We should guard U's interests "every day"

Eric Kaler is president of the University of Minnesota.
 

Eric Kaler wants us to "judge the University of Minnesota on what it does going forward."

Perhaps he wants us to apply the little Etch a Sketch in our mind. Shake it and erase whatever image or conclusions we have now. Our current conclusions might not be real flattering.

The Etch a Sketch is a toy very familiar to boomers like me. It has sprung into the political area in the past couple days, amazingly.
The U of M's Kaler would love to have us apply that Etch a Sketch in a manner suggested by Mitt Romney's operative. Realistically we must assess the past too.

"I welcome a close look," Mr. Kaler wrote as his nose grew longer.

The University periodically experiences a mess like this. It's a behemoth of a public institution which we are coached to love from a young age. Because it's large, gets tax dollars and is made up of human beings with failings, well. . .

Mr. Kaler actually used the "rear view mirror" term, as in "let's not concentrate too much on looking back."

He penned an essay seeking to quiet the agitated masses some. It was dated 3/18. It appeared in the Star Tribune but I studied the online representation Tuesday.
As of then, no one had corrected a misuse of the English language that the U president committed in the opening paragraph. In asking for the public's confidence, the man from Stony Brook wrote "I know we must earn it everyday."

When I was young I'd give the writer a break. Back then everything in a newspaper was "typeset." Screw-ups could easily happen in the production process.

I had a typesetter make a mistake in a correction line of all things. I was writing about an archer and quoted him saying "there is no great money" to be made in the pastime. "No" got changed to "now." The source later told me "it was caught" (i.e. understood as a typographical issue).

Today so much is "copied and pasted." When I was a kid, "pasted" suggested Elmer's Glue.

I'm sure the essay by Mr. Kaler was submitted electronically and processed in the typical lightning-fast way. Would an essay by a university president require even cursory editing?

So I think we can lay the English language misuse at Kaler's doorstep.

"We need the public's confidence," Kaler wrote. "I know we must earn it everyday."

The issue here is "everyday" as one word. We hear a lot about "everyday low prices" at Wal-Mart. That's certainly a blessing and Wal-Mart is to be complimented on the catchy phrase that has permeated our lexicon.

But there is a distinction between "everyday" and "every day."

The one-word version, "everyday," is an adjective that means "commonplace, ordinary or normal." It's used in front of a noun. This I learn from the "learn English language" website. Here we also get a usage example: "These shoes are great for everyday wear."

Another: "Don't use the everyday dishes - it's a special occasion."

Kaler should have easily realized we need the separate words. My online source instructs that "every day" means "each day." Examples illustrate: "I go to the park every day." And, "Every day I feel a little better."

I doubt U of M officials use the "everyday dishes" very often. That's the crux of the problem now. We're in one of these periodic cathartic episodes where the U deals with something uncomfortable or untidy.

At issue now is the very liberal tossing around of funds - it's only money? - benefiting the administrative elite.

"I have committed to doing things differently," the still-new U head wrote in response to the hubbub over monetary issues.

So we can expect the man from Stony Brook to vigorously shake that red-framed Etch a Sketch and start again, provided the public just shrugs, I guess.

I was bothered he got off to such a bad start with "everyday." The overall essay seemed rather stock and unremarkable in dealing with controversy. Kaler wrote how the U should have a "single focus" which is "what is best for our students," as if any other objective should cloud the matter.

There appear to be clouds obstructing accountability. It's as if the U consciously or unconsciously is mirroring the values of Wall Street. People anointed as movers and shakers get these dizzying figures. We become almost numb to the numbers.

It's our culture now, isn't it? "We mustn't tax the job creators."

A common word from someone under siege is "context." No matter how discomforting the facts, you can always say they're being viewed "out of context" or say that a particular quote - this is very common - is "taken out of context."

The conservative idiots among us assail Media Matters that way: "You're taking quotes out of context." Denial of the fundamental facts becomes unnecessary.

Kaler writes "the recent reports are troubling but let's put them in context." He reminds us the U has a $3.7 billion annual operating budget. "I expect and welcome close scrutiny," he stated, Pinocchio-like again.

The U of M is well known in media circles for not being enthusiastic about discussing messy topics. You know, like when a Clem Haskins type of thing comes up.

How many of you remember the famous "Minnesota Daily Humor Issue?" This goes back to the dark ages of about 30 years ago, when the Twin Cities campus paper, enjoying the type of monopoly perch such media had then, came out with a National Lampoon type of issue that angered many.

I remember doing a thought piece about it. I remember that for a long time henceforth, we at the newspaper got an occasional inquiry about what I wrote, meaning that it somehow got traction in those primitive days when we didn't speak of something "going viral."

We used Etch a Sketch (and Elmer's Glue).

Perhaps a photocopy of my work made it to the "big city" and was discussed in someone's class - whatever. But I always felt flattered.

I can't remember the exact points I made, but looking back I think that humor publication was just as offensive as it was funny. Well-executed humor in a vein of parody is to be appreciated, no matter how much it skewers. But the immature students at the U came up with ideas like calling Sid Hartman "Sid Fartman." I rest my case.

The matter reached the board of regents, which I remember well because I attended a regents meeting out here at the UMM HFA, where people got a little hot.

"Do we control University funds?" I remember one regent huffing when it was explained that "free speech" might protect the Daily and its status regardless of the regents' feelings. I knew that argument was bankrupt, just like I flinched reading "everyday."

The Daily has no guarantee of University funds just like Rush Limbaugh's inane thoughts needn't be bankrolled by sponsors who can't exercise independent judgment. They're exercising that judgment quite thoughtfully and appropriately now, belatedly yes, but the public (i.e. customers) got fed up.

So, the University of Minnesota every few years has a mess that makes officials go through a process of inspecting one's navel. They try to internalize all that stuff. They say they welcome scrutiny but if you believe that, well. . .

The headline for Kaler's piece was "Judge the U on what it does going forward." Let's just shake that Etch a Sketch, get it clear. Or, as Leslie Nielsen's character of Lt. Frank Drebin would say, at the scene of an obvious calamity: "There's nothing to see here folks, nothing to see."

But the revelations seem a little too troubling. And they involve money. They say money is the mother's milk of politics. It's quite the bedrock for higher education too.

I'll quote Jesse Ventura for the fourth or fifth time on this site, who said in a standoff with Mark Yudof that "for the amount of money the University is asking, maybe I should run it."

Well, someone sure as heck needs to seize on these matters with special resolve, and we can't count on the likes of Robert Bruininks who joined the University in 1968. The Monkees were at their peak of popularity.

We can't let "lifers" in an institution have so much money power. Their position is too cozy, where they have nurtured friendships and feathered preferred nests.

Cozy relationships and a "good old boy" mentality seem in evidence with the recent revelations about the loose purse strings issue at the U. And I don't think we can dismiss such matters like shaking an Etch a Sketch. We need to focus, be objective and vigilant and disregard any apparent sacred cows.

And we must do this "every day."

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

Kids may be "safer" today but is it better?

Norman Rockwell captured the less-structured and probably more hazardous play activity of an earlier time. His brush would have done justice to a number of Morris kids I remember. ("Saturday Evening Post" image)

A couple friends and I once built a soap box derby type of contraption for an informal competition in town. It was probably a little dangerous.

Notice I didn't say "racer," I said "contraption."

Several race crews gathered at the downhill slope on the east side of the old school. It was the typical type of childhood activity where we were self-starters. One imagines a Norman Rockwell type of painting. Maybe I could suggest a Dennis the Menace strip panel too.

Boomers often did things like this. Our enterprise was admirable. The activity itself might cause the parents of today to shudder. We played sandlot baseball in the same spirit.
We mustn't become too nostalgic because there were defects. Bullying could sprout and be undeterred. This current push to eradicate bullying probably gives boomers pause. We grew up under the laws of the jungle. We'd leave the house and do things unsupervised.

We gathered at the school hill and sent our "racers" down, testing to see who had the best approach. The kids at the bottom of the hill had better look out for what was coming down. The same held true with sledding. It was a madhouse with no adults to be seen.

I was reminded of that romp years later when watching an episode of the Red Green show on Public TV. The determined but calamitous Mr. Green had advice on making a good soap box racer. "The key," he said, was "large wheels."

I laughed because this was an area where my little group (of three, including the late Skip Sherstad) went wrong. We used wheels off an old stroller. Make no mistake, we deserved credit for our effort. Our engineering judgment was nonexistent. We moved onward, learning from mistakes.

Today kids are steered toward organized activities. They grow up in a time where any parent caught not using a child car seat might be stoned to death. Children's activities are supervised and structured. Parents probably sign forms agreeing to certain terms.

There are "waivers" where a slight risk factor might be presented. I'm sure lawyers hover over anything. Even waivers don't provide an airtight protection from legal action.

Kids aren't treated as human beings, they are treated as rare collectibles. There's no Norman Rockwell painting for the type of things kids do today. We have certainly built facilities for them.

I recently wrote about the "sandlot" days of hockey in Morris. "Sandlot" is figurative and applies to the ragtag nature of kids' activities once, when we needed to come up with our own amenities like bases for baseball.

We'd gather at the old elementary playground for baseball. We were spoiled having such an expansive playground available. Today the buildings and grounds are totally idle. The community could come up with no fresh use. A part of town that was once abuzz with the activities of youth is now idle.

I remember it was a challenge to try to glide down that slope in winter as if you were skiing, only you were wearing shoes. Terry Rice was good at it. Many of us ended up on our rear end. We'd laugh.
Today it would all be considered dangerous. We'd probably be chased away.

We played baseball without uniforms. The hockey kids were off on their own, using whatever adequate outdoor ice they could find, undaunted in enjoying their sport. Today the kids don't even have to think about the basic resources for their sports. We have an "infrastructure."

Can you imagine a Morris without a Lee Community Center? That's the Morris I grew up in. Varsity basketball was still being played at the old elementary auditorium/gymnasium. We had what you would call a "neighborhood" school. These were once the norm but seem to have fallen out of favor.
The safety-obsessed parents of today seem to insist on some distance from the real world of neighborhoods and adults going about their business.

Instead we have these "prison" schools. That's not my term, as I picked it up from a Morris Area school board member. She noted that so many new schools of today look like prisons out on the outskirts of town.
This sure makes me look at them in a different light. I admire the analysis this term reflects. They certainly look like prisons.

I was always reminded of the quote when driving past the KMS school.

The Morris school has grown like a monstrosity on the southern edge of the community. We are to be commended because the school isn't totally out beyond the town. Federated Church is right across the street, for example. So I won't call it a prison school.

But our culture is definitely protective to the maximum, which is fine in principle. We want everyone to be safe. But I think sometimes we need to encourage more of a notion of kids looking out for themselves.

A recent "Friday Facts" email included a notice from our police chief on the proper caution when driving near a school bus. Some very responsible people have been ticketed for violations in this regard.
I suspect many such violations aren't egregious. The police chief would probably disagree with me. A law is a law and it reflects proper judgment, he'd say. He'd better think that way, I guess.

I should state here that I have never received such a citation. A former Morris mayor has gotten at least one.

I'm not sitting here arguing that what these people did was totally safe and should be disregarded.

My argument is that in an earlier time, we expected kids to try to be responsible and careful on their own, up to a degree. When you're getting on and off a school bus, you should know there are cars out and about around you, so just be careful and look around.

Applying this to the computers of today, kids should know, and I'm sure they have the intelligence to know, there are risks and dangers out there and one ought to be vigilant about communications from any stranger. Instead we go after any adult "crossing the line" as if the mistakes are totally theirs.

These guys caught on the Chris Hansen TV series are just "bozos," I have written before. They need some sort of sanction that will scare the heck out of them and be a deterrent, but I'm not sure we need to get out the orange jump suits.

Good grief, America already has a disproportionately large percentage of its population incarcerated. It's being noted throughout the world. I agree totally with Ron Paul and other libertarians on how we need to back off on drug offenses.

I read a while back about a law enforcement person in Minnesota seeking to pull over someone who had an outstanding warrant or some such thing. The suspect fled. There was a collision and people got killed including a young child. And what was the individual wanted for? "Drug charges," I read. I groaned.

Our Chief Beauregard is to be commended on thinking about safety and carrying out society's wishes on this. He knows his job. My task as an idle pundit or thinker (hopefully) is to give some historical perspective, to conjure up those Norman Rockwell images of kids on their own, with ragtag or nonexistent resources, being self-starters and learning about life's challenges.

No indoor ice for hockey. No major league facsimile uniforms for little league baseball. (We wore T-shirts at Wells Park.)

Today our little mob with the homemade soap box "racers" might be chased off. There might be liability issues with school property, of course.

I'm not the only one who sees things like this. We got to talking in church one morning over coffee about these societal trends. An acquaintance of mine who works at UMM commented: "The way we protect kids today, maybe we should just wrap them in Nerf until they're 18."

Maybe it's all for the better. Maybe I'm just showing misguided boomer bias.

In our teens we hardly set an example. We'd plead the Fifth answering questions about that.

Today we seem rather fat and content. Different generations will have their values.

History will judge.

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

Stadium drumbeat beginning to grate

What price for this?

Maybe it's unhealthy for a product to be as popular as NFL football.

Baseball seemed king for a very long time. The Minnesota Vikings didn't even exist in the 1950s. Today the Vikings have such stature, they absolutely loom at the state capitol and over our lawmakers (many of them anyway, most notably our governor, sad to say).

The drumbeat for a new stadium is starting to grate. This fear of the Vikings leaving is a specter that hovers and irritates.

Teams seem to need new stadiums the way restaurants redecorate. The comparison isn't so far-fetched. Football is pure entertainment and it fears getting stale. It needs new frills now and then to keep fans curious and fired up.

All this is absolutely fine if it could stay in the private sector. But not only is it seizing the attention of our politicians like Governor Dayton, it is causing gambling to be thrust in our face.

No, Rudy Perpich is not turning over in his grave.

You might say "Governor Goofy" gave us this state of affairs. Perpich was a mentor for Dayton once. I hope there's no natural affinity between Democrats and gambling.

Perpich seemed like a quite upright man himself. But the expansion of gambling didn't make him flinch at all. I wonder if he had any real experience doing it. Did anyone ever give him the message it was dangerous and ought to be considered only on the most sober and measured terms?

Gambling was driven out of Minnesota in the late 1940s. It had crept into places like resorts.

The Perpich era seems distant but let's be reminded it lasted ten years. The once-taboo activity of gambling came into the daylight. Whereas we once only put up with low-stakes bingo in church basements, we came to almost embrace a "Pottersville" type of model.

The trend began at about the time I graduated from college. Charitable gambling stretched its legs beginning in 1978. How can you argue with something that's "charitable?" Five years later we saw the die cast for Canterbury Downs. Racetrack betting was there to tempt us now.

I remember picking up a brochure for Canterbury that had your All-American family, pure as the driven snow, on the front, with dad holding up a betting slip as they all rooted. The heading was "you bet it's fun."

Remember how Canterbury was ballyhooed at the start? It was considered a new part of our "big league mix" in Minnesota. I'm sure there was a special section in the Star Tribune at the time of its opening. We read how this was "the sport of kings."

Canterbury went through a decline that was also treated as a big deal by the media. Up through today, when we seem barely aware of Canterbury's existence but somehow it continues.

I went to Canterbury with a friend several times and it felt like spending a whole day in a Perkins restaurant. Not even the quarterhorses with their sprint could really thrill me. We might write this off as innocuous entertainment if it were not gambling.

The purpose of gambling is not for its sponsors to give money away. It's the opposite, you fools. It's going to play a big role in the construction of our Emerald City Vikings Stadium, unless the public registers enough skepticism. We should be holding our breath this week.

No one's liberty or property is safe when the legislature's in session. I think that's how the saying goes.

Our elected leaders find it proper to hold hands with an entertainment business that hardly looks like it needs subsidies. With owners who are clearly part of the "one per cent."

And Democrats are a party to this? Does Dayton, who generally doesn't seem "goofy," think pro football is some sort of opiate and that our withdrawal would be catastrophic?

We read that Governor Dayton, standing at the podium with his revenue commissioner (a la Gotham City officials making some sort of pronouncement), said allowing electronic bingo and pulltabs in the state's bars and restaurants would produce $62.5 million annually to finance the state's total $398 million for stadium construction. I read an analysis that suggests the numbers are far more daunting than they seem.

But let's not get bogged down in the numbers. We know there's a selling job going on now and our officials have been yanked into this, many with feet of clay that might be appropriate for Gotham City, where the Joker's minions sneak about.

I imagine electronic gambling is more efficient than having to support a horse racing industry. It's more efficient than "analog" gambling of the type that gave Las Vegas its famous imagery - a casino worker spinning a "wheel of fortune," for example. (I have read that the "wheel" is a very poor-odds game.)

I suppose we can dispose of the casino workers now that we have electronic tools. Welcome to the rest of the economy. The days might be numbered for grocery store checkout clerks.

Rudy Perpich made gambling palatable. He saw that the doors got swung wide open. He claimed it was just the people's will.

Whatever, then-State Senator Dean Johnson of Willmar said at the end of the 1989 legislative session "the gambling floodgates are open."

A state planning report stated in 1992 that "Minnesota was the largest casino gaming center between Nevada and New Jersey."

So much for the reserved nature of Minnesota Lutherans. Howard Mohr, author of "How to Speak Minnesotan," might have had to modify his thinking. The stereotype was threatened.

But I suppose we have learned how to rationalize gambling. We can go on with our Minnesota manners, maybe with a wink.

Meanwhile we see headlines about employee theft. It seems this has happened in Stevens County, and it doesn't always make headlines. It happened where I was once employed. That wasn't prosecuted, although the person in question - rest in peace, dear - reportedly signed some sort of document acknowledging it happened.

It wasn't the worst thing I was around in my career. I'd say adultery was the worst. We are so human an animal.

Gambling is a regressive tax. We all know people who will tell a tall tale about gambling success. I don't doubt these people have had success on isolated occasions. Without this lure, gambling would die. They play us like a piano.

I visited Las Vegas several times in the 1980s so I could tell you a story or two about raking some money in. We don't talk so readily about the "outgo" (of money).

The outgo will help build the palatial Vikings stadium, if the current proposal or something like it gets shepherded through our legislature. The shepherds are the "one per cent." Or as my friend Glen Helberg would say, "money talks and bulls--t walks."

State Senator Johnson was prescient. Of course he'll always be remembered for the terribly awkward flap over his surreptitious conversation with Minnesota Supreme Court members. His political stock dropped thanks to a minister with a tape recorder. Ah, the lot of politicians.

But Johnson was right on principle when he indicated concern about gambling's expansion. Native American tribes got a lucrative monopoly type of arrangement in 1989. They had better preserve their windfall from that. Because we're steadily becoming "Pottersville" with gambling becoming about as ubiquitous as people saying "you betcha" or "heckuva deal."

The camel's head isn't just poking into the tent now. The legalization of electronic pulltabs would build on the dubious legacy given us by "Governor Goofy."

Fortunately there appear to be some reservations about the stadium proposal beyond the gambling aspect. Let's have a push for a moratorium on "new stadium proposals."

It's starting to make us look ridiculous, like the Joker and his minions are taking over.

Click on the link below to read some more of my stadium thoughts which are on my companion website which is called "Morris of course." Here's the permalink:
http://www.morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-vikings-stadium-revives-allure-of.html

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

Boys succumb to Benson in South semis

Many are called, few are chosen. That might be the theme for this time of year in prep basketball. The ranks of the teams "still going" have been cut way down.

The MACA boys had hoped to get this far. They made the trip to Collegeville Saturday, March 10, hoping to take that next step through the Section 6AA South tournament. It was sub-section semis day.

It's not as high on the ladder as you might think. To get there, the Tigers won one game, and this was over Eden Valley-Watkins. Yes, it was hard getting past EV-W. It required overtime and had a final scoreboard margin of a mere one point.

So it didn't really bode all that well. But there were other background facts promoting optimism. The Tigers were seeded No. 2. They in fact won on a pretty regular basis through the regular season.

Their Saturday foe at St. John's University, Collegeville, would be Benson, the team with the No. 3 seed.

The Tigers certainly showed they could handle the Braves during the regular season. The Tigers won by a comfortable margin at Benson. Our orange and black squad was second in conference behind only Montevideo (in the WCC-South). In all the Tigers had won 16 times going into Saturday.

So, could we prepare a winning script? Alas, no.

The teams all begin 0-0 in the post-season. You could wipe away the on-paper credentials. Benson certainly demonstrated it was a new season. Those rival Braves beat us when it hurt. They handed our Tigers a 68-53 defeat.

Thus the curtain comes down on the 2011-12 campaign for coach Mark Torgerson's squad. The final won-lost numbers: 16-11. Benson came out of the weekend at 18-9.

Benson won the right to face Litchfield in continuing tourney play. The Litchfield Dragons are 22-5 as I write this. They're breathing fire.

The score for the Morris-Benson game doesn't appear in the portion of the article that appears on page B1 in the March 12 Willmar newspaper. You have to follow the "jump" (to B3). This is something I would have been reprimanded for in my newspaper days.

Someone once complained to Lou Gelfand, then-ombudsman at the Star Tribune, about a Gophers basketball score not appearing on the front of sports. The suggestion was made that the score should appear real early-on. Lou's reaction? "Amen and Hallelujah."

MACA fans don't like looking at the score. But, there it is on B3 of the Willmar paper: 68-53. Not even that close. The Tigers had lost some of their luster (or roar).

Their reputation was as a more defensive-oriented team. Benson likes to accent offense. It was Benson's day to rule Saturday, led by Logan Connelly and his 23 points.

Matt Ahrndt - remember him as the football quarterback? - put in 16 points, and Sam Peterson added 14. Connelly and Ahrndt each made three 3-point shots. Peterson made one from that range, and Benson as a team was a superb eight of 14.

Benson punched down on the accelerator in the first half and outscored the Tigers 41-21. The orange and black fans must have felt stunned. The Tigers managed a 32-27 scoring advantage the rest of the way.

The Tigers were five of 20 in three-point shooting and 21 of 57 in total field goals. Logan Manska made two of the 3's while Brody Bahr, Riley Arndt and Jacob Torgerson each made one.

The Tigers were six of 13 at the freethrow line.

Austin Dierks led in rebounds with seven. Chandler Erickson was tops in assists with six. Arndt stole the ball three times.

Manska topped the scoring list with the rather modest total of eleven points. Bahr broke into double figures with his ten. Then we have Arndt 9, Lincoln Berget 9, Dierks 7, Erickson 4 and Jacob Torgerson 3.

Tigers 70, Eden Valley-Watkins 69

It wasn't much of a boost of confidence for the Tigers and their fans to have to sweat so much to get past the No. 7 seed in sub-section.

The Tigers took the court to play Eden Valley-Watkins on Thursday, March 8. The Tigers did win the game. That was the one essential accomplishment.

But it wasn't very heartening to weigh this against what Benson was doing to its first-round foe. Benson manhandled its foe that same night, and Benson would go on to end our Tigers' season two days later.

The March 8 story had coach Torgerson's squad prevailing 70-69 in overtime. Jacob Torgerson provided clutch heroics at the very end from the freethrow line, bringing vocal approval from the fans assembled at our Morris Area gym.

The Tigers outscored EV-W 7-6 in overtime.

This game was close the whole way with Morris Area Chokio Alberta having just a one-point edge at halftime, 37-36.

Riley Arndt was a key player with a team-best 17 points on the night, plus he led in rebounds with five. Actually he co-led in rebounds as Austin Dierks also picked up five. Chandler Erickson and Logan Manska each provided four assists. Manska with his five steals led there.

Manska made two 3-point shots but these were the only MACA successes from that range, in ten attempts. In total field goals the Tigers were 27 of 56. In freethrows: 14 of 21.

Manska had a memorable night with 20 points scored. Riley Arndt put in 17 followed by Austin Dierks with 13. Then we have three Tigers each with six points - Jacob Torgerson, Chandler Erickson and John Tiernan - followed by Brody Bahr and Nic Vipond each with one.

Eden Valley-Watkins ended its season with a 6-19 record. The Tigers would bow to Benson who kept their buzz saw going.

It has been a pleasure for yours truly to cover the Tigers this past season. And now we're obviously ushering in spring. I invite you to read my thoughts on the new Vikings stadium proposal which is on my companion website, called "Morris of course."
Here's the permalink:
http://www.morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-vikings-stadium-revives-allure-of.html

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

Advertisers would love bypassing Limbaugh

It's too easy to just add to the cacophony against Rush Limbaugh now. The pied piper of all ignoramuses chugs onward.

Thinking about the Limbaugh mess makes me wonder about the daily grind. Why is it that pundits like Limbaugh get their "gigs" and just seem to go on forever? The conservative ones in particular have no expiration date.

Why is it that conservatives seem to "need" Limbaugh? Hasn't he become more trouble than he's worth, even to them?

Why can't Limbaugh be like a country music singer who has his "run" and then fades? New talent comes along. The audience wants something fresh. All very understandable.

So why is it that conservative throngs out there, people who thump their chest about being "conservative" even though the pure application of those principles might leave them chagrined, seem to want something stale or rotten?
How can they not describe Limbaugh as totally creepy now? How can they not see he has some sexual issues coming to the surface that ought to be subdued?

Sean Hannity of Fox News thought Joe McGinnis was "creepy" just because he rented the house next to Sarah Palin, while researching for a book that is now available at our Morris Public Library. I wondered for some time whether local tea partiers might protest if that book came here. They are as protective of Palin as they are of Limbaugh.

I suspect the McGinnis book is just "old news" now. So many highlights came out and were reported some time ago. Not that I wouldn't want to read it. It's on the new non-fiction rack.

Did Rick Santorum actually insult the nation's conservatives by saying Limbaugh was "just an entertainer?"

Santorum like so many of his stripes is scared of the pied piper. No one on the progressive side exudes this.
The "entertainer" tag might seem to belittle the rotund radio god. A mere entertainer can't dispense serious political thoughts, can he? Oh but he does. He tries to put "progressives" on their heels every day. He knows he has to be confrontational to a degree.
But he also knows this is a daily tightrope act. Because first and foremost he guards the interests of his advertisers. This is despite the fact he likened some of his now-departed advertisers to "a few french fries that might fall out at the drive-through."

If I were one of those advertisers, I'd have a few choice words for the bombastic idiot/manipulator.
The "french fries" comment might in fact be a dagger (for him). He was biting the hand that feeds him, suggesting his whole persona was bigger than his advertisers, many of whom are apparently nothing more than discarded french fries.

Limbaugh has been the de facto leader of the Republican party.
If Santorum brands Limbaugh as a mere "entertainer," not worthy of serious commentary or reaction from a presidential aspirant, what does that say about the nation's conservatives? That they are inspired by a non-thinker? A lot of us have known that all along.

Here's a dirty little background secret about the Limbaugh controversy: A lot of advertisers would absolutely love to bypass him. The tech revolution and new media are increasingly making this possible anyway.
Advertisers simply want to reach their customers. They aren't interested in covering the overhead for a printing plant or delivery trucks as with newspapers. They would love not having to "sponsor" a boob like Limbaugh. They would like not having to sponsor anyone.
The entertainers have just been a lure for an audience.

In the past this model was a given. People who run newspapers know that advertising is everything. They say their mission is to inform the public but it's a charade. I'm not exaggerating.
Most people who run newspapers view their news divisions as sort of a nuisance. They cost money. They can cause trouble. The public can place unreasonable expectations on them.

Newspaper publishers know they have to maintain a modicum of news coverage and public service for reasons of reputation. They gnash their teeth at the same time. They just want local businesses to keep cutting checks to them.

Newspapers used to operate with sort of a monopoly mentality. They have been truly shaken up the past few years. Nothing has improved because of that. The competition faced by newspapers doesn't even fight on their terms. They bypass newspapers, harnessing new tech with efficiency and reach that ought to make our head spin.

Newspapers have been pummeled but they hang on, smaller and less relevant than before. The newspaper in Morris has gone through a non-stop shrinking act in terms of frequency of publication and (let's not forget) page size. And we aren't supposed to notice.

We're flooded with advertising circulars many of which are dumpster-ready.

And on the radio airwaves, we're supposed to revere a mouth that reaches millions in spite of the drivel, paranoia and outright creepiness that emanates from it. Most advertisers are now saying the voice ought not define America or at least a significant chunk of it.

At a certain point, basic civility needs to be invoked. We have to be concerned about our image in the world. Rush Limbaugh is a big fat whatever. I don't care that he's fat, just that he's a cynical and manipulative opportunist.

Isn't there some younger talent out there waiting in the wings? Can't we see a "fresh face" like in country music?

There is talk that a new Mike Huckabee radio show might be a "safe haven" for advertisers. I guess he's not really young or fresh. But he seems a bit more level-headed, less sensational or confrontational.

He's an acknowledged conservative leader. So he can't be expected to speak intelligently all the time. At least he has clergy credentials. He has succumbed to some of the "birther" rhetoric and that's concerning. But the bar must be set very low for these people.

Huckabee won't stir the pot so much. He's not so much of a throwback. He has said Barack Obama grew up in Kenya. He elaborated, saying our president was influenced by the Mau-Mau Revolution. Such mishandling of facts would bring a failing grade in a high school classroom. And this man was a serious candidate for president.

But if conservatives need a pied piper of sorts, no matter how off-base, Huckabee might be more agreeable than Rush Limbaugh the cigar-chomping clown.

I can't imagine Huckabee making the kind of offensive-beyond-words comments that recently came from Limbaugh.

Limbaugh has been in his "daily grind" long enough. Maybe he has just become zombie-like having done it so long. Why doesn't he wake up in the morning sometime and start thinking about something else? Refresh yourself - it'll be good for you.

After a while you might come to see just how absurd you had become. Let the "new country singer" in. Huckabee isn't new but he's fresh at least in terms of the radio product.

We must remind ourselves that we can't expect too much from conservatives, a reflexive and emotional movement that articulates quite well what it doesn't like and what it is suspicious of. But it has no clear eye at all about what clearly should be enacted.

Conservatives crash and burn when they get real power. They begin ignoring real issues and dive into the social issues spectrum, where they can keep pulling those emotional and impulsive levers that have worked well for them. They are in effect a one-trick pony.

They're harmless if they just bide their time listening to an afternoon radio show that reinforces their fears. Let them clog online comment boards with their vitriol. Let them be a sideshow.

This is the line that Limbaugh crossed. His "entertainment," as Santorum would describe it, couldn't be dismissed as innocuous anymore. Calling Sandra Fluke a slut and prostitute and suggesting she have her sexual activity videotaped was the kind of tripe that should cause flamethrowers to be directed at him immediately.

Instead we see Republican presidential contenders with their tepid and cowardly reactions. This speaks volumes.

Lest there be any doubt Barack Obama will be re-elected, it's put aside now.

Ask for your french fries to be put in a sack, then they can be handed off at the drive-through with nothing lost. Turn off Rush Limbaugh on your car radio. Show some discretion. You're better than to require a pied piper.

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

Seniors Ostby and Gibson impress in state

Tim Ostby and Zach Gibson soared in the closing stages of the wrestling season. It all reaches a big climax at the Xcel Center in St. Paul. (In my younger days I toted my camera to the St. Paul Civic Center.)

The Tiger duo excelled at the Xcel. Tim Ostby captured runner-up honors at 145 pounds. Big Zach Gibson garnered No. 4 at 285. Both were in state last year but came up shy of placing then.

They weren't to be denied in 2012 with an additional year of seasoning under their belts. They applied that savvy and experience to turn back foes, most of them anyway. It's easy at state to run into a "buzz saw" at some point. There are some seemingly superhuman competitors.

Let's begin our review with Mr. Ostby, who began with a 13-3 major decision over Zach Jaeger of Stewartville. Tim took charge with four takedowns during this bout.

Next for Tim was the quarter-finals where he took on Colton Vekved of Becker. Tim took care of business again, prevailing with a 5-2 decision.

Now we're in the semis, and here the opponent for Ostby was Dustin Ellsworth of St. Paul Harding. Tim showed come-from-behind resilience. He and Ellsworth fought into overtime. Suspense was high. Whose arm got raised at the end? It was Tim's!

Tim won by fall, so now he could contemplate moving forward into the finals. It's a very prestigious circle: the state finals.

Tim was assured great satisfaction no matter how it turned out, but he had to square off vs. one of those truly premier foes. It was Jake Short of Simley. Short owned a 40-1 record entering state. He was ranked No. 1 in state and No. 4 in the nation.

Ostby lost by fall in the second period. He stood on the awards stand at No. 2. He projected the orange and black proudly to be sure. As a Tiger senior he went 36-4.

The Zach Gibson story in state began with a win by fall in 5:24 over Preston Woods of South St. Paul.

Gibson was then dealt a setback. He fell by a 16-0 score to Austin Goergen of Caledonia, from a part of the state associated with Spencer Yohe, the iconic former wrestling coach here who was associated with several institutions (including UMM where he was a right hand man to Steve Carr).

Goergen brought a 33-1 record to state. He was the two-time defending state champion. Zach couldn't overcome him. But more mat exploits awaited Zach.

He bounced back with a pin in 1:38 over David DeYoung of Staples-Motley. Then he took care of business vs. Mike Dyer of Richfield, winning 5-1.

Now the consolation semis awaited. Here he faced off vs. Matt Kadrlik of Simley. Gibson won with a flourish, posting a fall in 3:36, thus making his way into the third place match at 285 pounds.

Gibson gamely took the mat to face Sam Stoll of Kasson-Mantorville, the second-ranked heavyweight in Minnesota. A hard-fought bout developed which ended with Gibson on the short end 1-0.

Gibson had a stellar 37-5 senior season.

Congratulations to all the Tiger matmen of Morris Area Hancock Chokio Alberta (MAHACA). But I still wish we would just be called "Morris Area."

Girls basketball: New London-Spicer 49, Tigers 28

MACA fans couldn't help feeling their team was the underdog Saturday (3/3) at St. John's University, Collegeville.
Granted, the MACA girls had beaten Paynesville two days earlier in the sub-section tournament.
The Tigers may have felt buoyed by that success but a substantial hurdle presented itself Saturday.

The Tigers were now up against New London-Spicer, a program accustomed to reaching great heights. Lest there be any doubt, the won-lost numbers told a story. The Wildcats of New London-Spicer stood 18-8 while MACA was trying to shake off a losing tendency, with a 9-16 mark coming in.

Yes, the Tigers did upset the Paynesville Bulldogs on the road. It was an on-paper upset but not a huge one.
The Tigers and their coach Dale Henrich were looking for something huge Saturday.

For half of this game, it seemed to be within reach. The Tigers led for some of the first half and found themselves down by just one at halftime, 17-16. But whatever things the Tigers were doing right, they just weren't able to continue.

The Wildcats found some of the attributes that made them the No. 1 seed in Section 6AA-South. They lived up to that favored status, outscoring the Tigers 32-12 in the second half and winning 49-28.

So the books are closed on the Tigers' 2011-12 season.

They faded in three-point shooting Saturday. This is the kind of weapon that can help an underdog. But there was no special magic blessing the Tigers Saturday.
Katie Holzheimer made two 3-pointers but these were the only such successes for MACA. The team was two of 15.
In total field goals the team numbers were eleven of 58. The scant freethrow numbers were four of eight.

Holzheimer may have made a pair of 3's but she was held to eight points by a tight NL-S defense. It was MaKenzie Smith (employing her cross country stamina?) leading the squad with 15 points.

Nicole Strobel scored four points and Tracey Meichsner one.
The 28 team points were a disappointing total.

Smith led the team in rebounds with ten followed by Beth Holland with eight and Strobel with seven. Meichsner dished out five assists.

Taylor Thunstedt was a prime NL-Spicer contributor with 28 points, plus she snared six rebounds. She made three 3-pointers.

Wildcats Amanda Radel and Olivia Setterberg each scored eight points. Radel sank two 3-pointers.

The season ends for MACA with a won-lost mark of 9-17. New London-Spicer climbed to the next rung with a 19-8 mark.

Boys basketball: Melrose 73, Tigers 63

The home of the Dutchmen, Melrose, wasn't a pleasant place for the MACA boys to visit on Friday, 3/2.

The Tigers got on the Interstate to close out the regular season. They were humbled in the first half, badly enough that even some second half surging seemed futile. The Tigers did in fact surge some in the second half.
But they couldn't shake the handicap of having been down 49-25 at halftime.

The Tigers and Dutchmen have similar won-lost records. Maybe it was the home court that made the difference for Melrose. Whatever, the Tigers ended up going down to defeat in the 73-63 final.

The Tigers outscored the Dutchmen 38-24 in the second half. Coach Mark Torgerson's crew certainly hopes to pick up from there when action resumes. The resumption will be for the post-season.

I'm posting this late-afternoon Thursday, 3/8, and tonight is when the handkerchief drops for the start of post-season. Tonight's foe is Eden Valley-Watkins. We're in Section 6 of AA. Our Tigers own a 15-10 season record going in.

Melrose owned a 19-8 record coming out of Friday. Scottie Stone was a big force for Melrose in overpowering Morris Area Chokio Alberta. Scottie poured in 26 points including one 3-pointer.
Other Dutchmen making 3's were Seth Noll and Ryan Ellering.
Melrose made four 3's on the night but were outdone by the Tigers who made five. Jacob Torgerson showed a hot hand making four of these. Logan Manska had the other.

As a team the Tigers were five of 19 in 3's and 26 of 63 in total field goals. In freethrows the numbers were six of 15.

Jacob's hot hand still left him one point shy of teammate Austin Dierks in the scoring column. Dierks and Torgerson led the Tigers in scoring with 18 and 17 points respectively. Chandler Erickson reached double figures too with ten points.

Manska put in six points followed by Riley Arndt and Lincoln Berget each with five. Brody Bahr added two points to the mix.

We'd like to see Jacob and perhaps others get hot from beyond the three-point stripe starting tonight!

Berget collected a team-high seven rebounds. He and Erickson led in assists, each with three.

The Tigers had their high points on the night, and even shaved their deficit to single digits in the second half, but it was a night for Scottie Stone and his Dutchmen to rule.

Now it's time to savor the post-season!

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

Remembering Don Mincher, power merchant

Don Mincher on baseball card, which could have been purchased at Stark's Grocery in Morris. (Image from "bolstablog")

Books by George Will and Tim McCarver made me realize how complicated baseball strategy is. As a kid it seemed pretty simple to me. I was among the legions of young Minnesota Twins fans who marveled at the home run.
Those early Twins teams were built for power.

Harmon Killebrew was the clear household name. Winning seemed pretty basic to us. You had 3-4 players in the meat of the lineup capable, at any time, of powering the ball over the fence.

What could be better for captivating Minnesota's still-neophyte major league baseball fans? The Twins were still new in 1965. Calvin Griffith brought them here from Washington D.C. four years earlier. Previous to that we were that "cold Omaha," I guess, which is the term intoned by sports advocates when we see the specter of a team possibly leaving here.

The Lakers left. The Twins put their roots down.

The Twins enthralled us with home runs in 1964 but couldn't win accordingly. My, they finished in a tie for sixth place in the American League. The team's braintrust went to work prior to '65 making sure more of those "little things" would be implemented. The power was still there.

Power alone wouldn't lift us past the New York Yankees who were nearing the end of their dynasty at that time.

Sam Mele was the Twins manager who engineered the more complete attack. An irony is that it worked despite Killebrew missing two months with injury.

How did we adjust? With the power-swinging Don Mincher available, we hardly missed a beat.

We lost Don Mincher on Sunday (3/4). He passed away at age 73 after a long illness.

He played in 128 games for the 1965 Twins who won the American League championship. I have a hard time typing that, as I would much prefer "world champions." But the story didn't end like in 1987 or '91.

It was a seven-game series in '65 just like in those two later years. But the game #7 story wasn't joyous. We failed to overcome legendary lefty Sandy Koufax.
Los Angeles had to adjust its pitching rotation because of Koufax observing a Jewish holiday. The Twins won three games in that series and thrilled their Met Stadium following - no Teflon roof there - with considerable success at home.

Even the pitcher, Jim Grant, hit a home run in game #6.

We were surely the opposite of a "cold Omaha." But victory eluded us in game #7.

It was a bitter end to our otherwise exhilarating ride that summer. Mincher hit 22 home runs in his 346 at-bats. He drove in 65 runs and scored 43. His power bat resonated for 17 doubles and three triples to complement those dingers.
The lumbering Mincher even stole a base. His batting average: .251.

Boomers like me will remember Mincher as a guy who deserved to play more. The problem is that first base got a little crowded for the fledgling Minnesota Twins. We had Vic Power, a pioneering non-white athlete who was a maestro with the glove. I loved his flourishes with that six-finger glove around first base.

Killebrew played first along with third and the outfield - interesting versatility considering he was never considered a great fielder. Bob Allison also had first base credentials.

The early Twins were not known for great fielding. In this sense you might say Mincher fit right in. He wielded a power bat while bringing yawns with his play in the field.

Billy Martin worked on this. Martin joined the Twins in 1964 when he was still a dedicated craftsman of the game, not the character that marked his slow and rather sad demise. Like Hunter Thompson, the journalist, Martin carved out his professional reputation in the standard way, with hard work and dedication, getting one's proper amount of sleep and minimizing any bad habits.

If kids think those later celebrated bad habits had anything to do with achieving success, they are sadly mistaken.

Martin made Mincher a project at first base. He taught the brawny guy to carry himself like a middle infielder, to get in front of ground balls instead of "swiping" at them.

Mincher also learned to "whistle while he worked." Actually he sang, literally. Martin sensed some tenseness with "Minch" when working in the field. Some light singing was therapy, presumably not detectable amid the din of Met Stadium fans.

That stadium was where Mall of America is today. It's slowly fading in fans' memories. But what a magical focal point of Minnesota life it was, never more so than in 1965.

Mincher's career spanned 1960 to 1972. He was with the original Washington Senators when they came here. Griffith might have been a curmudgeonly throwback but he was a hero here for a long time. Mincher and Earl Battey, the iconic catcher, came to the Griffith organization along with $150,000 in cash. This was in exchange for a player named Roy Sievers.

There was no free agency then. Free agency might have allowed Mincher to free himself from the crowded first base situation with the Twins. As it was he hung in there and made big contributions when getting the opportunity.

He homered twice in a game three times in 1965. He excelled in July, connecting for nine of his season total 22 home runs that season.

Boomers had an emotional connection to the team throughout the '60s. There was just one pennant to be celebrated. But the team was respected throughout.

Mincher made an impression in 1964, homering 23 times in fewer than 300 at-bats. We wonder how Mincher could have done as a full-time player. But there was no doubt he was an essential ingredient.

In June of 1966, Mincher was part of a thrilling episode in Twins history, as he was one of five who homered in a single inning! It was the seventh inning of a game against the Kansas City Athletics (later to become the Oakland A's). Mincher rocketed the ball over the fence, Twins style, along with Killebrew (of course), Tony Oliva, Rich Rollins and Zoilo Versalles.

It's still a major league record. Three of those homers were off Catfish Hunter who was destined for greatness, just not on this day. For the record, the other two were off Paul Lindblad.

I remember Del Sarlette of Morris joking that Mincher once hit "40 home runs as a pinch-hitter."
Del was exaggerating, making the point that the early Twins teams were so power-laden, you might almost expect such a thing. He also summed up Mincher's tenure with the Twins, with memorable power contributions in limited playing time.

Eventually Mincher did leave the Twins' fold. He in fact became one of those "journeyman" players. Is that good or bad?

I remember John Madden talking about this type of player in football. He thought it was good. His comments were prompted by Gus Frerotte. Players who seem to "bounce around" actually have good attributes, he said, as they "take good care of their bodies and are good teammates."

Mincher took his power bat to the Angels, Seattle Pilots (in their only year of existence), the A's, the (new) Washington Senators, Rangers, and A's (again). Yes, his whole career was in the American League.

He really had a storied career. He finished with 200 home runs, right on the nose. He drove in 643 runs and twice made the American League all-star team, in '67 and '69. Had he been with the Twins in '69 he would have played under Billy Martin, who by that time was developing some of his eccentricities. Note the fight with pitcher Dave Boswell.

But Mincher was with the fascinating Seattle Pilots in 1969, an orphan team. He led them with 25 home runs. Today Seattle only cares about the Mariners. And Milwaukee only cares about the Brewers. (The Brewers are the former Pilots.)

More significantly, the Pilots gave the backdrop for the seminal baseball book by Jim Bouton: "Ball Four." It was a new kind of sports book, clearly showing that pro athletes were human beings with failings and peccadilloes. I'm not going to dust off my copy to refresh my memory, but I believe there's a story about Mincher "bumming" cigarettes off people and then not immediately lighting them up - cute.

Remember when you could "bum" cigarettes off people? Heck, remember when smoking was a norm in our society?

Mincher reportedly didn't like Ball Four. That was the typical attitude of players at the time.

Mincher's storied career ended with a dramatic hit in his very last swing of the bat in the big leagues. He was with the A's, a team known at that time for reclamation projects. The year was 1972. The A's were destined to win it all.

Along the way they needed Mincher to come through as pinch-hitter. The capable veteran came to bat, adorned in the Oakland green, in the ninth inning of game #4 of the World Series against the Reds. (It was the fall of my senior year in high school.)

It was his only at-bat of the series. He hit an RBI single that tied the score. It might have been the highlight of his career.

We Twins fans would beg to differ. We can close our eyes and think it's 1965 again, envisioning those Twins power hitters like Mincher giving us such priceless memories on the Bloomington prairie.

We can envision Mincher "getting ahold of one," perhaps prompting us to stand in loud acclamation.

Funeral services for Don Mincher are tomorrow (Wednesday, March 7). He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Patsy Ann Payne Mincher, along with three children, six grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.

Don Mincher, RIP.

Click on the permalink below to read the blog post by Phil Bolsta, where I got the card image that appears at the top of this post. It's a touching and reflective post that shows Don Mincher to have been a very considerate person. It's also a window into what it was like to be a young fan of the Twins in the 1960s.
http://bolstablog.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/my-heroes/

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