ScottM

Another thing that bodes well for us, besides having the rest of our big guns back, is that UAA has been idle since mid-December. We were kind of rusty kicking around Findlay, and I can't imagine eating caribou hooves and walrus lard over the holidays has done much for the UAA team. Moreover, I'm sure Fatty Fournier had his usual spot reserved at MickeyD's quaffing down Happy Meals. That said, this program has always given our best teams fits, and I just hope we approach this series as seriously as we would SCCC, Minnie or Wisco. Hit 'em early, hit 'em hard and send 'em home in a body bag.

I like the idea of splitting Money into a line with Genoway and Fylling. The seem to do well and bring a variety of talent to the ice. I think keeping Murray and Parise makes a lot of sense, as they seemed to have started clicking. Maybe putting Lundbohm or Stafford there too. We need to bag four points in a big way. Not because we're in danger of slipping, but I'm interested in getting the entire team back together and focused on a run into April. Chemistry is important, and I think it's vital to reestablish it across the roster before we move into crucial series in late January and into February. As far as Fatass Fournier, I'm sure the Big Sioux will be running short of fries and gravy by Saturday, so stock up now, folks. And watch your wallets too.

I think it's telling of the SCCC administration to sell TV rights to a start-up organization that can't even get on in the most basic markets. I doubt PC has as much to do with it, as opposed to utter stupidity. At least last season, you could see a number of SCCC games on Channel 45/12 in the Twin Cities. Victory wants top tier rates per subscriber along the pricing that ESPN and Fox Sports can get, yet they don't offer the "quality" programming and object to being put in a premium tier. Pohlad & Co. don't have anything to offer to command that pricing outside of Twins baseball, and it's doubtful Charter, TimeWarner, etc. will pay ESPN rates just to carry that sport.

I found this in The New York Times Magazine. A nice tribute to one of the giants of US hockey. By CHARLES McGRATH Published: December 28, 2003 Herb Brooks is most famous for coaching a single hockey game -- the upset victory of the United States team over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics. His Olympic success earned him stints in the N.H.L. -- with the Devils, Rangers, Penguins and North Stars -- but his record there was indifferent. Among the pros he was just another coach, not a miracle worker. Brooks was impatient with the puck-dumping, clutch-and-grab style of the N.H.L., and his rinkside manner became increasingly detached and cerebral. Standing behind the bench in one of his bad suits or ill-fitting blazers (he was one of the worst-dressed coaches ever, in a sport that has produced a number of fashion disasters) and with his eyes burning like coals in their sockets, he sometimes seemed like a mad scientist in want of a project. Hockey coaches, like coaches in almost every sport, come in two varieties. There are the strategists (yes, even in hockey, which so often seems merely random) -- the coaches who grow pale and haggard from hours in the projection room, brooding over defenses, jotting x's and o's on their clipboards -- and then there are the skull doctors, the dressing-room psychologists, who like to mess with their players' heads and drive them, out of fear, usually, into achieving things they didn't know they were capable of. The skull doctors usually have a mean streak as well; it's not part of the job description, strictly speaking, but it never hurts. Brooks at his best was both. He combined the egghead wizardry of, say, Fred Shero -- the Fog, as he was known, because of his tendency to lapse into trances, coached the Philadelphia Flyers in the mid-70's and sometimes made his players practice with tennis balls instead of pucks -- with the relentless psyche-dismantling of the inscrutable Scotty Bowman, whose nine Stanley Cups (with the Canadiens, Penguins and Red Wings) made him the most successful coach in N.H.L. history. Bowman was the Bill Parcells of hockey; he had a knack for terrifying grown, very highly paid men and making them worry about what the coach would think of next. On his Olympic team, Brooks had for the most part unseasoned college kids with little or no experience at the international level. He devised for them an uptempo, run-and-gun offense that took advantage of their speed, and then he crawled inside the team's collective brainpan and rewired it so that the players had no idea how outmatched they were. To do this he employed those most fundamental coaching tools, terror and a hint of craziness. He made a scapegoat of Jack O'Callahan, one of the team's best defensemen -- with the plan, he admitted later, of causing the others to unite on O'Callahan's behalf. He threatened to cut Mike Eruzione, the captain, and even as the Olympics drew near, he talked about benching the other starters or else dropping them entirely and bringing in brand-new ones. (Brooks was himself the last player cut from the 1960 Olympic team, and he knew just how anxiously his charges were clinging to their spots on the roster.) Then, with all the pieces in place, he suddenly erased himself: he let the team play without benchside meddling (before the game against the Soviets, the next-to-last match of the tournament, he told the players, ''You were born to be here,'' and then walked out of the dressing room), and after his players won the gold medal, he let them have all the credit. Self-effacement came easily to Brooks. He was at heart a small-town Minnesota hockey guy. He grew up in a blue-collar suburb of St. Paul, and in 1955 his high-school hockey team won the state championship -- which for a Minnesota hockey guy is the next best thing to winning the Olympics. (The high-school tourney is televised throughout the state, and school kids are excused from class to watch.) He played for the Gophers, at the University of Minnesota, and after taking over the coaching chores there, led them to three national championships. Until the Olympics he never aspired to anything higher. He died driving home from a hockey benefit in Minnesota, and a lot of Minnesota hockey guys thought that was a pretty good way to go. Charles McGrath is the editor of The New York Times Book Review

UNO's hockey program also benefitted from the fact that USHL had a franchise in place as its program developed. As such, there was already a hockey educated fanbase in its market. The same really can't be said for a similar foundation at USD. Moreover, the startup costs for a new program are huge, especially if you don't have an existing barn that can generate adequate operating revenue. That also doesn't include equipment, recruiting and other variable costs. I think it would be great if USD, and even the Stream Yellow crowd, developed solid hockey programs, but I doubt it will happen without a huge inflow of cash that can't be siphoned off to other sports or long, lonely bus rides to some D1AA school in Texas.

I insinuated that they ripped off some of my "brilliant" insights, but they generally just publish the tequila-fueled visions I post.

I like our chances in the second half more than I did last season. We have more stable goal tending overall, and I think JParise is making a serious run for the job. The defensive corps is more solid, a more mature Greene and Smaby really help too, and it also contributes more offense at critical times. Our offense is spread across more than one line, stupid-ass comments from other "fans" notwithstanding. Moreover, I think the team has better chemistry and maturity than it did last year. The younger guys like Prpich, Genoway and Zach have stepped up and contribute even if they don't score points. Murray, Stafford and Porter are playing beyond typical frosh talent in this league too. In addition, the upperclassmen seem to have a better sense of purpose and a goal to reach the Fleet, something which seemed missing last season. I expect to lose some games in the second half, but I also expect the team to rebound and learn from the losses and mistakes. Special teams still worry me, but as long as we score more points than the other guys, who cares?

I want both, dammit. And yes, I am that greedy.

Quit bragging ...

While it is nice to see the Panzers, Schneiders, etc. wear the Sioux uniform, I really don't care where we get our players. And quite frankly, I'm pretty pleased Blais & Co. have rediscovered hockey in western Canada, probably the best breeding ground for tough hockey players around IMO.

Happy Holidays, everybody.

Consider the source.

I tend to agree. While Minnie was missing some key people, I was not overly impressed by Wisco. However, going into Madtown anytime is never an easy task, and I would be pretty happy with a split.

Yep. Anybody who thinks Pawlenty is "PC" hasn't been paying attention, and I have a strong affinity for that "retro" sweater. I wasn't a big fan of him inititally, but I'm starting to pay more attention to him, especially when he put the brakes on taxing the $**t out of us again, unlike many DFLers who like to spend OPM.

I have no problems with (duh)UMD getting a new barn. If they want to build it on campus, then the state should fund it the way they do with other campus buildings in the University system. If the city wants to expand the DECC for activities off-campus, beyond hockey or other college sports, then they should be willing to submit a bonding proposal to the Legislature just like Mpls, St. Paul, etc. do when they expand facilities, and not expect a handout from the General Revenue Fund.

TFF! Nice sweep for the team. Congrats on the hard work, and let's not lazy going into the 2d half of the season.

5'10" and 160 lbs, and he thinks he's an enforcer? Has he been re-reading a Napolen biography? I'll give 3-2 on Prpich.

Somehow I just can't conceive of any connection between "scoring" and any member of the Penalty Box ...

Neither state presently has the death penalty. However, Gov Pawlenty is using this tragedy to push for its enactment in Minnesota. If the feds decide to prosecute the perpetrator, it is possible there are provisions under federal law for the death penalty.

Quite frankly, I'd rather see this thread focus on Dru and her return, not some convicted, sociopathic scumbag.

Kidnapping is indeed a felony under state law. Taking a person across state lines during said kidnapping is also a violation of federal law. Taking a female across state lines for "immoral" or "illegal" purposes violates the Mann Act. I also believe that there are a number of newer federal death penalty provisions attached to those crimes too, in the event the worst has happened.

Well, it's good that they caught a scumbag, but we're still missing the most important person. Guys like this should be skinned alive for a start ...

You have to love fans who go to an opposing team's boards and cry about "respect" and related drivel. (Must be a "southern thing".) Sort of like to going to somebody's house and complaining when they ask you to remove your shoes at the door. Then again, "shoes" is probably an alien concept for certain newbies here. You can definitely tell the UNA gene pool is pretty shallow down there, because the responses from the UNA crowd are pretty weak. Maybe a few slugs of "white lightnin'" and a roll with their mother/sister Ellie Mae will make them feel better. FWIW: UA-H actually does have a pretty nice hockey program, and you good ol' boys may want to see a "real sport" in action.

I tend to like our rookie class overall. The guys who were "expected" to contribute right away, e.g., Murray, Stafford, Porter, etc., generally have. The others like Smaby, JParise, Bina, etc. have filled in gaps and made critical contributions at times. I think the jury is still out on Foyt and Fabian right now. I wish some of our older guys like Canady and Fuher would play like they've been around for a season or so.