bincitysioux

IMO, yes. I've said all along that they should have kept playing. I just have maintained that the reason he gave, in football anyways, was warranted: because it hurts playoff chances at the time. Same reason that Taylor doesn't want to play in 2008 which is a solid reason that I agree with. Now, explain to me why he doesn't want to play in 2007? Stupid is as stupid does.

Well there you have it then, I would be concerned if the leader of my university's athletic department felt netting $90,000 is better than netting $200,000. I wasn't a business major, but I know stupid when I see it.

Oh yeah, the best quote of the interview by far was when Gene Taylor said, "it is not a matter of if the rivalry will resume, but when." That ought to really set off Lakesbison!

Here are my thoughts on today's interview: As always, Bunning was a class act and represented UND extremely well. When asked by Big Ed what it will take to resume the rivalry as early as 2007, Bunning replied, "I'm ready". Also, I was a little worried that Buning may come off as "begging" NDSU for a game. Obviously, this is not the case as UND football for the last 4-5 years has experience all-time highs in attendance and televison covereage. He did great job to point out that both A.D.s, know the importance of a rivalry as Buning came from Army, and Taylor came from Navy. As already reported, Taylor had reservations, saying yes, it would probably make sense for 2007 with the scheduling situations at both schools, but he was reluctant to schedule for 2007 because with NDSU being playoff eligible in 2008 there was no way that he would consider a non-counter on the schedule in 2008, so he felt it would be unfair to players, coaches, and fans, to play the game for one year, and then have to discontinue it for a indeterminable amount of time. He also threw out that it would be unfair to play only in football to other coaches and not in the other sports. I had to chuckle to myself the way that Gene Taylor mentioned that Roger Thomas basically put a stop to the rivalry and the reason was because in 2004 the playoff implications were a serious factor for a DII (UND) playing a DI (NDSU). He said that since Buning came to UND, they have had open converstions about the games. But now, when the shoe is on the other foot, he doesn't want to play UND because it will potentially hurt NDSU's playoff chances in 2008. I completely understand that philosophy, just as I did in 2003 when UND decided not to play NDSU in the 2004 season...........................why, because it would have hurt their playoff chances. I personally see alot less benefit for NDSU playing UND in 2008 than in 2007. Had UND moved up first and was at the same point in transition that NDSU currently is, I would absolutely feel the same way. However, it appears to me that apparently Gene Taylor may have learned something about being an A.D. form Roger Thomas. As I try to examine the situation from an objective point of view (as objective as a die-hard Sioux fan can, that is ) , I gathered this: If I were an NDSU booster/alumni/fan I would be very upset. To claim that NDSU has a significant amount of schools willing to come to Fargo that would generate the same amount of interest as a UND football game in Fargo is laughable. The reason I would be upset is because I know that college athletics is many things, but first and foremost, it is a business. And, IMHO, it is bad business to assume that it would be good business to turn down a sure sell-out crowd on my home field. To add to that, it would be a game that would provide statewide network TV exposure, along with cable TV coverage in the tri-state area. If I had a vested interest in NDSU athletics, I don't see how paying a guarantee of $30,000-50,000 to get a DII or a willing (likely low-interest) FCS school which would probably draw around 12,000-13,000 fans would be more desireable/beneficial/profitable to NDSU than having a team that offers a sure sell-out come to Fargo for apparently free. Economics 101, people, do they offer that course anywhere in Fargo?

I know funny, and that is funny! I know just exactly what you are referring to PCM, and that too is a funny comment!

Chief Illiniwek will perform his final dance at halftime of tonights basketball game. There is about 2:00 left in the first half and it is on ESPNU.

Uugggghhh!!!! Having listening to and watching virtually every game this season, and attending as many in person as I could, it is very frustrating to me know that this team is probably going to finish dead last in the NCC this season. They are so athletic and have so much potential it is very disappointing. Even going into this past weekend, we still had an outside chance at fourth place and getting a home NCC Tourney game. Ain't gonna happen now, and it ticks me off because this team which is 3-8 in the NCC could just as easily be 10-1. That's right, the only game that we've been out of was the one down in Vermillion. Now, it looks like we're gonna see the Coyotes for a third time this season as they'll most likely be hosting us in the first round of the tournament. So here is what we need to do. We need to take care of business this week in Duluth. What is sad is that I feel that UMD is by far the weakest team in the leauge, yet they still beat us on our home court. If we can head into the tourney, most likely at South Dakota, on a winning note (hopefully a convincing winning note) then I still feel a slight glimmer of hope that the way these kids have played this year that they can maybe make a little noise in the tourney. It is a long shot, but they've shown potential all year. It would be nice to see them cultivate that potential into success.

Well then, Doug Collins, Del Harris, and Kurt Rambis would have loved to have been Forrest Gump's coaching staff. I say congratulations to Phil Jackson. Whether you like his politics or not, it is wonderful to see a native of North Dakota make the acheivements he has and now be recognized for it. At the very least, now the Sioux coaching staff can not only say that UND has had more players and coaches go on to the NBA than any other school in North Dakota, but now they can say that we have had more NBA hall-of-famers than any other school in the state of North Dakota.

Thanks, NDSUgrad for the vote of confidence. It says alot when a fan of a FCS school feels that a DII team can assume a game against a fully funded FCS team from the strongest FCS conference will result in a sure win for the DII squad.

Coach Lennon was defensive coordinator for UND from 1990-1996. I believe he is the one who installed the 3-4 defense geared toward thwarting NDSU's veer offense.

Herald article about DI scheduling for baseball and soccer.

I think you mean my new Chopper. But I'll let you take it for spin at about a quarter after 10:00 tomorrow night!

I have to disagree with you here Hammer. Most NDSU fans like to blame Bob Babich for the "demise" of NDSU football in the late 90's and early 2000's, but that just isn't fair. Rocky Hager and Dale Lennon were the real culprits. Hager will never get blamed because he took two of Earl Slomonson's teams to the promised land but then Lennon showed the rest of the country how to beat the vaunted "Veer" offense. The only really really good NDSU football team in the last 16 years was Babich's 2000 team. His reward?......... A trip to the Super Bowl and the everlasting disdain of Bison fans across the country. You can claim all you want that going from 2-8 in 2002 to 8-3 in 2003 was the reason for a 17% increase in football attendance for your inaugural year in DI, but if that is the case, what was the reason for SDSU's 35% increase in football attendance from 2003 to 2004? The answer: hype.

I wasn't arguing that and I don't know that Youmens is a better player. I think that Bledsoe and Youmens are extremely similar players in almost every way. They are both shooters and scorers. They both think score first, pass second. But I think all season long, Youmens has been asked to be the "quarterback" of the offense. Despite being almost a mirror image of Youmens, Bledsoe has not been asked to do as much in his starting role as Youmens was, Coach Jones adjusted and started splitting point duties with Boyce. It is probably because Bledsoe is a freshman and Youmens is a more seasoned junior. Personally, I think Youmens has been one of the most unselfish players all season long. He was used to scoring 25+ points per game in JC, but has worked hard to adjust to playing the point and getting more players involved. Despite Bledsoe's wonderful effectiveness over the last 3 or 4 games and the promise he has shown since being inserted into the starting lineup, he needs to do more to involove the rest of the TEAM.

But is that because Bledsoe is more willing to distribute the ball than Youmens, or is it because Youmens was being asked to play the point whereas Boyce has actually been playing the point since Bledsoe has been starting? Both Bledsoe and Youmens obviously have a scorer's mentality. I would guess a true point guard will be on the top of the recruiting list for next year.

Coach Jones said on the coach's show this week that Koenig is day-to-day with cracked ribs. I don't know about Dryburgh, but a puncured lung sounds pretty serious. Can we realistically expect him to participate in practice or games again at all this season?

Is Youmens still not playing because of suspension? On the coaches' show this week, Jones said he hoped that Youmens would be available this week. But he never mentioned anything about injury. Obviously I don't know the circumstances behind the altercation that caused Youmens and Lenhertz to be suspended, but if Lenhertz is playing, why isn't Youmens? I hope it is not just because Lenhertz is a big guy and we are desperately short-handed down low. I don't think Youmens' absence was the cause of either loss, although having him contribute would have surely helped. The USD game was vintage Sioux basketball of the 2006-07 season: control play throughout the game and then give it away in the final 7-8 minutes. That has to stop, and time is running out. The UMD game was just a bad game against a bad team, it was the entire team's fault. UND is a much better and more talented team than the Bulldogs, even if they were shorthanded. This team could just as easily be in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in the leauge. Before the final homestand started last week, we were in perfect position to get fourth place and get a home game in the NCC tourney. Now the chances are slim and none, and after last night slim may have left the building. Except for the game in Vermillion, UND has had the opportunity to beat the top 3 teams in the leauge, narrowly losing to Minnestoa St. twice, USD once, SCSU once (and beating them once). If we could have gotten that first round home game, I would have liked UND's chances of getting into the NCC final four and having a serious chance to win it. On a positive note, Travis Bledsoe has really stepped up since being inserted into the starting lineup, not only being effective, but being effective in pressure situations as he was last night when he hit two 3-pointers in the final minute. It will be alot of fun to watch him play for the Sioux over the next 3 years.

UND 53 USD 52 7 minutes left

UND leads South Dakota 34-32 at halftime

I don't think any UND fans are or should be pissed off because NDSU football attendance is double what UND's is. NDSU was arguably the most successful DII football program of all time. It is a football school, located in a football town/metro area that also just happens to have roughly 3 times the population than that of the city where UND plays football, which is a secondary sport in that city and at that school. I agree 100%. And it will likely happen. What was the attendance difference when both schools were DII, a couple thousand? NDSU and SDSU saw sharp spikes solely because they moved to DI, and I don't think there is anything that would suggest otherwise for when UND jumps up. If I were an NDSU fan though, I might be a little pissed that it took the novelty of a move to DI to create such a disparity in attendence, when Fargo has had a fan-base that is potentially 3 times larger to draw from.

Got em', thanks!

Looking for 3 in the lower bowl for this Saturday against Duluth. Offering $30/ticket. pm or email: jci@invisimax.com

The way that this team has played this year, they could just as easily be sitting with a 5-2 NCC record this year rather than at 2-5. When the NCC tourney starts, nobody is going to want to play this Sioux team. Looking ahead, we have home games left against Auggie, Duluth, and USD, and road games against UNO & Duluth. It is not entirely out of the realm of possiblities that UND could go 4-1 over their last five games. Augustana still has to play Minnesota St., SCSU, and USD. If UND takes care of business, we could possibly finish as high as 4th and get a home game in the NCC tourney. A win against Auggie this week would put us in a tie for fourth place. I see in Bakken's blog that he said that the reason Youmens & Lenhertz are suspended was due to some sort of "skirmish".

With only 3 home games on the docket, I'd say at the very least the door is somewhat ajar.

It seems as if swimming & diving has the best chance to find a DI conference home early on, and hopefully continue to be a successful program as well. They will most likely be the two programs that are designated to qualify for the post-season early. While the Horizon would be much more attractive, I'd still prefer to forge an early association with the Mid-Con, which could also use swimming members, to strengthen our chances of getting all of our teams into that leauge. That is of course only if the Big Sky doesn't add UND.