nodakvindy

I'm pulling for a split. The Sioux still control their own destiny with the Bulldogs, so no reason to pull for a Gopher sweep. Also, Minnesota is up to #4 in the PWR, notching a top seed and keeping them out of North Dakota's bracket. Don't want to see them on the Olympic ice come tourney time. A split gives us a chance to retake sole lead over the Bulldogs and is probably enough to keep the Gophers in the top 4 of the Pair Wise. This is a huge series for Minnesota, if they are swept it will be very tough to make the top 3, which is vital this year.

The wonder of the web cam. I think we'd all like to do this sometimes. http://www.e-places.net/samples/stfu.html?fix

Minnesota should be made to forfeit due to unplayable conditions. This is a joke!

The Hyatt gatherings are usually quite good. One note though, there is no $10 cover charge. That was a mistake in an alumni association mailing. I wish it was for both nights, rather than just Saturday. I'd be interested if anyone knows about anything for Friday night.

Yeah, maybe we should go to IAA where that problem doesn't exist.

Dogz makes a great point UND vs top half of WCHA 7-1-1 UND vs bottom half of WCHA 5-0-1 Minn vs top half of WCHA 0-5-1 Minn vs bottom half of WCHA 8-2-0 We'll see this weekend. Both teams have a lot of tough games left, but the next two weeks will tell a lot about the Gophers, with UND and Wisconsin coming to town.

Didn't mean the westerner thing as a slight, I am one myself, but that area is not nearly as in to hockey and it would make more sense for two NFL athletes to be rated higher than a hockey player. There have been many years where there was little or no media coverage of the Sioux hockey team in the western part of the state. Radio affiliates often pre-empt games for local high school sports or are of a low power unavailable outside of Bismarck or Minot.

How quickly we forget Virgil Hill. Won a silver medal, has the most ever Lt. Heavyweight title defenses, and helped the state by bringing many of his title bouts to venues around North Dakota. I would rank him second to Maris as an athlete alone. In terms of total sporting impact, I would rank Jackson higher. Also I find the ranking of Phil Hansen and Jimmy K. above Ed Belfour stunning. Must have gotten a lot of westerners in the poll.

When the DIII proposal goes through (and it appears it will), I would like to see CC move up to DII and join the NCC. This would position the whole conference well for a possible move to DI later on. Nearly all the schools are similar philosophically. At that point, Denver could likely be coaxed to join, getting out out of the Sun Belt black hole. This would also be a great fallback position in case a Big 10 hockey league ever came to pass. A DI NCC hockey league would have the same voice in NCAA terms as the Big Ten. The league would probably be able to get a deal with CSTV, something Minnesota's Fox Sports North deal effectively prevents now. Under this scenario, the NCC could gradually up football scholarships to the IAA max of 63. I think this was a sticking point in the NCC not moving up when NDSU and SDSU left. NDSU wanted to ramp up immediately, as football is their cash cow. I could see SDSU dropping to non-scholarship football (Pioneer League) and devoting all that money to hoops, hoping to become a heartland version of Gonzaga, likely in the Missouri Valley Conference. That would leave an NCC of Hockey schools - North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota State-Mankato, St. Cloud State, Nebraska-Omaha, Colorado College and Denver Non Hockey - South Dakota, Augustana Hockey only NCC members - Alaska Anchorage and Michigan Tech (if they wanted to) Keep UAA becuase you get the extra games for playing up there and keep Michigan Tech for the MacNaughton Cup. Probably never happen, but it's interesting to think about.

Perhaps it will include an IMAX theatre. That would fall more in the destination realm. Also, I think a mini golf course would be a great feature, as I don't believe there has been one in town for a few years.

It should be an interesting series and I don't think the Sioux will take UAA lightly. That said, I hope the guys don't give a rats a$$ about Fournier. He's the college hockey equivalent of Jeff Weaver. He's gone now and we are 14-2-1 against a brutal schedule with a great shot at the MacNaughton Cup and bigger glory. They need to keep their eyes on the prize and not worry about settling some perceived old score with an annoying little brother.

UND has won 27 or 28 straight against ECAC teams. Included in that streak are wins over every team in the conference except Union, Harvard and Colgate. The last loss came in the 84-85 season when the Sioux split a series with RPI. That RPI team was one of the best clubs in ECAC history, going 35-2-1 and eventually winning the NCAA title. Oh, and it featured one Adam Oates.

This "bowls make money" thing is a crock. I was in Nashville last year and the Music City Bowl was crushed when they learned Minnesota would be in. The Gophs don't travel well and that bowl lost a ton of money. If the bowls were swimming in cash they would pick teams that deserve to be there, not ones who travel well and get the tickets sold. Most of these places have bowls to attract tourist dollars. Well, neutral site NCAA playoff games would do that, just like the hoops regionals do. If you want, you can still have the minor bowls (Humanitarian, Independence, Ft. Worth, etc.) for non-playoff teams, serving a purpose similar to that of the NIT.

The rule applies in every sport except football and basketball. So a total of three (BB mens and womens) of the more than 50 NCAA sponsored activities. Who is the exception? The point of IAAA schools was brought up. At least they conduct all their sports at the DI level. Maybe NDSU should just drop football and then they would be a legitimate DI school across the board.

My dad is watching in Garrison.

Can you say Lee Goren?

Ashamed to say UNAGRAD is right on the money here. Even the original posts quoted by Goon were at least limited to football. The responding stereotypical attacks were pretty lame and for the most part off the mark. Let's leave the personal cheap shots to God's Gift to IAA. I have to admit that prior to 2001 I wasn't too fond of UNA. The 1994 semifinal was an ugly game and that team ran so much smack it was unbelievable. But UND's trip down for the 2001 championship proved a chance to rehab that image. The folks down there love DII football and the hospitality was great. I would like to think we can return the favor for their trip up here. Perhaps we can all fly on one flight back to Florence after Saturday's game. North Dakota Fighting Sioux - The only ndsu opponent still playing football in 2003

It's Grand Valley all over again. Long play in late going. GO SIOUX!!!

Winona just scored to make it 14-7 late first half. Lueck had a 72 yard punt return TD and Caleb Johnson scored on a short TD catch. In the East, Grand Valley beat Saginaw Valley.

bisonguy, I'd agree the disparity in scholarships between the haves and have nots is more pronounced now, but in the 80s there were few teams at max scholarships, NDSU being one. That is what made the Team Makers such a pivotal part of the program. NDSU was able to load up on talent much like Nebraska at the Division I level. They devoted a lot of resources to the football program and were rewarded with championships. This was the same time UND hockey was experiencing its 80s Golden Age and that's where UND chose to devote resources. To the Bison fans out there: Has there been any decision yet on what sports will be added or cut to facilitate the new football scholarships. It would seem that decision will need to come fairly soon or a Title IX lawsuit is right around the corner.

What is there to defend? Most of your bogus top ten was just repeated whining about the regional nature of the playoffs. Do you also dislike the North Dakota high school playoffs, which have a similar structure? All four major pro leagues have playoffs that are split arbitrarily, are they bad as well. In terms of attendance, the logical extension of that argument would be that the BCS is the finest means of determining a champ, as attendance for the BCS Bowls blows IAA out of the water. Also your claim about no Bentley's is wrong. The non-scholarship Patriot League actually gets an autobid. Colgate, this year's champ, received the #4 seed in the playoffs. And finally, as Sicatoka pointed out, the criteria are clearly laid out. I'm not here to run down the IAA playoffs, just trying to point out that they have just as many faults as the D2 playoffs. There didn't seem to be these problems in the 80s when the Bison were the New York Yankees of the Division, riding their scholarship advantage to National Titles. With the playing field leveled, the Bison are now just a nice team that gets to the playoffs on occasion.

What's better about it? MEAC Champ North Carolina A&T was jobbed similar to So. Illinois. They defeated Bethune Cookman, but hit the road while Bethune Cookman gets a home game. What good is winning the league if you aren't rewarded? I'll agree the region thing is weak, but that affects one, maybe two teams at most. Who would you have replaced in this year's D2 field if it wasn't regional, and who would you replace them with. If D2 had a playoff system like 1AA, there would be 8 autobids, likely to the following: RMAC, Lone Star, NCC, MIAA, Gulf South, SAC, GLIAC, PSAC The 1AA system might let one more deserving team in, and might allow conference foes to battle for a national championship rather than a regional final, but there is little practical difference.

Bison fans that think fleeing D2 means an end to playoff politics may be in for a rude awakening. A close friend of mine who is a Southern Illinois alum has been following the Salukis closely all year. They finished the season 10-1, co-champs of the Gateway Conference, their only blemish a 43-40 road loss to Northern Iowa. For this they earn a trip to 11-1 Delaware, the number two seed in the playoffs. Meanwhile 9-2 Northern Iowa hosts Montana State, a club with five losses, including one to Northern Colorado. Also, Western Kentucky (who the Salukis beat) and Montana each host games despite having three losses. Just goes to show that this stuff goes on at all levels.

Yo! Winona State won a playoff game, so I don't think they have to prove anything. I thinks it's the weak MIAA that now has something to prove. Duluth was no slouch last year in the playoffs. Top to bottom the NSIC is clearly weaker, but their top teams are playoff worthy. They aren't like the Bentleys or CW Posts.