The Sicatoka

Assume Bast out. Tychonick's status?

Going into this weekend, per Massey: Towson 12 Southern Illinois 15 Maine 18 SUNY-Albany 19 UND 20 SE Louisiana 22 (lost Thursday) Nichols 36 (won Thursday) UT Martin 37 Citadel 43 https://www.masseyratings.com/cf/fcs/ratings

Draw a line from Chicago to Mobile would be my definition. (I'm sure mine won't match the committee's.)

I worry the "we need 12 east and 12 west schools" mindset will enter and it won't help UND.

Well, the clinching and fretting begins ... now.

Wasn't that place featured on that haunted mansions show, ... or was it horrific murder scene show, ... or was is that .... I'M KIDDING! I'M KIDDING!

Interesting. Sure won't make folks in Cheney, WA, very happy.

They are ahead of UND in Massey.

Compare records (regular season and playoffs) Babs v Hakstol on the day Hak was released by PHI. (Hint: One is still in TOR today.) MIN fans are due ... but a coach can't fix that roster.

Would I trade Jason Zucker for Lars Eller .... hmmm ... Nope.

Folks, no need to attack the person. Proving the fallibility of the question is telling enough.

I hate to bring up "those guys" but how many times have I said, ... "They do not do anything exceptional, but what they do they do exceptionally well." You just proved my point: The kick was in scope, but missed this time. Where's the remove-all-hope mindset from everyone on the team. And before you say I'm bashing Leach, let me take a step back: Why was it 4th and 7? Why wasn't there a first down and continuing drive. We took a sack and then completed a 14 yard pass on 3rd and 20. Execute ... exceptionally well. Set that as the expectation; set that as your system.

A team* with killer instinct fixes continuing known obvious shortcomings. Not addressing known shortcomings is goin'-along, gettin'-along, flowin'-along down the stream. *Team, from head coach down to waterboy

Who they bring back will be a tell in my mind ... that they really want Wynne. If they are serious ... Armacost, Tikalsky, Marley If they aren't ... Nichols, Staben

Folks are all wound up about one play. A play that will ultimately mean nothing is my suspicion. What folks should be wound up about is a continuing pattern that should be addressed, namely this play early in the 4th quarter: 4th and 7 at UNC, Brady Leach field goal attempt from 46 MISSED - wide left, spot at UNC29, clock 13:38. That left it a 14 point (2 score) game. Hitting that FG makes it 17 points, 3 scores. A make would have driven out any hope from UNC. Instead it gave hope to the Bears and made it a game when it shouldn't have been at that point. A team with killer instinct hits those plays and removes all hope from the opponent. That crushing of any hope of come-back is what I've never seen from a Bubba Schweigert team. I say that because right now the #1 team in FCS has most teams beat in the Monday film session: They know they have no hope.

He was hired as a Toronto assistant over the summer. Rumor during the summer was Babcock was on the hot seat (see: annual summer trips to Phoenix to "talk with" his star Austin Mathews). If anything, Hak was Toronto's insurance policy if Marlies-guy wasn't ready to step up. And remember when Hak was hired by PHI? They left the experienced assistants for the (never before at NHL level) head coach. As far as I can see, for now at least Hak's still in Toronto. Sound familiar? In light of that data, would you like to rephrase that question.

Have they named interim guy yet? Firing Babs was all the talk on NHL on XM yesterday. They speculated the Marlies' top guy would step in. ... yet I see a former Flyers head coach on the Leafs bench ... UPDATE: Marlies guy named ...

Does this make Rieger the ... (I'm going to say it) ... the world's first wing defenseman.

Tom, Tom, Tom, one does not talk about such things lest they grow fangs and turn on you.

Congrats to Rieger on his first career goal, and with that Rieger goal ... then there were two: Caulfield and Frisch looking for "first pucks".

Seeds? Bids? Money? C'mon man ... it's all about the student-athlete experience. You know that ...

GF Herald has hung around KE McGarry too much. Both think they are president-pickers.

Indubitably. Just the same, I'd like to survey the pollsters with one question: Is your poll ranking how you see the teams rate: (a) today (b) at the end of the season

I thought we we're going to be log-jammed for playing time at defense; instead, Bast and Tychonick being out have made us fortunate to have eight playable defensemen. That said, I was yelling at 20 to turn around (couldn't hear me through TV I guess) just before Saturday's DU goal.

Not to bring up hockey (which means I'm about to ), but in the 20-teens how many #4 seeds (or even last team in) have won NCAA hockey titles. Can you pull off the four (or five) game win streak when it matters.