Watch those Gophers! Pray for our MACA Tigers?

Annika Stewart of the Gophers

Girls and women's basketball has made such strides since a year ago. One individual was the catalyst for this uptick. Riding the wave of this burgeoning popularity now is our University of Minnesota. The Gophers! What a wave of success has been building up for our "beloved rodents" as Patrick Reusse has called our U of M teams. 

I can now pronounce our coach's name correctly. I got a little tutorial from my fellow U of M advocate Warrenn Anderson. He suggested to think in terms of "Plitz-U-Wait." A little cumbersome but I can handle it. 

The Whalen era for coaching was a lesson in how we can make no assumptions about former superstar players as coaches. The U could have asked me about that. I have had my own experience albeit at a small town level with teams coached by "big names" from their playing past. 

"Whalen" may be easy to pronounce compared to the new one, but she left her U role in an uncomfortable state and has now landed with the Lynx. Certainly not as head coach with the Lynx. She will no doubt help with marketing. Whalen never came across in the endearing way that Caitlin Clark has, at least in my estimation. Supremely talented, yes. Some of these kids need time in their post-playing career to find a new role. We wish Whalen well of course. 

You can't argue with winning. So let's heap praise at present on "coach Dawn" of our Gophers who has her team at 17-2, 5-2 in the Big 10. I'll use her first name now because the spelling of her last name still throws me. Coach Dawn inspired her team for a thrilling fourth quarter comeback vs. Northwestern. I'm sure that had I been watching during our low point, I would've said "it's over." 

The Gophers trailed by eleven, 76-65, with 6:14 left to play at Evanston, Indiana. The Wildcats have been hovering around .500 in overall but have not been able to win in conference. They sure flirted with victory on Sunday afternoon. 

Nice to see Tori McKinney of the U finding her stride following a concussion absence. She showed no signs of being hindered as she put in 13 points. She had four assists too. A friend asked me: "Do you think she'll enter the transfer portal?" Tori is a freshman. Oh that's right, we always have to think about the transfer portal now. Well, I certainly hope we can retain Ms. McKinney. 

We sure couldn't have won without Grace Grocholski. Grocholski turned heads with her 27 points and ten rebounds. Yes a double-double. Amaya Battle was pretty instrumental too with her 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Annika Stewart scored nine. 

Don't accuse me of forgetting to report the final score. It was 87-82!

Closer to home

Here in Morris there is concern about the immediate future of our MACA girls basketball team. Simply losing, even losing badly sometimes - ahem - might not signal that it's crisis-time. A final score or halftime score is not the end of the world, I can assure you. But there are reports coming to my attention that the program is losing players. 

I asked a fairly knowledgeable person if we can even count on the MACA girls program finishing the season. I might have expected a smile and a statement to the effect "oh it's not that bad." But maybe it is. This individual said 'I don't know." 

I know nothing about the coach who is in his first year. A good bet that it will be his last year. That is, if he and the team can even finish it out. Prepare for the worst? Hey, we always have to prepare for the worst. And, not just in sports, that's for sure. 

Look at the inauguration of the new president. Look at how the president comes right out of the starting gate doing drastic things. So much for the theory he was just bluffing. Zero bluff at all, the way it looks. He'll do it all, name it. Deregulation of the banks to the point where money in the bank could get wiped out? Promotion of "crypto" which I have about as hard a time understanding as how to pronounce and spell the U women's coach's name? "Coach Dawn." 

Trump will get involved with the Federal Reserve getting interest rates pushed as low as possible, maybe even into "negative" range. So many ideas that can only boost inflation. Restaurants everywhere will have to close. So we'll "hunker down" and just try to survive. 

The J-6 rioters

The J-6ers are all freed now. Such is DJT's ever-growing power, he'll influence future history books to make sure the J-6ers are heroes and people like Liz Cheney and Joe Biden are totally demolished. These two and others could quite possibly be thrown into prison for the rest of their lives. DJT will have all his own people in place like in the Justice Department and FBI. They can twist and manufacture any kind of case against anyone. There are now no limits. 

But most of us out here voted for Trump and absolutely love him, perhaps have even begun to worship him, literally. I guess I won't. I'm not sure MAGA would ever want to exact actual vengeance against such a small-timer as yours truly. 

 

Affecting UMM?

With DJT doing everything he now can to wipe out "DEI," what might that mean for our U of M-Morris which has its own "multi-ethnic building?" Can we escape the glare of the Feds? I mean, with our policies giving advantages to Native Americans? DJT appointed a Supreme Court majority that wiped out "affirmative action." 

The new regime in Washington totally means business. Oh, and what will that mean for all of Minnesota as a "blue state?" Most of you won't care, even if you lose your Social Security - a "socialist" program - because you'll just go to one of your "conservative" churches on Sunday and have your MAGA loyalty reaffirmed. 

Go ahead and buy your Bible from Donald Trump. I cannot stop any of this. May God have mercy on your souls.

 

Back on hoops

Was I on the subject of MACA girls basketball? Well. . . Looks like we're supposed to play a "big school" tonight, Tuesday. It's Willmar. Of course, school size does not say it all when it comes to competitiveness. But if Willmar is tough, look out. If this is a tough team, their coach might hear a whisper or two before the game about how the Cardinals should "let up some" vs. MACA. 

MACA trailed Minnewaska 58-4 at halftime last Thursday. I know that no team can be "up" all the time. But wouldn't MACA fans prefer seeing their team on the "up" side? What would it take? 

There was a time in this community when I'd be scolded for talking like this. "We don't judge success on wins and losses." Well, there is no sin in talking in terms of wins/losses. Or just being competitive. 

There was a time in this community when the "women's libbers" - a very liberal or progressive lot - would scold me for talking the way I do. And then I'd point out the paradox to them which they hated me for: liberals frowned on the sports ethos of "winning" as being rather Neanderthal. And I'd shout back at them: What would make women's liberation look better than for girls sports teams to be coached aggressively to play with the maximum competitive caliber? 

But I never won any popularity contests. Lose to Barrett in the first round? (Yes, Barrett by itself.) I'd say something and be upbraided. Now it looks like people such as me need to start speaking out again. 

Does our Morris school administration fundamentally not understand girls basketball? Let me clarify: it's just like boys basketball.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com