YaneA

Go4-- Just as I suspected: Chippiness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

I'll say this for the Concrete Center: when I was there for the series between the Huskies and Sioux earlier this year, the place was loud and rockin'. THAT reminded me of the old Ralph when the Gophers came to town. Still haven't figured out how 6,000+ people in the old Ralph can be louder than almost twice that many in the new Ralph.

Just one of the many on this question. Hate the Gophers, hate'em, hate 'em. Why? Their arrogance, their sense of entitlement, their chippy play, their "if you ain't from Minnesota, you ain't !@$!" attitudes. I hate their maroon and gold covered behinds.

Shootdogger-- I go over to Hyslop to pick up unsold students tickets for friends on Thursday morning and am always first lin line. I could get one for you, if you want. You can e-mail me at yaneusa@netscape.net if you want me to do so. Don't think that the tribute to Ralph will occur much before puck drops at 7:05. If you want to watch warmups be there about 6:25-6:30 and you'll catch all the pre-game pagentry, I'm sure.

Ralph Engelstad was just one among many (87% is the figure just posted) UND alums who favor keeping the nickname. True, he was the richest of the group, and therefore his opinion had a lot of sway, but many, many other people feel the same way he did.

I didn't want to believe it. UND and especially the Fighting Sioux hockey team have lost their best friend.

Someone on USCHO just posted a message that Ralph Engelstad has died. This can't be true, can it?

What a shock! Sharon Carson, who wants to "re-educate" us all on what is and is not acceptable, claims that Ralph's response to her letter to the editor is trying to chill her free speech. Yet, she seems to question his entitlement to that same right, because he disagrees with her and has the audacity to challenge her point of view. Strinden is right that those students, faculty and staff on the "wrong" side of this political debate face reprisals from those anti-nickname forces with even the least bit of power over the rest of us. The longer this controversy goes on, the more entrenched each side becomes and the hotter the rhetoric.

mksioux-- You're right that my position on the evils of PC is not shared by most others of the liberal stripe. Just read an article that remarked on the irony that, on today's Supreme Court, it is the conservative justices who are the champions of "free speech." I did a lot of research several years back regarding university "speech codes" and I concluded that they were all overbroad and ran afoul of the First Amendment. If a university wants to adopt aspirational rules for civil interaction and hope that everyone lives up to that code, fine. I see a problem only when someone gets punished or endures some sanction for failing to toe the PC line. Unfortunately, my experience tells me that many universities, for all their talk of embracing diversity, are not as welcoming of a diverse *point of view* as they are of diverse races, religions, gender, etc.

I consider myself to be a political liberal but I also support the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo. Likewise, I am in favor of both free speech and equal opportunity but opposed to political correctness because it advances neither of those objectives. Political correctness squelches free speech and minimizes equal opportunity for the very groups it seeks to protect because it creates the impression that those groups are so fragile that they must be coddled in order to compete with the rest of us. PC has it all wrong: In the public debate, you don't need to *respect* the other guy's opinion. Rather, you respect the other guy's *right* to hold the opinion and to voice it but you reserve the right to yourself to vigorously oppose the substance of his opinion if it's wrong-headed, illogical, dangerous, what-have-you. I find myself in the unenviable position of agreeing with the Herald editorial: Officially, NDSU has no choice but to abide by the rule of its ruling body, the Board of Higher Ed., regarding the Sioux nickname and logo. Unofficially, and as a matter of personal conscience, individuals at NDSU (students, faculty or administrators) are free to voice the opposite view.

I'm confused and maybe one of you can help. I saw in the paper that the undercard for the Hill fight starts at 3:30 Sunday at the Ralph. Have they moved the women's hockey game against Bemidji to the Olympic venue?

What? The letter I got from Al announcing the trip indicated that the $90 included tix, transportation and beverage.

Al Pearson is taking a fan bus to St. Cloud, as was mentioned on another thread. I talked to him within the hour and he still has five seats open. If you want to go, call him right now at 701-775-6859. He's got a block of rooms at a motel and tickets to the games. Cost of transportation and tickets is $90; don't know what the rooms cost. The bus leaves the Ralph Friday at 11 a.m. and comes back Sunday.

Is St. Cloud forward Andy Lundbohm related to Whitey and David? They're all from Roseau but, other than that, any relation?

I talked to Al Pearson last night and he still has room on his bus--and a way to get tickets. If you want to go with Al and his pals, call him today at 701-775-6859. He's got a block of rooms at a motel, too. If you've never taken one of these bus trips with Pearson, it's hard to describe. There's a keg, if that helps, and Al handles all the details. All you have to do is pay your money and show up. Transportation, beverage and tickets are $90, room extra. The bus leaves the Ralph at 11 a.m. on Friday and we come back Sunday morning. Join us and watch the Sioux beat the Huskies live and in person.

Game time is 6 p.m., CT, so I'm guessing pre-game is 1/2 hour before that. I'll be glued to the radio. By the way, Forecheck, saw you strutting your stuff on the catwalk at the game--very impressive. Did you get to keep the stocking cap and sweatshirt? P.S. Al's running a bus to St. Cloud. We'll miss you if you're not there.

Dean Davis is not gone yet. His resignation takes effect at the end of the year. And, yes, there was a whole lot of dissent regarding the faculty resolution (from the students; the tenured faculty vote, however, was unanimous) and even worse, there was appalling fallout from the letter the students wrote clarifying the situation. Some members of the faculty withdrew letters of recommendation they had previously written for some of the students who signed the letter to the editor or who were quoted in the paper as questioning the faculty's reluctance to cancel class when the Supreme Court visits while readily canceling class so the faculty can attend nickname conferences.

Allow me to beat my favorite dead horse: lackluster marketing of UND sports. I think we could have put 7,000 butts in the seats for the first game with an all-out effort that included at the very least hitting up one of Sioux Athletics' corporate partners for a big prize giveaway (must be present to win)--new car, all expense-paid trip to Ralph's Imperial Palace in Vegas, something that big. As it was, I think the "draw" was hot dog and Coke for $2. Although there were only about 700 of us there on Sunday, we were loud, proud and appreciative of the girls' efforts. I'm looking forward to watching this team develop. Chix with Stix Rock!

JBB: It's easier to claim the moral high ground that to hold it. Tough lesson to learn for the holier-than-thou.

Finally got my season tickets for women's hockey. They appear to be general admission, no specified seat. Hmm. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing... A while back, after it was announced that the women's club team was moving to DI, I wondered aloud why UND didn't decide to build its women's team around the Ralph's Olympic sized ice. It seemed to me that the larger ice-smaller venue woulld be a nice combination since I doubt the women will ever be able to fill even the lower bowl in the main arena. Any thoughts? Has anyone heard how many season tickets have been sold for the women's games? I wish the girls lots of luck and I admire them for being pioneers in this sport. Are most of you who are such staunch devotees of the men's game at all interested in the watching the women's team play?

Who was it late last year who ran from this board a UND Pick to Click like the one Eric Hybert does for the Badgers on USCHO? Could you do it again, maybe this time for the season? I'd like to play.

I was just told that the men's hockey tickets will be sent out "this weekend."

Have any of you season ticket holders gotten your tickets yet? I was told that they were going out at the end of September but, although I live in Grand Forks, I haven't gotten mine.

It's Al Pearson and yes, he did teach insurance at UND a while back. He's a great guy, great storyteller, great Sioux hockey fan. He runs a fan bus a couple times a year and lives here in Grand Forks.

School is out, ending last week. I understand several players were told to be available to help out at the hockey camp.