Sorry sports fans for the delay in programming...

Alright, here's the real story. I've been too #@$*&#$ busy to post anything. I know, you don't really care. But coming soon will be updates on Century Soccer (3 boys playing this year!) and life in general. I have been reading more evolutionary theory and especially books on the human genome and how it is helping trace populations and how neatly it fits with our linguistic studies. I continue to be fascinated by the fact that "we" homo sapiens survived and flourished while the other hominids all died off. I know most of you don't find that exciting, but I think it is great stuff. Politics. It is clear from the Electoral College data that, barring a scandal or the complete meltdown of the American monetary system, that Barack Obama will be re-elected President of the United States of America. Yeah! The much bigger longterm question is "Will we elect enough Democrats to the House and the Senate to be able to overcome the filibuster and actually resume governing these United States?" Romney is an Ass, and the Republicans continue to prove EVERYDAY that they are the party of George Wallace and Lester Maddox, not the party of Abraham Lincoln or Dwight Eisenhower. According to them, it is a sin to (1) invest in America and (2) invest in Americans. Race baiting, total disregard for the welfare of a significant portion of our citizens, and blatant refusal to consider requiring those with extraordinary income and resources to pay more taxes leaves them out of the mainstream and leads them into the dark alleys of criminal activities such as voter disenfranchisement and partisan (not population based) redistricting.

Chilly Scenes of Winter...

ND State Boys Soccer in Mandan

So the boys got a good nights sleep and showed up ready to play. There really wasn't much doubt as Century scored in the first half on a free kick with Rauhauser scoring. Then in the second half Hunter took a ball from the left wing and pounded it off the post so low and so hard that it bounced off the left post and hit Kessler in the back and went in solid. BHS got all bent out of shape and got no less than 8 cards, most of which were for whining and complaining to the referee after he'd blown the whistle. The Patriots controlled the entire second half and T.J. Gunsch put it away with a breakaway 1 on 1 with Kessler the Bismarck Goalie.



At this point I have to interject on behalf of this young man. His name is Austin Mack and he is the hardest working young man I have encountered for a long time. He is a full time student at Dickinson High School who runs cross-country and track for them, but in the fall he is a soccer machine. Dickinson has no soccer so he petitioned the NDHSAA to coop with a west region school to play soccer. Mandan (quite unwittingly) refused to take him so Century (wisely) said yes. What we have gotten in return is 2 of the finest years of selfless defending one could ever hope to witness. This young man has the best combination of body control, strength, and speed that I have witnessed in 10 years of ND High School soccer. Yeah, somebody beat the keeper and put in three goals, but Austin seriously kicked some ass. He and Matt McArthur took no prisoners when the other teams brought the ball into the house. How about 5-0. 1-0, and 3-0 for the tournament.
"Nuff said.


Here is Hunter picking up his first place trophy after two very disappointing second place finishes in 2009 and 2010.













Also let me say that this team has no bad boys, no whiners, and they all played their hearts out because Joel expected it of them. And don't forget Krista Grey, who as the highest ranking female coach in ND boys Soccer taught these young men more than a thing or two about what being a real man is all about.





And this picture says it all: 20 young men who worked hard, persevered when they were 3-3-0 and ended up marching through the 2011 State tournament unscored upon.




A huge thank you to Coach Joel Jahnke and his assistant Krista. For the record, Joel's record as head coach of Century is extraordinary: His teams have finished 1st, 5th, 2nd, 2nd, and 1st in state during his tenure. He accomplished this with 4 seniors in 2010, and 3 Seniors in 2011. Hint: The entire state of North Dakota should be doing something to try and derail the Century TRAIN. I can't believe that anybody with any sense isn't picking Century to repeat in 2012.

And here is Hunter's goal in the 2011 Championship game.

Semifinal Day at the NDHSBSST

Century got the 5:00 game against St. Mary's and a weird one it was. Century scored on a free kick about 2 minutes in and that was it. You read that correctly, another 78 minutes of soccer with no more scoring. Century controlled the ball, set the tone, and got most of the shots despite St. Mary's having a goal disallowed for an offensive foul in the box. Meanwhile, the temporary "Papa's Pumpkin Patch set up near the speedway grandstand started on fire. It took the Mandan Fire Dept. a good 25 minutes to respond and then the thing smoldered for the rest of the game.

2nd semi was the Bismarck High School Demons (many of whom are Hunter's old teammates from Capital City Soccer) who got off to a poor start, allowing Fargo Shanley to score twice in the first 10 minutes. After that, however, it was all Bismarck as they scored twice in the first half to tie it, and the game winner with 20 minutes left. Fargo Shanley has some really talented players and are well coached but the "flops" got old fast and by the second half the referee was not willing to call any foul that had resulted in a Shanley player on the ground. Reap what you sow....

Tomorrow St. Mary's gets another shot at Shanley (they tied tied the only other time they played) and then the big one is CHS vs. BHS at 3:00. On paper Century is the much better team, but BHS has the 12 Senior vs. The CHS 3 Seniors (none of whom are in the top 5 Century players.)

We have lots of fans coming to the game: Grandma Bonnie is already here, Auntie Susan and kids are coming, Uncle Tom if he gets back from Glendive or Dilworth in time, Uncle Mike and Aunt Shelly were at the game tonight and will be there tomorrow.

We're trying to break a little jinx here tomorrow. Neither Mike nor I ever won a state championship, Joe got 2nd twice in soccer and went to state 2-3 time in hockey, and now Hunter has taken second place twice in soccer as well. Could this be the year that a Towle finally plays on a State Championship team? Stay tuned tomorrow.

2011 North Dakota High School Boys Soccer Tournament

So here we go again. Century is seeded #1 from the West for the third year in a row. As you may know from previous posts they took 2nd in 2008, losing to Fargo South. They took 2nd in 2009, losing to West Fargo in overtime.

This year they got off on the right foot by soundly defeating Fargo Davies 5-0. Hunter missed 2 shots from inside the 6, and then was absolutely taken out by the keeper on his 3rd attempt. The keeper gets a yellow card and Hunter's friend Alec pounded home the penalty kick.

Hunter also was interviewed by one of the local TV stations about his "helmet" and concussion history. It was a nice story and actually discussed an important topic during the 6:00 sports.

In the other afternoon game St. Mary's came from behind to tie West Fargo 2-2 in regulation. It was scoreless through 2 overtimes and then St Mary's won the shootout 4-2.

In the evening games Fargo Shanley handled Minot easily 3-0, and Bismarck really took it to Fargo South leading 2-0 at halftime after playing into the wind and driving rain. I will update that score when I know the final.

What it means is a rubber match between Century and St Mary's in one bracket, and a showdown between West #2 BHS and East #1 Fargo Shanley in the other. Just guessing that the Bismarck firepower and home cooking will win out, and Century will outplay St Mary's for the other spot. CHS vs. BHS Final? Very Likely.

8th grade Soccer Champs

Luke and Will's 8th grade soccer team the Horizon Huskies won the city tournament over the weekend. On Friday they beat St. Mary's by a score of 3-1. On Saturday morning they defeated the Wachter Purple team 3-2, and then Saturday afternoon on the big field in Mandan they crushed the previously undefeated Wachter White team 7-2. Will played primarily central defender and some midfield, while Luke spent most of his time at mid. They both took some nice corner kicks and played some good defense. After the game we all went to a celebration at the home of teammate Ethan. It was an absolutely gorgeous evening and the boys played the whole time. I think this is the first time these two have ever won a championship - I remember many 2nd and 3rd place finishes in multiple sports so it was nice to see them get the win. Next year they have to try out for the Century varsity team which is cool since that will be Hunter's Senior year. Odds are slim but it would be really fun if they would get a chance to play on the field with their big (HA!) older brother. Congratulations Luke and Will!

THE SADDEST GODDAMN THING I'VE EVER SEEN...

Here are come pictures I took in Minot after the floodwaters receded.

























This is the house that I grew up in, from age 4 until I graduated from college. Thankfully, my Mom sold it about a year and a half ago and moved up onto the hill but the new owner's didn't get so lucky.








This is the view looking in the living room windows towards the kitchen.









This is the view of the dining room and kitchen from inside the garage.














I can't begin to tell you how disheartening it was to see Latimer's and Fredrickson's and Aberle's and Wald's and Schmidt's all ruined. The piles of rotting sheetrock and wood and garbage reek, all the grass and many of the trees are dead, and it is a ghost town except for the few trying to clean up.

Yes, It was...

My Summer Vacation....

Off to MPLS/St.Paul for a fun filled weekend of baseball, eating, and drinking. We'll watch the Twins try and right the ship on Saturday and Sunday against the Brewers, and make necessary stops at Cossetta's, Saigon Kitchen, Ted Cook's 19th Hole, Sawatdee, and Cafe Latte. Let's see, that's Italian, Vietnamese, Barbecue, Thai, and Dessert. Oh the Joy!

We'll be staying with our longtime friend MaryPat and lovely daughter Winnie and taking the first trip with someone's girlfriend.

Haven't been keeping up, but the City of Minot is suffering from the worst flood in recorded (i.e. white man) history. The childhood home is sitting in 6-7 feet of water, and thank Zeus or Allah or whomever's in charge my Mom sold it a year and a half ago so we no longer have any family in the flood plain. 10,000+ human beings were not as fortunate.

Work is a little wierder than usual but can't really pass along any info until the lawyers have stopped chewing on the bones...

Life really is grand. Shitty, shitty weather for the last 9 months, still considerable risk of flood here in Bismarck as record snow melt hits the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers, Boys are great, handsome, and trying to play the beautiful game.

"I Just Wanna Be A Music Man ..."

This fine young man just received a full scholarship to study with a famous violinist for 2 weeks as a part of the National Music Festival in Floyd, Virginia. His mentor will be Jessica Mathaes who is the concertmaster of the Austin (Texas) Symphony. It is a very intensive 2 weeks with numerous performance opportunities, and his mother is going to accompany him (under 18 = needs a chaperone). They are flying out on May 27th and will be back late on June 12th.

The other boys and I will do a little bonding while they're gone, and summer soccer is in full swing already with the first Great Plains soccer league games starting June 2nd.

Anxiously awaiting the arrival of Spring. And No, I'm not kidding. JV West Region Baseball Tournament cancelled as we're expecting up to 3 inches of rain over the next 2 days. At least it's not snow.

Up to Minot next weekend for a high school graduation. It will be fun to spend a little time with the families.