farce poobah

If a BCS Playoff diminishes the corruption and power wielded by the bowls today, then I'm all for it. Otherwise ... it will turn into a 32 team event, not right away but within 15 years.

Great recall. Good example.

How many NBA Championship rings does Allen Iverson have? Oh yeah, Z-E-R-O. Keep insisting the kids go to practice. Keep teaching kids that their actions have consequences. Keep teaching that taking shortcuts through life leaves you with Z-E-R-O.

I haven't seen a team as focused and disciplined as New Jersey in a long time. They simply were not going to let Philly's antic pull them off their game ... "between the whistles" as DeBoer said before the series started. Fun to watch.

Wow did the Devils curbstomp Philly in Game 4. The only place Philly had an edge was after the whistle goonery. Its all they had left.

I would rather those schools come out in the open and say "we won't schedule UND". I suspect - but have no proof - that these are the tip of the iceberg. What REALLY scares me are those in the closet who won't schedule us but won't go public with the reason.

I'm still trying to figure out what the heck Hamhuis was doing. Yours is the only plausible explanation. LA and St Louis make for interesting matchups.

As of tonight, the #3 and #4 faceoff men in the playoffs are UND alumni. Toews at 63% and Zajac at 62%. http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?gameType=3&position=S&season=20112012&sort=faceOffWinPctg&status=A&viewName=faceOffPercentage

Disagree. I looked back at the WCHA record in the NCAA's over the last decade. Teams that played more WCHA playoff games have poorer records. Teams that played 6 WCHA games have never won an NCAA game in the last decade. One team that lost in WCHA round 1 went on to win it all (Denver), while another that lost in round 1 (CC, last year) went on to upset vaunted BC. The NCHC needs to ease up on the meat grinder that is league playoffs. Let's give our teams a fighting chance to win in the NCAA's. PS. If you need more proof, look at how much better the CCHA has done since switching playoff formats.

Congratulations to TJ Oshie, Chris Porter, and the St Louis Blues. 2nd team to advance. Their reward is a few days to heal the bumps and bruises, while four other western teams keep beating the crap out of each other.

I'm certainly not a Flyers fan, but I was glad to see Pittsburgh get their collective butts handed to them for gooning it up Sunday. Asham gets 4 games, Neal gets 1, Adams gets 1. No Philly suspensions.

Having the USNDT in Ann Arbor has certainly led to a home-town advantage for Michigan. Anything that concentrates talent and exposes them to The Ralph has to be a good thing.

Philadelphia has totally demolished Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is totally done. It is indeed strange that Philly is the level-headed and composed team. I can't ever recall a team as talented as Pittsburgh crash and burn this fast and hard.

Dunno about greatest captain ever, the competition is pretty immense: http://www.fightingsioux.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=204969283

[huge sigh] I'm happy for UND, because MSU picked the wrong guy.

I am not a Detroit fan, but I admire their skill, and their ability to find the extra gear when they really need it. Those guys are Professionals in the real sense of the word. That includes Datysuk who might be the best two-way player around.

Knowing Detroit, they won't get even with Weber. They'll mess up one of Nashville's smaller skill guys.

More than Frozen Four... we would have given BC a run. We'd have had the speed and skill needed to really skate with the best. [sigh]

Vancouver totally needs a new coach. Every year they win a ton of regular season games with speed, skill, and diving. Then in the playoffs they turn into total effing goons. In past years, they've gotten away with it, but in game 1 tonight, at least the first 35 minutes, they are getting sent to the box. Again and again. After getting charged from behind, Matt Greene shows characteristic smart restraint and refuses to get sucked into a penalty. Go Kings. Send the divers off to golf season.

Monique with a 6-point night. Jocelyne with 3 points. USA rolls 9-2. Time will tell ... if this was rope-a-dope by the Canadians or Team USA is really that good. http://stats.iihf.co...1A04_74_3_0.pdf

Today they start. Canada-USA tonight. Michelle Karvinen with an assist and +1 earlier today.

Him too. Wouldn't trade Grimaldi for either, however.

If that's really our lineup next season - no more departures - next year's Sioux could be a lot better than this year's Sioux. Much more high end talent, much greater upside. In goal: The biggest question mark. Even there though, a proven veteran from UAH, an elite talent (Gothberg), and a guy the team can rally around (Maris). With the strength on defense, we need a guy who can make the first stop and put the rebound in the right places. I think we have that. On D: the strength of the team, once again. 5 returnees from this season, an elite recruit, and the chance to put some defensemen back at forward. At Forward: With Knight at center, we will once again start shifts with the puck 60-65% of the time. Better speed upfront, with Kristo one of the most explosive skaters - first two strides - I've ever seen at UND. Overall, more talent than 2011-2012, but do the newcomers have as much heart as the departures? Time will tell.

Was the WCHA down this year? Not before teams started getting crushed with injuries accompanied by early departures. Denver, down 3-5 guys for the end of the season, and Zucker playing with 1 arm in the regionals. How much difference would Beau Bennett made in their lineup in that close game vs Ferris State? CC, UNO, St Cloud all would have been potentially formidable teams in the NCAA tournament but for losing multiple players for long periods of time. And I don't need to remind people on this board about UND. BC hasn't had a star-caliber player go down with injury this season. If we put a fully-stocked Denver, CC or North Dakota up against them, I think its a competitive battle. (Remember CC took out BC just 12 months ago.) But hey them's the breaks. Go Ferris.

Personally, I would have a different definition of "cool". Cool is someone that picked their own path, and doesn't try to be something they aren't. Several of their list are impressive or even awe-inspiring (LSU baseball, the Ralph). Griz stadium is cool, and App State. I've had the fortune to be at several stadiums that I would call cool, but I don't know they qualify as "never heard of". For example: * U of Minnesota's Williams Arena, the Barn, is cool. An elevated floor? Cool. * the old Broadmoor Arena, was cool. (RIP) * Dane County Coliseum. Beer garden? NFW! Cool. All that said, it is way cool to go to games at the Ralph for 11 seasons and counting ...