Ole Pappy
Did anyone miss Duke ... or North Carolina State ... or Kentucky ... or Kansas in the Final Four of the College Basketball Championships this year? I heard one announcer say not having one or more of them in the championship hurt college basketball.
The fact both Virginia and Texas Tech were playing for there first NCAA championships made it exciting. Personally, I became a fan of Texas Tech because Matt Mooney played for the Red Raiders. In previous years, I had many opportunities to match Matt Mooney play for University of South Dakota. Many of the USD games were carried on our local network.
Then, when I went to Vermillion to watch USD play this year and particularly to watch Tyler Peterson, my friend Greg Peer’s nephew play, I asked Tyler what happened to Matt Mooney. He told me he was playing at Texas Tech.
It was super exciting to watch him have a 22-point game in their win over Michigan State to gain the championship game. But I’ve got to tell you ... I never missed those other “regulars” in the final four. How refreshing to watch Virginia and Texas Tech battle for the championship, eventually won by Virginia in overtime.
My wife and I were in the car on Saturday, listening to the Virginia vs. Auburn game. It appeared Auburn had the game wrapped up by two points with time running out. Then came the infamous foul call on the Virginia shooter, his eventually three-straight free throws and Virginia’s controversial victory and trip to the finals. It was stunning.
I could hardly believe it. And I felt so sorry for Auburn. That must have been an extremely difficult loss to digest. Monday, I was at the Minneota City Council Meeting and the Board of Adjustment meeting.
All I could think about was the championship game coming up that same evening. I was grateful to Mayor John Rolbiecki, council members and City Administrator Shirley Teigland for getting the meeting over in time for, “The Big Game.” Now, it’s all over. Oh well ... I’ve still got most of the new Major League Baseball Season to keep me warm! By-the-way ... everyone was bracing for the upcoming snowstorm on Tuesday. Here’s hoping it wasn’t as bad as it sounded.
LAUGH A LITTLE: Forget-full chicken! Q: Why did the forgetful chicken cross the road? A: To get to the other side — er, no — to go shopping — no, not that either .....
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: As my Ole Pappy used to say, “Don’t let other people define you. Be yourself.” Ole Pappy always had good advice. Thanks Ole Pappy!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
•The Southwest Minnesota Orchestra (SMO) will perform “From Darkness Into Light” at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Schwan’s Community Center for the Performing Arts, located at Marshall High School. Thomas Fortner will be the conductor. He is the music director of the South Dakota Symphony Youth Orchestra and the assistant conductor for the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. He is also the founder and artistic director of the Iowa Great Lakes Music Festival. For more information, contact the SMSU Music Department 507-537-7103.
•The Minneota High School Senior Awards Ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m., Sunday at the Minneota High School. Dollars for Scholars will conduct the ceremony. Scholarships and awards will be handed out.
•Prairie Arts Chorale, Singers of Southwestern Minnesota under the direction of Brandon Hurley, invites you to attend one of our concerts this spring, “Broadway: Changing the World, One Song at a Time.” The program will include Broadway musical selections from the beginnings of Broadway, through the Golden Age, and on to the modern hits seen on stage today. Concerts will be held 7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 27 at United Methodist Church in Montevideo; 4 p.m., Sunday, April 28, at CrossRoads Lutheran Church in Dawson; 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 3,at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Redwood Falls and 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 4 at Marshall Middle School.