The Sicatoka

If that's the case, I believe the QB of VCSU has probably been ripped-off all season long.

Yes, the game was a sell-out. No, the place did not fill. Yes, you can choose to not believe me or a friend (and box owner, excuse me, "corporate client") of mine. But yes, the local media reported on open seats. (You don't believe Jack Michaels, or do you?) Sorry, I don't have a dog. Again, yes, they sold 19042. No, they didn't all show up to fill the seats. Filling a stadium doesn't seem to help NDSU's on-field performance of late, why would it matter up north? It's all about on field performance to get the Ws and Ls. And so what if Roger goes to games? He's the AD, he's supposed to. And so what if he becomes an honorary member of the Green Hair'em and dons the quaff. They've also come up with a solution to the viewing problem as well. (Ask your dog about it. He'll give you all of the details.)

Stretching for something to protest about? Welcome to our world.

You missed violence, especially gun violence. (See above.)

bisonguy: Fair points. I've long advocated all fans to cheer for their team and not against the other. "Let's go Sioux!" is a great example. "Here we go Bison, here we go" is another, well, when it lacks a particular refrain at least. Regarding "pink," at least we're not yellow. And songs? Hey, one of the protesters at UND has a problem with UND's fight song that has a "tom-tom" beat.

JBB: Only one QB stat really matters, namely, record in starts: 2002 UND Klosterman Overall 3-2, Conference 1-1 Bowenkamp Overall 1-0, Conference 1-0 Total Overall 4-2, Conference 2-1 2002 NDSU Gorder Overall 1-4, Conference 0-3 Total Overall 1-4, Conference 0-3 As the great sage Al Davis says, "Just win baby."

When Fast Ed Schultz and Tony "Beer" Stein reported empty seats during their broadcast I thought: "propaganda." When I later flipped on the tube to watch, I heard Sweeney and Hallstrom comment about it. I thought maybe Sweeney was getting in a little dig, but Hallstrom also noted the significant number of empty seats. I was starting to be mad at myself for not going and trying to get in when I heard of open chairs. When I heard Scott Miller and Jack Michaels, during the post-game, note the significant number of empty seats I knew it had to be real. Hey, those guys are Bison homers (as they should be broadcasting the games) and yet they felt the need to mention the empty seats in the post-game show. Michaels also noted that NDSU fans started for the gates when UND scored the safety. (That's when my accountant buddy left.)

JBB: Remember last year's D-I mens BB tourney on CBS? Remember the west regional in San Diego, hosted by the SDSU? What'd it say on their BB floor in eight-foot letter? Aztecs. Tell me again about the NCAA.

So AIM co-founder Vernon Bellecourt was on? Did they talk about his 17-year-old grandson who is up on murder charges for the gunshot death of a 15-year-old on a Minnesota reservation? JBB: Ask yourself this question: Who says "Let's go Sioux!" and who says "Sioux (self-censored)!"? Think about the message and the hidden sentiment of that second one if you're looking for skeletons.

You know, I almost feel sorry for SSM's opponents. Just imagine an opposing coach looking at SSM's roster: "Glad that Parise guy is gone. Same for that Murray kid. No Porter. No Hirsch. Good, good. What do they have left on the roster this year? Let's see. Look out for that Smaby guy. He's big. Stafford's good. We'll have to watch him. Who's this Crosby guy? He any good?"

Others who've gone from "Sabre" to "Sioux"? Jesse "No" Bull. I'd be shocked if the guys with big checkbooks let Crosby inside a college rink.

The NDSU/MSU-Moorhead contract was voided by mutual agreement of both parties after that first (is there a word to describe that?). The UMD game was a late summer cancellation by UMD. Like I said, I'd heard they wanted too much "guarantee" (spelled m-o-n-e-y).

I had a Bison fan report to me, unprompted, that he was disappointed that about 3000 of his fellow season-ticket holders arrived as empty blue seats against UND. His words. And remember, he got his accounting degree at NDSU. Which way are you going to play that?

So Bison fans now show up as empty blue chairs? Geez, they must have learned that from corporate-type Gopher hockey fans. And yeah, UND didn't fill the Alerus against Winona State, but it wasn't called a sell out either. They gave the actual figure.

Shouldn't you be out there raising all those additional funds for the glorious D-I sellouts at FargoDome (like Saturday's, with a couple thousand empty seats)?

Mentioning Parise, here's something you don't see every day. http://www.uscollegehockey.com/stats/ A freshman on the top of that list? Yes, it's early, but I still smiled.

Brookings is just 50 miles from Sioux Falls. Don't tell Fargo but Sioux Falls is much larger and SD doesn't have a personal income tax so SDers have more disposable income, but still the report said:

First, KFAN-AM is in Minneapolis. "The Fan" is their (and Clear Channel America's) radio network in MSP, Fargo, GF, etc. Please don't say K-FAN. I break out in a bad rash. I'm sure Clear Channel North Dakota's radio deal didn't include womens hockey because it didn't exist when the deal was done. Any coach can go down to Bonzer's and hop on a microphone, can't they?

In a little known fact, NDSU was supposed to play UM-Duluth in non-conference football this season. That game was cancelled for some reason. I don't know the exact why. (Part of it I believe was UMD wanted a better "guarantee" for playing.) That left NDSU with a ten game schedule (where most play eleven) and with one less home gate this season. NDSU is currently 1 and 4. UMD is 6-0, has been ranked in the top 25 all season, and has wins over MSU-Mankato and South Dakota.

NDSU hires Carr Sports to do their D-I study. NDSU hires CSL out of Minneapolis to do their survey. SDSU hires the same two and get the same two answers. Me thinks it would be interesting to see if those two groups have ever given any other answers than what administrations wanted to hear.

Since Ed Schultz started the award, shouldn't it be his decision when to stop awarding it? What? Is someone afraid that Gorder will keep losing to a sophomore newbie?

Now, having repeated myself, let me try to decipher JBB's logic: Dr. Kupchella refers to problems and scandals in collegiate athletics. Which are those? In the eyes of the NCAA these problems primarily relate not to the actions of athletes, but to the inappropriate activities of coaches, boosters, and alumni as they relate to athletic programs. Considering the demographics at UND (and NDSU for that matter), most of those roles are filled by

Zach Parise vs. the Xerox Punch Imlach Tourney: 5 goals, 3 assists = 8 points NDSU vs. The UND Defense: 6 points

"The best quarterback was Lakeville's John Bowenkamp." -- The Star Tribune.* There must be "Golden Arm" voters at the Star-Trib. * http://www.startribune.com/stories/503/3362129.html

Now why would they do that when UND has a Hilton on campus? NDSU has a Days Inn across the street from FargoDome, right?