The Sicatoka

At risk of repeating myself ... a-a-a-a-gain ... "Norse" fails the test that failed "Sioux". The actual NCAA policy bans monikers related to "race, ethnicity, or national origin", or what some call the RENO rule. Yes, the NCAA is not enforcing it equally (Irish, Seminoles, Vandals) but you have to know they'd love to slap us again just to slap us again.

Questions 1 and 3 need a "negative" or "none" answer. Grand Forks wouldn't support another hockey organization and I'm not sure I'd pay to see anything but an NCAA regional (and don't get me started on that).

Let's talk about hypotheticals just as likely: - President of the United States Mark Kauk (and VP "Gretzky"). - the Lamoureux twins move to Rome and are named co-Pope and co-captains of the Vatican womens Olympic hockey team Possible, but a lot in the world we know would have to change significantly. The league smelled blood in the water when MSU and UM thrashed UND. The pathetic showing at ISU did nothing to change that. I'll go on record now: If UND beats EWU, UND wins out the season.

Core issues are core issues, win or lose. A W does not fix core issues.

Look at where this program has gone. We're discussing if it's better to be - junk punched - maimed - de-limbed - disemboweled - decapitated This program used to mete out the pain. Now we're discussing what we think we can survive. Unsat. Unacceptable.

Let's go. Let's go! LET'S GO! Are the teams on the ice for pre-game yet?

Yes we did. We saw the: - lack of discipline on even simple things like snap count - selfish play by the personal fouls to extend opponent drives - the total lack of an understand of the concept of "clock management"

To me the gawk at the sideline offense is a joke. It looks like the team has no idea of what's going on. Huddle up. Call a play with a single simple run/pass read at the line. Line up. No motion, or at most one motion to determine man/zone. Eliminate the false starts. Man up. Go do your job on the play -- block, run, pass, catch, ... cover, tackle, whatever, ... but do it ... legally. Get up and Shut up. Good bad or indifferent pick yourself up and get ready to ... Huddle up again. This base formula should apply to offense and defense. And it's not difficult. See: winning teams.

Seven minutes to play and you get the ball near your own 40 with an 11 point lead: What do you do? What you do do is tell your team that it's possession and power football time. Strap 'em tight. No penalties or you're watching. And you run the clock, even if you go three and out and punt. What you don't do is perform a 22 second, yes 22 seconds, drive and leave the opposition with a lot of hope. This is not an effin XBox/Gameboy/toy game. You run this like men, not boys. And I'm looking at the HC and the OC and DC when I say that. OC: Pull some tape from a decade ago, not for play book, but for clock management. Many Lennon teams would get that ball and go three and out but they'll take either two minutes or a couple TOs from the opposition. You took 22 seconds and left them all 3 TOs. DC: The penalties to sustain opposition drives have to stop. Make them stop. How? You control who is on the field. HC: Chest bumps? How about mentoring your young boys who are at OC and DC? How about running the operation? I watched UND win today, by more luck than skill. I watched a team with a couple GameBoy players running the O and D, guys who aren't running a game in the real world. And I didn't see a HC mentoring them into reality. (And that HC had a mentor who showed him how clock management and field position can win games.)

A 22 second drive in that situation? Seriously?

What you're describing is Iowa State in the Big Twelve. And where is Mussman from? Iowa State. "Iowa State" of the BSC is not good enough.

Maryland has their Terrapins. Snapping Turtles. Oh Snap!

I wonder which three forwards will be playing "left out"?

The story is a classic with the punchline of a school with a "Comanche" nickname. http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/10/03/Female-Student-Ordered-To-Change-Out-Of-Offensive-NRA-T-shirt

I've taken a hockey bus from the Canad (and it was a good choice ).

I had to use something in my assumptions so I used $5 (last I paid before I got a parking pass). At $10, that's 250 cars. Are 250 cars going into the ramp per game? I don't know.

Today's hot new game: Can you match the problem to the punishment? http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/can-you-match-the-ncaa-scandal-to-its-corresponding-punishment-100213

Allow me to "Devil's Advocate" this one for a second: Let's assume a Saturday at 7 pm game. - Driver preps the bus starting at 5:30 pm - First run from ramp to REA at 6 pm - Bus runs until 7:30 - Bus restarts at 9 pm (game ends at 9:30 pm) - Bus runs to 10:30 - Driver off shift at 11 pm. So, the bus and driver is on for 5.5 hours. But there are four buses. That's an effective 22 hours. Assume it's $100 for the vehicle and driver (fuel, depreciation, driver pay, insurance, etc.). That's $2200 per night. At $5 to park in the ramp that's 440 cars in there to run the buses. That doesn't pay the attendants in the ramp. Let's say that's two cars ($10) per attendant per hour to pay them. I've seen six in the ramp and they are on for five hours so that's 6 times 5 times 2 times or an extra 60 cars to pay the attendants. Does that work fiscally? Do 500 cars park in the ramp per home game? I don't know. But it's an interesting conversation.

I'm one of those "coddled masses" who made the donation to get a parking pass; however, I kept my upper bowl seats. So am I partially coddled? If they open up more ground parking by the arena it could be a reasonable tradeoff. Overall, UND just needs to suck it up and put in a monorail from The Al to CAS, to the Union and the parking ramp, and then up to The Ralph.

My prediction? Heck, I'll give you the next TWO weeks. Road loss to ISU with a pivotal bad coaching decision (see: at UNC 2012) the deciding factor. Blow out loss to EWU at Homecoming.

Amazing that that was the only story above the fold on the front of today's Fargo Fool'em. Government shut down? Nope. Analysis of Day 1 of Obamacare? Nope. The looming debt ceiling fight in Congress? Nope. Airplanes using "Sioux" as an identifier. Dear Fargo Fool'em: Please don't confuse the FAA with the NCAA.

From 54 you'll tend to hit it a little flat. To hit from 54 including being tipped is nothing but impressive. Why you wouldn't use that weapon again tells me Mussman really was not situationally aware.

Zeb hit from that distance the year before, on that same field. A kick to win: Exact. Same. Scenario. But no kick this time? Here's the recap from the 2011 game (link below): They liked winning that way the first time so much ... that they didn't do it again? http://www.undsports...TCLID=205324605

"Now we go live to outside the NCAA offices in Indianapolis ... "

The 5-6 season last year should've been 6-5. Mussman made a terrible coaching/managerial/clock management decision that cost the team a game at Northern Colorado. 2012: Blown out at MSU and at EWU and then the UNC debacle; followed up by ... 2013: Blown out at *home* by Montana and MSU (and more than likely EWU) The rope is used up.