The high school hoops playoffs are proceeding during these Covid times. They proceed with an asterisk: Paynesville vs. Minnewaska of our sub-section had a "double forfeit." Huh?
Our MACA girls team was the on-paper underdog Tuesday. I suppose it's not a huge upset for No. 6 to defeat No. 3. That's what happened. The Tigers beat the Eden Valley-Watkins Eagles 53-40 at Eden Valley.
It was thrilling to hear from the public access TV channel how Cate Kehoe put up her 3's and succeeded. Maybe this is a suggested strategy for the next game which I hear will be in Litchfield. Set up a screen for Kehoe. She made four 3's. Her long-range shooting work was complemented by Emma Bowman. Bowman succeeded three times from 3-point range and led the Tigers in scoring with 23 points.
I'm sure Cate's success thrilled fans like Janet Kehoe, Tom Carrington, Matt Carrington and Neal Hofland among others. I see Tom nearly every morning around 6:30 a.m. at DeToy's Restaurant. This morning he asserted that Cate more or less used her own initiative in launching her 3's. He's not sure the coach shared the enthusiasm about this. But it sure worked, at least on this night.
Maybe this is a strategy that works when seeking an upset: sink or swim with 3's. When these are hitting, it sure supplies lots of fuel.
Is it possible that only four Tigers scored Tuesday? Looks that way. Bowman and Kehoe had 23 and 14 points respectively. Maddy Grove supplied nine points and Meredith Carrington seven. Bowman led in rebounds as well as scoring. In rebounds her stat was seven.
Grove topped assists with four. Bowman and Carrington each had three steals. Kehoe and Grove each blocked two shots. We shot with 48 percent success while holding the host team to 35 percent. We also pressured the Eagles into 20 turnovers. The orange and black was in good shape at halftime, up 31-20.
Our overall W/L record is 6-13. EV-W closes out its season at 9-8. Whitney Jansen was EV-W's top scorer with 12 points. Brielle Kuechle put in nine.
Will the Tigers keep surprising in 3AA-North? Here's a bulletin: The Tigers' next game is Friday, 7 p.m. at Litchfield against the No. 2 Dragons of Litch. This foe is green! The green-themed Dragons climbed with a 48-18 thumping of Benson. Also in 3AA-North, No. 1 New London-Spicer (no surprise) dominated ACGC 69-21. What's in the drinking water at NL-S?
I'll assume Covid-related factors caused the odd double-forfeit involving 'Waska and Paynesville.
State of UMM, 2021
Well, this is a little disturbing. How could it not be? UMM items "in the news" that are about people leaving the campus either by retirement or simply leaving. In the case of the high-profile choir director, he's making a lateral move. How is this not concerning? Not only that, he's leaving the prestige of our U of M for a private school.
Private schools have their place but the U is supposed to be special. That's my understanding. Choir director Brad Miller has announced he's going to St. John's to occupy the same position. What gives? Obviously this was done for a reason. What all played into it? Inquiring minds want to know.
We will miss the whole Miller family here in Morris. They will be greatly missed at First Lutheran Church where there is a need for young and vigorous families. Ana Miller is a virtuoso singer.
We'll even miss their dog, a cute white little house dog.
I have some justification for writing about UMM because I am a benefactor. My family's Fund on behalf of the school will be adjusted this spring so that it is neutral in connection with the various ensembles in the music department. Up to now, choir has been the priority.
My late father directed orchestra and he was also the only music faculty in the institution's first year, so he directed band! He obtained some second-hand uniforms from the Twin Cities campus. I have found some people assuming he only directed the men's chorus when it came to choir. No, he also directed "mixed chorus" on many occasions. That's the equivalent to today's UMM concert choir.
Gender-related terms are probably phased out now. As anachronistic? Well yes. Times change. My father could have directed jazz in UMM's early years, but it would not have fit in with cultural norms at the time. "Jazz" had non-sophisticated connotations. Oh, so quaint to look back on. Maybe part of that attitude was racial. My father was simply color-blind. He had a background of playing in a jazz-oriented dance group when he was on the U of M campus in the 1930s. I have published a photo of that group twice on my blogs. (I have seen racial enlightenment in my lifetime but now we have Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.)
Another current news item from UMM is the retirement of the chancellor. That shocked me. It's a position that sets the tone for the whole campus. One source tells me that Michelle Behr has been "working remotely from the mountains of Colorado." I sought some additional background and was informed that Colorado is where she will retire. This is all fine, I guess, or maybe not so fine.
My source observed: "Is this going to be the future? Sure hope not. People need to see the eyeballs."
My bottom line: We should not be talking so much about people leaving UMM or retiring from UMM. IMHO we should put these people in the background of our thoughts or excise them altogether, because our emphasis should be on the present and future. We should be recognizing the people who really want to be here, who really want to be invested in things, who don't mind living in this little prairie outpost called Morris, Minnesota.
It sure doesn't bother me to live here. The name of the blog is "I Love Morris." UMM has a theme of "In the middle of somewhere" which I disapprove of, because it plays on the derisive comment about how we're in the middle of (something else.) A lot of people actually believe the latter.
A very credible source tells me there are issues with morale on the UMM campus, conflicts between departments etc. I didn't come into town on a turnip truck and I know how these things can happen in an academic institution. It is dealt with from the top and by that I mean, by the overall U of M president who is Joan Gabel. I'd like to invite Ms. Gabel to come out for a visit again.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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