The Tigers were seeded a relatively low No. 7. That put them in position to start things off vs. the No. 2. Plus we'd be on the road. So the orange and black took the court Friday to face New London-Spicer. The match lasted four games. We took the second to even things up 1-1. Then things went downhill. A review of the scores: 22-25, 28-26, 23-25 and 22-25.
Brianna Marty gave spark with her 13 kills and six digs. Maddy Grove and Kaylee Harstad supplied eight and six kills respectively. Lauren Hottovy performed ten digs, and Whitney Bruns came through with 22 assists.
Our kmrs-kkok website cited two Wildcats as standouts: Kendra Gerhardson with 13 kills, Ava Hauer with 15 assists. BTW the kmrs site has been spelling a name "Briana Marty" and I do believe it is "Brianna." You might say "Brianna" is the female variant of my name!
The "Minnesota Scores" site tells us the final MACA W/L record is 11-10. All in all lots of good memories.
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| Jim Carlson |
Was at Don's Cafe this morning, and the kibitzing behind me included the name "Dave Stahl." That pricked my ears up. Not a name you typically hear dropped at a main street diner. Stahl is known among the slice of jazz aficionados who are oriented to the trumpet. Hearing the name from behind me this morning indicated that these dudes were here for the Carlson concert tonight (Saturday).
Stahl was a visiting clinician for Jim Carlson's Jazz Fest once. Legend has it Stahl was sullen when here. If I remember correctly, he wanted to cancel out because of a gig offer he had gotten from. . .Oprah Winfrey? This was too late to be accommodated. You might say Jim put his foot down and required that Mr. Stahl come. But I heard the guy was sullen about it.
The visiting clinicians through the years were a tapestry of interesting personalities. Talented artists can have their idiosyncratic ways, n'est-ce pas? Some were a joy, others a bit of a challenge. But the show always went on with total success.
The historical record will show that yours truly was a member of the first-ever "All-Stars" band of non-students. I'm pretty sure the year was 1979. There were no jazz alumni yet to have an alumni band. I'm proud that I could be a part of it. I was in the All-Stars for 2-3 years, as I recall, before departing because I felt my more suitable role was in the media.
Fewer people all the time are going to remember me as a newspaper journalist. Just as, the passage of time will inevitably dim the memory of Carlson himself.
Tonight's concert is totally bittersweet. UMM acts today like it cherishes the memory so much of "Doc" Carlson. Truth be told, the institution allowed circumstances to develop toward the end of his tenure that made him frustrated and bitter. We can presume his tenure ended prematurely.
I had heard vague rumors about this through the years, but within the last year I've gotten total verification. The bad guy in these stories always winds up the same: Martin Seggelke.
So if UMM top administration had really wanted Jim to keep performing as the gem he was, not only for music but for the whole school, strings could have been pulled. But they were not. If UMM cared about numbers, PR and vitality, more would have been done. Alas, UMM does not operate as a private business. A private business faces natural pressures for accountability. Not so with taxpayer-supported stuff.
Academics can be a steaming mess with back-biting etc.
I guess there's a black mark with enrollment at UMM now. And am I really using the correct term anymore when I type "UMM?" So it's "UMN?" I suppose the full reference would be "UMN-Morris" so as to specify location. "UMM" was short and sweet.
Someone suggested I attend the concert tonight. My presence will not be necessary. Opinions about me varied during the years of Jim's heyday. I guess keeping him here would have made too much sense. Someone wanted to turn UMM music into a "conservatory" instead? Or, to just wipe out the department? Well, I heard recently that the current choir has but 30 members.
My father always wanted UMM music to be a jewel of campus pride. It didn't need to be real artsy or pretentious. But maybe his attitude made too much sense too. You get these little self-serving fiefdoms in academic institutions. Maybe Steve Sviggum should have talked about that instead of the other direction in which he went.
I am sure tonight's concert will be a delight. Good luck all. There will be people there who would like to see me. But it's best I not be there. I'm thinking of someone in Jim's immediate family. That person had such a positive opinion of my mom. I by comparison did not measure up. Such is life.
Legend has it that Seggelke once said to Jim "why do you spend so much time here?"
I know what it's like to be in an untenable position at work, just like Jim did.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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