farce poobah

Its in now. Cool. Thanks for forwarding!

Just got back from the Twins game. (which was also fun, Boooooof! Booooooof!) You guys collectively deserve a SS.com Hall of Fame Thread nomination. I'm laughing, I'm crying, I piffed my pants, .... one for the ages. Would like to hear from anyone who saw it in person - must have been something special to be there. Congrats Sioux!!!!!!!!

JK, Great start to a thread. As a perennial optimist, I share the sentiment, and I agree this team has the potential to be great. So what are the possible shortcomings of this team? What did we lose that will be hardest to replace? I can think of two things, both of which have been mainstays to recent Sioux success: 1) Mean. We lost a bunch of mean, particularly Smaby and Prpich. Will this year's team be mean enough, will we play with the same edge, that recent Sioux teams have had? A team takes on the character of its best players and its lockerroom leaders; last year = Smaby, a guy who fractured his arm and then went back out for a few more shifts. We've all seen talented but underperforming teams (not to name names, but we've seen somebody's season end the last 2 years ) and the difference is mixing in meanness, grittiness, "role players" with the abundance of pure hockey talent wearing Sioux jerseys this year. 2) Goal. The most important position in hockey, and JPar was a great fit for what was needed behind the Sioux defense - terrific at making the first save and putting rebounds where a D can get it. Will Phil step forward and end his career the way Andy Kollar did? or the way Jon Casey did (after seeing national titles from the bench as an underclassman, leading the team as an upperclassman) ... I think he has the potential to surprise on the upside. All in all, the ingredients are definitely in place. What becomes of that potential is, as the cliche goes, up to the players.

My favorite use of a helmet was at the 2001 WCHA Final Five when Karl Goehring made the save with a header.

I hope UND doesn't limit their thinking to UND alums ... we'd never have gotten Blais, to name just one, if thinking gets too narrow. That said, I think James Patrick would be a great choice, both as a coach and as a recruiter ... This also opens the door to naming an associate head coach - which could be the new hire or Eades. (We'd probably lose Eades if he was not named.)

OK, so I'm coming in to the end of the discussion here, but from what I can read, it sounds like Kessel is going to turn pro because he's sick of playing in 3rd place games. Did I get that right?

Hey, I'm happy to see Johnson go to school get schooled in the WCHA.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

I just think its ironic that OLN/TSN showed a kessel highlight vs Holy Cross ....

http://www.nhl.com/draft/2006/round1.html

Toews looks good with a Sioux Blackhawk logo on his jersey.

Expect somebody who really NEEDS a defenseman to try to trade up ... Or for STL to draft Johnson and trade immediately to get a couple forwards...

http://www.startribune.com/503/story/498515.html New wounds, old wounds United States soccer coach Bruce Arena tried to inspire his players the night before the team's World Cup debut against the Czech Republic by screening the Minnesota-Holy Cross NCAA tournament hockey game. Unfortunately, Arena's stallions decided to channel the Gophers' lackadaisical sleepwalk instead of the Crusaders' passionate victory performance. BOB CARRINGTON, Eden Prairie Maybe he showed them a Sioux game before Saturday's match with Italy.

Agree, with just one modifier - "have solid answer on costs and revenues". I think there's money being left on the table today, that would go a long way toward bridging the gap to the costs increases. Revenue alternatives (these are obvious even to a layperson like me): 1) A spring sport that generates revenue, AND publicity during a time of year when there's less going on at the high school and college level. Hmm... Generating $200k+ from LAX is doable (probably not in year 1, but within 3-4 years). (In order to add to the AD bottom line, clearly, lax would need to be funded by cuts in other programs, such as baseball.) 2) Men's basketball is the next big revenue opportunity. Increase average attendance by 1500 is doable even assuming all games at the Betty ($200k revenues) Add 1-2 road games at big name opponents ($x) and bring in a top mid-major for a game at the Ralph (10k heads --> $150k) 3) Bring in a top-name women's team (Big Ten type), might it too bring $100k+ for a game at the Ralph? 4) Women's hockey is totally untapped. Needs to be competitive first, but this town loves hockey and WBB proves the town will support top, competitive, women's sports. Even 1000 heads per game = $200k per year. 5) Not sure how much the payoff would be from Frozen Four appearances ($y) but that's not insignificant. 6) Volleyball ... is there $50-75k possible? Sure. Did we find a million yet? What did I miss? It can be done, but it needs good marketing, good scheduling (conference!!)... and so on. ==================== As to faculty, if they can be convinced it adds students ($$ for academics), the proposal flies.

Last time I got measured for speed, they had to use a calendar.

If you have a HC jersey, you are definitely on the inside.

OK, I was kidding about the auction thing. Lucia came up with the idea of pairing rivals, but I think the rest of it was a league thing ... the games in GF were boring, partly because we were so ineffective and played disinterested. But the Sioux got revenge with some brilliant goals at the Final Five.

Lot of good points mentioned above. Sic, thanks for the link on Ralston. Having done a lot of hiring (not basketball coaches) I've been part of a committee hiring process, and I apologize to those of you for which this is obvious, but its worth mentioning for those that haven't. Its common in committees for each member to assess the candidate in his/her area of expertise. For example (and this is pure speculation), that Ralston will assess each candidates history and qualifications in meeting NCAA compliance standards. And, again hypothetically, Roebuck may assess knowledge of basketball strategy, tactics, etc. (It seems doubtful that a VB coach would assess BB knowledge.) And each member of a committee will probably also assess one or more of the fundamental qualities needed to succeed in the position - leadership, motivational skills, communication skills, etc etc. If the process is worked properly, it avoids the syndrome where one person falls in love with a candidate. A committee process has a couple other invisible advantages. First, it builds consensus across the department, helping to minimize any friction among those who may have differing opinions. Second, it gives the newcomer the stamp of approval, so that when he/she goes to Twamley or meets with other U staffers, they get more clout... All of which helps the new person become effective quickly. Again, sorry if this is obvious but it seemed worth mentioning. Bottom line, let's let the process work ...

I heard the same thing from Spirko's girlfriend.

Playing Indiana and Purdue is cool, even if we get cleaned out. Of course, the big 1011 continues to duck the UND women's basketball team ...

Bogey, great work, AGAIN, on this recap. You have a terrific artist touch, and thanks for sharing it with us.

OK, so Lacrosse would make sense from several perspectives. A few other questions: 1) What about conferences and scheduling? 2) Does the Big Sky have lacrosse? 3) How would opponents feel about playing indoors? (Will quality opponents come to GF?) Seems like we need a conference to make this work ... or, more accurately, it needs to fit the plans for conference affilation that anyone prudently planning for a D-1 move would make. I note that DU's lax results show well over 2000 for big-name schools (Notre Dame, North Carolina), and less (1000-1200) for lesser names.

U R AWESOME!! Thanks a million for doing that.

Setting the nickname aside for a moment, I am particularly pleased that the University is moving to advance the cause of providing educational opportunities, including a scholarship endowment. Count me among those who are proud to be alumni of a school dedicated to doing everything possible for Native Americans. There's a lot MORE that can be easily done to build relationships, educate the non-Natives; there will never be a better time than now. A tip of the cap to President Kupchella, and others at the U who are on the right track in that regard.

Coool!! Another USA sweatsuit for his collection. And another good pickup for team USA.