ScottM

And yet you insist on being SCCC's cheerleader on their admission to the conference. If they add so much, how can they not even field "a team of high level skills skaters"? Did some SCCC fan promise you a Blatz Light the next time you're in town?

Not sure where you'd find college hockey in Bowling Green, Kentucky. You'd find Western Kentucky University and GM's Corvette plant though.

If SCCC was such a "natural fit" for the new conference why weren't they among the original members? But I suppose it's typical for them that they follow on somebody's coattails rather than actually achieving any degree of success on their own. Basically a welfare case. And as a practical matter, I won't forgive their administration's stance on the Sioux name/logo either and all of the shiat Saigo et al. started.

Without an administration's support for facilities, funding, etc. conference affiliations are meaningless. SCCC's adminstration has demonstrated little support for its athletics programs in general, e.g, football. Its continuing renovations for the NCC seem tied to the whims of a nearly ineffective Minnesota legislature and underfunded State University system. It does not seem to have any real alumni support to develop a winning program. Not that every school needs a Ralph Engelstad or Phil Knight, but most SCCC alums I know are remarkably detached from the school and the school does little to cultivate their support. And you answered your own question, I would rather see the NCHC stay a "nascent" six teams for a few years until the dust settles with other conferences and sports. Throwing SCCC into the league seems like a panic response to the fact the Golden Domers are either playing a waiting game or told them "no thanks" early on. Frankly, I'd rather see Bemidji than SCCC. At least they demonstrated that they actually give a shiat about their hockey program.

Which doesn't outweigh the fact he may have handed UND an albatross at a very critical point in its overall development.

Perhaps somebody from the media will ask where they will get funding to refurbish the NCC, as well as support a D1 hockey team in the future, since they seem so apathetic about sports on the campus. I think Gino deserves a kick in the stones if he had anything to do with this.

Agreed. The speculation that St. Clown would help create any sort of great "media deal" is baseless. St. Clown was really a participant in the Notre Dame Hockey Sweepstakes. ND probably either indicated they would not join or wanted terms so onerous the original schools told them to "kiss" Touchdown Jesus. St. Clown will dutifully raise a Participant banner before the start of its first home game in October.

Notre Dame will join the WCHA, have it renamed the "Notre Dame Hockey Conference" and never play a conference game outside of South Bend again.

I would expect a good deal of spin related to "the changing landscape of college hockey" their "renewed investment in facilities, equipment, etc." Not to mention the need to highlight all of that "laundry" that passes for banners in the NCC on TV. I see no upside to allowing SCCC into the new league. St. Cloud doesn't even qualify as a suburb of MSP. Its administration's apathetic, if not hostile, attitude towards sports in general is evident in the fact they haven't raised a good deal of private money to support them.

Maybe we can get Betty's School of Hair Design and Nail Care instead.

For $15K a month, he had to deliver something. May as well just stay in the f'ing WCHA and keep McClown around as Commissioner.

F**k no. SCCC brings nothing, except a somewhat ambivalent attitude towards athletics and an institutional hostility towards UND.

Heh. When I still lived in MSP, I had season tickets for The Wild with some buddies. I usually wore a North Stars jersey, and cheered for most opposing teams.

Looks like some of those "burdensome" Constitutional issues Clueless Al wants to ignore may be aired out soon.

Nah. His shift at the McDonald's drive-thru doesn't provide him with this level of intellectual stimulation.

They also have them for Android phones, at the same pricing. Haven't tried them yet.

He's a politician.

It works with his gold chains and favorite platform shoes.

I presume that level of bureacracy may actually benefit UND if the NC$$ and BCS see that Kelley et al. are making good faith efforts to comply with the Settlement Surrender, in spite of the efforts of third-parties to "save" the name/logo. The only thing we haven't seen yet is Ralph rising from the grave threatening to blow up REA.

Freshened that up for you.

Which still doesn't mean they'll have standing to pursue a claim and drag this mess out even longer.

Because the Spirit Lake band doesn't have a cynical agenda to usurp the state constitution for its own political gain?

Which is something they should have done 3-4 years ago. Even if they went to the US District Court, I'm not sure they'd have standing to get an injunction. It's a nice gesture, but probably too late to forestall the name/logo retirement.