The Sicatoka

UND has a hiring process. I know that's scary for some because following a process requires diligence and effort and rational thinking. The process always includes looking internally. "It depends on the internal candidates." -- Imagine the press conference ... RT: "Hello, I'm UND AD Roger Thomas. We posted this position internally and got one application so we hired him." Press Corps: "There are certainly great coaches out there and there are [sioux] alumni coaches who have an interest," Thomas said. "There's also great passion from Sioux fans and UND alumni. We have to evaluate all the candidates and make the very best decision for the future of the program." " ... all the candidates ... " -- All internal? All one? The UND process always looks internally. It can go external, but it "depends on the internal candidates." Wouldn't you think "number of applying candidates" would be a factor? How do you compare one application? Who externally might have an interest? I don't know. Let me guess: - A guy with two National Championship rings as a Sioux assistant, who's gone on to coach a Hobey Baker winner and taken his team to a Frozen Four? - A guy who has two Clark Cup championships, three Anderson Cup championships, guided the 1998 USHL Select Team to a gold medal at the Four Nations Tournament, has received three USHL Coach of the Year Awards, and won the 2003 Tier 1 National Championship? - How about the coach of the 2003 ECHL champions? Let's get more (admittedly) bizarre: - How about a guy who has exceeded the "life expectancy" of any previous head coach in his position, has coached Canadian national teams, and who has a son on the team? You have to take follow the process and take an honest look around. That's exactly what RT said he is doing. Scary, isn't it. And as far as Patrick C. Miller's USCHO story, he has hard, attributed quotes directly from the man who makes the final decision, Roger Thomas. Miller makes no bold statements as to where the process is at, just that it is under way. The Herald had "no call happened" quotes from Thomas and Hakstol yet goes with their "it's Hakstol" story based on an anonymous source. Someone has a credibility gap, or at least leaves themselves open to question, and in this case it's not Patrick C. Miller.

What you see in the pictures are the "practice set-up" (four BB courts) hoops. There are renderings showing "game set-up" here: http://www.iconarchitects.com/projects/rea...enter/index.htm An interesting FYI: Gonzaga's current gym is 4000 seats. They are building a "big" new gym: 6000 seats.

Those are the two numbers that don't lie. If Parise, Ziegelmann, Lamoureux, or Mike Prpich for that matter, wants to strap on the big pads and put up numbers better than those I'm all for it. They will have earned the job. But there's the key: You earn the job.

More photos from June 25 and July 6. http://theralph.com/construction

If my suspicions are correct as to which player it is, he graduated with honors from high school, was a member of the National Honor Society, and is majoring in finance and marketing.

The price of dinner and a tour?

You wouldn't even have to re-sew a name plate onto a jersey.

Uh, did you read this? Just a polite invitation, when allowed per NCAA rules, wouldn't be out of line. Well, that, and notation of the track record of putting smallish guys (Kessel is 5'10", 160) into the pro ranks.

Negative. That's an NCAA rule. Schools can't waive it. A transfer now would be like redshirting this season and staying where you are at.

You had to remind me ....

Believe it or not, I feel sorry for George Ellis because of his good work for the NCC. And the thought of "As the Bison Turns", on a spit, is always pleasurable.

It happened again! A big pat on the back to the Sioux mens hockey player who got a 4.0 GPA in spring semester! Also, a big pat on the back to the womens hockey team for raising the team GPA by 0.6 points, more than half a letter grade, from fall to spring.

Intimidation? I'd hope that to be completely bogus as well. However, do Ellis and Taylor see eye-to-eye on DI? That we may well find out ... "As the Bison Turns".

Anchorage? Glencross turned pro. Reiter and King, the goaltenders, were seniors.

Carl Spackler, "license to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations, man, free to kill gophers at will," driving the Mariucci Zamboni. Brilliant! Frank: "The period's not over. Why is the Zamboni coming on the ice." Doug: "That's Carl Spangler the new ice man. Why is he headed for the Gopher bench at high speed?"

The Vast Fighting Sioux Conspiracy has an "inside man" too. We set him up in the perfect position to achieve our goals: Carl Spackler is the new Zamboni man at Mariucci.

So, on a board on a site called "SiouxSports.com", that features primarily Sioux Hockey and Sioux Football, you wanted to know if there were primarily Sioux fans. As Bill Engvall would say: "Here's your sign."

Shantell Rivard has experience as a Division I head coach. Doesn't that mean she has the best resume on campus? What if she applies?

Maybe some day Don Lucia will end up coaching beyond the second level and in the NHL. I'm sorry; I couldn't resist.

I think Cratter was merely pointing out the eerily strange similarities in posting styles between this and this.

Lube job and rotate the paws? How about Roger Thomas sits down with someone, explains the formal process he has to go through (being a bureaucratic institution like an American university there must be one), and we get the story straight once and end all this rumor and speculation.

"The bottom line is that they're saying they have a good candidate or candidates on campus." Lucy Ganje? Then again, I know of a UND employee who is (a.) a guy who played hockey at his collegiate alma mater, (b.) good with the media and PR, and (c.) familiar with the program ... but his office isn't in Hyslop or REA, but it's close. ;)

Glad to see you snapped out of your "Craig Dahl moment" there.

His official title is reported as "Associate Head Coach". That is the same title Dave Hakstol had under Dean Blais.

I caused it by losing that information in the shuffle. Sorry.