained, they could be in good shape.

And more good news -- Sutton is back on the field.

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(7:33) Kenny Wilson continues to get better by the day and the Grizz are on top.

Wilson caught a pass over the middle from Bo Bartik, then cut toward the near boards, dragging a defender the final three yards to pay dirt for the 31-yard score.

7-0 Fairbanks. 41.5 seconds, 1Q.

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(7:28) Keith Smith hasn't found his range and the Grizz defense holds again.

Smith, at the helm for the Wild, is now just 1-for-4 for 5 yards as the Wild just punted.

Fairbanks takes over on their own 5.

4:01 1Q. 0-0.

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(7:22) This could be bad news for the Grizz D.

Covering deep, Terrel Sutton, who Fourcade is counting on to be the heart and soul of his secondary, flipped over the corner boards in the end zone and was slow to get up.

He limped off from behind the end zone. We'll keep you posted.

Injury timeout at 6:07 1Q, 0-0, with the Wild facing 2nd-and-10 at their own 22.

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(7:20) The Grizzlies tired so hard, got so far and in the end... well, you know.

Fairbanks drove straight down the field, but their drive stalled inside the Alaska 5, with a 4th-and-goal throw from Bo Bartik going just high of Mike Quinn.

Alaska takes over at its own 4.

0-0 7:50 1Q.

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(7:11) A strong start for Fairbanks.

The Grizzlies force Alaska into a 3-and-out on their first drive. Fairbanks takes over at their own 5 after Alaska's field goal/punt.

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(7:07) So, coach, about that trash talking...

John Fourcade said yesterday he didn't want his team trash talking with the Wild, that he thought the Wild got in their heads last time.

The kickoff hasn't even come yet and that plan's out the window as the two teams are jawing by the bench.

The Grizz kick off and the Wild take over, First an 10 at their own 14.

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(6:56) Oh, and one more thing before we get started...

I'm taking Big Brown losing at the Belmont today a sign that today's a day for the underdogs. Lets see if the Grizzlies prove me right.

(Random aside, I was rooting against Smarty Jones when he was making his bid for the Triple Crown back in 2004. This time, I was rooting for Big Brown. Not sure why.)

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(6:50) Well, I don't know about you guys, but one of the biggest things I'm looking forward to seeing is just what the heck the crowd is like today.

They're playing their "rival" (I don't care how close you are (and lets be frank, 400 miles isn't all that close) when you're in your first season, and they're in their second, how big of a rivalry can there really be?) and this is their best bet to stop the downward slide in attendance.

Time to make a good impression.

Not too many people here just yet, but that can obviously change.

Not too much to report before this one, though one big thing I forgot to mention in the preview ... Solomon Jones is no long a Grizzly.

He was released by the team earlier this week, and from what I heard from Damion Ward, one of Jones' friends, the man just decided that living in Fairbanks while making $250 a week wasn't a wise financial decision.

We've got the Grizz cheerleaders dancing at midfield right now and the clock says there's 12:00 to game time.

Oh, and we might have an interview with Ice Dogs' general manager Rob Proffitt something during the game. He's supposed to stop by and say "Hi"

So stay tuned. And Fairbanks, lets keep our beers to ourselves today.