PCM

Well, I am amazed at how many legal experts there are around here on copyright laws. Most of them, I'd wager, have never had intellectual property stolen from them. Otherwise, they'd look at the issue a bit differently. But it doesn't matter what I think. I know Jim has access to excellent legal advice on such matters.

Didn't happen, did it?

Are you a lawyer?

You made a couple of excellent posts there, engelbunny.

I liked this Bill Clement quote: "There's no team that says 'All right! We get to play North Dakota again!.'" Here are some quotes that didn't make it into my USCHO stories. Dave Hakstol on Matt Greene's DWI arrest: "You learn from every experience you have. Matt Greene learned something along the way. He could have made something negative out of it or used it as a positive. He did learn from it. We all have ups and down in life and we all make mistakes. He didn

I was here during the entire episode. I saw firsthand what was going on. Everything was covered in the media. If you want to know more about it, look it up. It has nothing to do with this discussion.

Ain't up to me. I'm just sayin'...

The anti-youth citizens of Grand Forks really need to do a better job of hiding their conspiracies.

Okay. If removing the BB hoops from University Park was because of the "anti-youth sentiment" that prevails in Grand Forks, why are the hockey and skating rinks set up there every winter? For the senior citizens? Why are the tennis courts still there? Why do I see UND students playing volleyball in the park as soon as the weather warms up? Why do I see UND students playing horseshoes there? Why are they using the park shelters for social events? Why hasn't Spring Fest been outlawed? Yeah, it's all because of the anti-youth sentiment.

It might be the traditional time at which elections are held because the fiscal year ends June 31. But that's just a guess.

I'm not going to go into detail because it has nothing to do with this thread. If you don't know anything about it, why'd you bring it up?

There was more to it than what you described. But, yes, it was a problem. I don't live in the immediate area, but I did walk my dog past the court every evening. It got to the point where I totally avoided that part of the park because I feared for my safety. I'm glad that I didn't live any closer to the situation than I did. Having seen the problem firsthand, I fully understood why those who lived across from the park were concerned about what was going on there. Anyone with common sense would have been. At any rate, it had absolutely nothing to do with the community being out to get college students or any anti-youth sentiment, as has been implied here.

I'm guessing that there will be copyright issues with incorporating those symbols into a SiouxSports.com logo.

Punishing many for the actions of a few is wrong, no matter what the age. It's a terrible approach that only leads to bigger problems down the road. I didn't approve of it for the University Park situation and I don't approve of it for the REA situation. That being said, the constant complaining about "anti-youth" conspiracies or student persecution does nothing to solve the problem.

That's a good question. Not that I was there, but I suspect that some of the atmosphere in Columbus has to do with the camaraderie developed between Sioux fans when they're on the road and playing for a national championship. Under those conditions, it's much easier for everyone to band together for the common good. I'll never forget when I was in the Xcel Energy Center for the 2001 WCHA Final Five and Travis Roche scored to send the championship game into overtime. I was wearing a Sioux jersey. A college-aged guy also wearing a Sioux jersey ran down the row to give me a big hug. I'm thinking that probably wouldn't have happened during a regular-season game at the Ralph.

You don't know the situation. It wasn't simply that the basketball court was there. Obviously, anyone who bought a house in the area knew that at the time. The problem was that the court was taken over by a group of people who had no regard for the law or respect for the rules of the park. I doubt that any of them were college students. The smart thing to do would have been to enforce the laws against the type of activities in which the troublemakers were engaged. Instead, the park board took the easy way out by removing the baskets, thereby punishing everyone who played basketball in University Park.

You obviously don't live near University Park. I do. That being said, I disagree with how that situation was handled. It obviously had absolutely nothing to do with any "anti-youth sentiment" because the people who lost the most were the kids who played basketball there and obeyed the rules.

Now that would be funny!

You were wrong about Hakstol and you're wrong about this, too.

I agree. And I think if you polled the non-students who regularly attend Sioux games, 90 percent or more of them would say that they want a strong student presence at the games for that very reason.

SKIPPY ALERT!

I agree, but I think it's a problem that will take care of itself with time. It's not really something that you can do anything about. Those "fans" who went to the games just for the novelty of it will slowly but surely be replaced by fans who really want to be there. Some of the season ticket holders who had seats in the old REA for years and years told me that they looked at their sections as neighborhoods. Practically everyone in the sections knew each other and most were not only friends, but also good, solid Sioux hockey fans who knew how to cheer and when to show their enthusiasm. A lot of that was lost in the move to the new REA. It will take time to rebuild, but it will happen.

There's a big difference between individual people in the stands losing their heads and organized chants in which hundreds of people participate game after game. I doubt that Kupchella harbors any illusions about controlling the occasional hot-headed fan.

You hit the nail on the head. Every time this issue comes up, people start pointing fingers at each other and coming up with rationalizations for their behavior and excuses for why nothing needs to change. It's been clear to me for several seasons that something needs to change. Are we going to work together to change it or will we continue to attack each other?