Marshall too much for our MACA Tigers

A suspenseful first game was followed by less suspenseful games 2 and 3. The volleyball Tigers were in Marshall Saturday seeking the section championship. On the other side of the net: the "home" team as it were, as it was the Tigers of Marshall. Yes, two orange and black-themed units were going to do battle on this night.
Our Tigers of MACA were buoyed by having just beaten the No. 1 seed in the North sub-section, Paynesville. Could we parlay that momentum into the title match in section? We put up a strong battle in game 1, where we were edged in the 25-21 score. After that, unfortunately, the curtain seemed to come down for us. Credit the very strong Marshall Tiger team. We dropped games 2 and 3 by scores of 25-13 and 25-6.
Marshall climbs to state buoyed by this 3-0 sweep win at the home of the Mustangs. Marshall carries a 27-5 record into state. Their appearance in state will be the program's 28th since 1977. The storied program has garnered six state titles. They have been runner-up six times. At present they own the No. 4 rank in state. Breaking down their 27 wins to date in 2018, they have lost just nine games.
Our Tigers of Morris Area Chokio Alberta also had a sterling campaign in 2018, accomplishing 19 wins against eight losses.
LeAndra Hormann chalked up a serving ace Saturday. Set assists were infrequent and here it was LaRae Kram producing seven and Liz Dietz five. Kills were a little sparse too unfortunately. Sophie Carlsen executed four kills followed by Lexi Pew (3), Kenzie Hockel (2), Emma Berlinger (2) and Bailey Marty (2). Carlsen went up to perform two ace blocks while Pew and Marty each had one. Riley Decker was sharp in digs with her 20. Marty had impact in this category with her 15. The list wraps up with Hockel and Kram each with six and Macee Libbesmeier with five.
Click on the link below to read about MACA's win over Paynesville in the sub-section championship match. This post is on my companion website, "Morris of Course." Thanks for reading. - B.W

http://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2018/11/tigers-topple-no-1-seed-paynesville-for.html

 
U of M athletics after Illinois game
So, the U of M athletic director gets a big performance bonus? That's what we read recently. Football is of course a big revenue driver for our august institution. On Saturday the Gophers played a game described by The Daily Gopher as "hot garbage."
Going in, I felt this game would hardly be worth listening to. I told friends at the senior center that it would barely be worth following. Illinois seemed a pushover opponent. Illinois does have Lovie Smith who coached in the NFL. We have P.J. Fleck, a big PR back-slapping personality who talks about "rowing the boat."
We got killed by Illinois at Illinois. I don't get the Big 10 Network so I caught some game highlights on the Channel 11 news in the evening. And I thought to myself "my God," as I watched Illinois' big plays against the Gophers. It looked like the Gopher defense just "quit." I was astonished.
Our athletic director gets a big bonus check but should we be surprised the way huge amounts of money just slosh around at the U? Can't the board of regents keep a better eye on things? I will quote again our former governor Jesse Ventura: "For the amount of money we (the state) give to the University of Minnesota, maybe I should run it."
I would love to see the stadium nearly empty for any remaining home games. Maybe in a few years there will be no U of M football program due to the declining cultural relevance of the game (head injuries etc.).
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com