alexandriacardinals

[Yes, it was senior night last night . . . ]

[Before the game against the Willmar Cardinals, the seniors were honored and regaled with volleyball tales from their underclass teammates.  In the background, all the moms cell phone photo-bombing thinking she’s such a good kid, if only she’d make her bed!]

[In warm-up drills, I once again try to get some good action shots . . . because I allegedly know what’s coming! Still, success is limited . . .  here we have senior Alexis Stern (8), senior Morgan Melrose (4), freshman Kendra Hardy (13), and junior Syri Williams (3).]

[This appears to be junior Abby Pohlen (5) with the smack down (she led the team in kills on this night), with senior Natalie Minnerath (9) in the foreground and junior Kayla Feldhake (16) in the background.]

[Abby again . . . ]

[Kendra is our resident southpaw.]

[Here we have freshman McKenzie Duwenhoegger (11) airborne.]

[We’re ready!]

[Then it was time for player introduction.  Due to the superior education they have received from School District 206, the players were able to chronologically align themselves without assistance.]

[Then as they are individually introduced, they throw stuff to (at?) the crowd.  After years of coverage, I still have no idea what is being tossed.  The tosser here is senior Gracie Schroeder (1).]

[Morgan goes right . . . ]

[Abby also goes right . . . ]

[To the astonished delight of her teammates . . . ]

[McKenzie wings one left, taking out two rows of bleachers . . . ]

[Kayla also goes left . . . Duck!]

[And then senior libero Maddi Moore (6), who was named player of the game.]

[So, let the game begin!  We celebrate winning point one.]

[Alexis was our first server . . . ]

[Then came senior Kenna Goracke (2).  Couldn’t help but notice she had a beauty of a shiner . . . obtained in the tough Apple Valley tournament over the weekend?]

[Or possibly smited by her own braid?  Let this be a lesson – never affix heavy objects to the end of your hairdo!]

[Junior Jordyn Lamb (12) and Abby on the double block.]

[Alexis, do you see that?]

[Up there, by the scoreboard!]

[Now that’s funny!]

[A drone towing a banner saying “Class of ’65 Rocks!”]

[Didn’t you see that drone?]

[I think I see it Kenna!]

[I’m a little nervous.  I don’t trust old people with new technology!]

[Meanwhile, back at the game . . . our Cards easily handle Set One.]

[Have you got it, Alexis?]

[Alexis serves, Maddi protects her left flank.]

[You’ve got to stop looking for Kim Kardashian and keep your eyes on the ball!]

[Maddi served well, asserting her player-of-the-game credentials.]

[Houston, we have contact!  The orb has taken flight!]

[Uggghhh!  Yeah, what I said.  It turns out the team is aware of this problem – Coach Schlichting talked about it on radio after the game.  It’s called 2nd Set Slump!  And it seems most likely to happen if the first game is won too easily.  We fell way behind in this set, made a run, but it was too late.]

[Set Three.  I must have dozed off, thinking the match now had to go at least 4 games, and I would be missed by loved ones back home.]

[The Cardinal Crazies pose . . . ]

[Some sort of mascot, apparently named after Catholic hierarchy.]

[Kenna serves it out.  Another thing “we fans” talked about.  Have you ever noticed that when a teams hits 24, it never, and I mean never, scores the 25th and game winner on the next point?  It must be some sort of law of the universe.  Last night I think the Cards defaulted on that attempted point twice . . . for illegal motion, or some such thing?]

[But we won . . . ]

[Nice hat . . . ]

[We have a winner!  The Cards are now 6 – 2 in conference and will travel to #10-ranked Moorhead in Thursday.  The girls’ soccer team lost a close one, 2 – 1, at home this same night – and it was a nice night, so I should have tried for dual coverage.]

Women are never disarmed by compliments.  Men always are.  That is the difference between the sexes.  ~  Oscar Wilde

Up next:  Appears to be Homecoming.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2105

[Spoiler Alert – we won! 39 – 27 over Brainerd. My first game of the season – not living up to my Cub Reporter billing – but our first home game was, to my sensibilities, winded out and the second was “wined” out (OK, competing party). But I wanted to report before the class of ’65 shows up for Homecoming next weekend. We are now 4 – 2 and seeded 2nd in the section.  Perfect night for football . . . replete with a full moon!]

[The lonely vigil of the sports photographer . . .  ]

[And here come your 2015 Alexandria Cardinals . . . led by the 6th-grade team, as I recall.]

[The perilous vigil of the sports photographer . . . ]

[It was introduce the seniors night – here are two of them.  The intrepid sports photographer is catching them from their best sides.]

[It’s a stampede!!  Has anyone seen the sports photographer?]

[And we have kick-off!!]

[And high speed collisions of heavily armored bodies.]

[Kim Kardashian!  Kim Kardashian! ]

[The Kardashian play worked for a Cardinal touchdown.  Actually, the play call was a ruse. To the best of my knowledge, none of the Kardashians have ever appeared at a Cardinal football game.]

[The offense is every bit as exciting as advertised. These two young men, quarterback Jaran Roste (1) and halfback Micah Christenson (22), both juniors, put on a good show. Micah rushed for 180 yards and I believe 4 TD’s, and Jaran rushed for 130 yards and passed for 180 (18 – 24) – I think those are right?  The sports photographer re-appeared in the background, a good sign for those of us who thought he may have been lost in the stampede.]

[Is it a hand-off, a quarterback keeper?  Noooo, it’s a pass to the right flank!  The game plan obviously determined this was the way to go – running and short passes.]

[A fake to Micah, Jaran drops back to pass . . . ]

[I tossed a spheroid into the air, it came to earth I know not where? ]

[The Cardinals sprint left; the Warriors sprint right.  All in total defiance of the laws of physics and those governing liquor sales in most states.]

[The top photo shows the field’s relative proximity to Grand Arbor, appropriate since most Alexandrians have an older relative who lives there.  The bottom shows it’s a short pass to the right flank.  These passes didn’t gain a lot of yards, but they kept moving the chains in a direct violation of the Alien and Sedition Acts.]

[Our Cards our moving goalward again.]

[But the Warriors aren’t going down without a fight!]

[Upon further review, it was determined that 6’5″ senior defensive end, Henry Wirtjes (80), did indeed deflect this pass attempt by the Warriors’ Chris Pederson (2), also tall, and who appeared to play every position.]

[At the quarter, looks like a ballgame (as opposed to what, I have no idea?).]

[Cards on offense – count the number of prime numbers on the sideline?]

[A long bomb that was launched above the top of the stadium.  I do not believe the attempt was successful, but it was close and served the same purpose as the high, inside fastball.]

[Ooops, people are falling down.]

[Pretty dark now, photography gets  ragged.  Appears to be a Cardinal touchdown!]

[Here we come again.  I believe this was a 3rd-and-long situation on which we made a huge play for another Cardinal . . . FIRST DOWN!]

[I have no idea what’s going on here . . . suggestions?]

[We did good!]

[This is a scoreboard.  It shows us to be ahead by one at the half.  The Cards scored with a little over a minute left, but that was enough time left for the Warriors to come back and put a TD on top of ours!  Uffda!   This is also a flag.  It lets all the players know what country they’re in and from which direction the wind is blowing.]

[As I am prone to say, then the real athletes come out and perform during halftime.]

[In the 2nd half, there appears to be a hole available for Micah (22).  And he really just glides through them – fun to watch!]

[Senior wide receiver Brayden Amundsen (7) got nicked late in the first half – appeared to be a high right ankle sprain.  He did not play again.  Senior wide receive Tom Whiting also got hurt and did not play in the 2nd half.  I believe they have been our two top receivers, which may explain the emphasis on the running game.  I hope they’re not out long?]

[Micah on the run again with another TD (I think) – he somehow squirms out of traffic.]

[Jaran has obviously just released a pass.  The Warriors had two early turnovers in the 2nd half, and we turned them both into touchdowns on our first plays.  That pretty much wrapped up the game.]

[A pass is airborne again . . . ]

[Touchdown . . . touchdown . . . and game over.  Lots of offense, the Cards had about 520 yards, the Warriors about 440.  That’s pretty much been the pattern the last four games. Now looking forward to Homecoming next weekend!]

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.  A successful woman is one who can find such a man.  ~  Lana Turner

Up next:  Not a clue?

Grape Stomp weekend bookended our trip to the Gopher football game on Saturday.  Our one day out of town, the “kids” decided it would be fun to see how many people they could stuff into a smart car!  Oy, can’t leave ’em unchaperoned!  Although not officially part of Grape Stomp, the fun began on Wednesday night with BAT at SAWA.  While we were there Wednesday, we did not officially begin coverage until Thursday, again at SAWA . . .

September 17

[As usual, BAT had the packed house “eating out of his hand” as he enjoined us to sing along when so requested!]

Stick with this video through two songs and catch some cameo appearances by the Retired Teachers Association of Alexandria!

And my video request for Malaguena:

[Brenda takes photographs and requests for BAT.]

Wrapping up evening Number Two.

September 18

The day Grape Stomp officially began.  With the Super, Jami, and Deb Trumm down the in the Cities, I soloed out to the winery to catch our old favorite Anthony Miltich in the afternoon.  It was the one chilly day, and with an ever increasing wind shooting videos was not an option.

[Admiring his footwork?]

[The ladies were at a Futurist conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center.  They pronounced it a resounding success, and Jami wrote about it extensively in her blog.]

That evening BAT performed again at the Alexandria Golf Club.  I was there and the Super joined me as soon as she returned from Minneapolis.  The lighting was not conducive to photography.  It was a busy night, as I posted on FB:  So, to the big city folks, and they know who they are, who mockingly refer to us as Big Town, here’s your Friday night schedule, just off the top of my head:  Anthony Miltich @ CCW (Grape Stomp); BAT @ AGC; Dweebs opening Grape Stomp @ RCC; Matt Velline @ Interlachen; Piano Men (CLCA) @ AAHS PAC; Components @ SAWA.  And we do it all for the sake of ART:

September 20

I heard from a reliable source that the Salty Dogs knocked ’em dead at the Grape Stomp on Saturday.  You may recall from the football photos that Saturday was a beautiful day – well, Sunday was as well!  And on this day, Josie Nelson would be performing outside while simultaneously BAT would be performing inside.  But it proved to be just a tad to breezy for videos.

[Linda (Josie’s mom), Tami (the proprietor), and Josie (the performer) tried in vain (as I recall) to get Josie’s music hooked into the inside speaker system.]

[Actually, none of these wines are from Carlos Creek!]

[Josie told us she had been picked to sing with the high school Carolers this year, her junior year, and she was quite excited about that!]

[The Carolers, surprisingly enough.]

[Then it was time to leave Josie for a while to see how BAT was doing inside . . . ]

[And he was doing just fine . . . ]

[As was Brenda, taking photos and requests.]

[And a sighting of a Christian Ponder jersey?]

[We ran into the king and queen of Ashby and decided to check on Josie again . . . ]

[Judy, in red, was exposed to BAT for the first time this weekend.  I believe she is now the president of his fan club? 😉  ]

[Josie is an aficionado of Doug’s Kettle Korn and this was an unsolicited testimonial.  Oh, and Doug’s daughters, Bethany and Megan Hasz, our cross-country stars, are classmates of Josie.]

[Josie had too much class to hold this for a photo op!  Ha!]

[And then back to say good-bye to BAT and Brenda.  Their next stop is Wichita.]

[But by the same percentage, enjoyed Grape Stomp again this year.]

No male can beat a female in the long run because they have it over us in sheer, damn longevity.  ~  James Thurber

Up next:  Maybe finally get to that high school football game?

The latest adventure of “You Can’t Make Up This Stuff (or The Life and Trying Times of an Older Person).” Plans for going to the Gopher football game Saturday included picking up Ken Howell and his neighbor at 7:00 am. I let the driver, the Supervisor, sleep in until the last minute because she had just been down to the Cities the day before. So, we were in a bit of a rush. We were on the way from the west side of Lake Darling to the east side of Lake Geneva, i.e., halfway to the Cities, when the Super asked, “Do you have the tickets?” To which I responded, “No, don’t you?” A U-turn in front of an onrushing pack of joggers to retrieve our ducats. On to the Howells, where I knew Ken was battling the onset of a cold – I figured we could just put a paper bag over his head for the trip down and back. But when we got there we discovered his friend’s wife was also battling the disease so he was likely a carrier – they decided they should drive down separately. Now Ken was going to direct us to his usual method of game-going which was to park at the downtown Target Center ramp and take the Green Line to the football stadium. Well, this is something the Super and I decided we didn’t want to try for the first time without an experienced guide. But we thought we’d still get there early enough to be able to park at the Dinkytown ramp we usually use for hockey games and walk to the stadium. We didn’t get more than a half mile past the Howells when our low tire pressure indicator came on. This has been on ongoing issue for some time, but only about every three months or so (so we forget about it) . . . and always at the start of a long trip! Rather than trying to deal with it along the way, we decided to go back home and take the Super’s car instead – there were now only two of us and we could change from 24 mpg to 48 mpg. Off again, now a half hour late. Despite all the horror stories we have heard about travel to and into the Cites lately (including the Super’s the day before), we somehow had the easiest trip down there ever! It was exactly two hours from our house (6 miles north of I-94) to the parking ramp in Dinkytown. I couldn’t believe it? But, of course, our ramp was permit parking only for events! Oy! Now what? We drove around looking for parking but every lot within a 50-mile radius of the stadium was permit parking only. Then the Super had a brain storm – how about the ramp next to The Commons on Washington Avenue. That has to be open because provides parking for the hotel guests. It was! And just a short walk to the stadium!

[With a Sis-boom-ah, and a Ski-U-Mah.]

Continuing our football story, I must point out I am not a fan. I gave up fandom years ago when it stopped being a sport and became a commercial endeavor. But I was forced to go – first, because the Alumni Association gave us free tickets, and b) once he learned of that, Tom Anderson invited us to join him in the Board of Regents Suite. Now the game itself was one of a series of “3-and-outs,” meaning there were a lot of punts, and with each change of possession an opportunity for about 15 minutes of commercials on TV and lots of just standing around on the field. If we had been in the stands, I would have departed for Stub & Herb’s by halftime. But the ambience and hospitality of our setting forced us to remain the entire game.

So people say to me, “How can you prefer hockey, and now even soccer, to the new American (commercial) pastime?  There’s no scoring in those sports!”  Well, I beg to differ. People tend to forget that in football you get 2, 3, 6, 7, or even 8 points for a single score! That’s point inflation!  You only get one point for scoring in hockey or soccer.  A 21-14 score in football is merely equivalent to a 3-2 score in hockey or soccer.  Further, the goal line in football is 160 feet long, with no vertical restrictions – goodness, they should be able to score thousands of points per game!  In hockey the goal is 6-feet wide and 4-feet tall, in soccer the goal is 24-feet wide and 8-feet tall, and in each case there is a full-time defender of that goal.  Now that takes some real skill to score in those sports!  But I digress . . .

[After our walkabout, we repaired to “our suite” for  view of the campus, the football field, and the bar where the Super immediately discovered the availability of brut champagne!  🙂  ]

[Spectacular views of downtown Minneapolis and such famous campus landmarks as Willliams Arena and Mariucci Arena.  Did I mention it was a beautiful day?]

[The view from “our seats,” i.e., bar stools, with I believe our host said a regent in the foreground providing perspective; and the opening kick-off.]

[Can you spot Ken and Elmer in their seats?]

[Ho-hum, back to our noshings.  I believe the Super posted these on FB.]

[Watch a little football . . . ]

[OK, enough of that . . . back to eating!]

[A little halftime entertainment introduced us to our national champion dance and women’s hockey teams.]

[From the Super!]

[The pep band came into the suite and played the Rouser; Tom introduced us to several of the regents, including his fellow “rookie,” Michael Hsu from Blaine (a Gopher women’s hockey season ticket holder); and a good-bye selfie.  The game was reportedly a sell-out, but a lot of fans came disguised as empty seats (too nice a day for football?).  In the name-dropping category, the first person we ran into in the suite was Dean Johnson, the Chairperson of the Board of Regents.  We had met Dean a few times as he has held several significant positions in the state over the years.  Then we met and chatted with St. Paul mayor Chris Coleman – when the Super told him she was the Douglas County DFL secretary, he said she was his new best friend.  University president Eric Kaler was in the room but was always surrounded by a group of people so we didn’t get a chance to meet him.  I may have missed others because I was too busy concentrating on the . . . oh yeah, football game?  The Gophers won 10 – 7, but we were 24-point favorites.  The natives got restless toward the end of the game and started booing Ole Jer.  Not fair to guy who has turned this program around.  But as the game wound down, it seemed like our 2-yard plunges into the line were just designed to get our defense back on the field.  The defense played great, holding the Golden Flashes to 142 total yards.  But our offense is pretty banged up and doesn’t have a lot of playmakers.]

THANKS AGAIN TO OUR HOST, MR. ANDERSON – WE HAD A GREAT TIME!

Woman understands children better than man does, but man is more childlike than woman.  ~  Nietzsche

Up next:  Grape Stomp