alexandriacardinals

December 27

Nicaragua

[Land ho!]

[Welcome to the land of volcanoes.  On the Pacific side, along the entire length of the country – a whole bunch of volcanoes.]

[Coming upon Isla del Cardon on the way to the port of Corinto . . . ]

[By some magic sleight hand . . . ]

[The statue moves from the right side of the light house to the left?]

[Rubén Darío, was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-American literary movement known as modernismo (modernism) that flourished at the end of the 19th century. Darío has had a great and lasting influence on 20th-century Spanish literature and journalism. He has been praised as the “Prince of Castilian Letters” and undisputed father of the modernismoliterary movement (Wikipedia).]

[If you should want to personally visit the island . . . ]

[A majestic statue of Rubén Darío, 5.5 meters high and 3.5 tons of bronze, valued at one million 20 thousand córdobas, made by the sculptor Arnoldo Guillén, was inaugurated on Friday afternoon on El Cardón Island, where the 20 March 1908, the Prince of Letters Castellanas was inspired to make the famous poem “A Margarita Debayle” (www.elnuevodiario.com).

[And here’s the majestic frozen Super, in the ship’s human refrigeration spa . . . ]

[Actually, it was quite refreshing . . . ]

[And something we felt compelled to do since they were experiencing 40+ below zero wind chills back home . . . ]

[Out of the ice and snow for a bit of relaxation . . . ]

[The bus ride to Leon, not far from far from Corinto.  Our note taking was nonexistent by now, so we have forgotten our guide’s name.  He was a good though; full of youthful exuberance . . . ]

[Window views into the city . . . ]

[University campus . . . ]

[Museum . . . ]

[A good guess would be a produce store . . . ]

[León (founded in 1524) is the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua.  As of 2016, León had an projected population of 206,264.  León is located along the Rio Chiquito (Chiquito River), some 90 kilometres (56 miles) northwest of Managua, and some 18 km (11 miles) east of the Pacific Ocean coast.  León has long been the political and intellectual center of the nation and its National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN) was founded in 1813, making it the second oldest university in Central America.  León is also an important industrial, agricultural, and commercial center for Nicaragua, exporting sugar cane, cattle, peanut, plantain, and sorghum. The city has been home to many of Nicaragua’s most noteworthy poets including Ruben Dario (Wikipedia).]

[The Assumption Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Central America, and has been the first episcopal seat of Nicaragua since 1531, making it one of the oldest dioceses in the Americas (Wikipedia).]

[I believe Feliz Navidad has something to do with the season . . . ]

[Based on internet photos, it appears the church has received an exterior scrubbing recently.  Looks good . . . ]

[And now we’re in the interior . . . ]

[Which may also have been scrubbed?]

[I can’t even remember if this was our guy . . . ]

[The ceiling . . . ]

[A lion . . . ]

[A supervisor . . . ]

[Back out on the city square.  Yes, that is some big senorita . . . ]

[We had to go outside the church for the stairway entrance to the roof . . . ]

[And there goes the Super.  Visitors to the roof must take off their shoes.  Since it was sunny and hot, one might suspect the roof to be likewise.  It wasn’t . . . ]

[The white-painted roof was actually very comfortable to walk around on . . . ]

[And the reason for coming up here – to view the country’s volanic spine . . . ]

[Church of la Recolección in the photo center . . . ]

[The Church of the el Calvario at the far east end of calle Real (Main Street) . . . ]

[‘Twas quite lovely up here . . . ]

[Lotsa selfies going on . . . ]

[Back down on the plaza . . . ]

[A UFO flew overhead . . . ]

[We’re circling around the neighborhood . . . ]

[There’s the UFO again . . . ]

[A church of indeterminate origin . . . or is it a church?]

[The sign says “hospital” . . . ]

[The entire ship’s staff line up to welcome us back . . . ]

[I’m caught trudging up the ramp . . . ]

[We’re hungry from the trudge . . . ]

[I really don’t remember . . . ]

[Then it was a celebration of Edvard Munch for the atrium’s entertainment . . . ]

[Man With Horse . . . ]

[With our Viking Classical Trio favorites . . . ]

[The Super looking as festive as the occasion . . . ]

[Canal At Sunset . . . ]

[Woman With Pumpkin . . . ]

[Woman With Poopies (are you noticing a trend with Munch’s titles?) . . . ]

[Women With Musical Instruments . . . ]

In continuing with the theme of the evening, and of the cruise . . . 

[Self portrait . . . ]

I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places.  ~  Henny Youngman

Up Next:  The cruise . . .

March 14

Yes, again!  For the third weekend in a row – first, girls hockey; then, boys hockey; and finally, girls basketball!

[The Cardinals were playing the No. 1-seed, Robbinsdale Cooper, at 10:00am Wednesday.  I no longer drive beyond a 10-mile radius of Alexandria if it’s dark – we left for the Cities on Tueday afternoon . . . ]

[Our overnight stay for events at Williams Arena has been the Graduate Minneapolis (previously The Commons, previously the Radisson) on Washington Avenue on the U of M campus, a mere two-block walk to the arena.  Minnesota legend Loni Anderson was in our room . . . ]

[It must be Happy Hour in the Graduate restaurant . . . ]

[It was!]

[The neighborhood, beginning with the lobby . . . ]

[This is no longer the Washington Avenue of my college years (my dorms are two blocks behind this new high rise), or even a couple years ago . . . ]

[The hotel (as the sign says) – we did run into other Alex folks staying here . . . ]

[The Super warms herself by the fire . . . ]

[The view from our floor – that’s the alumni center; behind it the football stadium . . . ]

[Walk right up that street to Williams Arena . . . ]

[Breakfast in the hotel before the game . . . ]

[Kohler posted when the team arrived in Williams Arena . . . ]

Oh yeah, the game!!

[And now we’re among the early arrivals at the game, chatting with Darice Cunniff (sitting in front of the Super), the Cardinal PA announcer . . . ]

[The storied raised floor of Williams Arena – 50 years ago I played intramural basketball on it . . . ]

[The owner of the most wins all-time by a female Minnesota basketball coach (by tourney’s end, 579-232) – for some reason, however, the camera focused on “GOPHERSPORTS.com”?]

[Alexandria’s mass media was on hand to broadcast the game from the upper lever . . . ]

[The Cardinals take the floor . . . ]

[The Cardinal band take their seats . . . ]

[Cooper has a height advantage at coach. Kiara Buford, the Cooper coach, was a star for the Gophers in the first half of this decade . . . ]

[A Cardinal cheerleader joins the fray . . . ]

[Cardinal captains receive pre-game options for post-game dining . . . ]

[Coach Kohler received a pre-game “howdy-dos” from two of last year’s team members, Kayla Feldhake and Kara Thomson . . .]

[Suit ’em up, Wendy!]

[The Cardinal cheerleaders were introduced – I couldn’t get them all in one shot with the telephoto lens . . . ]

[The Cardinal team is introduced . . . ]

[Junior center McKenzie Duwenhoegger . . . ]

[Senior forward Courtney Gould . . . ]

[Senior forward Emma Schmidt . . . ]

[Sophomore guard Ella Grove . . . ]

[Junior guard Kaye Paschka . . . ]

[Let’s do it!!]

[The Cards appeared relaxed . . . ]

[The JUMP . . . ]

[McKenzie wins it . . . ]

[And then she drives for an inside shot . . . ]

[Looks askew . . . ]

[The battle for the rebound . . . ]

[Courtney at the line, where she is, and was, very good.  The Cardinal game plan was to work the ball inside to our “bigs” to score and/or get fouled . . . ]

[Courtney developed into a real star, the team’s leading scorer, in her senior year . . . ]

[Here it appears we were trying to set up our favorite inbounds play, but teams seem to be onto it now.  In this case, Courtney would have faked to Emma, the inbounder, coming around the outside, then dribble the ball up the end line for a lay-up . . . ]

[Emma wheels around the outside of the really quick Hawk defense.  Junior Emily Jones (43) and sophomore Mia McGrane (5) have joined the fray for the Cardinals – they will likely be the starters next year in Courtney’s and Emma’s roles . . . ]

[Mia and Kaye defend the Hawk guards.  As quick as the Hawk guards were, Kaye was still the fastest player on the court and was indispensible (she played every minute) in bringing the ball up court against their pressure . . . ]

[HOW DO YOU DEFEND THIS? My sports photo of the year.  The shot was by Jada Bufird, the little sister of the Cooper coach, Kiara, who starred for the Gophers in the first half of this decade.  Jada came in averaging 8 points per game – she scored 20 in this one, making all manner of 3’s.  I don’t think this one went in, but you know she was feeling it by even attempting it!]

[Kaye has the ball under the eye a Hawk defender, and the Hawk coach . . . ]

[Inside to Emma . . . ]

[Coach Buford can’t watch . . . ]

[Emma launches a 3 – just missed . . . ]

[Rebounders struggle for position . . . ]

[Jonesie, you’re in!]

[Close game all the way, esecially so the first half where we led most of the time . . . ]

[It came down to their outside shooting, which unfortunately was beyond ‘normal’ . . . ]

[Kaye cuts off the driver . . . ]

[Ella on the line.  We shot 75% from the line over the first two tourney games . . . ]

[And Kaye chips in . . . ]

[Then McKenzie . . . ]

[Not as much photo coverage of the 2nd half.  So, as the game winds down, time for a little woulda, shoulda coulda?  We listened to our last two games on radio.  Cooper won the championship, beating Willmar, then Northfield – and they didn’t shoot as well against those teams as they did against us.  Watching those games confirmed what I thought prior to – we gave Cooper their toughest game, and it was likely down to between us or Holy Angels as to who could give Cooper the toughest game.  Wendy was a bit upset that we had to draw the No. 1-seed in the first round.  We blew out De LaSalle, the No. 4-seed, in the consolation game, 69-42.  De LaSalle lost to Cooper by 4 in the regular season and split with Holy Angels.  Grand Rapids upset Holy Angels, the No. 3-seed, in the first round, so the Cards had to play Holy Angels for the consolation championship.  We must have been totally pooped, because we shot really poorly (26%).  Even our free throw shooting dropped off – we could have opened up a double digit lead in the first half if we had made them and that may have changed the complexion the game.  Holy Angels won 56 – 46 – the teams were equal in rebounds and turnovers, the difference was shooting percentage.  The one bright spot was Emma Schmidt who went out in a blaze of glory – 6 for 8 in 3-point shooting! McKenzie was a rebounding star in the tourney – 14 in the 1st game, 11 in the 2nd.  There was a great game in the class AAAA championship as Eastview finished an undefeated season over Hopkins – lots of Division 1 prospects on the floor.]

[OK, finish hard!]

[Kaye and Ella brought the ball up against pressure all game – take a quick breather . . . ]

[The last gasp . . . ]

[Still gotta love ’em! Their motto was, “Start Unknown, Finish Unforgettable.” It was a whole new team at the start of the season; they were not on anybody’s radar. And they went to state. As usual, they were very fun and entertaining to watch; and also very frustrating. The stats about midway through the 4th quarter told it all: Cooper was 6 for 10 on 3-point shots; we were 0 for 7; we had 25 turnovers; they had 10 – and yet it was a 4-point game? I was at the game, and I can’t explain it? But again, congrats to the team on an “Unforgettable” season – and we’ll expect to see you on the floor at Williams again next year!]

[We made it home from the ‘U’ campus in one hour and 50 minutes, in time to celebrate Pi Day, for Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein’s Birthday, and Jami’s Birthday (well, next week) . . . ]

Boards, Boards, Boards  ~  Knute Rockne

Up Next:  Still haven’t completed the cruise?

March 9

Almost means the Cardinal boys hockey team came within one goal of being the class A state champion.  The journey began as the No. 3-seed in section 6A, where we dispatched both teams seeded above us, Sartell-St. Stephen and St. Cloud Cathedral, thus earning the No. 4-seed in the state tournament.  In the first round at state, we defeated the No. 5-seed, Thief River Falls, 1 – 0.  Then I drove down with Ken Howell and John Etnier for this section semi-final against defending state champion and No. 1-seed, Hermantown.  The Cards amazingly made it to the championship game (we couldn’t attend) where we lost 2 – 1 to the No. 3-seed, Orono.  Further speaking well for our performance, Thief River Falls and Hermantown won the consolation title and 3rd place games, respectively.

[Saddling up to leave town for the state tournament (Voice of Alexandria photo) . . . ]

[I got in.  But a situation with the “TSA” at the Xcel Energy Center threw off my timing and I forgot to get a tournament program!!  So, we’ll have to work off the above roster.]

[The Cards hit the ice at the 19,000+-seat Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild.  This game drew a crowd of over 11,000 as I recall, a record for a class A semi-final game . . . ]

[Hermantown had reached the title game annually since 2010, which means adult fans on Hermantown’s side of the arena with a toddler on their lap held a child who has only known the Hawks as a fixture on the season’s final day.  The Hawks, the No. 1 seed, rode a 48-game unbeaten streak against 1A opponents and hoped to play for a third consecutive championship after six consecutive defeats.  ~  Dave La Vaque, StarTribune, 3-10-18]

[Under the full glare of statewide TV coverage . . . ]

[Pre-game introductions . . . ]

[Pre-game instructions to each other . . . ]

[And we’re off!]

[That appears to be Jack Westlund (10) chasing after the puck.  He scored the only goal in the Thief River Falls game . . . ]

[Westlund and likely his center, Ben Doherty (7), mixing it up . . . ]

[Freshman Jakob Stender (27) in on goal . . . ]

[But the Hermantown goalie gathers the puck . . . ]

[And this looks like Shane Birkeland (25) making a cross ice pass . . . ]

[You may note that we’re at a bit of an elevated position here.  We were in the club section, one level above level one, making number identification difficult at times . . . ]

[Face-off in our offensive zone . . . ]

[Jack Powell (21) scored 2 minutes after the Hawks had scored tying the game at one . . . ]

[The Cardinal band and fan section celebrate!  I believe you can tell when I’m shooting the ice and when I’m shooting the ginormous scoreboard screen?]

[Looking good, all even after one . . . ]

[Cheerleaders and students exchange photo ops . . . ]

[And then cheer!]

[Period 2 . . . ]

[Late in the period, otherwise controlled mainly by the Hawks, Caleb Strong (3) scored on an assist from Powell giving the Cards a 2 – 1 lead going into the 3rd . . . ]

[Into the 3rd, the Cards broke it open . . . ]

[Powell scored again on a beautiful end-to-end rush . . . ]

[Then Ben Johnson (9) scored, Cards up 4 – 1 . . . ]

[It looked like a breakaway goal here for Caleb . . . ]

[But the defense kicked out his back leg for a tripping penalty . . . ]

[With the Cards up by 3 goals with a little over 3 minutes left in the game, the Hawks pulled their goalie and Powell scored on an empty-netter for his hat trick!]

[Nice post-goal knee slide, Jack . . . ]

[The loneliness of an empty net.  Evan Lattimer (12) also scored an empty-netter making the final score 6 – 1 . . . ]

[We had slayed the giant!]

[On to the championship game . . . ]

[The fans . . .  we had a ringer.  We were joined by the class of ’65’s homecoming queen, who was appearing at her first Cardinal game since high school.  When the final result was tallied, the boys agreed Kathy, in her full Cardinal paraphernalia, had to have been a good luck charm.]

Wrapping up:  The Cardinals only allowed 3 goals in 3 games, and both goals in the championship game were a bit flukey – on their 1st goal one of our defenseman lost his stick and was unable to defend against a point blank shot; and on the 2nd, the puck took a weird angle bounce of the backboards right to an Orono player in front of the net (that Orono player, incidentally, is the grandson of one of my Alexandria high school history teachers?).  If you toss out the anomaly of the girls Warroad game, both Cardinal teams allowed only 5 goals in 5 state tournament games, and both won 2 out of  3 games there.  Senior goalie Jackson Boline (30) had a tremendous tournament with a 96% save percentage – he was named recipient of the Herb Brooks award and was named to the all-tournament team.  Senior Jack Powell (21) became a star in this tournament and was named to the all-tournament team.  They were joined on the all-tournament team by junior Jack Westlund (10), who scored our only goal in the Orono game, and by sophomore Caleb Strong (3).  Congratulations to the team for a great tournament.  Thanks for the magic carpet ride!

[Photo samplings from the mainstream media.  First the goalies from the Hermantown game from the Duluth News Tribune . . . ]

[Two from the Pioneer Press, Powell’s great end-to-end goal . . . ]

[Five from Echo Press of the Hermantown game, Strong here . . . ]

[Westlund and Powell . . . ]

[Zach Wosepka (20) . . . ]

[Powell and Boline . . . ]

[Shane Birkeland (25) and Powell . . . ]

[StarTribune of a Powell goal celebration . . . ]

[Voice of Alexandria with the Powell end-to-end goal . . . ]

[Five from Echo Press of the Orono game, Boline and Matthew Carlsen (26) . . . ]

[Carlsen and Boline . . . ]

[Westlund and Carlsen . . . ]

[Birkeland . . . ]

[Lattimer . . . ]

[Wrapping up with Westlund and Boline at the end of the championship game from Echo Press; and Boline from Voice of Alexandria.]

People didn’t know the difference between a blue line and a clothes line.  ~  Al Michaels (prior to the “Miracle on Ice”)

Up Next:  Girls basketball going to state . . .

March 8

Following in the fine tradition of the previous two weeks, where both the girls and boys hockey teams punched their tickets to the state tournament, the girls basketball team decided to join that caravan down I-94 with a section title . . . 

[So inspired were we by the possibilities, that I actually deigned to drive all the way to the University of Minnesota, Morris, from which I then had to drive home, at night, in winter.  Give it a try sometime when you’re over 70!]   ]

[This is the neutral court site for the section championship game between the Cardinals and the Otters.  I believe I was here once before for a “Prairie Home Companion” program?]

[Yes, dear, Brad and I safely made it.]

[Cards warm up . . . ]

[And warm up some more . . . ]

[Under the supervision of “The Leader of the Pack.”  Sheree Saxton is responsible for you all receiving the Cardinal Connection, a/k/a, a catalog of all the weekly things going on at or concerning AAHS . . . ]

[Oh no, is that Kim Kardashian again?]

[And if you do this, it could be a misdemeanor . . . ]

[Card student fans warm up . . . ]

[Under the direction of Sheree . . . ]

[Game time approaches, the stands are almost full . . . ]

[Heading for the final pre-game meeting . . . ]

[Introductions:  Ella (11), Kaye (3), Emma (25), Courtney (31), and McKenzie (35) . . . ]

[And the final warm-up . . . ]

[Cards take the floor . . . ]

[Where are the Otters?]

[Here’s a little something you don’t see everyday – a double opening jump ball. McKenzie went up first, that tap lead to a tie-up, and then another jump ball with Ella. We got that tap.]

[Kaye drew a foul, likely on a foray to the basket . . . ]

[Ella runs back on defense . . . ]

[I acknowledge memory lapses, but this is the first game I can remember where Kohler just had the team play a hard man-to-man defense the entire game.  No pressing, no trapping, no zoning, just in your face individual defense . . . ]

[Kohler counsels our wild cards.  McKenzie and Courtney will always play the box, Kaye will always play point guard, but Emma and Ella are more generalists . . . ]

[They’re both 5’11, can play high or low, and are defensive specialists with their length.  In this game, Fergus is a shooting team, so nobody could ever be left uncovered.  Emma followed the Fergus star, the coach’s daughter Katelyn Strand, wherever she went, because if she had a hint of clearance she’d launch a quick ‘3’ . . . ]

[Our goal on offense is to get the ball inside – here with McKenzie . . . ]

[Emma was fighting through pics all game to keep on eye on Ms. Strand, No. 11 . . . ]

[Our defense leads to such as traveling infractions . . . ]

[Emily Jones (43) on the line.  A big factor in the game was the free throw proficiency of our “bigs” –  Courtney, McKenzie, and Jonesie . . . ]

[Did someone say defense?]

[In the 2nd half, Courtney at the line.  Our offense even more emphasized getting the ball inside – to score and/or get fouled.  I think Courtney made all her free throws . . . ]

[McKenzie too.  Nevertheless, the Otters held a slight lead most of the way – they just never seemed to miss any 3-pointers . . . ]

[And then Kaye made her move.  When she steals a pass, she beats LeBron James down the floor for lay-ups . . . ]

[And she got a little more agressive on offense . . . ]

[And another steal and score . . . ]

[The Emma on Strand saga continued throughout the game . . . ]

[OK, here are the options?]

[Pizza or burgers after the game?]

[I think (don’t hold me to it) this was the winning assist as Kaye launches a pass to Ella cutting in from the right side for a lay-up . . . (Editor’s note:  I have been advised that Emma launched the final pass to Ella!  Thank goodness for “editors”!)]

[This was the time left after Ella’s basket.  Then Mia McGrane got a steal to end the Otters’ last chance.  So, after three games against each other this season, one point separated the two teams.  The Otters won by 2 at our place; we won by two at their place.  And they are totally different teams – the Otters are all about the 3-point shot; the Cards are all about discombobulation.]

[While low scoring, it was a very intense, entertaining defensive game for we fans . . . ]

[You’ll recall last year’s team went to state, then graduated all five starters and 11 seniors, but now we’re back to state with a whole new cast of characters!  Great job by the team and coaching staff . . . ]

[We did good!]

[Now this is scary!  Allegedly fugitives without proper paperwork . . . ]

[Handing out the individual hardware, numerically beginning with Kaye Paschka . . . ]

[OK, Summer Gerhardt should have been first . . . ]

[Now I’m confused (so what else is new?), here’s Kaye again . . . ]

[Mia McGrane . . . ]

[Jaya Hatlestad . . . ]

[Ella Grove, OK Ella should have been ahead of Jaya . . . ]

[Taylor Partington . . . ]

[Matie Wirtjes . . . ]

[Emily Aker . . . ]

[Emma Schmidt . . . ]

[Courtney Gould . . . ]

[Flora Kvale . . . ]

[McKenzie Duwenhoegger . . . ]

[Cathryn Bloom . . . ]

[Emily Jones . . . ]

[Mataya Hoelscher . . . ]

[Sadie Boraas . . . ]

[Larissa Lamb . . . ]

[Alayna Strand . . . ]

[Captains Courtney, Emma, and McKenzie collect the team hardware . . . ]

[The team joins in . . . ]

[The Cards drew No. 1-seeded Robbinsdale Cooper at state, Wednesday, March 14, 10:00 am, Williams Arena.  We’ll be there.]

[Angie Saurer photo as posted on Coach Kohler FB page.]

How it continues? I recently ran across this photo from the 2011 section championship game between Alex and Fergus Falls. I took it because I thought it was so cool these young girls were fans of that 2011 Cardinal state tournament team. Upon further review, I noticed these young girls went on to become last year’s state tournament team.

If you make every game a life-and-death thing, you’re going to have problems. You’ll be dead a lot.  ~  Dean Smith

Up Next:  Boys hockey . . .