February 15
It is more fun to talk to someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like “What about lunch?” ~ A. A. Milne
The Alexandria girls hockey team was trying to make it back to the state tournament again this year. They finished the regular season on a nice run, winning 11 of their last 14 games. They were playing the Brainerd-Little Falls Flying Warriors in the section semi-finals. They had already beaten the Flying Warriors twice this year. But, as they say, it’s hard to beat a team 3 times. Brainerd-Little Falls scored with 17 seconds left in the game, by a player who had never scored a varsity goal before, to win 4 – 3. And so it goes. So we say goodbye, and thank you, to 11 seniors, most of whom have been 4-year starters. I’ve heard we have some talent coming up – we’ll lace them up again next year . . .
Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not. ~ Ursula K. Le Guin
[The Alexandria Cardinals, lest you weren’t sure . . . ]
[Fan support from the boys basketball team . . . ]
You can sum up this sport in two words: You never know. ~ Lou Duva (boxing promoter)
[See the first photo . . . ]
[Introductions: Kylie Lattimer (11), sophomore defense (someone we will build around next year); Jordan O’Kane (1), senior goalie; MaKenna Aure (17), senior defense . . . ]
I’m so mean, I make medicine sick. ~ Muhammad Ali
[It’s easier (for me) to just look at the roster above . . . ]
I feel like I’m the best, but you’re not going to get me to say that. ~ Jerry Rice
You play to win the game. Hello? You play to win the game. ~ Herm Edwards
[The opening face-off, collisions begin in the girls’ “no contact” sport with junior Ella Westlund (11) . . . ]
[The future: Sophia Korynta (22), sophomore; Julia Doherty (7), freshman; Cadence Ellingson (14), freshman; and Emma Ramstorf (10), freshman . . . ]
[A departing veteran, senior Kaci Trosvig (25) . . . ]
[Peyton Boesl (6), senior; Kennedy Ellingson (3), freshman; Lattimer; Elise Patience (18), senior . . . ]
[Autumn Blahosky (20), senior; Patience; Cadence Ellingson; and Doherty . . . ]
[Not George, Paul, John, and Ringo . . . ]
[Reflective of the entire game between two evenly matched teams . . . ]
[Korynta, as our offense moves to my end of the rink . . . ]
I’m glad I don’t play anymore. I could never learn all of those handshakes. ~ Phil Rizzuto
[Kaci circles the net . . . ]
[Like her older sister Kristin used to do . . . ]
We didn’t underestimate them. They were a lot better than we thought. ~ Bobby Robson
He’s a guy who gets up at six o’clock in the morning regardless of what time it is. ~ Lou Duva (makes a doubleheader quote for Lou)
[Gonna miss the feistiness of senior Hannah Block (28), though small of stature loved to mix it up in front of the goal . . . ]
I never lost a game. I just ran out of time. ~ Michael Jordan
[Could be Aure with Ramstorf on the far side . . . ]
[A defense pairing of Riley Nyberg (21), senior, and Lattimer . . . ]
[Lauren Maras (9), with the only other junior Westlund, will return as the grizzled veterans next year . . . ]
[My final shot of the often spectacular career of MaKenna . . . ]
[We had a two goal lead, both took place right in front of me but my camera reactions have gone the way of the great auk, but then we took two penalties. The Flying Warriors rapidly scored on both to tie it up . . . ]
Sorrow is one of the vibrations that prove the fact of living. ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
February 17
So now our attention turns to the roundballers. This is two nights later versus Sartell . . .
In lieu of interspersed sports quotes, I will now feature the humor of P. J. O’Rourke, who I just learned as I type this died this week. P. J. represented the other side of the political spectrum from me, but he always made me laugh. He was two months younger than me, i.e., too young to depart our little blue orb . . .
The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn’t work and then they get elected and prove it. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
[The final scoreboard for the preceding Junior Varsity game . . . ]
[The first thing I noticed in both the JV and varsity games is that the Cardinals could use a healthy application of Miracle-Gro. We gave away a lot of height to the Sabres. For example, the Sabres varsity only has one player 5’6″ or shorter; the Cardinals have eight . . . ]
[The starters waiting for player introductions: Elle Heydt (3), sophomore; the remaining four are all freshmen, MaCee Linow (21), Chloe Scholl (15), Hadley Thul (11), and Allie Haabala (33) . . . ]
Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we’re looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn’t test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Politics is the attempt to achieve power and prestige without merit. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Never wear anything that panics the cat. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Cleanliness becomes more important when godliness is unlikely. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Never fight an inanimate object. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
[And now back to the basketball game. The opening tip-off represents the one position where the Cardinals have an athletic, if not always a size, advantage. Hadley is a long 6’1″, a volleyball player, and I have yet to see her lose a jump ball . . . ]
When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
[And she’s got it again . . . ]
To mistrust science and deny the validity of scientific method is to resign your job as a human. You’d better go look for work as a plant or wild animal. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life. Nothing looks more stupid than a hat. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Russians not only vehemently despise blacks, they believe Africa begins at the Ukraine border. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Don’t send funny greeting cards on birthdays or at Christmas. Save them for funerals, when their cheery effect is needed. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
[But the ball was deflected back into the jump circle where there was a tie up. So . . . ]
[They had to re-jump, and Hadley got it again . . . ]
The C student starts a restaurant. The A student writes restaurant reviews. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
[For the first half, in my seat behind the Cardinals’ bench, got an up close and personal with our defense . . . ]
The most brilliant satire of all time was ‘A Modest Proposal’ by Jonathan Swift. You’ll notice how everything got straightened out in Ireland within days of that coming out. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Hubris is one of the great renewable resources. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
[This was a big improvement over they last time these teams played less than two weeks ago. At one point then in the first half the Sabres were ahead by 23 points and went on to win by 14 . . . ]
[Second half warm-ups as I would now first hand experience with our offense . . . ]
If you are young and you drink a great deal it will spoil your health, slow your mind, make you fat – in other words, turn you into an adult. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
[Of course, this team is also the future – all freshman and an 8th-grader who is part of the regular rotation. Next year it will also add another 8th-grader, Kate Hennessy on the far right who will bring a much needed 5’11” frame to the action . . . ]
[Hadley, and the team in general, has struggled from the free throw line all season – and it has been costly. They were all, especially Hadley, much better in this game . . . ]
[Maybe the Michael Jordan tongue-stick-out is they key. Hadley had a game earlier this season when she was 4 for 5 on step-back 3-point shots – that’s Steph Curry stuff. But in that same game she was 1 for 7 on free throws. Thus, I thought Sundance Kid an appropriate sobriquet for her (remember, “I shoot better when I move”?) . . . ]
[It behooves her to get really good at this – she will shoot thousands of them in the next 3 1/2 years . . . ]
[Elle also cashes in at the line. The “real” photographer catches her from the other side . . . ]
[In the middle we’ve added Kaia Emter (25), sophomore, a 3-point shooter; and Ella Steussy (1), junior, a defensive specialist . . . ]
[Allie on the free throw line – she is the point guard and will grow with the position . . . ]
[Trying to close it out on the defensive end . . . ]
Freedom is not empowerment. Empowerment is what the Serbs have in Bosnia. Anybody can grab a gun and be empowered. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
[Chloe at the free throw line. An all-around good player . . . ]
[And MaCee is the long range gunner. She made 8 3’s in the previous game, 7 in an earlier game . . . ]
[This was quite a turnaround in less than two weeks. They may not threaten further this year, but they have 3 more years to get really good . . . ]
I’ve been big ever since I was little. ~ William “The Refrigerator” Perry
Seriousness is stupidity sent to college. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Rich people don’t like to be in the military. The shoes are ugly and the uniforms itch. Rich people don’t go in much for revolution or terrorism, either. ~ P. J. O’Rourke
Up Next: The 100-inch snowstorm coming this week?
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