dagies

My favorite part:

Correct, Diggler. Once you have purchased a Final Five ticket package, the X will send you a form every year after to give you a choice to renew. You'll get to keep your same seats if you want them, or you can try and upgrade the location but that is not guarenteed. There is only a $5 charge for handling each year, so that is a HUGE bonus over working with Ticketnazi. Oh, and if you want to purchase additional tickets in future years they give you the option to do that as well, however, I bet your location would move in order to find seats to accomodate your full group. I don't believe you get this service if you just buy tickets for a game. I think you need to purchase the whole ticket package.

Got mine over the weekend. Already faxed it back and confirmed reception. Bring on the season!

Can't disagree with much that you say. When I mentioned not "lighting it up" I was mostly referring to the scoreboard.

Just asking, but could this "college impact" that these rankings are supposedly tracking relate to "initial college impact"? Toews was a great player, but game in almost prepubescent. He didn't light everything up right away, that's for sure, but he came on later in the year, and certainly the next year.

I don't think we can blame INCH for Forney's injury. Let's give him a healthy year and see what kind of player he will be.

You are correct sir. Nor do I plan to sell it, but you never know what the offer is. If I get the $ to get an 1980's style blackhawk jersey.......

I'm not really an apologist for INCH, but in fairness I take them at their word until they are proven otherwise not to have used this input from hockey sources:

The old adage "everything has it's price" comes to mind. I've got one, but I like it better than anything I can get now. Would have to be an offer I can't refuse (or a horses head at the foot of my bed). It's an authentic jersey, green. Made by the same company that made the jerseys for the team, Gemini, and has their logo on it.

Yes, I believe he can come in for the next semester of school.

I know at one time in the past "Fighting" was seen as a big part of the problem with the nickname. I didn't get it then and I don't get it now, and IMO it doesn't get much play anymore. If that's really a chip I'll be surprised. A warrior is a fighter. In having a Sioux warrior as a logo, I never understood why "Fighting" was somehow a problem in the nickname. IMO that's what our nickname is. The Sioux warrior of the plains. The best light cavalry in the world at the time. They didn't get their reputation planting cucumbers.

Jean-Phillippe?

I think the Sioux need to answer some questions offensively, and JP needs to stay healthy in nets, but I think this year the fans have good reason to expect a bit better start to the season than the last few, or at least the last couple. It's a long season, and injuries can happen as well as non-heralded players becoming heralded and vice versa. I for one don't think the heavy UND-love in this poll means too much.

I have to qualify my comment by making clear I don't know Dean Blais, but he doesn't strike me as the administrative type. Seems to me like he likes it where the metal meets the ice.

That could be.

It seems a nice gesture by the Sabres to make sure Stafford and Goehring were suited up. If I recall the Blues could have played Hrkac but left him at home.

They had an interview with Lubenow yesterday morning on NPR. That was an interesting listen.

I'm not sure it's fair to use the Hakstol email as an example in this case. Hakstol is only saying that he wants to put off contract negotiations until after the season, but he isn't necessarily criticizing Buning.

And now you understand why many people here don't take just anyone's post as fact.

Didn't Goren have mono and it affected him all year? Not that he was sick all year, just that it sapped him so much he had a long way to get back to 100%?

After Duncan and Oshie (who I believe will both be gone for sure) it's hard to ID anyone who might leave. It would seem to make sense that any further departures will be for reasons not obvious to us fans at board-length from the realities of what is going on. Someone might be poised for a breakout year that they can use to vault into the pro ranks. I hope so! But it doesn't seem like anyone is on the same sort of track that a Parise, Stafford, Toews, etc has been on. I.e. other than the aforementioned 2 there doesn't seem to be too many guys that us fans can easily project as leaving. 17 forwards seems a little heavy on the roster, so this should provide quite the fodder for us smart talkers this season.

I agree with that. I always look forward to every season about the same way. There's always eager anticipation to find out what the freshmen are like.

Interesting that it wasn't just Buning receiving the low marks in that survey, but his "staff" as well. I agree on the pushups. I always thought that was pretty cool. And anyone who can get so many gopher fans panties in a bunch can't be all bad.