We can root for Gophers, long way from California

Amaya Battle, 21 points Wed.

A beautiful sight of snow falling down on this Thursday morning on the prairie. It's especially beautiful when you realize what is happening in California. We have always felt a tendency to be envious of those in California. "Endless summer" or something close to that. But earthquakes. And now fires. 

We look at the snow falling in Minnesota and realize it's mid-winter according to the calendar. Are you feeling a "letdown?" I mean, with the holidays receding? We might look for a special inspiring spark in the world around us. 

So for me as I surveyed the news this morning, how about the Gophers women's basketball team of the U of MN? That's it! A bright shining light to maybe make our winter a little shorter. Last year we were all riveted by Caitlin Clark. This year the wellspring is right within our Minnesota. Feels more appropriate. Iowa is still good but I'm certain the Gophers can give them a run for their money. 

Dan Sayles and I have been waiting for the Gophers to become ranked nationally. We haven't exactly been prominent over the past few seasons. We don't have "rep" (reputation) going for us, not like Iowa. Looks like the situation is in the process of being remedied! 

Good luck to the people dealing with the California fires. That's a long way from us. We can feel heartened living here in Minnesota with no such menace. We might get the occasional blizzard. But we have quite ample snow removal means. Cold? We certainly are knowledgeable about outerwear for dealing with that. 

Now, on to focusing on basketball. Such a reliable sport because it is played indoors. An intense sport but certainly safe when compared to football. It has been growing on the women's side over the recent past. Let's admit the trend was started by one person: you-know-who. 

Today part of the focus is on Paige Bueckers, a Minnesota native. Maybe she would have committed to Minnesota if the program was where it's at now. But she dissed this state and went to Connecticut. Now she's hurt. She didn't even suit up last night. UConn spokesmen have been a little vague addressing her status. That signals to me anyway that she's probably hurt worse than we might have thought. 

Meanwhile let's say "Ski-U-Mah" for our Gophers. I still don't know what that means. And I still can't handle the last name of our U women's basketball coach. I can't handle it for spelling or pronouncing. So I refer to her as "coach Dawn." Looks like she deserves lots of credit for how the team is doing now. Our Gophers downed Rutgers 76-50 on Wednesday night. 

Our record of 16-1 would seem to call for national recognition, n'est-ce pas? 

 

Viewpoint from Morris

I find it so therapeutic to be enthused about something in connection to the U of M. The mood cannot be bright here in Morris where we have our U branch. Lots of discouraging things happening with our U of M-Morris. How do we turn around this trend? When you stop and consider that we're in such a sparsely-populated region? 

The woes of our UMM have compounded our post-holidays letdown (at least mine). My mood may be more fragile because I live alone. 

There has always been some turbulence in my relationship with UMM. Right now I have had to deal with such unwelcome news: the virtual "death" of the symphonic winds program. That is UMM's "band," to use the more commonly accepted term. The other term has always gotten me to thinking about Spinal Tap's "Break Like the Wind" tour! 

Well, that levity aside, let's think about the unthinkable: the demise of UMM's "band" or "symphonic winds." There will still be a band but it will be a combo of whatever students are left and "community." Crookston has done it this way for some time and I always figured "well, that's Crookston." We are a notch or two better than that. 

It's "new" all right.

A "community band" or "community choir" is fine on its own terms outside of the U's walls. Our community band should have been featured all through the years at the Killoran facility at East Side Park. It hasn't been? That's just more stupidity and short-sightedness on the part of our Morris community. Years and years have passed. Does anyone care? Put "Does anyone care?" on the water tower. 

Now we have ensembles put forward at UMM that are a combo of students and "community." And I'm sure nearly all of these "community" members will be upper-crust financially, i.e. like lawyers' wives. Well good for them. Maybe they'll have fun. But I no longer see why my personal family fund for UMM music should continue to exist. I put my toe in the water recently for changing it, to have it transferred to the "big boys" at the Twin Cities campus. 

Oh heck let's call it the "main campus." Jack Imholte is deceased now. I wonder what "The Silver Fox" would think of the demise of "symph winds." I have a shirt in my closet with "symph winds" on the front. A collector's item now I guess. 

I got word that a UMM rep wanted to speak to me about my considered change to the Fund. I had to back off. I live here in Morris and I have to co-exist with the pushy and pretentious community leaders, many of whom actually treat Morris like a way station. I felt that I could not turn my back, not that this stance will win me any points locally. I have made generous $ contributions to Morris Area High School instrumental music. I have set up the family fund for UMM music. But I cannot shed the image of being rather a pariah. 

A lot of this goes back to ugly community controversy of the 1980s. Self-interested fools and cliques all over the place. To this day I have to watch my back. My only incentive, ever, was to try to look out for the best interests of the young people in our local institutions. People would suggest to me I was being "drastic" or they'd say "this isn't the time to be saying this" or "you're not the one to be saying it." Jim Tanner looked me in the eye and said I was "negative." But I don't think anyone ever told me to my face I was "wrong." 

Today I am marking time at my residence out on Northridge Drive. Watching the snow come down gently through my picture windows facing north. And being thankful we're not in California. We're in Minnesota where we can proudly root for our Gophers women's basketball team. Way to go, coach Dawn! And "Ski-U-Mah!" 

Way to go Amaya Battle who led the Gophers in scoring Wednesday with her 21 points. She also had six rebounds, five assists and two steals. So much talent. Can we overcome Iowa? Iowa must be nervous because they know the standards they have to try to live up to. Too much pressure on student-athletes sometimes.

Addendum: Remember the big dust-up with the Don Imus radio/TV program and the Rutgers women's basketball team? I wonder if Rutgers has the same coach now.

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