We shot in front 33-13 by halftime. Wow! Then we polished things off with a 34-29 advantage in the second half. So the final score was 67-42. The opponent was Litchfield, the Dragons.
Our field goal shooting percentage was 58, on 25 of 43. Jackson Loge added another chapter of his stellar prep career: 30 points on 10 of 16. Thomas Tiernan was in the groove with his 3-point shooting where his numbers were six of nine. Tiernan was second-high in scoring with 22 points. He was 8/11 in overall field goals.
Let's cite the other Tiger scorers: Brandon Jergenson 5, Cole Wente 4, Tyler Berlinger 2, Toby Gonnerman 2 and Sam Kleinwolterink 2.
Our team numbers in 3-point shooting were 10 of 20, smack-dab at 50 percent. Loge made three of six long-range tries. Jergenson had one success. Loge had all seven of our freethrow makes in eight attempts. Our rebound leaders were Loge 6, Gonnerman 5 and Jergenson 4. We had 22 total rebounds of which five were offensive.
Jergenson had seven of our team total 20 assists. Berlinger and Tiernan each had two steals. Our turnover total was six. Loge swatted aside five shots, all but one of our team total. Kleinwolternink had our other shot block.
The game was in the 3AA-North semi-finals. Tiernan gets defensive kudos for his job on Dragon Alex Draeger who was held to seven points. The top Litch scorer was Logan King with eleven points. Beau Weseloh put in nine. The Dragons close out '22 with a record of 12-16. The Tigers? We have the sterling 25-2 W/L numbers.
The challenges are bound to get a little tougher now. On the slate now is our Saturday game on the floor of Southwest State of Marshall. We'll vie with West Central Area, the Knights, in the 2:30 p.m. contest. Refreshing to see the afternoon start time.
Anticipation is high, just like it is for real spring weather! The Knights advanced with a 54-44 win over New London-Spicer.
Focus on music too!
Be sure to consider attending the grades 7-12 band concert at the concert hall on Monday, 7:30 p.m. Look for the musicians to play some of their contest pieces. Should be exciting. Also exciting: the upcoming trip south by the band and choir. It's "destination Texas!" Surely there will be relief from our unusually cold and unpleasant winter of 2021-22.
I'm writing this on Friday which looks to be the last real miserable day. Forecast calls for sharply moderating temperatures starting on Saturday.
The MAHS band and choir are headed to San Antonio TX. Shall we assume they'll visit the Alamo? I'm not sure any MAHS faculty would want to deal with this subject, due to the considerable re-thinking that has been taking place. It is largely caused by a new book "Forget the Alamo," by Bryan 'Burrough, Chris Tomlinson and Jason Stanford.
I suggest that school faculty avoid the subject, because the current deconstructions of the Alamo present conclusions not to the liking of the right wing political crowd of today. And make no mistake: that crowd has to be reckoned with. They were fired up for four years by Donald Trump, the bull in the China closet of political discourse. We're not over it yet, far from it.
These forces are behind the anti-CRT movement and related causes. These people are known to show up at school board meetings in a combative, disruptive stance. They might scream. And it takes only one person to be truly disruptive. This crowd is trying to push bills through various state legislatures.
So let's review the Alamo: You can toss out the conclusions you may have been taught when you were young and watching Walt Disney. It appears to be total myth: the valiant defenders of the Alamo vs. the hordes of Mexican aggressors. And of course we couldn't root for Mexico to win, could we? No, we rooted for Fess Parker in the role of Davy Crockett.
Crockett of course did not really "fight to the last" at the old Spanish mission - it was not a fort. No, Crockett did not go down furiously swinging "old Betsy" at the onrushing Mexicans, who were portrayed as pretty hapless, and who only won because of their superior numbers. Reminds me of the Imperial stormtroopers of "Star Wars." An old movie cliche: the inept, faceless enemy.
Nothing faceless about the Crockett character as per Disney. Heroic. Selfless. Classic American. The one inconvenient fact in all of this, is that the Mexicans were fighting against slavery. They won at the Alamo but finally got overwhelmed at San Jacinto. The year was 1836. America was a long way from shedding the institution of slavery.
Walt Disney just thought that the Alamo was a nice patriotic little story. Mexicans were brown-skinned, weren't they? Sort of "the other." Let's make them the enemy. Let's prop up the "Anglo-heroic narrative" of the conflict. The old story is being assailed now, thanks largely to the book "Forget the Alamo."
The book's title is not meant to be taken literally. The Alamo does in fact have an interesting history. What the authors are suggesting is that we should forget the myth of the Alamo. I'm happy to do that.
But our MAHS faculty members would probably be wise to avoid the subject. It's best not to risk the emotional anger of the Trump anti-CRT crowd. Those people are frothing at the mouth with rabies now, in effect. I'm not kidding.
I am following these developments. Idaho might have to close all of its public libraries. Proposed laws are calling for jail time. The flashpoint appears to be books that enlighten about LGBTQ.
I'm told the MAHS band and choir will depart on March 26 and return on the 31st. Have a great time!
Ukraine and Russia
So now there's a big new story in the news of course: Ukraine vs. Russia, with the Fox News and Pat Robertson crowd having lined up behind Russia. Tucker Carlson sets the tone for Fox. Maybe this is because of Trump having had such great personal affinity with Putin. Both have autocratic leanings. I guess my sympathies are on the other side, surprise.
Yesterday (Thursday) I took up pen to write a song. Immediately I was inspired by the line from Rodney King, from quite some time ago, after his vicious beating at the hands of police. I call my song "Why Can't we All Get Along?" I have a nice melody to go with this, of course. To be recorded? Not decided yet. Thanks for reading, and remember the Monday band concert! I'll whisper a little tip: get in your seats a couple minutes ahead of the scheduled starting time!
"Why Can't We All Get Along"
by Brian Williams
The headlines from Ukraine
For some of us are just an old refrain
For those of us who lived through Vietnam
We know full well how war can break the calm
We tap the wisdom now
Of someone who could get lost in the crowd
If not for just a burst of fleeting fame
For sure we would not even know his name
CHORUS:
Why can't we all get along?
Why can't we all get along?
Was Rodney King right or wrong?
Why can't we all get along?
He was a challenged soul
Who made the news with wisdom good as gold
So now that war is raging once again
We hope to see our olive branch extend
The thunder claps of war
Remind us of the things we've seen before
And even though we swear we can progress
The bitter truth is sometimes we regress
(repeat chorus)
There is no guiding light
Behind the aims of those who seek to fight
Behind the aims of Russia's Vladimir
No way to make his aspirations clear
We could get tied in knots
To argue why his logic is for naught
When all we need is pleading from the soul
A single line with logic good as gold
(repeat chorus)
I grew up in the days
When Cold War had us shiv-ring and afraid
It got our young men sent to Vietnam
Now how in hell could something go so wrong?
The toll is seen in lives
Erased forever right before our eyes
So even though we're praying for Ukraine
We wonder if our Lord can stop the rain
(repeat chorus)
My generation knows
How senselessness and ignorance can grow
The best and brightest led us into war
The kids kept asking what on earth it's for
The children of Ukraine
Possess the wisdom ev'ry bit the same
There's no one who can doubt the goal they bring
It echoes in the words of Rodney King
(repeat chorus)
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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