UND92,96

I have an extensive list of "ignored" posters. I find that it's easier to ignore stupidity, regardless of the allegiance of the poster, rather than be bothered by it. I believe the moderators here are very responsive to objectionable posts if they're reported. And plenty of posters have been banned.

It's not like people were defending the post. It was stupid. So why bother antagonize? Do you want to be lumped in with lakes and JBB?

This may be one of the single dumbest things I've ever heard. Question--what has caused more of a "disruption" on the SCSU campus--the dozen or so professional activists who show up to "protest" before hockey and football games when UND was in town; or the whole anti-semitic controversy from a few years ago? Or was that somehow the fault of the Fighting Sioux nickname, too? Did Douple consult with JBB, too?

While I'm pleased that the door is now open for UND to gain membership into an autobid conference, I have to say that the manner in which the Board of Higher Ed. has chosen to handle this issue over the past several months has been quite poor. The "committee" chaired by Grant Shaft was a complete sham. And the fact that the decision was made in Dickinson, with little indication that such a major decision was forthcoming, was fairly gutless IMO.

Here's the latest from the Herald.

I pretty much feel this way too, but I also think that a reasonable compromise between those who want the name dropped now, and those who want to fight this until the bitter end, is to change the deadline for gaining tribal approval to December 31, 2009. I've felt for some time that we'd know shortly after the Standing Rock election this fall whether there's any hope there or not. If we haven't gotten Standing Rock approval by the end of this year, it's probably never going to happen. IMO, giving assurances to the Summit that the issue will be resolved by the end of this calendar year should be enough to get the ball rolling and reserve, for lack of a better word, UND's spot in the conference.

There are no scholarships left for women's bball (and even if somebody leaves early and a scholarship opens up, presumably it would go to Brittany Peterson), so either i) she won't play basketball, even as a walk-on; or ii) she's not getting any soccer scholarship money either, so it wouldn't be an issue. Perhaps she's just getting academic scholarship(s)?

I didn't see this linked above, so here's a Schlossman blog from yesterday on Omaha and the WCHA: link

I really think UNO should desperately want into the WCHA. The reason that never seems to get talked about but which could be a big issue for them is Title IX. UNO doesn't have a women's hockey program, and according to the OPE site, women make up 52% of the students, but only receive 37% of the athletic scholarships. And clearly women's hockey is a sport that makes sense for them to sponsor, and would greatly help them in terms of Title IX compliance. I don't pretend to know how much money they would save by bussing to all the WCHA schools but Anchorage and Tech, but however much it is it would help offset the costs of starting and operating a women's hockey program, which presumably they're going to have to do eventually whether they want to or not.

I believe they will get into the ever-expanding NSIC. I wonder whether Morningside will follow? Or possibly this will open the door for Minot State?

Wayne Nelson blog, including end-of-spring depth chart, along with some other football info.

One other interesting factoid that I picked up from listening to Mussman's comments during the internet broadcast of the spring game--the fastest player on the team is freshman db Erik Mersereau. It sounds like he has a real chance to contribute this year.

Interesting that among the three finalists for the Mary coaching job are Randall Herbst and Pete Stewart: link

I think Mussman's point was that it's a little easier for a defensive player than an offensive lineman to quickly learn the system. Of course, as an old o-line coach, he may be a little biased. McKendry must be doing fine though, because he's likely going to start at tackle along with Bondy. It should be pointed out that he's still very young, as I believe he's a 2008 high school grad. I think McGurran is the backup at center right now.

I didn't see Moody (the juco transfer LB) out there, but I did watch the replay on fightingsioux.com and Mussman, who was in the booth with Hammer and Mike Berg during the first half, talked briefly about the two jucos and said something to the effect that Moody is a little ahead of McKendry in terms of adjusting to this level of football, so he's evidently still on the team.

If anyone's interested, you can see a replay of the spring game on fightingsioux.com: link

I believe Anderson did play. It looked to me like the second group of receivers was Bamba, Anderson and Daggett, with Heimler also rotating in some. I can't remember if Dressler was playing or not. If I'm not mistaken, I think there are nine receivers on the roster, and five came to UND as walk-ons. It seems that since the incredible class of 2004 that included Dressler, Trenbeath, Nicholas and Caufield, we haven't had much luck finding receivers.

I have no problem with rewarding seniors who have stuck around despite not playing much. But it's hard not to be somewhat concerned when our likely top three receivers combined for something like 13 catches and 100 yards last year. If Bamba hasn't earned p.t., so be it. But somebody else with speed needs to step up and provide a deep threat/be a playmaker, or else teams are going to just put eight in the box and dare us to throw. Maybe a transfer gets brought in this summer?

I thought the defense looked pretty good today. The d-line and secondary in particular should be much improved. As for the offense, it was pretty vanilla and kind of hard to judge. I thought Sutton looked quite good at running back. My biggest concern may be the talent level at receiver. Bamba isn't starting, and he's the only receiver on the roster who has done anything in a game or who has really shown the ability to be a playmaker.

UND has received a verbal commitment from Josie Dillon, a 9th-grader from Benilde-St. Margaret's--link

The latest in this ongoing saga: link

I can't help but wonder whether Longie and his buddies would actually be kind of disappointed if the nickname ends up being retired due to Standing Rock either not allowing a vote, or its council not changing its stance even if a vote is allowed and turns out similarly to the Spirit Lake vote. In such a scenario, he wouldn't/shouldn't get any credit since Spirit Lake would still be on record as being in favor of the nickname, so he'd still be on record as having failed in his quest.

Rivals has him listed at 6'3", and the St. Cloud Tech roster lists him at 6'5", which probably means he's about 6'2".

I like the kid, but I just don't see a 2-guard as a big position of need compared to the dire need at the point and for bulk in the post.

I don't really think it's going to take another year to know what Standing Rock is going to do (if anything). I see nothing wrong with waiting at least a few more months. I'm not naive enough to think the issue is ever going to go completely away if the name is retained, but neither do I really want to disrespect the people on the reservations who have gone above and beyond to prove what we've known for some time--that the citizens view this issue quite differently from most of the politicians. I'd just like to avoid the inevitable backlash if it appears that the towel is thrown in prematurely, i.e. before the people of Standing Rock may have the opportunity to make their voices heard.