Tigers surge to Homecoming football win

Tigers 43, Kimball 20
The orange and black surged from behind to get win No. 4 in football Friday. What fine timing, for Homecoming 2019!
The first quarter ended with the score 13-3 and Kimball on top. That hardly set the tone for the game. We were up 43-20 when all four quarters were done. We owned the second quarter with a 21-0 advantage. It was more of same in the third: 16-0. The Tigers have a win skein of four now. Fans will be back at Big Cat again on Friday, Oct. 4, for the contest with Minnewaska Area.
Our 43 points vs. Kimball spelled tremendous offense, and our defense made a statement with a safety. But it was Kimball recording the night's first two touchdowns. Both came on passes from Tucker Schultz. First Schultz passed seven yards to Jeremy Zabinski for a score. The kick was good.
A pass-happy Schultz got the second score when he connected with Cody Leither: 30 yards. The kick was unsuccessful.
Fans are looking at a 13-0 score now, a little grim, but that complexion sure changed. Let's get into the parade of MACA scoring.
But wait, allow your blog host to insert here that the summary in Saturday's Willmar paper shows MACA scoring 36 points, not 43, so a TD must have been missed somehow. Shoot. The info below is thus unfortunately incomplete.
First we struck with a 32-yard field goal kicked by Eli Grove. Colten Scheldorf scored on a run from the ten, and Grove kicked the PAT. Zach Bruns threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Loge. Grove added the PAT. Kenny Soderberg gathered in a 30-yard scoring strike that had Bruns again throwing. Grove was automatic for the conversion.
Our next score was the safety (two points of course). Next it was Bruns passing to Soderberg who reached the end zone from 13 yards out. Grove kicked, and he put his toe to work again for the final MACA score: a 25-yard field goal.
Kimball scored with an eleven-yard pass from Lucas Jansky to Gabe Becker.
The Tigers had 21 total first downs. We had two workhorses carrying the football: Bruns with 104 yards on ten carries, and Jack Riley with 89 yards on 17. Other rushing yards were contributed by Will Breuer (13) and Scheldorf (10). Bruns was sharp with the passing game with ten of 19 for 187 yards. Here's the receiving data: Soderberg (three catches, 68 yards), Loge (3-61), Riley (2-25) and Toby Gonnerman (1-31).
We had four interceptions - the Willmar paper does not report who made these, unfortunately. We also recovered a fumble.
Kimball's Schultz had 56 rushing yards on 16 carries. In passing he put his arm to work constantly as he had a whopping 51 attempts. Of these he completed 32. Of course his four interceptions were a big negative. His passing yardage was 317. Schultz didn't even do all of Kimball's passing. Lucas Jansky flung the ball six times too with five completions for 41 yards and no INTs. The quarterbacks threw to the following targets: Gabe Becker, Jeremy Zabinski, Cody Leither and Ashton Hanan. Kimball intercepted the ball twice and recovered one fumble.
 
Volleyball: Tigers 3, ACGC 0
MACA volleyball arrived at .500 with a win by sweep Thursday vs. ACGC. The orange and black owned 7-7 W/L numbers going into Friday which was the apex of Homecoming week festivities. We prevailed over the Falcons of ACGC 25-14, 25-19 and 25-20. Action was at ACGC.
Lexi Pew was in the zone with her blocking prowess as she came at the Falcons with eight ace blocks. Sophia Carlsen was a force too with her four, and complementing these Tigers were Emma Berlinger (1 1/2) and Kenzie Hockel (1/2). A balanced hitting attack saw Pew lead in kills with eight. Carlsen was right behind with seven, and the list continues with Hockel (5), Emma Bowman (3), Berlinger (2) and LaRae Kram (2).
Four Tigers each had one serving ace: Jaden  Ross, Hockel, MacKenna Kehoe and Macee Libbesmeier. Kram was the cog in setting where she picked up 22 assists. Kehoe contributed one set assist. The leaders in digs were Courtney Lehman (15), Kehoe (13), Ross (10), Hockel (5) and Libbesmeier (5).
A bright spot for ACGC was Jeana Denton who achieved seven serving aces. Erin Roemeling had one ace. Noelle Dilley was the ACGC set assist leader with nine. Denton had a good night hitting with the team-best nine kills. Shayna Hobson went up to perform three ace blocks. Denton and Nicole Whitcomb shared team-best honors in digs with five each.

Tigers 3, BOLD 1
The Tuesday chapter in Morris Area Chokio Alberta volleyball was a 3-1 victory. The success was versus BOLD. It repeated earlier success vs. the Warriors. Four games did the job this time. It was a home match to mark Homecoming week 2019. Game 1 was the setback and it saw the Tigers fall 21-25, but after that the story turned rosy. We won 25-16, 25-14 and 25-21.
The success was an important step toward the sought .500 plateau. BOLD has shown a winning personality this fall as they entered Tuesday with a win total of ten. MACA fans can feel heartened turning back this foe. It's always fun to start the stat summary with hitting. Here we see Kenzie Hockel as the leader with ten kills. Lexi Pew slammed down eight. Then we see Emma Berlinger with six, Emma Bowman with five, and LaRae Kram and Sophia Carlsen each with three.
The offense was facilitated in the setting department by Kram who put up 27 assists. Courtney Lehman was handy with two assists, then we have Jaden Ross and Hockel each with one. Three Tigers each executed two ace blocks: Kram, Pew and Carlsen.
The digging department was quite balanced with these Tigers having double digits: Pew (12), Macee Libbesmeier (12), Ross (11), Kram (11), Hockel (10) and Lehman (10). Let's not overlook ace serves where we see three Tigers each sending two aces at the Warriors: Ross, Hockel and Pew. Lehman socked one serving ace.
All in all a nice, potent, balanced performance in this win for MAHS Homecoming.
For BOLD, Lanie Mages and Brenna Weis each had three serving aces, and Leslie Snow had two. Makayla Snow was busy with 28 set assists. These three Warriors led in hitting/kills: Leslie Snow (14), Makayla Snow (8) and Ashley Trongard (7). Three Warriors each had an ace block: Leslie Snow, Caylee Weber and Abby Meyers. BOLD's digging leaders were Weis (19), Leslie Snow (15) and Makayla Snow (13).

Cross country: Ortonville invite
Monday (9/23) was a most upbeat day for the distance runners of MACA. Our boys and girls teams were both tops in the Ortonville Invitational.
Three of our female runners finished in the top five, led by Maddie Carrington and her first place time of 19:27. Meredith Carrington was No. 2, timed at 20:21. Hailey Werk was No. 5 with her 20:46 performance. Kaylie Raths had a 21:23 clocking which put her in ninth place, and Katya Lackey was 11th at 21:42.
Congrats to the champion orange and black girls, and let's salute also the boys where we see Noah Stewart and his second place finish with a time of 15:24. He trailed only Nick Batchelor of Milbank whose time was 15:17. Thomas Tiernan of the Tigers achieved the top five with his 17:43 time, good for fifth. Bradley Rohloff arrived at the finish chute in seventh place, time of 18:13. Then it was Reid Tolifson trucking in at 12th, time of 19:06. Jared Boots was 13th with his 19:11 time.
It looks like there were seven schools that had their teams in action. The MACA success was a nice flourish for Homecoming week 2019.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Keeping the faith with the ELCA

Elizabeth Eaton

It was nice attending the picnic gathering of ELCA Lutherans at Pomme de Terre City Park Sunday. The parishioners spent the morning volunteering in various places.
I did not take part because I have not felt comfortable "working," even if it's volunteering, for a long time. My last few months with the Morris newspaper induced a PTSD-like condition in me. Now that the paper has changed hands, we all can sense that the outgoing ownership did not have the best of intentions here. It helps everything make sense to me.
Let's move from this subject to the ELCA itself. Increasingly it is branded as politically liberal. The ELCA is shrinking and is striving to right the ship, but it will not compromise longstanding values. We will not kowtow to the Donald Trump cult. The churches whose members think highly of Trump are gaining momentum in the Morris community.
The term "evangelicals" gets tossed around. The media use this term for convenience - the media always seek convenience or shorthand - without enlightening us better on the nature of the beast. My, will the "evangelicals" in a particular state push Trump over the top? Will they help his allies or sycophants in other races?
Trump is simply intertwined with discussions of the Christian faith, when I thought we had a secular-based political leadership. Perhaps we don't any more. Can the "evangelicals" really trust the likes of Jerry Falwell Jr., Franklin Graham and Robert Jeffress to lead them responsibly? Is it necessary to have such prominent leaders in the first place, or could the flock members trust their own judgment and brains more?
Exercising one's brain is all that's needed to realize that climate change is real, ominous and threatening, having consequences right now. But the evangelicals who feel such blind allegiance to Trump, his following and to Fox News are inclined to say it's all a "hoax," because this is how Trump has described it.
Meanwhile the ELCA takes care of its business even with the awareness that it is losing members and perhaps influence. Personally I think we need only one ELCA church in Morris. There are signs of increased partnering. People need to get over sensitivities about that.
Many of the people who describe the ELCA as too "liberal" have broken off to form the church in the country just to the north of town. It's just beyond the dog kennels. Evidently they spent a lot of money on a new steeple. I wouldn't have noticed.
I recently emailed Elizabeth Eaton, ELCA presiding bishop, with concerns I had about how our wonderful synod might face even more stress because of political factors. Why might we face those slings and arrows? Well it's for doing things and standing for things that I think are quite Christ-like, worthy of the Savior's blessing. But in today's reactionary U.S. political culture, the agenda can seem a little toxic in certain quarters. The ELCA churchwide assembly recently approved a resolution declaring the ELCA as a "sanctuary church body." It touts "discernment of care for our migrant neighbors."
Some of the other initiatives would come across as reasonable on their face, but the "evangelicals" would say the initiatives have "code" that suggests liberalism or progressivism.
The reactionary strain puts the ELCA on the defensive. And there is a danger here considering the habits of President Trump, how he so bluntly and mercilessly attacks his political critics. Political disagreements are supposed to be handled with a sense of decorum rooted in American tradition. Some of Washington D.C.'s "rules" don't have to be in writing because we just assume our top leaders will respect them. Thus we hear about the whole "whistleblower" thing where we learn that our current laws are with the assumption that the president himself would never do anything to trigger this.
But Trump is causing a re-thinking of everything. In the future, everything will have to be in writing. This is the fallout from a man so popular with evangelicals, it almost gives the impression that supporting Trump is a prerequisite for getting into heaven. Every time we think "it can't get that bad" with Trump, we cross a line and then we've arrived there.
 
Biggest danger for the ELCA?
I warned Bishop Eaton that if an ELCA critic really wanted to, that person - I'm suggesting Trump himself - could give a sensational speech in which he'd quote what Martin Luther said about the Jews. It is pure, virulent anti-Semitism of the type that fed into what happened to the Jews in the mid-20th Century.
Might Trump be able to wipe out the whole "liberal" ELCA overnight? It sounds outrageous but it is impossible to rule out anything with Trump now. We see Trump browbeating the Federal Reserve and its chairman regularly. This violates another unwritten rule in Washington, a rule that exists for a reason (obviously). Trump would want the Fed to do anything that would help him in the short-term get re-elected, even if the long-term effects would be negative.
Trump is starting to press for "zero interest rates or negative interest rates." Are we ready for this reality? He says the job of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is "safe for now," but I didn't think the president had a say in the chair's job status. I guess Powell could be fired "for cause." Trump will invent cause and even though it seems preposterous, Trump of course has a pattern of eventually getting away with anything and everything.
I get up in the morning and I find that Trump is still at it. It's amazing.
Bishop Eaton shared a kind response to my email, and in it she noted the ELCA's 1994 statement to the Jewish community. She shared a link. She added her own thoughts of regret about Luther's statements regarding the Jews. She wrote "we reject this violent invective, and yet more do we express our deep and abiding sorrow over its tragic effects on subsequent generations."
She added "I am grateful for your attentiveness to the church's ministry and witness, and I give thanks to God for your service in Christ's name."
Well, I take that to mean I was welcome to have my picnic meal Sunday at PDT Park! I figured that if I was being expected to skip church that morning, I was entitled to get a little food. I normally don't like to take advantage of free food. I'm not like a certain local resident - you know who he is - who has a reputation for this. He writes for the Morris paper.
God bless Elizabeth Eaton. My late parents smile down from heaven.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

"You can't go home again" - Thomas Wolfe

It's almost sad that people are celebrating the "new" Morris newspaper so much. What I mean is, it's sad we went through such a prolonged period where people didn't feel that way. The transition causes numerous memories to pass through my head.
I invested a considerable portion of my life to the community press. What would it be like to return now? It wouldn't be nearly the same just because of shrinkage of the product. Much of the shrinkage would no doubt have happened even if we hadn't passed through such a forgettable phase of the paper's history.
There was a time in America when owning a community paper was the ticket to pretty substantial financial reward. Just consider one of the main benefactors of the University of Minnesota-Morris. I am an extension of that because I worked for this family for many years and now I too am a U benefactor. There are fewer old-timers around with direct connections to UMM's origins. The LaFave House is a reminder of the seminal times. And this coming Tuesday, new U of M President Joan Gabel will be visiting there. How privileged we are in Morris to have these kind of connections.
The transition in newspaper ownership causes considerable reflection by yours truly. While on the subject of UMM, let me note that in complete contrast to today, there was a time when UMM's PR outreach was token. This is not a criticism. It was probably a logical state of affairs for the pre-digital times. How this affected me? UMM's reporting on its own affairs was much less developed than today. Let's just say that in sports, which like it or not is a focal point for evaluating the community press, the self-reporting was nil.
Again this is not to bash UMM from that earlier time. UMM knew how to serve its own interests. A legitimate criticism could have been made that UMM should enhance its PR outreach. But it didn't seem a huge issue. Our new age means by necessity that UMM has highly-developed PR and reporting outreach on its own platforms. I don't know if the Morris newspaper is welcome to just take stuff from UMM's website and publish it. The argument could be made that the paper ought not be allowed to ride piggy-back with that.
The central point here is that in our new age, an institution like UMM can operate its own media product that serves its interests independent of any newspaper. My newspaper career was when the paper had its entitled position of being go-to for any and all news, and if we failed it wasn't as if anyone else could pick up the slack. People could complain, sometimes vociferously, but we didn't need to adjust.
Today the radio station has a website that is a viable news and communications platform, on a footing that could well be equal to the paper's website.
What about my two personal blogs? There may be times when my own writing carries as much relevance as it ever did. People could argue "well, you don't get paid." Well, so what? That's a separate question from the kind of reach one's writing can actually have in the digital age. The effectiveness is all that really matters, if you just want to weigh journalism.
We still have our biases rooted in pre-digital times, of how money has to change hands for journalism or any creative works to be put in front of the mass public. Cut out those old biases. The new world has assaulted the privileged position that newspapers had.
The Morris paper has taken a number of hits in terms of sheer quantity of product. It's a weekly now, was twice-weekly in the Morrison days. The Forum of Fargo reduced the page size more than once - stupid - but it's nice to see the Anfinsons have boosted the size. I noticed that right away. A theory on the smaller size: the corporate owners, I think were influenced by "studies" (as they were wont to be) about people at bus or subway stations who wanted a more compact size of the publication - easier to handle. But of course a community paper exists in a different world from that.
So even though I absolutely wanted to "survive" at the paper, I could not deny my own senses or brain. To apply judgment. In a parallel way we Americans may be awakening in a belated way to the outrageousness of our President Donald Trump. I don't ever want to be sent to a "re-education camp" but I cannot resist criticizing the president with vigor, and have done so since Day 1.
 
Married to journalism
I spent 15 years of my newspaper career generating two pages of sports for the Hancock Record every week. Sometimes it was a page and a half, occasionally just one page, but much of the time it was two full pages with maybe an ad on the second page. But I remember many times when there was no ad at all. And today? The Hancock newspaper doesn't even exist.
I remember that in my days of van driving for the Morrisons, Friday was a very demanding day because I'd go to Quinco of Lowry and load the Ad-Viser. So full was the van, I'd get teased about whether there'd be room for me in it. And today? The Ad-Viser (the free shopper) doesn't exist.
I spent much of my career "fighting" with the analog systems for photography. It was very Rube Goldberg-ish. And today? All that fuss has been completely wiped out by digital. My memories of newspaper work are from a time that might as well be preserved in amber - it's prehistoric.
Advertising circulars? I used to haul the boxes of Pamida and Shopko fliers to the printing plant every week. I used to haul the big heavy boxes of Thrifty White coupon books. Today? Shopko is gone with the wind and Thrifty White is just a tiny pharmaceutical store.
I left the Morris paper in an ignoble way in June of 2006. I elected not to take the family to the county fair that year because I'd be bombarded by questions about why I left the paper. Like me or not, people were curious. So I went to the Appleton fair instead, rather an underwhelming event - cover charge too - and found that a significant number of people approached me there. For a long time the family and I had our Sunday afternoon buffet lunch in Cyrus, so as to get away from people a little. And then the Cyrus cafe closed. Indeed, bricks and mortar is under assault.
 
Whither newspapers?
I respect what Reed Anfinson has to say about how papers play a distinctive role in a community's awareness of issues. I might politely demur and suggest again that the world wide web really can do the job, and it just takes time for the new "ecosystem" to take hold.
As I made my rounds after leaving the paper, I had a prepared answer re. my move, made up of three parts as I recall. I can't remember them clearly now. Maybe I should have just told people I left the paper because of "philosophical issues" - that old line. Yes, I favored Nietzsche while management liked Kierkegaard. Rimshot.
My speculation about the background of the Morris newspaper sale appears spot-on. This is according to a Central Minnesota newspaper publisher, a friend of mine and someone who is in the know. He complimented me recently. A quote from an email from this gentleman: "I have learned very interesting first-hand knowledge of the SC Times sale from Fargo to the Anfinson group. What I'll say is that basically every single last hunch or suspicion you're had about Fargo was all true." 
Fan mail from some flounder. This "fan" was very pleased when I informed him I had visited the newspaper office to welcome Shelly Anfinson. It might not have been a big deal to her, but it was a big deal to me.
How will the new ownership fare? We all extend the most sincere well-wishing, no doubt. However, the "old days" will never be restored. I'm old enough to have been influenced by Watergate back in the day. (I'm cynical, wink.)
My Medicare card takes effect on January 1. I have had no health insurance for the last 15 years. So I have gotten some breaks. Problem is, when I finally see a doctor, who knows what will be discovered? My fear is that I could be told to eat nothing but alfalfa for the rest of my life. Rimshot.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

"Tonight Alive" w/ Jenna McDougall: boffo

"Tonight Alive" (NME image)

Remember all the young faces of Beatles fans during the "Beatlemania" period? Each generation has kids like this who are enthralled by "their" music. Each generation thinks it can find music that gives voice to the young, as if this has never happened before.
Reminds me of a psych professor I had in college who observed that "each new young generation thinks it is the first to discover sex."
Older people react with bewilderment and amusement at the sight of the transfixed young music fans. They'll say they don't understand it. Well, I don't know. Those same people react with horror when they discover that young people, including their own kids, are discovering sex. The passages of life are curious and constant.
So, I look at the young faces in the audience for a "Tonight Alive" concert, and I'm reminded of the old Beatlemania footage. The enthusiasm is not quite as intense. But surely there is a sense of a strong generational identity. Older people I'm sure feel envy. We'd like so much to slip into the crowd and be just like those kids. It's a guilty pleasure to think this.
We know that the adult world rips us away from such things. The "Peter Pan" story sort of taps into these feelings. We never want to lose a sense of what youthful exuberance was really like, even if the passing years create a whole new reality.
I am so fortunate to have discovered the group "Tonight Alive." It was by accident. Let's just say it happened through bouncing around the Internet. Upon discovering Tonight Alive, their music has become a strong new favorite of mine. A hugely ironic favorite too, since my friends would not associate me with "punk."
"Pop punk" is atop the list of the group's descriptions. Others are "pop rock, power pop, alternative rock and emo." Punk? Really?
So at this point I'd like to assert that any "punk" qualities really seem superficial with the group, like window dressing. Maybe just to acquire a certain audience? Perhaps we ought not be cynical. I'm reminded of when Waylon Jennings presented himself as "outlaw country" and a fellow music professional sniffed at that, saying that Jennings was really a "pussycat."
Tonight Alive has some of the rough edges that might be connected to "punk" or "pop punk" (with emphasis on the "pop"). But I think it's largely imagery. These still-young people have already had a long enough "run" in pop music to be judged 100 percent successful, even if they were to disband now. At present they seem to be on hiatus. They cancelled a tour that had been set for earlier in the year. Their message at that time was that they needed a respite for their psychological and emotional stability, something like that. I believe it.
 
The real reason?
I also could offer the theory that the group is dealing with being at a crossroads. Let's get back to the generation angle: they and their audience are not staying young forever, not like Peter Pan. I suspect they are working hard to see how they might evolve, to re-invent themselves. That's an incredibly tricky thing to do in the music/entertainment business. The vicissitudes can be staggering.
I almost pray that the group's lead singer, Jenna McDougall, can stay in the forefront with her talent because her talent is so amazing. It is just absolute, pure talent in how she sings plus her stage presence. However, to carry a "punk" sound or image into mid-life? Well, maybe not.
History is full of female singers who have their "run" and then become has-beens. Jenna McDougall of Tonight Alive deserves to fare better. I compliment her further on her very selfless nature. I mean, she easily could have insisted on having her name dominate the group. So even though all group members have top-notch talent, she clearly is the show.
Getting back to my generation, it's like the Doors and Jim Morrison. I don't know if the group was ever billed as "The Doors featuring Jim Morrison." I know the Doors name never faded. The group surely faded, OK vanished, with Morrison having died.
There is a cohesive sense with Tonight Alive to suggest it truly is a group effort, and for that I totally laud them. Jealousies or rivalries haven't entered the picture to my knowledge. The music business is full of conflicts and lawsuits. So it's a breath of fresh air to sense the genuine camaraderie of Tonight Alive, a group which BTW is from Australia.
Jenna is joined at present by Jake Hardy, Cameron Adler and Matt Best. I would insist that rather than characterize their music as "punk" or "pop punk," it's simply good music, terrific music in fact. It passes muster by the highest standards, standards that might be employed during any musical era. The punk elements make a statement common to young people all the time, begging to break away from the shackles of authority, to show they can make judgments about the world that are pristine, without being told what to do or what rules to follow.
People get older and they find that in order to simply live a comfortable life, there are in fact norms. There's the old dictum about just "settling down." We acknowledge that the world isn't perfect around us. Young people simply wish it would be. Young people don't like the social strata. We grudgingly accept this reality as we get older, even though we're still aware of our ideals.
 
Decade is a long time
"Tonight Alive" was formed in 2008. Jenna is the type of woman who most men would describe as "attractive." She dresses in concert like she is trying to neutralize her attractive traits. I suppose this is consistent with "punk." IMHO she seems fascinatingly attractive in spite of - or because of? - how she chooses to present herself. Maybe the beauty just penetrates the outer layer. Maybe I should put quote marks around "beauty" because it comes off as politically incorrect. (Barack Obama had to apologize to Kamala Harris after calling her attractive.)
Jenna will drop the F-bomb sometimes or hold up a certain finger, and I wonder if it isn't just posturing for appeal. No intelligent person would argue these symbols are necessary to communicate. I would wager this isn't the "real" Jenna.
Yours truly is 64 years old, of a generation to vividly remember the Beatles at the peak of the hysteria. Certain young artists in any generation come across as having almost other-worldly talent. I grew up with John Lennon who exemplified this. At present I'd have to put forward Jenna McDougall.
However the group's current hiatus ends, or however their music resumes - perhaps with a "reinvention" - I strongly hope they can stay close to the forefront. Their songs have depth and layers. Even if you don't pay attention to the lyrics, they sound great. Artists always talk about how the lyrics are at the core of their songs. I would suggest that reality has more to do with the basic "sound!"
Addendum: Jenna reports having had bouts with eczema, so I can relate to her!
Addendum #2: Want a reminder of why the young generation feels it needs to set itself apart? We learn today that Sean Spicer, former spokesman for Donald Trump, says Americans should now "stand for Christ" by helping him win "Dancing with the Stars." That's it, I'm done with Christianity. Screw Christianity. There, that seems "punk."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

MACA falls to Ellie Danielson, Lakers

Minnewaska 3, Tigers 1
Thursday volleyball action wasn't kind for the MACA Tigers as they were dealt a 3-1 loss. On the winning end was Minnewaska Area.
The match was a draw after two games, after which 'Waska momentum took hold. This WCC action was at Minnewaska. Game 2 was our highlight as we prevailed 25-20. 'Waska took the other three games by scores of 27-25, 25-17 and 25-17.
Ellie Danielson was phenomenal at the net for the Lakers. She accounted for much of their winning "mo" as she pounded 25 kills. Alexis Piekarski made her presence felt at the net with 13 kills. Emma Thorfinnson was next on the list with her seven, and then we have Avery Hoeper (4), Sara Geiser (2) and Makena Panizke (1). Danielson was a Laker to watch in blocking too as here she produced the team-best five aces. Piekarski had 1 1/2 ace blocks and Thorfinnson had 1/2.
Danielson shared team-best honors in ace serves where her total was two. Hoeper and Kristen Glover also achieved two ace serves. Thorfinnson and Geiser each had one. Geiser was the cog in setting where she picked up 37 assists. Other Lakers handy to produce assists were Hoeper (3), Danielson (2) and  Thorfinnson (1).
Here's the Minnewaska digs list: Thorfinnson 21, Hoeper 19, Danielson (17), Glover 12, Panizke 10, Geiser 10 and Brecklyn Beyer 6.
The visiting Tigers saw their won-lost mark fall to 3-7. We had two players in double figures in kills Thursday: Emma Berlinger (12) and Sophia Carlsen (10). Emma Bowman and Lexi Pew each had seven kills. Kenzie Hockel and LaRae Kram each pounded down four kills and Jaden Ross pounded one. Pew and Carlsen each executed two ace blocks, while Hockel and Kram each performed one.
In digs it was Pew setting the pace with her 23. Macee Libbesmeier and Courtney Lehman each performed 15 digs. Hockel had 13 and Ross 10. In ace serves we see Hockel with the team-best four. Lehman and Pew each batted one ace serve at the Lakers.
Our cog in setting was Kram who picked up 36 assists. Libbesmeier got in position for one assist.
 
Sauk Centre 3, Tigers 0
The September 10 action had MACA getting outperformed by the Streeters of Sauk Centre at Sauk. The Streeters were victorious 25-8, 25-13 and 25-18. About five minutes of video from this match are on YouTube and here's a link to watch: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPe1Z9En8bs

 

Football: Tigers 14, Montevideo 12
I listened to a portion of the MACA football game on radio last night, long enough to realize there was an unsportsmanlike call on the MACA bench, a call that could have determined the game's outcome. Montevideo rallied for a time after that, marching down the field as if they were wearing us down. They scored but then failed on a critical two-point conversion attempt.
I retired for the evening thinking Monte would likely win this game played at Monte. It appeared our defense was wearing down because of having to spend so much time on the field, a state of affairs caused by our turnovers. But the situation brightened for our Tiger crew. We prevailed 14-12.
So, we can forget about the unsportsmanlike call on the MACA bench. Who was the guilty party and what was said? Anything about army boots LOL? In my younger days I might try to ferret out this information. My pace is slowed now. So, let's just get on to a game review. A win is a win. Congrats to the orange and black. Monte came into the game winless.
The Tigers gained a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. We scored our other touchdown in the second quarter, then we held on the rest of the way. Monte scored six points each in the second and fourth quarters.
Jackson Loge scored our first quarter TD on a pass from Zach Bruns. It was a ten-yard hookup. Our conversions made the difference as Eli Grove kicked. Kenny Soderberg passed the end zone stripe in the second quarter. This score came on a 22-yard pass from Bruns, and again Grove kicked the conversion.
Monte got on the board with a nine-yard pass from Tyler Blue to Cade Weber. The PAT kick try was blocked. The Thunder Hawks got their second TD on a one-yard run that had Francis O'Malley carrying the ball. The conversion play was no-go.
Four Tigers were handed the football: Jack Riley (nine carries, 38 yards), Zach Bruns (10-36), Colten Scheldorf (6-36) and Will Breuer (2-12). Bruns completed 14 of his 23 pass attempts for 160 yards and had one picked off.
Soderberg, who I gather was injured as the game wore on, had five catches for 74 yards. Loge hauled in three aerials for 46 yards. Riley advanced the ball 14 yards on two catches. Austin Berlinger had two receptions for 13 yards. Scheldorf and Brandon Jergenson each had one catch.
Let's look at the defensive side of the ball where Christopher Just had eleven solo tackles. Tristan Raths came through with eight solos, Jack Riley with seven and Josh Rohloff with five. Under quarterback sacks we see "Just 2" and that does not mean we "only" had two, it means that a hard-charging Christopher Just sacked the QB twice!
Francis O'Malley was Monte's top ballcarrier with 66 yards on 12 carries. Blue was six for 17 in passing for 51 yards. These T-Hawks had receptions: Jonah Sulflow, Cade Weber, Kadin Huntley and James Golden. (Remember Golden Richards of the Dallas Cowboys?) Monte recovered three fumbles and had an interception, and these breaks almost spelled victory for them. Almost.  
  
Tennis: Montevideo 5, Tigers 2
MACA had highlights in doubles but came up empty in the singles phase on September 10. The doubles highlights included our No. 1 team of Greta Hentges and Kassidy Girard defeating Kristin DeJong and Tyra Sandven 6-0, 5-7 and 6-4. Our No. 2 doubles team of Hannah Watzke and Lakia Manska came on strong to beat Kaylee Pavling and Kylie Cobb, 3-6, 6-3 and 7-5.
Our No. 3 team of Ireland Winter and Breanna Schmidgall fell to the Monte pair of Nina Fitzkappes and Mathea Jorgenson 7-5, 3-6 and 10-12. We had Abbigail Athey vying at first singles and this Tiger fell to Kori Douglas 1-6 and 3-6. Katelyn Wehking was our No. 2 player and she bowed vs. Emily Brace 6-1, 4-6 and 0-6. Ryanne Long occupied the No. 3 singles spot and she fell to Lauren Kluver 4-6 and 2-6. Kate Messner was defeated by Cami Myers of the Thunder Hawks 0-6 and 1-6.
Orange and black pride is burgeoning with Homecoming getting near! The parade is already on my calendar for September 27.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Minnesota Supreme Court & sports parents

They can be wild

The Minnesota Supreme Court rarely makes the news in a high-profile way. For a long time its public visibility seemed limited to having former Minnesota Viking Alan Page as a member.
I have not read any accounts suggesting that Page showed signs of cognitive issues as a result of playing football, as a lineman for many years. So, that was a blessing. He played at Notre Dame before becoming a Viking.
Years ago the MN Supreme Court tread into the news in an awkward way, due to an unusual back and forth with Dean Johnson. The court did what I deemed unusual: issue a public statement to the media as it tried to extricate itself from some spilled milk, as it were.
The matter began as the surreptitious tape recording of comments made by Johnson, then an important state lawmaker, to a group of ministers. Johnson appeared to get nicked politically. He was able to "parachute" just like political VIP predecessor Wendell Anderson, onto the U of M board of regents.
 
An issue with layers
At present the state supreme court is in the news again. I consider it a troubling matter. On a knee-jerk level it is easy to sympathize with what the Court did. We might think "way to go" regarding a decision that appears to rein in those pestering high school sports parents.
High school sports parents! They can drive coaches nuts, right? They can affect coaches' "job security," right? The whole issue is of course more complicated and has multiple aspects for sober consideration.
We can peel this apart in several ways. Let's consider that coaches do their work in a fishbowl. They wouldn't be compensated for coaching kids if their "product" wasn't out there for public consumption. It is the essence of "public" events. I had a friend in Hoffman once who said of the home football games "this is Friday night in Hoffman." The school has no problem taking in revenue from excited spectators.
The price paid for this is that coaches and athletic directors can in fact be on the hot seat. There is pressure to be felt managing any product that is out there for public consumption. Is the Minnesota Supreme Court catering to the base impulse to get upset with sports parents/fans who may "hector" too much? The people who wear the robes need to be more cautious.
I remember when the old Roy Firestone show on ESPN had a leading baseball umpire as a guest. Firestone kept prodding the guy on whether a World Series game caused any special emotions to be felt by an umpire. "Aren't you thrilled" or "aren't you in awe?" etc. The umpire didn't budge and finally, after a pause, he said to Roy "you'd make a terrible umpire."
The message: be dispassionate.
Our Stevens County has a history of sports-based grievances or even rumors becoming known. You are probably thinking that a line must be drawn between common sports chatter re. coaches, and the more hurtful, let's say salacious rumors. But our county has a history where truly salacious rumors circulated and they were not off base. The Hancock girls basketball coach of many years ago is the example here.
We can discuss this openly because he did end up in prison. So propriety is moot. A couple young people had to speak out about his wrongdoing. A long-time teacher friend of mine who worked there, informed me that nothing short of a student coming forward would have caused any action to be taken. So finally it happened and it was a good thing.
The Star Tribune gave the conviction some coverage. And I remember a headline, actually a sub-head, that read as follows and I'm pretty sure this is word-for-word: "Rumors of misconduct had been circulating for years."
When you analyze the Minnesota Supreme Court's recent ruling, you'd have to wonder if the coach, minus any legal charges, could have taken action against anyone known to speak the "rumors."
The Strib describes the Minnesota Supreme Court decision as a "game changer." The court ruled that high school coaches are not "public figures." People familiar with mass communications law know this is a huge deal for allowing defamation actions. The body of the article further describes the court action as "groundbreaking."
Let's tamp down any impulse to applaud this on a gut level. "Oh, those pesky sports parents." We need to be more like the umpire on Firestone's show who was incredulous about suggestions that we cave to base feelings.
The Strib article reported that "parents and others" don't have legal protection to "make false claims" about high school coaches. Can I suggest we could drive a truck through that? First off, why is a line being drawn for any reason between "parents and others?" Some of the most emotionally involved fans can be non-parents. To specify "parents" is to suggest they are a unique organism in this. On a subtle level, it perhaps suggests that parents ought to be stigmatized as a special creature known to be gadflies for coaches, which I'm sure they can be.
So, is there an impulse here to sort of quarantine the parents, to suggest to them to just "shut up?" Shall we applaud? However, we cannot lump all contrary sentiment toward sports parents in the same way. The "rumors" about the Hancock coach ended up being true. The fact they were circulating might have been a factor in ultimately influencing certain kids to speak up.
Would we have wanted members of the public to be intimidated, out of fear of legal action, into taking the hush-hush approach?
Do coaches want their cake and to eat it too? Sports events are by definition public. Sports is not a necessary part of our civic life, or of the education of our young people really. It's frosting. It's a way to combat boredom or the toll of a long and dreary winter.
 
Re. the high school in Morris
Stevens County history also includes a movement that publicly dissed the Morris athletic director (actually "activities director") in the late 1980s. A document was formally presented to the Morris school board. It was called a "statement of concern" although the AD's friends and supporters called it a "petition" because that word suggested something petty.
It's fine if you wanted to consider that document "petty." That's your opinion. A great many Morris people had signed it. It was easy to interpret the document as being skeptical of the person's basic qualities because it asserted "the athletic director should be a positive and enthusiastic person." A jab at the person's character? Well yes, it would seem.
People on the other side of the fence from the "statement of concern" reportedly alleged factual misstatements in the document. If such alleged misstatements could be argued formally, there you have a mix that could cause a legal action to be taken, right?
Of course I think all this is preposterous. Surely the incidents in Morris and Hancock were unpleasant. So, what am I concluding? Really, that leaders in sports programs are in fact "public figures," yes on a micro level but that's the world in which we live in Morris MN. The public often swarms to high school sports events. I worked around sports parents in my years with the Morris newspaper, could write a book about the petty concerns and gossip. This is simply part of the human condition.
Former columnist Doug Grow of the Strib described sports as "the toy department." Within newspapers that is.
Nothing in our democracy is at stake with how kids' sports programs are managed. Coaches and athletic directors work "in the arena." Surely they know this reality when they enter the field.
 
MN Supreme Court vs. Johnson
When the Minnesota Supreme Court is in the news, most likely it's because there is something contentious or questionable. Or at least embarrassing? In the case of Dean Johnson, it all seemed rather amusing in the end. The court may have been caught with their pants down. Maybe a justice did say something in a private conversation that wasn't according to Hoyle.
When the court came forward with a very rare public statement, saying in effect that Johnson was full of bullcrap, it was strange. Why? I would argue that when a party is innocent, the inclination is to just say nothing. Let other parties flail away. When the dust cleared I was inclined to believe Johnson's version, not that I thought it was a hugely big deal.
The suggestion was that the court was "tipping its hand" on how a ruling would likely be made, a faux pas which I guess in legal circles should cause the transgressors to be struck by lightning. However, I could trust the supreme court to ultimately rule in a proper manner.
Johnson would later claim, as I recall, he "had witnesses."
I'm sure the court means no harm in its current judgment to allow coaches to sue parents/fans for defamation. But did they really pause in a sober way to peel through the various levels of this decision, its total ramifications? "Salacious rumors" might have helped put the Hancock coach in prison. Sometimes there is more to these things than meets the eye.
Don't be like Roy Firestone, whose claim to fame as entertainer, I'll remind you, was his impression of Keith Jackson. I remember Arsenio Hall practically falling off the couch with laughter at this.
I hope Alan Page is continuing to do OK, not showing signs of CTE.
We cannot strip away the Hancock coach's wrongdoing as we remember him, but wasn't it something how his teams could fill the UMM P.E. Center, to the tune of something like 2000 fans? Wasn't it rather a phenomenon? I remember standing along the concourse with Skip Sherstad and we noted how committed the small schools were to such activities. Our museum could do an exhibit. Hancock principal Roger Clarke's son would play the electric guitar as the Owl mascot dashed to center court to lead a cheer.
 
Addendum: I remember after the whole Hancock coach thing had blown over, I was talking with a Morris main street businessperson about this, someone with ties to Hancock. I asked why things took so long to reach a head. The answer: "He won." And to think I once helped to feed the sports monster with my media work. Oh, the new Morris paper is out today! Free copies were available at the entry to DeToy's. Yes, free, unless that was a mistake. I was told I could take one. The pages are bigger. I notice some of the Alexandria ad circular stuff is still in there. The content looks encouraging although we're just at the start of this transition to new ownership. I would suggest it will still be an uphill battle, due to the forces that continue to work against the print media. It is great to see the Morris paper published at Quinco Press in Lowry again. It's sad to think that Forum Communications never behaved like they had their heart in being here. I tried giving them the benefit of the doubt. Foolish me.
 
Addendum #2: Just got a look at today's Strib and saw item about how High School League is facing financial issues. So here's an alert: Be aware that the MSHSL will pull any and all strings to extract money from you. They'll grab you by the ankles and hold you upside down, I guess. I didn't know the state cross country meet was free to watch. And yet we're expected to pay to see a junior high band concert. BTW I have heard about an alleged "trick" some people use to get into those concerts free: they'll present a $100 bill, and of course the school doesn't want to deal with change, so the easiest course is to just wave the people in. Oh, I would never get in like that, not that I have a drawerful of $100 bills. Concerts were free when I was school-age. One factor in rising costs: concussion insurance. Well, I guess we can deduce a pretty logical suggestion from that: no more football. My parents were so incredibly wise - they said don't even consider football.
 
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Three ace blocks by Sophia Carlsen in win

Tigers 3, ACGC 0
The Tuesday chapter of MACA volleyball action was fantastic: a 3-0 win in front of the home crowd. The orange and black prevailed over ACGC by these scores: 25-18, 25-15 and 25-9.
Lexi Pew showed command at the service line as she fired four ace serves at the Falcons. Kenzie Hockel and Macee Libbesmeier each had one serving ace. LaRae Kram was all over the court in setting and finished with 23 assists. Libbesmeier filled in with two assists.
Hockel topped the kills list with her seven, trailed closely by Emma Berlinger and Pew each with six. Emma Bowman and Kram each batted four kills at the Falcons. Sophia Carlsen had three kills and Libbesmeier had one. Ace blocks were produced by Carlsen (3), Kram (2) and Pew (1).
Libbesmeier was in her typical position excelling in digs where her total was 19. Hockel came through with eight digs while Pew and MacKenna Kehoe each had seven. Kram concludes the list with her six.
The top ACGC hitter was Myli Naragon with four kills. Erin Roemeling had three serving aces for the Falcons. Their leader in set assists was Noelle Dilley with eight. Naragon had two ace blocks, and Jeana Denton had seven digs.
  
Melrose 3, Tigers 0
The MACA volleyball Tigers were humbled in front of the home crowd Thursday. The opponent was Melrose and the outcome was 0-3.
Lexi Pew was sharp at the net as she executed eleven kills. But the Dutchmen came at the Tigers with a well-honed attack that produced the sweep by scores of 25-14, 25-21 and 25-21.
Pew was joined in the hitting category by Kenzie Hockel (five kills), Sophia Carlsen (5), LaRae Kram (4), Emma Berlinger (3) and Emma Bowman (2). Kram and Bowman each went up to execute two ace blocks. Berlinger and Carlsen each had one ace block. Macee Libbesmeier, the senior "libero," was a bright spot with her 21 digs. Hockel had nine, Jaden Ross eight, Pew seven and Kram five.
Kram facilitated the offense with her 21 set assists. Three Tigers each batted a serving ace across the net: Ross, Hockel and Pew.
 
Cross country showcase
LQPV/DB hosts its Early Bird meet but this comes after our own cross country spectacle in Morris. You might say we have the true "early bird." We attract plenty of fans to the local golf course. I was disappointed to learn recently from our city manager that our grant attempt for an extension of the biking/walking trail to the golf course, was unsuccessful. Hopefully that can be re-booted. Morris does not have lakes recreation. An extensive biking/walking path helps make up for that. Let's go for it in the future.
The Lac qui Parle cross country meet was on Thursday, Aug. 29. The Carrington sisters excelled in a big way as Maddie was No. 1 and Meredith No. 4. Maddie covered the course in 16:46.69. Meredith's time was 17:30.20. The runner-up was Anika Fernholz of host LQPV/DB, time of 17:07.58. Also in the top five were Kyle Knollenberg of YME (third, 17:14.54) and Reegan Duininck of CMCS (fifth, 17:38.52).
Our Tigers were the champion team among the eight total. The Carringtons were joined in the MACA effort by Hailey Werk (tenth, 18:11.43), Katya Lackey (11th, 18:22.24) and Malory Anderson (14th, 18:46.65).
The MACA boys had a fourth place showing among six teams. The host LQPV/DB squad was No. 1. Zeke Sather of LQPV/DB was individual champion with his time of 17:26.68. The second through fourth place runners were also from LQPV/DB: Mikey Kvaal, Griffin Johnson and Mason Brehmer. Will Magaard of Benson-KMS was fifth.
Our top runner was Bradley Rohloff, 13th with a time of 19:41.32. Thomas Tiernan placed 17th, time of 20:11.77. Jared Boots arrived at the finish chute 19th, 20:14.19. Reid Tolifson was clocked at 21:27.51, and Cole Hawks at 22:15.66.
 
Setback in tennis
MACA was on the short end in September 3 tennis action. It was a humbling day with a 0-7 outcome against LQPV/DB. The Eagles were to be congratulated on their dominating air. Most likely they play a lot over the summer. This summary will give the names of the LQPV/DB players first.
So it was Anna Hacker at first singles winning over Abbigail Athey 6-2 and 6-4. The second singles Eagle, Addi Oie, was on the winning end 6-4 and 7-5 over Katelyn Wehking. The Eagles had their own Katelyn, last name of Wittnebel, prevailing over Ryanne Long 6-4, 3-6 and 7-6. Long's second set success was the Tigers' lone bright spot. Then at fourth singles, Madi Matthies downed Katie Messner 6-1 and 6-4.
At doubles the LQPV/DB tandem of Jessica Sigdahl and Rachel Halvorson defeated Greta Hentges and Kassidy Girard 6-3 and 7-5. The second singles LQPV/DB team of Bree Kallhoff and Veda Maharaj defeated Hannah Watzke and Lakia Manska 6-1 and 6-1. And then at No. 3, Eagles Sarah Halvorson and Kylie Wendinger defeated the Tiger tandem of Ireland Winter and Breanna Schmidgall, 7-6 and 6-3.
 
Football: home opener loss
My summary of the MACA vs. BOLD football game, a loss for our Tigers, is on my companion website "Morris of Course." Please click on the link below, and thanks for reading like always.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2019/09/bold-scores-six-touchdowns-in-win-at.html

 
I guess the football game was a nice experience even if the outcome wasn't favorable. Here's an email I got from a fellow musically-inclined friend this morning. (We pay attention to things like pep band.)
 
We went to the game last night. It was a beautiful evening, great to sit out in the air. The game was pretty bad from a Tiger standpoint, but that’s to be expected against BOLD. We left in the 3rd quarter, but were able to do the tailgate thing before the game (very good foot-long hot dogs), got our popcorn at halftime. I looked for you up on the “cheapskates can watch for free” walkway by the RFC, but didn’t see you. Wanda (Dagen) didn’t have the pep band play - she didn’t feel that they could do well with only a couple days of prep. She said she had the kids vote on whether or not to play - can you imagine John Woell putting a possible performance up for student vote? Of course, one of her points regarding pep band is that she isn’t compensated monetarily for directing the pep band - she has a set stipend for “after school performances," which includes pep band, concerts, going to band festivals etc. And all of the teachers in the music dept. get the same stipend, so she feels short-changed. 
 
Yours truly visits newspaper office
OK there was some stress and that was foolish of course, but I stopped by the Morris newspaper office one day last week, just to say welcome and hello. Shelly was there, part of the new husband/wife tag team owners. I enjoyed talking to her and do hope they appreciate my sincere "welcome."
I was in the neighborhood because I like to shoot baskets on many afternoons at Wells Park. It isn't often that the general public drifts into west Morris. I did not like it when the newspaper office moved from its "hub" location in east Morris, to "across the tracks" to the industrial Pacific Avenue. Man, the industrial noise is a factor over there, as one readily appreciates when shooting buckets at the park.
I would like to encourage my fellow Morrissites to simply stop by the newspaper office and say "hello and welcome." Shelly is mighty busy of course and would have to deal with the distractions, but I think she'd appreciate. She and Reed should get the "key to the city!"
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Mickey Lolich, fat-shaming & objectification

Mickey Lolich: not "fat" at all

Mickey Lolich was a major league baseball pitcher considered "fat" in his time. "In his time" is a necessary afterthought in that sentence. Lolich was the No. 2 pitcher on the world champion 1968 Detroit Tigers. He was their No. 1 in the World Series.
The memories float back as one listens to the "No Filter Sports" podcast out of Michigan. The hosts include Denny McLain who was the No. 1 pitcher in the season as he won 31 games. McLain pitched right-handed while Lolich was the masterful lefty. I doubt that anyone would even comment on Lolich being "fat" today.
Today we only pay attention to someone being overweight if that situation impedes a normal quality of life. If it does, the person might need some special accommodation. But as a purely aesthetic matter, it seems to have almost disappeared.
You might say that fat-shaming amounts to "objectifying" people. We hear much about the inappropriate objectification of women. Such a welcome re-do in our thinking. One wonders how our previous standards got created. Some of my friends wonder why I even ask questions like this. They'd say all that matters is how we behave and think today. If we are in a better place today, let's just feel good about it. Who cares how things "used to be?"
Maybe I feel it's important to remember past traits in order to establish perspective, maybe to better understand the human condition.
Our Morris Area High School discontinued cheerleaders long ago. I have written about how girls were objectified when it came to this. It was unspoken, of course. We all just knew that girls who had a certain "cute" look would be cheerleaders. Girls not in that category "need not apply."
The basketball cheerleaders seemed like the "first string" and they met the criteria most sharply.
What were the criteria? I suppose I should define the terms of what I'm talking about. This would be rather unpleasant. It would make me seem sexist myself, even though I'm just trying to explain societal norms of a previous time. Maybe I can do this in a backhand way by just referring to the famous "rat pack" that included Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.
The rat pack reflected a lot about our culture at the time. If you remember how they objectified women, how they determined what women to salivate over as it were, then I need not explain any more.
At the very serious risk of offending some people, I'll suggest that the easy availability of porn in the Internet age has served to de-sensitize men to a large degree. I will suggest this is a huge blessing. Several years ago on the "Morning Joe" program, MSNBC, Joe and a panelist remembered their adolescence and how they might not see an image of the naked female body until they were maybe 15. The idea of getting sexually aroused at all was taboo. The taboo was enforced by our elders who I'm sure had ways, legitimate or not, of dealing with their own sexual impulses.
Adolescent boys would go to Annette Funicello beach movies and wonder why their body would react in a certain way. It could be troubling. Porn today can feed young males' curiosity about such things, to the point where we see de-sensitization and an actual diminishing of interest.
So, to the extent sex can be a prodding distraction, it can thus dissipate, allowing more constructive thoughts to enter one's head. Boys were once taught nothing about such things. How were we supposed to react when watching TV shows where a host like Dean Martin spelled out very clear standards for identifying "attractive" women. The hosts made insinuations about such things. They promoted a set of norms. Women had to have "good measurements." Us boys learned to joke about  "36-24-36."
How unconscionable that we learned to make judgments like this. Yes, we "learned."
Here's one more very blunt assertion, and I'll suggest you turn away if you suspect being affronted: In our contemporary age where it's so easy finding naked bodies to look at, I don't think female breast size means a damn anymore. Why did it ever mean anything? Well here's a theory: In the age where boys got scarcely a look at naked female bodies, it took large breasts for feminine traits to really stand out. Today one can be "satisfied" to see the whole body, no mystery and no prodding of the imagination.
Remember the Tom Cruise character in "Born on the Fourth of July?" There was a classic scene where his mom discovers a hidden Playboy magazine. Is there any more horrifying memory that a man my age can have? And why? Isn't such shame stultifying? My generation probably reached puberty earlier than our predecessors. Perhaps our parents didn't understand certain things about us.
Instead of inducing boys to develop a "complex" about such things, we should in effect shrug and let boys see images in an uninhibited way. I strongly suspect our parents had the x-rated thoughts themselves. How did we all get born?
I don't wish to conclude this post with sex so I'll get back to pitcher Mickey Lolich of the Detroit Tigers. "Fat." Or, so was the CW (conventional wisdom). Jim Bouton wrote about how our Minnesota hero Harmon Killebrew was called "the Fat Kid" around the league. Killebrew wasn't really fat at all. He just had a full physique.
Lolich's manager Mayo Smith described the premier hurler as "my sway-backed left-hander." Lolich himself said of his ample belly that it was "all muscle." Today he wouldn't be forced into any defensiveness.
McLain lost game 1 of the 1968 Series. Lolich came on to win the second game vs. the vaunted St. Louis Cardinals, 8-1 with a six-hitter. He even hit a home run in that game, surprising given his reputation as bad-hitting even for a pitcher. Then in game 5, with the Tigers having their backs to the wall down 3-1 in games, Lolich again out-dueled Nelson Briles. Detroit and Lolich won 5-3.
Detroit won game 6 in a romp, then we got the deciding game 7 where the rotund Lolich strode out to the mound as starter. Detroit rallied for three runs in the seventh to win 4-1 over the Cardinals and Bob Gibson. Lolich picked off two runners in the bottom of the sixth. Lolich was named MVP of the Series.
Why would anyone care how he tipped the scale?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com