dagies

I'm saying this for me as much as anyone, but we shouldn't think Jim needs to please us.

Sorry Brent Davidson, but your pic just made me laugh.

Keep an eye on the WCHA Blog when he profiles a road trip to Denver. I don't think he's done that trip yet, but you can check the back posts to make sure.

On this day in 2001 my brothers and I were sitting on the shore of a Canadian lake casting for walleye into rocky, narrow neck. It was a gorgeous day. Sunny, fairly calm, warm. Perfect for lazing outside and enjoying the Canadian wilderness with the blue sky, blue water, and green all around. All was right with the world. Or so we thought... We were on a fly-in trip, so had no contact with the outside world. It was our last day "in the bush" and the following morning we quietly awaited our plane to retrieve us. When the pilot docked the plane and hopped out the first thing he asked was "Do you guys got a radio?". Naturally we responded that we hadn't. What he said next made our jaws drop. "The States is at war", he said. What? He proceeded to tell us that the World Trade Center had been bombed and knocked down, and the Pentagon as well. He said all flights have been grounded, and that the governments still are tracking possible planes in the air, and that the threats were apparently not over. We stood on the dock in shocked disbelief. What? How? Who? What about Minneapolis? From the sparse information he was able to provide, it sounded like everyone was a target. What were we going home to? Fortunately, it was a relatively short flight home. He wasn't supposed to fly, but the outfitter told him it was his choice to come and get us or not. He stayed off the radio while he skimmed the tree tops. I remember sitting in the plane, my thoughts with my family, hoping everything was ok and remembering how idyllic life was yesterday. Wondering.... Was anything going to be the same ever again?

One thing I would like to mention. Many of us have asked the question about how changing the nickname will help solve the problems on the reservations. And we have been frustrated that we don't seem to get tribal leadership to care enough to help us out. I think it bears mention that in a recent quote, Myra Pearson said they wouldn't revisit the nickname issue because they had more pressing problems to deal with. 1. Yes, that's a bummer for Fighting Sioux fans because we aren't getting the warm fuzzy we need. 2. That should be a blow against the NCAA. It would appear tribal leadership is sending the message that this nickname issue isn't that big of a deal to them. Certainly not a big enough deal to spend time denouncing.

Shivers down my spine.

Any great coach is a flight risk at any time, but it can't hurt that this probably gave him a nice big bump. The fact that Hakstol seems happy with that part of the contract tells me that he's satisfied it puts his assistants in a good spot.

Does he approve of this?

I suppose I might feel differently if I was an assistant but to me the big thing is that the $ has been made available to pay them on a yearly basis. Assistants are probably more apt to be looking to go up somewhere, and this gives the head coach more flexibility to handle his assistants. I would think this is a pretty good situation still. I don't know but I'll bet the assistants got very nice raises here.

How much of this do we really know? Sometimes people post things as fact when it's more speculation, or an assumption based on the limited exposure us internet experts have to the situation. I don't know myself, but do we really know Mario had a scholarship offer, and for what and when it was? Do we know that Mario hemmed and hawed? Or was he possibly up front with the coaching staff on how and when he would make his decision? And if he did have an offer which he rejected, do we know that somehow the coaches wouldn't "put themselves through that again" based on what Mario's reasons were? Maybe you know these things, but from what I recall of the situation I think a lot of this is questionable. If my memory is accurate (often isn't, I admit) then we do a diservice to everyone involved by posting a conjecture as fact. If in fact the situation happened as you describe, I apologize for ascribing this criticism to your post but I believe it is still relevant to many posts you see on this and other boards. I have no problem with anyone posting their opinion, but phrase it that way, unless it truly is fact.

TFF!

This is excellent news all around. I was even more happy to read that this wasn't just Hak's contract, but that the assistant coaches were taken care of as well. This is just outstanding news for fans of this hockey program. Regarding the questions of why the administration, and not Buning, is so often mentioned in that release, I have one question. It's a true question because I really don't have an answer, though I have a suspicion. The release says this deal is significantly funded by alumni and supporters. If so, wouldn't the UND admin have to be involved a fairly high level in order to structure something like this? Seems like that is beyond the ordinary, and therefore beyond a contract normally structured by an AD?

I haven't even read the article yet but can't believe stickboy actually beat PCM to touting his own story. Makes me wonder if it's any good. edit: EXCELLENT work. Thanks Pat.

Thanks to Jim, I found the perfect stuff right on this site.

Thanks, I should be able to find something to download.

That is outstanding. If you care to share, I'd love to learn how to do that. You're talking to a pretty low lever user, FYI.

I'm feeling some of the same as both of you. What really bugs me about this is the accusation of how UND students are supposedly treated. Didn't we have tribal members visit some time back and they left surprised at how much better things were at UND than they had been led to believe? It appears there's been an effective propaganda campaign going on.

I have a co-worker whose mother was a member of a Sioux tribe living on one of the reservations in South Dakota several years ago. She said that half-breed was often used as a term to describe certain people, and it wasn't taken or meant as an offense.

Not only all the above, but kids are smart enough to sift through coaching staffs as well. If all of the above are in play, but Hakstol and his assistants had a poor coaching reputation, none of it would matter. If Hakstol failed to recruit top talent, we'd put the blame on him, not any of these other issues. Therefore, I think it's fair to give him his share of the credit for hiring a great staff, running a great program, recruiting players who can play together, and apparently creating and maintaining at attractive atmosphere for recruits. And, very importantly, success on the ice.

Don't forget the injuries.

Looks to me like he's flicking off the rouser. So I kind of like it.

I don't know how strong the '09 class is. From reading posts on the internet there is a difference of opinion on how strong that class is. In the year after, Nick Mattson is the only MN kid invited to the US development program. Things might be a little down in those year. You can look at that in a couple ways. Either the Sioux are getting some of the better of a limited and not outstanding group, or they are skimming the cream off a limited pool. Either way, its good to be haves.

Based on what I've read on boards, I think Fink had a shot at an offer from U of M had he waited.

WELCOME Danny Mattson to UND for 2009!

Just playing along. Didn't mean anything by it.