On helping UMM, "The Little Engine That Could"

My dad, middle of three seated, at retirement picnic in his honor, 1978.

The circle of people with first-hand memories of UMM's first graduation is shrinking. The year was 1964. I can affirm it was held outside. UMM has run into snags with the weather for its graduations. I remember the weather being pleasant for the historic first time around. It was a very big deal for the U of M president, O. Meredith Wilson, to be here.

A young Ralph Williams shows his directing forte.

I would liken UMM to "The Little Engine That Could" in 1964. It said "I knew I could." This was after some halting steps at the very start, when community leaders were nervous about whether the new institution could find its legs. I don't know how uncertain UMM's future was. It seemed to me the already-existing campus should be used for something. It had a long history as an ag school. We had neighbors, the Lindors, who were deeply rooted in the ag school's history. My father taught at the U of M's ag school in St. Paul before coming here. Ag schools became obsolete. I had nothing but warm feelings about the St. Paul school.

My mom, at right, with fellow UMMer Bonnie Tipcke.

UMM seemed harder to like. I have grappled with conflicted feelings about UMM all my life. It seemed elitist. Students seemed to go through academic rigors that would make me shudder. I guess I was puzzled at the notion that the so-called liberal arts absolutely had to rule. If you even broached the possibility that higher education exists to prepare you for a role in the workplace, you had to fear being pilloried. I sensed that UMM clearly was not going to be for me. And yet we as a family had to acknowledge that we owed everything we had to the hallowed U of M.
At the advanced age of 62, I am now trying to connect a little with the U in a way which, if all else fails, is meaningful and real. That way is with money. We have made a substantial monetary gift to UMM music. So now maybe I can be viewed as an eccentric benefactor.

A vignette: Our family had a dog named "Heidi" who would sometimes grab a slipper and take off with it, leaving the other slipper without its partner. A comment would be made, whereupon the response was made: "Haven't you heard the story of the magic slipper?" And then the comment was added: "Ain't you got culture?" Well, I may not possess a lot of culture but I can help UMM with a little green. I can be accepted on certain terms.
 
Up by the bootstraps, I guess
As a child I wasn't going to be that dependent on formal education. I was dependent on my mother. She saw to it that my literacy got pushed forward. She had me read aloud from books that were a little higher than my normal reading level would be. She pushed me and pushed me. Then as a junior in high school, I took a typing course under a fine teacher named Mr. Roberts at Morris High School. The building blocks were in place for me to write seriously.
I consumed lots of news media as a kid. Therefore I got filled with notions about how it was important to hold our society's leaders' feet to the fire. We're talking the late 1960s and early 1970s, that cauldron of unsettled feeling throughout our U.S. society. It's possible I was too impressionable. There is an important current movie that reminds us of how the air of skepticism got fueled back then. It's an important movie for young people to see. They might not believe it: the U.S. government had been lying about Vietnam for a large number of years. The movie is about the Pentagon Papers. Any government that could facilitate and feed something like the Vietnam War is never to be trusted.
I could have sworn the Vietnam War was going to go on forever. I remember when I learned the word "strive." It was from a World Events poster. There was an item bout how the South Vietnamese leader was "striving" to accomplish something. We were taught to take the Vietnam War seriously as something that merited our attention and efforts. The seeds got planted for a lifetime of cynicism for me.

Mom, at left, with co-worker and friend Betty Payne.

The first UMM commencement happened in the same year, 1964, that my father took the UMM men's chorus to the New York World's Fair. I have read about that fair, that it's considered a "touchstone" event among people my age who were in the New York City area. And that's because it was this big, joyful, innocent event that happened just before all of the violently contentious stuff that we associate with the 1960s and early '70s.
I graduated from high school at the height of the Watergate revelations. Media people were viewed as the heroes in that. Media people of today are not viewed so generously. But maybe if we eventually find out that Donald Trump was in fact some sort of a Manchurian candidate, representing interests outside the U.S., and if media people end up with their essential role revealing that, a cloak of glory will be returned to our free press. It will not in fact be "fake news."
 
And BTW, happy holidays
I am writing this post on the day after Christmas, 2017. I'm sure you're interested in my mother's health/condition. She is actually quite stable in spite of certain issues that limit her. We attended the Christmas meal at our church, First Lutheran, on Christmas Day. People her age - she's 93 - are like snowflakes with their mental condition. No two are exactly alike. She has a basic awareness and she can form thoughts and sentences. But she can be erratic too. She doesn't like to leave the house after dark. I'm sure many younger people have that impulse too!
We just got past the winter solstice. We don't celebrate holidays the way we used to. It's very understated now. Our relatives are basically all gone. I find I'm relieved when any holiday is over. I find holidays a little unsettling. We cannot celebrate them like we once did. Memories come back from when we had more relatives and friends with whom to actively socialize. And when we had our dogs: Misty, Heidi and Sandy.
I appreciated that Jacqueline Johnson, when she was UMM chancellor, had a very real interest in UMM's history. She was vividly aware of my mother's background with UMM as well as my father's. I'm not sure the administration continues to be as interested.
Through all my life, I have felt sort of a curse with UMM-associated people looking down on me. I am sorry if I could not live up to all your expectations. Our monetary contribution to UMM music is a major attempt by me to "make good" with the institution, an institution I was never smart enough to attend myself.
 
Time to confide a little
I am going to share here an important little tidbit from my past. Was I really a good musician? So many people expected me to be. And yes, I picked up a couple music credentials which on the surface seemed impressive. Let me say this emphatically: if I were to audition in a carefully controlled situation where I felt no undue pressure, I could seem brilliant. But it was largely an illusion. You see, I could in certain situations "pretend" to be an outstanding musician. Once I got really pressed on what I could do, I'd break down quickly.
So I really wish I had never gained those credentials in the first place. I realize that certain people were probably trying to do me a favor. I should be grateful. I appreciated their thoughts on this but I would have been better off just being left alone, sorry.
I should have switched from band to choir for my senior year in high school, then I'd go to choir director Ms. Hjembo and say "don't treat me like anyone special please. Forget my father's standing in music - forget it. Treat me like any other kid." And I would have been greatly relieved not having a band instrument that I'd be required to take home every night. God I hated that. I should have told ol' director Woell that "I'm not taking my instrument home and if you want to give me a failing grade, fine." One of my peers finally spoke up against Mr. Woell in practice one day. Woell was an old-fashioned disciplinarian. Being in band was like being a slave.
Today I ply my musical interests as a songwriter and it is 100 percent more interesting and rewarding. Public schools do not teach the guitar and piano. The reason is that those instruments can be tools for individual expression and rebellion, and the purpose of our public schools is to promote conformity. Band is a perfect example.
I'm 62 years old and now with lots of time to wonder how my life could have gone better. I know, I know, forget about the unpleasant stuff and just move forward. I appreciate the wisdom of that and I'll try. Sorry if this blog post comes off like the Robert Stack character at the end of "Airplane."
"I had a rough childhood, Striker."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Star Trek's "Miri" sends message to us Earth people

"Miri" was a most intriguing episode of the original "Star Trek." Don't remember it? There are various TV channels that run the original Star Trek quite regularly. You can catch up on any particular episode. The high profile is an indication that the series can be placed in the pantheon of artistic classics.
The episode "Miri" (from 1966) wasn't so much entertaining as it was scary. We can all remember certain entertainment offerings from our youth that scared us. We might keep a light on in the bedroom at night! I have read that Laurel and Hardy's (of all people) "Babes in Toyland" had such an element.
There is symbolism in "Miri" that rather hits you over the head. The Starship Enterprise comes upon a planet that seems a replica of Earth. There is no suggestion about how this duplication happened. So, why include this plot element? I think the idea was to show how the story line was relevant to what happens on Earth. It has to do with how we raise our kids. We in the here and now, it is suggested, are not adequately sensitive to the needs of our kids when they reach adolescence. In effect these kids can become "monsters."
Let's weigh this as background as we examine "Miri." The Enterprise answers an old distress signal. Here's this planet that looks just like Earth. The surface has ruins of a society that is long gone, having vanished in the equivalent to Earth year 1960. The planet's natives once conducted experiments to prolong life. It's not nice to fool Mother Nature, eh? (Remember that PSA from the 1960s?)
The experiments result in the creation of a deadly virus. The virus kills adults by rapid aging and madness. But with children, the virus slowed the aging process greatly. So they'd spend centuries in prepubescence. One wonders how the children could adequately care for themselves. Suspend disbelief, please.
The Enterprise sends a landing party. They are examining some rubble when an odd disfigured man assaults them. This man has reached the point where adulthood is going to kill him. I did not find this scene to be particularly scary. But this type of thing happens again later in the episode with an afflicted female. That scene scared me greatly. It happens indoors. Her face looks devilish. There are children present who scatter immediately, knowing full well what's going on. The disfigured screaming woman jumps on Captain Kirk's back. Kirk applies his phaser which is on a non-kill setting, but she dies anyway. The seizure is fatal in all instances.
An older boy named "Jahn" steals the landing party's communicators. The children are mistrustful of any adult as they remember the ugly way the planet's older citizens died. The children apply the word "grups" for grown-ups. I thought it was spooky.
Dr. McCoy feels pressure to find a vaccine to cure the deadly virus. But he needs access to the Enterprise's computers. An older girl named "Miri" becomes central to what happens. She is nearing adulthood and finds she has a crush on Captain Kirk. She notices that Kirk has closeness with "Yeoman Rand" of the landing party. She becomes emotionally conflicted. McCoy and Spock make progress toward a vaccine but they cannot be certain, as they have lost access to the ship's computer. Is it a cure or a poison?
The kids who are 300 years old (!) are warned that food in the town is running out. (Of course, we must wonder how the food had been preserved that long!)
McCoy collapses after injecting the experimental serum. His sores which were a symptom of the virus, subside. We see a happy ending where word is sent for the Federation to send teachers and advisers for the kids. I love the line from Dr. McCoy, offered in levity, that some "truant officers" be available too. As with much notable fiction, there are plausibility issues in this story. Good fiction keeps these issues from being an impediment. "Miri" is a gripping episode, the eighth of the series to be filmed.
 
Meet actress Grace Lee Whitney
"Yeoman Rand" was part of the standard Star Trek cast early-on. Then she disappeared. All fans of the series noticed that. It was a little upsetting. Where did she go? The character was played by Grace Lee Whitney, a singer as well as actress. "Yeoman Rand" was the personal assistant to Captain Kirk (William Shatner). Whitney recalled going on amphetamines to try to stay thin, in order to fit into her assigned costume. She appeared in eight of the first 13 Star Trek episodes. She was then released from contract.
Some sexism can be alleged. The people overseeing the show wanted Captain Kirk to have a variety of romantic interests. They didn't want him fixated on "Yeoman Rand" indefinitely. Whitney was told this directly. She was one of two blonde women in the cast, and the third female was African-Amercan Nichelle Nichols. Whitney recalled: "Nichelle was a more important character and couldn't be written out. Everything's political in America. One of the blondes had to go. The other one was engaged to the boss, so guess who went?"
Whitney did not take it well. She consumed alcohol to cope, she recalled. There is a happy ending: She would later return to the Star Trek franchise. Fans had been asking about her at conventions. She reprised the role of "Janice Rand."
 
Meet actor Michael John Pollard
The actor who played "Jahn" in "Miri" is notable. It's a face you cannot forget. Even though he was a prolific actor, I only remember him from two roles: in "Miri" and in the Warren Beatty/Faye Dunaway version of "Bonnie and Clyde." This actor's name: Michael John Pollard. He played "C.W. Moss" in 1967's "Bonnie and Clyde." He received Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations. The role led to his joke candidacy in 1968 for U.S. president.
His very short stature had him playing child roles well into his 20s, an example being the "Miri" episode. This quality also had him in the recurring role as the diminutive trans-dimensional imp "Mister Mxyzptik" in the "Superboy" TV series. Another exhibit was in "Lost in Space" as the nameless Peter Pan-like boy who lives in the dimension behind all mirrors.
 
Assimilate the message
Watch enough cable TV and you'll see "Miri" again, I assure you. The episode makes us think about our own condition as human beings today - this is a hallmark of all great science fiction. It makes us think how we handle or fail to handle our adolescent youth. These kids come upon issues like sex that can confuse them and plant seeds of anxiety. They can become "monsters" as they grapple and as they try to fend off distractions. Maybe I'm revealing a little something about my own background. Perhaps. Young people today are given pills (behavior meds) when in many cases they could do better with intensive counseling, IMHO. Their parents can seem oddly oblivious.
"Miri" is a wakeup call to parents. Find out about the issues in your child's life. Don't you remember these issues from when you were young?
Kudos: The "Miri" script was written by Adrian Spies. The director was Vincent McEveely.
 
Just leave out the baked beans
Would you believe that the precursor TV show to Star Trek was "Wagon Train?" I found Wagon Train to be boring, basically a bunch of guys wearing cowboy hats talking to each other.

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

MACA girls get fourth win 66-44 at Montevideo

Tigers 66, Montevideo 44
MACA got back on the winning track with a 66-44 win over Montevideo on the road. This West Central Conference game was played on Tuesday, Dec. 12. Our record improved to 4-2. Monte came out of the game winless. Our halftime advantage was 26-13.
Maddie Carrington stayed "in the zone" with her three-point shooting eye. She made four long-rangers. Riley Decker and Malory Anderson each made one shot from beyond the three-point arc. Anderson and Carrington were a 1-2 punch in scoring with 23 and 21 points respectively. Decker was our other double figures scorer with eleven.
Here's the rest of the scoring list: Alexis Pew (4), Liz Dietz (3), Jenna Howden (2), Kylie Swanson (1) and Carly Wohlers (1). Anderson snared nine rebounds from her post spot. Howden gathered eight rebounds. Dietz dished out four assists and Carrington had three. Carrington was all over the court to perform five steals.
Two players dominated the Monte scoring list: Emmy Enevoldsen with 20 points and Sydney Zindel with 14. Kamren Saue scored six points, and Kari Fragodt and Jasmyn Kronback each had two. Enevoldsen made two 3-pointers. The top Thunder Hawks in rebounds were Zindel (10), Saue (6) and Molly Reeves (5). Enevoldsen had three assists followed by Reeves, Madalyn Killbarda and Fragodt each with two. Enevoldsen stole the ball four times for the T-Hawks. Fragodt had two steals.
 
Boys: Ortonville 64, Tigers 55
The BBB Tigers led by three at halftime but ended up on the short end against Ortonville. The visiting Trojans got their fourth win against no losses as they outscored the Tigers 41-29 in the second half. The final score was 64-55 in this December 12 contest.
Ortonville had three players coming at the Tigers with a potent scoring touch. DeVante Edwards and Caden Wellnitz each put in 18 points. Tyson Powell had a total of 17. The Trojans had an iron man look as only five players scored. Peter Treinen scored eight points and Mitchell Meyers had three.
Jackson Loge had a quite impressive night offensively for MACA with his 17 points. Jaret Johnson was the other double figures scorer with 13. Camden Arndt and Tate Nelson each scored nine. Connor Koebernick had five points and Chandler Vogel had two. Loge led in rebounds with nine while Johnson had eight. Arndt had six assists and Nelson had five.
 
Minnewaska 52, Tigers 41
Our boys were on the short end against Minnewaska Area Thursday (12/14). The host Lakers surged to get their fourth win against no losses. They acquired a 26-13 halftime lead. The Tigers managed to outscore the Lakers in the second half, 28-26. So the final horn sounded with the score 52-41.
Two Lakers scored in double figures to lead a balanced 'Waska attack. The team-best total of 14 was put up by Garrett Jensen. Jaeger Jergenson scored 11. Jackson Johnsrud scored seven followed by Matthew Gruber and Shawn Carsten each with five. The list continues with Jack Blevins and Ryan Christianson each with three, and Grant Jensen and Ryan Amundson each with two.
Minnewaska had quite the array of three-point shooters - six in all with at least one make. Garrett Jensen made two long-rangers. These Lakers each made one: Carsten, Gruber, Christianson, Blevins and Johnsrud. Jergenson had six rebounds followed by the Jensen boys each with five. Christianson performed five assists and Johnsrud had four. Gruber had a steal.
Tate Nelson of the Tigers excelled in long-range shooting, making four 3-pointers. Camden Arndt and Jaret Johnson each made one "3." Nelson pumped up his point total to 17. Arndt and Johnson each put in nine points. These Tigers each put in two points: Kyle Staebler, Connor Koebernick and Jackson Loge. Loge had the team-best rebound total with seven. Johnson collected five rebounds. Nelson produced three assists. Nelson and Koebernick each had two steals.
This was West Central Conference basketball.
 
On writing sports
There's a feeling of satisfaction when I click on "publish" to put up a post like this. I'm pleased to still feel a part of Tiger sports doings. It's bittersweet too for this reason: each new post stays current for only a very short time. The team will play its next game within three days most likely. Sometimes a team will play on Saturday, as the MACA boys will this Saturday at Lac qui Parle.
Fans/parents can be so demanding. Is the Pope Catholic? I suppose they're just being human. A review post that I put up just a few days previous will quickly become "old." And then the pressure is on to perform as a writer all over again. Over and over and over. At the Morris newspaper, this situation was exacerbated greatly by the need to cover every area team that might expect to be covered.
The pressure exerted by the fans seemed to become greater as the years went on. How do you reconcile that pressure with the fact the Morris paper has undergone such dramatic shrinkage over the last decade? I of course haven't been with the paper in the last eleven years. I can only wonder how they have dealt with the pressures, and I don't have any sympathy for them anyway. The only real priority they respect is to sell advertising like with those endless "sucker ads." We'll see more of that for Christmas. Attention businesses: spend your money more wisely. You didn't fall off a turnip truck, did you?
So let me emphasize that I enjoyed putting up this blog post today. A week from now I hope it doesn't seem like three-day-old bread, but it probably will. It's fun to keep tabs on how the Carrington family is doing. I see Tom Carrington most mornings at Detoy's when it's still dark outside! A very peaceful time.
 
Final note: I think today's post is the first time in my life I've written the word "exacerbate."
  
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwillyh73@yahoo.com

Four Tigers score in double figures in boys' opener win

Tigers 83, ACGC 58
MACA rolled over the Falcons of ACGC in our season opener, played on December 8 here. The curtain opened for boys hoops play with a most impressive triumph, 83-58. This was ACGC's third game.
Camden Arndt showed the same kind of polish that marked his football campaign. He topped the MACA scoring list with 24 points. But the scoring punch was really pretty balanced. Jaret Johnson was smooth with his execution and scored 21 points. Connor Koebernick and Jackson Loge each put in 14. Kyle Staebler scored six, and Ben Hernandez and Tyler Reimers each had two.
The rebound leaders were Loge (8), Johnson (7) and Arndt (4). The assist leader was Arndt with seven followed by Koebernick with six and Nelson with four. In steals there were three Tigers each with three: Nelson, Johnson and Koebernick. Arndt had two steals.
ACGC had the one-two punch of Kobe Holtz and Jaren Kaddatz lead in scoring, each with 16 points. Josh Kinzler put in seven points in the losing cause. Wyatt Weseman and Steven Lawver each had six. Elliot Gratz had four points and Braden Hedtke had three. Holtz had six rebounds while Kaddatz and Gratz each had five. Holtz had four assists and Kinzler had three, and Holtz had three steals.
We're at the start of what promises to be an exciting orange and black campaign.
 
Girls: New London-Spicer 66, Tigers 31
The dynasty in New London-Spicer girls basketball just keeps rolling along. The Morris Area Chokio Alberta girls learned that the Wildcats are a power once again for 2017-18. My goodness, the 'Cats shot out to a 44-8 lead by halftime. The final score was 66-31 on December 7, here.
Shea Oman was a long-range shooting whiz for the victor. She connected for five three-pointers. Mackenzie Rich and Payton Mages each made one '3'. Oman was the steals whiz with seven. She was one of three Wildcats each with four assists, joined by Ashton Engelke and Rich. Ava Kraemer had nine rebounds and Emma Hanson had eight.
Oman used her 3's to top the NL-Spicer scoring list - her total was 17 points. Rich and Hanson each scored ten. Mages put in seven points and Erin Knisley had six. Engelke and Grace DeSchepper each added four points to the winning mix. The list wraps up with Mya Krause (3), Sam Johnson (2), Courtney Caskey (2) and Ava Kraemer (1).
For MACA, Malory Anderson played up to the high standards she has set in the early season, scoring 19 points. She made two 3-point shots. Maddie Carrington had five points followed by these three Tigers each with two: Riley Decker, Jenna Howden and Carly Wohlers. Kendra Wevley put in one point.
Decker and Anderson each collected five rebounds. Liz Dietz and Wohlers each had four rebounds. Dietz dished out four assists. Anderson had five steals and Carrington had four. Anderson led all scorers on the night. But the orange and black was outdone by a wide margin, by the dynastic Wildcats. I assure you the 'Cats don't win because of their uniforms!
 
Sauk Centre 73, Tigers 42
The MACA girls were dealt their first loss of the season on December 5 at home. We had three wins previously. But we were humbled by the Streeters of Sauk Centre. Sauk upped its record to 4-0 with an impressive 73-42 win. The halftime score was 42-29.
The Tigers faltered despite Maddie Carrington again making several 3's for MACA. She made four in all, the only long-range successes by our Tigers. She scored 14 points which was second-best on the team. Post standout Malory Anderson set the pace with 19 points. There's a dropoff after Carrington: Riley Decker with five points and Liz Dietz and Jenna Howden each with two. Anderson collected nine rebounds and Howden had four. Four Tigers each had two assists: Carrington, Jordann Baier, Anderson and Carly Wohlers. Anderson and Carrington each had three steals.
Tori Peschel supplied lots of scoring punch for the winning Streeters with 25 points. Other double figures scorers were Kelsey Peschel (14), Maesyn Thiesen (13) and Julia Dammann (10). Kenzie Schmiesing scored seven points, and Megan Klaphake and Michaela Dammann each had two. Tori Peschel and Thiesen each made three 3-pointers. Kelsey Peschel connected twice from beyond the three-point line, and Schmiesing made one '3'.
 
Wrestling: Tigers 59, BOLD 21
Five wins by fall fueled the MAHACA winning effort against the BOLD Warriors. The score was 59-21 as the Tigers greatly impressed on the wrestling mat. Our winning total was inflated by forfeits, unfortunately. This is one downbeat aspect of wrestling, IMHO.
Caden Rose had his arm raised unchallenged at 106 pounds. Justin Asthmus likewise won by forfeit at 113. Ethan Lebrija got to face an opponent and he excelled with a technical fall over Jesse Manderscheid, 23-5. Austin Berlinger was on the short end by fall vs. Matthew Dooner (3:20). Ben Travis got one of those forfeits at 132 pounds.
Dalton Rose showed a winning flair at 138 pounds with his fall over Jordan Amberg, achieved in 5:23. Gideon Joos got one of those forfeits at 145 pounds. Colton Wohlers pinned Blake Flann (4:45) in the matchup of 152-pounders. Brady Cardwell won by fall in 4:36 over Anthony Maher at 160 pounds.
Christian Doods won by fall in 5:22 over Jaden Huebsch at 170. BOLD's Tim Peppel won by forfeit at 182. Our Bain Lane dropped an 11-4 decision to Hayden at 195 pounds. Gage Wevley pinned Brady Ridler in 1:27 at 220 pounds. BOLD's Jack Peppel won by forfeit at 285 pounds.
Let's excuse the weight-conscious Tigers for doing some Christmas snacking soon!
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwillyh73@yahoo.com

Maddie Carrington makes 3's in Tigers' 2-0 start

Tigers 50, ACGC 39
Now we're into a new sports season. The winter season began for the MACA girls with a 50-39 win over the Falcons of ACGC. The action was at Grove City.
The Tigers broke open a close game in the second half. We cruised with a ten-point scoring advantage in the second half, 26-16. Maddie Carrington was very sharp with her three-point shooting eye. She connected on four such shots. But it was Malory Anderson leading the team in scoring with her 22 points while Carrington finished with 18. Just five Tigers scored points. Riley Decker scored five points, Jordann Baier had four and Liz Dietz one.
Anderson snared eight rebounds and Jenna Howden collected five. Decker dished out five assists followed by Howden with four. In steals it was Anderson setting the pace with nine while Decker had five.
For the Falcons, three players each made one 3-pointer: Jeana Denton, Addison Bernstein and Madison Denton. Madison Denton was ACGC's top scorer with 13 points. The list continues with Bernstein (7), Jeana Denton (5), Anna Grimsgard (4), Lindsay Minnick (4), Molly Youngblom (4) and Gabby Lawver (2). Three Falcons each grabbed five rebounds: Grimsgard, Lawver and Minnick. Bernstein topped the Falcons in assists with five, and Jeana Denton was the top steal producer with three.
Last season's Tigers made the Section 3AA semi-finals. How high could they climb this year? A long season lies ahead. Carrington and Anderson scored all but ten of the orange and black points in the Tuesday contest. We have two returning starters from last year's high-achieving team. Those two were fairly quiet offensively against the Falcons: just five points scored. This pair: Howden and Decker. Those names were pretty prominent in the fall volleyball season.
Anderson is a sophomore forward who operates at post. She flirted with a triple-double, most certainly putting a smile on coach Dale Henrich's face. The coach had to smile about his team's overall defensive performance.
We won by eleven but the margin was closer for much of the second half. Our defense forced turnovers through a stretch of that half, but there was difficulty getting those turnovers translated into points. A Decker basket put us up 43-37 with 4:30 left. Then Carrington made one of her four 3's to provide some breathing room.
 
Tigers 50, Benson 43
Morris Area Chokio Alberta upped its record to 2-0 with a 50-43 triumph over Benson. The success came on the first day of December at Benson. It looks as though Benson is becoming more competitive than they've been over the recent past. Benson led the Tigers at halftime, 23-20. But MACA surged to outscore the Braves 30-20 in the second half.
As in the season opener, Maddie Carrington made four 3-pointers for the Tigers. Liz Dietz made one "3." It was Malory Anderson leading the Tigers in scoring with 17 points. Carrington followed with 12. The list continues with Jenna Howden (6), Riley Decker (5), Jordann Baier (4), Dietz (4) and Carly Wohlers (2).
Anderson at post led the orange and black in rebounds with eleven. Howden snared nine rebounds and Dietz had seven. Three Tigers each had two assists: Jennifer Solvie, Dietz and Decker. The steals list has three Tigers each with three: Anderson, Howden and Carrington.
Benson came at the Tigers with a 1-2 scoring punch of Kaitlyn Berreau and Claire Ricard, each with 15 points. Grace Lee put in nine points for the Braves, while Abbie Mitteness and Courtney McNeill each scored two. Berreau made Benson's only three-pointer. Lee was tops in rebounds with 13 while Ricard had eight. Ricard and McNeill each had three assists. Three Braves each had two steals: Berreau, Mitteness and Hannah Andrews.
 
Get out your reading glasses
Have you seen the MACA sports schedules on that flyer that was recently distributed with the Morris paper? The type size for the schedule info seems unreasonably small. I'm 62 years old and use reading glasses. But newspaper readership on the whole is "up there" in years. Why couldn't the paper use slightly larger type size? Oh, we all ought to know the answer: the paper is trying to squeeze in as many of those box ads for businesses as they can. The newspaper vacuums in some revenue. Obviously that's a higher priority than the schedule information which is just a lure for getting those ads which are "sig ads" (also known as "sucker ads"). Money shouldn't have to change hands for MACA sports fans to get easily-accessible schedule information. Doesn't Pheasant Country Sports provide this in a user-friendly way?
Also, I was shocked to see that the Morris paper fell all the way down to 14 pages. My goodness, 14 pages! The paper had been hovering between 16 and 18 pages. It's strange and a little alarming that this shrinkage is happening between Thanksgiving and Christmas, normally the most robust time of year for newspapers. If it's this bad now, how will it be after the holidays?
 
Should there even be a charge?
If the Morris paper is going to shrink this much, this fast, it should knock down the newsstand price from $1.25 to a dollar. Then again, if a superior publication like Senior Perspective is offered for free, along with the campus University Register, then you can argue that the minimalist Morris paper should be free too. Is Forum Communications getting ready to just start mailing out the Alexandria paper to everyone on the Morris/Hancock subscriber list?
It is fraudulent that the Morris paper continues to claim that it has now combined with the Hancock paper. The paper does appear to be going out of its way to appease Hancock, subsequent to the cancelling of Hancock's own paper, by presenting lots of Hancock material. I heard a complaint about this at church Sunday.
I spent 15 years generating two pages of sports for the Hancock Record every week. Randy Thielke told me recently he appreciated that. I do hope it is remembered.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com