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Washington State and Wake Forest are just fortunate to be in conferences on the winning end of the sweepstakes, otherwise they would be the Baylors, Iowa States, and Kansas States that will end up being forced to the margins. Of course, the difference with Northwestern, Washington State, and Wake Forest is that those schools can collect a $20,000,000 check from their conference, and barely contribute a dime for it. UND would be ahead in attendance of almost all of the MAC, Sunbelt, and is ahead of all of the new WAC, as well as the bottom half of CUSA. Those schools really aren't any different than us, other than having football stadiums that seat 20,000 - 40,000 (and most often not filling them).

So a so-called sports journalist goes to press with a story about how coaches messed up on a poll - based not on evidence but based on the hot air of a notoriously poor, delusional, and misinformed message board? Does the so-called journalist even have any source that any of the coaches messed up their ballots? None. Yet he writes a news story - not an opinion piece - about how coaches confuse NDSU with UND. Wow. That's really classy yellow journalism. Way to get some facts and sources, Kolpack.

UNDfootball tweets Even Jayson Hajdu takes a twitter swipe at Kolpack's idiocy: Yup, the voters HAD TO be confused. Thats what we'll go with. No way @UNDfootball could crack that poll just on its own merit (rolls eyes).

Rather big announcement by NovaDigm showing that their candida vaccine has a lot of promise: NovaDigm announces Positive Vaccine Data A ways to go yet to get through clinicals, but if this could be commercialized and manufactured in Grand Forks, would have a significant economic impact.

Clear proof that Kolpack spends his time reading Ignoramousville postings , aka Bisonville. If there was confusion, NDSU would have moved up, not down. Bisonville logic at work again, and Kolpack bites it hook, line, and sinker. What a sucker! What an embarrassment to the Forum!

Exactly. The coaches have a lot of respect for Fresno State. Just imagine if UND had beaten Fresno. UND would have risen above NDSU in the polls and bisonville would have been on suicide watch.

As thin-skinned as that bunch is, we all know how deeply offended they are.

Even though women's hockey would draw minuscule ratings on the Big Ten Network, could still see Delany pushing for it eventually. If nothing else, the games would be taped for broadcast in early morning or during weekdays. Of course Ohio State and Penn State would be included - it was just an oversight from a post months ago. Internet rumors are that Red Berenson at Michigan will only allow women's hockey over his dead body, which tends to make sense, as Michigan just started women's lacrosse (as well as men's lacrosse). Meanwhile, the biggest women's hockey state in the country without a women's DI team is still teamless. Since Berenson is ancient, his reign won't last forever. Michigan State will follow whatever Michigan does in hockey.

Perhaps the coaches were looking at NDSU's strength of schedule .... Lafayette, St Francis of Assisi and bye .... and actually thinking, UND can have a blow-out weekend coming up, and it won't mean a thing (and potentially drop out).

UC Santa Barbara is now at #46 - so the Sioux loss to them doesn't hurt too much. UCSB losses have been to top 20 programs. Northern Arizona is still unbeaten and has moved to #55, so both NC and NAU may be tough next year in the Big Sky. UND will lose some very valuable seniors after this season, Smed, Trefz, Russell, and Bohannon , but sophomores and freshmen like Munkeby, Ulrich, Parlich, and Husfeldt are really stepping it up.

JohnboyND7: Noticed you never addressed the above documented issues. Bisonville is mostly like a bunch of parrots sitting around mimicking what the others are posting. Rarely is there ever an original thought or a cogent reasoning of a situation that doesn't involve their own hopes that are grounded with a bit of reality. I still remember back in 2003 or so when Jeff Kolpack wrote a column about how NDSU should shoot for the MVC right away - as the Big Sky and Summit weren't good fits, and all Bisonville was singing Kolpack's chorus. That was about as delusional as delusional gets - yet no one on that board called B.S. Even the Chapman fiasco of ego and greed was warned about here years ago, but bisonville posters always reject and scoff at the warnings and the wisdom found here, because in their mind, how could "Sue" fans ever be right about anything? The point being: bisonville is in desperate need your lecturing and correction, not here.

That's probably safe to say. Denver and UND were the most concerned. Minny and Sconnie would just as rather keep the WCHA leadership weak.

The new WCHA is worth almost nothing for TV rights as it doesn't have any name schools. People may like MTU for its tradition, but it offers absolutely no TV value except on a public outlet (much like Bemidji State or Mankato). Now the WCHA is a league centered in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which basically has a few more people than Fargo-Moorhead. The WCHA has as much of a shot at getting a paying TV deal as the Northern Sun or GLIAC. Both of those leagues actually get games on TV - but they are broadcast either free or for a pittance. The tournament structure for the WCHA will badly hurt the league too: no more big arenas that sell out and go into the WCHA coffers and who exactly is going to buy Final Five tickets ahead of time? Don't be surprised if the WCHA goes to regional playoffs: UAF vs UAA (regardless of standing), MInnesota school playoffs, and Michigan schools playoff for the right to a Final Five. Last minute fares to fly to Fairbanks or even to Big Rapids (Ferris) for playoffs will just be too expensive for the new WCHA to afford. That said, the NCHC badly needs Notre Dame to get a reasonable TV deal. The league will be O.K. otherwise.

Sioux beat Sam Houston St 3-1, and win the tournament, 3-0. The next six games are at home. Hopefully there will be some good turnouts so that the Sioux can average more than 1000 at home this year.

The NCAA hasn't released a 2011 RPI yet. Here's from last year, where UND was 89 out of 328. 2010 Volleyball RPI Massey has UND at # 78 (NDSU is at #71 and conference opponent Utah Valley is at #72) Massey Volleyball ratings UND beat SFA, 3-1.

Have to learn not to give up on this team. Sioux tied with SFA 1-1 after two, but lead 20-13 in the third.

Guess this season (both the games and recruiting) will show what kind of coach Jones, in the quest to build a program.

I think that's part of it, but the bigger issue is that NDSU teammakers want NDSU athletics to be at parity or better compared to UND in every sport. Where parity isn't practical, they won't even attempt it. There is no way in H * L L that NDSU's administration can support hockey if it means going into the "new" WCHA even if it is shown that such a move would be a huge moneymaker. Teammakers would tar and feather NDSU's adminstration because they would demand parity with UND and the new WCHA would be considered beneath NDSU's dignity. The ego of NDSU teammakers will be the downfall of NDSU athletics - as now MSU-Moorhead will start hockey and be the most popular wintertime ticket in the FM area. It the same prideful and ego on display at Texas A&M - who even though they got a sweetheart deal from the Big 12 (Huge $'s to stay as exit fees were given to them, as well as uneven revenue sharing), got its feelings hurt when UT got the Longhorn network. So A&M takes it ball and quits, even though A&M had signed a solidarity package with all the remaining Big12 schools.

According to some St Cloud posters on USCHO, SCSU's Potter will know this coming week whether SCSU is in the NCHC. NCHC either adds Notre Dame and stays at seven (a Notre Dame demand) or adds WMU and SCSU. Bowling Green gets left out.

Iowa State is an AAU school, and actually does very well from a ticket-selling perspective, not only at home but for bowl games. The Big 10 isn't interested in Iowa State because it already has the state of Iowa covered with Iowa. For the Big East, Iowa State would be a bridge between Illinois (DePaul) and Kansas (KU / KSU). But now with Pitt and Syracuse and probably Notre Dame leaving the Big East, the Big East itself is in trouble.

There's been speculation that URI dropped scholarships in football (from 63 to 40 by dropping from the CAA to the NEC), so that it could afford to add men' and women's hockey. More likely, URI just needed to save money and deal with Title IX issues. If URI started hockey, it would be in the AHA, as its small rink doesn't meet Hockey East standards and the AHA only allows 12 scholarships. But if URI is interested, that's all the more reason that the western AHA-4 need to leave, giving room for the AHA to add URI, and maybe even Navy and Liberty (two other schools with long-time rumors).

Just do like I do: find out what Bisonville is predicting for us, and reverse it.

Two neighboring farmers have oil on their land: one owns mineral rights, the other doesn't. Athletics are as much about finances as they are about the actual game. Which farmer is going to have a better economic future, all else being equal? If UND hockey fans were getting into the games free, then you might actually have a point. You need a history lesson: the reason my writings are detested on bisonville is that I have a proven track record vs bisonville conventional "wisdom": When all bisonville was stating they were a lock for the Big Sky, I said they would not get in. When all bisonville was stating they weren't even sure they'd get in the Summit, I said they were a lock. When all bisonville was stating that there was no way that UND would go DI because of money, I said it would and the Big Sky was interested. When all bisonville was stating that hockey and women's hockey forces would stop UND from going DI, I said hockey forces (in the know) actually needed UND to go DI (if a Big Ten Hockey league was to form). When all bisonville was stating UND would never ever get in the Big Sky, I said they would. When all bisonville was stating that UND's satellite capabilities wouldn't matter for conference or for a TV deal, I said they would matter greatly. Your problem is that you listen to bisonville conventional "wisdom" , so you too, will be proven a fool. My writings aren't especially popular here right now either (especially by me stating that Kelley undermined the Sioux name with Big Sky and Summit Presidents.) But history will also prove that correct, too.

Strip club analogy also applies to the BSA: bison fans have to strip down to their skivvies (or worse) just to keep from overheating. Just the thought of a few thousand bison fans sitting around naked watching a basketball game: And to think that when I heard bison fans complain about the poor BSA bleacher conditions and all the cracks, thought they meant something else.

After UND lost to UC-Santa Barbara 0-3 last weekend, it's probably immaterial. A victory over UCSB was really needed for UND's RPI. It didn't happen. May have been over optimistic for this weekend too: Sioux behind Rice 2-1.