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The Sioux will not look past the Cake Crusaders and will win handily 9-2. SOG: 45 for UND; 20 for Holy Cross. A hat trick for either Bo or Zach. Pad those stats, boys.

I bought Tim Skarperud's game-worn jersey from the last game at the old Ralph. It's the retro with the Blackhawk-style logo and the lace-up neck. I never wear it because it's huge but would also never think of parting with it. Just bide your time--I can imagine an exhibition game in the future where the boys will play each period in various throwbacks and I'd bet they'll go on sale soon after.

My votes went to the home team of Bo & Zach with a 3d choice going to Saviano. If Lessard continues to hold his slim scoring lead over Bochenski, then I can live with the Hobey going to Junior. At least that will mean that the choice came down solely to the numbers. A little short-sighted and overly simplistic as a voting strategy (fails to consider pt/gm) but at least it's objective, not political. Don Lucia, in my opinion, ought to have been stripped of his suffrage for his transgression in voting Miller over Panzer. Yep, still nursing that grudge. I'll take it to my grave, if I live that long!

I don't think it is all a bunch of drivel. It's clear that some supporters of every team act like jerks and bullies. I suppose we could take a page from the traveling football fans of North Alabama and Winona State and write to UM's president, condemning all Gopher hockey fans for the actions of a few. Do you think that would be a more effective use of our time? Losing is no fun but when fans of the losing team are chased down, taunted and challenged to fist fights by the victors, that's beyond the pale. To answer PCM's question, if the Sioux had won, I imagine we'd be hearing from Gopher fans that ND fans had acted just as badly. But, tell you what, I'd be the first Sioux fan to offer an apology to an offended Gopher fan on behalf of all of us who didn't sink to that level.

Boy, you guys must have had some great people around you. I did not. We were sitting in the last row, lower level, behind the net where the Sioux shot twice, with some Sioux and some Gopher fans standing behind us at the rail. One of the Gopher fans yelled, "Send the Sioux back to the reservation," thus reminding me we were not in St. Cloud. After we asked some very tall Gopher fans sitting in front of us to sit during play, this same bozo told me that he couldn't see over me when I stood up to applaud the Sioux. (I'm 4'11" and he was at least 5'10") He tried to out-yell me during the "Let's go Sioux/Let's go Gophers" duels but did not succeed. I also ran into an usher that told me there was no dishonor in second place--what? the Xcel doesn't even pretend to be a NEUTRAL site? At lunch in Maplewood, the young guy in the next booth asked, "Will you be cheering for the Gophers tonight?" I responded with my standard comeback, "I wouldn't cheer for the Gophers if they were playing Al Qaeda." I was also shocked to see Gopher & Bulldog fans cheer against UND in our game with the Seawolves. What's up with that? I thought neither team considered us worthy of a rivalry. But as much as the Gopher fans got under my skin with their barbs and annoyed me with their "M-i-n-n-etc" spelling bee, their worst sin was in failing to applaud when Zach Parise arose from the ice after being high sticked by Vanek. How does any self-respecting person not applaud a player recovering from a cheap shot and getting to the bench under his own power? That's nearly as low as what I observed of Mankato fans at the Wireless last year when one of these idiots tossed a puck onto the ice in front of our net DURING PLAY. Anyone who does that has no respect for the integrity of the game.

Northeast: Boston College East: Maine Midwest: Duluth (get well soon!) West: Sioux Going to pick the Sioux to win the "Beatdown in Beantown" against our old friends, the Eagles.

While I think King deserved to be MVP on merits alone, you have to ask yourself why the the voters (who--media?) refused to throw Anchorage a bone. Clearly, the Seawolves were the story of the tournament for a lot of reasons and they were snubbed when King wasn't placed on the all-tourney team. If you aren't gong to vote the top scorer MVP and give the award instead to a goalie, you darn well better award it to the BEST goalie there. I can't believe anyone doubts that King was the best goalie on the ice.

Siouxnami: I was behind the net where the Sioux shot twice & could barely read the signs you had from that distance though I saw you had a bunch. I did recognize the Crappie/Crappy one and the "Potulnys : Call 1-800-JOIN-UND (Tutors are Standing By)." Some Gopher fans standing behind me Saturday night thought the "Irmen: Yes, Your Credits Transfer" sign was pretty funny but of course they turned obnoxious once the game actually got under way. I had zero problem with security either day (REA are you listening?). They didn't bother to read any of them nor question me about their content. On Friday, the guy said, "You've got signs?" And I said, "Yep, no larger than the torso of the person holding them; will not obstruct view." He laughed and waved me in. Both days, the cameraman stationed behind the net took a shot of each sign I had (to store for bumpers or something?) and Saturday night said, "When the Sioux score, I'm coming to you for the 'Sioux Xcel at Winning' sign." I noticed when I rewound the tape at home that that one made the broadcast. Were there any pro-Gopher signs or don't they do that?

I thought I'd better make a couple Duluth-specific signs. "UND vs UMD: Only Their Lake is Superior" "Stupid Pet Trick: Roll Over & Play Dead" "Fetch Second Place"

soSIOUXme--Glad you liked the hat. I'll be bringing only about 6-8 with me to the X and expect that my fellow denizens on Al Pearson's bus will snap them up. If someone wants one and will be at tomorrow afternoon's game, I will make one especially for you if you e-mail me your seat number for the Sioux vs. Whoever semi.

Last chance! What signs would you like to see at the X? If you'll be there and will be willing to hold up a sign and have a suitably sized torso (see foregoing discussion of X sign policy), tell me how to find you Friday afternoon.

Let'sGoSioux--would you be such a "volunteer?" Tell me where you are sitting & I will bring you a sign Friday afternoon.

I pulled some dusty ol' signs out of the archives to take to the X. For some reason I had a lot that bash the Gophers, which I figure, at the very least, can be used for the Duluth-Minne semi. Maybe I should make one that says, "You Can't Handle Duluth!--Jack Nicholson in 'A Few Good Men'" It's hard to hate any team that can beat the Gophers. I have the "Crappie/Crappy" sign, "Pried-off-Ice," "Minnesota: The Sorry State of Gopher Hockey," "Potulneys: Call 1-800-JOIN-UND (Tutors Are Standing By)," "Irmen: Yes, Your Credits Transfer (signed) UND Admissions," "Foil Up; Kick Rodent Butt," "R-Zach Beats I-saac". I'll make one for CC & AA, to cover the possibilities. Probably, "Seawolf:The Other Dead Meat" and "Beat the Tigers (signed) Siegfried & Roy." If I can find appropriate graphics, I was thinking about a sign that contrasts Parise & Fournier. It would be headed, "Game Plans" and on the Parise side it would say "Run the Table" with a pool table and billiard balls labelled "Final 5" "Regional" and "Frozen 4." On Fournier's side, it would say "Run TO the Table" and be illustrated with a dining table loaded with food. Any preferences from the ideas previously posted? Be quick about it, please, not much time left.

Wow! Tres impressive. I love song parodies & thought these were just great. Now, if we could only get someone to record them...

This is the answer I got from the Xcel: "Signs brought into Xcel Energy Center cannot be larger than the torso of the person holding it. Signs cannot block the view of anyone beside or behind you." Does the torso start at the shoulder and would its width include arms extended out to the side? Otherwise we may be in trouble because the posters measure 22 x 27 and I don't have very broad shoulders. This sounds like size discrimination to me since Tech's John Scott could hold any of the posters but his teammate Pittis could not.

I sent the Xcel an e-mail asking about its sign policy for the tournament. We'll see what they say.

Diggler & sioux7: Those two, displayed side by side, would be great. Diggler--what? No Separated at Birth mirth?

"It's 7:08. Do You Know Why the Number 1 Team isn't Playing the Night Game?" I'm not happy--but not surprised--about invocation of the "Minnesota Rule," to give the more prestigious night game to the Gophers instead of to the number one seed. We can certainly spin it to our advantage, that playing the afternoon game gives the boys another 5 or so hours to "rest" but the bottom line is the WCHA appeases the Gophers to enhance the gate and the Sioux get the short end of the stick, including, it sounds like, no TV coverage of our semi. No wonder the Gophers are so despised--it's not jealousy; it's the recognition of their continuing tyranny over the rest of us.

For the Gophers at the Ralph, we had a "Diction for Dummies" sign (Woog, that means you!), containing a pronunciation guide. I still have it. It says something like "Smaby (rhymes with baby); Lundbohm (not Lund-Blum) and Bochenski (sounds like goals)" It's kind of hard to cover all the contingencies for opponents when we have no idea who we'll actually draw. I could take the materials with me, covering all possibilities and paste up the signs on game day(s). But, doesn't that sound like a lot of work?!

Thought I'd make it a little easier to separate the wheat from the chaff and create a new thread for ideas for signs for the Final Five. If it looks like deja vu all over again (I mean, "deja Sioux"), you might have read most of these in the "dog tags(signs)" thread in response to a request by siouxyeahyeah. If you've got a Final 5 idea, post it here. "The X Marks the Spot of Sioux Victories" "The Broadmoor, No Less!" "UND 2004 Hardware Inventory: MacNaughton (in stock) Broadmoor, NCAA (on order) "Sioux Xcel at Winning" "Minnesota: The Sorry State of Gopher Hockey" "Bucky Bails; Sioux Xcel" "The Road to Boston: Sioux in the Driver's Seat" "Lucia-Pet Cemetary" "You Can't Shake Jake" "Jones: First Line of Defense" [draw a hockey stick for the "J" in Jones] "Sota! Sota! Gone Flat!!" "Gopher [ or Seawolf or Tiger or Bulldog]: The Other Dead Meat" "Sioux-vivor Hockey: Outshoot, Outskate, Outscore" If push comes to shove... "Everybody was Kung Sioux Fighting..." "Bo-bey Baker" "[picture of Incredible Hulk] ND's Big Greene Monster-- Don't Make Him Mad!" "O Canada! Send More Hockey Players!" "[insert name of Sioux tough guy here] He Bang! He Bang!" "Jones Zone: Hard Hits Only" "Dogs Roll Over & Play Dead" --works for Bulldogs [either Sioux goalie] "Beast in the Crease" [add "sexy" before "beast" if you're so inclined] "The Puck Stops Here" "7-11 Open All Nite" "Bo Knows Goals" [GF's own Bina Baby] "Robbie from the Block Rocks" "Chris Won't Miss" [gone but not forgotten] "St. Cloud: The Patron Saint of Swooning" "Lundy is Da Bohm" "When Zach Attacks, Sioux Win"" "Skates Great! More Fylling!!" "A Pair of Parises Beats a Full House" [assuming Jordy plays, it's good for outnumbered Sioux fans; or change second line to "Beats All These Jokers"] "Behold the Power of Colby" [now let us praise absent friends] "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Badgers"

Supertrex,soSIOUXme, Forecheck & Redwing: Thanks for holding up the signs. The "Deja Sioux" sign was one of the last shots in the broadcast both nights and both nights Sweeney read it wrong, as "Deja Sioux All Over Again"! Guess that's what we get for being so darn clever. Although the "This Tall" idea originated here and I did make the sign, that wasn't my sign down on the glass. Some girls sitting there brought in a couple of signs including the "This Tall" one. The one I made was on back of the "What's an Ellsworth?" sign that soSIOUXme had several rows up. Much better being displayed at ice-level so thank you girls, whoever you are, for that. Did you like the hat, soSIOUXme? One of the ushers and an EMT stopped me and asked how they could get a hat. I brought them each one Saturday night. I've made a few more for the people going to the FF on Al Pearson's bus with me. So, yes, I will be there. I don't know what the Xcel rule is about signs, either. Earlier in this thread, I gave siouxyeahyeah a bunch of ideas for signs since s/he has said they will be going to the FF and wanted to make some. While I think that anyone and everyone who wants to make a sign should, I also think the effort should be coordinated so there aren't 15 "Seawolf:The Other Dead Meat" signs and no "Bucky Bails; Sioux Xcel" signs. I have some leftover signs from our series at home with the Gophers that I could bring to the Xcel on the off chance we meet the Rodents in the championship game. What do you guys want to do? Do you want me to make some new signs and bring them to the X, after getting your approval of the ideas? (Read back through the thread and see the ideas already posted for the FF). I'm sure I can get some of the people from Al's bus to hold them up but it would be so much better to have Sioux friendly signs scattered around the building. I don't know where the seats for Al's Pals are but if you want a sign and can e-mail me your seat number at the X, I can try to get it to you. Unfortunately, unless Al changes the leave time, I don't think our bus is going to get there much in advance of the 2:08 Sioux game. But I could bring the sign to you after the first period.

Forecheck: I don't know where the "Clear Day" sign is. I've made "What's an Ellsworth?" and the GAA/SPF sign. I'll get the hooking sign from the archives and bring it, per your request.

Forecheck: I did make that one already, had to shorten it up to make it fit so that it just says "Tech: Swept So Often, They're Spotless." Not sure what other sign I put it back-to-back with.

"[picture of Incredible Hulk] ND's Big Greene Monster-- Don't Make Him Mad!" "O Canada! Send More Hockey Players!" "[insert name of tough guy here] He Bangs! He Bangs!" "Jones Zone: Hard Hits Only" "Dogs Roll Over & Play Dead" --works for Huskies, works for Bulldogs [either Sioux goalie] "Beast in the Crease" [add "sexy" before "beast" if you're so inclined] "The Puck Stops Here" "7-11 Open All Nite" "Bo Knows Goals" [GF's own Bina Baby] "Robbie from the Block Rocks" "Chris Won't Miss" "St. Cloud: The Patron Saint of Swooning" "Lundy is Da Bohm" "When Zach Attacks, Sioux Win"" "Skates Great! More Fylling!!" "A Pair of Parises Beats a Full House" [assuming Jordy plays, it's good for outnumbered Sioux fans; or change second line to "Beats All These Jokers"] "Behold the Power of Colby" "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Badgers" "Off Wisconsin!" "Grill the Cheeseheads" I made a list of slogans for just about every Sioux player (to use on hats) but can't remember them all right now. Help yourself to any idea you like...

I'm bumping this up to the top in case someone who'll be at the playoff series would like a hat to take into the Final 5 and beyond. This last batch use the "nicer" black felt/plastic hats which have a little more style to them than the green plastic top hats. I've got 4 or 5 left. E-mail your Friday night seat number and I will leave one for you. Again, there's no charge. I've got one that says "Coach is 1st Class" and features Deano's shining face and the notation "Blais of Glory." Another says "Jones 1st Line of Defense" The "J' in Jones is formed by a hockey stick and there's a hockey player at the blue line (Jonesy himself) on top. Others say, "Sioux Xcel at Winning" or "The Final 5: Sioux Xcel." Also, still up for grabs, "Gophers Suck" and "Badgers Suck," each decorated with pacifiers. E-mail me today.