Archive for March, 2006
The following is probably my second greatest story ever written for the paper. I would like to quickly warn readers that there is a pretty noticeable error in the story dealing with last names, titles, and quotes, which got messed up because of the jump and rearranging quotes. Dammit. Anyways here it is.
The Story
Southwest Minnesota State University has changed Mike Power’s duties at the university from 25 percent instructor and 75 percent head of women’s basketball, to 100 percent instructor. The news came Tuesday, March 21, posted online at the smsumustangs.com website.
The Mustangs went 7-21 on the season including a first round exit in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament to conclude their season. As the losses piled up Power became increasingly negative towards the team in the media, according to some players.
“[Power] said something to us and then something else to the public,” said Abby Oakland, a freshmen undeclared student.
Controversy arose in the women’s basketball department after Power held a meeting with returning players and, according to players, had told nearly half the team he would help them find another school but that they didn’t fit in his system. The meeting led some players to approach school President David Danahar feeling such a bold move was unprofessional.
“It came as a complete shock to me since I had one year left,” Tasca said. “I don’t think it’s right to release players like that, especially since he was only here one year.”Though the reason for the change is a personnel change and therefore cannot be discussed in detail by employees of SMSU, a few of Powers’ former players sounded off on what the felt was an appropriate change.
“[Power was dismissed] because he didn’t do anything to prove himself this season and what he did at the end of the season, in creating his own team and getting rid of people,” said Betsy Tasca, a junior sports management student.
Tasca was one of the players told they didn’t fit Powers’ system.
“After last years’ dismissal of [Kruger] I was really disappointed with the school,” said Kelly Crimi, a senior exercise science student. “After this years’ dismissal I gained some respect for SMSU because I didn’t feel they brought in a coach to match the character of Kruger.”
Crimi, along with Sara Leidall, each received postseason NSIC honors.
“[The athletic department] is just trying to let this all sink in and try and do what has to be done,” said Howard Gauthier, second year athletic director of the dismissal. “It’s always difficult when you make a change.”
Players’ that had problems with their coach of one year also expressed their dissatisfaction with Power’s effort at the end of the season.
“He didn’t work with us, he didn’t care and his attempt to clean house with us was just disgusting,” Crimi said.
“I feel like he didn’t even try to work with us,” Tasca said.
SMSU now must look ahead to finding a new coach for the Mustangs. Some of the current and graduating Mustangs, though unimpressed with Power’s performance, say they would’ve preferred Kruger as their coach.
“[The women's basketball program] was such an elite program before all this happened,” Crimi said. “It sucks because I didn’t get to play my last year with [Kruger].”
“I would be happy to play with [Kruger]. I have a lot of respect for him and [Kruger's] a great coach,” Oakland said.
Despite some players’ negative feelings about the season and their coaches performance and attitude, some feel that SMSU just wasn’t the right place for Power.
“I think he was a good person and has a good coaching philosophy, [Power] just didn’t adapt it well with our team,” Oakland said.
Power was unavailable to comment.
There it is. First greatest was my three-part story about sex in college.
March 22nd, 2006
I had to make that last one short…my computer started on fire. No, really, it did.
Anyways. Got back to Dan’s amidst a blizzard on Sunday. Unchurched and feeling guilty for what I had done with Tony’s credit card and my ass we made plans for church. 5:30pm that night we rocked out with our rosaries out and hit up the cathedral for some GGW, God Gone Wild. I hate going to non-Big Stone churches and listening to the closing announcements and the final song. So we skipped out. Well, most of us did. Chester craved more. We waited outside for him for like 100 minutes and a firetruck drove by slowly with its lights on and a guy on the back kept slapping the side of the fire truck saying, “BRYCE! We need your help, it’s time for you to be the hero.” I had to decline cause of Chester.
Afterwards we went to Dan’s and me, Chet, Tyler, Tony, Bre, and Ben all went to Ruby Tuesdays. Bre is this girl that must hang out with Ben and Dan and gang a bunch, she apparently lives on their block.
Dan and Ben embarrassed the entire table at the meal to the point of crying because they wanted to install Linux on their computer. I mean, hello, they already had Unix! (buries head in hands at poor attempt at a joke).
After that the night was spent like much of our time at Dan’s. I helped Ben fix a program and everyone else wasted their minds playing some college basketball game on PS2. Oh yeah, I forgot, I also read a couple COBOL books and caught up on my Neural Networking.
I met Dan’s roommates inbetween books and Dusty and Dave were watching Arrested Development was on. I knew we would be friends.
Bed time.
The next day we got up around 11 and went to campus. Followed Ben there. Ben is a crazy driver. Being from Wyoming there arent’ people on the road, just the occassional bison, so he’s good at swerving and maintaining speed. We aren’t. When we got there we had no idea where to find Dan and so we just stood at the side walk looking around. Mariah found us, thank God. What are the odds that she’d find our herd? We then found Dan and took the tour and went to Welfarardees. I mean Hardees. That was creepy cause there was like a welfare lady or a social work lady there, something, handing out money to creepy people. The best quote while leaving was from Tony, “Dan didn’t say the Hardees was on an indian reservation”. Eek. That’ll get us shot.
We then split up and Dan and I went to Neural Networking while the rest went to Dan’s place. In class there were apparently four people there with phd’s and it is a graduate course and one of the teachers spotted me. Asked who the F I was and I said, “No iz OK, I’m with Dan” Dan flashed a gang sign and she said, “tight”. I was in. I answered a questions. “How many hidden nodes are there?” and I said, “42?” Nope. “N?” nope, oh yeah, “I have no clue.” correct. My response to me actually giving the correct response was, “well, this class isn’t that hard” got a laugh. I kept taking notes.
Class got over, played some frisbee, Dan went to daily mass with Mariah, returned, and we ate pizza. Then we played basketball for real. At some gym on campus. we played with Pete, Adam, and Blake. Blake was Dan’s friend and Adam was Pete’s bed buddy. We played a bunch of games and they were pretty competitive. I just wish someone would’ve landed on their arm and NOT gotten back up. But oh well.
That night I showered, got beat again on college basketball game, went back to my books, the only things that understand me, and went to bed. Woke up to say goodbye to Dan and Chester and I played “where’s my hand” for about an hour until the Rolfes’ awoke.
We then went home.
The only real excitement on the road were gasoline, Sue, and snipers.
Gasoline:
We didn’t want to fill up until we absolutely had to. We have the gauge on the car that shows we were empty and the computer, the same that tells us we’re on ice nearly all year round as well and saying that it’s only around 30 degrees during the hellish summer days saying that we could go another 50 miles. We took the computer’s word for it and we got below the E so I took a piece of paper and put it over the gas gauge so I wouldn’t think about it. It worked.
Sue:
We saw Sue on our way and she called seeing if we were by Wall, SD. We were about 400 miles away. She probably wanted water. It’s free there.
Snipers:
So when you’re born you have a counter you born somewhere. You’re not necessarily twins, but they are a sniper and are bred to kill you and only you. We saw a lady who slept with her sniper last night and was running away from him before he sniped her. Her dog was running even faster which makes me think the dog’s sniper died of natural causes and the guy was outsourced for sniping it, too. And in Milbank! Sad.
That was the Rapid trip according to Bryce Rausch.
March 20th, 2006
So… what to post about.
Linds is in Texas having a real spring break filled with sun, beaches, and drinks. I went to where I heard there was a blizzard, the Bad Lands!
I started my spring break by getting reaquainted with Rick Guse and company. The next morning I went to BSC and loaded up my van with Tyler, Chester, and Tony and took off for Rapid City. We rocked out to Weird Al almost all the way to Sioux Falls and after that I listened to a little bit of “A Briefer History in Time” by Stephen Hawking. Way over my head, I found myself mostly thinking of other things and eventually just took my headphones off and conversed. We stopped for gas in some no town town. The sign actually say, “Bad Lands” and there were nice lands and mildly upset lands, but nothing bad. We played some ‘bee and hopped back in the van. We luckily picked the correct exit in Rapid and roamed around the mean streets until we got ahold of Dan. Perhaps the best quote of the weekend occurred while talked to Dan.
“Which way are you headed? You should be headed west”
“We’re going East”
“OK, that works, too…(further instructions).”
Funny.
Anyways, got to Dan’s place, got the tour, saw Katie Brass and ate with Chuck and Theresa. We ate some homemade pizzas which were absolutely splendid. I had to role to Spearfish after we ate and came to Dirk’s apartment. There was Ian, passed out sleeping because he felt ill, Macy, Colin, Trevor, Dirk, and Heather (Dirk’s girlfriend). Tony came with, we left Tyler and Chet behind, and they got raped. I’m sure of it.
We had a pretty unusual conversation at Dirk’s place with his football buddies, we talked politics all night. Things got so heated that Colin and Macy got into a war of words to the point that if Colin would’ve stayed any longer they probably would’ve physically fought. Instead Colin left and chucked a liquour bottle at Macy. Craziness. Spent the night at Kelly’s. Very comfortable. I got the day bed, got to play some games of pool before we went to bed.
The next morning we had the meal of a king. Music, interesting discussion about movies, and fruit, french toast, and pancakes. Very good. It was snowing.
It continued to snow, alot. We went to Deadwood. I had $26 and I lost it rather quickly. Let it ride, not a title of a porno, and video poker. What a waste.
Deadwood would be better not during a blizzard or on a Sunday day. Sucked mostly.
More to come later.
March 16th, 2006
So I was taking a nap back home with my door locked. I have my “Ocean Sounds” cd in and I light about five scented candles while I nap. I sleep in my jeans so no one sees my bits and pieces if I jump out of bed screaming. That’s none of their business!
I forgot something however, to lock the windows. I feel something scratch at the window and just roll over and go back to sleep. I then quit smelling lavender and autumn spice and begin smelling blood. BLOOD? I open my eyes and see Hogan with a crow bar just outside my window dangling dangerously from the roof. I shriek and jump back as Hogan takes the crow bar, breaks my window, and jumps into the room, teeth dripping with blood and Tanna, the neighbors poodle’s, severed head clutched in his right paw as he swings into the room. I leap to the door as Hogan runs after me biting at my heels. I know if Hogan trips me I am certain to become “puppy chow”, and not the kind of puppy chow that everyone hearts, either.
I run upstairs where Tony is sitting in my favorite chair cleaning his pistol. I asked him, for the love of God, to help me. He just laughed at me and pistol whipped me. The room grows fuzzy and I start to fall, I catch myself just as Hogan leaps at my face trying to rip it off in a single powerful bite.
I dive over the couch and run downstairs, Hogan hot on my trail. I then take our tea kettle on the stove and splash the boiling tea in Hogan’s face. He’s burned but feels no pain as he follows me upstairs. Exhausted I stop to try and fight the vicious dog by hand. Big Mistake. The Dog doesn’t go for my face, heels, feet, or hands. Those would’ve been a luxury. Instead Hogan show’s how evil he is, and with a wag of his tail he sinks his teeth into my favorite pair of jeans. RIP…TEAR. Hogan stops, his deed is done. I fall to my knees in an eruption of tears while Tony pistol whips Brenna.
Hogan…you’re dead to me.
March 6th, 2006
1. Today is ash wednesday. I have chosen to give up caffeine. Ouch. We’ll see how that works. So far no headaches. But i figure it can only be good for me. Got up very early and went to church and am eating my one meal of the day.
2. I want your ideas, every other week I get $42 from the Spur which I have chosen as my “Play Money”. One week it all went to filling the van up with gas. I have started making a list of things to get. 1. Racquetball and Tennis racquet. 2. DVD player for my room, but right now I’d like an mp3 player that isn’t broken. Miles and I figured I could get a good one for around $80. So what am I going to do? I am thinking of taking the $42 and putting it all down in Granite Falls, MN on the way home Friday on a blackjack hand. What do you think?
3. I’m having dvd burning problems. It won’t work through DVD shrink, I get the error: Failed to Read file “F:\” Data Error (Cyclic redundancy check)
So using DVD Decrypter I rip it to my hard drive in the “Files” Mode and get an error like, “Can not find the IFO file” something like that. So I go to some Forums and find that I need to delete the old IFO files and do a program like IFO Editor which would create new ones. Then I went back to DVD shrink and got an error that said, “Invalid DVD navigation structure” WHAT!
So, I’m stuck. I am very open to any suggestions at all. ANYONE?
So when you comment, cause everyone has to comment, I want to hear about the gambling thing and about the dvd thing. Let me know!
March 1st, 2006