The Sicatoka

Just some PCM stats: - third member of the board (1. Admin, 2. jimdahl, 3. PCM) - still third in all-time posts here

Roll the clock forward a year or two: UND at NDSU in {sport here}. Hear the arena announcer read the standard NCAA mandated " ... racist, offensive, ... comments directed toward players, coaches, or athletes, ... grounds for removal ... " pre-game announcement. (We've all heard that at UND and NDSU events thousands of times and ignored it but it's there.) But this time, when UND takes the court as the "{new moniker here}" the only "Sioux" that NDSU fans could possibly be referencing would be those peoples of the Great Dakota/Lakota/Nakota nations. Hence, NDSU's favorite chant would not be about the opposing team but would strictly be about ... the D/L/Nakota people ... which fits exactly into " ... racist ... grounds for removal ... " and I'll demand that those folks, per the NCAA pre-game statement, be removed from the arena. And if they aren't I'll be sending a letter to the NCAA (with a whole host of national newspapers on cc:).

I believe that because there is no DII championship in WHockey they automatically play for the DI championship and that's why volleyball could become tourney eligible more quickly.

Dear NDSU fans: The loss to UND doesn't matter. Keep telling yourselves that ... until it's what keeps you from an at-large NCAA bid. One more note: I thought UND put volleyball on the "fast track" for post-season eligibility. I thought UND was allowed to move one womens sport to play up in DI and become tournament eligible faster than the normal transition five years and UND did that for volleyball. Are we sure UND isn't volleyball post-season eligible right now? The Great West has no autobid to win, but I do believe UND could be selected at-large.

I enjoyed the game at Memorial (one of the last seasons) where the wind was as follows: Kickoff: south at 30 mph, gusts to 40 mph End of first half: south at 30 mph Five minutes left in halftime: Calm Second half kickoff: northwest at 35 mph, gusts to 50 mph Visiting team didn't think (or realize what was coming) and ended up making their second half choice such that they played into the wind in the fourth quarter. That is home field advantage.

A person called "the green team" doesn't know ... Pantone 347. Shame, shame.

I remember the conversation but wasn't a part of that one (fortunately).

Juridiction. The Feds have it; the Tribal Court doesn't. Nothing, but if they didn't boot "The U" (Miami Hurricanes) for their recently discovered misdeeds booting a team for a moniker would raise some eyebrows.

At this point (namely, having sent the ND AG, ND Governor, and ND Legislature packing) on this issue the NCAA won't listen to anything short of an order from US Federal Court. Let me know when Spirit Lake Tribe is either: a) suing in US Federal Court, or b) working with Standing Rock to get them on-board Before that, none of it matters. None. Zilch.

The NCHC would be wise to become a link in USA Hockey's Officials Development Program. The USHL is part of this program. The program is designed to develop officials for international and professional competition. Just like players, the officials are taught, graded, and promoted based on who has the skill and performance to keep moving up through the ranks. I'd like to see the NCHC get involved with it as the next step after juniors but before the pro ranks. I'd like the officials to be on a tenure-track (pressing to get better, knowing they are being evaluated and graded nightly, and looking to move to bigger things) rather than just be tenured, be "fat, dumb, and happy" where they are, and knowing no matter how they ignore the rule book they won't be moved out.

Too bad it's not 2006 however.

I have to wonder who makes these decisions about so many multiple uniform combinations (ala Oregon). It's pretty sad when you can't recognize a team by uniform at first glance. And nearly as bad to me is not using an obvious option when you have it. Case in point: Minnesota has pee-yellow helmets. Why didn't they wear them at USC to help out their first-ever start at QB guy? Instead, every hat on the field (UM and USC) was that bloody stool brown color.* *Yes, I just called the colors used by UM and USC "pee-yellow" and "bloody stool brown".

They'll be wearing their standard uniforms, eh?

I'm going to give NDSU's new home yellow jersey an honorable mention here. The first time I saw it I thought it was a practice jersey. Very, very plain. An outlined number might have kept them out of honorable mention status. UND's green jersey gets a mention here too. You shouldn't see how much the guys are sweating on a football jersey. There were some guys with three shades of green: dry jersey, wet jersey, helmet.

I'd rank them differently if the logo was on both sides of the helmet. Only Penn State can get away with a blank white side and only the Steelers can get away with a single logo (one side only).

Images of all four of my so-far-top-four can be found at: http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/lists/college-football-strange-2011-uniforms-090511?GT1=39002'%20rel='nofollow#photo-title=Twice%20as%20.%20.%20.%20nice?&photo=30142449

There've been some ugly college football uniforms in recent years. (We're looking at you Oregon.) Given this track record and some of the messes witnessed during opening weekend I think we need to compile a Top (Bottom?) Ten list for this season. The Top Ten so far, by my estimation: 1. Maryland, Sep 5, versus Miami* 2. Boise State, Sep 3, versus Georgia** 3. Georgia, Sep 3, versus Boise State** 4. Oregon, Sep 3, versus LSU - the base uniform was reasonable, but the lettering/numbering was a font that seemed distorted *this state flag inspired disaster makes Batman's for "Two Face" seem one-dimensional *front-runner for Fashion Flop Bowl of 2011.

It'd only be good in US Federal court. As far as the rest, under the highly unlikely scenario of SL Tribe getting an injunction and ultimately win versus the NCAA, any school that's played Florida State, Utah, or Central Michigan (and probably Illinois as well) after Aug 5, 2005, really shouldn't be saying too much on subject.

Bunch of dirty old men ... How about a score update: tied at 1 set apiece.

Sitting Bull was killed while being taken into custody on the Standing Rock Reservation by a BIA officer named Marcellus Red Tomahawk. If you've lived in ND you know Red Tomahawk: He's on the state highway signs and the doors of the ND Highway Patrol cars. Red Tomahawk was Yanktonai (paternal) and Hunkpapa (maternal). Sitting Bull was Hunkpapa. Standing Rock has to this observer been disagreeable (crabby? obstinant? firm-minded to a fault? I'm trying to be nice) from the days of Sitting Bull and before right through more recent times. Call it Sitting Bull's legacy.

Q: And the NCAA cares exactly how much about a tribal court at the Spirit Lake Nation? A: About the same, maybe less, than they care about laws passed in the ND Legislature. If Spirit Lake is serious they'd be in US Federal District Court seeking injunction.

This. Mean? Nasty? Spiteful? Hell yes. Actions have consequences, and payback can be a real ... live with them, Clowns. And remember: SCSU still has money issues. They were considering cutting sports (football) not that long ago. I'd say that's not an organization in a position to make a serious commitment to hockey that the NCHC claims to be part of their desired demographic.

Not to point fingers (meaning "stand by, here it comes"), but ... Catlin Solum needs to stop taking penalties on the opponent's side of mid-field: Two different drive stoppers when I thought the offense was on the way to sticking the dagger in.

Let's do a little theorhetical work here first: Assume a 90 man FB roster. Assumably seniors have earned three letters, juniors two, sophomores one, and freshmen and RFR haven't earned one yet. Assuming a balanced roster each class (Sr, Jr, So, Fr, RFr) would be 18 per class. 18 Sr * 3 letters per = 54 18 Jr * 2 letters per = 36 18 So *1 letter per = 18 18 Fr * 0 per = 0 18 RFr * 0 per = 0 Total letters = 108 letter on a hypothetical 90 man roster (1.2 letters per roster spot). That would be an "average" experience team under those assumptions. I counted 92 on the UND roster and only found 58 letters earned (0.63 letters per roster spot). This is still a very young team.

Anyone else wondering if Notre Dame is holding out as long as possible to see how this next round of FBS shuffle works out?