The Sicatoka

Get it right 'star2city' or we'll take your membership card away. It's The Vast Fighting Sioux Conspiracy

(I posted this in the equivalent thread on USCHO.) With the Sioux off this weekend I have to watch something. It'll be this series. My thoughts: As much as Goldie likes getting Potulny back, I think they are really going to miss Koalska this weekend. The problems at hand are Stevenson, Joseph, and the Mav power play. Potulny isn't the solution to any of those where I believe Koalska would be. However, if the Mavs start taking penalties they make create a problem for themselves called Potulny. Mankato just took three points at DU. Don't think Goldie's fuzzy little ears didn't perk up when he heard that. Mankato isn't sneaking up on them. Mankato is 9-4-5 on the wide ice and 2-5-3 on the road. Minnesota is 7-4-2 at home and 10-6-4 on the wide stuff. I bring that up because power plays seem to be better on the wide stuff and Mankato has a decent power play. Power plays are probably going to decide this one. I don't see either sweeping; I'm expecting a war of a split.

I guess Roberg is the current Gopher equivalent to former Sioux forward Tom Philion in the late 1990s.

There are some interesting comments on DII from the new NCAA president Miles Brand.

PCM: Ouch. Greyeagle: So, besides Roberg, what other topics does one avoid at POI?

Hey, I've been there quite a while and not caused much trouble.

Why is it a Saturday afternoon game?

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.