farce poobah

Methinks that UNO is looking at the number of out-of-town tickets and deciding they need SOMETHING to drown out the Sioux fans. Cowbells won't be enough, however.

Prayers for a full, swift recovery. Get well, Jesse.

I'm not seeing the game, but if the refereeing is as one-sided as it sounds, it becomes important for UND to decide if its reasonable to make such a trip again.

Makes sense to me ... First, his mode is to carry the puck a lot, not the kind of quick-passing game our first two lines operate with. So from a chemistry standpoint, I think its better. Second, the guy is a powerplay wizard, so this may give him more focus. PS, he reads plays well and could become a great penalty killer ...

Wow. That is a phenomenal turnout. Good for them.

Unusual aspect to the box score - Malone gets an assist on the fourth goal, but doesn't get credit in the plus minus: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/1011/boxes/mbmjndk1.o16

Generally, I find it best to avoid the student section, which is the "bottom of the U". Sioux fans tend to cluster on the "tops of the U", which is the end UND shoots at twice.

... and UMD drops to #5. [sarcasm on] "Well, I guess if UMD lost to UND, then UMD must not be as good as we thought." [/off]

Really stirring ceremony in Chicago tonight, at their home opener. Included Jonathon Toews skating out with The Stanley Cup. And, I found myself feeling a strong connection to the Blackhawks organization. We're here tonight, in part, because the Blackhawks owner in the 1930's hired American players (which was frowned on by the hockey establishment at that time). One of the players he hired was Cliff Purpur, who returned to Grand Forks and was a Founder of the hockey program at UND. That plus the Fighting Sioux logo was patterned after the Blackhawks logo, most likely a benefit of Mr. Purpur's connections.

"The Nanooks still looking for their first SOG". Sioux PP, comes up empty. 0-0, nearing midway in the first.

Penalties at 4:22 Offsetting. Hextall getting under the Nanooks fur. 4x4

We underway ... no good chances either way yet.

Emergency interim link to UA(f) radio: http://ksua.uaf.edu/

Chicago certainly did not look good last night. They are going to get kicked around this fall, with the question of whether they can be playoff-ready by springtime.

At the Ralph, its just a matter of taste. Some like low, others like high. Some like center ice, some like behind the net. At the Alerus, the seats outside of the 20-20 yard lines face straight forward, so it can be a bit of stiff neck city. My favorite seats are higher, or to stand on the walkways above the end zone.

The tide begins to turn, on the ice and in the stands. 2855 today, next thing you know The Ralph will be full. http://collegehockeystats.net/1011/boxes/wbu_ndk1.o02

Great "old-school" letter, with the kind of candid in-depth discussion of issues that has all but disappeared. Today, leaders too often take the route of vague public communications that leave us all wondering whether the person is competent. O'Day, whatever your position, has to have earned respect with his candor. Bringing this back to UND, would like to see that kind of candor from our leaders on topics like nicknames and conferences ...

Hawks hysteria is in full force (selling 18000 tickets for a practice!): http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AgPxdkmbN3IzL0YiahJYNlagoL9_?slug=nc-blackhawks180910 Of course they play the national anthem (photo 6) http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/hockey/blackhawks/chi-chicago-blackhawks-training-camp-photos,0,5287926.photogallery And... Captain Serious and the Blackhawks begin their defense of The Cup. http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=ArqY_JbFV8zf94mtEv._E.V7vLYF?slug=nc-toews091710

Of course; they already have two women's teams. (Thanks for the setup.)

I was thinking something similar, but you said it better.

I'd rather UND hockey wasn't compared to USC football just right now. If you know what I mean.

In the late 1970's visitors to the old Williams Arena were accused of being "communists" because we had Canadians on the team. Somehow, old John had them convinced that Canada was communist, apparently. (Either that or we were just too darn loud... maybe communists were loud.)

I don't really believe the author's claims. More money from a football playoff would only serve to consolidate the top football teams into fewer conferences - thereby avoiding the need to share $$ with second-tier football schools. In such a world, the Big 10's TV revenue becomes a "tiebreaker" in getting top football schools to join.

No talk about the Blackhawks nail-biting game 1 win? OK, I'll start. First, if Niemi plays like that for a whole series, it's going to be a short series. The combination of good plus some serious luck would be tough to beat. Just like vs Vancouver, the Hawks forward depth paid off tonight. Third line (Sharp-Hossa-Brouwer) with the first goal. Before the game, I was thinking to myself "make Heatley play defense", and darned if it wasn't his missed coverage that led to the winning goal. He's a wizard with the puck, a virtuoso in the offensive zone, but has never gotten to be more than just average, if that, in his own zone. Duncan Keith was awesome, yet again. That said, I'm hunkering down for a longer series. San Jose could've made it 3-0 or 4-0 early but didn't; game 2 might play out very differently.

Yes, at least until North Dakota saves up enough money to buy Manitoba.