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Are political parodies o.k. or would this be too risky & possibly offend someone's sensibilities? I want to upload a political avatar but I don't want to be too "provocative"; simply want to stay within your nicely packaged, non-offensive parameters. No skin, derogatory language, violence or anything of the sort. Thank you. And if I understand this right, a boss might be offended by a woman in a bikini but he wouldn't be offended by his employee surfing the Internet on company time?

Is the Fargo Forum now a subsidiary of USCHO?

jk, I enjoy reading your ongoing analyses of this team, your historical comparisons to the teams of a few years ago was an insightful way to help Sioux fans better understand this year's squad. Clever indeed. After listening to the games this weekend, .500 by year's end in the toughest league in the nation sounds optimistic, .600 would be unexpected & anything .700 or better would probably earn Hakstol WCHA Coach of the Year honors. Maybe we should throw leadership into the equation as well. I believe upperclass leadership & mentoring from Smaby, Porter, Prpich & the others will be a huge factor this year, especially in the close games. That's if they take the role of the C's & A's on their jerseys seriously. If these guys are of the attitude that their team is too young to make a serious push & are just biding their time until they can make the move to the next level, then chances are that the W-L columns will be tilted more to the L. But I don't get that impression when I listen to Smaby being interviewed. Looking forward to seeing in the coming weeks if they bring a lot of passion & energy on a consistent basis that will rub off on the younger guys. Once this team "clicks" & gets acclimated to WCHA play, they will be a joy to watch. Just a question of "when" & if their young bodies can adequately handle 6 months of intense physical pounding. I predict many a computer monitor to go airborne, a lot of kicked puppies & fists making contact with walls in Siouxville from now until March. Some people around here have coined the term "Notermann-ed" for when a player's shots in any given game have a recurring knack of hitting the pipe instead of the back of the net. I think that's cute & Toews would probably be the recipient of this dubious award the last couple of weeks.

3 goals on 24 shots could be indicative of not just suspect goaltending but also poor defense and inconsistent backchecking. Or, maybe Lucia told the guys to just go out & have fun & was more concerned about line combos than his goalies' GAA. Hard to tell, but if compared with the Sioux/Manitoba game it can cause a Sioux fan to maybe get overly optimistic. My first reaction was that the Gophers may be a one-dimensional team, but we all know exhibitions aren't really good indicators.

No doubt there'll be a few d-men who will be burned by him, get frustrated and want to line him up when they get the chance. Kessel will likely be shifting with a designated enforcer ala Gretzky-McSorley/Parise-Greene to protect the Gophers' investment & title hopes. I don't think they'd risk putting a potential #1 pick on the ice without a brute to back him up. As far as tackling goes, I think other teams won't have a choice & will have to clutch & grab many times each game because of his sheer quickness & speed. This is inevitable, imo. Or, obstruction could be called mostly during Gopher games & forgotten about in others. I guess we'll see if the refs are more susceptible to the Kessel hype than the Parise hype; because we all know that the fanfare preceding Parise's arrival didn't garner him any special attention.

Thanks. I always strive to be in the mold (not the fungus type) of the godfather here, PCM. Your strategy, & obviously that of Hak's also, of going for the gold instead of the silver is probably the right approach. Except, as we can all see, half the WCHA is doing the same thing. I guess it comes down to timing & what team will be loaded & what other teams will only have a few superstars in any given year. This year, Minnesota has the responsibility of following through with their immense talent. Next year, if we don't lose anyone early, will be our turn while the Gophers have a down year of only a couple first-rounders on their roster. So it ebbs & flows with this approach & this year there just happens to be 4 or 5 teams that have a legitimate shot & 1 with a very legitimate shot.

The more blue chippers that are on any given squad narrows the window-of-opportunity, it seems, to win a national championship because of early defections. Whereas the '96-'97 recruiting class didn't have any (I think) first-round picks and eventually won 2 NCAAs because almost all the players stayed the entire 4 years. So there is a price with higher-end talent in that there is more of an urgency to win it all in a shorter time frame. The mentality of guys like Lee, Chorney, Zajac & Toews no doubt want to win at this level & are very competitive, but their main goal (for the most part) was & always will be to turn pro if they're ready for & wanted in the pros; unlike the mentality of guys like DeFauw, Armbrust, the Panzer bros. & Hoogsteen who were pretty much relegated to finishing out their college careers. Just some Tuesday ramblings here. Most college hockey buffs know this stuff but it's been on my mind ever since the Sioux went from Blue-light specials to Blue-chipper phenoms a few years ago.

Matt Watkins or Andrew Kozek? Only SS's intrepid reporter knows for sure. Another poster commented on Brian Lee being the 2nd Coming of Travis Roche. Considering he's fresh out of high school & poised beyond his years, he may even be a notch above Roche in pure ability.The coming month & stiffer competition should tell us if this is so. Had he been born a few more miles to the north customs agents may have not allowed him to enter the States. Don't agree very much with some of the WCHA final standings predictions over at USCHO. 4th & 5th place? The WCHA is a 4 or 5 team top-heavy league this year but if the Sioux can confine their one & only weakness (defense, at least early) to one or two defensive pairings they may be able to finish top 3. From a pressure perspective, it may be easier to start low & climb gradually during the year, rather than starting very high & trying to maintain that intensity for 6 months. Have fun & play the spoiler role for awhile.