farce poobah

Versus would be outstanding. Probably the biggest is the rush to compete that might come from other places (BigTen TV might show more hockey, maybe ESPN_U would go a bit more often).... ... exposure is good. ======================== Plus, on Versus we get to hear about how all these players grew up wanting to be Sidney Crosby (I keed, I keed)

From my experience, videoconferences work well for "team meetings" of colleagues and coworkers who share common ground and common interests. For meeting with neutral or adversarial parties, face to face is still far superior. Plus, going to Indy is a powerful signal from the state of North Dakota.

Speculation is fun. Strategically, it seems clear the conference is looking for a bigger footprint. Bigger presence in the big-population states in the midwest. Big-time schools. NCHC needs New York (Syracuse), Illinois (Northwestern? oops they would go B1G, OK think of someone else in Chicagoland which is hockey-crazy right now). Iowa State would fit pretty well. Missouri (Lindenwood), Pennsylvania (Pitt? hey they can't let Penn State one-up on them). Canisius is a terrific Jesuit school in a major hockey market (Buffalo). UConn, if they ever put their mind to it. How about Rutgers? Last, if you're going to have a national presence in hockey, you need a significant presence in New England. BC would be the girl everyone wants in their conference, and their other encumbrances are not a problem like for other schools out there.

So the Western logjam is broken. In a span of a few months, we've gone from "no room for anyone, even a solid existing program like UAH" to "we're desperate to save our auto-bid!" In the near term, the Minne-WCHA is looking for member #6. UAH anyone? And depending on what happens in the CCHA, they may be looking for #6: Robert Morris? Niagara? Mercyhurst? But what is exciting about this is the potential this creates for adding big names and population centers. Unlike the NHL which went all the way to the deep south, and is now retrenching, I would think college hockey could have a footprint where hockey at other levels has had a long presence: * in the Twin Cities: St Thomas, or Concordia-St Paul .... * Iowa State: long rumored ... * Chicago: Northwestern, maybe? * St Louis: Lindenwood will probably be going D1 in "everything" as soon as possible. * Syracuse: excellent addition to the CHSL. * even UBC, if that comes to pass. * or pick a major metro area, with a school that isn't overly wedded to football, and you've got a candidate. By itself CHSL doesn't make all that much sense. But I have a strong hunch the key plays in this chess match are yet to come.

It's Fire on Ice. No, really. Fire ON ice.

What's the penalty? In this case, political. At the time the law was passed, the SBOHE blinked because the "court of public opinion" says that North Dakotans overwhelmingly support Fighting Sioux as the nickname. (Phrased that way, it is still overwhelmingly in favor.) Had they come out then as appearing not to support "Fighting Sioux", it would have simply given more ammunition to the power-grabbing ambitions of Carlson and the legislature. So in this case, the penalty to SBOHE was political. We'll see how far the pendulum swings in the court of public opinion toward not wanting to risk UND athletics in their entirety ... and how far the court of public opinion places blame for this fiasco on Carlson and the legislature. With all that said, your original premise - what's the penalty? - is spot on.

Homer would be Bruce Brothers of the Pioneer Press, who picked: Ambroz to go #28. Lucia to go #30. Delusion is alive and well in Rodentland. [rolleyes]

I heard the Seth Ambroz interview too, and had the same reaction: "then why are you going to Minnesota"? Other schools with more NHL-style games and coaches with a proven history of developing players include Denver, Wisconsin, UNO and UMD. Seems like he's destined to be a one-and-done in Minnesota.

Let me start by saying that I am not a fan of Vancouver hockey fans, starting with their treatment of Team USA at the WJC a few years back. However, lost in the chaos afterwards was a strong show of sportsmanship inside the arena and after the game. They applauded their home team with a stick salute. They applauded the Conn Smythe winner. They applauded the Stanley Cup. They applauded when Zdeno Chara raised it. (The booing was pretty much reserved for Bettman. Which is really quite funny.) Beats the h-e-double-hockey-sticks out of Philadelphia.

Well, actually, the Grand Forks delegation - with close UND ties - didn't. But hey, don't let facts get in the way of your delusions. Carry on.

To me, the surprise has always been that we got Travis.

The Last Warrior stands proudly, facing his pursuers. He has not dropped his weapons or his shield. Standing tall to his principles, he has not surrendered. His pursuers are determined to force surrender or death. His existence poses a threat to their sense of being. While others in their community might have tolerated his existence, the posse is determined. The Last Warrior has friends. His friends have given different opinions. Some say fight on, while others say surrender and live. One last choice is to spend a life on the run, independent of a family, occasionally spotted and pursued by the posse. He may be able to exist forever, but such a choice is not really a life at all, but merely an existence. The choice rests with the Last Warrior: will he choose surrender, or death?

I'm looking forward to seeing him develop in the green and white. You could fill a book with North Dakota hockey players who came in with "exceptional" work ethic and left as great hockey players. I might start with Phil Sykes and Doug Smail from my days, and continuing on last years team with players like Frattin and Gregoire.

Agree. You can add "waste of taxpayer money" to the offenses committed here.

I support the decision to close the thread. Everyone had had the opportunity to make their points, over a 2 month period. (All that was going on was a "rehashing match".) In terms of board policy, I think most "old threads" should remain open, based on the possibility of new information about old topics ... it happens a couple times a month and it adds to the flavor. So, routinely closing old threads would be a bad idea. But closing crappy threads does improve the tone of the board, a worthy objective. If we could objectively measure the ratio of "piffing matches" to "solid content", we could set a standard of "when the bulk of discussion is piffing, its time to close it". Until then, making it a judgement call is the next best thing.

Hyperbole = sales job. I have seen 35 years of Sioux hockey, and a few stand out as being exceptionally good at puck possession and using body leverage to ward off an opponent. I would put Gregoire in the top echelon, along with Ryan Bayda, Perry Berezan, Jonathan Toews, Cary Eades, Jim Archibald, Dave Tippett, Lee Goren, Matt Henderson ... to name a few. He may yet be one of the best college players ever, which could be achieved with a Hobey Baker class season. I think he has it in him. (But yes it would be premature to accord that status based on achievements to date.)

Gregoire, if he chooses to return for his senior season, gets to show what he can do in a leadership role. Whether he's named captain or not, he becomes one of the 2-3 top leaders on this team. He'll play top line, PP, PK, and play every night against the opponents top matchup. He's already one of of NCAA's best along the walls, but one more season in NCAA would cement his standing as one of the best ever. Given how important the cycle game is to most NHL teams, and how important puck possession is, that becomes key to his value. I think his value increases with one more season at UND.

I think there's an 80% chance people will still quote arbitrary percentages.

They better hurry up and sign him, because otherwise its looking like there's only 2 games left in their season. I would rather see them take out the Redwings, and see Tippett season continue.

I was with him right up to where he says "almost like the Packers and Green Bay ". Clearly that's backward: UND fans > Packer fans. Other than that, a great read, and a great story about how far hard work plus talent can carry a young person.

An amazing stat of the Hakstol years is crushing the opposition in the regionals. 10 wins, 2 losses. Many of those 12 games were a Sioux team that came in lower-seeded but playing hot coming into the NCAA's. In a four-team regional, the odds are a 25% chance of winning. We've had 3 "extra" trips to the NCAA's because of good performances in regionals. And yes, I'm a glass-is-half-full kinda guy.

Congratulations UMD. As someone who witnessed first-hand the pain of 1984, and the unfair way Fate treated them that night, and 1985, and 2004, this was one step toward balancing the Scales of Justice. I know a lot A LOT of long-time UMD fans who can enjoy the moment. Enjoy the summer; it will seem far too short.

Did anyone else notice the HUGE mistake Clay Matvick made at the beginning of the game? As he introduced Neal Broten, he said he was "the only player to win a national championship, and Olympic gold medal, and a Stanley Cup". That is so obviously wrong I can't believe his writers screwed that up. I can think of one Sioux - Eddie Belfour - who won all three. There might be others out there (probably les Canadiens...)

One line team indeed - the all-tournament team had 3 Bulldogs and none of them were Connelly, Connelly or Fontaine. Brown was outstanding tonight. As was Faulk ... his triple-dangle early in the OT was one where we'd have seen that goal a million times if it had gone in. (We think we've got puck luck run against us ... UMD before tonight had had 25 years of it ... nice to see it come to an end with a trophy for them.) Congratulations UMD!