PCM

Marge: "Ah, ya got Arbie's all o'er me."

Yeah, but he's a hilarious idiot.

To quote Police Chief Marge Gunderson in Fargo,

Oh, fer cryin' out loud, stop staring into your crystal ball and get off your freakin' high horse for a minute. There's plenty of time for Oshie to prove his worth in the NCAA and the NHL, and I'm confident that he will do just fine in both. It isn't the end of the world because Gopher fans don't agree with you. What the heck do you expect, anyway?

You have NO idea how it makes me feel! I know what you mean. I won the lottery right after shaking T.J.'s hand. I'll never wash that hand again.

Because trusting Todd Bertuzzi and Marty McSorley to enforce the rules works out so much better.

You can argue all you want. I've already seen and heard it all before.

Unbelievable. So even hard, legally delivered checks are a reason to turn your goons loose on the other team. Why even bother having rules if this is your approach to the game?

I never saw the hit in question, but all of the sports commentators I heard talk about it agreed that Moore's hit on Naslund was legal. Were they wrong? Also, as I recall, Moore did fight a Canuck player. But apparently he didn't receive enough pain and suffering, so Bertuzzi decided to dispense his own justice. In your opinion, what do the Avs need to do to pay Bertuzzi back for ending Moore's career and nearly his life?

Oh goodie. Another Kessel flamefest. Who couldn't have seen that coming?

You're so indecisive.

I think Kessel will get WCHA Rookie of the Year, partly because of the season that Minnesota has had. However, if I had to chose between Oshie and Kessel for my team, I'd take Oshie in a heartbeat.

I watched the replay of that hit several times one frame at a time. There's nothing wrong with your memory.

You have your choice of two Paukovich hits from behind. The one on Oshie Friday and the one on Finley Saturday. Both of them were full-on drills in the back square in the numbers against Sioux players facing the boards. Neither of them involved players turning toward the boards at the last second, which was certainly the case on Fabian's penalty.

I've been saying for years that it's just a matter of time before some parent takes the WCHA and/or the NCAA to court over a career-ending injury resulting from a check from behind. It doesn't bother me a bit that the NCAA is cracking down on those plays. However, to be effective, the calls have to be made consistently and, in this series, they weren't. Paukovich got away with it twice. He, of all people, should be on the shortest possible leash. Hakstol should demand that Greg Shepherd review the hits by Paukovich on Oshie and Finley. He should demand that they be compared to the hits that were called on Fabian and Finley. I agree completely.

Sorry, but I disagee. I think we have every reason to believe the two incidents were related.

If Paukovich's hit on Oshie would have ended T.J.'s season or career, would Prpich's stunt have been worth it?

I couldn't agree more. EDIT: After watching the replays of Paukovitch's hits from behind, it's clear that he's learned a lot since hitting Bina. Lesson A: When checking a smaller player (i.e. Oshie) from behind, grab him around the neck and pull his head up so he doesn't go head-first into the boards. This maneuver has the added advantage of enabling you to drive the player's head into the ice as you're falling on top of him. This is a mere two-minute minor penalty. Lesson B: Checking players from behind who are bigger than you (i.e. Finley) won't result in a penalty. Unfortunately for Paukovich, Finley's one of the few players in college hockey bigger than he is.

Wouldn't it be best for the Sioux if CC and DU both split next weekend while UND sweeps?

I forgot I still had this picture from last year's national championship game on my Web site. Here's a fine example of spearing. The tip of the DU player's blade is hitting Spirko right in the neck. Remember when Sparky went down in the third period and literally crawled off the ice? That was why. It was a legitimate spear that was never called.

Notice that it was plural.

That's good. Because I was pretty sure that I kept my hands to myself.

You did? I thought it was a flea.

Not that I'm blaming the officiating, but if what Fabian did Friday was checking from behind and what Finley did Saturday was checking from behind, Paukovich's hit on Finley early in the game Saturday was certainly checking from behind and his hit on Oshie Friday was checking from behind. Paukovitch is going to screw up another player's life before he's done in this league.

I wouldn't lie about such a thing.