Outside the Lines

This week brought several milestones to the high school sport’s scene.  Senior John Rumpza reached a significant plateau when he scored the 2,000th point of his career. That is a goal that not too many high school basketball players achieve, and that is really a mark for which to take pride.
  Also, last week the basketball girls recorded their 20th win of the season, a mark that hadn’t been reached since 2008.  Later in the week they gained victory No. 21.  And last Friday night, Coach John Bruns reached a significant goal, as he notched win No. 200 in his basketball coaching career.  That, too, is an important number in one’s career as a coach in any sport, and the local high school now has four varsity coaches with at least that many wins.
Finally, John Rumpza and Madison Worke were introduced and honored last week as the Triple Award winners for the school.  Rumpza went on to win the sub-section and the section title and will now be in competition for the state Class A Triple A Honors.  All of the preceding honors and achievements are outstanding accomplishments and deserve a great big tip of the hat.  Well done, and congratulations to all the individual and team accomplishments.
Another good week
Both basketball teams enjoyed good weeks of competition.  The boys lost to Goodhue in a game postponed from earlier in the season, but then won three games to cap the week, all three against some quality competition. JWP and Grand Meadow, especially, provided plenty of strong opposition.  The team came through against both teams with very good performances.
The girls also had strong games against both Hayfield and Grand Meadow in the week.  Again, both of those teams had good records, but the Blossoms dispatched both of them to end the week with a 21-2 record.
Personalities die
Two personalities from very different areas of life careers died last week, both of whom had a large following of fans. Jerry Tarkanian, one of the most noted college basketball coaches for over 30 years, died in Las Vegas at the age of 84. Although he coached at three different colleges, he is most well known for his years guiding UNLV basketball.
  He reached the Final Four in NCAA basketball tournaments four times and claimed the National Championship in 1990.  The team became famous as ‘The Runnin’ Rebels’ for their racehorse style of play and their scant attention to defense.  Tarkanian was affectionately known as Tark the Shark.  He won over 700 games in his career and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. He had a granddaughter who played college basketball, and his wife served on the Las Vegas city council for years.
Despite that success, Tarkanian was accused of illegalities by the NCAA several times and was suspended from coaching at one point.  He never, however, lost his popularity and is still considered one of the best college coaches, because of his coaching style and willingness to use black players, when it was a challenge to do so.
In the middle of last week, Bob Simon, one of the most respected newsmen of today, and a chief correspondent for CBS, was killed in a car accident in New York City at the age of 73.  Simon covered events in 67 countries, including the withdrawal of troops from Viet Nam, the riot in Tinnanmen Square in China and the Persian Gulf War.
Simon was a regular correspondent on Sixty Minutes TV, and earned an astounding 27 Emmy awards for his reporting.  He also received three Peabody wards, some of the highest in news reporting.  He is survived by a wife and one daughter and will be remembered for his determination and honesty in reporting news events as they happened.
A correctible error
I got my organizations a little confused in my article on the Gala last week.  The local Knights of Columbus received the Boys and Girls Award, not the Lions as I reported.  Although they do give a lot of support to the club, it was the KC’s who received the Gracious Giver Award from the club at the Gala.  I am truly sorry for the mistake, and I have already given myself three lashes with a wet noodle.
Odds and ends
Kudos this week to the local dentists and all the other dentists in the area who donated their time and skills in the annual Give Kids A Smile Day.  It was for a great cause, and one only had to look at some of the kids who benefited from the visit to appreciate the program.  
As the playoffs begin this week, we hope Blossom fans will step up and cheer loudly for the local teams.  They appreciate your support.
In a church bulletin: On March 16, the prayer group met at the home of Margaret Jones, who is no longer able to attend church.  What a blessing!  Oh well, we’ll still talk again.