Will inflation knock down newspapers more?

Each year presents more of a challenge, I am sure, for newspapers to stay viable in the post-holidays period. This has always been a slow time and is likely slow for a range of businesses. People are done with their holiday spending. Advertising in the various print products slows down. So let's watch our Morris newspaper in the weeks starting around New Year's. I will wager it will be smaller. 

Do I root for that? I am only trying to describe reality. The print media continues to erode in a number of ways. The trend does not make the news like it did maybe a dozen years ago. We have become so conditioned to seeing it happen. So it's not "man bites dog" anymore. The question is the pace at which it will continue. 

Some people made sensational predictions about this when the process was just starting to become noticeable. Best example was Michael Wolff. He's a writer I admire because he refuses the "shackles" that many journos seek to wear. He will write borderline gossip sometimes using his own judgment to weigh veracity. And you cannot bat a thousand doing this. But we learn far more from his books than from many other writers who follow the old rules. 

Michael Wolff (NPR)

Wolff proclaimed maybe a dozen years ago that a high percentage of papers were going to vanish within a pretty limited timeline. His projections were far from true in a literal sense. In other words, "X" number of print products did not simply vanish. The process was more subtle. Take a look right here in Stevens County. The difference is stark between today and yesteryear. Maybe the "boiling frog" principle is in effect. 

We proceed with our lives knowing there still is a Morris newspaper. Yes it's right in front of us. The Anfinsons had to come along and rescue it. Are they heroes? Well I don't know. The information we really need for our day-to-day lives can be dispensed through online systems. People have to sense the need and see that the appropriate services are dispensed. There's very little need for anyone to make money directly from all this. 

 

Keep paying more?

Looks like the Morris newspaper is raising prices. Can they really take the risks in doing that? People have to make an array of adjustments as prices steadily go only up. Remember how people started laughing at the Federal Reserve when its top people said inflation was merely "transitory?" The Fed made the word "transitory" famous. 

Yes, Social Security does get adjusted upward, some. But inflation over the long term can wreak serious effects. We can never take "hyper-inflation" off the table as a possibility. "The Fed" is under such pressure to take care of, to massage, this golden cow idol of the "stock market." People have been talked into getting their "401Ks" over so many years. The siren song: "The market only goes up over the long term." FOMO: "fear of missing out." Try telling my late parents who were young in the Great Depression about how the stock market is this shining jewel for trust. 

 

Not like yesterday

Stevens County once had a nice little weekly newspaper in Hancock. I was the sportswriter for that paper for 15 years. I am proud of having done that. But the paper is simply gone. I mean it's gone as a stand-alone entity which in my mind is all that mattered. The Morris-based paper now tells us that it simply incorporates the old Hancock Record. It would be nice to believe that. 

Even if it did, the amount of Hancock news would be offensive for the Morris-oriented readers. Ahem, I think this is exactly what has happened. 

Even with a lot of Hancock stuff, I do not see the Morris paper of today as filling the void caused by the outright cancellation of the Record. So that's my opinion. Don't lecture me on how the Record truly stays alive through the Morris paper. I used to do two full pages of sports for the Hancock paper. And oh my, the Morris paper came out twice a week through my whole 27-year tenure there. And it was often a quite big paper. 

The Canary supplement regularly had large ads for the auto dealers, full of photos (which I took) of cars for sale. Do you still see those? Well I don't think so. Car dealers have learned the obvious: that prospective car buyers use the Internet. Oh, they still have ways of making maximum profit: such clever people of course. Car salesmen are the best at that, bless their souls. 

The previous owner of the Morris paper was all set to close the place, according to a well-placed source I have in Central Minnesota. I'm sure the current owners keep it going by trimming certain costs as with benefits for employees, which is surely their prerogative. But is it simply a blessing that we continue to have a newspaper? The chief frustration for me is this: the paper treats its website as if it is merely vestigial. 

You all should know that there are many papers out there that strive to be more dynamic with their web presence. My Central MN newspaper friend is quite in that category, feeling no reservations at all about connecting with the public through the paper's site. He even does a video podcast! And, he is most convinced that these efforts help and do not hurt his print product. Certainly it creates good will. 

IMHO the Morris paper creates no good will with its website and can in fact seem offensive with its attitude. It's like "if you're really looking for helpful background with what is going on with our school and community, you'll just have to pony up and 'buy our weekly paper.' " 

OK well fine but is this really a token expense for people now? Now, in this age where inflation keeps rearing its ugly head? Does it really make a difference when you plunk down a couple of dollars at Willie's or Casey's to buy a paper? A paper that might have sports coverage in it that is a week and a half old? 

The paper comes out only once a week and by the paper's own admission, we cannot rely on the U.S. Post Office to deliver our paper in the proper timely way. And why is that? The P.O. prioritizes Amazon deliveries? So that's it. And why is this happening? Well of course it's because Amazon is paying for it. Might newspapers pony up more to stay competitive? Well they can't. Newspapers are famously on the ropes, pilgrims. 

 

A quiet end, most likely

When the time comes that there is no Morris newspaper, it will not be a big deal. It would have been a big deal a dozen or so years ago when Michael Wolff was doing his hand-wringing about the newspaper business. Newspapers simply were not down for the count, yet. They were probably making more money than they claimed. Isn't that human nature? I mean to plead poverty? But poverty was on the way. It has just taken time. 

One last footnote: I would consider myself fortunate if I could be the same type of writer as Michael Wolff. Wolff points out the curious relationship between the press and government where the two really need each other, even while papers proclaim that they are "watchdogs." Certainly the Morris newspaper is no watchdog. It exists to give us "happy news" ad nauseam. We learn nothing from that. "All our kids are above average." I don't believe it.

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

'Waska girls win going away at Morris, 70-29

Minnewaska Area Laker basketball had a mixed bag at the end of the week, girls up and boys down. The big highlight was the 70-29 win by the girls at Morris, Friday. The host Tigers failed to put up a challenge as 'Waska improved to 4-2 on the season. The Tigers' won-lost faded to 2-5. 

The Tigers sometimes have a hard time coming out of the starting gate. On this night the orange and black was anemic in first half play: nine points. 'Waska assumed command by halftime, up 36-9. MACA fans had to feel deflated at their Tiger Center. 

The Tigers started making baskets in the second half: 20 points in the half. But the Lakers scored 34. Certainly a night for the Lakers to shine. And, a night for Sydney Dahl to make an impression with 16 points. Sydney connected twice from 3-point range. Addyson Kath and Avery Fier each scored 12 points. The fourth double figures scorer was Megan Thorfinnson with eleven. The list continues with Lauryn Ankeny 8, Olivia Danielson 6, Jayda Kolstoe 3 and Alia Randt 2. 

Laker Lauryn Ankeny

Kath and Danielson complemented Dahl in the long-range shooting category - these two Lakers each made a '3'. Randt and Thorfinnson each had four rebounds. Kath with her three assists led there. In steals it was Ankeny with six, Thorfinnson with four and Randt with three. Ankeny blocked two shots. Ankeny had 12 steals in the game against BOLD, a new school standard.

The West Central Tribune report had "stats not available" for MACA. Always hate to see that. 

The 'Waska GBB success is gaining state notice: we see the Lakers ranked No. 16 in Class AA. This is according to the December 13 announcement from Minnesota Basketball News. New London-Spicer is at No. 7. NL-Spicer has such a long history of premier GBB play.

Boys: MACA 70, Minnewaska 34

Minnewaska Area hoops experienced the other side of the coin, a one-sided loss, Thursday in boys play. The Lakers were up against a high-flying MACA team at Morris. "Crushed" was the word used by the WC Trib, for the manner in which the Lakers were defeated. The score was 70-34. 

It was win No. 5 for the orange and black. Just one loss. And the Tigers kept charging ahead on Friday night at Target Center in the Twin Cities. There they prevailed 56-48 over Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial. 

The 'Waska Lakers are seeking their first win of the season. They trailed the Tigers 35-18 at halftime. The second half was much the same: a 35-21 advantage for the Tigers. 

The WC Trib has "stats not available" for MACA. But we do see the rundown on numbers for 'Waska. Levi Johnson and Connor Frey scored 11 and 10 points respectively. Marc Gruber put in five points, then we see four Lakers each with two: Dylan Alexander, Jacob Mrnak, Zachary Guggisberg and Carter Meyer. The Lakers were decent in 3-point shooting as here we see Johnson with three makes, Frey with two and Gruber with one. 

Ryalnd Martin and Alexander each had five rebounds. Johnson was the top assist-producer with five. In steals it was Guggisberg, Harvey and Frey each with one. Luke Danielson blocked a shot. 

The info about MACA on the kmrs-kkok site is sparse, unfortunately. We do see three names: Charlie Hanson and Tyler Friesen each with 15 points, and Drew Huebner with 13 points and nine rebounds. After reading about those three, the coverage of course proceeds to "up next." I don't care about "up next," I'd like to see a few more highlights from the win over 'Waska. But that's the way it is these days. Brett Miller is no longer at the station. 

An even more futile task here is to comment on the Morris newspaper website. There is some very grudging progress there. No longer does UMM sports seem to monopolize the site. So we're seeing some rather extensive reviews of MACA contests but with one major weakness: it is not timely. Anything there as of today (Saturday) about the Litchfield games, boys and girls? I don't see it. And those games were on Tuesday. C'mon Sam Peterson, you're getting paid to do this, whereas I am not. I will wager that Sam is not writing anything today (Saturday) for weekend consumption by the fans. I know it's hard work, man. Today is probably a "day off." Tomorrow?

It is like PULLING TEETH to try to get the Morris paper to do more. Why does that have to be? But the paper sure does complain about the U.S. Postal Service. Timely coverage of the Tigers should be online, reliably, somewhere. This is the year 2023, pilgrims

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

MACA boys turn on jets to rout Litch

Tigers 85, Litchfield 50

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! 

My father's "UMM Hymn"

Today UMM has the slogan "in the middle of somewhere" which I might want to dismiss with some questionable language. "In the middle of somewhere" is easily translated to "in the middle of nowhere" which is what a lot of people have always said about our campus. 

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

MAHACA wrestlers, 'Waska girls impress

It finally feels like winter this Saturday morning. We have gotten such a long reprieve. Wind can be the biggest headache here on the prairie. I read once that the earliest settlers here were shocked by how intense the wind can be. That has always stuck in my head, and it's certainly in my head on this Saturday morning. 

Winter's true arrival helps get our attention focused more on our Tiger winter sports teams. Oh and the "Storm" also. 

We have our area-wide entity for wrestling and it's still called the "Tigers." I have noticed that the program often goes by "Tiger wrestling" - quite acceptable - so that the drawn-out "Morris Area Hancock Chokio Alberta" need not be recited. I have dreamt of the day when all our programs and the high school itself can just go by "Morris High School" again. Pipe dream? 

MAHACA wrestling had a most successful dual against BOLD recently. The Tigers took charge in this 42-29 win over the Warriors. 

Now that I'm reviewing the meet data, I notice that we didn't have to "take charge" in such physical fashion, and that is because a bugaboo in the wrestling world - those "forfeits" - cropped up. Frankly I hate that. A batch of those truly denies fans their money's worth. But the historical record will always show that the Tigers beat the Warriors 42-29. 

The lighter weights were fine for avoiding the forfeit outcomes. The heavier weights were simply bad news. So let's roll up our sleeves for a review of this MAHACA win. We were on the short end at 107 pounds. Here it was Brenden Hughes representing the Tigers. Brenden lost by fall to Edgar Kopel in :54. Beau Hagen notched the win at 114 pounds: a fall in 1:17 over Keaton Marwede. We tasted defeat again at 121 pounds: Logan Gramath lost by fall in 1:01 to Ava Kiecker. 

Our 127-pounder was Xavier Kleindl and he was pinned by BOLD Warrior Colton Baumgartner in 3:47. Our Jarret Payne at 133 was the fall victor over Bryce Henslin in 1:07. Grayson Gibson of the Tigers had his arm raised via forfeit. Alex Sperr (145) was the tech fall loser to Brady Kiecker in 17:02. Another Kiecker - Austin - was the fall victor over Andrew Marty at 152. 

Get ready for the forfeits. Guillermo Mendoza of the Tigers was the forfeit winner at 160 pounds. Oh my, there was a "double forfeit" at 172 pounds. Our Kaden Hinrichs was the forfeit winner at 189. 

At least MAHACA was winning these forfeit outcomes. So at 215 pounds, Issac Lhotka had his arm raised unchallenged. And at 285, Javon Johnson polished things off with his forfeit triumph. A win is a win. And the Tigers most certainly showed their superiority vs. BOLD. It's a confidence-lifter going into the holidays.

 

Girls basketball: 'Waska 58, Montevideo 13

I'm at a dead end looking for data on the MACA Tigers' basketball contests versus West Central Area on Friday. That's too bad. I know things did not go well for the girls. A 20-point loss? They'll have to try to adjust for after the holidays. 

Let's take a look at the Minnewaska Area Lakers' big win over Montevideo this past week. What a commanding score: 58-13. No problem for the Lakers feeling confidence going into Christmas. They charged out to a 33-10 lead at halftime. They absolutely crushed the Thunder Hawks in second half play. Would you believe, a 25-3 scoring advantage? And I winced when our MACA girls scored just eleven first half points in the season opener. Monte came close to getting "skunked." 

The Lakers built their won-lost to 3-0. 

It was Sydney Dahl leading the Lakers in scoring: 16 points. Megan Thorfinnson hit double figures too with her ten. Lauryn Ankeny and Alia Randt each put in seven points. Avery Fier added to the mix with six. Addyson Kath and Olivia Danielson each scored four, and Kendall Danielson and Jayda Kolstoe each scored two. 

'Waska made a statement with 3's as Thorfinnson connected three times, followed by Dahl and Randt twice each. Dahl with her five rebounds led there. Danielson led in assists with four. And in steals it was Thorfinnson with six. Dahl blocked five shots. 

Monte's top scorer was Teagan Epema with six points. Hallie Helgeson led in rebounds with six. Epema had an assist. Lily Eisenlohr came up with five steals, and Epema blocked two shots. 

What a surprise we would have had this morning, if we had checked our online devices and found some game data from last night on the MACA Tigers. Can't someone think of a way to achieve this? It's not rocket science. The newspaper has a website all set up that could provide this. In theory it could be so helpful. Only in theory, the way things stand.

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

The joy of prep sports through our winter

Nice to stay on top of MACA basketball news as we get into winter. High school sports is a fine antidote for the winter blahs. It's a condition we'll get toward the end of the season. 

Right now the weather is unseasonably pleasant. Maybe we shouldn't bathe in our positive thoughts about that, as it's almost certain that we'll get the standard winter weather soon. Christmas beckons. 

Is this the year I finally get a snow blower? If I do that, maybe it would guarantee a very mild winter! 

A walk outside is pleasant right now. The biking/walking trail remains wide open. Even with the weather so mild, you still get a sense that we really are in December. The solstice is not far off. In primitive times there were people who feared the world was coming to an end as the days got shorter. 

Today I only have that fear as I consider that Donald Trump could easily get back in our faces every day as the GOP nominee. And then to win the presidency again. We could be looking at the twilight of America. The America we once knew may be fading fast. 

The America we once knew had two political parties that could co-exist fairly magnanimously. Today we see the speaker of the U.S. House wanting to protect the Jan. 6 rioters/anarchists from identification. He feels their faces ought to be blurred in videos, lest they become targets for "retribution" from the U.S. justice department. The justice department should make an immediate public statement about how it does not engage in "retribution" against anyone. The justice department pursues justice. 

Rioting at the capitol and putting up "gallows" as a message - "hang Mike Pence" - should not pass muster with a civilized society. Unless maybe we in the U.S. are no longer a civilized society. 

And now Kevin Cramer of North Dakota comes out to endorse Trump for president. At the same time, the potent Koch Brothers money is getting behind Nikki Haley. Are Republicans just plain sick? Do they need some special help? Or is it America that is sick, gone off the deep end? 

 

So we follow sports

It will be a tough winter following MACA basketball. I was lucky in recently being able to write about the MACA vs. New London-Spicer boys basketball game. I was lucky because NL-Spicer is a high priority for the Willmar newspaper. I was lucky in that someone provided the MACA stats for the game.to the Willmar paper. 

All this was reported in a timely way on the West Central Tribune website. Looks like this will be a very rare exception. 

Through much of this past fall, I could often find reasonably good event details on the kmrs-kkok website. But now we have lost Brett Miller. So that's a huge blow. This morning I see a heading on that site: "Girls and boys basketball scores from Tuesday, Dec. 5." I am not just interested in "scores." I could get that from the "Minnesota Scores" website. "Scores" hardly scratches the surface. 

I click on the heading and I find some rough coverage that is barely more than scores. The writing is not sharp. Here's how it starts: "Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 43-29 Melrose in a WCC game." So do I assume that MACA won the game? Seems like a fair assumption but it's just not precise, not precise in its wording the way Miller would have been. 

Now, the item does report two individuals: Kaylee Harstad and Brianna Marty. But beyond that? The next portion? It starts out "up next." I'm not ready to move on to "up next." This reminds me of so much of the basketball coverage from the Morris newspaper after I left the paper, on the website anyway. The score of the game and then "up next." Or how about this sentence: "See more details in Saturday's paper." Oh, very clever. Of course we would have to BUY the Saturday paper. Of course they want us to do that. 

I get the impression from Reed's writing in the fishwrap that he wants the government to subsidize newspapers. I suppose we can't blame him. We'll all take free money from the government. But the door should not be open wide for this. I can't imagine anything worse than a symbiotic relationship between the media and the government. We want media to be skeptical of government. 

 

Donnelly adventure

Donnelly interests have responded to the recent "flare-up" in the paper about its council's actions. I think the paper should just leave these local government entities alone. I trust the Donnelly council; it acts on behalf of a very small town where I don't think the elected people are going to pull any "funny stuff." Everyone knows everyone else. 

The paper claimed for a long time on its website that that its "reporter" had gotten "abusive treatment." Those are strong words, should be used carefully. The paper has great power to humiliate and embarrass people. "Abusive treatment?" You mean to be spoken to with a profanity or two? My God, what small potatoes, really. People in "the press" can get so sanctimonious sometimes. They need to show some restraint and "chill out." 

You know what I'd like to be writing about today? Instead of all this other stuff? I would like to be writing game reviews of MACA sports events. My strong preference. But alas I cannot. Once again, it will be a long winter. The newspaper has a website all set up to report sports and other news. But you know what their approach is: they insist that you BUY the print newspaper (once a week). This as inflation is starting to overwhelm more and more of us. 

If I cannot really follow the Tigers, maybe I'll just have to pay more attention to the Gophers. The UMM Cougars? Not if they keep playing opponents like "Oak Hills Christian." I gag. What would the late Perry Ford say?

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

MACA boys hold on to edge New London-Spicer

Tigers 68, NL-Spicer 66

They're off and running in prep hoops for the 2023-24 season. I believe this is the first time I have typed "24." The years march onward, waiting for no one. 

A win over New London-Spicer always feels good, don't it? So the Tigers of MACA took care of business in a suspenseful game at New London. The game was not so suspenseful at halftime. The Tigers in fact showed command through the first half, assuming a 36-24 lead for the halfway mark. The West Central Tribune noted an uptick in intensity by the host Wildcats in the second half. 

So the home team mounted a challenge. The Tigers hung on. So when the two halves were completed, MACA was the victor 68-66. We're 1-0. 

The Tigers survived the talents of Wildcat Grant Paffrath. This Wildcat had a lot to do with his team's second half surging. He would finish with a game-high 31 points. The Wildcats had to adjust to the absence of senior Mason Delzer. Delzer is not finished with his football commitments, as he'll be in the All-Star Game Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis. 

Senior Gavin Radabaugh stepped it up to try to replace Delzer in the attack. He responded with 15 points. He's a senior guard. He supplied an assist and a steal too. NL-Spicer got solid play from center Will Danielson who stands six feet-eight. He scored eleven points and collected nine boards. 

 

Hanson a key Tiger

On to the Tigers' highlights. Here we see Charlie Hanson as a player to keep an eye on. He could humble you as a golf partner, that's for sure. And on the basketball court he's now showing the same kind of prowess. He was key to the winning outcome with 25 points. He's a six foot guard. 

Key as he was, the Tigers were blessed by a balanced scoring effort. So we see Jack Kehoe with 14 points, Drew Huebner with 12 and Riley Asmus with ten. Some familiar names from football, yes. Huebner and Asmus could be a dead-on combo on the gridiron. The action is indoors now, set for the long winter, hopefully with milder weather than last year? Maybe? 

The Wildcats outscored the Tigers 42-32 in the second half. Fortunately the Tigers excelled well enough in the first. 

Owen Anderson scored four points and Tyler Friesen three. Hanson built his team-best total with some sharp shooting from three-point distance. He made four shots from beyond the 3-point arc. Friesen had our other three-pointer. Huebner with his nine rebounds led that department. Kehoe, Hanson and Friesen each had an assist. And in steals it was Huebner, Asmus and Anderson each with one. 

Scoring for NL-Spicer in addition to the three players already mentioned here, were Chi Schneider with five points and Kaden Toutges with four. Paffrath and Radabaugh each made two 3-pointers, Schneider made one. Wildcats with one assist each were Danielson, Radabaugh and Schneider. These Wildcats each had one steal: Burke Maxwell, Radabaugh and Toutges. Danielson had two shot blocks and Schneider one. 

 

For naught

The Wildcats could feel good about their comeback but it ended up just shy of victory. Instead the Tigers could feel the satisfaction of victory. Congrats to the orange and black. We're just getting started for the winter of 2023-24. There I go typing "24" again. 

I am a broken record as I seek to correct the West Central Trib on how it refers to our sports programs. They always say "Morris/Chokio-Alberta" when it's supposed to be "Morris Area Chokio Alberta" or "MACA." There is a right way and a wrong way to do things, as the Forum-owned Willmar paper ought to realize. The Forum once owned the Morris paper. Then they got out of town. And then their Willmar paper dropped us from their official coverage area. 

Fortunately the Thursday game got covered pretty well. I wonder if the NL-Spicer coach supplied the MACA stats. It is now very rare to see MACA game stats on the Willmar paper website. 

 

I invite you to compare my coverage of this game to what you see on the Morris newspaper website. Also, the kmrs-kkok website.

 

MACA girls struggling

The MACA girls fell to 0-2 on Thursday with their 41-29 loss to Sauk Centre here in Motown. Very lackluster start for the girls team.

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

Fleck vs. Kill in a post-season bowl showdown?

P.J. Fleck (Daily Gopher)

Saturday was an opportunity to watch the Gophers football game live on YouTube for free. So I was watching near game's end when our quarterback was taken down hard, very hard. The play might not have made a big impression on the casual viewer. Might have seemed more or less a routine play. 

The casual viewer was focused on how this game was going for his/her favorite team. 

I could have written " 'their' favorite team" even though my first reference was in the singular. This appears to be acceptable use of the English language now. Did not used to be. Indeed our language is fluid. 

We have been wrestling with the different pronoun questions. The accepted default approach is "they/their" as opposed to any kind of gender-specific reference. So that's that, the new rules of the English language. At age 68 I am bothered some. So I used the cumbersome reference of "his/her." One could always write the whole sentence over again with fresh wording of some kind. 

 

Ingrained interest in the game

A part of me feels interest in football like always. Buried in me is that childlike enthusiasm for something that creates excitement in our lives, a sense of suspense about the unpredictable. Added to that are the quite common human interest angles. And boy, there is one that could emerge with real robustness soon: a possible meeting of the current and former U coaches. 

Jerry Kill (KVIA image)

I guess this possibility might have dawned on all of us. Now it's being postulated in the national press. So, the odds look decent for a meeting of our disappointing U of M football team and the upstart contender New Mexico State. The Gophers were underachievers. New Mexico State is quite the surprise. What special rivalry am I talking about? Well it would be the U of M coach P.J. Fleck and a predecessor of his here, Jerry Kill. 

Kill showed us he had chops for coaching big-time football. His hindrance here was his health as you probably recall. He was always at risk for having a seizure during a game. I expressed concern at the time that fans in other cities would be traumatized, thinking they might be seeing a man literally dying along the sidelines. 

We want to accommodate people with health limitations. But there is a limit to that. So Kill's tenure ended here and he went on to "bounce around" in college sports, going here and there and at least being able to perform in subordinate or administrative roles. But his instability made him seem rather forlorn, object for some pity maybe? I know I felt that. 

One thing about sports: it can be full of surprises. The drama of such things captures our imagination, fuels our continued interest. "Pointspreads" and predictions can be oh so theoretical. So we enthusiastically "tune in," position ourselves with our snacks on weekends. For the people who broadcast these games, it is a sweaty and demanding profession. For the viewers it's "off" time and escapism. 

 

Right in front of us

The sad part is that viewers fail in a big way to see the physical injury risk to its proper extent. We should ask for forgiveness when our first thought upon seeing an injury is: What impact will this have for my team? The Gophers of course lost to Wisconsin in the game for that stupid "ax." 

It's one of those seasons where the fans of our "beloved rodents" are left stewing. Skepticism builds about our head coach. Coaches are paid to win. They survive losing seasons only if they can show they are building something. My late father who was in college academia said "what a way to make a living." 

Looks like U of M coach Fleck will live to see another coaching day in this season. A bowl game is always better than no bowl game at all. Put the date on your calendar, talk up the game with friends and then wait with anticipation. Nice little nugget for the holiday season. Just put aside our regular season won-lost record. 

 

Could be very serious

My rather grim thoughts are with the Gophers quarterback. Near game's end versus Wisconsin he was taken down to the turf and he smacked his head very hard. I have seen documentaries about football head injuries where some of the particularly dangerous incidents happen precisely like this: contact with the ground. It probably does not look all that serious in real tine, Many fans may not even notice much with the replay. I think my eyes are better trained than that. 

As of Monday I saw no medical reports of our QB failing a concussion protocol. But I think there's still a chance of that happening. Stay tuned. Am I concerned about what this might mean for the Gophers' competitiveness? Not at all. Our QB wasn't doing that great anyway. But seriously I'm concerned about his future welfare. He lay on the ground and called for some special attention. He held his head! Definitely some clues of something serious afoot. 

And yet the nation's young men continue to be attracted to this Neanderthal sport. What were you expecting? For football to disappear? So we continue to have the breathless announcers and sports commentators doing their thing. The norm continues. 

It is of secondary importance to me that the Gophers might meet up with New Mexico State in the bowl game: Fleck vs. Kill. I can still write about this as if it's just an entertainment diversion. I know the routine, can pull the right strings. 

I used to trap gophers

I do have an interest in the University of Minnesota generally speaking. The U really seams leaderless now, has been through phlegmatic times. I don't know why. Basic incompetence? Ouch. I don't even understand this whole Fairview Hospital thing. Media articles should do more to background us - the articles presume we know. 

But let's get to the "fun" of football! The escapism, the popcorn. I hesitate to try to type the quarterback's name. Of course I could look it up. I won't do it right now. 

New Mexico State is called the "Aggies." Looks like the Gophers could meet the Aggies in the New Mexico Bowl. The date would be Dec. 16. The site: Albuquerque. I cannot spell "Albuquerque" off the top of my head either. 

 

Resilient Jerry Kill

Kill has absolutely risen from the ashes. The team made its biggest statement with its win over Auburn, yes THE Auburn. The Aggies have surged to a 10-3 record. The Gophers? My, our beloved rodents have lost four straight, hardly the prelude to a bowl game appearance. Bowl invites were much harder to get in my young years. Today it's all about money: if a bowl event can justify itself with the bottom line, go for it. Losing records aren't that big a deal. 

A pretty determined guy, eh?

Kill ended up most bitter at Fleck and presumably by extension the U of M itself. Grudge match: fans salivate. 

Kill accused Fleck of being all about himself, and my goodness he even brought up "Fleck's first wife." Mercy. 

It appeared Fleck did not go out of his way to treat Kill's holdover subordinates with respect. That's a tough one to assess because a new head coach has total latitude once he takes over. And there's just no job security in sports coaching, face it. 

Fleck responded to all this by just saying he was "saddened." The two have already met once from their current positions. No contest: the Gophers swarmed over the Aggies 38-0. That would appear to mean nothing now. 

So, it's not a fact (yet) that a re-match will occur in the upcoming bowl game. But such fascination to speculate! And, to speculate on whether the two coaches shake hands! You have to wonder when you realize that past wives are not off limits! 

New Mexico State has played an easy schedule. But don't assume anything from that, due to how the Aggies almost manhandled the Auburn Tigers 31-10. Bring it on! My thoughts will not drift away from the Gophers' quarterback - name is Athan Kaliakmanis - and the possible serious head injury he experienced against Wisconsin. News about him on Tuesday is that he has entered the "transfer portal."

It will be hard to root against Jerry Kill. His story could lend itself to a movie.

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