nodakvindy

I think it may indeed be Poulin. Check out Brad's latest blog post. I wonder if he's giving us a hint.

For UND and CC the next tiebreaker would be total goals in all league games. UND is currently +21 and CC is +8, so barring some crazy results, UND would have the tiebreaker with a split.

Looking like this is how it will end up. USA heading into the playoffs with a lot of momentum. That's not a bad draw, but you still have to win the games. 1 USA 8 Switzerland 9 Belarus 4 Finland 5 Czech Republic 12 Latvia 2Sweden 7 Slovakia 10 Norway 3 Russia 6 Canada 11 Germany

Yes it was. Very entertaining. Norway's top line isn't bad. The little guy is very fun to watch and Thoresen is one of the leading scorers in the KHL. They just don't have the depth to hang with the stronger teams.

That also puts pre-games favorites Sweden, Russia and Canada in the opposite half of the bracket and would likely have the USA facing the Finland=Czech Republic winner for a berth in the gold medal game. So yes, for tonight I'd say Go Sweden, or at least Go overtime!

That's why they need to get rid of Bettman. This should absolutely continue. I also like this 12 team format. It's nice to get the Norways and Belarus into the Olympics along with the big guns. It's the only way these other countries can improve and make for an even more competitive event.

If top seed US would play Switzerland-Belarus winner, if #2 Slovakia-Norway winner. With only the Sweden-Finland game left, seedings nearly set 1 2 3 Russia 4 5 6 Canada 7 Slovakia 8 Switzerland 9 Belarus 10 Norway 11 Germany 12 Latvia For the 1-2 seeds If Finns win in regulation they are 1 and US is 2 Swedes must win by 6 to get top seed If game goes to overtime - USA 1, winner 2, loser 4 Czechs 5 Other 4-5 scenarios Even with loss Finns get 4 seed and bye unless they are shutout and give up at least seven goals. For Swedes to get 4 seed with loss, they must score at least four and can't lose by more than one goal.

USA wins and gets the bye. Canada falls to the #6 seed and faces Germany with the winner to face Russia in the quarters. Pressure definitely on the Maple Leaf now.

Ditto that!

KESLER ENG 5-3 USA!!!

What a great stretch of play. Three straight breakaways alternating to no avail. Gutty effort from team USA.

The little leaguer with the Big goal. Drury puts USA up 3-2 late 2nd.

And Rafalski puts USA back up 2-1 Only took 22 seconds. Early on, this has the makings of a classic. Lots of pressure and up and down the ice action.

USA up 1-0, Rafalski scored 41 secs in.

That's how you start out, BABY!

Russia wins to grab a bye and the #3 seed If U.S. can beat Canada in regulation, that would put Canada and Russia in the same quarterfinal bracket. If USA can grab that top seed, they would get the Swiss or Belarus in the quarters and in the opposite half of the bracket of the Canadians and Russians. Bottom 7 now set 7 Slovakia 8 Switzerland 9 Belarus 10 Norway 11 Germany 12 Latvia

Today's Norway-Switzerland game has been a barn-burner. The new top Norwegian line has actually looked very strong. Would be quite an upset if the "little brother" of Scandinavian hockey could pull off the win. Today and tomorrow's games should be great as teams battle for a good seeding position. Swiss just won it in OT and kept themselves from finishing bottom of the group. That could have made for a harrowing pre-quarterfinal game for one of the big powers.

USA just dropped a tough one to Germany to fall to 0-2. Will be a difficult hole to climb out of. On a positive note, USA looking very good in women's downhill. And NBC might even show it in about 7 hours.

Watching Russia-Latvia and Ovechkin just had an absolute snipe on gorgeous pass from Semin to put the Russians up 3-0 after 1. They are very fun to watch.

If this were to come to fruition I think the Pac 10 would likely prefer Utah over K State - travel partners Utah-Colorado and Kansas-Nebraska. It would also make more sense for the ACC to take Cincy over South Florida. Cincy gives an opening into fertile Ohio football recruiting and a basketball program with a ton of tradition. Those additions would also make the ACC the best basketball league by a mile.

I think it's interesting that all these leagues are so willing to gamble on what is ultimately short term TV money. TV as we know it is dying, just like newspapers. The networks are going to start dialing back on overbidding sports because they can't keep hemorrhaging money. And at some point, cable will move to a la carte pricing because the total saturation will require it. Internet content is the future, with on-demand being huge. This is why baseball is so well poised for the future. You'll never hear it from the NFL-loving media, but MLB has done an outstanding job with it's online ventures and has a virtually limitless amount of content to provide. As for a top level of schools bolting from the NCAA and the "mid-major" schools, well that ignores the perhaps most driving principle of developing a sports fan base and making money - Al Davis's "Just Win Baby". In a top heavy division you will quickly turn a lot of "haves" into "have nots". That will not fly with those schools, their fans and alumni. The system as it exists now works because you have many schools willing to be cannon fodder because it allows them to be associated with the "power schools". The mid majors are the Washington Generals to the BCS schools' Harlem Globetrotters. The Generals' know their role, but without them you ultimately don't have the show.

And to add insult to injury, Minot now gets United Service to Denver.

The Cowboys didn't dub themselves America's Team, NFL Films and CBS did. You may not like it, but it's pretty tough to dispute.

Looks like Delta is added westbound service to Salt Lake City from all major cities except Grand Forks. This is really a bad break and will likely drive more traffic to FAR. Hopefully GFK is working hard behind the scenes. Having westbound service would be extremely beneficial for UND if it ends up in a western-based conference as opposed to the Summit.

There was actually a documentary at the Sundance Film Festival called GASLAND, talking about some of these issues. I didn't see the film, but it had a fair amount of buzz. I don't think there is any magical formula to solve our energy problems. There are never easy answers and if something is too good to be true, it usually is. Natural gas can certainly take on a greater role, but the acquisition of it will have to be balanced against risks fracking poses to our water supplies. Other alternatives, like renewable sources and nuclear will have to be part of our energy future. And hopefully we will continue to develop more efficient techologies that will require less energy to begin with.