The Sicatoka

The fourth line didn't get much ice at all on Saturday. Blais even noted that in the post-game. Friday? Yeah, I was hoping to see Genoway and Connelly pick up the pace. It sounded like Connelly had a couple of golden chances get away.

I think there's an off week before UND at CC. Patience.

The BCHL Player of the Week (01/13/03) runner-up should interest some: The POTW was his linemate Nikiforuk (a ten point week) who's going to Omaha.

DMB: 'wfduck' came by here one night on a drive-by trolling.

Don't hold your breath waiting for Ed to replay that tape for the exact reason you point out.

Who thinks Ed would repeat his diatribe while looking Coach Blais in the eye?

It would have killed Eddie if Dean's response would have been, "Who's Ed Schultz? Does he know anything about hockey?" Of course, I would have had Dean Blais follow that up with a trip to UND's Athletics administration asking for Schultz's head as well. But alas, thus is not Dean Blais, and that's his primary charm: You never wonder what's on his mind. The fundamental problem remains: Why go off like that over something that anyone in the industry will tell you happens.

Uh, Friday, January 24 is a off date for the Sioux. Did you make a scheduling boo-boo? Even with a true #1 goalie you need to give him a game off. Normally it's every fourth game. With the off week I'm not sure it's an issue. Play the goalie that'll get what the team needs: two wins. I don't care who it is. The pregame show starts at 9:35 pm CST and game time is 10:00 pm CST. I guess that'd be 10:35 and 11:00 for the EST folks.

Anchorage plays on Olympic-sized ice (like Mariucci). Half of their conference offensive production has come on the powerplay (13 of 26 goals). Stay out of the box, play them five-on-five, and wear out (by speed and forecheck) their undermanned defense (no Shasby, no Gilchrist, no Siuhkonen) on that glacier of a rink. shootdog: Aren't you in radio range?

Ed's rant was unprofessional. He's been stiffed before. He's been stiffed by greater and lesser people. (Heck, he's been 'stiffed' more times than a $2 whore! ) What set him off this time? He was stiffed in front of his bosses down at Clear Channel Minneapolis. No one dare do that to the great and powerful Eddie the Ego, especially in front of those folks. But the CC MSP guys know that their people get stiffed too at times. It's a part of the business. How you respond to it is important. I'm sure Ed's rant was duly noted. And for a 'hayseed,' Blais is doing OK with TWO "Spencer T. Penrose Awards" (given annually to the Division I coach of the year). Both Blais and Schultz did break one of my fundamental rules: Praise in public, punish in private.

Scott, you forgot Idaho on the "can't play" list. Main Entry: van

U2Bad1: I thought you'd already graduated from "Understanding the Odds 101." Odds are based not only on who they think'll actually win, but what it takes to get the right amount of "action" on both sides so the house doesn't lose no matter who wins. Let's use the football example: The great majority of betters wanted to bet on Miami (vs OSU). If Miami won, the house has to dig deep to pay off. By offering people 11 points to take OSU it made the total number of bets on each side more even. That way the house uses one side's money to pay off the other (after taking their "handle"). Why 11 points? Because at 7 points there was still too much action on the Hurricanes. Make sense? Now to this: This shows that betters are looking to "put down" on Maine, BC, UND, and UNH. How do you balance the books in this case? Make the payoffs on those teams lower so the bets on the rest of the field equal out the payoffs in those cases. Remember: The odds are set (and the points given) to make sure the house doesn't lose on the payout (and not because of who they think'll win).

Geez, if you're going to get all itchy over a former Fighting Sioux defenseman at least you could pick one who spent more than a "cup of coffee" in the NHL. May I suggest Patrick or Ludwig or Zombo or Baron or Bombardir? PS - Who'd Nick's brother play for in college and what team's farm system is he in today? Nick Naumenko trivia .... indeed.

Now I don't normally surf KFGO.com, but there's mention of, and a link to, Sioux Hockey right there on the front page. I don't recall anything like that being there in the past. That seems rather new and recent. I wonder why that's shown up .....

No comments on that, eh?

I can't believe I'm about to do this: JBB is right (gasp!) about one thing. That Clear Channel / UND contract is pretty good to both sides. I'm glad UND has it with them. Whew! I'm glad that's over. Now, about Sioux fans jumping all over Ed for those comments: I'm sure JBB, et al, would sit idly by if Jack Michaels (color voice for Bison BB and FB) used 20 minutes of his weeknight WDAY sports talk show to rip, as "bush league" and worse, Zaundra Bina (sp) or Bucky Maughan (sp) for missing an interview. That would be the equivalent situation.

tony: Why would UND fans complain when it's not their ox being gored? Ed picks a "windmill" and starts a "controversy". It's his standard operating procedure: create a controversy. Why? Ratings. People are listening and calling, aren't they? Past targets? The Fargo Forum Editorial Board NDSU Joe Chapman "The other station" in Fargo Apparently it's Dean Blais' turn.

The more I find out about this situation the more I'm seeing that with a more professional response by the on-air personality none of it would have occurred. Sure, take a little jab at Blais for not making the interview. A 20 minute rant is over the top. I'm sure Ed's been (as he calls it) stiffed in the past. It happens. Schedules get tight and tough some times. Apparently it was water under the bridge to Ed's producers but for some reason not to him. The other thing that I've learned digging into this is that Dan Benson got caught in the crossfire. Upon further review, he tried to do all the right things but that circumstances didn't allow for things to work out as planned. My apologies to Dan for even hinting that this may have been due to some failing on his part.

The only 'poll' that matters is the 'pole' you raise a championship banner on.

Now there's a little gem that didn't come out that particular Monday evening. Shame-shame on Farkas for trying to schedule at the last minute. I do remember that in that case Benson was good enough to spend some time on the show with Farkas. Applause to Dan Benson for doing that in that situation. It's too bad that producer didn't keep Dan Benson on the line on Friday to talk to Ed and explain the situation on the air. It might have saved Ed from, well, being himself.

When have either of those ever mattered to Ed Schultz? Like I said, there's more than enough "poor form" to go around on this one.

First, Ed was out of line. Yes, he was stiffed but it has to have happened before. How Ed handled it was unprofessional. Next, apparently someone (Blais or Benson) did the stiffing. That too is uncool and unprofessional. Benson did schedule that interview (with Farkas) when he knew Zach had a Monday night class. That's reality. Is this situation Benson's fault? Who knows. I'm asking. If you interpret my past statement to blame it all on Benson you're wrong. Those other guys are big boys and control their own actions. I'm asking if Benson may have had some role in setting up this war of words. A wise person who posts here (self-identify if you choose to) reminded me that not that long ago there was a spat between our favorite hockey play-by-play guy and our favorite head coach. At issue? Getting stiffed on interviews. Our favorite play-by-play guy handled it more subtly and professionally. Bravo to Tim. There appears to be enough "poor form" behavior on this one to more than go around. It appears in this case that it has just taken on a life of its own and went too far too fast. Remember one other thing: Ed's a radio guy. Think his numbers were any good today?

The unbeaten streak had to end sooner or later. Now the coaches have something to yell about in practice. If the team is going to lose because of a slow, flat period I'd rather it be in January than March. You can learn from it and correct it in January.

JBB: If there's one thing in life I'm sure of it's that Ed Schultz won't be drawing a pension from NASA.

Tune in Ed at 9:00 this morning. Give him no more than 15 minutes, and then decide from there. That article mentioned Dan Benson. This is the same Dan Benson that promised a Zach Parise interview to Mick Farkas on Monday Night Sports Talk about two months ago. The catch? Benson didn't check Zack's schedule. Zach has a class Monday nights. Do I see some sort of pattern forming regarding interviews and a particular scheduler?