Doug Wolter: A few ramblin' thoughts in the dead of winter

Ramblin.

Oh, let’s see. What’s on my mind?

The weather. Kind of on the warm side. It’s bound to get really cold, though. It’s late January, you know.

Speaking of the dead of winter: We’re almost into February. Goodness, time flies.

Around here in the sports world, though, it’s not anywhere close to dead. In fact, it’s alive with action.

I watched the Minnesota West women’s and men’s basketball teams play again on Wednesday, and it’s still hard to believe that more fans aren’t coming to the games. The action is highly entertaining, and the quality is definitely worth a watch.

Anyway, it was great to see the Lady Jays beat Rochester, which entered the game ranked No. 2 in the nation. Not only did our team win, it won convincingly, I’d say. And that’s worth mentioning again.

I was not expecting this week to see that the Lady Jays were ranked No. 12 in the NJCAA, although it has been obvious they’ve really improved since the beginning of the season. When they started, they looked like a bunch of individuals playing basketball together. Now they look … well, they look like a real team, and not just a team, but a very good team.

You wouldn’t have been able to discern the full impact of their improvement if you hadn’t seen them play in December. But now, here they are. It just goes to show that it’s premature to assume a team “just isn’t good enough” when you see them struggle in the early-going. Coaches will always say that new players just need to learn how to get used to each other, and that’s true. But, face it, you’re always wondering if they will indeed get to the point to where they wish to go -- or that, maybe, they’re just not going to be so good.

In the case of the Lady Jays, I think that question has been answered. And it’s all to the credit of the players themselves, and to coach Rosalie Hayenga-Hostikka.

Which reminds me of the Worthington High School boys basketball team.

The Trojans have struggled. They achieved a much-needed victory on Tuesday against a good Jackson County Central outfit, but on Thursday they were blistered by the bullies of the conference -- Marshall.

It almost seems unfair. But nobody’s complaining. As Sam Elliott famously said in the film, “The Big Lebowski”, sometimes you eat the bar, sometimes the bar eats you.

First-year head coach CJ Nelson has had quite a baptism with the Trojan guys, but it’s really an old basketball story. Seniors are learning to mesh with freshmen and sophomores this year, and it’s not always easy. Nelson is an optimist and expects a good future.

Me, I harbor a natural pessimistic tendency on many things, but in the case of the Trojan boys, I’m an optimist too. I’d say keep watching. There’s more good things to come before the season’s done.

Well, this letter is getting longer than I planned. I must close.

I’d like to say a few things about the WHS boys hockey team, which is having a good year. I could say something about the gymnastics team, which is also having a good year, but that would be redundant. They always have good years, and we’re beginning to feel entitled (which probably isn’t such a good thing, when you really think about it).

Keep thinking positive thoughts. Here’s one: Isn’t it grand to have so many sports to watch and follow during the cold Minnesota winter?