Girls defeat Paynesville, BOLD at home

Morris Area Chokio Alberta softball delighted fans at the home field with wins on Monday and Tuesday. First the Tigers got past BOLD 8-0 in the Monday, May 2, action.

The Tuesday story was a 7-0 triumph vs. Paynesville.

We'll start our review with the Paynesville game.

Tigers 7, Paynesville 0

Paynesville batters looked stymied at the plate through much of the Tuesday, May 3, game that had the surging Tigers win 7-0.
Ten straight Paynesville batters went down on strikes at one point.

Mackenzie Weatherly pitched the whole way for coach Mary Holmberg's squad in this WCC-South game. Weatherly struck out 19 batters total. Her walk total: a mere one.

It was a two-hitter that lifted the MACA season record to 11-1 (9-0 in conference).

The ace Tiger hurler, a senior, struck out the side in four innings: the first, fourth, fifth and sixth. Appropriately, it was strikeouts that accounted for the final two outs and allowed MACA to celebrate its 11th triumph.
(Now let's get some sunshine.)

Dani Schultz hit a two-RBI double in the third to start giving the Tigers some cushion. Other Tigers who doubled on the day were Haley Scheldorf and Sadie Fischer.

The doubles were among ten total hits by MACA that brought cheers from the orange and black faithful.

Schultz, Fischer and Holly Amundson were the Tigers with multiple hits.

The two Paynesville hits were off the bats of Sam Dahl and Megan Wuertz. Paynesville has had a decent campaign and came out of Tuesday at 5-3.

Weatherly's streak of ten strikeouts began with the final out in the third inning. She ended up facing just four batters over the minimum.

The Tigers took care of their offensive business pretty steadily over the early innings. Their one-run first inning was followed by three each in the second and third.

Coach Holmberg had to be pleased with her team's fielding - just one error committed. Paynesville had two miscues in the field.

The hitting roundup shows Sadie Fischer with perfect two-for-two numbers including a double. Dani Schultz's timely double in the third inning was part of a two-for-four day for her, with two RBIs.

Holly Amundson's two hits came in three at-bats. Haley Scheldorf had a double in her two at-bats.

Katie Holzheimer and Haley Henrichs finished one-for-two, and Hannah Sayles had a one-for-three day.

Jackie Skoglund took the pitching loss for green-clad Paynesville. Megan Schaefer also pitched.

Tigers 8, BOLD 0

The Tigers downed the BOLD Warriors Monday despite not exactly knocking the cover off the ball. The Tigers were outhit 5-3 but they found other sources of momentum. They were resourceful.

Mackenzie Weatherly had a double to account for one of the three MACA hits. She knocked in two runs with that blast.

But Weatherly's main heroics are usually reserved for the pitching rubber. This day was no exception. Again she worked the whole way.

The senior had opposing batters frustrated most of the time - a typical situation. On this day the opposition was set down on strikes 12 times. BOLD received just two walks.

BOLD had the superior hit total, slightly, but they managed only one real threat. The bases got loaded with Warriors in the fourth. They took advantage of some (rare) wildness by Weatherly and a hit by Brittany Dahlk. There was one out.

But the door got slammed. Weatherly bore down to get a pop fly and strikeout.

Dahlk finished the day with two of BOLD's hits.

BOLD pitcher Brittany Nissen allowed just the three hits but there were other problems befalling BOLD. Like, eight walks issued and three errors.
The errors explain why only three of MACA's eight runs were earned.

The Tigers for their part fielded like a winner: just one error.

The score stood 3-0 until the sixth when MACA got the skids greased for a five-run rally.

Weatherly was one of three Tigers hitting safely. Haley Scheldorf went one-for-four and drove in a run. Sadie Fischer had one hit in three at-bats for the hosts.

The win vaulted the Tigers to the ten-win plateau in overall W/L.

More good things were in store on Tuesday. (Now, let's get the temperature bumped up a little)

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

Vikings keep fans energized with QB pick

There was a time when baseball spring training symbolized "hope springs eternal." Today I think it's the NFL draft.

The list of drafted players with each team projects so much hope. Virtually all these guys look good "on paper." They seem so fresh and ready to impress.

They will be put through a meat grinder of course. Many will turn out to be just average. And of course many won't make the grade.

You can't make sweeping judgments about the young men taken by the Minnesota Vikings. The list is topped by a quarterback. You can't beat that for juicing the PR.
And PR is mighty important right now with a new stadium apparently on the horizon.

It's not a done deal yet, so it's of prime importance to get the fan base excited.

The purple fans are now buzzing about Mr. Christian Ponder.
Anyone with a 3.7 grade-point-average and who got his undergraduate degree in 2.5 years and his Master's before his senior season, all while excelling in Division I football, will be called "Mister" by yours truly.

The Vikes chose Ponder with the 12th pick in the first round. Many fans did react with skepticism. I have read one NFL expert refer to Ponder as "a poor man's Chad Pennington."

Not real promising words.

But the fact is we don't know the young man's full potential yet. There will be a relief factor with Brett Favre and his annoying idiosyncrasies gone. Favre was never a true Viking anyway.

Tarvaris Jackson was a high draft pick but he wasn't a first rounder, and he was dubbed a "project" right away.
Actually I think Jackson still has potential to succeed in the NFL. There's a rumor that Seattle might be interested in him.

The year he was benched in favor of Gus Frerotte, he apparently was expected to beat Green Bay in Green Bay and then beat Peyton Manning. He almost did beat Manning. And he probably would have, had Visanthe Shiancoe not dropped a key pass.

He moves quickly and releases the ball quickly. I wish him well.

The Vikings were due to take a first round quarterback this time around. I'm not thinking about needs, I'm thinking about the fact that the year 2011 ends in identical digits: "11."
The Vikings chose Tommy Kramer in 1977 and Daunte Culpepper in 1999.

I'm sure it's pure coincidence but Glenn Beck could probably make something of this. Just imagine him standing by his blackboard. His wild theorizing somehow comes to mind here. Fox News is phasing out this conniving self-promoter. (I don't know why the ax can't fall immediately.)

But back to football: Mention of Kramer and Culpepper brings back a wealth of memories. Kramer is my age and I can't help but think of him as a tragic story. I sort of take it personally that he didn't rise to the top. He could have ended up like Joe Montana.

The Vikings of that era weren't paying top dollar to get the kind of talent needed to rise to the top. Kramer's lifestyle didn't seem to facilitate the best results either. He definitely had his moments. His talent was never in dispute.

Culpepper never had me feeling upbeat. They said he was like "a linebacker playing quarterback." There's a reason why guys who are built like linebackers play linebacker.

From his very first pre-season game, I felt Culpepper moved too sluggishly and made decisions too sluggishly. The presence of Randy Moss gave him a little heyday.

Now we have Christian Ponder and we're all abuzz about his possibilities. He comes from Florida State where they have a Native American nickname. It's not an issue there like at UND, where the "Fighting Sioux" name saga has become neverending, tired and pathetic.

As if an athletic nickname should be so godawful important. A rich benefactor had this institution at his mercy over this matter. It was a benefactor who once got sanctions for celebrating Hitler's birthday.

I guess money really does talk.

Ponder's Florida State Seminoles weren't torn apart on this matter. It's a placid matter there, although from a distance one could still raise concerns. I notice an Indian arrowhead on the side of the FSU helmets.

Many NFL observers, including the one who gave the Pennington quote, see Ponder as a draft "reach."

Quarterbacks were popular in this year's draft. Three were taken in the top ten picks. Then came Ponder at No. 12.

Choosing a quarterback early is truly a roll of the dice. Many highly-touted QBs fail, some miserably. We all remember the big discussion over whether Ryan Leaf or Peyton Manning should be the top pick.

Remember JaMarcus Russell?

I can't confirm what I'm about to say, but I think the Vikings wanted a white quarterback. That's a mean thing to write but it's a thought that crossed my mind, and when you write online you should share all your honest thoughts.

The Vikings are in a sensitive time when they need to sell the idea of a new stadium, so they need to connect with the prevailing culture of the fan base. White people define the prevailing culture of the Upper Midwest.

We already have a non-white head coach.

Is it a stretch for me to suggest that race consciousness exists in the NFL? Why then do we have the "Rooney Rule?"

I remember "Dark Star" saying a few years ago (during his 'CCO Radio heyday) that the NBA was the only truly colorblind league. I think the NFL is getting closer to that now.

We were not there when Daunte Culpepper was quarterback. People who were inclined to criticize Culpepper sharply felt a little defensive.

Dennis Green was the non-white coach in that era. He was a lightning rod at times. I would suggest that to the extent Green drew derision, it wasn't because of race but because of personality issues. I could phrase the latter less diplomatically if I wanted to.

Remember Green, Dan Barreiro and the "chicken-fried Moses" comment? The Star Tribune had to research that to make sure it wasn't racist. It wasn't. Green could be chippy.

Current Strib columnist Jim Souhan thinks Ponder might be too fragile for the NFL. Ponder has had a right shoulder separation. Let's also throw in bruised triceps, a ruptured bursa sac (requiring draining and surgery) and that feared "C" word: "concussion."

"I think I was mislabeled as injury-prone," Ponder said.

If he gets hurt, can the Vikes really go with Joe Webb for a time?

There's another quarterback whose name escapes me right now. Wait a minute, it's Rhett. Rhett Butler?

Whatever, the Vikings might be ill-advised just crossing their fingers about Ponder staying healthy. Certainly they are crossing their fingers about getting a new stadium built.

People my age have to sigh because we remember when the Metrodome was shiny new. It was touted as the solution to all our problems. People seem to like it.

But it doesn't feed the money cow of the NFL well enough.

There is a new generation of NFL stadiums, begun by Jerry Jones in Dallas, that gives opulence and excess new meaning. I have to wonder if it's a bridge too far. I think a lot of fans have this question at the back of their minds.

The Metrodome has been popular. We shouldn't dismiss it so routinely.

We're looking at three weeks left in the legislative session. A partnership is in fact forming. The key piece was Ramsey County.

It looks like the site is going to be the old Army Ammunition plant in Arden Hills. George Carlin - RIP - would have appreciated this. Carlin always got laughs when noting that football was played in places like "War Memorial Stadium," compared to the peaceful tone of baseball.

Ramsey County Commissioner Tony Bennett says "we've made a lot of progress," and then he broke into singing "The Shadow of Your Smile."

OK, I stole that joke from Christopher Gates of "Daily Norseman."

How will the Vikings do with Christian Ponder? Can a raw rookie with question marks really outplay the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler and Matthew Stafford?

OK, Stafford is injury-prone and he plays for the snakebit Lions. But Matt Millen has been gone from the Lions for a while now. The Lions may be ready to roar.

Green Bay and Chicago appear very stable.

The Vikings? It's a roll of the dice.

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

Tigers shine with wind raging as backdrop

The weather didn't seem fit for man or beast, really. A relentless wind blew across the west central Minnesota prairie. The temperature was more typical of March than of late April.

Only very important business would make a person want to spend a significant amount of time outside. Morris Area Chokio Alberta baseball and softball constituted very important business.

Administrators strive to avoid postponements in springtime. You never know, the weather could get worse. So the thumbs-up was given for the baseball and softball tournaments slated for this past weekend (April 29-30).

Perhaps the uncomfortable nature of the weather would "numb away" after a while. Hopefully that was the case for the hardy MACA fans who enjoyed abundant Tiger success on the diamond.

Coach Lyle Rambow's Tigers scored 32 runs to just seven for the opposition, over three games played. The dominance led to three wins, the first of which was on Friday evening.

The Tigers rolled past Pelican Rapids 17-5 in the Friday phase. Matt Lembcke hurled for the win with his four innings, striking out seven batters.

Matt and his mates resumed play on Saturday with a rematch against Pelican Rapids. This was a more subdued game offensively and the Tigers came out the winner 4-1.

The Tigers were back to scoring in double digits when they wrapped up their tournament action with an 11-1 win in five innings over MACCRAY.

All this success kept the MACA season record unblemished at 8-0.

Tigers 4, Pelican Rapids 1

The Tigers executed a double steal to secure the lead for good in the third inning. The orange and black athletes scored two runs in that inning and plated their other two in the fourth.

Their line score was four runs on eight hits and two errors, while Pelican Rapids had 1-2-1 numbers.

Pelican Rapids pushed a run home on a ground ball in the first inning, then had the door slammed on them by the Tiger pitching duo of Sam Mattson (the winner) and Evan Schultz (awarded the save).

Mattson struck out seven batters and walked two, while allowing two hits and one run (earned). Schultz fanned a batter and walked none.

Patrick Coleman was the losing pitcher.

It was Alex Erickson who scored on the double steal that gave MACA the lead. Erickson wielded an effective bat, going three-for-three, and his single in the third drove in a run.

Tyler Hansen, who finished two-for-three with a double, singled to drive in a run in the fourth. Also hitting safely for the Tigers were Eric Riley (one-for-three), Mitch Kill (one-for-two) and Ethan Bruer (one-for-two).

Tanner Grahn and Jed Hanson hit safely for Pelican Rapids.

Tigers 11, MACCRAY 1

Ryan Beyer crossed home plate with the run giving the Tigers the ten-run lead that would end this game in five innings. Beyer scampered home on a Cole Riley single that came with two outs.

Alex Erickson had a role in the offense although his consecutive hitting streak was stopped. We're not talking a consecutive game hitting streak, we're talking at-bats!

Erickson chalked up hits in ten straight at-bats, but in the 11-1 win over MACCRAY he settled for one-for-two. The senior has a stratospheric .857 average over a skein of four games. He drove in a run with a single against MACCRAY.

MACCRAY's loss was only its second this season.

Mitch Kill and Ethan Bruer subdued the Wolverine bats with their reliable pitching. Kill turned in four innings on the hill and was the winner. He fanned four batters and walked two while allowing three hits and one run (earned).

Bruer finished up with one inning, allowing no hits, striking out two batters and walking none.

Tyler Donner was the losing pitcher.

The Tigers went on the attack with a six-run second inning. They followed that up with a four-run third and the final game-ending run in the fifth.

It was a glittering performance by coach Rambow's crew that saw zero errors committed and a team total ten hits.

Tyler Hansen had a two-for-two showing in the boxscore including a double, and he drove in four runs. Ryan Beyer went one-for-two with an RBI.

Eric Riley had two hits in three at-bats and drove in a run. Cole Riley posted one-for-three numbers with an RBI.

Ethan Bruer picked up an RBI to go with his one-for-two numbers Brody Bahr and Aaron Vold both finished one-for-two.

The Wolverines who hit safely were Jamie Boonstra, Jerrod Holmgren and Riley Aeikens. Holmgren scored the only MACCRAY run.

Softball: Tigers finish in second

The MACA girls were dealt their first loss of the season, after recording ten wins, Saturday in the home invite.

The Tigers battled St. Cloud Apollo in a low-scoring game with the championship at stake. The outcome was a 2-1 loss.

Leading up to that, coach Mary Holmberg's Tigers turned back Moorhead (score of 2-1) and West Central Area (11-1).

Moorhead beat Ortonville for fifth place and MACCRAY topped West Central Area for third. Eight teams had their athletes in Morris on this very blustery and unseasonably cool day. Spring truly seemed distant.

Dani Schultz showed authority at bat - no surprise there - and this seasoned hitter had seven hits in ten at-bats.

Kelsey DeCamp honed in on the opponent's pitching for five hits including two doubles and a home run, in eight at-bats.

The hit parade also included: Sadie Fischer (two-for-nine), Mackenzie Weatherly (three-for-eight), Haley Scheldorf (two-for-eight), Haley Henrichs (two-for-nine), Katie Holzheimer (three-for-seven) and Holly Amundson (two-for-three).

Weatherly exuded her usual confident air on the pitching rubber. Her resilient arm was good for nearly 18 innings. She was the pitcher of record in all three games. Mackenzie VanBatavia also pitched for MACA.

Surely the weather has to take a more mild turn sometime soon.
(". . .And don't call me Shirley." - Leslie Nielsen, RIP).

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

Softball: Tigers show command on the road

The MACA girls took total command in their Monday and Thursday games this past week.

The Monday (4/25) story was an 8-0 blanking of Lac qui Parle Valley at LQPV. Then on Thursday, again playing on the road, coach Mary Holmberg's squad thumped Montevideo 14-1.
The grades for both offense and defense were obviously high.

Tigers 14, Montevideo 1

Mackenzie Weatherly continued building her resume as one of the area's premier pitchers. She set down ten Thunder Hawk batters on strikes in the process of tossing a two-hitter at Monte.

The two hits she allowed didn't make much noise as they were singles. Those Thunder Hawks hitting safely were Dani Emkes and Chelsey Larson. Larson's safety pushed in the only Monte run.

The Thunder Hawks came out of the day still seeking their first win.

The Tigers showed a well-oiled offense beginning in the third inning. They got on the scoreboard with three runs and followed that up with six runs in the fourth and five in the fifth.
Their line score was a superb 14 runs, 13 hits and zero errors. Monte struggled in the field with five errors.

Pitcher Weatherly complemented her ten strikeouts with zero walks. The game was limited to five innings due to its one-sidedness.

Vanessa Jordahl was the pitcher of record for the Thunder Hawks. She worked four innings and Ashley Hoehne was called on for one.

Let's roll up our sleeves for a review of the hitting attack. Weatherly supported her own pitching with two-for-four numbers at bat. She scored two runs and drove in one.

Sadie Fischer had a two-for-three afternoon and this Tiger drove in two runs. Dani Schultz had an RBI to go with her two-for-three numbers.

Haley Scheldorf had two hits in four at-bats and drove in a run. Haley Henrichs scored two runs and drove in one, as part of going one-for-three.

Kelsey DeCamp added to the mix at one-for-three, and Katie Holzheimer went one-for-two.

Morris Area Chokio Alberta advanced out of this day with still-perfect won-lost numbers at 7-0. A weekend tournament awaited, on a weekend when the wind would be unspeakably fierce. Yours truly is writing this post in the midst of that.

But it looks as though these home tournaments (softball and baseball) are being played despite the inhospitable weather.

Tigers 8, Lac qui Parle Valley 0

The Tigers looked comfortable as road warriors on Monday, April 25. They visited the wide open spaces of Lac qui Parle Valley. There they added another chapter to their win-filled season, 8-0 at the expense of the Eagles.

Weatherly was a big part of the story as has become so typical. The Eagles flailed away, struggling to make contact against her deliveries, and on 15 occasions an Eagle had to retire to the bench having struck out.

The Eagles managed just three hits. They were the recipient of just one walk.

The MACA offense was no slouch either. Here Weatherly had a big role just like on the defensive side. Weatherly had two hits in as many at-bats, one of them a double, and drove in two runs.

Dani Schultz showed command with the bat, coming at the Eagles with three hits in five at-bats and driving in a run. Sadie Fischer had a two-for-three afternoon.

Kelsey DeCamp went one-for-three with an RBI.

The Tigers committed no errors while LQPV had just one.

The offense held back until the sixth when an MACA rally generated five runs. The score was 3-0 prior to that.

Three Eagles hit safely: Karley Weir, McKenzie Long and Mackenzie Clark.

Alyssa Harms was tagged with the pitching loss. She pitched 3 2/3 innings and was relieved by Rachel Schlieman who worked 3 1/3.

Will the wind abate by Monday? The Tigers are slated to host the BOLD Warriors on Monday, May 2, then they'll go on the road to face Paynesville Tuesday.

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

MACA boys pound Monte, edge LQPV

The MACA baseball team played games on Monday and Thursday that differed sharply in their complexion. One was low-scoring and the other saw runs come home frequently. The one constant was that the Tigers won.

The Monday story was a 2-1 win by coach Lyle Rambow's squad over Lac qui Parle Valley.

On Thursday there was a hit parade as the Tigers disposed of Montevideo 13-9 for their fifth win of the season against no losses.

Tigers 13, Monte 9

The Thursday hit parade saw 17 hits resonate off the Tigers' bats. At the fore was Alex Erickson who pounded out four hits in five at-bats.

The Thunder Hawks had their own terror at the plate in Joe Bednar whose bat was good for four hits.

Monte kept pace with the Tigers' hitting as their team total was 15 hits - two shy of the Tigers.

Coach Rambow had to bemoan his team's five errors but the winning outcome negated that. Monte committed two errors.

The visiting Tigers broke this game open in the fifth inning, unleashing an eight-run rally. Prior to that rally the Tigers were clinging to a 4-3 lead.
Montevideo scored six runs over the last three innings and almost kept that momentum going. They had the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh but the Morris Area Chokio Alberta lead was too much to surmount.

Monte came out of the day still seeking their first win. It has been a hard spring for teams to get their games in, due to weather. Thursday's game was just Monte's third. Maybe the State High School League should offer an indoor sport for part of the spring months!

One of Erickson's four hits was a double. He drove in two runs and scored two.

Eric Riley came through with the rare feat of three triples. He achieved this in four at-bats. He was a cog in the scoring with three RBIs and three runs scored.

Cole Riley's bat was sizzling with perfect three-for-three numbers including a double and two RBIs. Tyler Hansen had a three-for-four day with a run-batted-in.

Ryan Beyer had a double and scored two runs. Brady Valnes had a double and drove in two runs. Taylor Hufford went one-for-two and Ethan Bruer one-for-three.

Bednar was joined among Monte's hit leaders by Tyler Kuno and Colton Vien each with three hits.

On to pitching: Here, two Tigers shared the load with Eric Riley getting the win and Tyler Hansen the save.

Riley pitched four innings, striking out two batters and walking two, while allowing nine hits and six runs (four earned).

Hansen had a three-inning stint on the mound. This Tiger fanned two batters and walked one. He gave up six hits and three runs, only one of which was earned.
Hansen was on the mound when MACA needed to extinguish a bases-loaded threat by Monte in the seventh. Hansen bore down to get a three-pitch strikeout and then a pop fly which he squeezed his glove around.
The Thunder Hawks were turned back. The Tigers' unbeaten status was preserved. The Tigers hope to keep the winning habit in their own invite this weekend.

Colton Vien was the pitcher of record for the Thunder Hawks.

Tigers 2, Lac qui Parle Valley 1

Pitching was the main story of the afternoon when coach Rambow's squad hosted Lac qui Parle Valley Monday.

Alex Erickson was the whole pitching story for MACA. He was truly in control in his seven innings of work, setting down eleven Eagles on strikes and walking just one. The Eagles managed just two hits off him.

LQPV had just one pitcher go the whole way too. This was Brandon Bornhorst who showed a high caliber like Erickson, as he fanned eight Tigers and walked one. But Bornhorst did give up eight hits.

He worked out of a big jam in the first inning, when MACA got the bases loaded only to come up empty when Bornhorst struck out the side.

One of the Tiger runs was unearned.

The sharp work of Erickson and Bornhorst on the hill held this game to an efficient one hour/26 minutes. Each team committed one error.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead into the sixth but had the Eagles come up even thanks to a home run by Eric Paulson. Paulson was persistent in his at-bat, finally connecting big-time on the tenth pitch from Erickson. His round-tripper was over the left field fence.

The bottom of the sixth saw the Tigers get their edge.
Eric Riley, who had two hits in as many at-bats, scored both of the MACA runs on the day.

It was a day for the Rileys to shine as Cole finished two-for-three with two RBIs. Alex Erickson's bat was good for a double in three at-bats. Tyler Hansen also went one-for-three.

Taylor Hufford went one-for-one and Mitch Kill one-for-two.

Morris Area Chokio Alberta is striving to get games in according to the original schedule, so the weather will need to be on an even keel for a while. It's horribly windy today (Friday) as yours truly is typing this.
As long as area ag interests are well-served, we'll be happy.

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

Conflict, health issues put cloud over NFL

The William Frawley character in "I Love Lucy" started a little kiosk called "A big hunk of America." This was in response to Ricky Ricardo's "A little bit of Cuba."

Frawley as the endearing "Fred" (Mertz) nailed the American essence. Let's make the big bigger. Let's let the rich get richer.

The National Football League has been a phenomenal American success story. Starting in the 1960s, it has grown as if endowed with magical qualities.

But all is not well in 2011. Where you find money, lawyers and agents will congregate and make things complicated.

"Why can't we all just get along," Rodney King once intoned.

Mr. King didn't have the best credentials for sharing wisdom but he synthesized goodness pretty well there. President Obama said something pretty similar about the NFL recently. He stated the obvious, that there's enough money there for both sides to be happy.

The worker bees are on one side - the players who we are increasingly learning are sacrificing life and limb to continue a youthful game into adulthood. The NFL is scared as hell about all these revelations about head injuries and the lives destroyed and altered.

The NFL wants to protect the golden goose.

Bodies have become like missiles. NFL teams pull out all stops to develop the fastest and biggest human beings.

It doesn't hurt fans a bit who watch these guys slam into each other on TV. The fans just sit there with their bowl of Doritos and a Pepsi handy.

I might add that after a day of ingesting such junk, they might throw on a sweatshirt and walk a few laps at the RFC, figuring they're "staying in shape." What's really disturbing is that their insurance might be helping pay for the RFC membership.

A healthy diet would solve everything.

Fans face their own risks from their sedentary pastimes, but players can ponder very grave consequences of their "athletic" pursuits.

Maybe we're like the Romans in the late days of their empire. They were entertained by destructive spectacles.

I was subjected to the very disturbing spectacle of former Minnesota Viking Fred McNeill being profiled by CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta a few months ago. The media had "gotten onto the trail" of head injuries and the NFL.

The McNeill story hit home because he of course was a former Viking (linebacker). McNeill sadly is showing signs of the kind of mental deterioration that comes from a career of intense NFL football. He's still able to communicate and he's aware of what's happening to him.

Dave Duerson seemed to be aware too. Duerson didn't stick around to see how much more he might degenerate. The former Chicago Bear, a member of the 1985 Super Bowl champion team, took his own life. He was age 50.

His widow said he was suffering short-term memory loss, blurred vision and pain on the left side of his brain.

I remember McNeill worrying to Dr. Gupta that he might not even remember Dr. Gupta if encountering him a few weeks later.

Was this necessary just for McNeill and his purple mates to entertain me on Sundays? No. I can easily learn to live without the NFL. It won't be easy at first. It's an intoxicating form of entertainment.

But I was able to break my emotional ties with baseball thanks to the extended strike of 1994. I'm not alone. These addictions can be surmounted. There is life outside of football on fall weekends.

There was an article on Yahoo! News Tuesday about all the empty seats at major league baseball parks this summer. It seems logical. There are so many cheaper forms of entertainment.

Pro sports are etched into our national heritage. FDR insisted that baseball continue during World War II. How quaint, because this suggested that sports were merely an enriching institution instead of the hydra-like money-seeking monster it later became.

Blacks weren't even allowed to play in the majors until after the war.

Unionization brought some good things but this cause ended up having no more inherent goodness than the owners. It's all about "getting an edge" and enlisting the sharpest legal minds to leverage your position. And fans of course be damned.

Well, we don't need any of this stuff. We're demonstrating that by staying away from big league baseball parks. What took so long?

Now maybe we'll see a wave of skepticism against these new stadiums that epitomize excess. Jerry Jones was able to pull off an opulent new stadium in Dallas. What was wrong with the stadium where Roger Staubach played?

What's wrong with the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome? Wait a minute, I don't think it's named after Hubert anymore. He was a Democrat. We live in the age of Sarah Palin and the tea partiers.
Except that's going to crumble as people realize that politicians of such stripes, if given the chance, will dismantle the New Deal.

Republicans always try this, if given the chance. In the past they have sunk. We'll wee what happens this time with the likes of Paul Ryan. He's only 41 years old and he has some learning to do. He's playing with fire though.

The NFL may be overstepping its bounds by expecting all NFL cities to follow suit with the kind of thing Jones did in Dallas. This hoped-for "new generation" of stadiums might be a bridge too far for the NFL.

Minnesota is under pressure to come through with one of these monuments to American excess - "a big hunk of America." However, there's a feeling growing that the new stadium in Minnesota won't be such a certainty.

Could it be that the Mondale name can't even push it through? Ted Mondale has been enlisted to grease the skids for the new stadium proposal. His father Walter is the politician that tea partiers would call a "socialist."

But Walter would certainly be on the front lines helping to preserve Social Security in its historic framework.

I have to laugh because many tea partiers (a loose term, really, to denote self-consciously right wing Republicans) are up in age. Ryan's blueprint should look ominous to them. A day of reckoning might be coming.

Maybe it's time for "liberals" to put on their capes and get political momentum again. Stranger things have happened. Self-interest does a lot to guide people's behavior on these things.

How scared is the NFL of the head injury topic? The league asked Toyota to stop running a TV commercial that discussed helmet hits.

Toyota has technology that simulates accident injuries. Toyota felt it could be helpful in better understanding and preventing health problems from football's harsh contact.

Even before reading this story, I suspected that this commercial, which I had seen several times, would rankle the NFL. It shouldn't have. But the league is trying to protect their golden goose. It wants to keep the negatives internal.

But the Fred McNeills of the world won't allow that. Duerson isn't even with us anymore.

We learn that NFL players are susceptible to something called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). It's associated with dementia and depression.

It's a far bigger concern to me than which side "wins" in the current labor dispute. The labor dispute is just two armies of attorneys doing their thing.

The health issues make me want to forget about football.

Former Viking offensive lineman Brent Boyd appears to have problems like McNeill. Many of us remember quarterback Tommy Kramer being slammed to the turf (in a game against the Rams) and looking for a few moments like he might be dead, with one of his hands twitching in fact.

What about Joe Theismann experiencing that compound fracture on national TV? I heard that some people threw up when watching that.

There needs to be a more civilized way to carry on with life. Maybe if a strike or work stoppage wipes out the 2011 NFL season, we can withdraw like many baseball fans did after the 1994 strike. Take a bike ride on Sunday afternoon. Play badminton in the back yard.

It's true I'd have less to talk about with my favorite waitress at DeToy's Restaurant, Felixia. But she's a psychology major at UMM and I'm sure there would be a lot to explore there.

Felixia tells me she's graduating in May. So she might not be around next fall.

That's a problem with developing ties with UMM students. Alas they move on.

Her departure will give me a head injury.

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

A Morris mansion reminds of U.S. Civil War

The Stanton House in west Morris looks as grand today as when it was built in the late 19th Century. (Photo by B.W.)

"Now he belongs to the ages."

- Edwin Stanton, U.S. secretary of war, giving a famous quote at the time of Abe Lincoln's death

The Stanton House is a landmark that greets you when you drive from Pacific Avenue to West Wind Village (WWV).

West Wind Village was known for years as the Villa of St. Francis or "the Villa." Many people still say "the Villa" when they want to make it clear what they're talking about. A name change is slow to establish itself in a small town.

"West Wind" has been established long enough that it's beginning to take over in casual references. "West Wind Village" is a little cumbersome at four syllables compared to the old, simple "Villa."

But when it comes to cumbersome references, nothing can top "West Central Research and Outreach Center." The desperation for a shorthand reference led to "the Rock." That's based on the last three initials of "WCROC."

The initials are cumbersome just like the full name. A more snappy name for the place might have advantages even if it's not as descriptive.

"The Rock" used to be the West Central Experiment Station. The older name rolls off the tongue easier.

The WCROC office building is new and was built across the road from the Horticulture Garden. To the south of the garden are the wind turbines that are growing as symbols of Morris. I have described them in the past as our version of the Gateway Arch (St. Louis).

Finding West Wind Village (the Villa) is hard if you're not familiar with west Morris. It can be hard even if you're familiar with the community.

Glen Helberg lives along Pacific Avenue and he used to have his own homemade sign pointing people to WWV. Unfortunately he was directed to take that down, apparently due to wishes expressed by WWV (through legal channels).

The person who communicated this to Glen did so apologetically, I'm told. But nothing is too trivial for legal intervention, I guess.

Mow two inches over on your neighbor's property and you might be in trouble. I guess there ought to be a tall grass and weed strip along property lines everywhere.

This kerfuffle is a hypothetical - it has never happened to me - but I have heard a story about this involving a downtown business. Someone got a letter from someone's lawyer.

"They didn't have to talk to their lawyer," I heard an exasperated person say.

Alas we can never rule out such intervention.

People who habitually go to WWV will learn their way with certain landmarks. People who rarely go there or who are - horrors - from out of town could well struggle.

WWV is on the western edge of Morris. West Morris is very residential in complexion, where one block blends into the next.

Park Avenue is an artery that goes way back in Morris history. The Stanton House is on Park Avenue. You will face it directly as you drive toward WWV. You will veer a little as you go through the intersection next to the house.

Streets weren't designed at perfect right angles to each other over there. Park Avenue does not seamlessly blend in. This is a sign that it has a history much older than the rest of that part of town.

Today the Stanton House is surrounded by many other homes. It still stands out to be sure. But it must have truly been a grand landmark in the earliest decades of its existence, when the development was less.

One can imagine horses parading down Park Avenue.

The mansions of the 19th Century were built with a "fortress" sort of outlook. The outside world was seen as having dangers.

As with many old landmarks in a small community, people sometimes need reminding of their significance.

The Stanton House was built in 1880. The person behind it, Lewis H. Stanton, was the son of Edwin Stanton who was President Abraham Lincoln's secretary of war.

In reading about Edwin, one wonders why his name isn't a household word just like Lincoln. It seems that Mr. Stanton was as responsible for the preservation of our Union as the president.

I believe there is an actor playing Edwin in the current movie "The Conspirator."

We'll be hearing more about the Civil War now that we're beginning the 150th anniversary of that cathartic struggle.

Anniversaries don't excite me. As an old media person I have always found them to be tedious. There is no inherent news value in something just because of the accident of an anniversary.

I have a special warning for those who wish to get excited about Civil War anniversaries. There's trouble there. That war was brother against brother.

There was no real conciliation at the end - no compromise. The northern forces crushed the Confederacy. The planter aristocrat class was wiped off the face of the earth.

The Myth of the Lost Cause grew among those southerners who survived all that. The problem with the Myth, as the word inherently implies, is that it denies reality. It deals with "what might have beens."

Public remembrances have to do with the needs and the agenda of today. The actual southern cause, which wasn't even universally felt among southerners, is dead.

All they're left with is NASCAR?

Today's anniversary stuff is just going to become an annoyance. That's because many southerners will choose to "commemorate" the war by trying to recognize the Confederacy.

It's my understanding that a past commemoration is what resulted in the Confederate battle flag symbol incorporated into some state flags. Later this became a controversy.

We want our southern brothers and sisters to simply be Americans today. Let the Civil War reside in textbooks and the like.

I used to subscribe to "America's Civil War" magazine. It's a much better way to appreciate that historic event than any school class.

Academia tends to frown on magazines like this, for reasons that I'm sure are tied to the need of teachers to feel primacy. They insist to their students that such magazines are lowbrow. Why? It's asinine. I don't want to waste another paragraph talking about it.

The Stanton House came to have two other names: "The Chimneys" and "Stanton's Folly."

Maybe the house didn't pan out as its original owners intended, for whatever reasons. Hence "folly."

A very pleasant volunteer at WWV, name of Katia Vantries, is among the inhabitants today. WWV is very nearby.

Vince Dalager used to live in the house. I was inside the house to interview two exchange students back in my corporate media days. It doesn't strike me as any type of "folly."

Lewis Stanton was one of four children from Edwin's second marriage. Edwin's first wife Mary (Lamson) died in 1844. He married Ellen Hutchinson in 1856 and they became parents of Eleanor (1857). James (1861), Lewis H. (1862) and Bessie (1863).

Lewis would have been born in the first full year of the Civil War. Is it possible Lewis was only 18 years old when he had the grand new home built here? That's what some quick math reveals.

I once heard, although I can't confirm, that he settled in Morris because of falling ill while traveling. Morris legend has it that the town appealed to him. It's nice to believe that.

I heard the accent on chimneys was health-related.

I hope the Stanton House stands well-preserved and maintained for many more years.

Click on the link below to see a vintage photo of the Stanton House, in its 19th Century glory:

http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/ste&CISOPTR=969&CISOBOX=1&REC=6

It's interesting we have two landmarks here that are closely tied to the Civil War, considering how far to the west we are.

I have written two posts previously about the other landmark: the Sam Smith statue at Summit Cemetery.

Click on the link below to see my photo of that statue:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/morrismn/5383593182/in/set-72157625772847783

The Civil War never fades for long in our collective consciousness as Americans. The guns are silent but there's still conflict.

We can hope all this anniversary stuff doesn't fan flames. But it could.

We hear today that Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has refused to condemn a proposal to honor Nathan Bedford Forrest with a license plate. Forrest was a Confederate general and post-war became a leader of the KKK.

I should note here that the KKK issue might not be what it seems. I have read that the KKK at its very inception was different from the monster it later became. At its inception its purpose apparently was to protect former Confederates from harassment.

So let's put aside the KKK aspect. It's bad enough that General Forrest led the 1864 massacre of black Union troops at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.

He was considered a great military strategist. The South needed a few more of those.

In the movie "The Horse Soldiers" (John Wayne), the townspeople in the little southern town kept saying "General Forrest is coming." He didn't, so no actor was needed to play him.

Morris can feel fortunate having such visible reminders of the Civil War as the Stanton House and Sam Smith statue.

We're not conflicted, as we're totally Union in our sympathies.

We won.

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