The bandwagon of MACA boys basketball success continues! They're rolling along now with just one loss. That was a close one. As of this morning we are 4-1. The Tuesday story was to play Litchfield at Tiger Center. This is a rare case of where our boys and girls teams both had some individual stats reported on the Willmar newspaper website.
I came upon the girls data first yesterday, so proceeded to write a review post on "I Love Morris." Bless you if you saw it. Bless you if you're reading this now. Merry Christmas.
I got involved in processing the girls data and forgot to check on the boys! So it's Thursday morning and I'm catching up. Not such a bad timetable when you consider how the Morris newspaper website will probably offer us nothing on the games. A lump of coal for them. Can you argue with me on that? I mean honestly.
Can you give me a pat on the back? Of course you can't. But let's enjoy reflecting on the boys' win No. 4 which was at the expense of the Dragons. We prevailed big-time. The blow-out win was to the tune of an 85-50 score. We led 43-24 at halftime. Litch came out of the game at 0-2.
Balanced Tiger attack
Four of the Tigers rolled into double figures scoring. The list is topped by Riley Asmus with 18 points. Then we see Drew Huebner 14, Jack Kehoe 11 and Charlie Hanson 10. Tyler Friesen and Alex Asmus each put in eight. Others who scored: Benjamin Tiernan 6, Owen Anderson 5, Cowan Mortenson 2, Kaleb Heins 2 and Ethan Koehler 1.
Riley Asmus connected for four 3-pointers. These Tigers each had two long-range makes: Friesen, Hanson, Alex Asmus and Tiernan. The Willmar paper didn't give first names on the 3-pointers but Riley had to be the one with the four makes, as Alex's scoring total was just eight.
Kehoe attacked the boards for a rebound harvest of ten. Huebner had five rebounds and then we see the "Asmus" name with no first name provided: four rebounds. Oh no, in assists we see "Asmus" as the leader with three but there's no first name. If I had committed this oversight in my Morris newspaper days, I'd be taken to task. My basic intelligence would be questioned.
The steals and blocks categories in the Willmar report have "N/A" for "not available." But this game review is pretty decent. When will the Morris paper be reporting? Next week's print issue? That's too long to wait, isn't it? Depends on whether you like the current staff there. If you like them, then you'll say it isn't too long to wait. Strange logic IMHO.
The popularity of newspaper staff does not matter much any more. All print publications feel intense pressure with the costs of simply printing and distributing the print product. This trend does not make news like it did about a dozen years ago. But the process continues and it's as real as ever. My Lutheran denomination of the ELCA has just published its last-ever print edition of "Living Lutheran." I have my copy at home. It looks impressive. Does not matter - it's toast, it's done. Will be "online" in the future.
The ELCA is still the major Lutheran denomination in America, even though it has been seriously battered, mainly by the gay rights issue, so unfortunate. Sad to see a major Christian denomination suffer so badly. It was not necessary. And look at the Methodists too! OMG.
Basic gay rights can be acknowledged without making such a huge fuss over it. Are church leaders realizing that now? My church of First Lutheran in Morris is under considerable stress or so I sense. We are not even having Advent services in this Christmas season of 2023. Nevertheless I brought in a check to the church office on Wednesday.
We'll see if First Lutheran even comes out of its funk. No Advent services. That's just not right.
Litch put up pretty modest individual scoring totals on Tuesday. The leader was Tucker Liestman with 15 points. Jacob Dietel and Noah Dietel each scored seven. Identical twins? Well, they scored the same number of points! Liestman made three 3-pointers and Jack McCann made one.
Three Dragons each had four rebounds: Garrison Jackman, Craighton Huhner and Jacob Dietel. McCann topped assists with four.
Addendum: Right as I'm typing this I'm wearing a new sweatshirt which was delivered to my front door compliments of UMM. The shirt has "Morris" displayed very prominently in front. That's interesting because it reflects the priority of our campus from when it first started. Do you find that strange? Strange that UMM would want to impress "Morris" as a key part of its identity? As opposed to just being "University of Minnesota?" Our original head person here Rodney Briggs ("Dean Briggs") thought it important to prioritize "Morris."
A few years later the attitude did a reversal. The new emphasis was just "University of Minnesota." Has UMM gone back and forth on this? I'm wondering if the new "UMN" thing is a throwback to the strict "U of M" emphasis. When we say "Morris" are we implying "small (hick) town in western Minnesota?" Is that the issue? I'm just speculating which is my wont.
I remember back in the '60s after we had done our attitude shift, our campus had a team on the well-known "College Bowl" TV show. UMM on TV! It was a big deal then. But the sign in back of our team just read "University of Minnesota." We were striving to eschew the "Morris" part. Which may have been embarrassing for the U big shots in the Twin Cities, because our team lost badly! My dad said some people down at the "main U" were going to be upset. UMM had such a fledgling air in the early years.
The two songs that Briggs commissioned my father to write reflected "Morris" having emphasis. Garrison Keillor loved my father's "UMM Hymn," was right up his alley with its campus sentiment!
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| My father's "UMM Hymn" |
Other colleges had their problems like St. Cloud State: "party college." What a millstone around that institution's neck. They ended up having to cancel both Homecoming and their football program! When I hung around there in the '70s, the uproarious reputation of St. Cloud State reflected fact and not myth. We are so human an animal.
I'm taking the long way around the barn here to express appreciation to UMM for my new sweatshirt! I shall wear it proudly with its big "Morris" lettering on the chest! We're Morris! Small rural towns look increasingly better as the "big cities" decline in their reputation for livability. Is the "noose tightening" across America? I mean, what does it say about this country that so many of our major population centers are becoming so grim with crime etc.? Look at Minneapolis. Then look at Morris! But we need our big cities to hold their own.
There are times when I can be disillusioned about our campus in Morris, yes. I'm not enthused about the whole staff at the Welcome Center. But I always have faith in Erin Christianson. It took time to get over the death of Bill Robb, but life goes on.
Oh, and thanks to Janet Ericksen for the super Christmas card! Peace on Earth, good will toward man. Back when I was in college, we were supposed to question Christianity.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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