The Sicatoka

Kent Hrbek played 105 games in 1988 with a 0.004 better fielding percentage than Mattingly: No Gold Glove. For comparison .... Ken Griffey, Jr., won a Gold Glove in 1994 playing just 111 games (partial season), in Seattle. Ken Griffey, Jr., won a Gold Glove in 1995 playing just 72 games (partial season), in Seattle. Sources: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=2148 http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=2148 We're sorry. The correct answer is TWO. You must really hate it now. And Danny Freund will be all conference in FCS.

Indeed, so why isn't fielding percentage king? And as a starting point, almost all first basemen field at over .990 (because of the high number of handles). I'd say Kent was shorted in 1988. He played more than half the season with a mere 3 errors and a far better overall percentage (in first baseman terms). Before you go off on "number of games played", how many partial seasons did (injury prone) Ken Griffey Jr. play and yet win a Gold Glove? Freund will be all conference next year, in FCS.

I still find it "interesting" that Weisenstein is chairing the AD search panel. Seems a most interesting convergence. I'm also surprised that Johnson is still in the running. I remember her from her days at "The Nut Lab" on the UND campus. I wouldn't put her into the "presidential" category. She's got resume. She can run a research organization. But can she do the politics and fundraising of the job? No track record. Sorry, but I need more in those key areas.

So the rumors of Diggler and PCM filling in for Chappell and Tibesar are true?

Uh, folks, Ryan Hale played at most a dozen games at defense. (His brother David was the full-time defenseman.) Ryan played on the all-freshman Hale-Spiewak-Notermann line in the 2000 Frozen Four and Championship Team. All of you say three Hail Tonys and three Our Duncans as penance for not picking up on that.

Check the year by year numbers. There's at least one that Kent got the short end. Now, back to this: I don't believe Freund got the short end. Which QB is the best in the league? The one who got his team to the best record in the league as long as he has numbers showing his impact in the team performance. Omaha's guy has it.

Ya know, I like this "Mafia" concept more and more all the time .... Hey, Myles Brand wants us to show more "social responsibility", right?

No, Duncan next to Finley, each in pinstipes and fedoras, that would be funny.

No, I think that would qualify as "a friend of ours". "Mafia Man" can you clear this stuff up? Ah yes, this blast from the past ....

Saigo couldn't solve this. Neither could a multi-million dollar court loss. What do they need? Comrade Catalyst for Social Change: Myles Brand to the rescue! Paging the NCAA Executive Committee .... What can I say, I'm looking to "help" them like they "helped" us.

Don Mattingly. Kent Hrbek. Who hit better? Donny Baseball. Who was a Yankee? Donny Baseball. Who was better defensively at first base? Kent Hrbek. Who has the Gold Gloves ....

And this simple little phrase explains why Ron His Horse is Thunder was up in arms, dare I say outraged, about the decision (that he claimed he so very much wanted to have power over) being handed to him. Goetz is asking tribal government to act now. That gives the remainder of the three years for tribal government officials to see and feel the impacts of their decision (primarily at the reservation polling booth). If there's a disconnect between tribal members and tribal leadership this will find it.

And that's why "Mafia" would be a perfect moniker: No protesters. Imagine the press conferences: Media jackal: "Godfather Hak! Godfather Hak! Can you tell us about the incident along the boards in the third?" Godfather Hak: "I'd refer dat question to my Capo for dat neighborhood, Rylan Kaip. I'd like no oddah questions about it after dat, so fuggidaboudit." Capo Kaip: "All I can say is don't mess with the guy Duncan, he's "a friend of ours", me and Finley. And when oh-ah defensemenz puts a hit on a guy, dey really puts a hit on a guy! No furddah comment." Would we be able to refer to guys already drafted as "made men"?

Tell GF Red River HS to take up PCM's "Ragin' Reds" idea.

mksioux and 92 are on it. Year 1: 2007-08 Year 2: 2008-09 Year 3: 2009-10 Year 4: 2010-11 Year 5: 2011-12 Playoff eligible: Fall 2012 (2012-13 season). The guys who came in this (2007) fall will only see DII playoffs (this year). Guys who come in in 2008, if they redshirt, have a shot as seniors in fall 2012.

Someone was going to win that game; someone was going to lose that game. Either scenario has impacts.

And thus explaineth why #18 had the ball going to the pylon to make it 27-2.

Wouldn't that make him a .... nope, not gonna say it.

Wait a minute here ... isn't Prince from Minneapolis? Darling Nikki?

It's not the size, it's what you do with it. That's where you blew all credibility. As Lennon said on the Sunday night show, Winona came back 21 points on us, in The Al, in 2003. It tooks some serious heroics to pull that one out of the fire.

I saw both Chappell and Murray leave the field. Chappell didn't look good at all. Murray was favoring pretty heavily even after the ice (at the end of the game). And Brady has had a broken hand(?) keeping him out. And being down to just Sorbo is a problem that hasn't been brought up. So are we looking at a 1-2 punch of Battle and Dungy at the RB position this week? Or are we going to "Jedi mind trick" Nicholas to "be the Dressler" and have Weston give us one more glimpse of that star back that used to be at Bismarck High? Now to the truly outlandish ..... Too bad the "playoff rule" we pondered in hockey doesn't apply here: If you beat a team in the playoffs you get to add one guy from their roster to yours for the rest of the playoff run: Alex Wiese. Then again, Tyler Roehl could pick this week to finally wise up, transfer, and get some playoff time. :D

I say UND should institute a "blackout rule" ala the NFL. --> No television until 80% (90%?) of tickets are sold. However, UND would need to start actually marketing its product in that scenario. I heard a commercial for the "Fargo Force" this morning. Seriously. They don't start playing until fall 2008! I have not heard a single mens or womens BB ad and I bet I can name the times I've heard hockey ads. (I don't live directly in the GF media market.)

Now folks are thinking. But I wouldn't limit that to just "UND Sports". UND needs to start promoting all of the good things going on. I know it's not the traditional UND way, but guess what: We live today, not back when the traditional way started. Studio One has the equipment. And I swear that the production quality out of Studio One is better than the production quality we get with the Football Coaches Show. WDAZ's audio (hollow sounding) and visual (seems very gray and grainy) are worse as far as I can tell. And can someone please buy a better filter for the main camera at The Ralph? That would solve many of the ice glare issues. What do I think is most important as far as promoting UND Athletics going forward? New FSC Director Josh Morton. He knows media and what it can do. He came from being sports director at a station in South Carolina.

I don't phrase it "small-time". I call it that Grand Forks is too "sure of what it can't do." If you'd have asked in 1996 about surviving a major flood I'm sure GF folks would have said "no can do". GF needs to start to show some confidence in itself. Maybe that starts with getting local media that isn't tied at the hip to Fargo-based organizations. Maybe that's getting some media and PR folks out there putting good stories onto fax machines every day (ala the other guys). Dear Grand Forks: Quit whining about what you "can't" do. See how much you can. You have a heck of a track-record (flood recovery, Alerus, Ralph): Build On It.

There goes my plan for Coleman.