jimdahl

Though a few of our NDSU detractors argue that NDSU going Big Sky would close the door to UND, I think the opposite is true. *IF* NDSU and SDSU were accepted, you might as well start holding your breath for Sac State to leave the conference, because it's going to happen unless Wanless pulls off one hell of a turnaround. Any dip below 10, and the conference would likely be open to members that fit geographically, which certainly includes UND if NDSU and SDSU are members. The geography and alliances of the conference would actually favor UND more once NDSU and SDSU were members than the current alliances/geography favors NDSU/SDSU (the Montanas are strong traditional rivals of the Dakotas). Lots of speculation and crystal ball-work going on there, but I view the Dakotas breaking into the Big Sky as only a good think for UND long-term.

Yeah, it only lets you vote once per day under each ID you use. They do have a specific warning on the site now that they're watching for people signing up for multiple IDs which makes it seem like they think there's been a problem.

We're now in phase 2 of the voting, you can vote every day at http://hobeybaker.com. The real question, nothing against Spiewak, but who's stuffing the ballots? Spiewak is currently in the lead. http://www.hobeybaker.com/vfh/standings_phase2.php

It does seem to be a question not of "if" but rather "how much". The long slide in D-II continues...

Mankato's better-than-expected (by me) showing against Denver has given this matchup new importance. The Sioux are off, so I've gotta have something to do... Mankato now has a 4 point lead, dropping Minnesota to 4th in the WCHA. However, Mankato has played 4 more conference games, adding to the importance of this matchup. Mankato needs at least a split to stay in the run for the top, whereas a sweep by Mankato could really set the Gophers back. As the Sioux know well, sweeps are hard to come by at Mariucci, though the Gophers aren't really demonstrating much of a home-ice advantage this year (3-3-1 at home in conference play says http://siouxsports.com/hockey/2002/standings.htm). Mankato's not been great on the road (2-3-3 in conference play), but in its most recent road trips earned 3 points from each Denver and Wisconsin.

It was mentioned on the scores thread on USCHO last night, but the shutout gave Brandt 4 for the season, a tie for 1st in the NCAA. Also, Zach has now officially taken the lead in NCAA scoring with 47 points in 22 games (2.14 PPG -- Sejna also has 47 pts but 2 more games).

By that standard does JBB represent NDSU? I definitely don't represent UND (just ask anyone in the athletics media relations office!) In our defense, it looks to me like everyone was interpreting the bill the way I was, whereas you were interpreting it quite differently. Taking money away from a school's athletics programs as punishment for going D-I (your interpretation) is far different from refusing to help fund such a move (our interpretation). Like I said above, if my interpretation is wrong, I'll be the first to flip-flop.

I believe we have one fundamental difference in understanding... I interpreted the bill as saying no additional moneys generated through ND state tax dollars can be spent on athletic costs born solely because a sport is D-I (i.e. those moneys can't be used to pay the difference in cost between a sport existing and a sport being D-I). As others have pointed out, not only did the state of SD make the same decision, but most taxpayers who aren't fans of UND hockey or NDSU athletics would support such a decision (plenty of reasonable people). However, I think you're interpreting it as saying that tax-generated dollars that are spent on D-II sports can no longer be spent on that sport if it reclassifies as D-I. IF that's what the bill is saying, then I do agree with you (Tony) that it's a poor standard (though still understandable from rural districts which probably don't want any state dollars going to college athletics). Personally, I find the bill to be vague and indefinite.

I read the thread and you're right, that's a much stricter standard than I would have used. The difference, as Sal has pointed out in that thread, is that they apply a different standard to you because you disagree with them and are a UND fan instead of a Gopher fan. So, they have actually decided that disagreeing with them is worthy of being banned. Their choice to make.

I agree 100%. This is what I was trying to get at above -- there's a general feeling in much of Grand Forks that attracting new businesses would be unfair to the existing businesses and that economic growth in the town is too risky. It would be a tough problem to overcome because a lot of people don't think it's a problem; they like that ND is small, has regulations that corporations find unattractive, and is reticent to use incentives to attract new economic development. Not everyone thinks growth is a good thing.

The State Board of Higher Ed has come out against an ND legislature bill that would block ND Universities from using general fund or student fee money to pay for D-I athletics. http://www.kxmc.com/news/local.asp?ID=1645 I'm kind of torn on this one. I like SD's stance that moving to D-I athletics should be self-funding, but isn't the point of student fees to provide support for student organizations and activities for students?

In their defense, you are walking into their den to antagonize them. I can't really blame anyone for their editorial choices. It's tough to draw the line between free discussion and letting people try to disrupt your forum. I've certainly agonized over what to do about a couple visitors who used to hang out in our D-I/Sioux Name categories. On the other hand, if they don't want UND fans hanging around, why is every thread on POI about Parise?

Didn't Eddie ask this a week ago?

Thanks, I updated my post.

Mid-term domestic player rankings for the NHL draft. Sorry if I missed any of interest: 11 Zach Parise 44 Matt Smaby 98 Luke Beaverson 153 Chris Porter 176 Brady Murray An impressive showing from our new recruits, particularly for a school that hasn't had quite as much of a tradition of grooming players for the NHL as some others. http://centralscouting.nhl.com/amplayprofs...yRound?OpenView

Not sure where Nathan gets it from. I know you can place NCAA hockey bets at the Imperial Palace. He gets the odds about this time ever year (I suspect he gets them from someone in Vegas).

Sorry, odds of winning it all.

Though I personally disagree with NDSU's stance on the issue, if it's really a moral stand, why does it matter what other college presidents think? I guess he's really just hoping that an NCAA decision could take the heat off from both sides (people who think NDSU should stay out of UND's business will blame the NCAA, yet name-opposers will be pleased that NDSU isn't using it anymore). It strikes me that he's going to be disappointed. Schools like Illinois and Florida State just have too much power. http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/s...rts/4962152.htm (Let's see what I can catch with this bait)

This is the attitude that has always bothered me about Grand Forks government. The convention center is losing $100-$250k/year. However, what is the economic impact to the tax base of having the conventions/events that come to town only becuase the center exists? If the convention center were breaking even on the basis of UND football games alone, it wouldn't matter a lick to the local economy because the football games would've been played in G.F. anyway. Yet that scenario would probably make much of Grand Forks happier. I honestly suspect that the tax revenue from convention dollars exceeds the amount the city has to pump into the center to keep it running. In that case, it's still a boon to the city! If that's not the case, they need to reexamine their revenue model (including possibly licensing a hotel, etc...) and quit whining that concerts are going to competing venues (though it's worth mentioning that the city still gets the benefit of taxes on the money spent by visitors to the city for concerts held at REA).

From Nathan Hampton on Hockey-L: As of 1/08/03 the favorite (Top 24) teams are: Maine @ 3/1 Boston College @ 7/2 North Dakota @ 7/2 New Hampshire @ 4/1 Michigan @ 9/2 Colorado College @ 5/1 Minnesota @ 5/1 Denver @ 6/1 Cornell @ 7/1 Boston U @ 10/1 Northern Michigan @ 20/1 Harvard @ 22/1 Ohio St. @ 25/1 St. Cloud State @ 40/1 Michigan St. @ 40/1 Providence @ 50/1 Western Michigan @ 50/1 Wisconsin @ 60/1 Notre Dame @ 75/1 Alaska Fairbanks @ 75/1 Clarkson @ 75/1 Nebraska Omaha @ 80/1 Rensselear @ 150/1 Mercyurst @ 200/1 and the Field @ 30/1

I received the following updates from Gordon Stafford (much appreciated!) I know the Macs Tourney has been mentioned here briefly: * Drew has accepted an invitation to the 5 Nations Cup tournament in The Czech Republic, Feb 2-9, 2003, by the US Under 18 National Team. * Drew was named to the All tournament team at the Macs Tournament in Calgary over Christmas break.

For the stats junkies: Distribution of predictions for the coming weekend's games: http://siouxsports.com/hockey/whatif/thisweek.php A few aggregate picks stats: http://siouxsports.com/hockey/whatif/analysis.php Disclaimer: since no pre-registration is required, the stats could very easily be manipulated and are drawn from the picks of a very biased and non-representative group of hockey fans.

Since I can't even hope to do it from memory, the #1's that I could look up: Mar 18 2002 UNH (also #1 in Mar. 4 poll, before WCHA play-in) Mar 19 2001 Mich St. (also #1 in Mar. 5 poll, before WCHA play-in) Mar 20 2000 Wisconsin (also #1 in Mar. 6 poll, before WCHA play-in) Mar 22 1999 UND (also #1 in Mar. 8 poll, before WCHA play-in) Mar 16 1998 UND (also #1 in Mar. 9 poll, before WCHA play-in)

Added a "save" feature so you don't have to reenter your predictions each week to incorporate the actual results into your prediction. Your message board ID is reserved for you with your message board password. If you're not registered for the message board or want to save multiple scenarios, you can save picks by picking a unique username. http://siouxsports.com/hockey/wchawhatif.php Sorry it took so long to get this feature in place, but it required completely redoing the way the page dynamically updates itself.

Thanks to a couple people who pointed this out: http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Job...r=cbcb_gf&ch=al I don't know if they had a full time person doing web design before or if this is an expansion of that position. If REA is trying to increase its web presence, that would be good news for Sioux fans. If anyone has these skills and is looking for a gig, this could be a good one.