Rick

When Ball State played the "haves" (Iowa, Auburn & Boston College) last year they were outscored 157-3. Iowa ended the season at 7-5 so they weren't a dominant team, but they beat Ball State 56-0. When you look at BC's schedule and who they beat, and who they lost to, I'm not sure BC is one of the "haves" either, but they beat Ball State 38-0. I haven't been a huge fan of moving to D1aa because I feel UND is already at that level. I've always felt that if you're going to add the cost of 27 extra scholarships to be a "have" in D1aa (and you're already at that level with just 36 scholarships), why not add a few more and be a "have not" in D1. The Gophers are a "have not" in D1 football, since we already are heated rivals of Minnesota & Wisconsin, and we also have a D1 national championship rival in hockey with Boston College, Michigan, Michigan State, and we play teams like Notre Dame during the season.....would it make sense to look beyond D1aa? What are the advantages of being a bottom feeder in D1a football vs. being an annual national championship contender in D1aa? Or are there any?

With a little bit of luck Ball State will end up with another 4-7 win/loss record this year. It shouldn't be a shock to anyone when a top DII team beats a top D1aa team, and it shouldn't be any shock when a top DII or D1aa team beats a bottom feeder in the D1a ranks. D1a bottom feeders are, at best, equal to top DII or top D1aa programs. This has been proven over and over again, but everytime a top DII or top D1aa team beats an opponent that is a level above them people get excited. I think the only advantage the higher levels have is that they have more players. So if a key player gets hurt at a top DII program, they probably have to replace that player with a walk-on. If a key player gets hurt at a D1 or D1aa program, they replace that player with another full scholarship player.

I knew I had left someone off the list. It's an impressive group.

I think you might be wrong on your Genoway assessment. I'm hearing some very good things about Chay. I guess we'll see once the season gets going, but he's being compared with some of the past Sioux greats who were of similar size. I guess I won't toss out names of who he's being compared to, because then we'll expect him to be like that player the first time he steps on the ice. We'll never be able to compare him with Commodore, Greene & Smaby, but, by the time he completes his Sioux career, we might talking about him in the same sentance as some of the smaller Sioux All-American defensemen we've had over the last 20 years. These players were great college defensemen, but never made it at the NHL level because of their size. So, Genoway will make the team at a capacity much more than what your indicating above. With Chorney, Lee, Jones, Bina & Finley coming back, it will be interesting to see where he fits in this year.

Uh, sharper than what?

If you're asking whether both had brothers that played here, I'd say no. It's no secret that Jonathan Toews younger brother wants to play at UND. Even during the NHL draft last spring they reported that he would be following Jon to play for the Sioux. Now that he's back at SSM, we'll be able to watch his progress. While it would be hard to be as good as Jonathan Toews, most observers say that David Toews is as good, or better, than his older brother. Only time will tell. The other kid is most likely a kid UND had in for a visit two years ago during a Gopher series and is playing in Western Canada now. There is a lot of talent in out in Western Canada right now and it's too bad we won't have room for all of them, but hopefully we'll get most of them. One kid I'd like to see in a Sioux uniform is Cam Lamoureux. His dad played for the Sioux in the mid '70s and was a very good player and is a very good friend. Unfortunately, we didn't have very good teams then so Roger didn't win a championship. I believe he lead the Sioux in scoring though. Cam is a first year player in the AJHL and is expected to be a leader on his team. He also has a younger brother who will probably be even better than Cam. He'll be one of the top players taken in the MJ draft next year.

I think you're right. All you need to do is look any direction from Fargo and you can throw a stone and hit another university. Go West 50 miles and you have Valley City State University. Go North 50 miles and you have Mayville State University. Go South and you have NDSCS. Go East and you have MSUM and Concordia. Go down the street a few block and you have the UND Fargo Campus. The logical thing to do is to eliminate NDSU.

Richie, Chaps and J.Q. all seem to be suffering from some form of dementia. J.Q. and Chaps couldn't remember the conversations they had with other board members regarding Dr. Potts either. And didn't Chaps' memory go blank after his conversation with another university president in which he told her Dr. Potts was going to be asked to resign at the next State Board meeting? Perhaps all three of these guys could benefit from a fruit basket stuffed with apples.... http://health.msn.com/centers/alzheimers/a...entid=100143897 Now, if it works for lab mice, could it possibly work for rats also?

For years, NDSU and Bison fans have been desperately trying convince themselves that they were as good as UND. But the Fighting Sioux were dominating on the football field and winning all the athletic glory. UND had one of the greatest NCAA D1 hockey programs in the country and were routinely playing schools like Michigan, Wisconsin, Harvard, Boston College, Yale, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Michigan State and others for conference championships and NCAA national championships. UND also had a great Medical School, Law School, Engineering School and the top Aviation School in the country, so there was never any question which institution was the Flagship University in North Dakota. But somehow, the NDSU folks had to try and convince themselves that they were as good as UND. So Chapman comes along and figures the only chance he has of closing the gap is to move Bison football to D1aa. The slick snake-oil salesman realizes the Bison crowd is willing to buy anything he is willing to sell. So he sells them on the idea that d1aa is a huge jump and that this will set the football team and NDSU on equal footing with the University of North Dakota. At that time, the Bison were looking at starting a D1 hockey program, but then Ralph Engelstad built the Sioux a $110MM arena and Smoky Joe realized the Bison would be playing in the CHA with the rest of their peer group and they would have no chance of proclaiming themselves equals to UND or being competitive with Fighting Sioux Hockey. So, the snake-oil salesman starts telling any Bison fan willing to listen that d1aa is the pinnacle of college football. Then the Bison go into Montana and beat the Grizzlies. After that game, Smokey Joe now has a Bison following that David Koresch or Warren Jeffs would be proud of. Bison fans start believing they are so good that the Big Sky Conference will be begging them to join. Some Bison fans are even thinking that they might want to skip d1aa and move right on to D1. They are convinced that the Stream Yellow boys are the equal of Florida State, USC and Michigan. The magnitude of the control that Smokey Joe had over his flock was so great that it is beyond the understanding of most people. Well, that all came tumbling down Saturday afternoon. Once again, something that every sane person in the country knows was again verified

Are you a Seminole? If not, and if the Seminole's don't have a problem with it, why should you?

I'm not sure (I'll have to first check with the NCAA or Doreen YB), but I think I was offended last night??? I watched the Miami Hurricanes play the Florida State Seminoles and I was forced to listen to the FSU fans doing the war chant all night. Not only that, but I noticed all the FSU football players have feathers painted on their helmets. I think I was offended by that also. This game was on primetime TV, so countless numbers of people were subjected to this demeaning, degrading and disgusting display. The FCC should require the NCAA to warn viewers that what they're about to see will be offensive, but that FSU refuses to change their Native American nickname, logo and imagery. We can only hope that young people didn't hear the chanting. It's probably too late for anyone over 18 because we've been subjected to this disgusting practice too many times. The damage has been done. We need to save the youngons though. I urge everyone to write to Miles Brand and demand the NCAA force FSU to discontinue all forms of Native American imagery. Seminole people all over the country are being degraded by FSU but they don't realize it. Miles needs to educate them. I don't know how anyone could sit and watch that game last night and not be offended. How many more lives have to be ruined before something is done?

No, but his mom will.

Well, call me shocked. Another politician from Fargo tries to blame Potts for the mess Chapman created. Who's "facts" should we believe.....the North Dakota Attorney Generals, or Chapman's District 27 Lap-dog???

I agree, Winnett isn't a loss. The best target is still out in Western Canada and the Sioux are very much in the running for him.

That have been reported/released.

Since I can't post pictures, I'll just provide a link. http://www.angelfire.com/film/cowboystars/ciscokid.htm

Now if we pick up a recruit that has a name similar to Poncho, we can have "Cisco & Poncho". I bet PCM remembers that combo.

He and Oshie might still be stuck in traffic trying to get out of WE Fest.

I don't think he was on their radar screen.

Actually, it's kind of funny. Kessel goes into last year as the consensus #1 pick. He goes to the Gophers and drops to #5. Toews goes in as a top 10 pick, goes to the Sioux and get drafted at #3. Toews gets offered the max to play in the NHL and turns it down so he can play with the Sioux again. Kessel is begging the Bruins to offer him a couple bags of popcorn to get out of Dinkytown and they are still negotiating. It's really interesting the different character of players the two programs are recruiting. A few years ago it was Zach Parise vs. Thomas Vanek. Now it's Jonathan Toews vs. Phil Kessel. Parise and Toews.....very articulate, lots of character, model citizens, excellent students, great teammates, great hockey players, etc, etc. Vanek and Kessel.....hmm, well, they're very good hockey players. :-)

I see Brad Becker quite a bit. His oldest son and my son played against each other all the way through Bantams.

Actually, I never lived in a dorm. Although I was at Squires quite a bit. Hank's official room was in Walsh, but probably spent just as many nights in Squires. :-)

Haven't heard anything on Cruiser for quite a while. I was to Toronto several years ago and Rick Clubbe picked me up at my hotel and we went out on the town. Clubby stays in touch with Cruiser. If you knew these guys, you probably knew Roger Lamoureax also. He came through Alex a couple years ago and stopped by. He's still living in Calgary. He has two sons (Cam and Greg) who are very good hockey players. The oldest one is a Junior (I think) in high school and Roger is hoping they'll be able to play for the Sioux some day. If you do a Google search you can probably find them. The older one played for the AAA Calgary Buffalo Midgets last year and was drafted by the Saskatoon Blades Major Junior team. He has to decide whether he's going MJ or college. The younger one played for the AAA Buffalo Bantam Rangers last year. He has great wheels and really lights it up. I think he was their captain.

But he now carries a gun. And can probably still run faster in skates across concrete than dagies can run in gym shoes on land. That doesn't scare Dagies. Let me speak for Dagies here....he says, "bring him on....give me your best shot Archie......your mama wears combat boots....you're washed up Archie....you're a has-been....Dagies is the new sheriff in town....I pack some heat of my own Archie." (Remember Archie, this is Dagies talking, I know where he lives and works if you'd like his contact info)

He ain't as tough as he used to be.....I think Dagies can take him.