star2city

Baring some cataclysmic event, it's physically impossible to emit too much carbon into the atmosphere. Over the earth's history, there's been much more CO2 than there is now and earth has continued to prosper. Ever heard of the Gaia Hypothesis from 40 years ago, which states that earth is a complex interacting system that maintains the climatic and biogeochemical conditions on Earth in a preferred stable and constant state. This hypothesis is now a theory, as key elements of it have been proven. Since China and India have no plans to ever be "compliant", their prices will be cheaper, consumers will flock to their goods, and US and Europe industrial base will erode further, and the US will be even more a debtor nation. If people want another Great Depression, this is the bill that will do it.

Personally, I believe both systems impose sickness as a standard, rather than wellness. Most physicians in both systems never provide cures, they just stabilize sickness, which then manifests itself in numerous other ways. For 90% of health issues (with certain exceptions like acute injuries, genetic conditions etc), alternative medicine is the route to take. We are what we eat, yet that concept is foreign to the vast majority of the medical establishment. Physicans basically don't get any training in nutrition or alternative medicine, instead, pharmaceuticals are somehow viewed as holy potions when nearly all of them are highly toxic to the human body. The human body has an incredible capacity to heal, yet that ability is never nourished (literally). Alternative medicine is not government controlled, although the pharmaceutical industry for it's own future desperately wants it under the FDA. Imposing mandatory national health insurance on people actually violates people's civil rights and freedoms, IMHO.

UWF is one of the better public schools left in DII and the only public university in Florida not DI. Five years ago, thought UWF had a chance to pass South Alabama in regional prestige: but that window seems to have passed with USA adding FBS football. The USA campus has really taken off since their former corrupt president died. He and his mistress basically had the USA Foundation and it's several hundred million under their thumbs for their private benefit. Now, USA is beginning to look like a real campus instead of a commuter school: a pharmacy school has been added, a research park started, the Med school research has grown, and FBS football will give the school an identity.

Let me get this straight. You say global warming isn't an issue, but carbon emissions are. Carbon dioxide in itself is not a pollutant: plants grow faster and better and yield more with more carbon dioxide. If there is an issue, it's our dependence on foreign oil. If Congress could actually have the balls to deal with that issue (and even tax imported oil as much as I hate taxes), it would actually make some sense and increase economic incentives to develop all types of energy here in the US. Instead, this bill will basically drive out the remaining industry in our country to China and India, which have absolutely no plans to ever implement any form of the Kyoto agreement. This bill is not only based on garbage science, it is the practically the most anti-patriotic bill one could ever imagine.

Earth's average temperature is only now approaching the norm of the past 3000 years: New Book by Australian scientist, Heaven and Earth, resulted in the Australian Senate saying B.S. to the carbon cap and potentially unraveling the whole global warming industry (to China's and India's dismay). The climate change models cannot predict a known past: who with any logic and scientific training would trust them to predict the future? If increased concentrations of CO2 increase temperature, why have there been coolings during the past 150 years?

Final Answer: Bemidji, Omaha In

An old thread, but the Alerus area is finally gaining some development which is rather remarkable in this economic climate: Staybridge Suites to Build near Alerus

With Idaho the only FBS school on the 2010 calendar, it wouldn't be unreasonable to play another FBS school. A couple of schools have been backing out of games: San Jose State just dumped Stanford for a cool $1 million from Alabama. Alabama, incredibly, is also scheduling Georgia State next year. Georgia State will be playing their first year ever in football at the FCS level. Georgia State and South Alabama should have a number of open dates for next year.

New Policy Complicates UBC move to NCAA

Agreed. When the College World Series is finished in Omaha, there likely will be an announcement. UBC, which two years ago seemed like a lock for NCAA Div I hockey, will not declare for the NCAA this year and maybe not even next year because of accreditation politics. Even if they do move to DII, the hockey team would stay behind in the CIS for several years until UBC is a full DI member. Only then would it exercise it's one sport exemption and move to DI: probably 3-4 yrs from now at the earliest. Maybe they could play Moorhead.

With Blais and likely the WCHA, UNO could be heading higher. For the first UNO-UND series in Omaha, the visiting Sioux fan numbers could be huge.

NY Times: Princeton Lacrosse Coach Takes Over Denver Program

Denver U just made a play to become a major power in lacrosse. DU apparently gained the Bill Parcells of college lacrosse, by hiring the Princeton coach. Some interesting comments in theBaltimore Sun blog here :

The deomgraphics of North Dakota in general aren't very good - in one decade the number of baby boomer retirees will be huge. But a couple of notes: the West Fargo school district includes parts of western and southwestern Fargo, as well as Harwood and Horace. Those are now the areas with younger families. In 1970, West Fargo was basically a rural school district with a lot of farm kids. The population of the West Fargo school district is now likely around 40 K. The loss of base population has hurt GF enrollment: the base schools used to have ~2000 kids and now is just 300. The impact on GF high schools was never as high, as many AF personnel had left the service or retired before their kids entered HS. Fargo itself has about the same proportion of school kids as Grand Forks (Fargo pop = 95k+, school enrollment= 11.8K) With Fargo's school age population in decline (most growth in the city of Fargo will be in West Fargo's school district), why it is building a new high school is somewhat a mystery. Fargo and West Fargo would be better served to have joint school districts to mimize building: Fargo North could house Harwood kids instead of being half empty and a new HS in SW Fargo should serve both districts.

In North Dakota, the Good Times Are Still Rolling WSJ Reader's Comments

Concordia-Wisconsin adding Lacrosse Tony Hrkac's school is adding men's and women's lacrosse, becoming second Wisconsin school with LAX (granted, at the DIII level - another Wisconsin Lutheran college, Carthage, was the first). There had been rumors that Minnesota schools like St. John's and St. Thomas would consider lacrosse if a sufficient number of schools in the region sponsored it. Minnesota HS Lax stars head east to Syracuse, Hopkins

A few years away, but UC-San Diego seems almost certainly destined for DI, and may start intercollegiate football at the FCS level. The Great West would be the only available football conference. UCSD looks into DI leap, football

Potential attendance was actually discussed much earlier in this thread. When the Minnesota Swarm started in MSP, there hadn't been lacrosse games there either (the Swarm started before the MHSAA sanctioned lacrosse). The Swarm attendance has always been above 10,000 even before LAX became a HS rage in MSP (and it may have helped fuel LAX there). Buffalo 143,581 8 17,947 Colorado 131,800 8 16,475 Toronto 111,372 8 13,921 Minnesota 98,465 8 12,308 Philadelphia 84,299 8 10,537 Calgary 83,189 8 10,398 UND attendance is generally 15% of MSP pro team/Gopher attendance (hockey excluded). (search the board for the full comparison) In the UND Lacrosse Poll, almost 10% of poll respondents in the hockey forum say they would buy season tickets. With about 7000 season tickets sold for hockey (not including students), perhaps 700 season tickets would be sold for lacrosse. With student getting in free, inexpensive single-game tickets for the curious and budget-minded, with decent advertising (during hockey and football), a band, and tailgating, 1500 isn't unreasonable and could be low. If lax created a buzz, becoming a locally "in" event, 3-4000 could almost be normal. In Grand Forks, people support UND events as long as it fun and entertaining and out of the weather. Late March and April is perfect for games, as the weather is still bad and there's few other entertainment or outdoor options. Also since likely half of Siouxsports posters don't live in the GF area, the sampling potentially underestimates season ticket buyers.

DII is only accepting 10 schools a year and effectively preventing whole NAIA conferences from moving up.

So where's the baseball revenue, again? Still looking for it. If UND had a domed stadium for baseball, I would most definitely advocate baseball. But it doesn't. UND does however, have a domed stadium that is perfectly sized for lacrosse. A perfect facility, a hockey culture, a tailgate culture, Canadian influence, Indian influence, UND's desire for progressiveness and single-sport excellence, growth opportunities, recruiting opportunities, Alerus' needs for events, opportunity to be associated with top-notch schools: all of these intersect with UND and lacrosse. None of them intersect with UND and baseball. Any pre-conference baseball would be on the road with flights and multiple night hotel room expenses in the south. Basically no revenue generated except maybe a minor travel allowance to a major school. In the Summit, even a home game with NDSU would basically offer no revenue and hardly cause much excitement. Travel isn't exactly easy either: Oral Roberts - fly Southern Utah - fly South Dakota State Centenary - fly North Dakota State Oakland - fly Western Illinois - maybe bus IPFW - fly Baseball's travel expenses would be higher as most games would be away. Baseball revenue from tickets basically would be nil. A lacrosse autobid conference of Ohio State Bellarmine Denver Air Force UND + someone else would create a lot more interest, have a decent home field, with March and April night and weekend games at the Alerus. Baseball: average of maybe 400 non-paying people for maybe 10 home games (road games the norm) and huge road expenses Lax: average maybe 1500-2000/game for seven home games. Outside chance at 3-4000 people with a name opponent.

You're confusing revenue producing vs money making. For me to claim LAX would make money, is more than a stretch. To claim that it would produce significant revenue (far exceeding women's volleyball, women's hockey, etc), would not be a stretch whatsoever. The problem with adding LAX but not dropping another men's sport, is then another women's sport has to be added, effectively doubling the expense without increasing revenue. (Two possible women's revenue sports for UND: women's synchronized skating would possibly be revenue producing at UND - women who don't normally watch sports would flock to it, and women's beach volleyball using the Hyslop for a sand venue.) The main problem with the LAX structure is that UND would really need a travel partner. Most schools play two games on a weekend. When teams fly to Colorado, they have Denver and Air Force back to back. Ohio State next year will have Bellarmine as a travel partner. One other school in the Upper Midwest or even Chicago would have to partner with UND. Those four schools will now be part of the ECAC, which would want to kick them out anyway. A six team "western" LAX league would gain an autobid: but another upper Midwest partner would be needed (like NDSU, Minnesota, Northern Iowa or even Northwestern).

Right now, UND baseball scholarships are going to athletes from California, Oregon, and Washington that PAC 10, Big West, WCC and WAC schools pass on. Why not get close to first-pass lacrosse athletes from the West Coast/Minneapolis/Texas/Colorado/Canada (lacrosse powers like Syracuse, Virginia, N Carolina, Cornell etc may all recruit out there, but lightly). Baseball would be a great spectator sport at UND, but in the summer. As far as opportunity, NDSU would never cut baseball, so ND kids could always go there. Mary has DII and Mayville has NAIA, so it's not like real opportunities would be eliminated. UND doesn't have men's soccer, tennis, or wrestling either, in spite of all the ND kids in those sports. Nor does NDSU have hockey, soccer, or tennis.

If Eugene, Oregon is disadvantaged geographically and weather-wise, what does that make Grand Forks? There are 300 DI schools and the minor league system (which takes many of the best) competing for baseball players. LAX has six schools west of the Appalachians. Kids west of the Mississippi especially are practically begging for LAX opportunities. Either sport really requies an indoor facility in ND to counteract the weather. If UND was starting an athletic program from scratch (which is esssentially what happens with the move to DI for all sports except men's hockey), which sports would it choose to sponsor?

If Eugene, Oregon is disadvantaged geographically and weather-wise, what does that make Grand Forks? There are 300 schools and the minor league system (which takes many of the best) competing for baseball players. LAX has six schools west of the Appalachians. Kids west of the Mississippi especially are practically begging for LAX opportunities. Either sport really requies an indoor facility in ND to counteract the weather. If UND was starting an athletic program from scratch (which is esssentially what needs to happen with the move to DI for all sports except men's hockey), which sports would it choose to sponsor?

Travel costs and lack of a travel partner really destroyed any chance of UND getting in. With the state of the BSC, it's probably a blessing. A couple of Big Sky schools would have to practically drop athletics for UND to have a prayer. (EWU, NAU - Sac St lost a student vote to add an athletic fee - so they may be in line for major athletic budget cuts too) . The Summit does become much more attractive with Denver rather than Centenary. Other then the Twin Cities, UND alumni are by and large in the west (Denver, Phoenix, West Coast), not in Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, or Tulsa. One of the reasons that UTEP switched from the WAC to CUSA is to best appeal to it's alumni base, which was mostly in Houston and Dallas and not in WAC markets. While the WAC might have been interested in Montana a few years ago, Montana has done almost nothing to prepare for FBS football (like adding two more sports to get to 16 sponsored squads). With Sac State, UC-Davis and Cal Poly also almost totally unprepared FBS membership, the logical schools to consider are UT-San Antonio and Texas St. Both have declared intentions to move to the FBS level and have committed major dollars to that cause.