PCM

They would be alternates. This morning on the radio, Blais indicated that there was a question about whether some NHL teams would allow their players to attend the WJC tournament. If they don't, it could mean that Stafford and Smaby go.

75 pounds, I believe.

You are correct. Note the trickle of blood down his nose.

Oh, go ahead and assume all you want. Unfortunately, I don't believe that USCHO Magazine puts any of its content online. If it does, I haven't found it. That's Reg Morelli, the Sioux player who scored the game-winning goal in UND's first national championship in 1959. I had the privelege of interviewing him for the hockey video that plays in the REA lobby.

Your half? You'll have to go through Digger to get it.

No, I don't understand. If NDSU was playing for the championship, I'd pull for the Bison, as I have in the past. Besides, why wouldn't you want to say that the Bison took the national champion Sioux to overtime on their home field? But I guess a post with class is too much to expect from a Bison fan who has a fixation with toilet humor and is named after an anal hygiene product. Perhaps some day Fargo will make it to the 20th century and build a modern sewage treatment plant that doesn't require you to flush so much. And just so you don't forget...

They did search that area very thoroughly, both over and under the ice. For some reason, the investigators seem confident in stating that the body isn't in the Red Lake River. That seems strange to me, given how difficult it's been in locating past drowning victims in this region.

Here's a quick summary of what was said at the 3 p.m. news conference. At a 10 a.m. conference call this morning, local law enforcement requested additional help and resources from the governors of Minnesota and North Dakota. Gov. Hoeven: The nature of search has changed. There will be a briefing Thursday night followed by searches Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The states will provide National Guard vehicles and personnel. Gov. Pawlenty: The needs have evolved. The request for additional assistance came recently. He will authorize use of National Guard to assist in the search. The plans will be finalized over the next few days. Guard troops will begin arriving in the area on Thursday. The size of the Minnesota Guard compliment has yet to be determined. Gov. Hoeven said he anticipates about 175 state personnel, including Guard, Highway Patrol and Game and Fish. Gov. Pawlenty says it isn

The affidavit for probable cause against Rodriguez has been unsealed. There was a knife found in his car that was purchased at Menard's. The sheath found in the Columbia Mall parking lot was sold with the knife. A shoe believed to be Dru's was found by a bridge (US 75 Bypass) over the Red Lake River near Crookston. Blood was found in the Rodriguez car that matched DNA sample from Dru. Blood found on right passenger's side on rear window was submitted for DNA testing. Rodriguez admits he was in Grand Forks at the time of the alleged abduction, but says he was at a movie at the time.

There's a news conference at 2:30 p.m. Central time regarding the search for Dru Sjodin. If there's anything new of note, I'll post it here. NOTE: The news conference has now been postponed until 3 p.m.

Now we know where President Champan has been getting his advice.

Okay. I deleted mine.

You and I did for about 5 minutes. Imagine the ratings spike!

Blais said on the radio this morning that there's a chance that the Sioux could be without Parise, Murray, Stafford and Smaby during the WJC tournament in Helsinki.

I saw it. They also had an official from the NCAA Division II selection committe on. The focus of the discussion was on how much better the Division II system is for determining a national champion than the Division I system with BCS. I missed the opening lead-in of the show, so I don't know what was said or featured then. I caught brief glimpse of Grand Valley State players hoisting the national trophy after last year's championship game. However, Sicatoka, you will be glad to know that very faintly in the background while Roger was on, you could hear the sound of pucks hitting the boards.

Look who's on the cover of the January issue of USCHO Magazine. I'd tell you who wrote the story, but then Diggler would accuse me of self-promotion. The magazine is supposed to be out near the end of this week. The Pro Shop at The Ralph is the only place in Grand Forks I know of that sells it. Subscriptions are available through the USCHO Web site.

From my perspective, Vanek is one of the few bright spots for the Gophers this season. He sat out the third period of Saturday's game at UAA with a leg injury. In that period, Minnesota gave up four goals and scored none.

I want to know what that Sioux fan behind him is doing. She looks somewhat familiar.

From Jeff McIntyre's column at TimeDaily.com: Nobody should underestimate the impact that something like this has on the morale of a team. Napoleon knew a thing or two about such matters.

We should get some bumper stickers made up that say... NDSU and UNA: They should've played Crookston

What was the deal with that? I, too, thought it was very disrespectul. It was almost as bad as Winona choosing to make its entrance while the color guard was on the field and the national anthem was ready to begin. Don't both teams have to be on the field by a certain time?

SCSU lost to Colorado College 6-1, which was okay by me.

The Gophers won 4-0 Friday night. And this is only a guess, but I suspect most Gopher fans assumed that Minnesota would sweep this weekend. Heck, I know I did.

Will Hall showed great class by coming over to Coach Lennon after UNA scored its last TD and shaking his hand. I was very impressed by that. Lionfan03, I am sorry to hear that you had such a negative experience at the game in Grand Forks. I really hate to hear about such things because it reflects poorly on our university and our community. Unfortunately, some who attend sporting events around here think that they should be able to say and do almost whatever they please. I am usually berated when I complain about the behavior of our fans, but I continue to believe that it's possible to demonstrate good spirit and employ good sportsmanship at the same time.

Yes, that's correct. The Gophers blew a 4-2 lead and lost 6-4 at Alaska Anchorage. Briggs was in goal for Minnesota.