edo1313

You can bet on what you think other people think all you want, but the fact that there has been no FBI investigation regarding the public's opinion of Ralph is what I wanted to point out. All I was saying in that post is that many of the people who have heard of Ralph Engelstad also know of the allegations surrounding the Nazi-themed parties. I've seen it with my own eyes on enough occasions to know that not everyone views UND's connection to Ralph Engelstad as good. And regardless of what any FBI report says, the fact remains that there ARE people who automatically associate Ralph's name to the controversy instead of his good deeds. It sucks, it really does, but that's the truth. I'm not going to personally judge whether or not Ralph was a good guy or not. All I'm saying is that I still think the comments made in the Michigan column surrounding Ralph Engelstad were not that outrageous. After all, Ralph did have an extensive collection of Nazi memorabilia, so it is pretty safe to say that he was probably not completely disgusted with the Nazi party. As a person who donated more than $100 million to the University of North Dakota - a public institution - he opened the door for people to criticize him. We all know that public figures are subject to intense scrutiny.

That's pretty funny. ... but not true.

If you want to believe that he was fined that much for just having a collection of memorabilia that's your choice. Personally, I find that a little hard to believe. I guess maintaining his gaming license was more important than clearing his name.

Here's a fact: Ralph Engelstad was fined $1.5 million by the Nevada Gaming Control Board because of allegations surrounding Nazi-themed parties he threw. It was a settlement between Engelstad's attorneys and the board. Obviously, there is some substance behind the allegations. If you want to view Ralph Engelstad as a hero, that is your choice. Keep in mind though, that he has done things that others see as shady.

Has the FBI done a four-year study on how the general public views Ralph Engelstad? The question is not whether he was actually a Nazi sypathizer, it is how people view him. I worked at the World Juniors for Hockey Canada, and there were plenty of Canadian journalists who had questions regarding Ralph and possible Nazi activity. Someone can be best remebered for something that isn't true. For example, Josh may best remembered on this message board for being a supposedly lousy journalist, who doesn't look into what he says. However, both his position at the Michigan Daily and the fact that he has been accepted to law school suggest otherwise. Whether or not Ralph Engelstad was a Nazi sympathizer has nothing to do with whether or not people think of him as one. It's sad, but labels stick on people. Josh is not the first columnist to use a generalization in a column. Rick Reilly (Sports Illustrated) does it quite often in his work (a piece that completely bashes Detroit Redwing fans comes to mind first). I'm sure Redwing fans thought is was a little libelous, but I, along with many other readers, thought it was hilarious.

You cover UND hockey for uscho.com and have never heard anyone from the UND community speaking out against Ralph Engelstad or the Ralph Engelstad Arena? Sounds like there is another "journalist" on this message board who should do a little more research in his reporting. Get off your pedestal.

As a fellow college newspaper editor, I am going to step in and defend Josh. The piece he wrote was an opinion piece. He is not trying to uncover any scandal here, what he states is his opinion. He made it clear that he doesn't necessarily hold Ralph in the same regard as many of you do. Deal with it. He has his opinions, you have yours. I think it is entirely unfair to criticize his journalistic integrity when he merely stated his opinion in the appropriate section of a newspaper. By the way, there are people on the UND campus who don't think very highly of Ralph as well, so its not like Josh's thoughts are anything new. As for Josh, as a UND student ... I would take the atmosphere at a Big Ten basketball game over a UND game that is housed in an arena with entirely too many seats any day.

I agree that we should all accept the fact that Matt Greene is human and made a mistake, but at the same time, humans who make mistakes must deal with the consequences of those mistakes. To be honest, I've never been a big fan of Matt Greene. His decisions on the ice can be questionable, and now, his decisions off the ice have come under fire. I think a lot of the problems for the Sioux this year result from a lack of leadership and discipline, and - in my opinion - it starts with the player who is wearing the C.