Like it or not, state demands UMM deliver

The pleasant "junco"

The charming little junco birds are hopping around in the back yard of the Williams family residence. We are semi-rural. Such a joyful sight with the sun now shining bright on this Tuesday morning. A Tuesday morning when Christmas gets quite near. And so we seek more such upbeat thoughts. 

Our UMN-Morris campus must be quiet. I assume there is still a very long semester break in which the atmosphere out there is frankly dead and discouraging. 

Certainly we need a lift in connection to UMM. It has been quite the year of news and embarrassment. An emergency change in campus leadership. The change could not be delayed until the end of the school year. This means the state has noticed the shortcomings and is keeping close watch. 

Do I sound negative? This is how many people in the community would portray me. They would either disparage me or say I'm not even worth thinking about. I may be a contrarian sometimes but I'm not contrary to facts and logic. I am just contrary to the party line and the little fiefdoms or cliques that throw their weight around. 

We face the stark reality now that the state really wants UMM to deliver better for the money it receives. The powers-that-be don't care if we kick up a fuss about what is going on. Do you think we really have political pull out here? The reality is quite the opposite. 

We can be smug in thinking we're justified in being so "red" politically. It is hard to have a constructive conversation with anyone about this. Lots of sanctimonious folks who think that Donald Trump is the be-all and end-all in their lives. And this is so rigidly enforced in most of our houses of worship. 

We all know, I think, how UMM has been hurt in the most recent epoch of its history. The big push for gay rights or "LGBTQ" was so glaring. Did UMM ever make an institutional statement on gay rights? I think maybe it was just a large faction of students, staff and faculty. The staff will just follow whatever way the wind is blowing. People associated with UMM got so strident and condescending. 

Condescending? Well I recall a UMM prof making public comments where he asked "how is gay marriage going to hurt you?" The question was a perfect setup for the prof and his brethren to make those on the other side look stupid. College professors are good at this. They look at you like they're convinced they know it all. And I know that gay rights will not "hurt" me in any sort of literal sense. So I guess I'd assert that misses the point. 

How do I feel about gay marriage? Right now I'm not so sure. I am voting Democratic at this stage of my life, not that I'm all-in with the party forever. I was willing to be generous with the gay rights cause for a time. If these people have been persecuted or kept "in the closet," it's not fair. But to what extent do we go to remediate? 

Over the recent past I have come to moderate my views, so that I think maybe gay people do not deserve totally equal standing with the straights. I still do not want them to suffer. But maybe they have to accept some limitations because it's the heterosexuals who procreate, who have children in the biological sense. Gays have an argument no matter what you present to them, so they'd say in this instance that gay couples can adopt children. 

They always have an answer. But it borders on arrogance and disrespect on their own part, just like their opponents once showed. 

 

Repercussions 

The whole LGBTQ thing has delivered a whammy to our UMN-Morris. We no longer have a Homecoming parade with a vehicle displaying the king and queen. Such an innocent and routine thing to do. Do it for the alumni - that's what Homecoming is for anyway. Why take a big dump on Homecoming? And if the reputation of UMM becomes besmirched by this - if enrollment actually drops because of the "gay devil worshipers" or "QDW" (for "queer devil worshipers") - then it's a matter for UMM administration to really roll up their sleeves to address and solve. Because in the end, it's all about the State of Minnesota being able to justify what it invests here. 

UMM already has a strike against it by allowing Native Americans to attend for free. Didn't the U.S. Supreme Court make a ruling against affirmative action? You can argue that Natives have been abused in the past. But today's young people had nothing to do with that. Heck, the rest of the population had no part in that either. But the "sociologists" in academia get so caught up on "human groups" and how they have had so much conflict. 

That whole element moved on to the gays. And what a blow this has dealt to UMM. All you had to do is be a person about town to realize this. And let me add with emphasis: All of this caused a reaction from "the other side" which on its own became unpleasant. Did I do enough writing about the "Northstar" publication on the UMM campus? It was a total turd that was deposited on campus decorum. It was an emotional reaction to all the progressive stuff. "Northstar" ended up no more palatable than the things they were complaining about. 

So, I began suggesting in my blog writing: Why don't we have some really firm new UMM leadership that says to students: "You are not here to push political causes, you are here to take your studies seriously in preparation for the rest of your life." 

And students should absolutely respect their professors. My generation went to college at a time when we all knew profs leaned liberal and this would seep into their classes. My advice is: If you don't like this, just roll with the punches. You reserve the right to have your own opinions at any time. You can deny climate change even if all the science seems to affirm it. Sorry, college is a place for science to be really respected. 

 

In driver's seat yet? 

Is the new UMM chancellor in a position to start making decisions in this mid-December? I suppose those people don't work much now because of the holidays. But I think time is short for getting things turned around at UMM. 

We don't have political clout out here. The U of M has a presence in Rochester, thanks to Tim Pawlenty, and believe me, Rochester is on the cusp of a boom of economic development. It's due to the Mayo Clinic expansion among other things. 

Here in Morris we can still hear coyotes howling outside of town at night. This isn't to say that our UMM cannot be stabilized or even rejuvenated. Surely we'll need new and assertive leadership. I think we're answering directly to the legislature now.

Might we call this guy the "new sheriff in town?" He's Mike Rodriguez, new UMN-Morris chancellor as of next month. A man replaces a woman who was nudged out? This won't sit well with the town's feminists. I wonder if the new guy has come across any of my blog writing. Perhaps not. But I know I have some readers. I met new Chancellor Mike Rodriguez at TMC and got a chance to "pitch" to him how I didn't really care for the campus and "community" blending for music. I am assuming he will take a close look at all UMM programs. I could have told him further that our athletic facilities are way too nice to be the home site for a UMAC program. Has he been to a game yet? I have attended several volleyball and basketball games. I remember when UMM was in the Northern Sun Conference and how much more classy that conference was. Is there any going back? Maybe a good starting point would be to establish a nice little homecoming coronation and parade again. Queen should be a biological female.

 

Addendum:

My question to the sociologists: How has awareness of our differences ever helped us get along better?  I recommend the "melting pot" approach with society but academics find that boring.

 

Addendum #2: An email I sent to a friend this morning:

 

Del - There was a sign at DeToy's this morning saying they'll be closed on BOTH Dec. 24 and 25. This is a first. I'm always aware of the place being open on Xmas Eve because that's when I hand Karrie her special Xmas tip. I told Karrie I was disappointed. She seemed to agree and she said "everyone is so happy on that day." But the trend continues: restaurants are more stressed all the time as their costs go up and they don't dare pass too much of that on to customers. I can remember when DeToy's was open on Memorial Day. They used to be open in evening. They used to have a Sunday chicken buffet. 

I am so isolated now that it's nice to go someplace like DeToy's on the morning of Xmas Eve Day. I suppose I can go to Caribou like I did on Thanksgiving morning. If Kelvin is there, I have someone to talk to. And you never know how reliable Caribou is going to be.

 

I have company with the junco birds. 

  

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

With some help, I get questions answered

Let me proclaim that I never lost faith in J.J. McCarthy. Dan Sayles greeted me with a smile and "Skol!" this morning at our favored restaurant in Morris. 

 

My topic for online writing the last few days has been "running up the score." Can we still expect a fuss to be kicked up after games in which this alleged infraction is committed? Because, I can sure remember a time when this was the case. The complaints would get pretty hard-edged. I'd wonder if an aggrieved person (like maybe our own activities director) might want to punch the winning coach in the nose if given a chance. 

The complainer would make an ethical issue out of it. And secondly, the intensity of the complainer would grow out of the sheer embarrassment of being associated with the losing side. I'm still writing about it today because I have felt troubled by those episodes. Wouldn't any reasonable person at least have conflicted feelings? 

I mean, to expect a coach to tell his team to let up in some way, to have all the air taken out of the tires? For what end? To protect the feelings and the image of the opposing team? As if a mere score would cause people to make judgments? 

I worked with a Hancock basketball coach over many years who really felt he should "let the ponies run." His teams generated great excitement. They made state in the two-class system which was almost herculean. Don't expect the coach to end up in any sort of Hall of Fame. He crashed and burned. His wrongdoing landed him in prison in fact. If you can blot that out -  admittedly hard to do - my what a tremendous chapter in Stevens County sports history! 

And I have never wanted that chapter to be obscured or forgotten. His teams could bring nigh a packed house at the UMM P.E. Center for the tournament. The "Owl" mascot would dash onto the court and lead a cheer. The son of Principal Roger Clarke played an electric guitar "riff" at the same time. These memories will stay fresh in my mind. 

The Hancock team attracted a far greater fan turnout at UMM than what UMM's own teams attract today. And it's a night-and-day difference. 

Was the Hancock coach guilty of "running up the score" sometimes? The suspicion floated around. 

Fans here in Morris were inclined to not want to fawn much over what Hancock was doing, the obvious reason being that Hancock was doing rings - rings, I tell you - around our own programs. The sheer jealousy might be intense. 

But the Morris fans, led by an intransigent (translation: pain in the a--) bloc of teachers would never admit to any jealousy. Instead they'd thump their chests with how the priority in Morris was "academics" and so a pox on the sports stuff. Was I irritated? Well, rhetorical question. 

I made trips to the big-time Twin Cities sports venues to follow the Owls. I was in the newspaper media of course. It was the pre-digital times when the public was more reliant on newspapers. A newspaper writer could feel he had a sense of power back then. It was real. And in my case, my formative years were exactly when the whole Watergate thing was unfolding and newspaper writers were the heroes! Isn't that amazing? It happened in Washington D.C. where I presume you'd find the most expensive lawyers! And it was newspaper writers leading America out of its crisis. 

And to be a newspaper writer, you did not need to have any special credentials or degrees! 

The Morris teachers, or let's say a significant "problem" bloc, must have about lost their minds to realize that the chief sportswriter for the Morris paper was not "in with them." They had such a guild mentality. They had enough power as it was. It was healthy for a contrarian to be at the newspaper typewriter. 

And so what I did to be contrary was to indicate real enthusiasm for what the Hancock programs were doing. Girls basketball and wrestling led the way but overall there was a spark throughout. Treasured memories. No one can take those memories away from me. 

 

Focusing on the present

Update: In the past few years I have noticed an increased number of one-sided scores. Just when I thought I'd seen it all, along would come a new one, even "worse." And so I'd wonder if the losing athletic director or coach would want to punch people in the nose for this. 

Take a look at the girls basketball score from BOLD vs. Montevideo on Friday. A tempest of anger and finger-pointing perhaps? I don't know but I doubt it. I sense that the times and attitudes have changed. Just a sense I have. 

And so bless my old newspaper colleague Randy Olson of Bonanza Valley for noticing my writing and sharing his considerable wisdom. Here's what he wrote to me in just the last few hours:

 

Hello Brian, going to take a brief break from typing up basketball stats. It can make one go cross eyed, as you know quite well!

I'll speak briefly to the BOLD-Monte game. I definitely wouldn't accuse BOLD of running up the score. Here's my insight: a team like BOLD (which I saw in person on Thursday in Belgrade) did not have the deepest bench. I think a total of 12 girls dressed for the varsity game. I would imagine that the bottom 5 for BOLD were about equals with the starting 5 for Montevideo. Once the starters established that huge lead, I bet the reserves kept up the same pace. It would be difficult to say to those bottom 5 players for BOLD, "Hey, play conservative ball now since we have such a huge lead."

With the shot clock (which I can argue for and against) a team doesn't have the option to fully take the air out of the ball. They can withdraw a full court press. But every 35 seconds you have to take a shot.

I won't be surprised to see more lopsided scores. Also, I think reserves on your better teams (BBE, NLS, Minnewaska, Sauk Centre) are a notch better than reserves on teams 15 or 20 years ago. That's my two cents. A coach can "sub down" and not lose all that much.

 

Whither UMM Cougars?

Randy has been very attuned to our UMN-Morris. In a different email he pointed out some cause for concern with the competitive caliber of UMM teams these days - a dearth of competitiveness certainly. Or, at least some major questions being raised. He and I think along the same lines and we never kow-tow to a "party line." Randy shared the following:

 

Hello Brian, I'm sure this has crossed your mind at this point, but I had to write it out and have it in black and white in front of me.

UMM's winter basketball teams are 8-14 overall before Christmas; 6 of the 8 wins between the men and women are against Trinity Bible (4) and then the illustrious Oak Hills of Bemidji. Honestly, who has even heard of Oak Hills? I have never heard of them until recent years when UMM started playing them.

 

Randy Olson

Music mixes in!

Randy works in Bonanza Valley where the pep band director is Brystin LaMont, UMM graduate and former director of the Hancock band and pep band. Outstanding person. I shared compliments on her Hancock pep band when I heard it perform for a football playoff game at Big Cat Stadium. And in particular I liked how Brystin played electric bass herself to really give a "bottom" to the sound. 

Alas, I found out later that poor Brystin was reprimanded by her high school principal for doing that. An allegation of being "unprofessional," the way it was told to me. Well the Hancock principal could go and sit under a cow as far as I was concerned. I remember when I wrote about this young man when he was a Hancock student-athlete playing for Dave Schoeck. 

I remember when coach Dave stuck his neck out to express sympathy for the Hancock girls basketball coach when the latter was in the throes of his legal imbroglio. I don't think any teacher would dare write a letter like that now. Here's a little secret: Through that whole process I was totally convinced that the accused coach was guilty. Sometimes I just knew too much for my own good. You might say I was the proverbial guy who "knew where all the bodies were buried." 

I'd actually enjoy seeing that old Hancock girls coach again. God created all of us sinful. There but for the grace of God go I? Well maybe. Dennis would always say to me, "you old sidewinder." I don't think he liked me but I was in awe of his program. 

The Morris program had a coach for three years who was supposed to accomplish great things here. No such luck. The exact opposite happened. Morris was "snakebit." Later on we had a coach named Steve Harter who if anything was worse. 

The Hancock fans were left with memories of their team playing at Williams Arena and the Met Sports Center. Golden memories. And yes, in the two-class system. Phenomenal. 

I'll quote Randy Olson here on the topic of Brystin LaMont and her BBE pep band. Thanks Randy.

 

Due to a lack of brass in her pep bands, Brystin generally has played trumpet or tuba when playing for her own pep bands. We're not nuts enough to tell her she can't play during her own pep band performances. Gosh!  She once told me the story of how that all went down at Hancock. I'll share that with you sometime. 

 

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

Is "running up the score" still a thing?

From the Friday night prep sports news: In girls basketball, BOLD 114, Montevideo 21.

 

There must be an understanding among high school coaches these days, that they do not make allegations of "running up the score." In my very long background of following these things, I know there was a time when we'd hear rumblings. And I could almost shudder at the intensity of these complaints sometimes, as if the allegedly offending coach was doing something utterly immoral. 

I think any reasonable person would feel uncomfortable about this, because you'd have to ask yourself the question: what is really wrong with a team of student-athletes going all out with their effort? 

I remember a coach at Hancock who could receive brickbats. Well, he ended up in trouble but that was on a different front. In terms of alleged "running up the score," he'd sniff and say "we play a certain style of basketball and that's just what we do." 

There is reason behind that. 

I remember a former Morris activities director who'd stand in the hallway and mutter sometimes about the "running up the score" thing. We did have a problem for years with girls teams lacking competitiveness in the high-profile sports. 

I would observe, make some judgments and then maybe share with other people around town. A large faction of the teachers were in total "circling the wagons" mode for defending a particular coach or two, and they could not care less if we had girls teams that were obviously faltering. 

Maybe you think I'm exaggerating. Well I certainly am not. 

It took years until we got an administration that got its ducks in a row. 

 

Eyes on the prize 

These activities are supposed to be fun. That's the only reason they exist. They are fun to the extent that kids are allowed to build their competitiveness to an optimal level. That's the prize as in "eyes on the prize." 

The score of a game is just a couple of numbers. Get over it. Compliment the winning team on its commitment. 

We actually had Morris teachers once who asserted we had a lack of talent. And then they'd frown and vent fury at certain opponents who allegedly "ran up the score." 

Tim Brewster

Oh, this can happen at the major college level too. I wanted to support the Gophers' football coach Tim Brewster for a long time. But I got turned off suddenly when he "got in the face" of an opposing coach - Wisconsin I believe - who he felt "ran up the score." Is it fair to call it a petty issue? 

I wonder what the schools teach our coaches-to-be about this. Is "running up the score" what it appears to be? Is it simply a case of the winning coach being a jerk? There was a time in our Morris school history when the preferred reaction was to castigate the winning coach. As if the issue was so simple and one-dimensional. 

I remember how for many years, the Wheaton girls could run roughshod over Morris. As a side note, Wheaton also had the premier county fair out here for a long time. And then I'd ask: "why?" I won no popularity contests. 

Morris had a leadership element in those days with a lot of people who had comfortable government jobs. They had so many guarantees in their lives. They developed an instinct of not wanting to see anyone in education - coaches included - feel pressure to perform. They'd cry foul. 

As long as those coaches behaved like devoted little members of the comfortable fraternity, their backs would be covered. 

 

The fair surges 

The Stevens County Fair started catching up to Wheaton when we started "following the leader" with bringing in big name musical attractions. But it did take time. The real turning point for our fair becoming "big" was the construction of the Lee Center! It spread out the fairgrounds for one thing. I remember when "commercial exhibits" were in a rickety wooden building. 

I would suggest the low point for our county fair was in the late 1970s. We have truly come far. 

The high school athletic program had to get over hurdles also. Let's say especially the girls. There was no reason for Wheaton to look like it belonged in a completely different league from Morris. 

Hancock was a story unto itself. It obviously out-performed Morris but with a level of intensity that I felt was troubling. I went to high school with one of their assistant coaches in football (W.W.) and he said "they want to win so bad it hurts." 

The Hancock girls basketball coach ended up in a heap of trouble. How big a heap? Well, prison time. A whole chapter of Stevens County sports history should be written about that guy, who incidentally was a product of UMM. He was a Vietnam war veteran also. Some people wanted to cut him slack because of that - the "Rambo defense" I guess. It didn't work. We were dealing with the mistreatment of female student-athletes. 

But what a chapter of Stevens County sports history: post-season games at UMM with fans practically up to the rafters! Yes, bleachers pulled out on both sides of the P.E. Center. A pep band member on electric guitar getting fans fired up as the "Owl" mascot dashed out to lead a cheer! And in all those years, while people talked seriously about Wheaton and Hancock as contenders for great things, Morris was invisible! 

On the one hand I'd feel happy and enthused about Hancock too. And frankly Wheaton too. Why not? I remember a Wheaton player who came to UMM and played hoops. And then I'd look at Morris High School and frankly wonder if we should strive for better. 

And let me assure you: the most outspoken and assertive bloc of our teachers would put a target on your forehead of you talked like that. For some reason they felt threatened. I suppose they felt that if a coach experienced a non-renewal (firing), then this would start happening to others in "the fraternity." And so they guarded their comfortable little status quo - fiefdom - like you wouldn't believe. 

I was there - I assure you it was true. 

Teachers are unionized - they have protections. The turning point had to happen sometime. But things didn't change overnight. The activities director who muttered about opponents "running up the score" moseyed on away from here. This individual tried and failed to stop the growth of hockey. What if he and his allies had prevented the construction of the Lee Center? 

Doubt that? You could talk to Ron Sharstrom. He said "we've been told to watch our backs." 

Was hockey going to be a threat to basketball? It appeared the regressive element only cared about boys basketball. Old biases were still evident. Maybe the biggest irony is that Mary Holmberg was not more assertive.

 

The spark 

What got me going on this topic this morning? Well, I see that the BOLD girls basketball team defeated Montevideo 114-21 on Friday! I'm sitting here wondering if some people still make an issue of this type of thing. Maybe they don't. That would be progress. Just let the players show their skills. The losing team has incentive to work harder.

I write specifically on the BOLD vs. Montevideo game on my companion blog "Morris of Course." Here is the link and thanks:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2025/12/bold-gaining-notice-in-girls-basketball.html 

 

Addendum: The Hancock kid with the electric guitar at tournament games was the son of Principal Roger Clarke. Nostalgia.

   

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

Boys win nail-biter at Montevideo

Christmas is the season for miracles, right? So on this Friday morning with such Godawful weather, I see a miracle worker has been at work. This I realize as I check for information on last night's MACA boys basketball game. We see that the West Central Tribune website has full details on the Tigers. This is amazing. 

We normally see "stats not available" for MACA in the West Central Trib online reporting. We often play schools that are within the paper's coverage territory. Very often in fact. So we are frustrated seeing "stats not available" so regularly. Well, I am frustrated anyway. Morris is an awfully sleepy community so maybe my observations are not shared by many others. 

And whenever I try waking people up, I often get insulted, even in purely personal terms. And the language can be raw, even coming from people in upper-tier professions. 

How did the WC Trib come upon this info from the Thursday game? We can't rule out that the Montevideo coach provided it. If that's the story, a big thank you to the Monte coach. Occasionally we'll see on the WC Trib's site a list of the scoring totals for MACA but no other categories. This is rare but it does happen. The most recent time that I can recall seemed like a blessing until I added up the individual totals and came up four points shy of the team total. So something got left out, probably an individual player who scored four points. And that's a glitch. 

It's good as a matter of course when proofreading to add up the individual totals. And do it before your coach source gets off the phone. Give them a chance to correct things. I'll quote my old Detroit Lakes friend Monte here: "Brian, there's a right way and a wrong way to do things." (Yes, that's his name, Monte.)

The WC Trib is owned by Forum Communications which had a shot at owning the Morris paper. It failed here. They didn't do enough things right. A very well-placed source told me that the Forum was going to close the Morris paper. Our paper of course got rescued. It's only once a week now. It was twice all the years I worked there. 

 

Tigers 68, Montevideo 66

Our MACA boys basketball Tigers prevailed in the Thursday action at Montevideo. This isn't a good time to be taking a lengthy trip. Look at the weather outside. I would shake my head about any fans making the trip to Montevideo. The ones who did saw a nail-biter of a game. We won 68-66. 

Monte's Griffin Epema got the score deadlocked 65-all with a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left. The Tigers misfired on a 3-point attempt. But Jack Kehoe snared the rebound. He passed to Alex Asmus. Alex nailed his 3-point shot and so now the scoreboard shows 68-65 with just over six seconds left. 

Epema then made a freethrow for the Thunder Hawks. He deliberately missed his second attempt. This set up Brody Dick for his last-gasp shot try. It missed! So it's all over with MACA savoring this win by two points. Thus the ride home in such unpleasant weather was made less arduous. The win was our third. How significant was it? Monte came into the night with the No. 2 ranking in Minnesota Class AA! 

Did the MACA coach supply his team's stats to the West Central Trib which does not normally solicit info on MACA? If this is what happened, it means at least that the WC Trib people do not hang up the phone on the MACA coaches. Again, if it was the Monte coach supplying all the info, we just have to say a big "thanks." 

Do Morris people ever try to put pressure on the WC Trib about the paper's stance relative to MACA? What do they say? 

There was a time when Brett Miller was at the Morris radio station and he did a good job reporting about MACA on the station's website. That ended a long time ago. 

 

Alex Asmus, top scorer

Six players scored for the Tigers led by Alex Asmus with 22 points. Tyson Grove put in 14 and Benjamin Tiernan 12. Then we see Riley Asmus with 11, Jack Kehoe with 7 and Jonah Huebner with two. Does this add up to 68 points? It does! It does! Sometimes things do go right. 

Alex Asmus made three 3-pointers while Tiernan and Grove each made two. Kehoe with his seven rebounds led there. In assists it was Alex leading with three. Grove had a steal and Riley Asmus had a blocked shot. 

The "Thunder Hawks"

Brody Dick led Monte's scoring with 22 points. He made three 3-pointers. But it was Jackson Koenen leading in 3's with a total of four. Koenen scored 16 points. Adam Van Binsbergen made two 3-pointers for the T-Hawks. 

There's more than one Koenen with Monte. So we see Caleb Koenen leading in rebounds with six. Epema was tops in assists with eight. Van Binsbergen and Jackson Koenen each had two steals. Dack and Epema each blocked a shot.

 

At D-B Saturday (weather permitting)

The Tigers will take their 3-0 record to Dawson-Boyd on Saturday, provided weather is deemed cooperative. Well it will certainly be cold. Next Tuesday will find the Tigers hosting Melrose. Things don't slow down a whole lot for the holidays. 

Speaking of the holidays, just a couple hours ago I had the pleasure of receiving a poinsettia display from the U of M Foundation. I have probably written more about UMN-Morris lately than the powers-that-be would like. I'm not talking basketball, I'm talking overall institutional issues. It's a trying time. Don't blame me for that. "Mongo just pawn in game of life."

 

Carvin Fish

UMM hoops 

I have had the pleasure of attending several UMM basketball games of late, men's and women's. Will we ever see the bleachers pulled out on both sides of the gym again? Or are we stuck playing so many "weird" schools. It's nice to see the Cougars win as the men did on Dec. 8 over. . .Trinity Bible College. We won 96-64. Four scorers stood out, led by Carvin Fish with 29 points. Kaden Pieper scored 23, Matt Thompson 15 and Thomas Tiernan 13.

The team is done until after the holidays. On Tuesday I sent an email to my fellow UMM advocate Warrenn Anderson about various things pertaining to UMM and a litltle outside that sphere. Moi? I share it here:

 

Hello Warrenn - I'm dealing with the blahs of the winter weather by going to an occasional UMM basketball game. So I went last night, walked to campus in fact. It was a win but oh no, we were playing "Trinity Bible." Imagine Perry Ford accepting this situation. The P.E.Center has a pretty empty feel to it. Looks like bleachers on one side will be pulled in forever. People accept this as status quo now. You and I remember when the place could really be hopping for basketball. 

One positive thing I can say: there is an announcement just prior to game about expected fan behavior and how people could get kicked out if they violate. Boy we sure could have used this in past times. I'd look at Charlie and wonder "Charlie, why don't you do something?" But he had his instructions I'm sure. And I always noticed how Imholte LIKED how the UMM crowd showed "swagger" in connection to UMM's "superiority." Well, maybe we're paying a price for all that now.

I remember Imholte submitting a letter to the U newspaper once during football when he finally had to plead with the students. I remember he wrote "keep in mind that (the visitor) is our guests." UMM should have simply had some policies. But no.

On the way home last night I grabbed a copy of the U student newspaper. So there was an interview with Rodriguez. It surprised me. I thought he was going to be so totally diplomatic with everybody. But he was quoted saying that Sviggum was unrepentant in his visit here. That set up some more conflict IMHO. Even if what Rodriguez said was true, I think he could have let sleeping dogs lie.

Hey, the Gophers are playing on day after Christmas in bowl game vs. New Mexico! Season will have to be considered a success. Another season where we figure "if we could only have gotten one more win, we'd be in a higher-tier game."

Man, some big-time programs are now saying "no" to a bowl game!!! Incredible. I remember when the Gophers under Cal Stoll qualified for the first bowl game in many years. We were so excited. I refreshed my memory and this was in 1977 and it was the Hall of Fame Classic. I think the Gophers were held back for many years by the "academic" people of the U, and finally the people in charge realized we couldn't let this happen any more. Academics and sports are separate and I don't care if the athletes take "basket-weaving classes," to cite the old cliche. My father agreed with me. The Gangelhoff thing was ridiculous. All those years when we suffered while Nebraska was a kingpin! Today Nebraska has fallen way down to mere mortal level. I guess they weren't winning because of the uniforms! We should have known better. Minnesota is more prosperous than Nebraska! Poor Joe Salem.

I called up some old video of Mike Hohensee and now I can see why he was never an NFL prospect: he had a "wind-up" to throw a little like a baseball pitcher. Not that some QBs haven't made it with this trait, like Byron Leftwich.

A pizza slice at the P.E. Center concession stand costs $4, Back in the Perry Ford years I'd have my "evening meal" of two slices at the P.E. Center for TOTAL cost of $3.

One of the blog posts I wrote about the UMM chancellor changeover really got traction - "viral." I probably said some things that did not please certain people.

- BW

Poinsettias for the season!

 

Cougars brighten dismal winter night

The image shows Gianna Klarenbeek of the Cougars who made two 3-pointers in the Monday night win at Cougar Sports Center. Gianna comes to UMM from Iowa, the state that has really lifted up girls and women's basketball!

  

Taking in UMN-Morris basketball is a nice way to spend time in this awful weather December of 2025. I take a look out the window in the morning and I think "Siberia." Not just cold but dreary. There's a haze. It's all supposed to be overcome by the Christmas holiday season, right? I'm not sure I sense as much of that as usual. I try to take the proper steps including putting out Christmas lights at my place on Northridge Drive. 

Is the mood held down by stuff that is going on with Donald Trump? He is addicted to attention and so he calculates what to do and say each day so he will dominate the news. The president of the U.S. does not have to be so dominant. We in theory have co-equal branches of government. Our congressperson out here in coyote country acts like she supports Trump each and every day. 

Last night (Monday) I was not about to be distracted by the disturbing stuff in the news. I made the excellent choice of attending a UMM basketball game. The women's team played at 5:30. I was present throughout. Then at the end we saw the men's team warming up and so it looked like a doubleheader. I did not stick around but I congratulate the fans who did. 

Quite the way to get your mind off the macro news and the frightful weather outside. 

 

Intrepid?

Here I'll brag that I walked to campus and back home again! I'm amazed at how 50-degtee weather in late fall feels uncomfortable and discourages me from walking. I think once the frigid stuff really sets in, we develop a mindset to deal with it. Plus I have the ideal outerwear. 

I enjoyed watching the women's basketball game. However I cannot be impressed by a win over this outfit called "Trinity Bible College." Such is the way of UMM sports now: playing obscure and almost cult-like schools that don't necessarily present challenging competition. 

Cult-like? I don't think that's an exaggeration or a "rip." Nice kids maybe but I'm looking at what their institutions stand for. I wrote about the recent men's win over "Martin Luther." 

You might think Martin Luther merely presents a bunch of nice Lutheran kids. The kids may be nice but the institution is sketchy. Can I elaborate? Well yes and I already did so in a whole post on my companion blog of "Morris of Course." "Martin Luther" is not so innocent as you might think. Here is the link to what I wrote:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2025/11/cougars-defeat-martin-luther-of.html 

 

The UMM women won Monday night by a score of 80-48. It was the last home game of this calendar year. Alas we have a losing record of 3-8. The game had an unusual start. In fact I've never seen this before and I've been to countless games. There was a technical freethrow shot awarded to Trinity Bible before the action even started. 

My, what was the story? Well at halftime as I walked along the concourse, someone elucidated. If I understood correctly it had something to do with a scoreboard malfunction. Maybe a shot clock gone errant? This was good news because it meant that the technical was not because of a UMM player saying something inappropriate! 

Last night was the first time in ages that I watched an entire UMM hoops game. So I was seated for a preliminary announcement that made clear fans have to behave properly. I wonder how long it has been policy for this statement to be shared. I was tremendously cheered to hear it. Because, I remember in UMM's long-ago past there was some quite inappropriate behavior and language coming from the UMM student-fans. 

To be blunt, UMM fans often showed arrogance in those days. UMM athletics had a "swagger" that did not sit well with me, although I hesitated to say much. Some of this "swagger" appeared to come from the students' perception of themselves as intellectually superior. Well we were UMM. We were the great liberal arts bastion, the "jewel in the crown." 

We can toss the crown aside now as we hope and pray that the sudden appointment of a new chancellor can help save the place. We're on our heels. Maybe it's good to be humbled. Again let me congratulate UMM on having the pre-game announcement on standards for fan conduct. We can't be too arrogant anyway when we play the likes of Trinity Bible College. 

 

Leading the Cougars 

Our top scorer was Maddy Grove with 21 points. Shelby Mortenson was next with 14, and Anna Myers scored 11. Brooke Ver Steeg scored nine while Gianna Klarenbeek and Reece Wassink each had eight. Klarenbeek made two of four on 3-pointers. Congrats to the Cougars who showed winning form. 

I purchased my normal Snickers bar for $2 at the concessions counter. Then I examined their whole menu. Pizza slice for $4. I remember all the years I regularly showed up at the P.E. Center and had my "evening meal" - no kidding - of two pizza slices for three dollars total. But I'm not shocked at present because inflation is such a given. Tariffs and trade wars. 

And now farmers are having a bunch of money dropped on their laps by the Feds. In the media we hear this described as "a boost for the farmers." Well of course it is. Wouldn't you appreciate getting a bunch of government money handed to you too? And so now I suppose the farmers will vote Republican again. They'll probably vote for Trump again or maybe Don Jr. The father might find a way to get on the ballot. You know how he gets his way with help from the Supreme Court. 

 

All the news 

On my way home last night I stopped by Oyate to pick up the University Register newspaper. An interview with the new chancellor! I got home and scanned through most of it. I was prepared to be bored by a lot of safe and comfortable statements. However, this Mr. Rodriguez did appear to stick his neck out. I was surprised. 

Instead of tamping down the conflict with state legislative big shot Steve Sviggum, Rodriguez spoke in a way that continued the discomfort. He recalled Sviggum's visit to our campus in the wake of Sviggum's controversial comments. Rodriguez described the visit in a way that suggested that the GOP luminary was not trying to be conciliatory. 

Rodriguez's description may have been accurate - may have - but I'm surprised he'd put it out through the media. 

I would have expected Sviggum to be in a fence-mending mood when he came here. Well I guess not. 

 

More on sports

Lately I have put forth the opinion in my online writing that UMM ought to do whatever it takes to get our Cougars in the Northern Sun Conference again. So much time has passed since we departed. I have a long memory of when UMM was in with the likes of Moorhead State. I expanded more on my thoughts in an email to friend Dan Sayles yesterday. Here's what I sent to good ol' Dan:

 

Hello again Dan - I have been trying to point out how UMM would benefit if we could somehow get our athletic teams in the Northern Sun Conference again. We were once quite at home in that conference, we even had outstanding teams at that level. I know, I know, people point out "it can't be done" because of scholarships/money and all that jazz. But I guess money dictates everything now. So what befuddles me is that it's a money issue even though UMM is part of the wealthy and powerful U of M. In fact, I was told for a long time that the MIAC would never accept us because those schools were afraid of us - they were afraid of the resources we'd have due to being with the U of M. Where are those resources now? 

I have attended about three UMM basketball games lately. The bleachers are now pulled out on only one side of the gym. This looks permanent. There are decorations on the other side. You and I remember when it was routine to have both sides pulled out. And back in those days we played the state universities. We have lost considerable prestige now and this hurts the visibility of the whole institution, and heaven knows UMM has overall problems now - look at the emergency change at the chancellor position. The change became necessary after the big Star Tribune article that embarrassed us. It embarrassed UMM and by extension the people at the central administration too. So now heads will roll and people will have their positions cut. I have faith in the new guy because he is totally beholden to President Cunningham and she sees UMM as a 5-alarm fire.

I listen to WDAY radio a lot and they have discussion shows where they get into the fine details of the small college athletic teams. This includes Northern Sun but I don't notice talk about UMAC. Aren't people a little embarrassed about UMAC? I am. Some of these schools seem "wacko." The UMM men recently defeated Martin Luther. So you might say "what's the big deal about beating a bunch of Lutherans?" Well, that school represents a fringe synod of the Lutheran church and that's the Wisconsin Synod. That synod believes the Pope is the antichrist. That's what we're dealing with now.

Trinity Bible College? WTF.

Oak Hills Christian may not be in the UMAC but we play them every year. Oak Hills Christian has the reputation of being the most anti-gay college in the whole U.S. And they come here to play UMM? UMM is famous for pushing gay activism and this has hurt our enrollment. There was a time when the UMM faculty would have risen up to protest Oak Hills Christian even coming here. That won't happen now because the faculty has to be thankful for every day that UMM even survives!

Look at our Big Cat Field and the Cougar Sports Center: such fantastic facilities but these are for the UMAC level? It is simply not right. Let's get the Moorhead State "Dragons" coming here to play again.

MACA girls had a great week last week. The big test will come when we play Minnewaska. I hope we can stay within 50 points! 'Waska  cannot pass a school referendum!

The MACA boys obviously doing well.

Say, there are coyotes out and around. I saw some to the north of my place about a week ago, at 7:30 in the morning.

- Brian W.

 

Girls nudge forward to 2-1 record

The home teams are winning in basketball. Deck the halls! We see the MACA girls basketball Tigers on top of Melrose in a game that must surely have been thrilling. The winning margin was just two points, 58-56. The Tigers made the trip up I-94 for this game in Melrose. 

Earlier in the week, the Tigers prevailed over Litchfield by a healthy margin, 72-50.. That too was a road game. The Tigers stand at 2-1 with the lone loss coming against New London-Spicer. 

Well, almost anyone could lose to New London-Spicer. Hasn't this been the norm for years and years? The key for understanding that? A well-known Morris community leader told me at church coffee one morning, "They have a good coach." The comment was kind of a faux pas by Morris community standards, because we've been encouraged to think that we don't judge coaches by wins and losses. 

Maybe my grasp of this is dated. I can't help but be reminded of old community politics. It was once a very serious matter in our community, I assure you. I have lived through boycotts of businesses. All in the name of high school sports? And the irony is that the people pushing the boycotts - specifically a problem faction of the Morris teachers - actually felt that wins and losses should not be weighed highly. Or at least they claimed to think that. I should add that several of the "bad apples" - they came in pairs as married couples - have left Morris and re-settled elsewhere for retirement. Meanwhile yours truly has been quite happy to stay in Morris. 

Believe me, I was once in the crosshairs of a fair number of people. Over high school sports? Well I guess so. Morris was seriously underperforming in sports in the early in mid-1980s and I could see exactly what the problem was. But you were treading rough water if you dared say anything about it. Let me just add that I came to hate public school teacher unions more than anything in the whole world.

 

It's 2025

We all roll forward in life. Live and learn. And doesn't it seem as though there are disproportionate deaths among people we know and love this time of year? Yesterday I wrote a post for my companion blog "Morris of Course" memorializing Pat Tanner and Arden Granger. Previous to these two we lost Lucy Imholte. Absolutely iconic names from UMM's past. So I wrote the post and perhaps I went afield with my thoughts a little. I am now over age 70 and I recently tweaked my medications a little, so maybe my focus isn't ideal right now. I apologize for that. 

People long familiar with my writing will know that I occasionally go afield. Regardless of this, I think anyone who knew Pat or Arden will enjoy looking at the post. I include their pictures! 

I knew Pat and her family better so I had more to share on her. Here is the link and I do thank you. It goes without saying "Merry Christmas."

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2025/12/reminders-of-umms-heady-early-days.html 

 

Dean Monson

Another shock

More holidaytime bad news: I got word Friday night of the passing of Dean Monson. I wasn't prepared for this. God determines when our time will come. I heard Jesse Ventura speak on this once: "There is nothing we can do" to change God's arrangements in this regard. 

Dean was known to be quite committed in his political thoughts! I sometimes got concerned that his loud talk about this might alienate customers at DeToy's Restaurant. What political party was he? If you don't know, then you didn't know Dean at all. 

I talked to him very recently when I passed on news about the coyote advisory coming out of Breckenridge. Lots of coyotes around and they aren't bashful. Dangerous? We cannot be 100 percent sure that they are not. If a prime food source becomes scarce, who knows what such animals might do? 

I never got around to telling Dean that I did vote Republican in an earlier phase of my life. Right now I am hugely concerned about what Republicans may be doing to America. I'm hugely concerned about Donald Trump's personal nature and character. And yet our "Christian churches" fight for him. I will try to mark Christmas appropriately anyway. If there is no hope with Christianity, then there is no hope. 

I just wouldn't want to go to a church and be surrounded by Trump supporters. I'd have to walk out. 

Dean Monson RIP. Pat Tanner RIP. Arden Granger RIP. Lucy Imholte RIP.

 

So the girls won

Obviously I'd love to be writing with some details this Saturday morning about the MACA girls win. Or, about the boys' win over Osakis last night, 65-55. As of 9 a.m. Saturday I can't find any game details. I think this is very unfortunate. 

Why can't the newspaper collect some details and get them on their website? Is it such a heavy lift? The paper pulls out all stops to try to get us to "buy" their weekly print product, the old "dead tree" product. All I can do is observe, I guess. 

I am embarrassed to look at the Stevens County Times website. 

My next-door neighbor is a key player on the MACA girls team, Addie Cihak. She might wait on me tomorrow at DeToy's. We no longer have Brett Miller at the radio station. I have never met him. I have been crushed in trying to get timely information about MACA teams.

Lucy Imholte RIP

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

Alex Asmus makes five 3's, Tiernan four

Basketball is fully underway for this suddenly bitter winter season. Late fall was marked by unseasonably pleasant temps. Minnesotans know you can knock on wood about that. There are always quirks in the Minnesota weather. Surprises come in any number of ways. The distinguishing feature of late was the very rapid transition from fall to winter. Heavens! 

But the "lifers" here are easily adaptable to full-fledged winter. This is what we most certainly have now. And we have basketball to help get us through it all. We juggle that interest with football. I'll be rooting for the SDSU Jackrabbits in football this coming Saturday. They're in the playoffs and they'll be taking on the Montana Grizzlies in big sky country of Montana. Jackrabbits against Grizzlies? Sounds like a mismatch. Just kidding. 

Love those "Jacks"

I confess that when I first heard the "Jackrabbits" nickname on my car radio a long time ago, I wanted to chuckle. Not a real intimidating symbol. Except the "jacks" can run real fast. 

Do we have any real jackrabbits here in western Minnesota? I would guess they're a favored prey of coyotes. We have gotten alerts of late about coyotes in western Minnesota. And about a week ago I saw two or three of these animals walking along just behind the trees at the rear of my property. Word is, they don't attack people. But the word out of Breckenridge is that they aren't bashful at present. Is this why the City of Morris has been widening the open space on both sides of our biking/walking trail? To give you a head start in case you have to run? Am I kidding? Just to a degree maybe. 

 

Tigers 83, NL-Spicer 51 

Basketball is underway with the Tigers of MACA looking very impressive. "Tigers" is a properly intimidating nickname! Our opponents had a similar moniker: "Wildcats." So this was a matchup of the MACA Tigers and New London-Spicer Wildcats. The game was Tuesday night at New London. There we kept the home crowd subdued as we worked to an 83-51 victory. 

Wow, more than just a win, a real "statement" win. Will this typify our 2025-26 season? I think that's the first time I have typed "26." I have to check to see if my hair is getting whiter. 

What a twosome our Alex Asmus and Tyson Grove were. Asmus was in the zone offensively and was most "on" with his long-range shooting. Asmus and Grove are both guards who stand 6 feet-3. Ben Tiernan was a long-range shooting whiz also. 

 

A miracle perhaps?

We might consider the following a miracle: the West Central Tribune has individual stats on the Tigers! I guess the odds are high for this when we play NL-Spicer. I wonder if the NL-Spicer coach supplied the information. If it was the MACA coach, it at least shows that the WC Trib is taking calls from MACA coaches. 

Over the past few years we have been outside the WC Trib's coverage territory. I hope some Morris people have been confronting the Forum-owned WC Trib about this. I'd like to know the response they get. The Forum failed when it owned the Morris paper. A little sour grapes maybe? Don't you think Schweiter Chevrolet would like to get some eyeballs from Morris? 

As of 11:30 a.m. Wednesday I see no updates on MACA sports on the radio station's website. 

 

A big threesome

We see Alex Asmus with 28 points in the Tuesday win. Tyson Grove put in 18 points and Ben Tiernan 14. The other totals are more modest: Riley Asmus 5, Jonah Huebner 4, Jack Kehoe 4, Drake Asmus 2, Tanner Friesen 2 and Ian Grove 2. 

Wait a minute! The individual totals as reported by the WC Trib add up to 79 points, not 83. Erratum. Maybe we should restrain our appreciation for the WC Trib at this point. It was a nice try. The bar was set high when I worked for the Morris newspaper, especially toward the end.

Alex attacked the Wildcats with five 3-pointers. Tiernan attacked with four. Tyson Grove had our other long-range make. 

We missed seeing Riley's name in football! Well as everyone knows, this Tiger bypassed football in order to ensure he'd stay healthy for baseball where he has a scholarship. Can't fault the guy. Cross fingers, though, because injuries happen in basketball too! Riley pulled down four rebounds as did Huebner. Riley had two steals as did Huebner. Friesen and Huebner each blocked a shot. 

The NL-Spicer scoring leader was a guy with a name familiar to Morrissites. That's the last name of Henjum. I don't know the exact connection if any. I went to high school with Brian Henjum. He's one of my favorite people. Grant Henjum scored 15 points on Tuesday. Zachary Lageson scored 12. 

Lageson and Beckett Newman each made a 3-pointer. Henjum swept the boards for five rebounds. He also had a shot block. In steals, these four Wildcats each had one: Lageson, Liam Macik, Newman and Brecken Westby.

 

Pete Hegseth

Feeling Christmas? 

Well we're certainly into the heart of the Christmas season. We ought to feel it regardless of what the macro picture reveals for us. The most noteworthy quote in the national news the past few days has been: "Kill everybody!" That's from our defense secretary or as he is called now: department of war secretary. Such bloodlust now. 

And Americans are approving? The Republican won in the Tennessee special election on Tuesday. And so America continues to mostly stand with Donald Trump. We're happy paying the substantially higher prices for everything thanks to the Trump tariffs. I don't sense any uproar against this. Maybe the most effective contrary gesture is the lawsuit launched by Costco. Costco is a lifesaver for the most economically challenged Americans. 

Can Costco influence America's thinking about this? Can Trump's spell be broken? It hasn't been broken up to now. So what's the basis for optimism? 

Stevens County has many churches where I'm sure the members voted 100 percent for Trump and would do so again. And these churches are supposed to represent the foundation of the Christian faith? Not for me they don't. Advent services are tonight (Wednesday). 

"Kill everybody!" Pete Hegseth - former weekend morning host on "Fox and Friends." 

How would Jesus view all this? Well maybe he'd be a "lib." How would Jesus react to Trump calling Somali immigrants "garbage?"

 

Oh it's Wednesday! Biscuits and gravy morning at DeToy's Restaurant! I'm afraid the many men who pile into the middle section of the place in the morning are not favorably disposed to the Democrats. Quite to the contrary. You'll hear no shortage of swear words among them. But the biscuits and gravy are to be recommended. - BW