tnt

The insubordination began with some PC professors at UND. If Hakstol got fired for speaking out, they should have as well.

I would say that the fact that Bjugstad is one of, if not the scoring leader in the WCHA as an underage sophomore would seem to portend well for him in the future. Only more room for him to grow physically and mentally.

Perhaps that is what led to the apparent need for silence on the homefront. Again, I don't disagree that it should be practiced, just not happy that it wasn't part of the philosophy before it ever came to this.

It was done a long time ago in a tribal ceremony. If permission wasn't granted we wouldn't be having this discussion today -- period. We would have had another nickname that we cultivated and branded over the years and wouldn't have to start over 50 years later.

I'm afraid that is how the politcally correct machine of the world runs. Whine and whine until it wears people out into capitulating. What bothers me the most is that it seems by coaches saying they can't comment at this time, that they are being muzzled on the subject. While at this point it is probably best that they don't fan the flame, it really galls me that muzzling people wasn't practiced wisely by the prior administrations at UND. I fully agree with Ralph Engelstad that Professors that were slamming UND about the nickname years ago should have been fired because they worked for the institution. The fact that it now appears to be the other way around is really upsetting. If someone would have had the common sense back then to tell the Professor's to shut their yap if they want to remain employed at UND, then maybe it would never have come to this. Don't know if that same ultimatum has been laid down for the coaches now, but they sure get eerily quiet and on edge any time the nickname is mentioned.

To add insult to injury, Grimaldi and O'Donnell barely played much their freshman seasons, so there will still be a bit of a learning curve next year, beyond the rehabilitation taking up the offseason. Rodwell could have used a little more game experience as well as a sophomore.

Sounds to me like Minnesota is setting it up with the Notre Dame contract and playing all of these games to use the old "we'd like to play UND, but we just don't have the room on the schedule". Of course Bemidji State knows that refrain all too well. Wonder if any of these games will be return games, or home and home.

What does he want upgraded, the stuff that fans don't see or the audio and video stuff, or a combination?

Yes, I'm sure his motives are as pure as the driven snow. If he is so concerned about it, why doesn't he keep all of those early commits he has on scholarship? Or is this another example of supporting someone in name only, not in deed?

Wonder if the other Lamoureux brother ever regrets playing for Red Deer and losing his college eligibility. I think he ended up playing for the Manitoba Bisons and I believe now is some graduate assistant or something at UND.

I like the idea of an Xcel, Target Center rotation better. Of course I have friends in Minneapolis so I don't have to pay for a hotel room.

If money is an issue for Michigan, they could just do an outdoor game every year and fill the Big House with over 110,000 people. It has always shocked me that they can get that many people for a game at Michigan, yet they stay status quo in a 6000 seat Yost Arena. How much money are they losing by not building a new arena. I would bet that somewhere not too far off in the future Michigan will build a fancy new arena and they will have a much easier time recruiting the top end guys than they already do.

http://ndgoon.blogsp...bal-verbal.html Schlossman's article is no longer available, but there are quotes from the article in Goon's recap.

I believe Lucia is the one that has wanted that for years, while the other coaches have continued to hold fast to the "hands off" rule. I believe if the Big Ten goes to it, the other leagues are sure to follow.

Which is why regionals should go to the highest seed East and West.

Surpised that Michigan is going to go along with this "neutral site".

I would think the Target Center could be a consideration as well.

Yeah, I saw a couple of green Sioux jerseys at the Phoenix Open on "Green Day". They were on the crazy 16th hole when Mickelson came through.

I think you see a lot of older players that are up in various leagues stats that don't have scholarships. Don't know if that means that they don't feel that the upside is as great as a younger player putting up good stats against older players or what. I guess the question might be is he putting up the stats because he is playing against younger guys, and how much more potential does he have to grow. Sometimes it might be a matter of wondering about team chemistry, although he obviously hasn't had a problem fitting in with the USHL. Don't know what kind of a player he is, but would he fit into Hakstol's style of being hard to play against and the characteristic work ethic. Don't know the answer to any of these questions, but it would seem odd that at least an Alaska Anchorage or some other teams that aren't able to garner the high-end talent wouldn't take a chance on him if he were eligible.

Eaves said that the refs told him it wouldn't have been a penalty a year ago but because of the unsuspecting nature of the hit it warranted a major penalty. My question is this, why don't players just skate with their heads down all the time and just focus on the puck, they can stickhandle better that way and could get a major penalty out of the deal, all under the guise of it being unsuspected. At some point on hits from the front, players need to be responsible for their own safety. Like I said before, pretty soon they will be legislating hitting out of the game, and this is just the first step in that progression. Pretty soon you will only be able to rub somebody out of the play without any force. I remember when a good open ice hit was something to cheer, not a reason to be tossed from the game. Not disputing that the player was hurt, but pretty soon players will stay down to make the officials contemplate more of a penalty as they are lying there. I can see the hit from behind by Brendan Woods being a game DQ late in the game because the puck was already gone and it was very close to the boards but I think that if Eddy doesn't stay down I don't think they call that one.

Tambellini was second star in a 4-0 win with a goal and an assist. Goalie with 41 saves and a shutout was first star.

If you thought it was a clean hit, then he most likely did too. If you are a competitive player and get booted from a game unjustly in your eyes, wouldn't you be a little mad. I know people that are so competitive that they have no idea how agressive and out of control they are and they are pretty mello out of that competitive environment. I have a feeling we are going to see more reactions like that simply because officials are going to error on the side of safety when somebody gets hurt. It bothers me that they officiate that way because you are going to get the occasional flopper who can put one past the refs, or in the WCHA's case, put a bunch past the refs.

Optimism is one thing, but using words like unstoppable is quite another, especially when we will be moving up to one of the best conferences in FCS. Many fans were calling for Mussman's head last year, probably you included, so even if you have the talent, it still needs to be in the right spots and execute the game plan, that is if the game plan is good. Besides that, most of these guys that are making people excited for the future won't be playing next year. I would temper the enthusiasm a bit, otherwise the unrealistic expectations could make next year less enjoyable, even if they perform well in their first year of the Big Sky.

Kris Chucko. You probably had Nick Checco on your mind, even though he wasn't Canadian.

True, but then why do you sign a four year deal with Notre Dame?