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Walsh Hall

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Posts posted by Walsh Hall

  1. Nelson would not have been a free agent after next year, that would only be 3 years after draft year, free agent status occurs after 4. Brock came to UND having been drafted that summer before.

    I wasn't real clear there. I meant that if Brock came back for next year that he would have a ton of leverage after next year. If he wasn't signed next year he would become a free agent if he stayed for his senior year. It seems that after the third year is when the drafting teams need to put on the full court press to avoid losing a blue chip prospect. Brock was not a four year guy anyway, but I'm still surprised by the signing.

  2. For this (Brock) to make any sense he better have gotten a max. deal. I would have thought that he would have demanded to play at the end of the year to burn the year under the entry level contract. At this point Brock doesn't have all that much leverage. After next year he would have had ALL the leverage as he would become a free agent if he wasn't signed. WIthout burning a year off the rookie deal I'm a bit confused.

    Anyhow, best of luck to Mr. Nelson and Mr. Dell.

  3. I don't think that any question is out of bounds anymore. I thought I have seen it all and this weekend the goal posts were moved further back, I witnessed a reporter from the metro area asked Zucker if he was basically goin go to sign a professional contract this season. This same reporter than asked Gwoz if he had discussed Zuckers future. Zucker handled it well by saying that he had to game to play tomorrow night. Gwoz also handled it well by saying that he has never had a player come back to him and say that he regretted staying in school an extra year.

    Back in the day I'd love to see Bobby Knight respond to a question about his team's new jersey or socks after a tough loss. Or Tom Coughlin being asked about the uniform color scheme after the Super Bowl. I'd expect a reporter to ask a hockey related question. Asking about their sock color or jersey has nothing to do with hockey or the playing of the game. At least the Zucker thing, while ill advised, has to do with hockey.

  4. Any reporter who asks what the players think of the jersey should be embarrassed. Unless I'm mistaken, the team isn't made up of junior high girls.

    This weekend isn't about the jersey or the name. It's about the U of ND hockey team. Everyone has an opinion on the name issue, but this isn't the time or place to make it the story. The story is the remarkable season this team has had given the obstacles faced. What this team has already done is really unbelievable.

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  5. I guarantee that this is a complete non-issue for the team. They could be wearing generic white practice jerseys with numbers written in sharpie and it would make no difference. They are concerned about WMU, not whether their blouse matches their skirt. There will be zero gameday distraction for the team. Of all the potential concerns, the style of the jersey has to dead last on the list.

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  6. College hockey is non-consequential, it is just like FCS football. People who went to school somewhere, will generally follow the team. But unlike college basketball or FBS, Hockey and FCS don't have truely national fanbases. Am I going Boston University, Miami, UND, (insert hockey school name here) hats, and shirts throughout the entire country like I will see Notre Dame, Texas, USC, Miami (FL)? Hell no. Am I going to see Appalachian St., Eastern Washington, Montana, Delaware shirts everywhere? Nope. Hence, hockey is no more relevant than FCS. I hope that hockey attracts a higher total attendence, hockey has around 30-40 games a year? Football teams play 11-15 pending playoffs.

    The biggest difference is that FCS football is a second class league with second class players. While there are a handful of players with the potential play pro ball, the vast majority are nowhere close to that level. They are the players that in general couldn't play at a better football school. (Still great athletes, but not elite)

    DI hockey players are elite, and a majority of them will have the chance to play pro hockey at some level, and many will play in the NHL. There is no comparing the popularity of hockey in general to football in general, but anybody who follows hockey will know UND. I see that as the big difference. At the college level DI hockey is the best hockey there is. At the college level FCS is second tier.

  7. not surprised at all.

    The first thing I thought of when I saw this was, "I wonder if siouxweet will be surprised by this news." Thankfully I didn't need to wait long to get my answer.

    • Upvote 1
  8. Does McLeod have the authority to bind who we play in our non-conference schedule? Sure he'd like an agreement where all WCHA teams rotate with UM and UW, but can he dictate that? Don't the AD's handle the non-conference scheduling? I'd think it would be mutually benefitial for UM, UW, and UND to have one series a year with each other, i.e. UND @ UM and home for UW in year one, and @UW and home for UM in year two.

    I think Brucie is scrambling to hold this together. If we could play UM and UW for a series each year those series would be huge. They would have a much bigger impact on the pairwise than a current series while they are in the WCHA because of the common opponent factor.

  9. The BTHC can only hurt college hockey. I can't see a plausible scenerio were it is a net positive. If I had to guess which four teams would average the best finish in the WCHA if the league stayed intact over the next 20 years I would pick UND, UM, Denver, and UW. Historically the gophers and badgers are great college programs. It hurts to lose them in many ways. Average attendance will drop and interest will drop. I didn't look at the numbers, but these schools, UM in particular, has to pull in a larger than average gate on the road. That will hurt the remaining schools revenue. Also, having those games draws folks to the games and thereby drives interest in the sport. The cumulative dates circled on the calender will drop. Can you image the impact on attendance if UND left as well? The final five would be luck to draw 5000/game.

    My worst case scenerio is several teams folding. If the number of NCAA D1 teams dipped to 45-50 I'd think that would have a major impact on quality of the remaining teams and recruiting.

    What's good for college hockey is good for UND. UND is always going to be a big fish no matter the size of the pond, but I fear the size of the pond may be shrinking. Taking away 2 top programs from two of the top conferences is tough to absorb.

    Out of curiousity, after shift, if everyone else remained the same, how would you rank the conferences?

  10. Ah, ok. Believe what you want. It's not an issue of a nickname being a protected class. The issue is a school, a state actor, refusing to play another school BECAUSE OF what the other school/state chooses to call its teams. I'm sure reasonable minds may differ, but there is a lawsuit to be made there.

    What is the cause of action? What legal basis is there requiring one team to play another? Can a school decline to play another school because they are too small? No revenue by scheduling game? The AD doesn't like the other AD?

  11. The SBoHE is not a fourth branch of government and is not treated like one. Without getting into great detail, this is not a fight the SBoHE will want to fight. The legal arguments for this issue have already been prepared, and I believe the argument for holding the law constituional is more presuasive. I would be very surprised if the SBoHE challenged the constitutionality of this legislation. Besides the SBoHE, there is a major problem/question about who would have standing to challenge this law.

    The SBoHE is in enough heat already. It really makes little practical sense to have separate entities controlling K-12 and higher education. In this political climate it is somewhat difficult to justify their independent existence. Suing the State over this issue, which is a very speculative suit, and probably against the major of the population, would be a gutsy move on their part.

    From all the settlement negotiations between the State and the NCAA I don't believe that dropping UND from the association was ever on the table. If I am wrong, and that has been threatened by the NCAA, please let me know. Whether not hosting NCAA playoff games is something that is a deal breaker is open to debate. People obviously have different opinions on this one depending on their sport of choose.

    I don't see the doom and gloom scenerios which have been presented by some as having any factual basis. I agree that anything is possible, but at this time there is nothing to support these scenerios.

    Finally, the 1st amendment arguments are total crap. We have our right to pick a name just as other schools have a right to not play us. I'm unaware of a nickname being a protected class.

  12. Now... let's not restrict that to JUST the hockey players. That goes across the student-athlete spectrum. Heck, that's college students in general.

    I think you can cast the alcohol abuse issue net wider yet. A couple weeks ago there was outrage on this board about taking away alcohol from college sporting events. At each Sioux game I encounter NUMEROUS folks who have had more than a couple to many. It's a bit hypocritical to be ragging on student athletes for having a drink, yet fighting for the right to get hammered at a sporting event. (I do realize that many student athletes are underage and hence they are breaking the law by having one sip.) Drinking on campus is an issue. Drinking off campus is an issue. Unfortunately, drinking in general is usually the common denominator when things go bad. For the record I oppose stopping alcohol sales. Alcohol is legal and as such it should be allowed.

    As far as athletes getting a break, that really isn't the case. When a "normal" 20 year is at a party drinking, or at a bar, nobody cares. When first round NHL pick guy does the same everyone knows who he is, people are taking pictures/videos, calling friends... There are certainly benefits, but also alot of negatives.

    • Upvote 1
  13. many people who are sober also dont get airlifted to regions hospital for frost bite, altru has a nice frostbite unit here in town.

    What percent of individuals with severe frostbite suffered the injury while intoxicated? What is your source? There is a time and place to express baseless assumptions and opinions. This is neither the time nor place.

    Whether you are right or wrong in your assumptions is irrelevent. Mr. Kristo is in a tough spot right now and needs support whether or not he had a lapse in good judgment. I know I'm in no position to judge him, bully for you if you are.

  14. It really rubs me the wrong way when someone responses to a very serious allegation with the, "I don't recall" line. An event and statement of this magnitude, in his position, is not something he would forget. If this was a statement he would NEVER make, and didn't make, he should simply state, "I would never, and never did pressure the Summit league to..."

    If someone asks you, "Did you say (insert outrageous statement you would never make)?" I assume your response would be "Hell No!," not "I don't recall."

    Without any personal information I don't like to make a judgment on someone's character, but there are some causes for concern.

  15. From the top camera angle you really couldn't see that the puck was in the net until Knight jabbed at the puck/pads. The puck, while sitting just across the line, was covered by the goalie's glove. Immediately after the play the goalie started pointing at Knight like he was sticking the goalie's pads. I bet that the refs were not aware that the puck was already in before any of that occurred, and thought that Knight was the player that scored the alleged goal. From the other angles it was clear that the puck was in before any of the other activity. Thankfully it didn't end up mattering.

  16. The gopher's goals against average, if I remember correctly, hasn't been that bad, or hasn't jumped that much in recent years. The offensive numbers on the other hand have plummeted. That may have something to do with the D's ability, and the offensive points the D have put up, but their issue has been putting the puck in the net.

  17. I've always been intrigued at how differently people react to awful terminal illness. Some make the situation so much worse for themselves and their loved ones by the way they fight and handle the illness.

    I am always amazed by people like Perry who, despite facing adversity, are strong and are a source of hope and strength for those around them. Nobody wants to lose a loved one, but it is such a comfort, blessing, and source of inspiration to see the dignity and love in which Perry dealt with his illness. He brought together what death can't tear apart. Seeing character like Perry demonstrated makes me a better man, parent, and husband.

    RIP Perry

  18. I have two degrees from UND, have always supported the University, and am deeply saddened to see the name go. But, I can't fault the ND Supreme Court or the Board. Like it or not, the Supreme Court made the right legal decision on the issue which was presented. The decision, in the end, has little to nothing to do with the name being retired.

    Also, what was the Board supposed to do? They were backed into a corner and there isn't an option to fight. To not change the name would cripple the University and athletics. To keep the name at this point would be cutting off our nose to spite our face, to say the least.

    I completely agree that the political correctness is crazy, and that a very small yet very vocal minority should not guide the ship.

    If I were a member of Standing Rock I would be outraged. No matter what the results of the vote would have been, the members as a whole should have had their voices heard. I see that as the biggest disappointment, and much more offensive than the name Fighting Sioux.

    True to the name I believe we Fighting Sioux fought the good fight. The political climate was just too much to overcome.

    RIP

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