dagies

Does the "Cowboys" nickname mean all we have in our brains of white settlers are tobacco spittin', spur wearing cowpokes? I don't think so. You have a very limited view of people's ability to think big picture when you use their choice of sports nicknames to assign value to their knowledge. Oh, wait. After all, maybe I understand better why you would think others would be so limited.

That's a fine logo for academic purposes, but a wussy logo for athletics. I still like the "no nickname" idea and just go by North Dakota. The uni's would have this on the front: N. DAKOTA

Now, for the first time, I DO believe the nickname WILL change....

There are a lot of good things about this team right now but I'm just as happy about Kozek's contributions so far as any of the others. Way to go, Andrew!

I can accept a payoff and I am an optimist, while at the same time a realist. Despite the early comments and previous actions of tribal leadership, I think something CAN happen. Will it? I have no idea but "you're saying there's a chance?". Really, what would tribal leadership have said last Friday. Do we really expect that their first public comments would be any different from the public comments/positions they have maintained for so long? Things can change when you close the doors and sit down at a table and begin to look at the possibilities. How many of us were dead set against a decision or a situation but later reversed that opinion upon receipt of additional information? The landscape for these discussions has now changed. UND has much to gain and lose and should be a motivated party in these discussions. With a deadline approaching it is possible the groundswell of opinion (one way OR the other) may perculate. That could influence tribal leadership in ways we are unaware of. I can accept a "pay-off" scenario because that's free market. If someone takes your photo and uses it on the cover of their mag, guess what? You get paid. If we're saying the tribes should have the ability to choose whether they allow UND to use this great nickname I don't see why monetary compensation should necessarily be seen as a bad thing. Personally, as enumerated above, I believe there are other, even more beneficial ways that UND and the tribes can turn this into a mutually advantageous situation, but a pay-off won't make me blink either. I'm very interested to see how this plays out. I'll repeat, I'm not confident, but I see reason for optimism.

Um, I don't think one should automatically come to THAT conclusion. There could be another explanation...

Your Honor, I'd like to plead guilty to that charge.

Hopefully this gives Forney a little breathing room with certain members of the fanbase... Good job, Michael! You have to wonder if he's given himself a shot at playing time again next week.

Not an expert here, but I don't think the questions you would like to pose were relevant to this case. I think this case was whether the NCAA had followed their own by-laws in instituting this policy, and UND was likely to win. I doubt those questions you posed would have been allowed, or answered. It would be great to force the NCAA to answer them, but I don't think that was part of the deal. Based on what little I have read, it's likely UND would have won this case. But what then. Already the involved parties knew that the NCAA was close or likely to instituting a revised by-law allowing the very process that implemented this policy in the future. So UND would have won, and shortly thereafter the NCAA would be smarter and come back with the same policy, lawfully enacted, and UND would have been up a creek. IMO, wiser heads prevailed and got what was possible to get at this time. In addition, they got the NCAA to retract the "hostile and abusive" claim without even needing another suit to do it. There's still some hope, and even if the nickname eventually changes, some concessions on our venue.

You stole my post! One of the things I'm happiest about is seeing Kozek continue to contribute offensively. Consistent contribution from AK will be a big factor if he can keep it up. The other thing I'm most happy about are reading comments about Forney's strong play not only from posters but from Hakstol. This is a great rebound from last night. Lastly, though we lost last night I'm relieved to read Hakstol say he thought it might have been the team's best performance of the year. Good things to come.

I'd like anyone who is complaining about UND or the AG "caving" to elaborate on what they believe would have happened if/when "we" won this current suit in court.

I didn't think you emphasized this enough.

I think it's time to find a group of Irishmen and start a letter writing protest against the ND nickname. Give the NCAA a little more of their own soup.

If we do go the way of a new nickname I'm in favor of any nickname that takes a poke back at the NCAA (i.e. Cavalry or similar) or else just forgoe a nickname and go with North Dakota. The fans can continue the Fighting Sioux tradition themselves. In the meantime, "North Dakota" would show up on the jerseys like this: N. DAKOTA

I'm still laughing!!

Before we all get bent out of shape about this settlement let's analyze what would have happened had we won this suit in court. I'm not up on all the details but I believe this wouldn't have saved the Fighting Sioux nickname necessarily, but would have invalidated the current policy as being improperly instituted. While the NCAA might have instituted this policy around its normal procedures, it is still possible that after losing the lawsuit they would have gone back to the drawing board, dotted their i's and crossed their t's and we'd be right back here at a later date, bemoaning the probable need to change the nickname (or at least suffer the consequences of continued use). This settlement gets the NCAA to "take back" the hostile and abusive charge, and some manageable changes to REA if necessary. It also buys some time to work out agreements with the tribes. I'm also concerned with the variable winds that can blow, but let's see if any agreements can be reached, and what those agreements might be before we doom them to failure. I hate to see the nickname change, but unfortunately I can see too many scenarios where it comes to that regardless of the outcome in court. I'm hoping that the powers-that-be believe they can work something out. If not, then we move on with our heads held high.

Give me a break. Trying to connect the hospitality shown Native American guests at a hockey game with the poor treatment shown Native Americans early in American history is irresponsible. It's this type of argument that makes me NOT want to give in.

U of M would play UND because UND would satisfy the NCAA's criteria. That's why they are playing Central Michigan this year.

Ask General Custer if he thinks "Fighting" is a negative reference for the Sioux. I read somewhere recently that the Sioux could arguably be considered the best light cavalry in the world in their time. Trying to identify with that fighting spirit is somehow negative? I don't get your point at all. How does that go? "Imitation is the fairest form of flattery"? Something like that. I think you dig way too deep to be offended by "Fighting".

You've got to be kidding me. Do you really want me to believe that "Fighting" is a negative reference? If you are trying to identify with the fighting spirit of a particular group, how else would you refer to it? Give me a break.

No, we'd never try to compare you to a human.

And Reebok wasn't able to figure this out in testing?

Looks like things might start to get a little interesting.

Whoa. "If the story were not so important...." Isn't it the job of the newsroom to report on the most important stories of the day? If this issue is more important than other issues, then it SHOULD get covered. If this issue ISN'T as important, then it should be superceded by other stories. I don't understand what they are complaining about. They straight out admit that this story is important enough to be covered, and complain about not being able to cover other, what...less important issues?