Siouxman

Talk about blinders!! DI IN FARGO, you have the supersize pair. 1. Has anyone here defended Kupchella as saying that was the proper thing to do with respect to trying to obtain additional funding for the medical school? 2. Has Kupchella run to Daddy around Dunn's back to cover his behind? (Chapman has done it twice) 3. Has Kupchella hired an attorney because he's afraid his boss will give him a bad grade? 4. Has Kupchella been identified ON THE RECORD as lying to cover his behind? The obvious answer is no to all of the above. Please don't let the Chapman shinola blind you as well.

And then again, maybe nothing is wrong. They came to Lennon and asked him. He did not go to them, from what I have heard. In business if someone approaches you about an opportunity elsewhere, you generally listen, see what they have to say and offer, and then decide. We just heard of a college coach going pro, and then 24 hours later changing his mind. Evidently nothing was wrong when he made the initial jump. We tend to think that people we admire are perfect in their knowledge and decisionmaking. They are human just as much as anyone else. Lennon could just be considering an opportunity that came along. But, on the other hand . . . And I will state that I don't know what goes on in the athletic department. But I have attended functions, fan gatherings at the Frozen Four, and other functions where Buning has been. For someone with no prior UND exposure, he is as enthusiastic as they get for UND sports. More than I have seen from past ADs. Standby for Monday.

I wholeheartedly agree that I am not qualified as an official judge of hockey talent. Players can be solid performers without being noticeable. From my experience watching Marto, that was not the case. I had no idea who Petrecki was, and had never heard of him. But by the end of the first period I was impressed. He clearly stood out and was making a difference in the game. Marto, on the otherhand, very much unimpressed me. For the most part he was a non-factor. Yes, Marto was recruited by a few, likely based on their perceived impressions of where he might improve to. It was Nov 2006 when I saw him play. Maybe he has improved and maybe not since then. We will have to wait and see.

I saw Marto play this last season in the USHL. He did not show me anything that would lead me to believe he will ever be a defenseman in the WCHA. He is a good skater and a good passer, but he makes Brian Lee look like Matt Greene in comparison. Wouldn't go into the corners, and just wasn't capable of being physical. I can easily be wrong, but I just do not see him as a WCHA defenseman. I did not see anything from him at all that even let me think he would make the Sioux team. Sorry, but that was my observation.

I think it should be an arrow by adding the shaft feathers on the left hand side.

I will say here and now that I am glad not to see the name of Chapman on the group.

Wow!! This one I like. The yellow in the feathers is distracting though, as it doesn't seem to mesh with the rest of the color scheme.

Tavis Zajac? and Darcy of course.

Mike Prpich's aura can cause people to stand (or crouch) in weird places.

And therein lies the very first problem that you fail to recognize. The legislature does not want every college coming to the legislature for their share of the pie. That is to be worked out through the chancellor and the State Board. They are supposed to be there to set funding priorites. That should not be done at the legislature. Arguing with the board about funding for NDSU is fine, as that is the way it is supposed to work. However, lying about the board and going to the legislators is not the way it is supposed to work.

One has to wonder . . . If we could look back at Chapman's grade school report card if there would be indications that he didn't play well with others in recess. In my mind, Potts going could have been blown off if he worked well with the new chancellor. Given the fact that there are issues so soon does not reflect well on Chapman, and will definitely not be received well by legislators. They may decide that they need to fix things, and then it is a crap shoot as to what comes out of politics.

It might just be cheaper to arrange a suite for all of us SiouxSportsters.

Actually, I didn't think it was all that boring, compared to WI the year before. MSU laid some pretty licks on the BC players at times, something the refs wouldn't let the Sioux do on Thursday. I will admit that the last few minutes were the best. Absolutely no love in the arena for BC that night.

Hey - Its one more team to take the Dairy Queen Cup away from the Gophers!

The one thing going in UND's favor is that when JT sets his mind to something, he does it. If he has set his sights on a 3rd World Jrs. Championship and an NCAA championship, look for him to be back next year. It would be incredible to be a person who 1) wins his 3rd World Jrs, 2) wins his 2nd Men's World (2008), and 3) wins an NCAA championship all within a 6 month period. A lot of things have to go right to do that, but it would be an incredible legacy. Edit: And just maybe wins a Hobey Baker, although Duncan might want to have some say in that.

Great news indeed. It is interesting to see him say that he came here to win a national championship. Let's hope that Toews and Lee have the same thoughts.

Guess we won't be stopping in for a visit any time soon. Thought you were working in a better neighborhood than that, even given the location.

Wow, does that put images in my mind. That would be a party.

Must be a different Mike Prpich (could there be two?) -- Three goals and no penalties is so out of character.

It is time to stop the negativity and support the coach and team. I had the chance to watch part of the women's world championships in Winnipeg, and there are distinct differences between men's and women's hockey and the strategies. Obviously, someone who hasn't coached women's hockey should pick up on this over time, the question is how long it will take. I find it interesting that some of those who are criticizing the UND coach selection processes are arguing both sides of the argument. On one hand, Craig Smith from NAIA Mayville State should have gotten a basketball interview at UND, a school going to Division I. Yet some of those same people are discounting Idalski's performance at NCAA Division III, disparaging it as lower level. Can't have it both ways. A lot of things go into consideration and those of us outside the process certainly don't know the whole train of thought or what took place, or how people came across in telephone or face-to-face interviews. Whatever the situation is, it is time to support the choice and the team to the full extent possible. It almost seems like some people are hoping for failure. Not the way to treat a Fighting Sioux team at any sport.

Went to the Wild-Thrashers exhibition game at the Ralph a few years ago. Will not make that mistake again. In the vein of Gopher hockey, it is a game that doesn't count and the effort isn't there. A regular season game would be much better.

I hope that both Finley and Lee stay for next year. I believe that Finley's game improved tremendously this year as a sophmore, to where is clearly ahead of Matt Greene at the same point. Finley doesn't play as physical as Greene did, but he also doesn't take the number of penalties that Greene did either. In my mind, Finley has quietly put together an outstanding season as a solid defenseman. The +/- numbers don't lie. He has both a wrist shot and a slapshot from the point that have been underutilized so far, and that may come in a junior year. As we've said, defenseman take longer to develop. From the defensive perspective, he has been impressive and had a solid year. Brian Lee clearly struggled in the early part of the season. Whether the absence of puck luck or whatever (I will not claim to be sufficiently knowledgeable to claim a guess) things just did not seem to go his way. In February and March, Brian has played good defense and contributed offensively. I don't feel he is ready for the NHL at this point, and I would much rather have him come back as a Sioux next year rather than go to the AHL. The anti-Brian Lee crowd has failed to notice his contribution to the second half of the season and should be chastised for that. Let's happily welcome both back for 2007-2008.

Chorney, Duncan, and Oshie announcing they are staying can only help the situation. I think that it improves the odds greatly compared to if they were leaving. Oh goodie goodie goodie.

We had a wonderful time in St. Louis, other than the Sioux losing on Thursday night. Left shortly after noon on Wed. and roads were not good until we got past Watertown, SD. Spent the night in Blue Springs, MO at the Quality Inn. Found many other Sioux fans there at breakfast in the morning. Thursday - Got to Al's about 11:45 am and stayed until 2 pm. Met and talked with a number of Sioux fans we know, Siouxelevens, Siouxnami, Siouxmama and others. AT 2 pm we left to check into the Drury Plaza, and what a wonderful place. Very friendly and helpful staff, free buffet breakfast, three free drinks every day, free snacks in the evening, and a great time. Went to both games, and discovered we were sitting by some gopher fans that we sat behind for several years at the Final Five. They were there to cheer on the Sioux. Losing the game was a bummer, but we headed back to Al's after the game. Did bump into UNDLaw at the arena and he said that the nametags were at Al's. We never did meet up with him there though. That is when we learned that dancing on the bar is evidently a custom/pastime in St. Louis. We saw it at Al's and in other bars. Friday - We visited the Arch, and had lunch down at Laclede's Landing. Tried to do the Anheuser Busch tour in the afternoon, but all of the tours were already full because of hockey fans. Imagine that. Did go through the souvenir shop, and into the Bud room. Then back to the Drury Inn for our free drinks. Was standing in line at the bar when we were text messaged that Duncan won the Hobey. Saturday - Had lunch down at Laclede's Landing again. Did a little shopping for the trip home. Took the Metrolink over to Union Station in the afternoon, met up with old college buddies, and then went to the game. Didn't have any of the HockeyMom type excitement on the Metrolink though. We wished we had discovered Union Station earlier on the trip. On to the game. Very fun game and a definite anti-BC crowd. It was a great ending. Went back to the hotel for late night snacks and birthday cake for KirkEisenbeis. Went up to the room on the elevator with four WI fans who asked if I was going to Denver. I said I sure hope so. Their comment was as long as there weren't any Gophers. I replied that we certainly didn't need any dirty stinking rodent type varmints in Denver. They roundly supported that, until as I was getting off the elevator they realized that a badger could fit that definition as well. Sunday - a 13 hour drive home that was surprisingly not bad. A great trip, even though the Sioux lost. Thanks to all of the wonderful Sioux fans that we talked with.

We kind of heard some rumblings at Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis about certain talent and abilities of a UND fan. They were considering making some kind of offer. Could it be TheTriouxper?