The Sicatoka

Back to this topic: Zeb Miller is not on the field.

Quite honestly, and thinking about it overnight, the decision to not kick (a shorter FG than the winner last year) seems like a move by a guy who wants to be fired.

The Big Ten is looking to add TVs to their Big Ten Network. That's where the money is. Adding Maryland gets them into the Baltimore / Washington DC cable television market. That's big. Rutgers would get them into Newark / NYC. Buh-zhing! Side note: Adding Maryland? Uh, nice move there Don Lucia and Mike Eaves. More BB teams? We'll see BTHC on the BTN ... when?

Sorry, but the three stars of: 3 - UMD goalie guy 2 - Kristo 1 - MacMillan is wrong. Zane Gothberg may not have been the #1 star of the night, but he didn't give up a goal for at least the last 45 minutes of play and gave his team time to come back and win.

I'm adding a class or two to everyone on defense's spring class schedule: Football 103: Introduction to the Concepts of Tackling. Here we explore the notions behind the defensive strategy of tackling. We'll define the notions of "wrapping up" and setting an angle. Using the sideline as a 12th defender will also be explored. Football 205: Wrapping Up. Here the finer points of wrap-up tacking will be detailed. Students will be expected to be proficient in the technique by the end of the course. Attempts to "blow up" or just "throw a shoulder into" tackle when a wrap-up is not already underway will be grounds for course failure. At this point, I'm not sure how many will advance to the 300-level courses like "Read and React" or "Man Coverage and You".

Are we sure they knew it was fourth down when they called the run up the middle?

What the ... If you throw deep on 3rd you're saying you're going for the FG on 4th. If you want 1st down you run on 3rd. So you go deep on 3rd, miss, and then run on 4th and come up short? Good grief. Someone have Kalen DeBoer's phone number handy? Or Tom Dosch's?

If it was 3rd and 1 and you're going to go for 1st down, why not do it on 3rd down instead of throwing deep. Sorry, Miller from 51 would've been better option. Fire Muss.

Zeb Miller from 51 for the win ... or not. Hanson hands off and we're short.

UND's defense will miss tackles.

... and no playoffs.

Why do the coaches (cough-Hakstol-cough) seem to think playing aggressive offensively minded hockey for 45 minutes and then trying to play trap for the last 15 minutes is a good plan? It's not, and I can prove it. First 45 minutes: 1 goal allowed, 2 goals scored Last 15 minutes: 3 goals allowed, 0 goals scored BU generated no offense when UND was playing an aggressive style. These guys are race horses that play their best defense when they are on the offensive attack (because they are defensively responsible and they tend to have the puck on their sticks when they're aggressive); let the plow horses play trap because that's all plow horses can do.

The UND secondary finally did something right at the right time: Rather than trying to catch the last ball of the game (and having a bad bounce happen), they knocked the ball to the ground with malace. It's not much, but it's a start.

Yup. Winning solves thousands of ills.

Defensively you have to make a decision: - rush three or four and play tight man coverage with a safety over the top (because you're not going to get pressure) or - rush five or six and play loose zone coverage (hoping to stop the pass before it comes) What I see is UND playing loose zone (can you say "12 yards off the line") and only rushing three. That's not "bend don't break"; that's "give until it hurts".

That statement too is a nasty echo from past seasons. Let's fix it early and have the problem be which of the top four PWR seeds they'll get, not if they'll get in the tournament via PWR.

So by this writer's "logic", what that that make Seattle for letting the Sonics move to OKC?

This.

Your eyes do not deceive you. They were not as crisp and a step slower on Saturday. If they got "fat and lazy", too satisfied with themselves, convinced themselves they could just show up and win, from an easy Friday win, they need to man up and fix that. If it's something else, they need to man up and fix that. This great first night, poor second night habit needs to be stopped now. "Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing." -- Vince Lombardi

Two Saturdays in a row, the first two Saturdays of the season, where the team looks far different between Friday and Saturday. And we've seen this in the past. So, what changes, what goes on, between the final horn Friday and the opening puck drop Saturday. (That's a rhetorical question to the lads. I'm pretty sure of the answer and I know they read this forum. Let's see if they're man enough to grow up and fix their behaviours. It pisses me off to not see them consistently perform to their maximum abilities.)

Enough of the history lesson. How about the coaches go out and find some guys who can compete at this level today. (Or we go and find coaches who can.)

If I never see Kristo on the point on the power play again it'll still be too soon. Use the offensive defensemen on the point on the power play.

I'd like a guy who has previous experience as a head coach at some level and with FCS (or higher) coaching experience. My top two names (that UND could get) are Bubba or Kalen DeBoer. Next name on my list? Tom Dosch.

Anyone else wonder why UND's defensemen can't seem to one-time a puck. They all seem to receive, hold, hold, hold, allow the defense to get aligned for a block, hold, hold, and then fire it into a defender.

Dear Mr. Kristo, You have one move, and every defenseman in the league has seen it. It's time for something new.