homer

That is news to me. You must have heard some things that the rest of us haven't. I've actually heard the opposite and more Big Sky presidents have talked about how happy they were to add UND, even if it was alone. Believe it or not but I think this is exactly what the letter said, the Big Sky presidents are afraid of the push back they will get from the NCAA.

You have no idea of how it went down and we can both assume what we want. If Bob laid out the facts, exactly how they stand right now, the current agreements and laws that are in place don't make the NCAA happy. That is the truth and the fault for that can be spread around to a lot of people spread over a number of years. The truth is this is this isn't about making the BSC happy, its about making the NCAA happy, and we've had a few years to accomplish that and haven't. As clearly stated in the letter the BSC is part of the NCAA and there isn't a school in there who is going to ruffle the feathers of the NCAA for the sake of a school who hasn't started conference play yet.

Nice link. Who's quiting? The school can change the nickname and its not going to affect how I feel about the teams, how many games I go to or my season tickets. All I'm saying is I hope there was a plan B when state legislation was passed. There has been more momentum and interest in all UND sports since the announcement of the Big Sky. There are a lot of examples of that. I don't think being forced to drop the nickname will change that, I personally believe losing the Big Sky will. I am simply stating its time to move into Plan B or the second phase of the state legislatures plan or the die hard nickname supporter's plan, surely there is one right? I hope plan B isn't just to sit around and wait for a vote that may never happen and badmouth anyone who disagrees with their opinion and see's the importance of conference affiliation if we want the successful, well rounded athletic dept we once had.

Why can't you have a conversation with someone who disagrees with you? Why have them start their own thread? If you thought something like this wasn't going to happen you are lacking vision. Everyone, including the state legislature was warned about this but didn't want to listen. I wish the NCAA would agree to a meeting but in reality they don't have to. When you are the only show in town, you can call your shots. It works that way everywhere in life. Its not always fair, but its the world we live in.

You mean the policy that was in place when the state legislature passed the law?

Agreed. I hope all the state reps who turned this into law had a plan B for when something like this happened. I know they were warned this was a real possibility.

Here is the peep.

Your absolutely right and that is what I was getting at. As soon as they found out he lied to them all gloves are off. Even if its Ohio St. there is no way the NCAA is going to let anyone leave egg on their face*. *They alread do a good enough job of that themselves

Mistake #1 was lying to the school and the NCAA. If he would have been honest upfront it wouldn't have looked so bad. Turning an eye is being nice. Its different when a coach sets up meetings with these players and alumni. There is speculaiton that Tressel has done that in the past. Huge difference.

Sorry to hear that as well. Thoughts are with you and everyone going through the hard work and tough times that come with fights like these.

Your probably right, it no sense for the 2 largest schools in the state with one of the longest running rivalries in the country to not play each other every year any more. And 70 miles is such a long distance to travel that I would be pissed if I had to drive it or had to watch the game on TV. Just more excuses. They are pretty good though, pass them along to Gene for the next time he gets asked the question.

Like I said, talk is cheap. If you truely thought your team was that much better for every other point to be true, you wouldn't worry about losing recruits. That is already starting to happen Your starting to sound like Gene Taylor with all those excuses.

Yes, I have. More than a few times. Its easy to spout off on a message board about how good you think your team is. Talk is pretty cheap though and really means nothing. What tells it all though is when someone says how they are superior but than says they don't want to play the game. Your Minnesota example is pretty flawed as they have scheduled you 3 times, they even scheduled ndsu after they should have been beat twice. Doesn't seem like they are as concerned with the negative press as you want everyone to think. They say they are better and they are willing to prove it on the field. They aren't talking about what will happen if or when they get beat unlike yourself.

Wow, thank you for explaining that. That clears a lot up.

Well ndsu must think its a big deal because they gave out conference championship rings to the team that won the Great West. They made kind of a big deal about it.

I was talking about continuing playing USD every year. I could care less about Central Michigan.

I would like to see that as well.

I always appreciate you interest in Fighting Sioux athletics Dan. And since you pay so close attention to what goes on here and always have an opinion than you should know how much our teams have improved over the transition. Has it always been pretty? No it hasn't. I guess I would be concerned if we weren't beating these worst of the worst teams. That hasn't been the case. We have been beating those teams and than some and improvement has been happening. Now with a nice conference, arguably the most impressive schedules of all the Dakota schools, and a lot of youth that has gained a lot of experience the last couple of years, things are headed in the right direction.

Well it looks like that Montana game at the Alerus could be even more interesting as they will probably have either Joe Montana's son or Tate Forcier at QB. The QB situation at Montana never stays to down for long.

Your right, that is not the same at all. UND isn't going to pay ndsu a couple hundred thousand for a game. I'm also guessing if UND hockey was to pay a school that amount of money they would sign the contract in a second. The money has a lot more to do with it than the hype, don't kid yourself. That game is no different than NDSU playing Wyoming or Colorado St. And a final fact and maybe someone could help me find it cause I know its listed somewhere, take away the outdoor game last year at Camp Randall and something like 4 of the top 5 attended games at Wisconsin for hockey when they played UND. Hell the top attended games for most schools in the WCHA aren't when they play Minnesota and Wisconsin, its when they play UND. I don't agree with the earlier statement that it will hurt Wisconsin more than UND but I won't get on a board and post absolute nonsense to try and prove a point.

Congrats to Shane and his team. That is a pretty neat accomplishment. I know we are missing a big or two in our last few years of recruiting but I will give Jones credit that he is finding talent and has been able to pull it from some good programs. The improvement has been noticeable.

Transition is the key word. It hasn't always been pretty but after seeing the young talent at the spring game I'm excited about that. Our first two years schedules after transition are better than anything ndsu has thrown together the last few years. There is no denying it hasn't been pretty at times but its a transition for a reason. We're headed in the right direction. It took a few years to sort out the mess our previous AD left us but everything is starting to fall into place nicely.

I was only partially joking when I typed it. I think everyone understands the scheduling. It was an opportunity to poke the man who's already had 3-4 excuses on why scheduling couldn't be done when everyone really knows he just doesn't want to schedule the game cause of what happened in '03-'04. Not the nickname or the conference or the all ready full schedules, its about the past and I'm fine with that. Its just funny watching the excuses pile up. Until than its just comparing two teams that don't play. No way to prove who is better. That was really the point of my post. P.S. I agree with you on the tailgate party. It would and will be fun when it happens. And everyone who says they have moved on will be the first in line to buy tickets.

darrell is a resident of Fargo who fights the flood year in and year out. I'm pretty sure as a resident who has put his time in fighting the flood his comment was not out of line. I think you need to chill out. You realize you are upset about him making a comment about "their sandbags" and not any form of flooding that has happened in his own town.

It all boils down to our QB play and more consistent play from our secondary. The main issues we had last year are what caused them problems the season they where 3-8. Bottom line is I saw a lot of improvement just throughout the spring. I could care less what they think as the only way to truely compare teams will be when Gene finally runs out of excuses and finally schedules us. Until than its all talk.