82SiouxGuy

The original Spud was built along the Red Lake River, right beside the Louis Murray Bridge that goes across to the Point in East Grand Forks. The parking lot was mainly along the north side of the building. The foundation started to slide into the river. So they decided to tear that building down and built a new building on the north side of the parking lot, and put a parking lot over the old building. I believe that it became Whiskey Point or Whiskey something for a little while, then became a non-alcoholic club for a little while. I'm not sure what is in that building right now. The Level 7 went away in the early 80s. Another bar took it's place for a little while, and then bars left that building. There is now a restaurant in part of that space. That is all part of what used to be known as the Holiday Mall in East Grand Forks, a building that is now known as the Riverwalk Centre Mall that now hosts the River Cinema 12 movie theater. And for UND85, Ma Barkers is now a gas station and office space. I used to hang out at Ma Barkers a lot. Almost all of the places from my youth have changed, and not all for the better.

At the original Spud on Friday afternoons. That was before the bar started to sink into the Red Lake River. I don't remember if they had buck pitchers at the new Spud.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. And for everyone that is traveling, I hope that you have a safe trip and can safely return home after the weather clears.

Easy to say. Unfortunately not as easy to fulfill.

Saying "don't care about the Sioux name" is probably way too strong for most people. A lot of people care about the name, but either have gotten tired of the constant battle or realize that it may have to be changed for a variety of reasons, yet they support the University and the Athletic Department. A lot of us realize that as great as the name and logo are, there are things that are more important. I'm certainly not a big money supporter and I am not going to try to speak for them. I think the range of feeling on the issue is all over the board. A name change will definitely affect donations for this facility and for the rest of the University. But I don't think that anyone can really accurately determine exactly how much a potential name change will affect any of the donations.

They were within range at half time against a Big 12 team. That was probably over-achieving for this year's team. It sounds like they played more to their usual level in the second half. It would have been very difficult for them to play over their heads for a full game.

I agree, at this point you probably don't want to move Chay. You can rotate most of the other defensemen, especially Marto, LaPoint, Gleason and Fienhage. One game off every other weekend isn't a bad thing. Include Blood and MacWilliams if they seem to need a break, for instance if Blood has a game where he takes several bad penalties you give him a day off to get back on track. Marto and Gleason are also candidates to play a little bit at forward if needed, I think Marto might have done so at least 1 game last year. And there could be more injuries to deal with later in the season. Several key players have missed time in the latter part of the season during the past several years. It's nice to have some options, and extra parts to move around.

Sorry, I don't buy that the hockey team will be affected that much, and don't see how they will be sacrificed. People are still going to attend the games, the Ralph isn't going anyplace and the team will still have the equipment they need. Donations will probably decrease for a while if the name is changed, but I don't think it will be as bad as some imagine. And the fortunes of the basketball team could change quickly. In basketball you only need 2 or 3 good players to make a huge difference. Making a major decision that will affect the future of the entire Athletic Department based on a bad basketball team this year is very short sighted. Getting into a regular conference is very important for the future of the basketball teams, volleyball, soccer, track, baseball, softball and other sports.

The Summit does have other options that would be able to fill the holes in the league. The question is whether they will take those options or are willing to work with UND. Also, there are questions about how much work will have to be done at REA and when it will have to be done. There is a schedule set up in the court settlement, but REA was not a party to that agreement. Therefore they can't be forced to change anything. The NCAA may have a problem with UND using that facility, but that problem will be worked out in some way. It's possible that the agreement could be modified to replace symbols as needed, in other words they would be replaced when that feature needs to be fixed or upgraded. Or another arrangement could be made. So it is hard to predict at this time what the bill would be in the REA if the nickname is changed.

I think that those of us who attended the World Junior tournament held at the REA witnessed the intensity that Canadians bring to the tourney. It really is one of their major sporting events each year. I'm pretty sure that it is much more important to them than it is to any other country. And they know how to have a good time. I paid attention to the tournament for years, mainly because so many UND players were in the tournament. But my level of interest has increased a lot since I was able to attend most of the games held here in Grand Forks. It was a great tournament and a great experience. A lot of other people in the region seem to have the same feelings. But you are right, most of the United States has no clue about this tournament or how big it is for our neighbors to the North. And I join you in hoping that the boys in red, white and blue can find a way to disappoint the boys with the red and white maple leafs.

No they haven't. But they are among the most talented hockey players of their age in the entire country. Talent and skill can make a huge difference.

Don't forget that Team USA had a camp last summer where they spent a lot of time together. And many of them have played together on other teams over the years. So it isn't like this is the first time they have played together.

I believe that the SBoHE were using a February 2010 date originally. If they didn't think they were making any progress with the tribes by that point they were going to start the process of replacing the name with a final decision probably coming before school started in August 2010.

Roger Thomas spent a year or 2 with Toronto right before returning to UND as the head coach. But I don't see Mussman going anywhere for at least a couple of years unless something better opens up.

Tibesar isn't going all the way down to a position coach in FCS unless he has no better options. I think he is fine in Montreal for at least a little while since they had a great year. And his experience should give him a good shot at a coordinator position in FBS or a head coach position at FCS or Division II. All of those options would probably be better than a position coach in FCS.

It doesn't "have to". But it could very well take a year or longer. Tribal affairs work at their own pace, not necessarily the same as Federal or State government affairs. But if they wanted to move the issue through the system it could look something like, December the Tribal Council agrees to allow a referendum, January the nickname proponents get petitions signed and present to the Council, Council sets election for February or March, election is held and if it passes, Tribal Council allows use of nickname in March. Of course the chances of it happening in that time frame are pretty slim.

$15 each ticket gets you in to watch some of the best young hockey players in the world. Send me a PM and we will make arrangements to get the tickets to you.

I believe that UND has a similar policy regarding tuition waivers for the children of employees, but I don't know the details.

You are correct. If my memory serves me, they were very focused on the number of tuition waivers that UND used to keep the athletic department out of the red. I'm sure that NDSU wouldn't stoop to such a practice.

It also helps the schools increase the education level of their employees. I believe that all full time employees are given up to 3 credits of tuition waiver per semester. That is 1 regular class per semester. A lot of employees take advantage of it to work on regular degrees or graduate degrees, probably a lot more than would if they had to pay for it. So the schools end up with a more educated work force, probably not a bad thing for an institute of higher learning.

It really depends on the set up and the reason for the tuition waivers. A lot of waivers are given to employees or to graduate assistants. Giving them scholarships would probably have tax implications of some kind, the money received for working would be considered income. Or there might be laws about connecting scholarships with work. There might be other reasons that giving a tuition waiver might be more desirable than awarding scholarships. In most cases tuition waivers are a pretty cost effective reward for employees. Not collecting tuition would be a bigger problem in my mind.

I don't feel like going back to look for sure, but I will take a shot. Ralph sent the letter (I believe it went to Kupchella because he was reviewing the nickname issue and then the SBoHE stepped in) during construction of the Ralph. Since that opened during the Fall of 2001 I believe it was during the winter of 1999-2000. And IIRC it was August 2005 that the NCAA announced the ban on Native American nicknames.

It seems like they have kept quiet since the flurry of publicity last spring. They don't want bad PR and got at least a little when it looked like they were sticking their noses into a situation that didn't affect them, so that may be why they are so quiet. Unless UND has been notified otherwise, they will have to follow the schedule that was established last spring. I don't mind being in the dark if UND knows what is going on. My biggest concern is whether they are getting the information they need to make the best decision possible.

The Summit hasn't officially announced any dates, but I don't know if that means anything or not. We don't know if they have said anything to UND or any of the other schools. In the past they indicated that they wanted to add a school or schools at the same time that USD joins the league. That will officially happen on July 1, 2011. They have also said that they need to have a decision made and announced more than a year before that date, meaning before July 1, 2010. They need at least 1 year of lead time to make arrangements, make schedules, etc. That time line is pretty common, league changes are usually announced more than 1 year in advance of the change. They will also need some time to complete research, do campus visits, and make sure the school or schools are a good fit with the league. That will take at least 60 days, if not longer. So an application deadline would probably be some time between January 1 and April 1, 2010. Some things have changed since this time line was originally set up. At that time USD was announced as the 11th school in the Summit. They needed to add 1 school to get back to an even number, that's why they wanted to add at the same time. Since then it was announced that Centenary would be leaving the league at the same time USD joins. We don't know if that will affect the time line or not. They wanted to add teams to get to 12 and go to division play. If that is still a major concern they may still want to add schools on the same schedule. Or they may be able to push the date back 1 year. Nothing has come out in public about which way they would go. There are several other schools that have indicated interest and that would probably be acceptable to the Summit. UND seems to be the best fit, but not the only school that they could choose. If the Summit feels they need to follow the time line they originally established, UND may be sitting on the outside if they don't make the arrangements needed. The Summit can make whatever rules they want, it is their league. So if they want to add schools during the next 6 months and don't want to consider UND until the nickname is resolved, then UND will have to choose to either keep the name or apply for membership.