Speed bump on the gridiron (UUN #5-22)
Dear Disappointed but Resolute Fans —
Last issue I wrote, “If we can provide Aaron [Syverson] with enough protection to allow his passing game to develop, and if we can contain the highly mobile and tough-to-bring-down Roste, the Johnnies should prevail. A more potent SJU running game is paramount, mainly to keep Roste off the field.”
Well, guess what, Gang? On a couple points there — QB protection and containing Jaran Roste — we didn’t perform up to par and we lost a close one to a strong team 28-24. On the brighter side, our running game with Henry Trost finally improved, and against a top-notch defense too. Special teams looked very good and, with the exception of three highly questionable, nit-picking holding penalties (not called similarly on Bethel) negating good plays, we kept our miscues to a minimum.
We began the game with a splendid 9:20 minute, 19-play, 70-yard drive down the field leading to our initial touchdown. Unfortunately it only took Bethel a couple minutes to tie us. But for the rest of the first half our defense kept the Royals in check and, with a late field goal after another long drive, we led 10-7 into intermission.
Roste, playing admirably after dislocating his left elbow two weeks ago (as opposed to breaking his wrist as reported to us last issue by so-called “insider information”), led his team to three more TDs in the second half, the last being a killer 72-yard pass for their final score. For his heroics Roste was named to the d3football.com Team of the Week
Senior running back Henry Trost hurdled a defender on his way to a nice gain. Henry, himself returning from an ankle injury suffered in the win over Wisconsin-River Falls on Sept. 10, carried the ball 21 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns. (image courtesy of Libby Auger).
The fact is it was a tight, well-played football game with big plays on both sides; what cost us ultimately is giving up one more “big play” to the Royals near the end of the game than we had. We can’t do that against a team the quality of Bethel and expect to win. Our guys know that and will be working on it for the rest of the season until we most likely face the Royals once again in our own backyard on November 12.
Here is the game report and box score:
St. John's answered Bethel with a 58-yard catch-and-run by junior Jimmy Buck in the third quarter for a total of seven receptions and 113 yards for the game. (Photo by Nick Gilman.)
Senior Alex Larson caught nine passes for 119 yards. The Johnnies finished with 414 yards of total offense, and both Alex and Jimmy Buck crossed the 100-yard reception mark for the second consecutive week.
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From the Stands —
(Editor’s Note: After the game I was copied on a number of emails commenting on the Bethel results. What we read is an emotional commentary by some astute students of the game and absolutely loyal SJU alums, whose names I will keep anonymous for a number of reasons, primary among them is they probably tempered their disappointment after reflecting on the game’s entirety and the fact that we were competitive to the end despite not playing one of our best games against a highly-motivated and talented foe.)
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Gary Fasching was not satisfied with our defensive and offensive play. Our line play was not good enough to beat an opponent like Bethel. What was most disturbing was that they could play a 4-1-6 defense much of the game. This made it next to impossible to complete long passes.
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We flat out were out-hustled, out-muscled, out-played and out-coached yesterday. Our O line has really struggled to give Syverson a good pocket. Also have had trouble creating space for our running backs…we ran for 101 yards yesterday but that might have had something to do with BU dropping 6 guys into coverage.
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Roste only ran the ball 3 times probably due to his elbow injury. If they can get him healthy he will be tough to contain if we meet them again in November, (which shouldn’t be a problem as they’re going to blow out everyone else in their division from here on out).
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I totally agree. We have three or four really good receivers. We should be able to run a number of patterns including more across the middle. Our QB was under pressure much of the day, why run so many 'Long Bob" single receiver routes. When they were in a 4-1-6 defense, I would have used three tight ends until they put a couple more linebackers in the game.
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Fans at the Game —
The tailgate action at the Soho Lot on Bethel’s eastern side was simply fantastic. Color, conviviality, good food willingly shared was enjoyed by the largest pregame group I can recall down there. By noon the crowd reached its max. One problem with the venue, both inside and out of the stadium, is the lack of port-a-potties. At half-time there was a continuous exit from the stadium toward the trees and bushes lining the Soho Lot.
Shortly before most red-clad fans departed the parking lot to enter the stadium, the Bethel coaches led the team down into this same lot for a fire-up meeting along one side. As I moved toward the stadium I heard one of them, most likely head coach Steve Johnson, say loudly (among other things), “No matter what happens out there today I want you to remember to have FUN! That’s what it’s all about.” Nice thought and a good reminder for all of us, that first and foremost it’s a game.
The game at Bethel, played in front of 7,314 fans ringing the field at places two and three deep, featured five second-half lead changes. The stadium’s capacity is listed at 3,500. (Photos courtesy of Gaye Dean.)
This is an early scene at the tailgate…Johnny fans just kept coming, happy to be part of the red-clad horde wanting to support SJU in a big game.
Part of the fun is sampling the various goodies offered by the regulars, many of whom have been tailgating like this for 20+ years. Left, David “Veek” Verkuilen of Little Falls and Max Stein ’04 are preparing their fare.
Tim Ward ’78 presents a birthday cake he ordered to surprise your editor; he was kind enough to personalize it with all my names too. What a guy!
Surprising her dad ’60/‘64 on his 80th birthday at the tailgate, Megan Wicker ’03 showed up with grandson Theo Wicker Plourde ’42.
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The "I Don't Like to Bitch, But..." Department —
At the risk of seeming like a poor loser, I cannot unsee a blatant non-call of pass interference in the fourth quarter that may have turned the fortunes of the game around, more so than even the three "holding" calls that returned nice gains. In a series of photos taken by Libby Becker Auger my suspicions seem confirmed. #9 Troy Feddema was set to catch the pass when he was mauled before the ball got there. Arrrggghh! I can't stand it!
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Today’s Deep Thought by Jack Handey —
If God dwells inside us, like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that’s what He’s getting!
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About Concordia —
So, we pick ourselves up, dust off our recent disappointment and get ready for another team that has had its share of disappointment as well. The Cobbers of Concordia College have declined as a leading MIAC football powerhouse in recent years, but they generally seem to get up for the Johnnies. We can all remember how they ruined a perfect season not too many years ago with an upset in Collegeville.
Coming down to St. John’s as our Homecoming foes, the Cobbers sport a 2-1 record, with their loss coming at the hands of visiting Gustavus last week. That game said a lot about both teams, but mainly that Gustavus will be a challenge for us too when they show up at Clemens Stadium on October 22. The opportunistic Gusties took it to the host Cobbers in the MIAC opener, winning 23-6. Now Concordia must face another challenge, this time away from home. I can say this without any arrogance or disrespect because the Cobbers and their coach Terry Horan are among my favorites in the conference: we expect St. John’s to win and most likely decisively.
That doesn’t mean it won’t be a hard-fought contest; it will be as usual, but good, clean hard-fought, unlike the borderline thuggishness of the Gusties last year. It’s doubtful that the Jays will be down from their loss last week, nor will they be over-confident since the Cobbers remain among the top half of MIAC teams and will win plenty of games this season.
Starting with their sophomore quarterback #11 Cooper Mattern we’ll see an aggressive game right out of the gate; he’s big on the option and isn’t afraid to get the ball downfield to senior WR #81 Jake Evans or to freshman WR #85 Eric Cockhill, both of whom are gifted receivers with great hands. Handling the majority of the running chores will be the human bowling ball, #21 Peyton Mortenson, a 5’8”, 200 lb. farm kid from western Minnesota who is a chore to stop.
Defensively, the Cobs are definitely stingy on the run…even Gustavus saw that. And I’m sure Concordia studied the Bethel rush on our QB so we can look for that, blitzes and all. They can be thrown on though, so look for an exciting aerial attack by Air Syverson and Company if our line can protect Aaron. A couple names we will hear are senior linebacker #43 Noah Jensen, the Cobbers’ leading tackler, and senior defensive back #26 Marshall King. And we can’t forget to mention their All-MIAC kicker, sophomore #36 Damien Silus.
So, while the game will present new challenges for the up-and-down Johnnies, I believe our depth and overall talent will ultimately wear the Cobbers down, with the Jays posting a 35-7 victory. GO JOHNNIES!
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The Injured Cobber —
Unfortunately a sophomore Concordia College football player suffered a painful leg injury during one of the first practices with pads and tackling in late August. The coaches called for an ambulance to take him to the local hospital for observation and treatment.
When the young Cobber was wheeled into the emergency room, the admitting nurse on duty asked him, "On a scale of zero to ten with zero representing no pain and ten representing excruciating pain, what would you say your pain level is now?"
The player shook his head. "Oh, I don't know. I'm not any good with math."
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AROUND THE MIAC —
Last Week’s Results —
4th Week, Saturday, September 24
St. Scholastica at Augsburg — How badly will the Saints be trounced? My guess is Auggies 48-12. Actually, it was 50-13 and I can’t get much closer than that.
Carleton at Hamline — Carleton shows signs of strength, the Pipers? Not so much. Knights over Pipers 40-24. Actually, it was 45-12.
Gustavus at Concordia — This is a puzzler and a probable close game after which I’m hoping the Cobbers will have won by 32-28. Actually, the Gusties handled the Cobbers convincingly 23-6. Too bad.
St. Olaf at Macalester — The Oles should have no problems with Mac, winning 42-18. Actually the Oles had more trouble than we figured, winning only 38-32. (Is Mac getting better or is St. Olaf not so good?)
St. John’s at Bethel — Two scores here with SJU emerging victorious either way. The Jays 34 - with Roste 24, - without Roste 10. Actually, Roste killed us…this time….28-24. Wait ’til November, Royals!
Other Games of Interest:
Lincoln University (Oakland, CA) at St. Thomas — Lincoln University of Oakland, CA has 500 undergraduate and grad students. They’ve been out-scored 52-7, 42-10 and 66-7 in three previous games with small, no-name colleges so far this season. U$T should be ashamed, but they need to fill out their schedule, I guess. Let’s see if Glenn stays true to his nature and keeps his first string in through the 3rd quarter. Regardless, the Toms stroll to a 88-13 “victory.” Actually, St. Thomas only did half as well as we thought: 43-6. Bet Glenn is ticked-as-all-get-out.
Tommies overcome mid-game lull to roll over Division II Lincoln 43-6
https://www.twincities.com/2022/09/24/tommies-overcome-midgame-lull-to-roll-over-division-ii-lincoln-43-6/
Crown College, God bless their trampled-upon little hearts, have lost three preseason games to low-ranked MIAC foes by 39-14, 80-20, and 63-14. This Saturday they travel to UW-Stout for another butt-kicking. Just for the heck of it, I’ll say Stout piles it on 75-17, but that would be charity for keeping the score that low when so-so Carleton put up 80 points on them. Actually, Stout only prevailed 66-6…could Carleton beat Stout? Doubtful, but one has to at least consider the score differential.
National Game of the Week: #5 Mary Hardin-Baylor travels to #6 Hardin-Simmons — Golly, I have no idea; one would think UMHB would pull themselves together and win going away, but Hardin-Simmons University has proven itself to be no slouch, and this game is for the honor of Div. III in Texas, if you don’t count #7 Trinity, which doesn’t seem to play anyone ranked in its season. Actually, UMHB did pull themselves together and proved something to all of D-III, winning 50-20. This is shocking and should have been enough to put the Crusaders back into the #1 spot…and, with little competition the rest of the way, back into the D-III finals.
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Johnnie Blind Date —
Joe sets up his roommate Mike on a blind date with a young lady-friend of his in the senior apartments at the College of St. Benedict. But Mike is a little worried about going out with someone he's never seen before. "What do I do if she's really unattractive?" says Mike. "I'll be stuck with her all night."
"Don't worry," Joe says. "Just go up to her door and meet her first. If you like what you see, then everything goes as planned. If you don't just shout, 'Aaaaaauuuggghhh!' and fake an asthma attack."
So that night, Mike knocks at the Bennie's door and when she comes out he is awe-struck at how attractive and sexy she is. He's about to speak when the girl suddenly shouts:
"Aaaaaauuuggghhh!"
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Games This Week—
5th Week, Saturday, October 1
Hamline at St. Scholastica — In this Battle for the Bottom, these two equally-handicapped teams will have an interesting contest, but I’m betting that, because of the home field advantage, the Saints take the Pipers 30-20.
Bethel at Gustavus — There will be no emotional letdown for the Royals in St. Peter. Although the Gusties show some promise, they still are not in Bethel’s class: 34-18 Royals.
Augsburg at St. Olaf — These two teams have shown some moxie thus far; it should be close but I’m picking the Auggies by ten: 34-24.
Macalester at Carleton — Look for a good, hard-fought contest. The Knights should prevail over Mac in a higher scoring affair — 38-28.
Concordia at St. John’s — We are never to take the Cobbers for granted, even when they’re down. However, based on what Gustavus did to them, it’s practically a forgone conclusion that we will take them 35-7. Parents will be happy when the subs get in fairly early.
Other Games of Interest:
St. Thomas at Marist College — The Tommies fly to Poughkeepsie, NY to play what earlier should be a patsy. However last week Marist turned up a 35-25 road win at Drake, so if the Toms bring the same kind of effort shown against Lincoln U., Glenn will be in another snit. Still, it’s hard to see U$T losing to Marist, so how about 48-22?
There were two surprise results in the Pioneer League games last week as San Diego lost 28-21 at Valparaiso (of all schools), and Morehead State lost 38-26 at Stetson. San Diego was favored to win the league once again, but this opens the door for St. Thomas and Davidson to duke it out for Numero Uno. This reviewer picks U$T to take it all: https://herosports.com/fcs-football-2022-pioneer-football-league-preview-bzbz/
National Game of the Week: #3 UW-Whitewater at #9 UW-La Crosse — This is the cream of the WIAC and they face each other right out of the conference box. This game may be reminiscent of the St. John’s-Bethel tilt, meaning it could go either way, but it’s hard to bet against Whitewater, so I pick them 26-18 (but I’m rooting for the UWLC Eagles.)
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English and Art Majors’ Humor Collaboration —
(Compliments of Mike Obler ’64)
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D3Football Top 25 —
Easy come, easy go. Mt. Union took our place at #2 while we tripped down to #6, not too bad an adjustment and probably closer to actuality than the rarified heights of last week. Bethel, unsurprisingly, rose from an over-reaction low ranking of #20 up to a more reasonable #12. Whitewater and Mary Hardin-Baylor each popped up a place to #3 and #4 respectively, while Trinity inexplicably jumped two spots to #5, one ahead of us. Hardin-Simmons fell to #10 from #6 after getting smeared by UMHB…why the Cru didn’t jump to #1 or #2 after that huge win befuddles me. Otherwise that was it for major movement. It’s noticeable that Gustavus got no votes after their strong showing against Concordia. It’s a mystery how they vote sometimes.
https://www.d3football.com/top25/2022/week4
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SJU 2022 Football Schedule
(All games are played on Saturdays, beginning at 1 pm)
Date Opponent Location
Sep. 3 UW-Whitewater Collegeville W—24-10
Sep. 10 UW-River Falls Collegeville W—37-34
Sep. 17 Bye —
Sep. 24 Bethel Arden Hills, MN L—28-24
Oct. 1 Concordia (HC) Collegeville
Oct. 8 Augsburg Minneapolis
Oct. 15 St. Olaf* Northfield, MN
Oct. 23 Gustavus* (FW) Collegeville
Oct. 29 St. Scholastica* Duluth, MN
Nov. 5 Carleton* Collegeville
Nov. 12 MIAC Champ. Wk. Collegeville
HC = Homecoming
FW = Family Weekend
* = Northwoods Division
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Johnnie Radio Network —
Saturday’s game can be heard live on WBHR-660 AM across central Minnesota, KDIZ-1570 AM in the Twin Cities and KOWZ-1170 AM in Waseca, which covers most of southern Minnesota and into western Wisconsin. Mark Lewandowski, Bryan Backes, Mike Carr and Charlie Carr will call all the action, beginning with Johnnies Magazine at 11 a.m. and the pre-game show at 11:30 a.m. The game will also be broadcast on the SJU football website via Stretch Internet. This is the 24th season SJU football can be heard worldwide over the internet.
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Listening via the Internet: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/csbsju/
Viewing via live streaming: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/csbsju/
(It’s back to $10 to watch…just tellin’. Might as well come up, enjoy the great football weather this Saturday, meet some CSB-SJU pals, take in the wonders of the tailgate, and pay your ten bucks to watch in person instead.)
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A Moorhead Misunderstanding —
Carolyn and Jeanne Blomstad are First Year students at Concordia College; they also happen to be identical twins from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.
The first week of school the girls walked the few blocks to downtown Moorhead and into a store. After selecting a few items they went to the cashier.
The cashier looked at them and said, "Are you two girls sisters?"
The twins both laughed and then Carolyn replied, "Sisters? We aren't even Catholic."
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The Uncasual Fan —
I was not able to physically attend the game against Bethel this past Saturday (I watched the whole thing online) but after getting a chance to sit back and think about the game a little bit, I came away with two key thoughts about what happened:
· You can not give up that many big plays and win against a team like Bethel
· It is time for all of us to channel our inner Aaron Rodgers
Big Plays - When push comes to shove, you simply can not give up that many big yardage plays against a team like Bethel. Sooner or later – when teams of equal talent (yes I said that) play each other enough — each team is going to win some games and they may even run off a few in a row.
Make no mistake—Bethel is a very good team and with their 10th year (actually I think it is 6th year) senior leader/QB back in charge they played with energy and confidence and purpose – (they want to beat us real bad) – and it showed. I think it is safe to say if they stay relatively injury free they will be in the MIAC Championship game at the end of the season.
Inner Aaron Rodgers – yes, it was a tough loss to accept, but in the words of the humble Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers, “Everyone just needs to relax.” Have I lost my mind? SJU loses to Bethel and all I can say is “everyone just needs to relax.” Yup – that’s right. We are 2-1 against 3 of the best teams in the nation. Come on. That is pretty good and at the beginning of the year if someone said we would be 2-1 with the schedule we had I would have said we can work with that. My preference would have been the loss would not have been to Bethel but it is what it is.
Relax- because we did not take ourselves out of playoff contention.
Relax – because we should not be surprised we had a little bit of an off game.
Relax- for most of the remaining games we can out-athlete most of the teams and get ready to play Bethel again at the end of the year and play ourselves into the playoffs.
OK, all that being said I do have some concerns that we need to address through the rest of the MIAC schedule:
Concern -#1 –Handling pressure on the QB. We have seen the last two teams put heavy pressure on our QB and he is being forced to throw the ball early. We need to figure out how to give our QB more time to pass and for receivers to get open. Pressure on a QB will continue until you are able to make some plays deep or burn the coverage on quick passes.
Concern # 2- We have given up 500 yards of offense the past couple of games. We will not face that kind of offensive power again unless we make the playoffs. We should get opportunities to shut down big plays and get a few three-and-outs and that helps everything look a lot better.
Concern #3 - Still feel like we need a little more ”make them miss” in our running game, but for the rest of the regular season we may not need it too much and may not develop it.
Game Summary:
1. I really like our punt game !!!! Multiple 40 yard punts.
2. We won the 1st half, and Bethel won the 2nd half and the game
3. Our defense held them in check for 2 quarters even though they had a couple of big plays
4. Bethel did not shoot themselves in the foot or make very many mistakes like our opponents in the first 2 games.
5. Running game was a little better. The run option worked well in the first half.
Top players this week:
1. Spencer Ell – great job of punting 40+ yard average.
2. Aaron Syverson – 22 of 44 for 300+ yards and 1 TD. He was under pressure and duress for most of the game and managed to have another good performance.
3. Henry Trost – starting to run better and get to the outside
Half Full or Half Empty – right now my cup is still half full, but I would like to see us step it up a bit
My Final Rant – no rant this week. Trying to “RELAX”
See you at Homecoming. Go Johnnies! — The Uncasual Fan
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La Playette #1 —
A Frenchman walks into the La with a parrot perched on his shoulder. "Wow," says the bartender, "that's pretty cool, where'd you get him?"
"Oh, him?" says the parrot, "I found him in France. There's millions more over there."
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La Playette #2 —
A bear walks into the La and says, "Bartender, give me a gin…………… ………………………………………………………………and tonic."
The bartender says, "Sure buddy, but what's up with the long pause?"
The bear looks at his hands and says, "I dunno, my dad had them too."
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A View from the Field —
(By Ron Tomczik ’65, Medicine Lake, MN)
Because of the heavy rain at game end, I was not able to spend time with players, coaches etc. But during the morning tailgate I was able to speak with many fans. The overriding consensus was that Bethel was going to be a strong top 20 opponent, especially since quarterback Jaran Roste is back (even though he had a dislocated left elbow). However no one suggested that we would lose to Bethel!
After the game, fan comments in the parking lot, by phone, etc., expressed much disappointment and, to some degree, were basically negative. While all agreed that Bethel was a very worthy opponent and Roste exceptional, most of our very loyal fans were disappointed in our coaching and execution. And while I considered not writing an article this week, I think our fans deserve some explanations/answers.
Full Disclosure: Over the years, I had three very loyal fans receive Sunday phone calls from John G., after a bad Saturday game, about their “disloyalty” words/comments. And John would tell us, “You fans in the stands have all the answers.” But the fans I am quoting below are the same people who travel to most of our non-home as well as home games and provide our team with much support on the road—they are LOYAL!
First Half:
SJU had a strong first quarter drive, succeeding with a TD and using up 2/3rds of the quarter.
But after the TD, when we got the ball back, on 1st down, continually attempting “bombs” into a 4-1-6 defense resulted in us only making a field goal before halftime. Our quarterback was constantly harassed/rushed, sacked six times and often throwing into “thick” coverage. Why were these plays continuously called?
Second Half:
We have seen Roste, in past years, attempt quick 4th down punts. Why didn’t we have a player in the backfield attempt to catch or at least down the quick punt—and for sure not allow the ball to twice be downed on our 1 yard line?
Roste was well protected by his OL, had plenty of time to pick up an open receiver and we did not sack him once. While Michael Wozniak was double and triple-teamed at times, shouldn’t some other DL player(s) been able to get through. Or was the Bethel OL so good/strong that they could shut our DL down?
And then there are some refereeing questionable calls/non calls, e.g. holding, pass interference, roughing the kicker, etc. But when you lose—it just sounds like “sour grapes.”
A very positive development was Henry Trost’s rushing performance—or was that made possible because the Bethel defense lined up for most of the game with only 1 LB? Another positive, in spite of the loss—by only four points—to a very good team, if our coaches can “fix” some of these issues, we can still finish strong in the conference and make a play in the post season. — Ron
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More Scenes From Stearns County —
After pulling old Ambrose Schwankl over for speeding just south of Albany on I-94, a state trooper started to lecture him about his speed, pompously implying that the farmer didn’t know any better and trying to make him feel as uncomfortable as possible.
He finally started writing out the ticket, but had to keep swatting at some flies buzzing around his head.
Ambrose said, “Havin’ some problems wit dem circle flies, dere are ya?”
The trooper paused to take another swat and said, “Well, yes, if that’s what they are. I’ve never heard of circle flies.”
Ambrose was pleased to enlighten the cop. “Circle flies are common on da farms. Dere called circle flies because you almost always find dem circling da back end of a horse.”
The trooper continues writing for a moment, then says, “Hey, are you trying to call me a horse’s a**?”
“Oh no, officer,” the old farmer replies. “I have too much respect for law enforcement and police officers for dat.”
“That’s a good thing,” the officer says rudely, then goes back to writing the ticket.
After a long pause, Ambrose added, “Hard to fool dem flies doh.”
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Big Golf Win —
Saint John’s Wins Twin Classic By 40 Strokes. MIAC championship next weekend.
https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=teamPlayer&tid=26461
Saint John's golf won the three-day Twin Cities Classic by 40 shots on Monday, Sept. 26, at Edina C.C. (par 72). The Johnnies entered Monday's final round with a 26-shot lead over Augsburg and extended it to 40 with a three-round total of 886 (+13). SJU recorded the day's best round, a 301 (+13), to win the 18-team field ahead of Carleton (+62, 926) and a tie between the Auggies and Luther of Iowa in third (+63, 927).
The Johnnies go for their third consecutive conference title at the three-day, 2022 MIAC Championships this Saturday-Monday, Oct. 1-3, at Bunker Hills G.C. (par 72) in Coon Rapids. SJU begins the opening round at 8 a.m. Saturday on the East Course's No. 1.
Junior Sam Berger was named MIAC Men's Golf Athlete of the Week thanks to his First Place finish in the Twin Cities Classic with a three-day total of 214 (-2). He was even-par on the 12 par-3 holes and -6 on the 12 par-5's in the tourney.
https://gojohnnies.com/news/2022/9/27/golf-sjus-berger-named-miac-athlete-of-the-week.aspx
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SJU Golfers Share Longtime Bond —
By Frank Rajkowski
Juniors Sam Berger (left) and Blake Schuler are long-time pals now golfing together at SJU (images courtesy of Paul Middlestaedt)
Saint John’s University juniors Sam Berger and Blake Schuler have been golfing together since they were in seventh grade. They now live together and share the same major – global business leadership.
Each make up one-half of a set of twins, and Berger has dated Schuler’s twin sister, Lauren, (a junior at the College of Saint Benedict) the past three years.
So, yeah … it’s fair to say the connection between them runs deeper than the most imposing water hazard.
“Sam is like family to me,” Schuler said. “We go back a long way together.”
“We have really similar personalities,” Berger added. “We like a lot of the same things – sports, hunting, ice fishing, video games. We share a lot in common.”
Which is what made their performance at last weekend’s Twin Cities Classic so special. Berger shot 4-under-par over his final nine holes to finish with a three-round score of 214 and earn medalist honors for the first time in his collegiate career.
Schuler, meanwhile, shot even par over his last 11 holes to finish with a three-round score of 216 – good enough for second place.
Their respective efforts helped the Johnnies win the competitive 18-team event – which was played at Elk River Country Club, the Links at Northfork in Ramsey and the Edina Country Club – by 40 strokes.
SJU finished with a team score of 886. Carleton placed second with 926.
“That was pretty cool,” said Berger, who earned MIAC men’s golfer of the week honors. “I didn’t really know what was going on with the leaderboard when I was out on the course. But when I finished my round and saw that, I was super happy.
“You can’t ask for anything better – to be going back and forth down the stretch with your good buddy.”
Both Berger and Schuler hope the performance provides their team a boost heading into this weekend’s MIAC Championship. The tournament begins Saturday and runs through Monday at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids.
The winner earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III meet scheduled for May 16-19 at the Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky. The Johnnies have qualified for nationals – either on an automatic bid or as an at-large selection – 19 times since 2000 and won national titles in 2007 and ’08 .
“I think the way we played shows we’re peaking at the right time,” said Berger, whose father, Kyle, also was an SJU golfer. “The first couple of tournaments this fall didn’t come close to showing how good we actually are. I still don’t think our best golf has come yet. But we have a lot of momentum going now, and hopefully that carries over into conferences.”
“We feel like we can compete with any team out there if we play the way we’re capable of,” added Schuler, who earned medalist honors for the first time in his collegiate career at the two-round Saint John’s Fall Invitational played Sept. 17-18 at St. Cloud Country Club and Blackberry Ridge in Sartell. “We all have a lot of confidence in each other.”
Each earned All-MIAC honors as sophomores last fall with Berger finishing fourth at the conference meet and Schuler tying for seventh. Both were among the five who played for the Johnnies at the national meet last May as well. And Berger played at nationals as a freshman in 2021.
“They’re both great players, but their styles are a little different,” SJU head coach Bob Alpers said. “Blake is a little more aggressive and Sam is a little more calculating. But they both have been doing a great job for us. They don’t just get along great with each other, they get along great with their teammates as well.”
Being part of a set of twins might seem at least a bit unique, but Berger and Schuler said it didn’t make them that uncommon in their graduating class at Waconia High School.
Out of a group of around 325, they said there were at least 13 different sets of twins.
“It was kind of crazy,” said Schuler, whose oldest sister, Megan, attended CSB.
Several of those Waconia twins found their way to Saint John’s and Saint Ben’s – including Berger and Blake and Lauren Schuler. But Berger’s twin brother, Ben, opted to range farther from home, ending up at Montana State.
“It was a little weird at first not having him around because we’d always been together growing up,” Berger said. “We still talk on the phone though. In a way, it’s been kind of nice for both of us to get out on our own and do our own thing.
“But we find ways to stay connected with one another.”
And, of course, Berger and Schuler remain connected as well – sharing a bond each expects will remain strong in the years to come.
“We’ve been friends a long time now,” Schuler said. “We’ve been through a lot together. No matter where our lives take us, I’m sure we’re going to stay close.”
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Pre-Med Majors’ Corner, Crisis Management Division —
A man feels very ill upon returning to the U.S. from a trip abroad. He goes to see his doctor and is immediately rushed to the hospital to undergo a barrage of extensive tests.
The man wakes up after the tests in a private room at the hospital, and the phone next to his bed rings. "This is your doctor. We've got the results back from your tests, and we've found you have an exceptionally dangerous virus that is extremely contagious!"
"Oh my gosh," cries the man in a panic, "What are you going to do?!"
“Well, we're going to put you on a diet of pizzas, pancakes, and quesadillas."
"Will that cure me?" asked the man hopefully.
The doctor replied, "No, but it's the only food we can get under the door."
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Fiona Smith Named MIAC Athlete of the Week…Yet Again —
CSB junior Fiona Smith is really hot stuff in cross country and track & field in case you haven’t noticed. The MIAC Athlete of the Week honor is the second MIAC honor of the year for Fiona and the 11th MIAC Athlete of the Week honor of her Bennie career. This young woman, with the purest of Johnny-Bennie pedigree, is rewriting not only CSB records, but also those of the MIAC and D-III. This week Fiona was named Athlete of the Week by the MIAC right after being named National Athlete of the Week by the USTFCCCA (which is short for U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.)
Here’s part of the USTFCCCA release describing Fiona’s accomplishment: "When you head to the Roy Griak Invitational, you throw time expectations out the window and compete, especially on a course like that. On paper, a runner-up performance in a field stacked with NCAA DII athletes is impressive – but 21:18 next to her name is even more so. What takes it up a notch is Smith running the second fastest time ever in the Suzy Wilson Maroon Race and the fastest NCAA DIII athlete to run the 6k tract."
Fiona finished second overall in the race in a time of 21:18.6 -- she is the only CSB student-athlete in school history to break the 22-minute barrier. Her time in the race was more than 30 seconds faster than the third place finisher and 1:47 faster than the next NCAA DIII finisher.
Fiona '24 is the daughter of Katie Green Smith '94 and Michael Smith '94. She has two siblings, Connor '20 and Brigid '22, and several of her family members - including both parents and siblings - have attended CSB/SJU. Her hobbies include playing sports, baking, spending time with family and traveling. She likes being a collegiate student-athlete because it keeps her involved in the college community. She is majoring in math and minoring in computer science and Hispanic studies.
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From Our Readers —
From Joe Kiley ’82, Loveland, CO —
Hi Bob, Thanking you for the note below in your newsletter after the last win against the Tommies in 2019. I responded to the request to call Jude Lahr '53 to update him on Johnnie Football games, and we are now into our 4th season. We've talked before, during and after every Johnnie game since. I'm very excited to be traveling to Roanoke, VA this weekend for our first opportunity to watch a game together, as the Johnnies take on Concordia for Homecoming. I'm honored to say that we've become friends through our love of SJU and Johnnie Football. Thanks to your note, I've come to know a true American hero who's great humility, sense of humor and SJU based values is inspiring. I didn't know he was a big deal until about a year into our friendship. Finding out he flew 230 combat missions as a naval aviator and had a distinguished Navy command career wasn't anything I expected when responding to the request. I simply looked forward to talking to someone who loves Johnnie Football as I do. We both feel lucky to have found each other thanks to your newsletter. — Joe
From your Oct 25th, 2019 Newsletter -
From Raj Chaphalkar ’08, SJU Institutional Advancement —
Hi Bob, Retired Captain Jude Lahr ’53, former fighter pilot, is 88 and lives in Albuquerque and is unable to attend the Johnnie games anymore due to age and distance. He doesn’t have a computer so the Livestreaming and Twitter options (https://twitter.com/sjujohnnies) are out for him. So is the Underground Newsletter because he doesn’t have email.
But this is an important part of his tradition and he really appreciates knowing how the Johnnies perform. Jim Dwyer calls Jude during the home games to update him, but could another generous reader and loyal away-game fan call him during the away games? Just a short phone call is enough to let this loyal fan and donor know how the SJU team is doing. If so, let me know and SJU can provide his cell phone number privately. Thanks! — Raj
(Editor’s Response: Thanks, Joe, for your generosity and uplifting Johnnie Spirit. Our consolidated Johnnie Nation best wishes to Jude, too.)
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From Conrad Macina, Landing, NJ —
I just got back from an out-of-touch weekend visiting Pat’s ailing sister in Virginia and I saw the score of the Bethel game. Very sorry to see that. The write-up quoted Michael Wozniak saying, “We just have to flush this one and move on. There's no reason to mope around or hang our heads and sulk. We have some things we need to improve, but we're only three games into the season. We have to regroup and come out better next week.” That sounds like a really good plan. Go Johnnies! — Conrad
The charter flight was coming into the Twin Cities when a combination of mechanical problems and unstable weather caused the plane to start plummeting to the ground. The pilot feverishly worked the controls and finally the engines roared back to life in time to prevent the plane from crashing to earth.
After the plane landed, airport officials rushed to the disembarking gate and were stunned to see a group of midgets in oversized St. Thomas tee shirts shakily get off the plane. Finally the crew exited the aircraft and the airport manager congratulated the pilot on his perseverance under extreme duress. The official commented how unusual it was that there were so many midgets on the flight.
"Those weren't midgets," the pilot replied. “Those were Tommies with the crap scared out of them!"
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From Paul Radzicki ’75, Naperville, IL —
Rob, Your dedication to publicizing the continuing saga of Johnny football is truly remarkable. The volume of your work is exceeded only by its quality. I hesitate to write on a topic other than our beloved Johnny (football) Nation, but one excerpt in your 9/22/2022 edition really stuck in my craw.
At first glance I was very heartened to see that a memorial to the victims of 9/11 was displayed on the SJU campus. My happiness was immediately eliminated when I saw the number of lives lost that were honored - 2,996! It has been consistently reported in all manner of media that the number of victims of the 9/11 attacks was 2,977. Unfortunately, some, including esteemed elected officials https://nypost.com/2022/09/12/rep-jayapal-slammed-for-9-11-tweet-with-terrorists-in-death-toll/ choose to include the despicable, America-hating terrorists in the total number of deaths.
So there’s an American Flag in that display to honor Mohammed Atta? And the actions and sacrifice of Johnny hero Tom Burnett ‘85 on United Flight 93 are essentially equated with the evil-doers that slit the throats of innocent crew members?
Please do not construe the above as a criticism of your reporting. I guess my next message needs to be to the appropriate member or members of the SJU administration that approved the display. Thanks for letting me vent, and keep up the tremendous work! — Paul
(Editor’s Explanation: Paul, don’t blame the SJU administration or the student group for the number of 9/11 memorial flags reported in the last UUN. To write the caption I simply Googled the number of 9/11 deaths and the first number I saw was the higher number. I read no further than the number, so the facts you’ve given me tick me off as well as you. As far as we know, accept that the number of flags on campus were really 2,977.)
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From Bob Neis ’65, St. Louis Park, MN —
Jackson Erdmann lead the Vienna Vikings over Hamburg to win European championship 27-15. His dad was at game. He is current head coach of Rosemount who upset Eden Prairie (evil empire) on Thursday 14-7.
https://europeanleague.football/elf-news/breaking-vienna-vikings-win-the-2022-championship-game
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From Tony Sandeen ’97, Hong Kong SAR —
Wick, In the States on the West Coast at present on business and first Google search of the game showed SJU narrowly winning the game, a result I carried with the balance of the day. It was only after dinner when searching for game details did I realize that Google search showed a result from 2021. Ugh.
I pulled the following from SJU's athletic department's website;
" SJU is now 5-9 all-time in games played on Sept. 24. The Johnnies have a losing record on six of the 91 days between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30: Sept. 20 (6-7-1 record), Sept. 24 (5-9), Oct. 28 (6-8-1), Nov. 2 (5-7), Nov. 26 (1-3) and Nov. 28 (1-3).” Best, — Tony
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From Pete Regnier ’65, St. Paul, MN —
Carmen Fernholz’s ’61/‘65 real claim to fame is that he was the late Jack Hickey’s ‘65 roommate. Jack called him Farmen Cornholz. Carmen is a wonderful person and truly dedicated to organic farming. — Pete
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From Nellie Klein ’60, St. Cloud, MN —
Rob, Amazing… no game to write about and yet your newspaper is so filled with football news! The effort you put into your published paper must be noticed. Covering ALL THOSE teams with news about them is truly astounding to me! I so look forward to your e-news. Being a football loving gal I also find I can savor and enjoy all the peripheral knowledge included in your UUN. Humor is good for the soul!
I look forward to this game with Bethel…much as I did the Packer/Viking game! Hoping the Johnnie’s prove my enthusiasm for their victory is possible! GO JOHNNIES! —Nell
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From John Forsythe ’77, St. Cloud, MN —
Rob/Bob—Missed the Bethel game as I was doing dock duty at our cabin. But listened to most of game and cussed a lot about game and dock. Heartbreaker to say the least. I’ve been following Roste since his freshman year at Alex. I met him a couple times as I coached his older sister Jana for 3 years on my Bo Diddley summer softball team. She went on to play at Bethel. We won a national tourney her last year with us and she was the reason.
Sat with her parents Jeff & Lucy at Bethel/SJU game couple years ago. Jana drove in from grad school in Indiana for the game. Very cool family-- though I was a bit perplexed when they asked me who I was pulling for!
Go Johnnies! Should be a Cob-walk. Great weather again! — John/Bo
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From Jim Conn ’64, Alexandria, MN, a text sent to the father of Jaran Roste who is a good friend in Alex, after our loss —
Ouch - it hurts to lose! Johnnies are not very good at it but being humbled is good and I sure enjoyed watching Jaran quarterback the game today.
Please congratulate him for me as I’m sure my good friend Bob Wicker will do in his newsletter which hits the newsstand Thursday. Until then - enjoy the win!
And here was the response from Jaran’s father, Jeff Roste:
“Appreciate the text, Jim. Always kind words and respect from you. Thanks. I’ll pass on your congrats to Jaran. Look forward to another meeting later in the season.”
Guess that kind of says it all regarding the respect that these two football teams hold for each other at all levels - players, coaches, families, fans and div3 nation! — Jim
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From Wayne Hergott ’57, Edina, MN —
Bethel's offense was better than our defense, especially their pass offense and our pass defense. However, we are unlikely to encounter a combo better than Roste and Kidder. Again our tackling was sloppy; too often we missed ball carriers completely or grabbed them and they got away. That has to improve.
Although I wish we had beaten Bethel, I see some important psychological good for us because of the defeat. Our players’ attitudes will be better in the games ahead, especially if we meet Bethel in the title game. Our guys now know they can get beat. That's a positive, I think BIG positive for us. We now need to be perfect the rest of the way. If we are upset by a team in our division which wins all their other games, we won't even get in the title game to see who is the MIAC champ. That would hurt but we are now mentally better prepared to assure that doesn't happen. Go Johnnies.
— Wayne
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From Steve Thielen ’94 to Mike Connolly, CSB-SJU Dean of Students —
Hello Mike. It is always great to come back to campus and take in a great Johnnies football game. After the UW-W game, Brother Willie's Pub was not open, still. No beverages and no TVs with football games on for a post-game gathering for alumni. For years this has been a great gathering location after games.
I know the Sexton family donated generously to SJU and saddened to see a key establishment they helped create being underutilized. It is my hope that we can have Brother Willie's Pub open after our remaining home football games. It is a great location to build community of our alumni after games and I am sure will be financially beneficial for SJU to have it open. Thank you for your consideration. GO JOHNNIES!
Regards, Lieutenant Colonel Steve Thielen (US Army, retired) SJU Class of '94
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Mike Connolly’s reply —
Dear Steve - Thank you for your message. We appreciate the great tradition of Brother Willie's Pub and the collegiality it promoted, not just with alumni, faculty, staff, and the monastic community but also with students.
For the last several years before the start of the pandemic, we noticed changes in student behaviors and preferences that did not favorably affect Brother Willie's. Today's students have resources and options they didn't when Brother Willie's was founded. As a result, we are actively evaluating the operational intent of the pub, its potential, its benefits, and its shortcomings. The pandemic further changed not only student behaviors but public behaviors as well, and we will be working to determine the ideal programmatic use for Brother Willie's going forward. — Mike Connolly
(Editor's Translation: In other words, eat ya heart out.)
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From Paul Hamann ’63, Edina, MN —
Hi Bob, I heard about this on MPR. A Google search led me here. If you weren't already aware of this I thought the UUN readers would be interested. Best regards and Go Johnnies — Paul
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/video/bethel-launches-royal-exchange-for-nil-contracts/
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Wicker’s Health Rant —
A Quick Reminder About Mindful Eating
Here’s a brief 1:30 minute video from the YMCA of the North with some thoughts about “Mindful Eating” that encourages us to think about what we eat, how we eat, and how much we eat. Since so many of our nation’s health problems with chronic disease begin with our diet, this is a good place to start with a few initial thoughts about purposeful eating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FENyltykNyo&list=PLR3iA3bdyyVdYIDalOoWFk8EwxEIbexiB&index=4
I remember about 45 years ago during a physical my doctor, in determining that I was in the early stages of heart disease due to the “unthinking” diet of my bachelor years, told me, “Most people live to eat; from now on you will have to eat to live.” While I took his admonishment seriously, it took me several years to hone my diet and eating habits into a natural, nutritious, pleasureful experience with room for occasional less healthy forays into the Standard American Diet. My weight remains about the same as when I was in college, and I’m fortunate not to take/need any prescription drugs. I credit much of this from mindful eating decisions stemming from my physician’s advice so many years ago.
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From Sister Lois Wedl, OSB ’53, St. Benedict’s Monastery —
Our Bennies were totally AMAZING as they battled Div. III No. 3-ranked University of Northwestern! The 3-1 loss doesn't do justice to the hard-fought match.
Junior libero Mackenzie MacDonald anchored the Bennie defense with a match-best 22 digs.
https://gobennies.com/news/2022/9/24/womens-volleyball-saint-benedict-battles-no-3-ranked
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Battle Between the Sexes, Re: Christmas Shopping —
A couple was shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve. The mall was packed with shoppers. Walking through the mall the surprised wife suddenly noticed her husband was nowhere around. Very upset because they had a lot of shopping left to do, she used her cell phone to call her husband to ask him where he was.
The husband picked up and in a calm voice said, “Honey do you remember the jewelry store we went into 5 years ago where you fell in love with a diamond necklace? I told you then we couldn't afford it, but one day I was going to buy you that necklace."
With a pounding heart, the wife started to cry. “Yes, yes, sweetheart, I remember exactly where that jewelry store is located."
The husband said, “Well, I'm in the bar right next to it."
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THE FINAL WORD
Serious Home Dilemma —
A man returning home a day early from a business trip got into a taxi at the airport. It was after midnight. While en route to his home, he asked the cabby if he would be a witness. The man suspected his wife was having an affair and he intended to catch her in the act. For $100, the cabbie agreed.
Quietly arriving at the house, the husband and cabby tiptoed into the bedroom. The husband switched on the lights, yanked the blanket back and there was his wife in bed with another man. The husband put a gun to the naked man’s head.
The wife shouted, “Don’t do it! This man has been very generous! I lied when I told you I inherited money. He paid for the Corvette I bought for you. He paid for our new cabin cruiser. He paid for our house at the lake. He paid for our country club membership, and he even pays the monthly dues!”
Shaking his head from side-to-side the husband slowly lowered the gun. He looked over at the cab driver and said, “What would you do?”
The cabbie said, “I’d cover him up with that blanket before he catches a cold.”
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That’s all she wrote (“she” being just an expression since I wrote this) for Issue #5. Hope to see many of you at the Homecoming game against Concordia where we all will voice with delight and enthusiasm:
GO JOHNNIES ! !
Cornhole the Cobbers (or something like that)
Perhaps you were thinking of another definition of the term?
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P.S. For those who want to subscribe or resubscribe, please go to the website listed at bottom in red. Yes, thanks to my daughter Caitlin we have an in-progress website.
Sincerely submitted,
R.L. Wicker SJP ’60/SJU ’64,
You can call me Rob, you can call me Bob, you can call me Theo or Wick…and my personal pronouns are “he a Johnny” and “him a Johnny.”
St. Paul, MN; 651-699-4697
theowick@aol.com
https://www.unofficialundergroundnews.com
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