Siouxman

and probably stopped at Hoggsbreath for some pain killers BEFORE going to the doctor.

Unfortunately the sad truth of the matter is that undrafted players almost never get a shot at the NHL. They do get signed, but spend their careers in the minors serving as filler to help develop the players that do get signed. The NHL scouts and teams have too much invested in their drafted players, and those are the ones that will get the shots. Talk to someone who is undrafted and in the minors, and you will hear the facts. However, that does not mean that Duncan won't ever sign. He certainly may, but being undrafted means he is an extremely long shot to ever get a chance in the NHL. Also, he could play in Europe.

I have heard that TJ and JT have told each other that they will stay if the other one stays. If the Sioux win #8 I expect them to be gone, but if they don't it will be interesting to see what happens. If what I have heard is true, some people may be pleasantly surprised (Sioux fans). I do believe that Toews could stand another year of physically maturing before going pro. While he has good size, he is not as strong on his skates as I feel he should be for the pros (but then again, not everyone is an Oshie). Chorney I have a concern about leaving. He is solid defensively and has developed an offensive upside. Finley I just don't know. He doesn't stand out on the ice, but his +/- is showing that quietly he is doing a good defensive job. I think that he is just beginning to show some offensive potential as well. He has a wrist shot from the point that is harder than some forwards slap shot. We just don't see it very often. But he did pinch down a few times at the Final Five which is a change from past performance. As for Brian Lee, he has played much better the last 4-6 weeks than earlier in the season. However, what I am hearing may be a surprise to some people. Brian is turning out to be a student first and a hockey player second. I have heard rumblings that he is losing interest in hockey and may give it up. That would shock a number of people, but it may be a possibility. It wouldn't be the first time a player has done that, but it doesn't happen very often. In the end, I would not be surprised to see all underclassmen back next year, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some gone.

I was the one handling your camera. Obviously I was successful in matching the sway of the group. edit: For those noticing that Sioux-cia is not in one of the pictures, it was taken during the time she was marching around the arena with the Gopher band in tow.

The waitress at Hoggsbreath was sure taken with you. She couldn't wait to sit in your chair when you got up for a moment. She was all teary eyed and everything. Just what is it you do on those Tuesday and Thursday nights there?

The "Reduce Alcohol Content" filter in PhotoShop might also add some clarity to the scene.

I also heard the going price was about $125 just before the game. It was all a ton of fun, but I might have sold my breakfast ticket at that price. By the way, I was talking with a Gopher fan who we used to sit behind for several years (one of the nice Gopher fans), and he couldn't believe that we ate at Hoggsbreath. He said that he got shot there a number of years ago. I didn't ask for details, but it didn't seem like that kind of place to me. Maybe he was working as a waiter and the food was as slow as ours was.

I took a look at the schedule and results for Clarkson and UMass. SCSU definitely got into an easy bracket, except for the fact that Maine could be tough. Right now the SCSU ship is leaking water badly, but if they can get some things worked out they could make the final four. I don't see them winning it, but they definitely got the easy path in. MN, MI, and UND have the tough road and could easily be the champion, if they don't kill each other off. If the Sioux come out of the west regional, I definitely like their chances.

Mafia Man - Thanks for setting this up. For those who didn't make it, we had a great time. And, because of a computer mix up, we got to eat for free. Also, the Holy Cross jersey reunion on Friday night was great. Many of the jerseys showed up for a pre-game picture. Sioux-cia lit up the night, first by marching all of the way around the arena with the UM band while sporting her Holy Cross jersey. She got a lot of you're number one salutes from Gopher fans. Then, during Dance Mania the camera focused on her for the longest time bringing a nice cheer from the crowd. Then to top it off, the Gopher fan next to my wife says: "What does CH stand for?" She wasn't quite so pleased when "HC" was explained to her. Lots of great memories, even though the Sioux lost. Thanks to all of the SiouxSports posters that we met during the tournament. Nice to put a face to the names.

I would imagine fans from other areas are saying the same thing about UND.

I think MN did a good job of not giving up any room to operate. In past years the concern was how UND's team would do on olympic sized ice. This year's team is a team that does better on an olympic ice sheet than an NHL ice sheet. It is easier for the opposition to clog things up on the smaller ice. That may be one explanation why the team did better on the road than at home this season. With the speed and skating ability of this team, they may be more suited for the larger ice sheet. That being said, from here on out it is more likely that they will play on NHL sized ice.

It is still good in Fergus Falls, so get past Fargo and you are ok. We are leaving in a few minutes.

Count Mr. & Mrs. Siouxman in as well as Keikla.

I was at home listening on the computer.

What's your address?

St. Clown might file trademark infringement on that one. I think they feel that they have the corner on "you suck." It was so ridiculous hearing their fans chant that at the end of the game after it took them 3 OT and 111 minutes of hockey to defeat the #9 team in the conference.

Mr. and Mrs. Siouxman in Sec. 102 Row 15. Keikla will be there as well in Sec. 104 Row 15. GO SIOUX!!!!

Maybe we can arrange a few well-timed traffic jams and have them sit on the bus for 11 hours. Someone should talk with Jet Blue about how to do that.

Facts show exactly what he is saying. Last year's championship game was between UND and St. Cloud. Those fans are the ones that filled the seats. The other examples demonstrate the fact that if the Gophers are not in the game, there are tickets available. The games were not sold out. The attendance numbers do not state Gopher fans filled the seats. They could easily have sold their tickets to someone else. As for the 3rd place game, the Gophers were in that game and it was not a sell out. That is his point.

If anything is going to curse him, this probably will. Let's hope that nothing now happens (injury, illness, etc.) this weekend so that he fails to break it or we will know who to blame.

I heard it was Al Gore!

AZSIOUX, Give me a call tonight and I will likely take all you have left, including the tickets mentioned above if they don't sell. Will PM you my phone number.

I believe that the NCAA is not used to doing things that get challenged, and is now finding itself in a deep hole with how it conducts business. First, I don't see any possible way the NCAA can settle out of court or they are admitting that they were wrong. Much worse, from their perspective, their dirty laundry is now about to be made public and it is scaring the hell out of them. I work in a business where absolutely everything that I do is subject to scrutiny by regulatory agencies. And I mean everything, emails, notes, conversations, even little scribblings I may do as part of a study. Every scrap of everything is subject to discovery. The only items that can be protected are proprietary business information (such as costs, detailed contracts, etc.) and customer specific information. The rest is up for grabs. It is not a pleasant world in which to work sometimes. And if you aren't used to that level of scrutiny, it can scare the hell out of you.

Besides, EJ is out looking for a place to go skinny dipping.

Gopher fans better take note, this does not bode well for them. I don't think I saw team in there at all, except when he said we have to play for 60 minutes. The rest of the time it was about "me!" Great timing for all of this to come out.