PCM

From Joe DeMaggio's in beautiful downtown Grand Forks, Tim Hennessy and Scott Swygman are the hosts with Sioux hockey coach Dave Hakstol. TH: At practice, it looks like you need about 7 or 8

Probably the worst part about the leaping penalty was that not only did Pitt State end up with the 3 points, but the Gorillas also ran more minutes off the clock and forced a tired Sioux defense to stay on the field that much longer. It was a killer.

As has been previously pointed out on SiouxSports.com and publicly stated by Harmeson after Hallstrom's selective quoting, there was far more to what Harmeson said than the part that Hallstrom cherry-picked. And that's been the problem with most of the reporting done on this issue by the Fargo media. It selectively reports certain UND statements, applies an NDSU spin and treats that spin as fact. I pointed out in a previous post that the Forum's story about the "Iraqi oil embargo of 1992" supposedly preventing NDSU from jumping to DI-AA 12 years ago was totally bogus. It was such an outrageous crock of ofal that I'm amazed that anyone who took Editing 101 would allow it to be published without question. But that's the type of reporting I've come to expect from the Fargo media, which thinks its role is to shame, bully and intimidate UND into doing what NDSU thinks it should do, not what's best for UND. Kupchella cautioned that UND should not allow its decision on the DI-AA issue to be driven by pride and emotion. He's right.

Put more thought into your posts and maybe I won't be so tough on them. Here's my opinion: You have no idea what's going on at UND. My advice: Stop pretending that you do.

Who said UND was ready to make the transition to D1? Nobody. Stop spinning.

Frankly, I'm concerned about every weekend.

Sorry, but you are spinning like a top. I live in Grand Forks. I see, hear and read the news coverage about this issue almost every day. I've talked to Phil Harmeson and Roger Thomas. I've interviewed them on the air. I can read Kupchella's words and decide for myself what they mean, which is nothing like your warped pro-NDSU interpretation. What Harmeson and Thomas tell me privately is the same thing they've said publicly. I understand what they're doing and why they're doing it. I understand that they are in a difficult position and trying to do what's in the best interest of UND. If you want to be confused about the situation, fine, be confused. That's your choice.

Yes, UND has been clear in its intentions. Just because you, the Fargo media and most Bison fan refuse to admit it doesn't mean it hasn't. When UND decided not to go DI-AA, Kupchella said why. He also said that situation could change and UND would continue to evaluate its options as changes occurred. That's exactly what they've done. Why don't you take your NDSU spin and post it at Bisonville.com where you have an audience that swallows your drivel hook, line and sinker?

I pity the poor chumps who think their degrees from MIT are worth anything.

Well, I didn't know that, okay? That's something the UND coaching staff would know and it obviously would influence their decision to try a fake punt. As I said, in retrospect, we can all look back and call ourselves geniuses for claiming that Lennon should have gone for it on fourth down. We now know what happened after the Sioux punted. And we now know how the game came out. That makes it easier for us fans to look brilliant using our 20/20 hindsight. Sometimes I fault Lennon for being too conservative, but you can't argue with his record of success. This past season, the Sioux consistently put the game in the hands of their defense. Time and time again, the defense made plays that put the offense in good position to win. It worked against Grand Valley. I'm sure Lennon was banking on it working against Pitt State. But the Sioux ran into an offense that was better than their defense, an offense that committed zero turnovers. Until the fourth quarter, it really wasn't clear how much better the Gorilla offense was than UND's defense. By then, it was too late to change the decision on 4th and 1.

Watch it, sprig. You're obsessing.

That reamins to be seen. I'm skeptical. In 2001, the Sioux were very well-balanced offensively and defensively, which is probably why they won it all. In 2003, the Sioux were a pass-oriented offense and their defense was good, but not great. The 2004 Sioux relied heavily on a great defense to make up for a so-so offense. In the end, the defense wasn't good enough to stop the most productive offense in NCAA history. I don't see much shame in losing to a team that will probably win the national championship. That's the conventional Bison-fan/Fargo media thinking. While I'd hate to see Lennon leave, UND's success in football didn't begin with Lennon and it won't end with him.

Lately, that's true, but it hasn't always been the the case. UND made a commitment to compete with the top teams of the NCC in terms of coaching, recruiting and facilities. To my knowledge, SDSU has never made that commitment. Historically, SDSU has been content with having a marginally successful football program as long as the basketball team is winning.

The Jacks didn't move to DI-AA because of football. As long as basketball remains SDSU's marquee sport, I see no reason to believe that the Jacks will do any better at DI-AA football than they did at DII football. Brilliant observation, considering that no college team has probably ever been the same as any year before. So?

Basketball is the marquee sport at SDSU. Football plays second fiddle.

I'll grant you that in DII, SDSU consistently fielded teams that that couldn't be taken for granted. They usually weren't the worst in the NCC, but they were seldom among the best. If that's what you mean by "respectable," then I agree.

I really don't care how well SDSU did this season. Historically, they've been average at best in football. One season didn't transform the Jacks into a DI-AA football powerhouse.

SDSU does not have a good football team (unless beating the Bison is the only standard of measure). Its basketball teams were good at the Division II level, but hardly dominant. And SDSU does not "bring the the entire state of South Dakota to the table." There are plenty of USD fans in the state who don't give a fig about what SDSU does. It's been said before, but I'll say it again. NDSU and UND are logical travel partners. SDSU and NDSU are not.

I didn't see it. And I wasn't trying to second-guess Lennon because at the time the Sioux punted, I don't remember thinking that they should have gone for it. Only in retrospect does going for it on fourth down look like a smart move. My primary intention was to point out that when the Sioux have run fakes, they've generally been successful because of Lennon's normally conservative style. If I were in the coach's shoes, I probably would have considered a fake punt before I lined up to run a play.

I agree. It probably doesn't help that SDSU's primary interest in DI is basketball, not football. And it also explains why NDSU, the Fargo media and Bison fans are suddenly so very interested in UND's intentions.

Lennon once said on the Fighting Sioux Coaches' show that one of the advantages of playing conservatively is that nobody expects it when you try something different. This was in response to a question about the fake field goal against North Alabama in the playoffs last year that went for a TD. Rather than going for it on fourth down against Pitt State, perhaps it would have been a good time for a fake punt.

I'd just like to see the Fargo media show as much interest and zeal in obtaining records from NDSU on the DI-AA issue. There are two sides to this story. Right now, only one is being reported.

You're missing the point. This isn't about UND. Kupchella has stated that the university currently does not have the funding to cover the move and has said how much it will cost. Do you think he's lying?

If you want an honest debate on the issue, yes.

I did a Google search for "Iraqi oil embargo" and "1992." I got a paltry 15 hits. The most interesting one was this article in the Aug. 26, 2004, Fargo Forum in which former NDSU assistant athletic director Dan Summy is quoted as saying: I had no recollection of gas prices tripling or quadrupling in 1992. None of the other Google hits mention this either, which is rather strange for an event that would have had global economic consequences. I went to the DOE's Energy Information Administration Web site and looked up average US gasoline prices and found this interesting chart. It shows that in 1992, the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $1.127. This price is lower than the previous two years ($1.164 in 1991 and $1.14 in 1990). The average price per gallon of unleaded regular didn't increase above the 1992 level until 1995 when it hit $1.147. Since then, gasoline prices have mailnly trended upward, averaging $1.358 per gallon in 2002 and $1.591 in 2003. It looks as if the average price for 2004 will be around $1.85 per gallon. This begs the question: If the price of gas and the cost of transportation was a factor in NDSU's decision not to move to DI-AA in 1992, why didn't gas prices that truly were rising influence the decision-making process in 2002 and 2003? The Forum's story provides this lame answer: Yes, Saddam is no longer in charge of Iraq, but anyone who takes five minutes to do a bit of research on the Web can see that gas prices were lower while Saddam was in power and have increased since he's been out of power. Some Bison fans have the gall to accuse the Grand Forks media of publishing "UND news releases." However, the Forum story clearly demonstrates that it will publish a pro-NDSU story that has no basis in fact without even bothering to confirm that it's true. More than ever, the public deserves to know the answer to the question Kupchella raised in his letter: Where is NDSU getting the money to cover the increased costs of moving to DI-AA?