DamStrait

Hard to believe, but has to be. If UMN got 9 of 10 1st place votes, then everyone voted for UMN except Lucia as no coach can vote for his own team. That means only one first place vote left (Lucia's), and it went to UND. Therfore Lucia had to vote for UND. Probably the only decision not totally bereft of morality he's made in the last 5 years .

When the boys played in the old Ralph, I rarely went to games because I had such a tough time securing tickets before making the trip up there. With the new venue, this is much less of a problem. Also, the cost of the tickets is a mere fraction of my total road trip expenses.

Offensive playcalling and offensive penalties are glaring weaknesses. Both point to questionable coaching by the offensive members of the coaching staff.

Wrong!!!! The band should be at every game and have a much more pronounced presence than it currently does. The fight song should be played at every opportunity, with the lyrics displayed on the fascia ring. In fact, all songs played by the band should have their lyrics displayed on the fascia ring. Reduce the amount of piped in music dramatically. This will create a much more collegiate atmosphere.

My apologies CoteauRinkRat, I was just trying to get tony to answer a question with minimal effort on my part. If it's bothering serious posters on this site, I'll stop. It's pretty apparent my efforts in this vein will never bear fruit anyway.

Why does the Herald charge more for their Saturday and Sunday editions? Is it because of increased demand due to a better product? Why doesn't the Herald produce a product the level of the Sunday edition everyday? What's the saying about people that live in glass houses?

Troll

What an intellectually bankrupt putz. What does the Farmer's Almanac have to do with NDSU's nickname?

Yeah, that's revealing your source, alright. Troll

I don't think I've said anything about SDSU moving other than I wished that they and the rest of the NCC would look at moving up together one more time. The gist of what I've had to say about NDSU going up is that it was the building of REA and UND winning the football title that precipitated their move. That and Clear Channel Comm. broadcasting UND football and hockey across the state. And I said that, what, like a year or more ago? If you can't take what UND fans say about UND's rivals, maybe you should refuse to visit this site. Sometimes you have something worth saying. Most of the time and more and more you a just a knee-jerk paranoid UND hating troll. We are all aware that you consider NDSU to be the most perfect institution of higher learning in the history of mankind, and that you also consider UND to be the most vile institution of any kind ever to exist. Come back when you have something new to say.

Regarding your first paragraph: Reveal your sources. I honestly want to know the skinny on this. Forgive me if I don't take your word for it. Regarding your second paragraph: The UND-Crookston arrangement no longer exists, so it's time to quit beating that dead horse. UND is not a threat to the "superconferences" in hockey revenue because as a DII institution, they do not share in NCAA tourney revenues even should they win the crown. Basketball and baseball are also Olympic sports, as is wrestling etc. Football is the only non-Olympic sport of any consequence that is typically sponsored by US colleges and universities. So your "Olympic" reference is not accurate (or cute or funny or relevant, for that matter). Regarding your fourth paragraph: I believe the Sicatoka has gone on record (as have a large number, maybe even a majority, of UND fans frequenting this site, myself included) as saying he thinks UND ought to go DI. Try coming back when you are in a better mood.

I got mine with my men's tix.

Pot to Kettle: You're black!

What do you mean? All a Sioux player needs to win it is just to set the (still standing) single season record for points What, you think the bar is too high? I also find it interesting to note that Bo didn't make cstv's list.

Believe me, I wish I could say that there is no way that UMN will 3-peat and mean it, but I can't. Truth is they'll be one of the 10 (maybe even as low as 6) or so teams that have a legit shot at the title. I include, hopefully not because of Kelly green tinted glasses, the Sioux in this elite group as well. UMN has won the last two with slightly better than crap goaltending. That's more than a bit unsettling to me. As Sagard points out, sure UMN got some good luck the last couple of years, but they had a lot of bad luck the previous 22.

I would love REA to do something about this along the lines of the game webcasts. I know I'd pay a few bucks to be able to listen to archived coaches' shows. Maybe another angle for Sioux Illustrated to work?

Ever hear of a guy by the name of Schweitzer?

Lucia definitely belongs. B-to-b NCs are a rare thing. I've lost a lot of respect for him recently as a person, for lack of a better word (since I don't know him personally), but as a coach, the results speak for themselves.

Nothing personal against either Brandt or Ranfranz, and without considering their stats, the fact is, I'm just not confident with either of them in the net. In tough games, it seems like they play just well enough to let one more in than the opposition. I'm looking for a 'tender that makes all the saves he should, makes a few he shouldn't, and exudes confidence for all. That's my opinion, I claim no special knowledge, it's just coming from a die-hard Sioux fan callin' 'em as he sees 'em.

This one's gonna be long. I love the owner's argument: "Keep me from spending too much of my money!" "Well gee Mr. Owner, I'd love to take your offer, but it's really just too much. Why don't we settle on half that amount and sit down together for a nice lemonade." When have any of the owners turned down what somebody's offered them? "I appreciate the public's willingness to supply me a new arena, but this old one's really just fine with a few renovations that'd cost only a quarter of what a new one will." Spend within your means, do the hard work of developing home-grown talent (through drafts and trades for diamonds-in-the-rough), hire smart hockey people, and you'll be fine. In my opinion, there isn't any 'New York Yankees' of the NHL with revenue sources that dwarf those of any other team in the league, so if everyone spends within their means, there will be de facto revenue sharing without any need to renegotiate the labor agreement (or thus have a lockout/strike). If the NHL does go on strike, does that mean ESPN?/ABC will partially fill the vacancies in the broadcast shedule with NCAA hockey? Nevermind.. I already know the answer to that...

To heck with the name change crowd, they'll whine anyway, short of total capitulation on the issue. Make 'em the sharpest sweaters period. Aim to please those that pay the bills and vote by putting their butts in seats.

I'd like a sweater change, but not from light at home and dark on the road. I'd like the boys to go to a more 'old school' style. Have the road sweaters a non-shiny green with a bigger new Sioux logo and no 'Sioux' lettering on the front. Horizontal not diagonal stripes. An interlocking 'UND' on one shoulder and a 'S' or maybe an outline of the state with crossed tomahawks or maybe one tomahawk and one arrow crossing. Laced collars. Home would be the same except on white. Uni's like that would be like spotting the Sioux two goals each game.

McFeely's got it all wrong here. The average 'SUer hates UND much more than the average UNDer hates 'SU, IMHO. Also, what's the sudden badmouthing of UND's schedule all about? It's not like 'SU hasn't frequently scheduled that powerhouse Moorhead State. McFeely is right about one thing though. The game is more important to 'SU than it is to UND. Thomas is just trying to find out how much more important. He'll sign, but only after he feels he's gotten all he can out of 'SU. That's just looking out for #1.

It's never a good idea to have a Sioux goaltender as a captain. He can't communicate with his team because play is always in the other end.

What do the boys need? Confidence. If they have that, they have enough of everything else to be a very special team. Preseason progostication is a very iffy thing, however. I think both the '97 and Hrkac Circus (if you can believe it!) title teams were picked to finish 5th in the WCHA in preseason polls. But nonetheless, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.