St. Rose of Lima Defeats Highland Park

In a clash of eighth grade private school girls basketball titans, the determined team from St. Rose of Lima defeated the mighty Highland Park Catholic school last Wednesday at the University of Minnesota Women's Basketball Pavilion.



Half of the game is available for asking via video tape, the other half is not due to a malfunctioning camcorder battery. A greater appreciation for the work done by camera people at sporting events should be had by all... Ladies and gents, these folks' job ain't easy.



Led by power forward Jessica Deutsch, the girls from St. Rose of Lima held off the feisty Highland Park team by a score no longer remembered by this reporter. In the end, St. Rose's trapping defense provided too big an obstacle for the guard play of Highland Park.



St. Rose won its fourth game of the year behind the solid ball handling, rebounding and defense from Deutsch, along with solid scoring from Cree, Jill, and the rest of St. Rose's starting five. St. Rose's inspired effort in a neutral sight arena proved that girl's basketball can provide for an excellent afternoon of entertainment. Pay equity aside, determination, spirit, and skill played with passion and intensity demonstrated that the game at any level is worth a peek.



Rumor has it that St. Rose's underclasses will exceed this year's group, and big things should be expected out of the program.



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A NOTE ABOUT LAST WEEK'S ARTICLE IN THIS SPACE: Last week we had a tirade that probably made little sense to many of you. As you might recall if you read the article, I had a bit of a problem with the advertising and philosophy of one of our local newscasts.



The article was a self indulgent effort bemoaning the lack of ethics by one of our local stations. Yes, the article had little to do with what our stores are about, and most of you probably did not make it through the entire piece, but it had to be written. I woke up screaming one night about the travesty of Channel 4's news, and I couldn't get back to sleep until my thoughts were down on paper. I'd seen one too many self promoting commericals, one too many warm fuzzy newscasts.



An alternative viewpoint was expressed to me, for which I am grateful. Said viewpoint pointed out that Channel 4 is giving an ideal example of applying Quality principles to their newscast. Indeed, Channel 4 has followed the Quality mantra by listening to its customers and providing the service the customers have called for.

While my argument might be that journalism is not about Total Quality Management, it has to be conceded that WCCO is a business and thus applying Quality standards to its "product" is a customer friendly type of thing to do. This was entirely overlooked in last week's article and we appreciate the education given.



Perhaps it is the frustrated journalism student that lingers inside of me, but despite my admiration for those businesses that truly develop better organization and productivity via Quality, I can't quite convince myself that the role of the media is to follow the whim of its audience.



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Here's a TV recommendation to all of you closers who get home sometime after midnight: The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder. Last week the show debut, and like Snyder's CNBC effort and the classic Tomorrow shows from the late 70's, this one isterribly entertaining.



Snyder is a charismatic interviewer/ personality. He isn't afraid to ask a difficult question from his always timely guests (the first week of shows featured Newt Gingrich's parents, Ice-T and Mrs. Huffington, Kelsey Grammar, and Jon Bon Jovi), and his laugh and sense of humor are infectious. Snyder is an ideal follow up to Letterman; arrogant yet never pompous; establishment yet skeptical; show biz yet entertaining. The Late Late Show is television at its most watchable: spontaneous, funny and for the bleary eyed. Snyder provides the perfect way to unwind and end your day.