Minnewaska girls surge to 10-2 record

The Minnewaska Area Lakers are on a roll in volleyball. It's been nothing but wins since the Lakeview tournament. Nothing but 'W' after 'W' on the "Minnesota Scores" website. "Minnesota Scores" is such a go-to place for staying abreast of high school teams. 

'Waska even had three wins in the Lakeview tournament while being dealt just one blemish. The loss was to ACGC which must be loaded with talent this year. The Lakers won three times in the Sept. 7 event, over YME, Westbrook-Walnut Grove and Windom. Go Lakers! 

The "mo" kept right on going after that affair, wins over (in sequence) MACA, BOLD, Benson, WCA and Montevideo. All but one of the just-listed matches were by sweep, the one exception being the 3-1 win over West Central Area. Yes our Tigers of MACA were one of the victims. 

Had I a choice, I would be writing about MACA this morning. The big problem is that it's so hard to find timely media info on the Tigers. I can readily report on the Tuesday win by 'Waska over Montevideo at the 'Waska gym. I am happy to report on the Lakers. They're sitting at 10-2 now. They rolled past the Thunder Hawks of Montevideo by scores of 25-11, 25-10 and 25-7. Fans at 'Waska chered lustily. 

Haillie Schulz has been a leader with the 'Waska cause this fall. On Tuesday she performed six ace serves. Berlynn Green and Dacia Fleury each had two, and these Lakers one each: Brooklyn Noyes, Emma Poegel and Kyra Nelson. Schulz was the cog in setting where she performed 21 assists. Nelson supplied three while Green, Fleury and Poegel each had one. 

Look for Fleury to be a hitting leader often. And so it was in the Monte match, as this Laker had the team-best 13 kills. She was followed by Mya Vanluik 6, Emma Hellermann 5, Green 2, and these Lakers with one each: Schulz, Addyson Kath, Avery Lewison and Hailey Wesen. 

An ace block was performed by Lewison. Poegel got in position for nine digs and she was followed by Green 8 and Fleury 5. 

I have not been able to type the names of any of our MACA players this fall. We have been removed from the coverage territory of the West Central Tribune. Brett Miller is no longer at the radio station. We are left with "DeeDee." The Morris newspaper does not utilize its website for covering the Tigers - strange. 

Maybe someday the local efforts can get ramped up again. We have to be patient with our community of Morris sometimes. Sometimes even patience does not work. But nobody seems to care. A friend has always suggested an "apathy festival" for this town. The problem, he explains, is that "no one would show up for the planning meeting." Rim shot.

There is hope though

A week ago we saw the wonderful event at East Side Park where the Morris Community Band performed. Thanks to a friend for giving me the heads-up about this. Law enforcement people served up free ice cream cones. I said "thank you" to the young man even though it is my personal policy to "never talk to the police." I considered the old Morris Police Department to be a nuisance in this community. It no longer exists. 

So the band played from the Killoran stage and everyone had a good time. Lots of Hispanics there and where would we be as a community without these people? Would Republicans insult those people like they insult the Haitians? Would Michelle Fischbach? Our congressperson is joined at the hip with Donald Trump. She makes noise about "Second Amendment" and "pro-life." 

Someone please ask Fischbach if she favors the nationwide abortion ban like Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell. Does Fischbach really want to see her gender diminished, not allowed to make decisions even in cases of problem pregnancies? Life-endangering pregnancies? Someone please press her on this.

 

Whither the Killoran stage?

Cobwebs maybe?

The Killoran stage has been notoriously under-used. "Under-used" really puts it generously. The use has been negligible. I'm tempted to say even "negligible" is too generous. How many years since the band last played there? They weren't even invited to play there in the last year of the old Prairie Pioneer Days. 

Morris can be so fundamentally incompetent about things. We had some spirit when PPD was first created. I was a part of that. Now the summer is empty. I know Kevin Wohlers has expressed concern about this. He felt PPD was a good stimulus during a time of year when things really slow down here. Our community leaders like to escape to their lake places. I fail to see what's so cotton pickin' special about a lake place. 

Is there now hope for seeing a little more use of the Killoran stage at East Side Park? No one took the trouble to arrange for any entertainment there on the night of the UMM welcome picnic. Again, apathy. Turnout seemed down for the picnic. Maybe the event will be phased out. 

Will UMM be phased out? We'd have Trump to thank because he chased away the foreign students who were our cash cow! But if Trump seizes power again - it could happen - the status of UMM might be the least of our concerns. How far will DJT go for "retribution?" Might he implement the guillotine? Oh, this has happened through world history. We are not immune. 

Liz Cheney sent to the guillotine? Mark Milley? And a whole gallery of others? The only thing that might save us from this fate is the "blue dot" of Nebraska. If you don't know what that is, look it up.

 

Caitlin's season is done

From an email I sent to a friend this morning:

 

Caitlin's season ended last night. Went 0-2 and they're out of the playoffs. Now the HUGE question is whether people can stay interested in the WNBA. My frank answer is "no." I have no interest in looking up any future games. I feel no attraction to the Lynx.

Lindsey Whalen and Janel McCarville would have been much bigger stars in the Upper Midwest if they had been more appealing with their personalities and appearance. I looked up pictures of Janel from her pro career and she looked totally "butch." If only she could have just grown her hair out a little, have a pony tail like someone else I know.

I keep dropping hints about how the radio station should do more to replace Hoffman and Miller but it's all to no avail. I drop hints about how the newspaper should put more high school stuff with their sports link. But it's all UMM. My comments fall on deaf ears. What is Mongo to do?

 

You know who this is.

Comment to Yahoo! News

I share now a comment I submitted to Yahoo! News this morning (Thursday).

Today (Thursday) marks the start of the BIG TEST for the WNBA: if it can sustain increased fan interest with CC having been sent to the sidelines. My frank answer is "no." I'd like to say I'll keep looking up the playoff games on the calendar. But I doubt it. It isn't just CC's talent, it's how she is such an endearing personality. Eat your heart out NYC, she's from West Des Moines!

 

"Reality Bias" liked my comment.

 

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

What does "Rebels" mean for D-G-F school?

Not cool anymore: the former logo for D-G-F

Very long ago my neighborhood had a naming contest for our street. Our neighborhood was new in Morris. The street sprouted along farmland run by Earn Julius. Julius was an important resident at the time, a diversified farm operator - complete with ducks in the barnyard - and public servant on the school board. I might add he knew the value of a dollar. Such were the preponderance of folks who dealt with the Great Depression. 

It's too bad so many interesting personalities of the community can fade in our collective memory. Many of them left a legacy with their wisdom. The neighborhood that came to be known as Northridge Drive sprouted out by the soils lab. It's easy to notice if you just look north from the highway in front of Homestead/Pizza Hut et al. 

My family's original neighbor to the west was the superintendent of schools, Oscar Miller. It is a fact that Mr. Miller who had a real PR personality left here in a rather ignominious way, having been faulted for some judgment with finances. Nothing corrupt, I don't think. Just questionable judgment. Too cozy with the bankers in town. Let's chalk that up as legend. In my own mind it may be closer to fact but let's put that aside as neither here nor there. 

Our next superintendent probably presented some advantages but he was no PR master. Reminds me of how Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune once wrote that the University of Minnesota went back and forth with its football coaches, from a PR type to a more brass tacks type, and back again! Coincidence? Reusse didn't seem to think so. As a rule I do not believe in coincidences. 

Our neighborhood had the naming contest for our street and thus was created "Northridge Drive." I wonder if our little vote had legal authority. Seemed pretty informal to me. People were more relaxed in those days, had more of a sense of humor. So one of the nominations for our street name was "Rebel Ridge." 

Interesting term: "rebel." Literally it means to fight the status quo on something. That's a generalized definition. In the real world we can think of other things. We might quickly associate the term with the Civil War. Aha, that's pretty inescapable. 

Is this the answer? Revolutionary war?

So it's no wonder that the school which was our opponent for football at Big Cat Friday got caught in one of these disturbing dust-ups. Just like Benson. I was not even aware of the "controversy" at DGF until after the Friday game. Incidentally it was quite a game with the Tigers of Motown winning in triple-OT 34-32. We beat the "Rebels." They're from Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton. 

Hmmm, "Rebels." Well, DGF dug a hole for itself with this one, this nickname I mean. It wasn't just the term "Rebels" that caused a snag. It was the logo. No subtlety with this at all: heavens, a Confederate soldier. The fault here lies with the DGF school leaders who allowed the creation of this in the first place.

I realize that popular entertainment including movies and TV has historically not been so hard on the "Confederates" or "rebels." It was suggesting that these were "Americans" who became victims of an old entrenched culture. They were resisting the forces of history. Maybe the suggestion was "forgive them Lord for they know not what they do." 

 

Coming together

After the Civil War there were all sorts of gestures for "reconciliation." Because, we were all just going to be "Americans" again. We were led to admire Robert E. Lee some, as an exemplary leader and general. An objective view might have been to condemn his memory. So why didn't that happen? Latent racism? The Civil War was fought over slavery. So it was dodgy indeed for DGF to stick its neck out and put forward "Rebels" with the soldier symbol, gray of course. 

The questions floated around and then of course the matter reached a head. Just as it has done in our neighbor Benson. Don't you think the Benson leaders wish this mess had never happened in the first place? I get the impression that Benson needs some work with its extracurricular programs. But they're distracted by the whole "Braves" thing with the feathers. Oh my goodness the feathers! That's just not cool and if you question that, you're just not with the times. 

So what happened in D-G-F? Well, some capitulation to the changing times. But only some. So I wonder if it's enough. They aren't fooling anyone. They obviously want to stick with "Rebels" but they thought a "tweak" will be good enough. And what is that? Ahem, to try to get us to think of a "rebel" as being a Revolutionary War soldier! 

To that I say "nice try" because I have never heard the term "rebels" associated with the Continental Army under George Washington. They were independence fighters. "Rebel" is a new one for that. The DGF approach is nakedly disingenuous. I might accept their argument that it's just so cotton pickin' expensive to change logos and mascots. Benson is holding back to get $ from the "deep pockets" of the state. I suspect eventually that will come through. 

The "Caracal" cat

It would have been so nice for DGF to just change course and come up with a new moniker. There is one totally safe route for this: choose a "big cat." Are any big cat names left that haven't already been overused? Well yes and I'd like to suggest one. How about the DGF "Caracals?" Rolls off the tongue nice. The caracal is very much like a mountain lion. It can be domesticated with some risk. Not recommended.

So here's a toast to the DGF "Caracals" if they would only go that route. 

 

Over-arching view

Do I have to repeat my standard opinion on these matters? I don't see why nicknames and mascots are needed at all! I think they are rather regressive and juvenile. 

 

Epilogue to story

Let me complete my little historical tale about Northridge Drive, where I live. Many moons ago -  is that a politically incorrect expression? - we had our little vote in which "Rebel Ridge" was a candidate. Another one offered in levity was "Snob Hill" but I digress. 

The inspiration for "Rebel Ridge" was the fact that our street intersects to the west with "Yankee Ridge Road." Not sure if Yankee Ridge is an official or non-official name but it sure has been used. I guess people of English stock settled there. 

Northridge Drive goes over to where Dan Sayles has his dog kennels. If you take a right there you can drive all the way to Donnelly on a paved road. And yet a good portion of Northridge Drive is not paved. The unpaved portion can get bumpy and muddy in wet times. 

Our neighborhood is a happy enough place but we don't know each other like we all did in "the old days." I guess that pertains to neighborhoods everywhere. Were the "old days" better? Not sure about that. America let the Vietnam war go on for years. I have never recovered from that.

Is the Trump phenomenon of today any worse? I'll just say that nothing could be worse than the Vietnam war.

Regarding Trump in the present, James Carville in his current podcast notes that people who spend time close to Trump physically say he "stinks." Literally. So Carville presented a theory: "I don't think (Trump) can wipe his ass." Look at the guy. But I repeat: the Vietnam war was worse. 

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

Win with a sweep flair over Montevideo

MACA volleyball has won two of its last three matches. Success came by sweep vs. Benson and Montevideo. In between these matches was a loss to New London-Spicer. The success vs. Monte was on Tuesday at Montevideo. 

The orange and black prevailed by these scores at the home of the Thunder Hawks: 25-13, 25-14 and 25-9. 

I remember the days of visiting the Monte gym and seeing the big impressive "Mohawk" mural. Monte was once the "Mohawks." Benson is still the "Braves" but that has to be on the way out.

The West Central Tribune of Willmar has "stats not available" for MACA. Not sure if that means they were actually expecting them. I have not been able to type names of any MACA student-athletes yet this fall. The WC Trib continues with its practice of referring to our school as "Morris/CA." That is inaccurate. We all know it's "MACA." 

The Tigers' success vs. Monte was in WCC competition. I do have stats from the Thunder Hawks' side. Janie Miller accomplished three serving aces. One each came from Reagyn Glady, Megan Koosmann, Jillian Magnuson and Jessa Norby. The T-Hawk putting up the sets was Koosmann whose assist total was 13. Magnuson complemented her with three assists. 

In hitting it was Magnuson and Norby each with three kills. Taryn Stenson followed with two, then we see Miller and Payton Howell each with one. Norby was aggressive at the net with her five ace blocks. Anita Brown got up for two ace blocks, then we see four T-Hawks each with one: Miller, Cali Janke, Stenson and Madi Schultz. 

Glady was glad to get some good dig opportunities and she led her team with seven. 

MACA has a 4-6-1 record according to "Minnesota Scores." We're having some trouble at the home gym. 

I can't find anything about MACA sports on the SCT website. Regarding this week's print edition, not only did Hancock get disproportionate attention relative to MACA on Page 1B, the Hancock game was kind of sad in the sense that the opposing team was absolutely dominated, you might say steamrollered. I don't know why the kids on the losing team even choose to keep at it. 

Then again I would say the same thing about players on winning teams: why play football? You only risk seriously hurting your body and brain. Boys keep doing it because the bleachers are filled with fans who cheer them. Boys get the message that the community really approves of this activity. There is a difference between watching football and playing it. 

The kids who lost to Hancock Friday by such a one-sided score should just walk away and find much more productive and safe things to do with their time. It is too bad that volleyball is not yet offered as an alternative. Morris now has soccer. I'm not sure if the Hancock boys would be eligible to come on over and play soccer. Would be nice. 

The SCT loads up its website with UMM sports. This is really stranger than fiction, because if you're interested in following the Cougars (which is a good thing) you can go to UMM's own website and find the sports division. Everything you'd want is there, I mean 100 percent. 

So why does the newspaper drag us through this while putting aside our prep athletes of MACA? I repeatedly bring this up and nothing changes. Again I feel like the "Twilight Zone" character who is the only sane person left in a community that has gone nuts. Morris can be like that. We used to get some nice reporting from Brett Miller on the kmrs-kkok site. I started taking it for granted. Then Brett disappeared just like Marshall Hoffman. 

So why doesn't the station work to try to replace Brett doing this? I guess not enough money in it for the station. Look, the SCT and kmrs should both be pressed by our community. We need to overcome our usual apathy. Do we need smelling salts or what? Our community has a lot invested in its school. We periodically vote on referendums. Besides, sports coverage in the media is fun. That is a bonus. Why do you think I do it? I have done this on behalf of the Tigers going back to 1972.

 

Elaborating some

Here's an email I sent to a friend on Wednesday:

 

Del - I looked at the Moms fishwrap at church because the library is still closed.

What does the Morris paper mgt. say to people who say Hancock gets disproportionate attention? I have to believe they regularly hear this comment. So how do they answer?

There is no letup in the paper's policies. The big story with banner width at the top of page 1B with a large photo is about Hancock. And that was a sad game because of how Hancock trampled on the opposition. Karrie said she felt sorry for the opposing team.

The Morris story is totally secondary on the page. Is there only one photo from the MACA game in the whole paper? Not an especially large photo either.

You can say all you want about me, but if I were in my old position I would have treated our Friday game vs. Little Falls as a total "event." I would have made sure Emily Hamm got some acknowledgement. I'd have a photo of the pep band. And I would use dramatic language about all this because it was a real "event" and not just a football game.

But a lot of people don't like my approach, OK. I can just imagine.

The SCT office is in Morris and Morris is a much bigger town. Maybe the gap is narrowing now. The Hancock school has to turn away students. Interesting that the catastrophic van accident did not disrupt its reputation.

Now we'll see how many MAHS Homecoming photos they run, compared to what I used to do.

Anything exciting on the paper's website? They could use the site for game photos and they could really cover Homecoming using it. But don't bet on it. Check "sports" there.

Am I wrong on anything?

- BW

 

A boost to our whole nation: "CC."

Next Caitlin game

Don't forget y'all that Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever play their next game today, Thursday, at the Washington Mystics, 6 p.m. There are legions of people I'm sure who only pay attention to the WNBA this season because of "CC." What a phenomenal impact she has had, just 22 years old. 

I will again look for a livestream. I will watch a good portion of the game even if I have to deal with a little translucent blue square in the middle of the screen, there for copyright purposes. Meanwhile I pay no attention to the Minnesota Twins. I think this frustrates Dan Sayles. 

I often see Dan in the morning at DeToy's Restaurant along with Neal Hofland. Neal is quite attuned to the Caitlin Clark phenomenon. He and I feel that "CC" should have been on "Team USA." CC was actually on a team that beat Team USA. That was the "WNBA All-Stars." I watched that game on livestream. 

Can our U of M Gophers get on board with what is going on, I mean to maybe be more competitive and get more attention? To get out of the NIT and into the NCAA's? I'll share a portion of an email I sent to fellow U of M advocate Warrenn Anderson earlier this week:

One effect of the growth of women's basketball is to put more pressure on the U of M program to perform better. I mean, if Iowa can do it. . . I used to ask why Nebraska football was so superior to the U of M. Surely we are a more prosperous state than Nebraska. But we allowed the "academic" people to have too much clout here. This has been a sea change: the decline in the influence of "academic" people everywhere. They are barely holding on to their jobs now. They don't look down on the rest of us any more, scolding us on our Neanderthal ways.

Remember Jan Gangelhoff? After that happened, I think all of college athletics adjusted things to make sure it wouldn't happen again. Go ahead and treat athletes special, I wouldn't care and my father didn't care. As one commentator said, if you're a Division I football player you are probably spending 40 hours a week on football.

U of M women were awful in the Big Ten last year. We slipped into the "NIT." Yesterday I watched an Iowa "media day" video of about three minutes and again I am amazed: the top women's basketball players of today look so much more attractive by the metric of your typical heterosexual men. I swear all of the Iowa women look very nice and they are top-notch players. Lindsay Whalen and Janel McCarville did not cut it by that criteria. Man, if we only could have held on to that Oldfield coach a little longer, could have won national title. It was so ignominious and depressing how Whalen ended up leaving the U program. It was a mistake to appoint her?

Look how attractive Lexie Hull of the Indiana Fever is. And Clark also. They are not "husky" women. I don't care if the players wear unisex clothing away from the court, I just think it's nice they look so appealing from a male standpoint. Yes, curves and other qualities.

Lots of controversy with the Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois football game from Saturday. Really, the refs were trying to help Notre Dame win in the closing stretch. Northern Illinois got a 100 percent obvious first down but the refs denied it through ball placement. There should be an investigation. Truth be told, an upset like that is a huge boost for college football's popularity.

Patrick Reusse in an interview a couple weeks ago said the biggest problem with Division I football now is that halftime lasts too long! He was emphatic.

- BW

Dacia Fleury has 12 kills in sweep of BOLD

Volleyball: Lakers 3, BOLD 0

Minnewaska Area is having quite the season in volleyball thus far. Coach Mitch McGuire's Lakers own a 7-2 record as this week begins. The Lakers are 1-1 in section, 4-1 in conference, 3-0 away from home, 3-1 neutral and 1-1 at home. So, look for more wins to be recorded. 

Last week's results? Not just two wins, but two wins by sweep. The first of these had our Morris Area Chokio Alberta Tigers on the losing end. Fans at Tiger Center watched. Then came Thursday and a match vs. the BOLD Warriors at 'Waska. The Lakers put away BOLD 3-0. The scores vs. BOLD were 25-17, 25-10 and 25-17. 

Dacia Fleury and Haillie Schulz came at the Warriors with four and three serving aces, respectively. Aliana Marthaler and Emma Poegel each batted one ace. Schulz was the setting cog in the winning effort: 23 assists. Fleury contributed two. 

The crowd-pleasing hitting category had Fleury come to the fore with 12 kills. Mya Vanluik and Addyson Kath supplied 8 and 4 kills respectively. 

These Lakers each added one kill to the mix: Avery Lewison, Berlynn Green, Emma Hellerman and Marthaler. Five Lakers each came through with an ace block: Kath, Green, Lewison, Fleury and Hellermann. The digs category saw Poegel busy with her 11 followed by Green seven and Fleury six. 

For BOLD, Zoey Lippert was the kill leader with 10. Kenley Elfering batted two serve aces. Layla Pfarr was the setter and performed 15 assists. Addison Stahnke had three ace blocks. Lilly Henriksen dug up the ball 12 times.

Football: Pierz 26, Lakers 21

Success in football has been more spotty. The Lakers did defeat Sauk Centre in Week 2 by a score of 34-10. Very impressive win. Outside of that, the Lakers have been stopped by our Tigers 46-27 and most recently by unbeaten Pierz 26-21. 

Pierz was the game site. Let's review the details. The Pioneers of Pierz took charge in the first half. Liam Hennessey passed 35 yards to Jaxsen Hardy for the first score,. The Lakers answered using the passing game as Levi Johnson hooked up with Carter Mayer, 15 yards. Zach Guggisberg kicked the point-after. 

Pierz turned on the jets after that. Aiden Jones ran the ball in from the five. Then it was Jones going to work for another score: a big 36-yard scamper. Brayden Faust ran for two after the 36-yarder. Halftime arrived with the score 20-7. 

Asante Adams of the Lakers found the end zone with a run from the 16. Guggisberg's toe was true for the conversion point. Pierz asserted itself again: Jones had a seven-yard TD carry. Guggisberg scored the last points of the evening on a 26-yard pass reception from Johnson. Guggisberg was automatic on the point-after. 

Adams finished the night with 51 rushing yards on nine carries. Johnson completed nine of 14 pass attempts with one INT. His passing yardage was 157. Carter Meyer was on the catching end four times for 64 yards. Guggisberg hauled in three aerials for 54 yards. Owen Meulebroeck had a catch for 30 yards and Tristan O'Neill had a catch good for nine. 

Aiden Jones had a role keeping the Pioneers undefeated as he rushed for the team-best 96 yards on 18 carries. Liam Hennessey carried for 55 yards. Hennessey completed five of eight passes for 67 yards. Their receptions were by Jaxsen Hardy, Carter Young and Jones.

 

Mixing with Catholics! But a good lunch

So here's a portion of an email I sent to a friend after I had completed my Sunday rounds. A pleasant fall day to be sure. Enjoy this while we can.

 

I heard about Assumption having their big event today with lunch. So I went over there. I tripped going down the steps to the fellowship hall and ended up on my knees. People at the table panicked a little but I told them I was OK. This was a total wakeup call for my age, and I immediately thought about all the steps we have at First Lutheran. It is not a minor issue at all. Maybe my failing eyesight was a factor in falling.

OK so the meal was 20 bucks. Maybe younger people are getting used to the rising prices for everything but I am getting concerned, really. I had a $20 bill which I handed to them but I did protest a little. The meal was fine and the blueberry pie was terrific. Meal included ribs and that was good too. But 20 bucks? A meal like this when we were younger would have cost maybe six bucks. How can people not notice this? Is it the "boiling frog?"

Cindy (Hottovy) Poppe came up to me at the lunch and said she read my blog when Bailey Hottovy had a good softball game. Ah, my legions of fans. She sounded nostalgic like it took her back to when I was with the paper! "Rock 'n' roll is here to stay, it will never die." Same with Brian Williams.

For a long time the radio station would have a nice photo to share from the Friday game, even from some out of town games like when football was at Howard Lake-Waverly. I wondered how they pulled that off. I suppose Brett Miller gets credit. And then he'd type up a little something too. It's all gone with the wind. It would be nice this weekend to see a photo from Friday night, any kind of photo, a photo of Emily singing maybe. I remember her singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Library closed so I have to look at Morris fishwrap in church. I wish the paper wouldn't feel obligated to be 50/50 with Morris and Hancock. Hancock even seems to overshadow us sometimes. If the Forum had never come here, Hancock would still have its own paper. Any town that still has its own K-12 school should still have a paper. Chokio still has its paper which is small but it's still viable. Chokio! 

The Morris paper is 18 pages, barely adequate.

 

- BW

MACA volleyball falls to 'Waska at home

The "Minnesota Scores" site reports that MACA volleyball has a 2-6 record. The most recent action was Tuesday when the Tigers hosted Minnewaska Area. The Lakers owned the night with a 3-0 sweep. "Minnesota Scores" reports we were in a Saturday tournament at Lakeview with the following results: a 2-0 loss to New London-Spicer, a 2-0 win over Ortonville, a 2-0 win over Lac qui Parle and a 2-0 loss to those Lakers of Minnewaska. The Lakers are a nemesis this year. 

The season started with three losses at the hands of Melrose, BOLD and West Central Area. 

I cannot at present find match details from the Tigers' perspective vs. 'Waska. I think that is a shame. The West Central Tribune of Willmar has Minnewaska details on its website. There is no paywall today. In fact, I have noticed several times very recently there is no paywall, no annoying panel popping up on the screen demanding money. 

Maybe the West Central Trib is weighing whether it is still practical to go this route. I will say this, the paper is totally at the mercy of the coaches and their willingness to call in. I have to believe this is an issue for many of them. I mean, the expectation to call a paper with detailed info right after an athletic contest. A coach might already be stressed. 

And maybe some coaches wonder why the paper tries to make money off the info they call in. I presume the coaches get no financial consideration for doing this. But the paper tries adding to its profits. And from the parents and fans' standpoint, can they really count on every game or match of interest to get covered? 

MACA often plays opponents who are regularly covered by the WC Trib. So the results get in and get posted but with a very disheartening announcement for the MACA side. That announcement is "stats not available." Are they really "not available?" Did the WC Trib actually want them? And so our coach let them down? Or are we just not in their coverage territory? 

I in fact know that we were removed about three years ago. So Jackson Loge was not eligible to be on the All-Area Team. "Retrenchment" is the name of the game for newspapers now. The WC Trib might be weighing if they still ought to force online subscriptions on people. Of course, with a little imagination the info could migrate to many other places on the world wide web. There are templates available or you could start from scratch. I think it would be excellent public relations for the school. 

 

Morris library in hiatus

I can't even go to the library to look at the papers because the library is closed through the end of this month for work on the building. I suppose all the periodicals that arrive there now will be useless. 

This week's Morris paper probably includes the detailed review of the MACA football opener: the 46-27 win over 'Waska which must have had many special highlights. I would not know what those highlights were. I wouldn't be able to tell you the names of our starting offensive backs. 

The 'Waska football game was two weeks ago.

We are all excited naturally about the game telecasts being on YouTube. I just think a basic text summary supplying highlights would be nice too. Obviously the paper's website is a prime candidate for this. The paper feels that UMM sports should be covered quite fully from its website. But the paper appears totally uncaring about MACA. Man, if I was still at the paper and having to answer for this, I'd be shaking in my boots. I would be in bigger trouble than if I put a "Kamala" yard sign in my front yard. Or maybe not - maybe the Kamala thing would be worse and dangerous. We are totally pro-Trump out here in coyote country. 

Home of Michelle Fischbach who seems to feel that pro-life and Second Amendment are the only issues we think about. We are surely more sophisticated than that. But be careful, try not to show you are really sophisticated because that will really get you in trouble. Just go out to Good Shepherd Church and try to fit in. "Trump" signs are planted in the ditch opposite of Fastenal. Isn't that charming? A man found responsible for sexual assault is charming. 

The WC Trib continues to have the nagging problem of referring to our school as "Morris/CA." That adds insult to injury. It's bad enough our individual stats don't get reported. Then we get identified wrongly. We are "MACA" and I'm proud to have this on my new long-sleeve T-shirt I got at Family Dollar. 

 

Haillie Schulz

Lakers 3, Tigers 0

OK, the scores from Tuesday night with "Waska numbers first: 25-21, 25-17 and 25-18. Two Lakers each had two serving aces: Haillie Schulz and Eliana Marthaler. Two other Lakers each had one: Berlynn Green and Emma Poegel. 

The Lakers' cog in setting was Schulz who produced 29 set assists. Dacia Fleury stood out in hitting with her 13 kills. She was followed by Avery Lewison 6, Mya Vanluik 4, Green 4, Addyson Kath 2, Marthaler 2, Emma Hellermann 2 and Schulz 2. 

Kath with her two ace blocks led here, then we see Lewison, Schulz and Vanluik each with one. On to the digs category: Fleury 9, Schulz 8, Marthaler 7, Green 7, Poegel 6 and Vanluik 6. 

The Lakers are looking good with a 6-2 won-lost. In section: 1-1. Conference: 3-1. Away matches: 4-0. Neutral: 2-1. Home: 0-1. 

You might want to call the Lakers "road warriors!"

 

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

Injection of vitality for UMM Homecoming

A victory for the "cats" on Saturday

Wiping the sleep out of my eyes now and am realizing it's UMM Homecoming weekend. Someone informed me at a local diner. There are really only two establishments in Morris that fit the "diner" description so let's specify. I was at DeToy's. If I didn't get out to a diner now and then, I'd be like a hermit. 

DeToy's was pretty hopping at around 10 a.m. The place was prepared for the influx of people. A pat on the back to them. I wondered in an email to a friend a short time ago: How busy would the atmosphere be if UMM got back to its 2017 level of enrollment? Wasn't that something like 1700? And 2000 has always been the understood goal for advocates of the place. 

There must be rhyme or reason but how can UMM continue a viable football program when St. Cloud State, despite still having a much larger enrollment, has given up on football? Football was cut there some time ago. Great planning by the state I guess to have a new football stadium built at SCSU in 2005. 

I'm retrieving all the facts here from my memory so bear with me. And when it comes to UMM enrollment, a single number like "500" is so unsatisfying. What the heck does the number mean? Could mean all sorts of things. How do the "PSEO kids" figure in? These are the high schoolers who are allowed to get a head start with college. Not sure I approve of the concept. Oh, but this allows the kids to get some of their college done, to relieve them of some of the financial burden they'd otherwise feel? Which should prompt the question: Why did we allow college to get so expensive? Is the high expense a hovering dark cloud over all of higher education? 

How might the "online students" figure in with the "500" figure that gets tossed around with UMM enrollment? I have a hard time with the term because you can learn anything online without being signed up for an actual course. You can teach yourself trigonometry on YouTube. 

And of course if a relatively high percentage of students are not physically on campus very much, it calls into question the considerable expense of maintaining all our campuses. The cost of maintenance must be going up because the cost of everything is going up. 

At the same time, demand for college classes appears to continue downward. Is that a safe assumption? 

And let's not put aside - heavens - how people inside the institutions will want to "sell" what is going on there. They will want to obscure the negatives as much as possible and blow their own horn. Which is why I'd like to assume that there are watchdogs in high places. But are there really? Is the U of M Board of Regents really exercising oversight in a way consistent with being a watchdog? Or is the opposite true? And is the board just striving to sell the status quo and perhaps pump it up to suggest prestige and importance? Rhetorical question? 

I have come to think the Regents are overrated. Mention of a regent used to bring some sense of awe. I am over that. 

 

Music, or no?

So there I am on this sunny fall Saturday, getting going for my day at the busy diner with UMM-oriented people filing in, and I'm informed that we're in Homecoming weekend. I was oblivious. 

Was there a UMM Homecoming concert yesterday then? I suppose I should have known about that. Through the years the Homecoming concert has gone from being on Sunday to Saturday. I get fixed in my habits. 

I of course had to prioritize the football game in my years with the Morris newspaper. I always had way too much to do. The terrible "goalpost incident" of 2005 probably led to my exit from the paper a few months later. My coverage was made an issue. Obviously I thought the criticism was off the mark and overblown. Maybe there was something to be said for not reporting the incident at all, or sort of "burying" it. Well, the state media, national media and even some international media thought it worthy of acknowledging. 

But a pompous local physician felt the media had to be so inhibited by thoughts of "sensitivity" to the victim's family, the subject could hardly be touched. 

Ol' Dr. Kildare wrote a letter to the editor in the paper. I'm sure he had the "Dr." title affixed to his name which would suggest or imply he was intelligent. I'm not so sure he was. He has since died. Morris legend has it that he and his physician partner started the new clinic in Morris, a place that has gone by several names at the old Willie's building, because of one of those schisms. 

 

Shoulda known better

I will shoehorn in the thought here that Dr. Rossberg should have been nudged into retirement sooner. IMHO he did not keep up his knowledge. I never knew him personally. I could share a story about my own family's experience with him, along with a close friend's family. But just suffice it to say, I won't expand into details. But Dr. Stock eventually saved my father's life and gave him something like an additional 28 years of life just by making the proper heart diagnosis and getting him to Abbott-Northwestern in time for a five-vessel heart bypass. 

Sure beats just having my Dad be told "you're getting older." 

My friend's family health issue did not turn out so well unfortunately. 

 

Football win

Although I now look down at the sport of football I will report that UMM won its 2024 Homecoming football game 17-16 over Macalester. And that reminds me: A well-known and highly respected UMM faculty member told me about how he had shared with then-chancellor Michelle Behr a suggestion for propping up UMM's fortunes at this time. Sounded interesting to me. He said UMM might strive to be "the Macalester of the Minnesota public college system." 

I guess we're talking rarefied-air academics or something like that. The prof said he did not get a positive response from Ms. Behr. Behr said something to the effect "it wouldn't work." 

What would work? I'm thinking maybe nothing. 

 

Taste of Morris

I was at the "welcome UMM picnic" at East Side Park Wednesday night. The mayor himself fixed up my hot sandwich. I've known Kevin and his family a long time. Unfortunately I have had to tell him that I can never vote for him again because "I cannot vote for anyone who was on the city council when the water softener law was passed." 

Sometimes the City of Morris does something right as in saying "no" to a request for a second infusion of $ for the "softball complex." But the city erred in communicating very poorly on the water treatment plant. Kevin himself informed me in an email that the city "was offering soft water to anyone who wants it." False. It is not "soft" water. Last I checked, there were 15 grains of hardness in the "new" water. 

I thought the turnout for the welcome picnic was down from previous years. And once again there was no musical performance from the Killoran stage. If the stage gets used once the whole year, that's maximum. Ridiculous. You disagree? 

The home team won. Hooray. 

Our MACA Tigers won Friday night but fans had to haul ass all the way up to Thief River Falls. Ridiculous. You disagree? We won 42-0. Thief River Falls has a population of nearly 9,000. They must be down on the sport of football. All the more power to them. 

A friend emailed me Saturday:

 

I don’t understand why the Tigers have to drive 200 miles to play football. Aren’t there school districts with a similar population as MAHS closer? That’s a lot of gas money and driver time. Someone made the comment that our “Walz special” electric bus wouldn’t be able to make the round trip on one charge. I would petition the MSHSL to foot the bill for transportation. You coulda rode the team bus and covered the game for your blog in person. Even taken pictures with your cell phone. You would’ve had the scoop, Scoop. 

 

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