PCM

Genoway scores!

And you call yourself a Gopher fan.

I understand your point, but I reject your argument -- at least as it applies to the REA. I've never been to a game in the Mariucci, so I won't pretend to know what what drives or dampens the atmosphere there. No Sioux fans are being told not to cheer or not to make noise. Nobody is being told that they can never stand up and cheer. And yet this issue is always framed in terms of "If we can't stand for the entire game, we can't be loud" or "If we can't do profane cheers, we can't cheer at all." That's just bull. Anyone who looks at the issue with the least bit objectivity and common sense knows it. What people are being asked to do is engage in common courtesy (i.e. don't block the view of someone who bought a ticket to see the game) and observe minimal standards of public behavior (i.e. don't shout profanities at the top of your lungs). It isn't the least bit unreasonable to ask all Sioux fans to observe a few simple rules that we supposedly learned in kindergarten. The unreasonable people are those who insist that they should be able to act as if they're the only people in the building. They seem to believe that their right to have fun or raise hell in any manner they choose automatically trumps everyone elses' right to see and enjoy the game. Well, sorry, it doesn't.

Really? So because they have ten times more money than the average person, they're ten times more quiet and they actually subtract noise from other fans? Someone should do a study on that.

Exactly. Also, as has been pointed out in other threads, when you buy a ticket, you agree to abide by the policies of the arena, which are listed on the back of each ticket and read by the PA announcer before the start of every game. The policy against the use of profane language has existed for years. It's not as if it was just created out of thin air.

I don't doubt that. I do doubt that there are enough of them to have a significant impact on atmosphere.

Please. How many "corpies" are in the Great Grand Forks metro area? This is a bogus argument.

Believe me, I'd really like to. Other than the game with POI after last year's tournament and hearing forecheck repeatedly drop the f-bomb, the Final Five was very disappointing for Sioux fans. Unfortunately, my wife has plans for a big family reunion this summer that involves a long trip. I have pledged to save my vacation time and hard-earned rubles for that event. I'm also trying to save some vacation time to work as a volunteer during the WJC tournament. The Final Five just isn't in the cards this year.

Yeah but, the Gophers got perms! PERMS, GOON, PERMS!!! Every team in college hockey is now quaking in its skates.

Then I would guess that you haven't been to many games. The come-from-behind victories over Duluth and BC at the start of the season were not dead. The series against St. Cloud was not dead. The Alaska series wasn't dead. Or maybe I'm attending Sioux home games in an alternate universe.

Here are some links from today's coverage in the Herald. First, the story about tonight's game. Next, Virg Foss' weekly hockey column. Finally, the weekly On the Hot Seat feature.

My reaction: Hyperbole and heated rhetoric. That ain't gonna get it done, folks.

I think the Sioux are capable of winning their last four games of the season. It won't be easy in Duluth, but I can envision UND sweeping the Bulldogs or taking three of four points from them. I'm not saying it's going to happen, only that I can see circumstances that could enable it to happen. If Brandt stands on his head for one game (he's due) and Bochenski has a "bunches of goals" game (he's due) for another game, UND could come out of the weekend with WCHA lead. That might require catching the Bulldogs on an off night (they're due) and a little luck in a close game against a tough opponent (the Sioux are due). However, if the Sioux play well both nights in Duluth and get one win, then sweep MTU and finish second in the league, I'll be happy. After finishing in sixth place in 2002 and fourth place last season, a second-place finish is a big improvement. The Sioux would be well positioned for the playoffs and go in with momentum.

It depends on what the definition of "it" is.

And who doesn't?

Now be nice. They're not girls, they're meterosexuals.

Live from Joe DiMaggio's Restaurant in beautiful downtown Grand Forks. Tim Hennessy and Scott Swygman are the hosts with Coach Dean Blais. Apparently on the Tim and Swyg show this morning, Scott said something about Duluth sweeping UND. That didn

Also, don't forget North Dakota's well-known reputation for taxing the hell out of anything that makes money -- unless it's agriculture.

There's a Danish company that makes the wind turbine blades. It's not the same as Cirrus.

Saturday's is. Friday's isn't.

Like everything in life, living in this part of the world is a tradeoff. I have no desire whatsoever to live or work in a large city. I can walk to work in 10 minutes, ride my bike 5 minutes and drive in less than 5. As a husband and father, the thought of spending an hour or more each day stuck in traffic when I could be with my wife and kids has absolutely no appeal. Crime? Pollution? Overcrowding? Bad schools? No thanks. We live near campus in an older college-town neighborhood with big shade trees up and down our nice, quiet street. We're two blocks from beautiful University Park. We know and trust all of our neighbors. Our kids are getting great educations in a clean, safe environment. Fargo's not far away and neither is Winnipeg. The cost of housing here is quite reasonable compared to other parts of the country. The cost of living isn't bad, either. Taxes are higher than I'd like them to be, but not as bad as other parts of the country. As for journalists who come to North Dakota and focus on the cold weather, I have two words -- Well, DUH! Here's a scoop for the media, and it's probably a real shocker: The further north you go, the colder the climate becomes! Put that in your freakin' stories! The climate here isn't going to change anytime soon. Therefore, anyone who doesn't like cold weather shouldn't live here. The people who choose to live here can either A) tolerate the cold or B) prefer the cold. Personally, I love the ever-changing weather. I like storms and I like having a definite change in seasons. Given the choice, I'd always take -10 day over +90 day. Also, the scenery isn't going to get any better. If you don't like wide-open spaces, don't come here. Personally, I like seeing the vast expanses of sky and experiencing sunrises and sunsets in all their grandeur. The prairie has a beauty all its own. It just takes longer to appreciate it. And do know one of the coolest, most underrated parts of living in North Dakota? It's that when you live here, you can make a difference if you want to. One person has a much greater chance of changing things here than he or she ever would in New York or California. I tell this story, not because I'm trying to impress anyone, but because it's true and a good example of what I'm talking about. Until they changed the Potato Bowl route, every year since we moved into our house, my family and I would walk a block down to University Avenue to watch the parade pass by. I'd be standing along the street with hundreds of other people when Sen. Kent Conrad came riding along in a convertible. Without fail, he'd spot me in the crowd, wave and yell, "Hi, Pat!" I've never given a dime to Conrad, but when I lived in Bismarck, I worked with him, the governor and other members of the Congressional delegation from time to time. People from larger states are always amazed at the access we have to our elected officials and the fact that they'll actually listen to us. That's another aspect of living in North Dakota that I'm sure most residents take for granted. Last but not least, Dean Blais said it best one night on the Fighting Sioux Coaches show: Grand Forks is a hockey town. If you're a hockey guy, this is the place to be. When you stop to think about it, it's hard to imagine that there's any other town in the country that eats, sleeps and breathes hockey on the same level per capita as Grand Forks. Wherever you go, there's always someone willing and able to discuss hockey, even in the offseason. I've only lived here for 12 years, but I think that if I moved to another city, going through hockey withdrawal would probably kill me.

Location, location, location. Sitting at the intersection of two Interstate highways helps Fargo a great deal. There is a recognition that the UND research community can and should be a major part of the economic development engine in that drives Grand Forks. However, saying that and doing it are two different things. I'd like to know how anyone can be bored when they're asleep. When I'm not out chasing down moose on foot and wrestling them to the ground with my bare hands or sitting in my ice fishing shack, that's what I'm doing, too.

Actually, Cirrus has a manufacturing plant in Grand Forks. It's only been in recent years that the focus at the UND School of Medicine has shifted from being primarily teaching oriented. That's rapidly changing, however. This past year, the Med School surpassed the Energy & Environmental Research Center as the top research revenue producing entity on campus.

Some people are offended by the truth, but not me.