mikejm

So you're saying there's still a chance...

Yeah, $10 mil is nothing to me. Ralph's gift was initially $50 mil for a rink, and $50 mil for academics. By the time he was done flying around the country looking at other rinks and adding in stuff he saw that he liked, he'd spent more than $100 mil on the rink alone. He could've added $10 mil more to the budget without batting an eye. And whether or not Ralph could've foreseen the NCAA's hostile and abusive campaign is immaterial. There was already a very visible and vocal "dump the nickname" movement on campus and around the state. He knew there was at least a possibility the thing would go beyond the tipping point. Heck, it happened while he was building the rink. I don't blame the current situation on Ralph, but he was in a position to solve it a long time ago.

The elephant in the room here is that this could've all been done ten years ago when Ralph was building the rink. All he had to do was go to each of the tribes with $5-10 mil and say, "here. I'll try to get you a piece of the action on merchandise sales, too. But take the money and sign this contract giving UND the right to use the name/logo." Adding $10 million to the budget would've been nothing.

You all are aware there is a petition being circulated at Spirit Lake to rescind the "approval" right? I understand there are several hundred signatures on the petition already. This is why the settlement with the NCAA called for a 30-year contract with the tribes.

I bleed Fighting Sioux Green but let's not be too quick to cast aspersions towards NDSU sports program. It isn't that long ago that Rich Glas tossed a couple basketball players off the team for *ahem* disciplinary infractions. And there are others...

This whole thing is starting to resemble a circular firing squad. Regrettable way for something as noble as the Fighting Sioux logo to go down...

Um, yeah; significant investment. The lunch cost me $8.00. And the luncheons are open to anyone. I'm a small-timer.

On which side of this equation are you placing me? I need to know whether to feel good about myself today or otherwise.

This statement could not get any further from the truth. The "issue" was hardly spoken of. And Faison had a huge smile on his face most of the time. Your buddy had given you misinformation.

^Yeah; it doesn't look like it. Something Hakstol said during the luncheon that isn't all that surprising when one thinks of it, but it took me aback. He said, in addition to being banged up, and thus "thin" at some positions, he also mentioned being thin at the maturity department. A team as young as this one was, I shouldn't be surprised. But by March they certainly weren't playing young anymore. Even though Hakstol is sandbagging today about what next year's squad is going to be like, I think he knows what he's got on the roster. And I think he is pretty excited.

I don't know that this is directly to the topic, but Coach Hakstol

I'm with you on both counts here. Nokotas seems like someone is just trying to hard.

Awkward?

One of my kids was at Scheel's in Fargo today and said the UND gear store was a mob scene.

Is there really any question in anyone's mind as to the university's desire? This thing could've been taken care of 10 years ago as two line-items in a construction budget. But that is ancient history. Today, I am disappointed in the university's leadership, and in the SBOHE. But I've been of the mind that the name/logo was gone the minute the "agreement" with the NCAA was made. Everything that's happened since that day has merely been whistling in the dark.

^almost makes the Final Five look cheap.

The concerns might have been warranted. IIRC current UofM AD Joe Maturi hired Blasi in '99. I'd imagine they've kept in touch.

Another potential Gopher coach has been re-signed by his present employer: Miami extends Enrico Blasi thru 2017!

never mind

I think my friend here ^ wins today's Understatement of the Day" award.

I wonder if this is part of what Hakstol was talking about yesterday with regards to off-season training? That's two very solid top lines. I expect great things from Knight next year. I didn't really notice him early on, but he sure made his presence known in the second half. I remember reading about him in the committed prospects thread and thinking, 'wow! he'll be fun to watch' and then being rather disappointed. By the end of January I was drinking the CK Kool-Aid.

Great to see someone really into their job.

I read somewhere that 73.27% of all statistics are made up. The other 19.54% are simply wrong.

Well...... That's interesting!

Seems like a pretty cheesy trophy.