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 

Keeping MACA in front of the public

Wow! Just checked the "Maxpreps" site for MACA boys basketball and things are further developing there. There's an exciting video highlight feature at the top. 

"Maxpreps" has long held potential for getting attention for the team. Mark Torgerson and now his successor have been good at getting individual stats posted, even with less than 100 percent consistency or reliability. Anything these guys can do to connect with fans is terrific. So I personally say "kudos." 

Actually there's a good chance that yours truly was the one who got Mark aware of the possibilities of Maxpreps years ago. Chalk one up for me if that's true. I even remember Mark typing game comments from time to time. There was one problem with that: the Maxpreps template assumed the games were organized in quarters, not halves as is the case in Minnesota. Last night (Wednesday) at UMM I attended the UMM games where we see the "quarters" format. Women lost in the first game. Men looked like they were headed for a loss in the nightcap. 

Update: Men lost in overtime!

 

It's only money 

I noticed that non-senior citizens are charged $10 for admission. Maybe I'm having a hard time staying aware of inflation. But I think the admission charge is way too much for non-seniors. 

On a positive note, I'll observe that the caliber of play for both women's and men's games came across as very good. I'll have to elevate my view of the UMAC. Cougar basketball is a great way to make life interesting when the frigid weather outside limits our choices. It's a long night of basketball and not boring. 

But, no pep band last night. The grand experiment of pep band was unveiled on Saturday. It was a modest start but one to be commended. 

Back to the prepsters: the top of the MACA "Maxpreps" site has video highlights of the win versus Eden Valley-Watkins. There are several categories where info can be posted on this site. I'd like to see a group of students get ambitious about this just like the "YouTube geniuses." When I was in high school, early '70s, we couldn't have envisioned any of this. Seems like Star Trek or something. 

Speaking of Star Trek, a friend emailed me one of those birthday greeting messages featuring a celebrity yesterday (Jan. 28). And the celebrity was. . .William Shatner! I couldn't have been more pleased. I'm highly pleased to have reached the age of 71. How about that? 

I received a grand total of two birthday cards. One was from the UMM giving department. The other was from their counterpart in the Twin Cities. Yes I give $ in order to receive such gestures. No matter, the greetings seem quite sincere. I have no family. I get no personal acknowledgment from my church because it is now my former church. So, no family and no church. But why hang one's head? I'm not. 

Did I ever get any public acknowledgment for giving $2000 to support the MAHS band's trip to New Orleans a couple years ago? Music enabled me to see the world when I was age 17. And so I'm happy to give something back. 

I even performed with a group at the then-new Kennedy Center. Today it's called the Trump/Kennedy Center I guess. Well, no one ever stops the guy. My musical group appeared in a photo on the front page of the style section of the Washington Post. This was in the summer when the Watergate story was first breaking in the Post. I kept an edition that had a front page article co-written by Bob Woodward and someone other than Carl Bernstein. 

I was in Austria when George McGovern announced Tom Eagleton as his runningmate. Saw the big picture of the two on the cover of Time Magazine. Eagleton didn't exactly work out. We got Nixon redux and continued hell with the Vietnam war. I was a little too young to have to worry (much) about being sent to war there. 

At present we have the hell of Donald Trump and his "Federal police" in America. Has our congressperson spoken out about the ICE outrage in the Twin Cities? Has she stepped forward to defend the interests of her own state vs. the overreaching Federal government with its ICE presence? Well I don't think so. She stands idly by while Trump gives billions of dollars to Argentina. 

Trump in effect then declares war on one of the states of the U.S. Our state? We tend to vote Democrat. Russia is Trump's friend, not Minnesota. But we approve of this. Our local churches are full of people who would vote for Trump again. Well, this nation once put up with the Vietnam war, for years and years in fact. Actor John Wayne was a cheerleader for that. We are such flawed mortal beings, n'est-ce pas? 

 

Tigers 78, Lakers 51

Let's focus on the Tuesday night win by the MACA boys basketball team. "Maxpreps" tells us we are 13-0. The Tuesday success was by a score of 78-51 over Minnewaska. We were up at halftime 42-30. 

There was a nice distribution of scoring totals: four Tigers in double figures. And leading that charge were the Asmus boys. Riley put in 20 points, Alex had 14. Right behind was Jack Kehoe 13 and then we see Tanner Friesen with 11. 

Riley made nine of his 13 shots while Alex was six of ten. Friesen made all four of his shots. Jonah Huebner came through with nine points. Other totals: Ben Tiernan 3, Tyson Grove 3, Bryce Hardy 2, Mason Koehl 2 and Jorge Rodriguez 1. As a team we shot 31 of 54, 57 percent. 

Tiernan and Friesen each went one-for-one in 3-pointers. Grove and Alex Asmus each added a '3'. We were four of nine in long-rangers. In freethrows our numbers were 12 of 24. Huebner was five of eight at the line. 

Rebounds! Here the team total was 36, ten offensive. Alex Asmus had nine boards and Huebner had eight. Huebner had four of our 16 assists. Huebner had four of our nine steals. Grove and Kehoe each blocked two shots. 

Final note on "Maxpreps": Maximizing the possibilities of this website, and getting the public aware of it, will make us less dependent on the Morris newspaper which has the huge drawback of only coming out once a week. Of course the paper has a website. Looks like they need some prodding to develop that. Someday we may care very little about what the SCT does. And you have to BUY the thing. Those people will have to be humbled before they roll up their sleeves.

 

Girls: Tigers 75, Montevideo 21

Surely a big night for MACA girls hoops Tuesday as the orange and black won in a breeze, score of 75-21. 

We are blessed to be able to see individual scoring totals for MACA on the WC Trib website. The game was played in Montevideo. I remember all the years of going there and seeing the "Mohawk" mural. Monte of course abandoned the "Mohawks" nickname. Today we see Benson surviving with the "Braves" name. 

I wonder if the Monte coach supplied the MACA individual stats to the WC Trib as a favor. If so, thanks. We see that Chloe Fehr led the charge for the Tigers with 19 points. Samantha Konz put in 16. Leah Berlinger was our third double figures scorer: 11. 

Other totals: Mia Lu Asche 8, Alexa Raths 6, Madalyn Pope 5, Addie Cihak 4, Mylie Fehr 4 and Olivia Huebner 2. We led at halftime 43-10. Monte's top scorer was Megan Koosmann with nine points. 

If you wish to acknowledge my birthday which was yesterday, you can do so by clicking to listen to Elvis Presley sing "Funny How Time Slips way." Here's the link, thanks and God bless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZcnT5gqRXk&list=RD_ZcnT5gqRXk&start_radio=1 

  

71 years old! And I have been writing about Tiger sports since 1972. You've heard the lyrics "Rock 'n' roll is here to stay, it will never die." Well, same with me and Tiger sports.

 

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

Basketball and band together at UMN-Morris!

The UMN-Morris men played the late game of the basketball doubleheader Saturday at the P.E. Center. There was a lively atmosphere for appreciating hoops. The atmosphere was built by the very pleasant surprise of a UMM pep band. Eureka! It was adequate if not outstanding. It was just nice to see. And the main thing is that maybe this just represents a start. Word might start circulating. 

I'm sure there has always been a high percentage of UMM students who played in their high school band. They don't necessarily focus on music studies at UMM. The pep band would seem to be a nice outlet for any student with that background. How many would still have their old instruments? I kept mine because I kept playing after high school. 

Would the UMM music discipline have instruments available to provide? I suppose there's always a risk of instruments getting damaged. I think UMM guards all of its assets more than in "the old days" just because of the sheer cost of maintenance. I wouldn't have to tell you that the cost is "up." Does science dictate that prices go up? 

I remember the wear and tear that campus assets were subjected to in the days when major high school basketball tournament games were played at the P.E. Center. Obviously both sides of bleachers were pulled out. Excited people streamed into the place. UMM must have gotten compensation from some source for hosting this, at least I assume. 

For years and years it was commonplace: going to the P.E. Center in March for the much-anticipated games. I was with the Morris newspaper. Heavens, today I'd be expected to get in my vehicle, gas it up and head south to Marshall for high-level games. The only time I have ever been at the Marshall facility was actually for a music concert! It was the Maynard Ferguson band in the early 1980s. Packed house and great show. Maynard was "on." To refresh: he was a trumpet player. 

But I have never been to the SSU campus for a high school sports event. I have speculated that the high-level games like sub-section or section championship draw fewer fans than when UMM was a hub. I shared that thought with a friend who offered analysis. He agreed but said that distance was not the only factor. He said "these days the parents are divided into so many activities." 

Yes, "the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves." 

I was at the paper when new teams/programs were being added. I mean, hockey went from being a sandlot type of sport to fully established with the Lee Center. I provided coverage in the "sandlot" days. There was lots of commitment in spite of the lack of amenities. Obviously we were at the mercy of weather. 

Speaking of that, what a mid-winter time we are having right as I write this, late January. Late January means I become another year older. On January 28 I turn 71 years of age. I feel fortunate to have made it this far. Once you've attended your 50-year high school reunion, the rest is gravy, n'est-ce pas? 

I was in the Morris High School Class of '73. We weren't "Morris Area" then. The highlight of our commencement was the speech given by Edith Martin, sister of the Martins we know so well from the grocery store. Could they all have dreamt that their store would have no competitor in the year 2026? I wonder what Edith in 1973 would think of the grocery prices of today. 

Willie's was "Red Owl" when Edith and I were young. I laugh as I remember how she referred to Super Valu then as "America's number one skinflint." 

Our high school has added gymnastics and swimming. I remember the late Rick Lucken expressing some concern about swimming as "another non-revenue sport." 

I'll be blunt and say I covered gymnastics and swimming in a grudging way. These were not fan-oriented sports so where's the interest? Was I supposed to put that consideration aside? Well yes, in the estimation of many. 

And all along we had the UMM teams. Only with the development of the UMM website did we really get a "sports information" department at UMM. For years the "SID" position was in name only and if Mark Fohl were to read this, he would not dispute it. Such far-reaching change brought by the Internet. It is a GIVEN now that colleges supply timely and extensive info on their sports teams. 

Jack Imholte would have been indifferent. He actually would have been skeptical of allocating resources for the purpose of in-depth sports info. And this is not to criticize him. Those were just different times. Staggeringly different. 

One norm was that it was always permissible to criticize ME. I never pretended to be thorough or consistent covering UMM sports. But I nevertheless did a lot of it in the long run. I made it a personal priority to cover UMM soccer in its first year because I felt "this is history." I recalled this in one of my recent meetings with UMM's new chancellor Michael Rodriguez. I guess the Williams family has a sense for "firsts." My father was the only music faculty in UMM's first year. 

 

The prepsters 

Covering Morris High School sports was difficult for a long time. The school had tremendous problems in the 1980s. While this was most evident in co-curricular, the problem went deeper to an underlying culture in the system. There was one individual who made so many of his colleagues cynical and defensive. To this day I'm amazed at the power that person had to influence others. 

I could have wrung my hands over how long it took to overcome that dysfunction. And there sat the superintendent pulling in his big check all the time. He'd probably say his hands were tied. While it may still be hard to "fire a teacher," I think the people who run the schools have leverage to apply heat on problem people in the system. 

And today's administrators appear better trained and conditioned to be true managers relative to the teachers. Previously they came across as warmed-over teachers themselves. So I'm happy about a lot of the strides. But I did have some trying years. I suffered some personal damage because of that (and some other things). 

When I write about sports today, I think you can sense that I feel genuine joy about it all. That is the real me. I probably lost my job at the Morris paper because of fallout from the goalpost incident of 2005. Of course I wasn't prepared to deal with that. And I'll finally reveal a little secret. On that day, I felt about zero interest in the UMM football team. We played at such a bottom level. And I felt considerably more inspiration to cover the area high-schoolers. 

I was flummoxed by the goalpost incident. A letter to the editor from Mike Busian probably set the wheels in motion for my exit months later from the commercial media. And it hurt profoundly. To this day I have some PTSD resulting from things that happened toward the end. I wake up sometimes having had a vivid dream where I'm still with the paper. Happened just in the last few days. I'll wake up and then realize "I haven't worked for the paper in 20 years." 

20 years! And then consider that I'll be 71 years old tomorrow (Wednesday). I'll write about local sports for as long as I can. I will do so right here and now.

 

Carvin Fish

Cougars 80, UW-Superior 78

Yes, a close game to entertain fans at the P.E. Center. It followed the women's victory which I blogged about in my previous post on this site. A slice of pizza costs $4 at the P.E. Center. I remember the years when I'd have my evening meal there for a basketball event: $3 for two slices of pizza! 

The UMM men got to .500 in overall won-lost, at 9-9. Things look better in the UMAC at 4-1. 

Carvin Fish was our big gun with 27 points. Carvin has been "in the zone" of late. He shot 10 of 14 and 2 of 3 in threes. Plus 5 of 10 at the freethrow line. He had eight rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Fish comes to UMM from Sisseton SD, Tiospa Zina Tribal School. 

Kaden Pieper scored 18 points and Matt Thompson ten. As a team we shot 26 of 55. In 3-pointers the numbers were 9 of 19. In freethrows: 19 of 29. 

Wasn't Maddy Grove spectacular in the women's game? 28 points.

January 28 of 1961 when this photo was taken. It's me turning age six. Williams family comfortably settled in Morris. History-making time: UMM's very first year! We were devoted to helping get the institution off the ground. Previously it was the West Central School of Agriculture. There are still some vestiges of the "school of ag" on campus. I have suggested that maybe it's time to move past that nostalgia.

I have enjoyed getting to know the new UMM chancellor Michael Rodriguez. The photo shows Dr. Rodriguez (left) with yours truly on Friday morning at Common Cup. The picture makes me think that I should stop cutting my own hair! I started that because of covid. Also stopped seeing the dentist. I finally went to dentist a few months ago and had a tooth pulled. Rodriguez has a major job ahead of him. He insists that UMM does not face a threat of closure. I wish him luck with that pledge. I don't think it's actually a slam-dunk. And with all the stormy weather our state is experiencing right now at the hands of the "Federal police," our economy could be damaged and this could obviously have ramifications for the U. Are you ready to get word that UMM is closing? Well that would certainly be a nightmare scenario. Let us strive to move forward led by the new guy in the chancellor's chair. Good luck!

 

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

Kehoe scores team-best 18 in Tuesday win

The weather has slowed the pace of things for MACA basketball. We're hoping to resume on Tuesday for the boys. Home game against Minnewaska Area. Our most recent game was the previous Tuesday, Jan. 20. On that day the Tigers won yet again. That's all they do, is win! Twelve times they have taken the court this season, successful every time out. 

That 12-0 record includes 6-0 in conference play. It's not premature to think about high-level post-season games. All the way to the top maybe? 

The Jan. 20 opponent was Eden Valley-Watkins. And MACA came away with an 80-56 victory. It was a night for Jack Kehoe to lead the charge in scoring. Kehoe made seven of ten field goal shots to post 18 points. Tyson Grove and Alex Asmus shared the No. 2 position on the scoring list. Each scored 16. Grove made seven of 14 shots, Alex six of 14. 

Jonah Huebner had impact with 12 points on five of eight. Riley Asmus joined in with his nine points on four of six. Then we had Ozzy Jerome with six points and Ian Grove with three. This is the first time I have typed Ian's name. Welcome to my blogs. 

I saw Maddy Grove play fantastic last night (Saturday) for the UMM women. It was a historic might for UMM basketball because there was a pep band! I don't recall even once seeing this in all my years with the Morris newspaper. Who says things are on a downward course at UMM? 

The Tigers' team shooting numbers were 32 of 65, 49 percent. We weren't really scintillating in 3-pointers where we made seven of 28. Alex Asmus was three of nine and Tyson Grove was two of eight. Ian Grove made his only attempt. So did Ozzy Jerome. 

In freethrows the Tigers were nine of 15, 60 percent. Kehoe was four of seven and Huebner two of two. Rebounds! Our team total was 30, 12 coming on offense. The top individual was Alex Asmus with seven. In assists it was Tyson Grove and Alex Asmus leading the way with four and three respectively. We had 18 total assists. 

Alex topped the steals list with his five. Huebner and Kehoe each had four. We had 17 total steals. We had two blocked shots with Tyson Grove and Kehoe taking the honors. 

Now let's get the harrowing winter weather put aside and get into the rest of this exciting season!

 

UMM women win

So it was a marquee night for the "Grove connection" on the UMN-Morris women's hoops team. A good turnout of fans was present on the bleacher seats at our P.E. Center for UMAC action. And as I already mentioned, an actual pep band on hand! Man I could have done a double-take! Seems like not asking too much to have a band organized, n'est-ce pas? 

And the band students do not have to be actual music students on campus, do they? I'm certain there are always lots of students around who have a background of having played in their high school band. Would they still be in possession of their instruments? If not, could the music department help out? 

Well we certainly had a bona fide band present Saturday to build the atmosphere for the doubleheader slate of collegiate hoops. Why so many years without a pep band? How would I rate the band from Saturday night? Well that's not important. It might have been rather threadbare but who cares? Let's consider it a "start." If the fans are happy, that's what matters. The fans and the players! 

The band was announced as being directed by Simon Tillier. So without a doubt the music department has applied its imprimatur. (I like using that word.) I think Simon was actually playing an instrument with the band, from my view up along the concourse. But my eyesight has been in decline. 

We have a different yardstick for judging things at UMM these days, it seems. No longer does it seem necessary to apply the highest college-level standards. It is enough to just keep as many programs going as possible. In other words, for the institution to survive. As long as everyone is having a good time, I'll raise a toast to that. 

But we'll probably never see the bleachers pulled out on  both sides of the gym again. I remember when that was the norm for years and years. I also remember the norm of UMM regularly playing the state universities like Moorhead State and all the others. I really do miss that. You would think that the mighty U of M could keep its Morris campus at the level where we could compete with, and defeat, the state U's. You second that? But those days appear unlikely to return. 

We have a new chancellor at UMN-Morris now who shall we say is trying to right the ship, to land the plane. He's an agreeable guy, Mike Rodriguez. I told him he's probably happy to be here in Morris instead of the Twin Cities where there is a violent disturbance involving the Federal police a.k.a. "ICE." The scenes from there make me think we're heading into dystopian times. Things remain peaceful in Morris and at UMM, thank God. 

President Trump gets so much of his support from places like rural western Minnesota. But then the Twin Cities are where all hell breaks loose with what Trump wants. I think he wants a white supremacist society. And he appears to get backing from our Christian churches like the kind of churches we have out here on the prairie, with few exceptions. 

 

Maddy Grove

Maddy's showcase 

The UMM women's basketball team won 59-48 over UW-Superior on Saturday. And what a night for Maddy Grove as she scored 28 points. She made her only two 3-point shot tries. She was 13 of 26 overall in field goal shooting. She really was our dominant force in scoring. 

Shelby Mortenson had our second-high total of 15 points. I didn't see Gianna Klarenbeek's name in the boxscore. Mortenson topped rebounds with seven. Grace Perry led in assists with four. Wow: Mortenson dominated in blocked shots with seven! Grove had four of our 12 steals. As a team we shot 23 of 62. 

With the win the Cougars improved to 4-1 in league and 7-11 overall. UW-Superior is known as the "Yellowjackets." 

I'm writing this on a most chilly Sunday morning. I have to wonder: Should anyone of truly good conscience consider attending a Christian church in Stevens County today? In Stevens County, this most "red" county that walks hand-in-hand with the orange god, Trump, not the true god of the Bible? 

I will stick to the true God and true Jesus no matter what it takes. Jesus could sometimes sound a little like Bernie Sanders, a "liberal." Pastors have become tentative about quoting from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. They get complaints. I will never be ashamed to cite the quotes from Jesus Christ. I would never put any mortal person like Trump ahead of Jesus. So I would not fit in with most of the churches here in coyote country of Stevens County. 

The Twin Cities are where the people are. Never dismiss that. I continue warning my Apostolic church friends, "beware false prophets."

 

Addendum: From an email I received from a friend a couple days ago:

 

Marshall Hoffman interviewed Dr. Rodriguez on his “Community Connection” KMRS program the other day. It all went well, but then toward the end Marshall mentioned the concern and disappointment on campus with the “sudden departure of his predecessor” (no name was mentioned). Mike kind of hemmed and hawed, didn’t really answer, and changed the subject.

Someday, we’ll have to talk about KMRS – it’s really changed a lot since they moved into the new studio. And not necessarily for the better. Yes, the on-air talent (3 individuals in particular) are much more “polished” and professional than the standard fare of announcers they usually hire. But, they aren’t in the studio – they “work” from very distant locales, i.e. Florida, California, wherever. So that’s how Ingstad Media could afford better talent – they don’t have to pay them to move to Morris and be “live” in the studio. I haven’t talked to Deb (Mattheis) in quite a while, so I haven’t got the skinny yet on how all of that shook out.

 

My answer to Hoffman would have been: "Transitions happen in education all the time." Sometimes it's not for the faint of heart. The institutions are organisms with their own survival instincts. Someone once asked Ringo about the firing of Pete Best. And Ringo said "they could have fired me too."

 

Addendum #2: A friend with a UMM background responded to an email where I made note of the UMM pep band. Historical background, interesting:

 

Wow, a UMM pep band - what a pleasant surprise! I think the last “real” pep bands (not semi-organized, rag-tag student-led groups) were my sophomore year out there, winter of ‘72-‘73. Clyde (Johnson) divided us into 2 groups, A& B, to split the load for home basketball games (men only, no such thing as women’s BB then). But then Title 9 was passed, and instead of funding from the men’s sports programs, they took money from the Humanities division. Clyde didn’t like that, and he told us where athletic department could put their pep bands. Nothing since.  

 

My response: These days so many UMM basketball games are women's/men's doubleheaders, so it's not like the pep band has to make separate commitments to the two genders. I know all about the complications caused for certain people when the number of sports programs proliferated. I was in the commercial media! 

My response #2: The restoration of pep band had a modest start Saturday. Really not a great performance but it was a start! If communication circulates about this, we'll likely see more interest. I personally have always considered pep band an art form! I gather - ahem - that our high school band director does not see it that way!

 

A final note: A photo that includes Dr. Rodriguez with yours truly at Common Cup appears with my current post on my "Morris of Course" blog site. Friends of UMM gathered informally at Common Cup Friday morning, very enjoyable. Here is the link to my post and thanks: 

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2026/01/we-may-be-cold-but-were-not-omaha.html 

  

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