PCM

The last time I tried to pick the lines before a season started, I had Chris Fournier as my first-line center. We all know how well that turned out.

I agree. I'd prefer to see a young guy hired who has excellent potential as a future Sioux head coach. Hakstol is the head coach. He doesn't need an assistant telling him how to fill the role. It would only lead to problems.

Great minds, Clayton.

What's wrong with the Forum? They wrote an editorial that didn't blame Grand Forks or UND for the potential demise of the Happy Hooligans. Didn't Jack Zaleski get Tony's memo? That being said (with tongue in cheek), I would prefer to see the 119th stay in Fargo and continue flying fighters rather than see the unit blended with Grand Forks Air Force Base, even if it does help this region economically. I'd really hate to see the Happy Hooligans go.

That's why I don't play my son.

I'll have you know that I've coached teams all the way to the Stanley Cup numerous times while playing the EA Sports NHL games on my computer.

If I remember correctly, a link to the Beaverson article was previously posted here. That's how I knew about it.

You are wrong. Please provide some proof that Grand Forks is lobbying to close the Air Guard base in Fargo. Please provide some proof that the idea to "blend" the 119th with the Grand Forks Air Force Base was conceived by anyone in Grand Forks. The only position I've seen out of Grand Forks is John Marshall saying that rather than disbanding the Happy Hooligans, it would be better to blend the 119th with GFAFB. Do you disagree with that? Wouldn't it be better for North Dakota to have the 119th in some form at Grand Forks rather than having it cease to exist? As far as Ryan Bakken goes, he writes that stuff simply because he knows it drives people like you nuts. It's not meant to be taken seriously. But somehow, I just knew that you'd fall for it.

In today's Grand Forks Herald, Ryan Bakken's column gives Tony another excuse to hyperventilate.

The air wing at Minot Air Force Base flies B-52s.

What, exactly, is the Grand Forks leadership obstructing? If the only two choices offered are to disband the 119th or have it blend with GFAFB, what's wrong with Grand Forks supporting the "blend" option? Your position, as far as I can tell, appears to be that if Fargo can't have the 119th, it should cease to exist.

I read it as Grand Forks pursuing a course that it feels is in its best interest (increased economic activity and another reason to keep GFAFB open) and Fargo pursuing a course in its best interest (hanging on to the $120 million or whatever in economic impact the base generates). You seem to be the only person surprised by this. What happened to that good old spirit of competition that President Chapman so heartily endorsed? Refresh my memory: When Grand Forks was in the process of losing its bomber and missile units, did NDSU and the city leaders of Fargo do anything to support Grand Forks' efforts to keep those units? When the Base Closure Commission was considering shutting down GFAFB, where was NDSU and the enlightened leadership of Fargo? Perhaps they were in the trenches right along side John Marshall and others from Grand Forks who were fighting to keep the base open, but I certainly don't remember NDSU or Fargo offering any significant encouragement or support. Am I wrong?

I'm sure Blais wasn't worried about the Gophers. His idea was aimed at encouraging WCHA coaches to send their best players to the WJC when invited.

Didn't you know? The Spectrum Group is part of the Vast Fighting Sioux conspiracy.

Since when is it 160 miles from Fargo to GFAFB? It's roughly 75 miles from Fargo to Grand Forks and 15 miles from Grand Forks to the base. OOPS! Scratch that, Tony. I just realized that you were talking round trip. In that case, your math or your geography is still off. Yeah, Tony, and we all know that Fargo's leadership would be doing the limbo on behalf of Grand Forks if the shoe were on the other foot. Grow up.

I don't disagree that the lineup for your proposed holiday tournament would be much better than anything we've seen thus far. I'm just saying that playing WCHA teams at that time is something Blais wanted to avoid and he seems to have convinced the WCHA of that, too.

None of which changes my point. The bombers and missiles from GFAFB were gone before the Base Closure Committee considered shutting down the base. And I'll add this quote from globalsecurity.org:

I didn't say it was. I just don't agree with your assessment that it was a boring game. The only point I'm trying to make is that if you want quality teams at the holiday tournament, you have to keep it going in order to attract better teams and give them an opportunity to schedule it.

Sorry, Scott, but that's revisionist history and it's not even accurate. The GFAFB bombers and missiles were gone before the government considered closing the base. Nobody in city or state government had any say in that matter. Besides, it wasn't up to the local leaders to decide what to do with the base because it didn't belong to them. The proposal to turn the base into an air freight hub was advanced as a possible alternative IF the base was closed. It was never a case of either the base stayed open or it became an air freight hub.

I was at that game, too. Unranked Wayne State tied Brown with 25 seconds left and then won it in OT on a great play. Boring? Whatever... I'll correct my mistake. Brown was rated 12th nationally at the time of the Subway Holiday Classic, not in the top 10. Which totally misses the point. At the time of the tournament, Brown was on a roll and climbing in the polls. What happened after that is irrelevant.

I dare say that losing the Happy Hooligans would be much less of an economic impact on Fargo than losing the bombers and missiles was on Grand Forks.

That's Blais' point. WCHA teams that send players to the WJC shouldn't be penalized by having to play league games. If he had his way with the scheduling, UND wouldn't have played SCSU while being short three players. As I recall, the WCHA has made scheduling adjustments next season to avoid having this happen. At the time of last season's holiday tournament, Brown was ranked in the top 10 nationally and had a goalie who ended up as top-three a Hobey Baker finalist. UND's offense against Brown's defense would have been an entertaining game. It wasn't UND's fault that Brown was upset by Wayne State. At any rate, I don't believe the objective of the Subway Holiday Classic is to set up patsies for the Sioux to beat so they can skate a trophy on home ice. With so many well-established holiday tournaments, it takes time for a tournament in Grand Forks to attract top teams.

Actually, the sentiment under Blais was exactly the opposite. He thought the perfect time to play non-conference games was during the holidays when WCHA teams had players at the World Junior Championships. He wanted it make it easier for the league to send players to the WJC, not more difficult.

I think it's a safe bet that the radio show will continue. But will there now be a Fighting Sioux hockey TV show? Blais was opposed to the idea. Perhaps Hakstol will be more open to it.

The Herald today published this story with the names of potential assistant coaches.