[* This May Take More Than One Column, Maybe Several]
[Editor’s note: I am often asked (OK, a couple of e-mailers on the East coast) what am I doing up at 3:00 am? Press deadlines! And access to the supervisor’s computer. It takes two computers to run this operation. Video downloads are performed on the supervisor’s computer where they are then uploaded to YouTube. A 5-minute video takes 45-60 minutes to upload on YouTube – if I’m running three at a time, as this weekend, that’s at least 2 1/2 hours. While that’s running, on my computer I download still photos, cropping and adjusting as necessary, and do any scanning required for a 1st-rate publication (well, for a publication).]
[Jody Sundlee (l) said I never take her picture.]
Column IV, or wrapping up the weekend. The annual United Way Beer & Wine Tasting Gala attracted a record crowd on Friday. (It was 7 below zero that night – would go down to 15 below – and 7 below again yesterday. It is almost March – we believe (?) we have seen the last of the sub-zero days.) The high school’s Rainbow Strings again provided the entertainment against the background din of people noshing and sipping. Rainbow Strings performers were discouraged from participating in the beer & wine tasting portion of the festivities.
Rainbow Strings video (with cameo appearances by “Dangerous” Dan, the supervisor, and Barb Benson):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXPs4W15rFQ
Yesterday we ventured to the winery expecting to see Matt Veline as the musical performer. Instead, we found Finestra w/ Karen Page. We like them too – apparently they had to flip-flop weekends with Veline. The place was crowded, the fireplace was going, and sunlight was streaming through the windows – it got hot in there. A Minnesota solution was to crank the windows wide open (see, in the photo?) though it was below zero outside – seemed to work.
Wrapping up the weekend sports activities, “Marvin Windows Team USA All-Stars” beat So. St. Paul 5-1 for the state class A hockey championship. This was not unexpected. The final results of all games showed our Cards well – we beat So. St. Paul, 3-2, in the season opener; and Red Wing, who beat us in the consolation round, went on the win the consolation championship over Hutchinson, 5-4. The Cards could play with anyone in the tournament, except the “All-Stars,” who probably could have won the class AA championship.
The girls section 8AAA basketball pairings have been set:
http://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/showbrackets.asp?tournid=504
The Cards host Rocori on Tuesday @ 7:00. If we win that game, we would have to beat Sartell, then Fergus to win the section championship. Fergus getting the No. 1 seed was important as now they only have to face either Sartell or Alex, rather than both of them. Through deep research, I was able to discover the Cards are rated 1,442 in the country, and 42nd in the state. How do they come up with this stuff? I would be astounded if there are 41 teams in the state better than the Cards – now we can sneak up on people! 🙂
Echo photos of Cara and Alli:
alexandriacardinals 
