Since Katie Ohm became a household name for Minnesota girls basketball fans during her freshman year, the Watchmen have been on the brink of a state championship. Today, they finally got it.
During that freshman season, Ohm was surrounded by other talented players like the Olstads as well as a 6'1'' center and an able point guard, both of whom were seniors. When they advanced to the state championship game that season, the question became, "Will anything less than a state championship be a disappointment." They answer, though guarded, was yes.
This year, they finally put it all together. No one else really stood a chance. With the addition of Abby Lindquist at the point guard position, the Watchmen had everything. A point guard to run the show, two star players in the Olstads, and a Division 1 superstar who, after coming so close so many times, had all the motivation in the world. When it came down to it, things happened just as we all expected: with Ohm scoring 22 points and willing her team to a state championship.
This area isn't likely to see another team quite like Elgin-Millville for a long time. They are a special group of girls and have been entertaining to watch.
Eagles Break Their Own Record
Seven state championships was a state record. Now make it eight. The Lourdes girls' dynasty continues to grow as Myron Glass' squad defeated Pequot Lakes for another title. They did it their way, with nothing fancy, swarming defense and a calm persistence that eventually helps them pull away from any opponent. They protected the ball better than any other girls state tournament team in Minnesota history, turning the ball over just two times the entire contest.
After hitting the locker room at halftime with a five point deficit, the Eagles--behind Anne Breland--came alive. Breland was held scoreless in the first half but exploded for 20 second half points and showed Lourdes the way to victory.
That's the mark of a true star. After being held scoreless for an entire half, it takes a special player to put that behind her and refocus. Breland did so admirably and her team is a state champion as a result.
Only one question remains. With Lourdes and Elgin-Millville having split during the season, which team is better?
Mike Tice scalped Super Bowl tickets. The real question is, so what?
First of all, he did so as an assistant, not as head coach. Of course, that doesn't make it right, but at least when he was given the head coaching job he realized the position of authority and leadership he had been given and refrained from illegal acts.
Secondly, by all accounts this is a very common practice in the NFL. Again, it doesn't make it right, but why make one person the fall guy for something that is happening league-wide?
Finally, and most importantly, who cares? He scalped tickets? So what? Who among us wouldn't try to sell our tickets if we had some and couldn't make it to the game? What are you going to do, toss them in the garbage? No, you would sell them. Maybe you'd sell them cheap to a friend, maybe you'd put them up on E-Bay and see how much you could get for them. The point is, we would all do exactly what Tice did and scalp them.
True, this is on a bigger scale. It also might be true that Tice headed a scalping operation, which could be somewhat more serious. But in the end, he scalped some tickets. He didn't get arrested for sexual abuse, drunk driving, possession of drugs and weapons or beating a man after he was unconscious--all things his players have been arrested for. Tice illegally sold some tickets. So what.
Hopefully this will blow over and everyone will forget about it. Then we can get back to criticizing Tice for something deserved...like tossing red flags at the most baffling times.
Troy Young of the Post Bulletin had an entertaining story in Thursday's paper about Rochester native Matt Meyer facing the Boston Red Sox. The Boston Red Sox! Well, not necessarily the starting line-up for opening day, but some big names nonetheless.
Meyer talks about his 1-2 curveball to Trot Nixon that was driven down the line. How cool is that? Nixon hit .315 last year in 48 games in the big leagues. For Meyer, who is a soft-spoken, modest left hander with impressive stuff, should wear this experience as a badge of honor.
Several college teams play against big league clubs because spring break trips to Florida often coincide with Spring Training. But to be able to say he faced the Red Sox the year after they broke the curse puts Meyer in some pretty elite company.
My congratulations to my old Royals teammate for facing the Bo-Sox...even if Trot was sitting on the bender.
In a way, I have to hand it to the Minnesota Vikings. After years of doing things the wrong way, they seem to finally understand what it takes to win. Recently, the purple have been entertaining us with high-flying offensive attacks while throwing a defense onto the field that would struggle against a decent college squad. They have spent huge chunks of money on offensive playmakers while turning a blind eye to a defense that could never seem to improve, no matter how much they tried to tell us it would.
But now, things seem to be turning for the better. The Moss deal resulted in a solid linebacker--our weakest position last season by far. We also have a draft pick or two to use however we choose. But getting rid of Moss also opened some other doors related to the salary cap.
Under Red McCombs, the Vikings have never had to worry about the salary cap, but they have had some struggles in reaching the league minimum. Now that Moss and his salary are gone, Minnesota had no choice but to spend some money on free agents. Hence the acquisition of cornerback Fred Smoot.
Although saying the Vikings have "three very, very good corners," as Tice told the Associated Press, is a bit of an exaggeration, it's true that the Vikings have done well to recognize the need to pay real attention to its floundering defense.
Whether this perceived change in philosophy will pay off remains to be seen. But we have to feel good about the fact that they're changing something, and realizing the importance of a solid defense.
The Oakland Golden Grizzlies are in the NCAA tournament. Yep, the Division One tourney. The Big Dance. The same tournament Illinois, Duke and North Carolina will be playing in. And the Grizzlies lost more games than they won this year. Six more. In the Mid-Continent Conference. They won only nine regular season games.
Still, they're in.
I love it. This is exactly what makes March Madness such a huge draw for so many people across the country. We all want to see David take a shot at Goliath on national television. We all want to see that first 16-seed knock off the number-1-seed. And if it happens to be a team like Oakland--a team that wouldn't have been invited to play in my driveway tournament before upsetting top-seeded Oral Roberts Tuesday night--that would make it even sweeter.
It's not that anyone truly believes a team like this is going to run the table and win a national championship. But what if a couple players get hot? We'll hear all about these guys and who they are, where they're from. We'll cheer for them because they don't have a chance. Maybe they'll pull off the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history and defeat a 1-seed. It's been so close so many times. If and when it happens, what if that team feels a jolt of momentum and rattles off a couple more wins? What if there was a game between Oakland and Illinois; the winner goes to the Final Four?
That might be getting a little carried away, but you can count on this: someone will pick Oakland to win their first round game in their office pool. Someone will be calling in sick next Thursday or Friday to watch the game. He will perch on the edge of the couch, potato chips in one hand and a cold one in the other, and cheer his brains out, pulling for the Golden Grizzlies. Maybe it will be a game for the first half. Maybe it will come down to the final minute, or even the final second.
When I heard the news of Cole Butler's death, I was immediately struck with a sense of sadness. Sadness for him and the future he will never know and for his family and close friends, who never could have prepared for something like this. It also made me think back to high school and the days when I knew Cole Butler.
In the fall of 1994, a tall, skinny ninth grader was brought up to play on the Lourdes varsity basketball team. He had a crooked smile and a good-natured sense that made it impossible to consider any sort of "freshman initiation." In an instant, Cole became a teammate.
He entertained us all during the two years that I was fortunate enough to play with him; with his high flying dunks as well as witty comments always appropriately placed during practice. He had an understanding of the boundaries of discipline, but thoroughly enjoyed himself within those boundaries. When I heard of his accident, one of my first thoughts was that he had lived the life he was given to the fullest.
It has been nearly ten years since I last saw Cole. It's amazing how time tends to slip away from you. I remember his flowing stride and intense eyes like it was yesterday. Although a lot of time has passed, I still remember what kind of person Cole Butler was.
I extend my sympathies to Cole's family and close friends. I hope you understand the impact Cole had on people. Even those ten years removed from his presence.
With a perfect 29-0 record, all Illinois had to do was win one more game. They would have breezed through the entire regular season with a perfect record; the first Big Ten team to do so in 29 years. They would have ridden that momentum through the Big Ten tourney, into the Big Dance and all the way to the Final Four. No one would have been able to touch them. They had size, speed, talent and intimidation. While they retain the first three qualities, the fourth has been severely tarnished.
Before Ohio State shocked the Illini with a 65-64 upset, Illinois was untouchable. Every team that tipped off against them was looking to do one thing: compete. Now the tides have turned for Bruce Webber's team. Suddenly teams aren't going to be hoping they can play with the best team in the nation for a while, they're going to want to beat them. What's worse for Illinois is that these teams are going to know that it's possible.
Some people are trying to use the cliched line about a late regular season loss being a good thing because it serves as a wake up call and let's the team know it has to continue to work hard. I don't buy it. The people who say that are people like ESPN's Pat Forde, who predicted a clean Illini sweep. Now that he has been proven wrong, he tries to cover his tracks by saying this is a good thing for them because "no team needs the burden of being unbeaten going into the NCAA tournament.
I guarantee that the Illinois squad, if it's being honest with itself, doesn't feel the same.
No team wants to lose. Especially a team that has rolled through the entire regular season without a blemish. These guys wanted nothing more than to finish the clean sweep and be compared to the best teams in NCAA history. But now? Now they don't even know if they'll be able to win the Big Ten tourney, much less the Big Dance.
The loss was good for Illinois? Maybe if you're a DePaul fan.
This story has been told before. A talented and successful Lourdes boys basketball team enters the post-season as the favorite to get out of the section and represent our area in the state tournament only to be upset somewhere along the line. It's our own little curse. We never traded Babe Ruth. I've never heard legends of turning a goat away at the door. But our curse is real and alive.
I first learned of the curse when I was a freshman in high school. It would have been the '92-'93 season. Although I was primarily a B-squad player, I was fortunate enough to suit up for varsity games as well and play the closing seconds of the occasional blowout. Our team that season, with another conference championship to its name, was eliminated early in the playoffs. During my "we'll get 'em next year" thoughts, someone shouted, "I can't believe it happened again!"
Apparently this has been going on for a while, although I don't know enough to even give an estimate. But I can tell you that I did nothing to break the curse. My sophomore year we lost to a solid St. Charles team with names like Spud Stevens, J.B. Mathison and Justin Treptau. But we had entered as the favorites. My junior year we were again ousted prematurely but my senior year, we were confident. We had already beaten a talented Lake City team twice, including just days earlier in the HVL championship game-our third conference title in three years. But the Tigers, led by Lance Mienke, sneaked out of the Mayo Civic Auditorium with another upset of a Lourdes powerhouse.
Shortly after I left, a couple Lourdes teams were able to make the state tournament. And maybe that's good enough. Maybe that broke the curse. This year's squad wasn't really upset. They lost to a Dover-Eyota team with a better record. But maybe what Lourdes boys basketball really needs is a state championship. Maybe that's the only thing that will open the floodgates.
I'm confident it will come soon. Every other sport at Lourdes, from baseball to tennis and everything in between, has been off the charts. Soon, the boys basketball team will do what I and so many others were unable to do. They will win a state championship.
Then all that will be left to work on is the Lourdes football curse. But that's a story for another day.
