Northcountry

I contacted Dr. Davenport, MSU president and he emailed me today with a promise to have "senior staff" investigate the incident. He promised to get back to me when the investigators were finished. Stay tuned.

I was at the Sioux/Maverick game on Saturday and was astounded by the lack of class and displayed by MSUM players. It was senior parent's day and one of the seniors, Soloni Taumalolo, sang the National Anthem. At the end he turned, pointed to the Sioux sideline and ran his finger across his throat in a cutting motion. He then pointed again and trotted off the field. At the same time MSUM's numbers 4, 8, and 9 erupted into the "Apes with bones scene" from 2001: A Space Odyssey. All of this occurring while the color guard was in the process of marching off the field. Prior to the Anthem, the announcer had asked that we honor those serving and those that had sacrificed to defend our freedom, and followed with the disclaimer about "anyone threatening or attempting to intimidate players, fans, officials would be subject to disciplinary action". What hypocrites. I suppose they can feel good about themselves, though, because in their game program where they list data about MSUM opponents the first heading is "nickname" for every team but one. UND got listed by color instead. I wonder at what point what you DO becomes more important than what you SAY?

Amen to that. I love PA guys who can inspire a crowd without getting in the way - Hennen had a way of turning the focus to himself and many times it seemed that his ego was in the way of the game. I don't know if this really makes sense to anyone but me, but it always seemed a little contrived and derivative when he made scoring or penalty announcements.

Rich Glas has been saying for several years that the debate over the Sioux nickname and logo is "a great opportunity for the University to educate", and that there are "many things that could be done to connect the University to the tribes". Why has no one listened and why has no one ever tried to establish a laison with the tribes that the University uses to represent the history of the region. We were the "Dakota Territory" and American Indian culture and legend has been a part of what we are forever. I am a proponent of keeping the name and logo because it instills a great pride in me (a white guy), but if the University is going to continue to ignore its obligation to define and describe what the "Dakota Territory" is all about, then I believe that it is time to seek a new mission, under a new name.

A fleeting thought - Since "Dakota" is also an Indian name, does this mean that in any postseason competition we can only be referred to as the University of North? And do we have to cover the Dakota everywhere that North Dakota appears on a uniform or in an arena?For Pete's sake our STATE is named for the Sioux who occupied it, how can it be "offensive" and "abusive" to name the state's University in the same way?

Second on my list is Steve Huber blowing past Joe Toth and blocking a Bison punt in the end zone which was recovered by K.J. Coughlan for a touchdown. It began a memorable aafternoon for Sioux fans in Memorial Stadium and "364 days of Hell" for Rocky and the Gang.

Kelby Klosterman to Dan Graf to complete the comeback against St. Cloud at old Selke Field. Without that come-from-behind win the Sioux would have been on the road for playoffs (or maybe not made playoffs) instead of at home for three of the greatest playoff games in Sioux history and a National Championship.

I really do understand the point about transition and 10 years down the road, I just think that if there is indeed a 10 year plan that there should be some fairly specific benchmarks for the journey. At what point do you end scheduling for money?, at what point do you present a plan for facilities?, at what point do you join a conference?,at what point do you debate or even present budget essentials?, at what point do programs other that the marquee or anchor programs get their due consideration? I think that these are details that need to be hashed out before starting the journey of a thousand miles with a single step. I intend no disrespect, and I do not live in a glass house, but I think that UND is playing their "peer institutions" (UNO, USD, Grand Valley, Pittsburg State, etc) in meaningful games. Games with Moorhead, Minnesota, Kansas, etc. are outside that group in either direction. As I said before, if Upper Iowa and Mary become staples of the scheduling, then it is time to plan for a change.

Will be there for sure - what is the ticket situation at WSU? Last season at St. Cloud I was told three times that the game was sold out before I finally caught some, then the playoff game had seats unsold. Hopefully the WSU athletics has more of a clue about the possibility of visiting fans.

Up front - please forgive my ameteuristic forays into history and psychology. I am not formally trained in either but they form the bases for my arguements. First - I was born and have lived my entire life in North DAKOTA - do we change that name because it also dishonors American Indians (it is being used by white people who are the vast majority of the state's population)? Do the cities of Lakota and Wahpeton also need a change of identity? My contention is that as a native North Dakotan - It is my history too, everything that is and has occurred in the land where I live is part of me and I am part of it and we remember what we treasure by ensuring that the names of these things live on (that is why we have family names that pass from generation to generation). The quickest and surest way of disappearing is to change one's name - is that what is being asked? Are the histories of the peoples of North Dakota so separate that they cannot be shared? Can Indian history and European history not occupy the same space? Do you really want a society in which all traces of American Indian history are erased? If the answer to these questions is yes, is it because you feel you have something that you don't want to share? "This is mine and you can't have it - any of it". I don't pretend to be Sioux and I don't pretend to be Norwegian, Irish, Jewish, or African, only a North Dakotan and it is my history too.

You spew all this vile and then have the balls to call me a racist? It's no wonder YOU are insulted by the use of the Sioux name, as insults seem to be the currency you trade in. A few years ago I asked the anti-nickname advocates to do the research and document that changing a name at ANY institution has had ANY measureable impact on ANY of the real issues confronting American Indians - I am still waiting.

Ask Travis Roy what UND's reaction was to his injury - which by the way was caused by his missing a check on Mitch Vig, not by a hit itself.

Just like all those other seasons when they had 2 first team all NCC players and couldn't get into the NCAA playoffs or past the first round? It is as much about attitude as it is talent - UND has had plenty of talent. i.e., how many of the All-Century team members have played in the past 10 years? How many have played in game 2 of an NCAA regional?

What this team needed all year was a kick in the a$$ - "go hard or go home" message that they never got. From pregame warmups to the final horn there was very little '''get after it" mentality. Until that is instilled it won't matter how many Jerome Beasleys are recruited.

A Class B District or Regional tournament is a shot of economic adrenaline to those communities hosting them - not a make or break proposition, mind you, but a nice little economic boost. To move these tournaments out of Mayville, or Grafton, or Park River and place them in locations that have no ties to Class B other than a willingness to take the money is wrong. We play all season on opponents' home courts, so that is not a new experience - don't ruin the charm of Class B because of an alleged home court advntage. On another note - who will be the one to volunteer to tell Coach Roebuck that he will have to alter his practice schedule because some high school teams want to hold their tournament in his arena?

Over raction by a Bears fan. Management had mistakenly placed the Larimore fans behind the Grafton team bench, and the Grafton fans in the opposite corner of the gym. Grafton fans went to their team's bench to celebrate which would obviously be in front of the Larimore fan section. I am no fan of Grafton, and especially no fan of their fans, but don't try to insinuate something into the situation that was never there. By the way wide angle digital video shows that the kid who tipped in the final basket did so with 0.4 seconds on the clock.

I emailed Rachel Harvey, one of the protest organizers because I noticed in their organizational mission statement that the ..."community celebrates, affirms and embraces those who have been marginalized because of race, ethnicity, gender, etc". The question I had for them was, other than this symbolic gesture and embrace, what of substance were they doing for American Indians? My contention is that UND has more programs and substantive(sp) efforts in place than any other American university. Ms. Harvey said that she would be attending a diversity roundtable and would not be able to reply until Monday, but that she was looking forward to "dialouging" with me on this issue. More to come.

I only saw it on the tube, but I commented several times that I thought Radke was superb last night along with a few other freshmen. On the other hand Schneider and Greene have been in this league for four freakin years and if they haven't learned yet how to handle end-of-games situations, it ain't never gonna happen. I for one am tired of hearing Sioux fans bitch and whine about how terrible and inconsistent the officiating is - it seems to be the excuse for everything. It usually takes about 2 shifts for the radio guys to make their first comments about it and about one offside or one penalty for the Engelstad crowd to make theirs. Player have to learn to play the game and forget about the officials.

We are down 2-1, under 5:00 minutes to play, time to get ready for a final frenzy to get the tying goal and we take a penalty, then another, then another. Down 5 on 3 and the camera pans to the penalty box where two Sioux players sit, hoping that their teammates can kill the penalties - One of them has a letter "C" on the shoulder of his jersey, the other a letter "A". Draw your own conclusions.

The word for what is missing is "heart". This team does not seem to display the joy that should come with victory nor the despair that should come with a loss. Teams with true heart will not let "hot goaltenders" (which we seem to create), "bad bounces" (which we seem to get in abundance) or poor officiating (which we constantly whine about) to get in the way. Early in the season Doug Woog of all people, commended the Sioux for not changing their style despite these things against Minnesota. The following night we put everything in the tank and put away our heart. It's time to start playing with some joy and desparation (these are emotions), if not there are troubled times ahead.

Watching him in all of the home and games and almost all of the road games over the past three seasons, I cannot recall a single instance where David Wisthoff missed a blocking assignment and several times when he got second and third level blocks after the initial seal. His kind of performance is going to be greatly missed and is very difficult to replace - he made short yardage almost a gimmee.

This is not a criticism because I believe that from the top down the Sioux have one hell of a great coaching staff - Buuuuut I was hoping that very early we would attempt to stretch the field and take a shot or two deep, especially when we could do it on our terms, not out of necessity. Again, not a criticism because I am not at practice every day, don't do the film study, don't know the relative speed of receiver/dbacks, and have no input on game plans. It is great to be a fan and be able to speculate on woulda, coulda, shoulda - helps get a guy through the Winter until Spring ball when we can start anticipating.

You may be right - I got so used to seeing #4 in that spot that I may have had one of those moments where what you remember is what you think you see rather than what you really see, do you see?