The Sicatoka

REA didn't ask for the crap-burger to be put in front of them. They just have to eat it. Here's what REA is doing with profits from operations, those rotten people. http://www.ralphengelstadarena.com/ralphsgift.html Welcome to economic reality of collegiate athletics: No money, no hockey team. PS - REA's Board of Directors includes Tom Clifford (President Emeritus of UND) and Earl Strinden (Executive VP Emeritus, UND Alumni Association and Foundation). If you believe either of those two would do anything to harm any aspect of UND (from campus, to students, to alumni, to finances) you need to re-examine your understanding of the situation.

Folks really need to learn how to use a search engine. The Story. His two-year diversion agreement is about over. I believe completing that with no offenses expunges his record. (Someone correct me if that is in error.) And let me restate my position on this clearly: It's not the mistake in judgement, it's how you take responsibility for it and your actions afterwards.

The ND Legislature, as a condition to allow the publicly owned land to be built on and to allow such a building to be built there, passed a law that required REA to show an operating profit before it could be turned over to UND or a UND foundation. Don't blame REA. Blame your state legislator for passing the law. REA just has to live within it, thus, it has to make sure it shows a profit. And remember, as previously stated, profits from REA end up going back into UND Athletics. (Remember the $500,000.00 to fund the womens hockey team this season?)

All of the above is from: http://msn.espn.go.com/ncb/s/2003/0403/1533643.html Thoughts?

Here's another piece of the article:

An unnamed Sioux fan poster posts a fact (as evidenced by Chad Roberg not showing up in official stats) on POI and gets banned from POI. An unnamed Sioux fan posts things like this "intelligent post" (scroll a little, first post) and Gopher fans are in an uproar over banning them (from the SiouxSports board no less)? Me thinks you doth protest too much.

The view of a game from the upper at The Ralph is, in my opinion, far better than the view from the lower. Of course, as I've groused about here before, sadly, too many student have become like season ticket holders: There for the social event, not the game. I'm all for "social eventers" being in the upper (except where I sit). The knock I'd put on this is that they put the students into 111, down by UND's goalie for 2/3 of the game rather than in 106 (by the visitor for 2/3).

In a story titled, "Bison struggling to be one of D-I," the Fargo Forum has written a special report article on the actions and activities that NDSU has undertaken in pursuit of a DI conference. Some interesting excerpts:

From the GF Herald: Hale gets a New Jersey

My point isn't a "Oh yeah!"-fest. (And I don't know if you'd count the GF ChannelCats as "minor league" because it was NorthWoods League ball where the players were all collegians who retained amateur status because they weren't paid.) My point: I'm surprised the (not overly fiscally stable) AWHL would be going into a city where the (more stable) USHL has not been able to succeed. The AWHL has tended to pick cities where they don't have to go head-to-head with other established fan bases. (Bismarck, Billings, Great Falls, Fernie, etc.)

The USHL Fargo-Moorhead Bears (folded) The USHL Fargo-Moorhead IceSharks (now the Chicago Steel) Take a look at the America West Hockey League home page. Note the list of teams on the left side of the AWHL homepage. The Fargo-Moorhead AWHL franchise.

You have to be academically admitted to the University of North Dakota to play hockey for the Sioux and from what we've seen here, you'd be lucky to get into Northwest Tech in East Grand Forks. If you really think you're that good, show us something to be proud of for a change.

The second installment of the series: Search for a coach. PS - I guess Bison transfer QB Stauss is eating up their D in spring ball. The Story. However, as the story says, You know what the knock on Stauss was? Average to low mobility.

Is there a rink at all in Vermillion? Practice in Vermillion but play games in the Sioux Fall Stampede rink?

From no to we're evaluationg everything in the length of a hockey season. Hey, it was September to April.

Wooo-hoooo! I get to correct Jim! A proposal was made and adopted by the NCAA after the DiPietro situation. What was adopted: To permit an individual prior to initial full-time collegiate enrollment to enter a professional league's draft and/or be drafted without jeopardizing intercollegiate eligibility. Smaby will be drafted prior to initial enrollment, thus, no loss of eligibility. PS - Parise turns 19 in July so no issues there with eligibility either.

When your PK is hovering around 78%, are you sure you want a big PIM guy (beyond what you already have)?

There's a Bob Duncan on this list. Ryan Duncan calls him "Dad."

Call me skeptical, but are the Devils really going to sign a guy with a permanent medical condition that has prevented him from playing at full strength in the last two college seasons? Especially so when you consider that they own his rights and could leave him in college to make sure the treatment works (over a full season) at no cost to them. (The NJDs are notoriously frugal.) But hey, if they offered the money, at this point I couldn't blame David for taking the sure thing.

Based on the above .... For football: NDSU, Fargo, ND UNC, Greeley, CO South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD Southern Utah State College, Cedar City, UT University of California-Davis, CA Cal Poly-San Louis Obispo, CA St. Mary

Let me toss a different idea into the mix. USD was concerned about money not long ago. Is there a revenue positive sport they could add? Is there one that already has interest built up in their region? For some reason I'm feeling obliged to type the words: Sioux City Musketeers Sioux Falls Stampede River City (Omaha) Lancers Lincoln Stars Tri-City (Kearney) Storm Thoughts?

How many Division I banners ya got? In light of recent NDSU moves, those do matter.

Hammy, I've stopped by POI for a visit. I haven't moved in and tried to take the best spot on the couch.

Let me point out three quotes: The most recent, from USD: From Roger Thomas, Athletics Director, UND, on March 17, 2003, speaking about proposed scholarship reductions in DII football: When he says "tip the balance" isn't he inferring going to DIAA? (Read the whole linked article for context.) And finally, the oldest, from Dr. Charles Kupchella, President, UND: