Tigers bury BOLD in boys hoops, 85-32

Mid-February means an acceleration of interest in basketball, right? The post-season gets closer. Basketball really alleviates the frustration we feel with how winter "drags on." Yes the temps have gotten more pleasant in recent days. Today (Friday) is quite decent. But winter continues to hover. 

Have you ever seen so much "dirty snow?" Holy cow, absolute black dirt covering the snow in so many places. It's "snirt," yes, but I suggested to my DeToy's server this morning that it's worse than snirt. My server suggested that we have had so much wind this winter, that explains it. Wind lifts the dirt right off the farm fields, I guess. 

Our biking/walking trail to the east of town is not really open yet. If I had to, I could walk my full route with sturdy boots. But the surface is uneven, not worth the trouble. All this comes after two snowless winters, of course. 

The constant we can count on is basketball. We have plenty of both high school and college basketball here in Morris. And look how our MACA boys basketball team did on Thursday. The Tigers absolutely crushed BOLD at Bird Island. 

Four of our players reached double figures in scoring. We took care of business with an 85-32 win over the Warriors! 

BOLD has problems away from the court these days: the criminal investigation into school finances. We can sure be thankful we don't have this in Morris. Morris sails along with its perfect batting average for getting referendums passed. Although, it was close the last time. But just look at Minnewaska with its stumbles. 

MACA fans can jump up and click their heels together this morning because some individual game data is reported by the West Central Tribune. The WC Trib normally doesn't want anything to do with us. So we see the report that shows these four Tigers with the double figures in scoring: Alex Asmus 25, Ben Tiernan 20, Bryce Hardy 11 and Jack Kehoe 11. These four were complemented by teammates: Tanner Friesen 7, Riley Asmus 4, Jonah Huebner 3, Drake Asmus 2 and Ozzy Jerome 2. 

Tiernan was on fire with his 3-point shooting: five makes! Alex Asmus made three long-rangers, Hardy 2 and Friesen 1. The West Central Tribune does not report on the other stat categories for us. 

For a while the MACA coaches were posting boxscores through "Maxpreps." I have not checked yet today, but lately I have noticed no new fresh info there. I get tired of checking. Once the coaches start with a system like this, they should be consistent IMHO. 

I feel good this morning being able to write about MACA at all. It has been really tough since the WC Trib dropped us and Brett Miller left the radio station. Brett wrote actual timely articles for the kmrs website. I have never met him. Evidently the station manager did not find it necessary to replace Brett with that service. Anyone complain? 

The Tigers led 52-21 at halftime. We continued pouring it on the rest of the way. 

BOLD's top scorer was Derrick Bahl with eleven points. Tyler Ruschen scored nine with all points coming on his three 3-pointers.

 

The MACA girls

I arise in the morning with equal enthusiasm about checking "Minnesota Scores" for both the MACA boys and girls results. I say this because I want to remind with a cultural/historical observation. Yes girls basketball got established in the early '70s. But the development took time. And this was not just with the skills of the players - a heavy lift by itself - but with the public perception for taking both genders totally seriously. 

It is a raw uncomfortable fact that people for a long time saw boys basketball as the higher-standing sport worthy of more serious analysis. The disparity remained for a long time even as the gap narrowed. The triumph in the end came with a single player named Caitlin Clark! Yes, she galvanized interest to the extent that pro games had to be moved to larger arenas! 

So today, February of 2026, it's quite clear that women's basketball has full, unquestioned parity. I really find college women's basketball more enjoyable to follow than the men. And while the Iowa women continue to captivate me, I was happy when our U of M Gophers beat the Hawkeyes recently! "Coach Dawn" leads the Gophers. I have a hard time handling her last name. 

Our MACA girls are nearing the end of the regular season. Would you believe just two games left? We'll be playing Sauk Centre and Minnewaska. The Tigers are coming off a defeat at the hands of West Central Area on Feb. 10. Playing on the road, we fell to the Knights 54-47. And of course the Knights are coached by Morris product Becca Holland. 

Becca reached the state championship with her squad last season! That's in Class A. The Tigers play in AA. 

Becca even grew up in my church. That was First Lutheran. As I point out quite regularly, First Lutheran can really be said to be dead now. It no longer has weekly Sunday services at its own building. So it's dead. It has paired with the Methodists. A weird thing because you'd think it would join up with Faith Lutheran. 

At present I have become churchless. My conscience was starting to bother me about being associated with a faith - Christianity - that is so aligned with Donald Trump and MAGA. I just couldn't stand it anymore. Is there any hope on this front now? Hope for a breaking-away? 

We have a congressperson out here on the barren prairie who is worshipful toward Trump. So she supports his Federal police. Will those police be out here to do poll-monitoring for the mid-terms? Trump cannot risk having his party lose in the mid-terms. He'll do anything. Trump and his people will be in a whole lot of trouble if the Democrats gain real power. 

If I show up at our armory to vote, people might say "there's Williams and I bet he'll vote Democrat." 

To date I have seen nothing but very good and civic-conscious people working our polling place. Good chance that will change soon. The Republicans seek autocratic power for their leader. And we now have "concentration camps" in the U.S. There is nothing that I can do about this. 

I would like to type some game details from MACA vs. West Central Area but I can't. I can't find info on the world wide web. Wait all the way until Tuesday for the Morris paper? I don't see why we have to wait so long. That's life.

 

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

"Kid Rock" says "dust off your Bibles"

Is this what America has become?

 

We grew up thinking that the Holy Bible was a cornerstone of our lives. When you get told something enough, you start believing it. Heaven help a kid who would question that. In small towns you came from either a Protestant or Catholic family. For some reason that distinction was important, even defining. A lot of us had to wonder why. 

If you were Protestant the odds were very good you were a Lutheran. The Lutherans heard stories about how strict the Catholic schoolteachers were, how the odds were high you'd be "flunked" there. Authority was rigid. 

And this coincided with the government's authority in telling us we had to support the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. You had to know what was good for you. It took years but we finally saw through the lies of Vietnam. And right now there is a looming threat for how the Christian faith will lose its primacy in America. 

When I was a kid we had the general sense that  Christianity and the Bible, while a somewhat boring and not-always-relatable subject, really did want the best for everyone. Rich or poor. It was benevolent. The 1953 movie "War of the Worlds" projected the benevolent Christian theme. The movie continued our nation's recovery process from WWII. Christianity was the benevolent beacon for moving forward. 

Well, we sure can look around and notice a different state of affairs today. Why have we let this happen to us? I personally have not been blinded. If you follow my writing - first of all bless you - you'll know I have felt consternation about what has been happening. And the whole specter hovers over our rural small communities more than anywhere. 

The nation is lapsing into Fascist or totalitarian rule. And so many of us pay no mind. Our "bastion" against change or evolution is our Christian churches, most of them anyway. We feel threatened by change in general and in particular by changing demographics. God bless all the Spanish-speaking people who are happy doing the kind of work that other people would not want to accept. 

And why are we so judgmental? I mean so judgmental about occupations? Maybe this is laid at the doorstep of our educational system. Maybe I'm thinking of our educational system from when I grew up. Was I an actual victim of the "Cold War?" Of the madness that set in after "Sputnik?" "Sputnik" about drove us out of our minds. So we put our government monopoly education system to work instilling a set of values. Our teachers gave "grades" in classes that were to be interpreted as value judgments. 

I appreciated school classes up through the end of sixth grade - they seemed to impart knowledge that was useful in a universal way. That's what education should be for. After the sixth grade it got a little murky or disturbing - getting dragged through so much content that would seem questionable for one's real future. And I mean a future separate from going to graduate school which would just drag you along through more mostly irrelevance. 

Today we cheer the "Christian" pro-Donald Trump notions as he aggressively and ruthlessly calls for the suppression and outright deportation of so many people who are brown-skinned and might speak Spanish. Many are bi-lingual. Again, these people are happy to do the kind of work like in nursing homes that your average white kid with a background in FFA (perhaps) would only grudgingly accept. And we need that labor. 

We are getting news reports now that the aggressive deportations are hurting business interests. This at a time when the economy is facing other headwinds. 

A microcosm of our current dilemma or dysfunction as a society is - of all things - the Super Bowl. But should we be surprised? The turmoil is evidenced nearly everywhere, maybe especially in connection to popular culture events or signposts. 

Stop and think: years ago the Super Bowl was all about two very good football teams playing each other. Today? Well I didn't watch because I do not have a TV contract. I follow the news online and can catch game highlights if I'm interested. I'm not all that interested. But I sure became aware that everyone had to choose sides with the halftime show! This is perplexing. A halftime show ought to be simple entertainment. 

 

The business world knows 

The NFL with its business sense and prescience gave us the "Bad Bunny" thing which was a logical way of staying in step with our culture evolution in America. It was totally remindful of when Jose Feliciano sang the National Anthem in a "jazzed-up" way during the 1968 World Series. It was a big controversy! In 1968 there was still a strong feeling across America with only some hints of doubt about how we should support the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war. You could not imagine a bigger tragedy. 

And I think the aggressive ICE deportations of today are a similar tragedy. 

We heard about the "competing" halftime show for the Super Bowl: this would represent Donald Trump and MAGA. Oh here we go again. When will we come out of this? In time to prevent Trump's rise to full-blown dictator just like what happened in 1930s Gernany? It appears to be happening right before our eyes as we see a compliant Supreme Court. The Suprcme Court has become a subsidiary of the White House. 

And now "Kid Rock" tells us to "dust off our Bibles." So if you're a Christian you have to go along with today's Republicans led by Donald Trump? That's the message. 

The "Holy Bible" is so archaic it is ridiculous. How can we expect young people to be attentive to it? Jesus and his "disciples" with their robes and thongs. I'd be happy to cut slack for Jesus and the Bible if all of this had not become an extension of the U.S. Republican Party led by Trump and his own "disciples." Like his cabinet. 

We the people should be rising up to stop it. But we are not. The forces for what was good and righteous won in 1953's "War of the worlds." Can we always assume that good will triumph over evil? I have to admit, right now I am skeptical. 

I watched the "Bad Bunny" performance on YouTube in the days following the Super Bowl. I thought it was totally delightful. God bless the Hispanics among us. And the African-Americans. The law applies equally to everyone. If people want to come to America and follow our laws and pay our taxes, I'm happy to welcome all.

 

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

Did you "imbibe" for the Super Bowl?

"Stay stunned for the Stupor Bowl," an announcer once crowed. Then he corrected, sort of: "Stay souped for the Super Bowl." Maybe the anecdote was funnier in an earlier time when society got more laughs from drunk humor. Or, when country music fans were enthusiastic about "Moe and Joe." That would be Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley. They were "good old boys." They knew how to make a buck from the cultural zeitgeist. 

Upon researching "Moe and Joe" years later, I read that their music was written "tongue in cheek." I ran this by an age peer of mine, someone who like me was attuned to the pop culture of the earlier time, and he departed from that thinking. So did I. We took the music seriously. The alcohol theme coincided with "outlaw country" that even got the imprimatur of the Jimmy Carter administration. 

One thing is for sure: social drinking was quite approved when I was a young adult. Those were the days when Minnesota Vikings fans applauded our "Purple People Eaters." Tremendous pain upon looking back, as we got so excited for four Super Bowl appearances only to have to lick our wounds after each one. We can feel the sting years later. 

Our pent-up wounds were salved years later when the Minnesota Twins won the World Series. That big year was 1987. A repeat performance came in 1991. 

So my generation has put aside the Super Bowl disappointments? From my viewpoint, no. How to deal with it? Maybe with alcohol a la "Moe and Joe?" That would just be a joke. But do today's younger folks even see humor in references to excess alcohol? Young people might not believe how much humor we once found in it. I assure you this is no myth. 

Natalie Wood

In a recent discussion on the Natalie Wood mysterious death, someone pointed out how the threesome on the boat were engaged in alcohol consumption, and that "that's what people did in those days." I graduated from high school in 1973 right at the time our elders felt the drinking age should be lowered to 18. So we heard the argument "if young men can be forced into combat (in Vietnam), young people that age ought to have the privilege of consuming alcohol." 

Well, two points to be made on that. Why were young men being drafted and sent over to Vietnam where odds were good that something terrible was going to happen to them, including death? Our nation put up with this for a very long time and through tens of thousands of deaths of young men. And it was in a war that the U.S. eventually lost. Our servicemen at the end were instructed not to wear their uniforms on the way home. 

A second point to be made is that consuming alcohol, whether to excess or not, is no way any kind of privilege. Did society at the time really think this was some sort of welcome into the adult world? Well I guess that was the premise, so deluded we were. 

The men who survived WWII came home with degrees of PTSD and for them, various vices like drinking and smoking probably seemed therapeutic. We have heard about how cigarette manufacturers provided "smokes" gratis to troops. Helped with morale? A means of getting countless people hooked? Smoking and drinking have never had any actual benefits for anyone. 

We could excuse the WWII vets for a lot. We could look the other way as they found diversions with foolishness. But such behavior should never have been viewed as example-setting. 

The era of drunk humor and "outlaw country music" coincided roughly with the Jimmy Carter administration. I do not choose to find any fault with Carter himself. He might have given us a national health care system were it not for obstruction from Ted Kennedy. 

Carter might have shown affinity for "outlaw music" but really he projected puritanical values. Music? It's just window dressing in our lives. "Outlaw country" had a populist bent, always useful for politicians. How blessed we were to have Carter who was a virtuous national symbol. He projected an air of compassion and doing good, at all times. 

And look at what we have now in 2026. I could try to assemble a whole list of descriptive words. You get my drift. It gets worse all the time as with the Obamas/apes imagery. Now, don't tell me you didn't catch that in the news. It really was a big story. You might want to deny seeing it. 

This is the disgrace us Americans have to live with right now. There appears to be no hope for Congress to remedy it. There is no hope for Congress. Just look at the embarrassment of our own congressperson Michelle Fischbach. A total mouthpiece for what Trump represents. Look at Kevin Kramer in North Dakota, the same deal. 

John Thune

And the Senate majority leader is John Thune of South Dakota. I am quite certain that Thune in his own private thoughts isn't that far from yours truly in terms of how he sizes up Trump. I sense he's a good person who is most comfortable as a Chamber of Commerce Republican. A guy who is like a broken record saying tax cuts bring economic growth. I can at least respect that kind of Republican even while disagreeing with them in fundamental ways. I do believe their heart is in the right place. 

But to try to look the other way on the "Obama/apes" imagery? That is quite a different matter. I write in my current "Morris of Course" blog post that I'd really prefer not rising to face the American flag just before UMM basketball games, so disgusted I am with our president and his Obama/apes thing. Really I'm disgusted with America as a whole for not rising up to demand immediate impeachment. 

But I rise for the flag anyway in the spirit of "going with the flow." 

Here is the link to my "Morris of Course" post which has the heading: "UMN-Morris sports continues its long odyssey."

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2026/02/umn-morris-sports-continues-its-long.html 

 

During the Vietnam war I was not just "going with the flow." Incidentally I heard Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley live in Nashville TN in 1984. Were they serious or tongue-in-cheek? I frankly think they were serious. A little misogyny included too.

If these guys were just putting us on, it was a disservice to the nation's young people.

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

Chloe Fehr scores 21 in big MACA win

What a hugely significant win by the MACA girls Friday night! This team should start generating buzz just like our kingpin boys team. And we're into the time of year when we can start anticipating the post-season. 

Right now the Tigers of BBB and GBB are primed to encourage high expectations by the fans. Oh, we never take anything for granted of course. 

The GBB Tigers defeated the BOLD Warriors in BOLD's backyard. The site was the "BOLD Bird Island campus," according to "Minnesota Scores." "Minnesota Scores" reports the score was 65-62 as our Tigers improved to 11-8. 

I saw my neighbor Addie Cihak at DeToy's this morning (Saturday) but I hadn't checked the scores from last night yet. I need to be more on the ball. I should have said something to her about the game. I can only report here the info I pick up from the media. There is less timely info available than there used to be. We might expect the opposite to be happening, but no. 

But on this day, Saturday, our fortunes are better than usual for finding info! 

How pleased should we feel about last night's outcome? I have no trouble remembering how BOLD just pulverized Montevideo a while back. It was on Dec. 12 that the Warriors defeated Montevideo 114-21! That game too was at the Bird Island campus. I wrote at the time that in an earlier time, such a score would bring discomfort among many, certainly with calls for the winning coach to apologize. I wondered in my blog headline if "running up the score" was even a "thing" anymore. 

I received some background. My Bonanza Valley friend pointed out a couple things. He said the shot clock keeps both teams shooting frequently. Also, the "backup" players of today - let's say the "second five" on a roster - are better players than the backups of an earlier time. 

I covered Morris girls basketball in a time when our program was weak. I can remember an old activities director standing out in the hallway and being pretty peeved at what he thought was "running up the score." Times have changed. Let the kids play with intensity and enthusiasm. Or, "let the fans get their money's worth." 

The political progressives were the ones getting excited about "running up the score," like they thought "playing hard to win" was some sort of Neanderthal thing. A lot of those people were associated with UMM. But again, "different times" with a different "zeitgeist" if you want to use that term. You probably don't. 

Meanwhile my attitude about it all - one that got me in a fair amount of trouble - was that we should push for higher competitive standards for our girls teams. And ironically, it was the progressive "women's libbers" who should have been on board with me. But the opposite was quite true. Morris has been through some strange times. But everything seems quite straightened out today. 

Addie and her Tiger teammates now have an 11-8 record. They're 5-3 in section, 6-3 conference and 5-4 at home. Not the numbers of a real power, yet. I repeat, "yet." 

The Tigers lost their previous game to KMS. But before that they won four in a row. The Tigers look like a team that is slowly finding themselves. Meanwhile BOLD might have bigger fish to fry than sports. The "criminal investigation" floats out there for the school.

 

The BOLD School District in Minnesota is undergoing a criminal investigation into a roughly $700,000 to $900,000 budget deficit for the 2025 fiscal year, which emerged following the resignation of its former business manager in September 2024. The investigation, involving local police and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, prompted the school board to search for a new superintendent.  

 

Game data

I should say "Eureka" because of how the West Central Trib of Willmar has the MACA scoring totals in the web article. Very rare to be so blessed. Randy Olson emailed me with a heads-up this morning. I called it up after getting home from DeToy's. He writes on the media angle:

 

Hello Brian!  This is where a media organization needs to have a good sports blog or up-to-date website. Tonight, to not provide a good online breakdown of this game is a disservice to the MACA Tigers girls basketball team.

The Tigers are just one game out of first place!  Check out the WCC standings.

"Leah Berlinger" with that last name, that makes me think she's a Chokio-Alberta student.

 

We appreciate Randy's interest. He covers BBE athletics which regularly ascends high in Class A. BOLD has been receiving Class A votes. But our Double-A Tigers were up to the challenge of turning back those Warriors. 

The kmrs website has only the score of the game. Only the score!

I can report that Chloe Fehr topped our scoring with 21 points. Cihak and Samantha Konz each scored ten. Mylie Fehr scored scored eight, Mia Lu Asche 7 and Leah Berlinger 6. Konz made two 3-point shots and Chloe Fehr made one. 

Oh no it happened again: the individual point totals from the WC Trib don't add up to the team total. There's a discrepancy of three points. Erratum.

Lily Henriksen was the dominating player for BOLD with 27 points. she thrilled with five 3-pointers. Ky Elfering grabbed 12 rebounds. Ema Flann supplied seven assists. She and Erika Martinson each had three steals. Zoey Lippert blocked two shots.

(Maybe Addie Cihak will be at DeToy's tomorrow morning, Sunday.) 

 

MACA boys

The Tigers of BBB climbed to 18-0 Friday with their 82-65 win over Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial. Action was here at Tiger Center. Why is "Wellcome" spelled with two L's? 

Wouldn't it be FANTASTIC if the Stevens County Times website had an article about the hoops wins available for people to read and appreciate before the end of the weekend? Especially the girls' win? Is this asking too much? Well it probably is, for the people currently involved at the place over in west Morris. I don't even get paid to write.

 

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

Boys and girls prevail for Minnewaska

A great night for our friends to the east: Minnewaska Area. Thursday saw the 'Waska boys and girls basketball teams both prevail. The boys traveled to Perham, home of the Yellowjackets, and won by a margin of 12, 68-56. The girls' story was also on the road. The Lakers of GBB were down by two at halftime but they found the tools to defeat Melrose 56-42.

 

The boys game

The Lakers at the halftime break led 37-33 en route to winning. The game's stats show Tristan O'Neil as top scorer with 16 points. Here are the other totals: Luke Danielson 11, Connor Erickson 10, Cavin Thorfinnson 9, Caleb Kath 5, Drew Bleick 2, Alan Svec 2 and Oliver Vanderhagen 2. Thorfinnson led in 3's with his three makes.

 

Well I'll  be darned

The stat report from the West Central Tribune has "Gruber" making two 3-pointers but hey, Gruber's name isn't even in the scoring list! Stranger than fiction maybe. I happen to know this young man's name is Marc Gruber. So the WC Trib has him down for making two 3-pointers. 

Now I'll add up the individual scoring totals to see what I get. I get 57. I guess my attempts at reporting on this game are pretty well throttled now. Should I assume that Gruber scored 11 points? I of course hate to assume anything. But let's congratulate the young man on making two 3's. 

O'Neil also made two 3's. Danielson attacked the boards for the team-best eleven rebounds. Kath had eight. In assists we saw three Lakers each with four: Gruber, O'Neil and Thorfinnson. Erickson stole the ball three times. 

The West Central Tribune is owned by Forum Communications. Forum had a failed venture with owning the Morris paper. They left town. Is this why the WC Trib overlooks the MACA teams almost all the time now? What do they say if asked about this? "No, we'd not be so petty as to do that." Well, I don't know. The teams that are covered by the WC Trib sure play the MACA teams a lot.

 

The girls game

The 'Waska girls surged to outscore Melrose 31-15 in the second half. I would guess they really ramped up their intensity. Are the Lakers headed toward a climb like last year's? We'll see. 

Berlynn Green was their only double figures scorer with 15 points. The other totals are: Olivia Danielson 7, Lauryn Ankeny 7, Alia Randt 7, Jayda Kolstoe 6, Allie Mrnak 5, Nori Song 5, Kendall Danielson 2 and Eliana Marthaler 2. 

Five Lakers made at least one 3-pointer: Green led with two. Her teammates Olivia Danielson, Randt, Kolstoe and Song each made one. The rebounds category was topped by Green with ten and she was followed by Mrnak with five. 

Song had three assists and Green had two. Always the steals whiz, Ankeny performed seven of these. Mrnak and Song each had one blocked shot.

 

MACA Tiger stats

This is belated but I am happy to report stat details from the MACA Tigers' BBB home win over Albany, 80-76. An especially exciting game because the Tigers had to escape a concerning halftime deficit. We trailed the Huskies 43-29 at the halfway mark. Wow, look at the second half, 51-33 surge my the Torgerson crew. 

I had hoped to post some stats earlier but we can't be a winner at everything. It is Friday today and we have to wonder if this will be the last really cold day of winter. Oh but my, it is still early February. You can spend all your life in Minnesota and still have the weather throw you for a loop sometimes. I'm probably not alone in saying "I've had it with the cold temperatures." Basketball helps us get through the adversity. 

I attended the UMM home doubleheader - women's and men's - Wednesday night. The women lucked out some by having an opposing player miss a freethrow that would have tied the score at the very end - really no time left. And so the Cougars won but I have to feel sorry for that player. Hope the memory does not linger for her. 

One thing I feel really good about: the U of M Gophers women beating Iowa, even though I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Iowa. Iowa is endearing but I'll have to root for the Gophers under "coach Dawn." I have some trouble with the coach's last name. "Plitz-U-Wait?" Well I get by calling her "coach Dawn." 

So congratulations to Dawn and all the Gophers for such a significant win. Iowa has a national following. I think you all know how that got built up. "CC." 

Let's have the Gophers get into the NCAA tournament this spring. Last year we faded too much down the stretch. 

Getting back to our MACA Tigers and their win over Albany, let's acknowledge the super game by junior Alex Asmus: 26 points! Boffo! Alex made eight of his 13 field goal tries. Riley Asmus came on strong to score 17 points on six of nine. Our third double figures scorer was Tyson Grove: 13 points, four of nine. 

Three other Tigers added to the attack, each scoring eight: Ben Tiernan, Jonah Huebner and Jack Kehoe. Tiernan was 2-for-5 shooting, Huebner 3-for-8 and Kehoe 3-for-5. Our team field goal numbers were 26 of 49, 53 percent. 

In 3's I think we were pretty sharp: 10 of 19. And here we see Alex Asmus leading the way as he made five of six. Again, boffo! Grove made three of eight and Tiernan two of five. 

In freethrows the Tigers made 18 of 30 led by the Asmus boys each with five makes. The team rebound total was 26 with nine coming offensively. Two Tigers led in rebounds with seven each: Riley Asmus and Kehoe. Four Tigers each supplied three assists: Grove, Alex Asmus, Huebner and Kehoe. 

Jonah was far and away our steals leader with six. He also had two blocked shots. Grove and Riley Asmus each blocked one. We had nine turnovers. 

The Tigers' record is 16-0. How about that? The schedule says we have two home games coming up Friday and Saturday. More therapy for putting aside any annoying quality of the weather. Temperatures will start going up but along with that, we'll get dirty snow. 

Today (Friday) finds the wind rather intense. That comes in spring too.

 

Nancy Guthrie

No news

Every morning I wake up thinking there will be a news bulletin about Savannah Guthrie's mother being found. It is becoming a rather puzzling story. No suspects or persons of interest? My theory is that LE  knows exactly who did this and they're just trying to wrap up an airtight case. I think it's a family member, or in-law. But we'll see. 

LE has to work toward certainty because they could well go up against someone who "lawyers up." Even Bryan Kohberger in Idaho fought doggedly and made the prosecution pull teeth, remember? 

And I think in the current case of Nancy Guthrie, we'll see that the case parallels the Dan Serafini murder case. That's the former Minnesota Twins pitcher. His victims were in-laws. At the heart of it all? Money. Some wisdom: If you have a lot of money, try to keep this fact suppressed as much as possible, do not choose to live in an opulent way. Don't broadcast to the world that you have money. An elderly person like Nancy Guthrie needed a small and comfortable apartment IMHO. What would she be lacking?

 

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

Can anyone stop the Tigers? Maybe not

They turn away all challengers: the MACA boys basketball Tigers. What a winter this team and its fans are having. Such great therapy for putting aside the harsh weather too. Hey we'll  be getting a reprieve on Thursday. That's the word from the media: a very pleasant temperature setting in. Can we handle it? Will we get giddy? 

It is Tuesday and our community is bathing in the glow of an undefeated basketball team. The Tigers played a Monday game against the Huskies of Albany, here. And the orange and black rolled forward with an 80-76  win. So we sit at 16-0, 7-0 in section and 8-0 in conference. We have ruled the home gym with a 7-0 mark. To remind: it's the Tiger Sports Center. 

On Saturday our success was by a score of 81-49 over ACGC. On Thursday we cruised past Melrose 76-45. The beat goes on. Quite a bit remains of the regular season. We'll be playing on Friday and Saturday.

 

Tigers 80, Albany 76

The Huskies got on I-94 to visit Tiger country. And here they showed a very high caliber of play in the first half. My, it looked as if those Huskies might be in a good mood heading back home on the Interstate. They led 43-29. But, what a reversal in second half play. Did our coaching staff make adjustments? Did our shots just start falling more? 

Fans at Tiger Center cheered lustily as the Tigers outscored the foe 51-33. The final horn was with an 80-76 score. 

Oh shoot! I thought at first that the boxscore was filled out in full on "Maxpreps." I scrolled down to discover that no, it was not. It's great when our coaching staff can cooperate to make this happen. I don't have the standing to make requests on this front. The most I might do is make a "hint" to Mark Torgerson who has family connections to the coaching staff! 

I have never spoken to our current head coach. Alas, a new generation has taken over. I used to work with Mark Torgerson and Paul Daly, quite intensively in fact. I don't know their sons at all. It was great when I could reach Paul when he wasn't ice fishing! Mark was always communicative. He also says I'd be welcome at Faith Lutheran if I wanted to start attending. 

My regular church of First Lutheran has "died." What terrible consequences we've seen from the ELCA vote on gay ordination. I accept basic gay rights. But the vote was seen as a step too far by so many. Just look at the consequences: a widespread fleeing from the ELCA churches. Truman Carlson was mad at the time he left First Lutheran. That was sad to see by both him and others. 

And First Lutheran can be said to have been taken off life support, now that it can no longer have weekly Sunday services at its own building. So the holdover members are now half Methodist? I don't dislike Methodists. But my family chose a mainstream Lutheran when we came to Morris. 

 

"Bait and switch" 

And I'm bitter about having written my annual check to First Lutheran in November of 2024 only to find in the next year that we've had the rug pulled out from under us. I told a friend that it was like a "bait and switch." I wrote my annual check with a certain basic understanding or assumption. We'd be "cool" for the next 12 months. 

I could have seen the writing on the wall. Guess I was too optimistic, something I'm not often accused of! First I was "fooled" by being told we were pairing with Federated just for the summer. Surprise! It's pretty obvious now that it's permanent. They'll keep both buildings going for a while. Too much of a shock to close one right at the present time. 

First Lutheran would have to be the building that closes. First Lutheran was designed at a time when no one thought about elderly/handicapped access. Federated is all on one level. So is Faith Lutheran, an ELCA church that is holding its own as a stand-alone. I went there Saturday for the funeral for Dolora Hendrickson. Rev. Wayne Kopitzke is serving there now but it's my understanding this arrangement is not long-term. He's in very good shape to keep going. 

You can say Faith Lutheran is the only ELCA church left in town now. It's a nice operation. I enjoy knowing Kelvin Tschetter. It is nothing short of amazing how far First Lutheran fell until its demise was reached. I have a long memory of First Lutheran being such a prime Protestant church in town with two services on Sunday. There's really nothing left now. 

Shall I get back to basketball?

 

Tigers 82, ACGC 49

I may have whiffed when looking for the Albany game boxscore. Fortunately I had better success with the ACGC game. I like to stay connected with MACA activities. We led the Falcons 45-27 at halftime. 

The game's stats: Tyson Grove topped our scoring list with 20 points on seven of 14 shooting. Ben Tiernan supplied 15 points on an efficient five of seven. Our third double figures scorer was Riley Asmus: 11 points, five of eight. 

Lots of players got in the scoring act. Let's acknowledge: Alex Asmus and Jonah Huebner each with nine points. Ozzy Jerome scored six, Jack Kehoe five, Tanner Friesen four, Ian Grove 2 and Drake Asmus 1. 

Another Asmus comes along! I have a long memory of Huebners in Tiger sports, including my own generation. Good bloodlines! 

Our team shooting was 26 for 60, 43 percent. We were 12 of 32 in 3's for 38 percent. Is that a good percentage? Tiernan was mighty sharp as he made five of seven. But Tyson Grove led in total 3's with his six, in 13 attempts. Alex Asmus made our other 3-pointer. 

The freethrow category saw MACA shoot 18 of 30, 60 percent. 

Rebounds! We had 42 total rebounds of which 22 were offensive. Four players shared team-best in rebounds, each with six. These were: Kehoe, Jerome, Riley Asmus and Huebner. Tiernan had four of our 14 assists. Tyson Grove and Huebner each had three steals among our team total of 14. 

Kehoe blocked two shots. Alex Asmus, Friesen and Jerome each blocked one. The Tigers had seven turnovers.

 

Girls: KMS 73, Tigers 54

Not such good news to share on the Tiger GBB front. The Tigers were dealt defeat by the Saints of KMS at Kerkhoven. I remember the days when I'd drive through Kerkhoven and see the school building that looked like a prison. We had a school board member in Morris who talked about how a lot of the new schools looked like that on the outskirts of towns. 

Leah Wagner of the Saints reached the thousand-point career milestone in front of her home fans. She's a junior guard. She entered the game needing three points. And she got these with a 3-point shot! This was with 14:58 left in the first half. 

Impressive as this Saint is, she was actually upstaged some in the Monday game. I'm well familiar with the name "Acelynn Hacker." Acelynn became the all-time leading scorer for the Saints on Monday. She's a senior guard. My, this Saint has gone way past 1000 career points. In fact she's over 2000! 

Our Tigers lost to some very accomplished players. Hacker scored 28 points and had three steals. Wagner's totals: 21 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Maddie Silas was another standout for the victor. 

 

Discouraging 

I would love to type some data on our MACA Tigers. Alas, once again the West Central Tribune has "stats not available" for MACA. The sports department of the WC Trib can go sit under a cow. There is nothing that I as an unattached journo can do about this. As I often muse, "Mongo just pawn in game of life." (That's from "Blazing Saddles.")

 

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

Dolora Hendrickson, RIP

Dolora Hendrickson

Just got home from the funeral for Dolora Hendrickson. Funerals for dear friends are about the only thing that will get me into a Christian church building right now. Dolora left us in a time when our state of Minnesota is in terrible duress. Society has created this crisis by allowing our current president to retain his power. One term was not enough for him. And at present he is pulling strings to try to ensure that his party and his people retain power into the future, probably until the country virtually collapses. 

Really, are you ready for that? The Roman empire collapsed. Why couldn't we have Mitt Romney as president instead? Yes he'd be looking for "middle ground" from time to time. And that stance is necessary sometimes to maintain harmony. I voted for Ronald Reagan once. The regime we have now won't compromise with anyone. 

The president demonizes and personally insults anyone who might want to dissent from what he wants, even people with the Federal Reserve who are just trying to do the job of the Fed which is supposed to be separate from politics. Trump doesn't believe in politics as a place for occasional horsetrading - it's all or nothing with him, it's all about MAGA. 

And what is MAGA's primary fountain for support? It is the so-called "evangelicals" of America. They are allowed to represent the Christian faith as if they are fundamental. The media reports it that way, so if I profess to be Christian I must be some sort of "evangelical" i.e. a MAGA zealot. I'm not. 

The Christian faith is going to have a lot of answering to do. But in the end maybe we'll all end up struggling to just survive. If the flag-waving evangelicals of Trumpworld are allowed to stand as representing the Christian faith, I want nothing to do with the faith. 

But I was at Faith Lutheran today to pay final respects to Dolora who was a gem of a person. What a wonderful family she bequeathed to us all. Such a long and rich life. 

I have found that the best way to honor someone at the time of their passing is to tell a little story, to share a little anecdote. So here we go! This goes back to when Faith Lutheran was having some difficulty with conflict. On came a new minister who I recall had a rather short tenure presumably because of the conflict. I interviewed him for the Morris paper when he started. I found him to be agreeable. 

Back in those days I often formed a semi-personal friendship with many of the people I interviewed. It wasn't just "business." I told the guy that I could stop by sometime and catch a sermon of his. I was not a regular churchgoer then. My family church was First Lutheran. My parents attended Easter Sunday service there. It was on an Easter Sunday that I decided to go over to Faith Lutheran and sample the new guy's work. 

I walked in, received a nice greeting, took a seat in the pews and was then astonished. This guy who was the new full-time pastor was not there! A man of the cloth not present for Easter Sunday? Bev McNeill was in charge. Well, the congregation had its heart in being there. 

I did not stay long. I heard later that the pastor was not present because "his daughter was having a baby." Hmm. I wasn't really buying it. Easter Sunday? To put your own family's interests first instead of your flock? 

So I was discussing this with Dolora. She seemed receptive to my point of view. She said of the situation that "she (the daughter) was having the baby, not him."

I certainly could not have chosen better words. 

 

The old is new again?

I got to wondering the other day if "Pastor Emmy" might be in a position to come back to Faith Lutheran. She left here when her husband got a job as director of Norsk Hostfest. Well, I heard on KFGO this past week that this event has bitten the dust, it is terminated. So, might Pastor Emmy be in position to come back? She made friends here. I was told it was unlikely since her family has connections with where they are living now. 

Such transient people these ministers can be. ELCA ministers are hard to secure now.

Rev. Wayne Kopitzke did a quite fine job officiating for Dolora's funeral on Saturday. I didn't recognize as many people as I thought I would. Well, time passes and one generation gives way to the next, alas. 

I was pleased that the late Dave Holman's sons came and talked to me. I was also pleased to sit next to the Griffiths at the lunch. I went to high school with Dan Griffith's sister Maureen, Class of '73. We were a unique generation. 

I was pleased a few months back to run into Dolora's son Mike along the biking/walking trail east of town. So I said "Hi Mark." Well, Mark was his younger brother! 

Of course we all remember Dolora's husband Alan Hendrickson the iconic wrestling coach of the Tigers. Remember the "famous" photo of Alan cutting Dan Jost's hair?

 

Addendum: The pastor who stabilized things at Faith Lutheran was Dell Sanderson. That's two l's as it's not short for "Delmont." A clergy insider informed me that Dell "accepted the position on condition that a certain other person resign." And there's a million stories in the naked city. 

My understanding of Rev. Kopitzke is that it's a stop-gap assignment, not permanent or long-term. They are fortunate to have him. Meanwhile First Lutheran has partnered with the local Methodist Church.

 

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