The Sicatoka

The Big Ten has rules. They made them. And (critical item to follow, pay attention) they can change them. The "if six member play the sport we must play as the Big Ten" answer is a ruse. It's a Big Ten rule. The Big Ten could've made an exception to it for hockey. (They make their own rules remember.) If the hockey wing of the Big Ten really, really didn't want to create the BTHC they would've lobbied to create a Big Ten exception for hockey (and the status quo could've held). That didn't happen. Given all that, I believe it's logical to conclude that if Minnesota and Wisconsin had said that they weren't interested in creating a Big 10 hockey conference (for whatever reason, traditional rivals, the good of the college game, better travel budgets for UMn), it wouldn't exist. And accordingly, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference wouldn't exist, either. But then again, I can't expect people who fail to comprehend the great irony of Wally Shaver's "go form your own league" comment to get this.

Your spin: Minnesota isn't an influential member of the Big Can't-Count? Minnesota just sat back and was victimized by the dominant Big Can't-Count hockey powers of Penn State and Ohio State? Oh the humanity. Reality: Minnesota is a voting member of the Big Ten. They voted and for that they own the decision. Minnesota is part of the "THEIR" you speak of. Goldie's prints are on the smoking gun of WCHA assassination.

Family is family; business is business: Do not mix the two.

(I can't believe I'm about to do this ...) As long as the matters are strictly campus matter, the NCAA has no authority much less jurisdiction. Now, if NCAA rules violations are involved, yes, the NCAA comes into play in the matter. However, the NCAA can control events that it creates and manages. It seems at first glance horribly unfair to UND, but that's how it is today. (And now I think I need a shower because I defended the NCAA.) What makes me maddest in this is that it appears that Montana created a "look the other way" culture to some things with the football (or whole athletics) program. Same thing seemed to happen with Penn State. And it's happened in other organizations that accumulate too much unquestioned power (cough-Catholic-cough-cough-Church) and think they are above standard civil due process. I love it when reality, and civil due process, crashes those parties.

Lee gives up a year of college. Ryan Faragher gets the whole load for SCSU.

The Montana situation is (hopefully for UM) acute. The UND situation is (unfortunately for Sioux fans) chronic.

O'Day sent a confirmation email to a friend who posted it. http://missoulian.com/news/local/university-of-montana-fires-football-coach-athletic-director/article_b7877268-79c0-11e1-92b3-0019bb2963f4.html

What's this? http://www.montanakaimin.com/news/football-party-ended-by-staff-and-players-1.2831738 Seems there are a lot of interesting goings-on with the Griz. http://www.egriz.com/grizboard/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=56598

Let's not jump too far. Let's just say where there's smoke there's fire.

You should've held out for sophomores.

What's Montana's buy-out number for the 2013 game? If the buyout number is where it should be, Montana won't buy out the 2013 game because it wouldn't make economic sense.

Is he healthy now? Is he up with the big club?

I think Pittsburgh will be a good host site for a Frozen Four, but a regional in Toledo? Miami or Ohio State had better be the host and make the NCAAs or that regional will have lower attendance than a Warroad/Roseau HS game.

There are many "Schroeder" examples. And there are the Hextalls and Gregoires that come back after leaving and tell teammates to stay. But you still see early departures that just make you shake your head.

Question: Is Tate Maris coming back? When I heard about Gothberg and Saunders, I figured two goalies leaving, but I wonder if it's not Eidsness (the senior) and Maris, who had a year of college at UND before he ever joined the team. And honestly, four goalies on a team is not unheard of either.

What is it with UND and grandkids of former Vikings coaches? Taylor Grant (FB) is Bud Grant's grandkid. Connor Gaarder (Hockey) is Jerry Burns' grandkid.

Yes, Saunders will have better defense in front of him as a benefit; however, and conversely, he'll be facing better offenses and shooters which could work against him. That's why my assumption was that the save percentage holds (no better, no worse).

if the NCAA was as pragmatic as some believe, it never would have implemented the anti-nickname policy to begin with. That would have been the best way to avoid lawsuits. They could've avoided lawsuits by telling any court that a school's moniker is an issue of local school control, not NCAA control. Nor would it have enforced its allegedly RENO policy in such a one-sided (arbitrary and capricous?) manner. That appears to be an open invitation to lawsuits. It's not pragmatism. It's condescending, arrogant, "we know what's best for you" academic elitism and hypocrisy at its finest. However, the NCAA is getting away with it by living a line from a Mel Brooks movie: "It's good to be the king."

Saunders at UAH this past year. ## Goaltending (Overall) | GP Minutes GA Saves Shots Save% GAA Record Win% GS SO %Time 33 Clarke Saunders SO | 27 1534:16 95 918 1013 .906 3.72 2-23- 1 .096 26 0 82.2% [/code] The save percentage looks great; some will be down on the GAA. However, do the math on the GPA: He saw just under 40 shots per game this year. If his save percentage held and he only saw the roughly 27 shots per game UND goalies saw his GAA goes to 2.54. What would 0.906 and 2.54 get you in the WCHA this year? The 0.906 would be 10th, just ahead of UMD's Kenny Reiter. The 2.54 would be 5th, again, just ahead of UMD's Kenny Reiter.

If you mean they didn't find a word or logo at the West Regional, yes, you are correct.

I'm seeing folks not remembering Mitch MacMillan. Some may write him off as forgettable based on his time at SCSU. I'll just point out how Mitch played with Mark as his center for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in 2009-10: Mitch MacMillan 59 61-32-93 Mark MacMillan 59 26-54-80 I'd take three semesters of performance at that level from those two playing together.

Pragmatic? On the one hand, Myles Brand once made the statement that stereotyping is wrong, which seemed to imply that it's wrong in general. So why implement a policy that applies to "race, ethnicity and national origin" if you never intend to apply it equally to all NCAA members that use stereotypical mascots? Some might conclude that it was a case of the NCAA merely pretending to be fair when it really wasn't. On the other hand, you also had Brand once proclaiming that the Fighting Irish nickname and logo were okay because "leprechauns are not people." But wouldn't the same people who look at the Fighting Sioux logo and think "The Sioux people are savages who still live in tipis" also look at Notre Dame's logo and think "The Irish are violent, ornery little green men"? If someone is dumb enough to think one thing, why wouldn't they also be dumb enough to think the other? The NCAA isn't pragmatic. It's the modern version of "Animal Farm" and they're picking who is more equal.

Just a lot of bitterness toward JT {bleeping} Miller.

No, they are a team of undrafted players. Surely Bob Daniels recruited most of them to play in his system. (Walk-on means not recruited and has nothing to do with draft status.) PS - Anyone else notice how much Bob Daniels looks like the FSU logo on their jerseys?

Dell, assuming he returns, will be pushed by Gothberg and Saunders. That's good.