nodakvindy

Can anyone open the webcast directly in media player? get codec error messages when i try to.

I have to admit I never understood how this matchup came about. A North Dakota-South Dakota game would seem to make a lot more sense. And for Montana, Idaho seems the more likely rival.

Do you have Windows Media Player 11? I couldn't get this to work at all last night, but used to do it with the previous broadcast on version 10. Also, anyone able to get the embedded player to work with Firefox? I had a lot of buffing problems last night, missed several goals. Hopefully they have enough bandwidth to support all of the people that will now be watching.

I'll be there tomorrow night, so I can give you a report on if it matches the hype.

I think another factor is the addition of Olympic size rinks. Much easier to to slow down a game, the 2004 NCAA tourney game against Denver is a perfect example. Even skill teams like Minnesota score a high percentage of their goals on the powerplay, which is greatly enhanced on the big sheet. If you went back to more NHL size rinks I believe scoring would go up.

I guess I don't see this as such a death blow. As a kid growing up in western North Dakota, I associated more with the Big Eight/12 Schools, so I would love to see schools like Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado or Iowa State on the schedule. And for basketball, Kansas is certainly a more exciting option than any Big 10 school other than the 2 that we played exhibition games against this year. There is a lot less arrogance and elitism from the Big 12 despite posessing schools that are every bit the equal athletically and academically.

I'd love that bracket as well, as it would easily allow me to see the games. Thumping Michigan again would be an added bonus.

The NCAA Tourney is fine as it is. There is no reason to screw the two new leagues. How do they ever get better if you automatically make them cannon fodder for the first seed? The real frauds are the ECACHL and CCHA. Those leagues have done virtually nothing in the tournament in about 5 years, with multiple entries. It wasn't that long ago we only had a 12 team tourney. Those extra four spots are due to the CHA and Atlantic Hockey. The play-in sucks for the NCAA hoops tourney and it would suck for hockey as well.

I just got back from a trip and happened to visit the Medal of Honor Museum in South Carolina. I thought I'd share one of the amazing stories I read while I was there. A true American hero. ATKINS, THOMAS E. Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 127th Infantry, 32d Infantry Division. Place and date: Villa Verde Trail, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 10 March 1945. Entered service at: Campobello, S.C. Birth: Campobello, S.C. G.O. No.: 95, 30 October 1945. Citation: He fought gallantly on the Villa Verde Trail, Luzon, Philippine Islands. With 2 companions he occupied a position on a ridge outside the perimeter defense established by the 1st Platoon on a high hill. At about 3 a.m., 2 companies of Japanese attacked with rifle and machinegun fire, grenades, TNT charges, and land mines, severely wounding Pfc. Atkins and killing his 2 companions. Despite the intense hostile fire and pain from his deep wound, he held his ground and returned heavy fire. After the attack was repulsed, he remained in his precarious position to repel any subsequent assaults instead of returning to the American lines for medical treatment. An enemy machinegun, set up within 20 yards of his foxhole, vainly attempted to drive him off or silence his gun. The Japanese repeatedly made fierce attacks, but for 4 hours, Pfc. Atkins determinedly remained in his fox hole, bearing the brunt of each assault and maintaining steady and accurate fire until each charge was repulsed. At 7 a.m., 13 enemy dead lay in front of his position; he had fired 400 rounds, all he and his 2 dead companions possessed, and had used 3 rifles until each had jammed too badly for further operation. He withdrew during a lull to secure a rifle and more ammunition, and was persuaded to remain for medical treatment. While waiting, he saw a Japanese within the perimeter and, seizing a nearby rifle, killed him. A few minutes later, while lying on a litter, he discovered an enemy group moving up behind the platoon's lines. Despite his severe wound, he sat up, delivered heavy rifle fire against the group and forced them to withdraw. Pfc. Atkins' superb bravery and his fearless determination to hold his post against the main force of repeated enemy attacks, even though painfully wounded, were major factors in enabling his comrades to maintain their lines against a numerically superior enemy force.

The one thing that would concern me (and it apparently concerns Alberta) is the "10 year pilot program". There are still a lot of legal issues here, notably Title IX which of course does not apply in Canada, and would potentially allow the Canadian schools to quickly build up moneymaking mens programs without comparable women's offerings.

I don't know what is the shocking data here, wealthier counties pay more in taxes than poor counties. If you even have a grasp of how the tax brackets work that should be pretty obvious. I guess this blogger thinks that someone who makes $100,000 should pay a smaller percentage of their income in taxes than someone who makes $20,000, since that is what he is arguing in his rant against the North Dakota Congressional delegation.

While there may be pockets in CO and AZ, the vast majority of out-of-state alumni are in the Twin Cities and that's clearly a check for the Mid-Con. While having football and basketball in the same league would be nice, I don't think it's a necessity. And people consistently seem to neglect the time difference. That would certainly hurt media coverage, with games not finishing it time for newspaper deadlines and the evening news.

The Big Sky has fallen considerably with the losses of Boise St., Idaho and Nevada. I'm not sure how UND is a good fit for the Sky at this point. The sporting offerings don't match up, it's a very poor geographic fit - let alone the time zone issues, and it doesn't fit into the UND recruiting footprint. As much as it pains some, the Mid-Con is clearly a better fit.

I think to ease this burden on Minnesota, it would be the neighborly thing for UND to offer to host all WCHA hockey contests with the Gophers from now on. While it would be an additional expense to host these extra dates, it would be the honorable thing for us to do so that Mariucci is not sullied by the "hostile and abusive" colors. We should also make the same offer to Wisconsin, hostin all future games between the Sioux and Badgers.

Nothing is required. If morals mean so much, simply forfeit the games.

I think this threat is a little overblown. Minnesota is already a selective school, so I think this just means that students already there are going to get a break. I don't know how much higher their enrollment can possibly get. I think UND also draws a lot of students that simply don't want to go to a school that big or live in the Twin Cities. This will just force UND to more aggressively recruit other areas, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

The games are on TV on CN8. You should be able to watch the webcast at www.cn8.com.

Unfortunately, Eli Manning is quarterbacking GVSU.

I don't see how UND voting for a move up five years ago would have changed things. A conference move like they really would have needed a unanimous vote to work. If it had been 5-4, do you really think that the schools that voted against it would just say "OK, let's go up to Division I". I think the browbeating of UND on that vote really misses that point. I just don't think DI was viable at that time for the Augie and the other hockey playing schools and that knowledge factored greatly into UND's vote. The real failure in saving the NCC was not locking up new members following UNC's departure

With Clear Channel going private, they are dumping their stations in smaller markets. It will be interesting to see if this has any impact on UND's broadcast packages. There will likely be some realignments and that could impact fans out west. On the plus side, hopefully KKXL-AM will get a national sports talk package and we can be spared the horrible KFAN programming.

Sadly, this wouldn't surprise me at all. I think we are now under the NCAA microscope, and should expect a lot of decisions to go against us. On another note of interest, Newberry is hosting.

Count me in for the Mid-Con. It is a better fit with schools that are closer than the Big Sky, and also better matches UND's sports offerings. It is also closer to the main alumni base in North Dakota and Minnesota. And now it has traditional rivals with NDSU and SDSU. It makes a lot more sense to quickly re-establish those rivalries in a conference setting, than trying to do so with non-conference games. Working against the Big Sky is that time zone issue, with many away games starting late in the evening for broadcast purposes, think UAA hockey. Also, many of the schools are at altitude, putting UND at a not insignificant disadvantage. It terms of prestige, that's really negligible, we're not talking BCS conference here, or even a well known Mid-major like the MAC or Missouri Valley. These are one-bid leagues for hoops. The only thing remotely attractive about the Big Sky is Montana and Montana St., and even then, of the border state ties to Montana are the weakest.

For those satellite viewers out there, I found out the CN8 is broadcasting the Dartmouth Tournament and apparently they are/might be FTA. I'm no expert, but I found this link showing where CN8 is. Hope it works our for you. I know they show a lot of other games out of New England as well (Hockey East and ECAC). http://www.lyngsat.com/amc1.html Check under 3940V Hope this helps.

It will be interesting to see how the NCAA deals with the Southland Conference/Central Arkansas proposal. If it's passed, that would allow the Mid-Con (or Big Sky) to take the Us immediately and not hurt their conference. For the Mid-Con getting to 12 would allow Divisional schedule that would likely lower costs for all schools as well as provide an extra buffer should Southern Utah or Centenary eventually leave. Like the SUs, the Us are attractive as flagship schools, and could really help boost the profile of the league. If it was done quickly, it could also make a Mid-Con football league a reality. The NCAA favors all-sports leagues, and in that way the Mid-Con could be preferable to the Gateway, especially if Western Illinois could be brought in. That would drop the Gateway to six, and with Youngstown as a possibly defection to I-A a loss of the autobid could happen.

Boston to Hanover would be about 2-2.5 hours. Fly into Manchester, NH instead. The airfare on Northwest is about the same right now, but you are an hour closer, and it's a much easier airport to navigate. Rental cars are usually cheaper and there are fewer taxes and airport surcharges. Also, when you drop off the rental car, it is right at the airport lot, so you don't need to take shuttle like at Logan. And there is no big dig to worry about.