PCM

You must be very dizzy after all the spinning, JBB.

I also agree with bisonguy about the double standard. You can chalk it up to the unfortunate result of the politically correct hypersensitivity over the use of words. (And just to be clear, conservatives can be just as guilty of playing this game as liberals.) I have some Scandinavian blood in my veins. Do you think anyone would take me seriously if I complained about the negative Scandinavian stereotypes perpetuated by the Minnesota Vikings? If I said I was offended or deeply hurt every time the Viking warrior mascot blew that stupid horn or by all the purple-faced Viking fans wearing blonde braids and horned helmets or by the violent, war-like stereotypical image of Scandinavians, would people sympathize with me? Or would they tell me that I was being unreasonably oversensitive? I also have Irish background, but I don't take it personally when someone says, "The Irish suck." Why? Because I know that the insult is intended for Notre Dame's athletic teams and isn't aimed at me, people of Irish descent or the people of Ireland in general. What reasonable person would think otherwise? What reasonable person would think that a university would purposely select a racially derogatory nickname for the purpose of insulting, offending or oppressing a minority? If I spent enough time, money and effort and had the media behind me, perhaps I could persuade 20 percent of the Scandinavian-Americans or Irish-Americans in the country to say that they're offended by the racist, stereotypical portrayals of Scandinavian and Irish people. But just because I can get a small minority of a small minority to agree with me, does that mean that I can dictate to the vast majority of Americans who disagree with me? What reasonable person would expect otherwise? I have no right to tell someone that they shouldn

I'd think that it would be fairly easy to confirm whether other players and coaches on Mankato's sidelines heard the same things that the coach says he heard.

According to a Sunday Fargo Forum article, Bison fans yelled racial slurs at Mankato's black players during the game Saturday. Watch out for falling glass, JBB.

I wasn't aware that I had a "collective position."

It's good to learn that you'll finally be protesting NDSU's exploitation of the sacred bison. At least you're not being hypocritical.

Because the people who make the playoff decisions will remember it, regardless of whether the game officially counts.

I listened to Dean Blais on the UND coaches show tonight. I didn't take notes, so I'm just going from memory (always dangerous!). As you might imagine, there was a good deal of talk about Zach Parise's performance in his first two games. Blais said he couldn't remember any rookie ever having such an immediate impact. Tim Hessessy said that he thought the comparison to Neal Broten was appropriate. He noted that Tony Hrkac could do magical things with the puck when you got it to him, but Parise goes and gets it. He said that Greg Johnson was a great playmaker without a great shot, but Parise has a great shot. Blais didn't disagree with him. Blais also said that Parise's habit of being on the ice at every opportunity is starting to catch on with other players. Now, it's usually not Parise alone on the ice, but a group of players with him. That says a great deal about his leadership ability. Blais also noted that team chemistry is much improved over last season. Other players Blais spoke positively about were David Lundbohm and Colby Genoway. He thinks Genoway will contribute when he begins playing. He was especially enthusiastic about Lundbohm. After saying that he didn't play well last season, Blais noted that it was Lundbohm who insisted that the players spend the summer working hard to prepare for this season. Blais said he hated to single anybody out for praise because he thought they all played well last weekend. He agreed with Hennessy that last season's team probably never would have come back against Michigan. I was hoping that Blais would comment on the goaltending, but he never did. On the injury front, Brian Canady's shoulder is healing, but not 100 percent yet. Prpich has a groin pull. (Speaking from personal experience, that's a tough injury to play with and tough injury to heal.) He didn't say anything about when he expected them back. Hennessy thinks that Niagara will be a good test for the Sioux because they played Michigan tough. The exhibition game next Tuesday against the U of Manitoba should be interesting. Blais said that while the game doesn't mean anything, losing it could hurt the Sioux at playoff time. Therefore, it sounds as if they're taking it seriously. If anyone else heard the show, please feel free to add anything I've left out.

Zach shows up in total points, goals, power play goals and short-handed goals. How come he's not in the goalie stats?

With inspirational comments like that from the athletic director of my alma mater, it's no wonder SDSU hasn't won a national championship since 1963.

That's a good point. How many times last season did we see the Sioux play down to their level of competition or let a lesser team back into a game? I was glad to see that after UND got up 4 goals on Canisius, they went straight for the jugular and didn't give the Griffs any reason to think they could get back in the game.

Interestingly enough, "the racism controversy that engulfs the Grand Forks campus" never seems to get much attention until hockey season starts. Why do you think that is, JBB? (Hint: Follow the Benjamins.) And, no, I can't understand the dismay the statement caused when it neither intended nor implied any meaning of a racial nature. Just because you and a few of your like-minded friends can conjure up a racist interpretation of a statement doesn't mean it was racist. Unless you have the ability to read the minds of those who made the statements and know that they intended to imply some hidden meaning, your "it's racist because I say so" argument doesn't fly.

What's really funny about the article is that it neglects to mention that the number of Minnesota players on the UND's and NDSU's rosters is nearly identical. Apparently the the real difference is that UND gets the Minnesota players with talent.

Yeah. Everyone knows UND would be helpless without South Dakota players.

Let's go back to the original post in which you said: First, the biggest problem with your "original point" is that Kupchella isn't even from around here and was leaning toward changing the name before the State Board of Higher Education took the matter out of his hands. Second, the Herald has run editorials supporting the name change and influential members of the newspaper's staff are known to be name-change proponents. If you displayed even the most basic knowledge of these facts, it might add a bit more credibility to your argument. Third, you took a statement made in a Herald editorial and interpreted it in a manner in which it was never intended. In other words, you saw "subtle racism" where none existed. Personally, I happen to think the idea that scandals follow DI athletics is a bogus argument against going DI. Obviously, there are many good DI programs in the country that aren't involved in scandals and I have no reason to believe that NDSU won't be among them.

Anyone who claims to know what Parise will do in the future after just two games is blowing smoke.

It'd be interesting to know what Blais thought of Siembida's performance. Listening to the game on the radio, it didn't sound as if he gave up any softies. I'm encouraged by the fact that neither goalie had to face a lot of shots this weekend. That could be because of improvements on defense. At this point of the season, I'd be happy with one great scoring line (we have it) one good scoring line (it might be there), one good checking line (too early to tell) and a fourth line that can spell the other three lines now and then (also too early to tell). But I do agree that the Sioux would be much better off with more scoring from other forwards. I am encouraged by the fact that the defensemen -- Schneider and Fuher in particular -- are already making significant scoring contributions. And what about a come-from-behind victory on the road against a top-rated team? You have to like that.

SDSU has a "cow-college image?" I wish someone would have told me before I went there!

North Dakota leads 4-0 after 2 periods. Goals by Fylling and Fuher.

There's a certain restaurant in Grand Forks where I would classify the food as Norwegian-Mexican.

I SWEAR IT WASN'T ME!!! There was a person sitting near me who yelled at the players and officials. I had to pretend that I didn't know him.

I think you're confusing this guy with Scott Murphy.

I heard that he had horns and a tail!

You are correct.

the story was focused on UND and its history or racism with the logo and exploitation of native culture at the center of the controversy. It was uncomplimentary and unfortunately degrades not only UND and its constituents but all of North Dakota. Gosh, imagine that. NPR joined the thundering media herd and provided its typically biased, slanted, sensationalized, liberal view of an issue. I never cease to be amazed when this happens. Bridges is entirely correct. That, of course, is your opinion. There are many who disagree. According to a poll commissioned by Sports Illustrated, that includes a large majority of Native Americans. No human logos should be used as sports mascots. No Raiders? No Vikings? No Buccaneers? No Fighting Irish? No Trojans? No Vandals? No Spartans? No Deacons? I wasn't aware that all these groups and their decendents were complaining about their human dignity being violated. I would think that the use of animals considered sacred to Native Americans should be off limits, too. After all, NDSU is being culturally insensitive by exploiting the sacred bison for profit. In addition, given the fact that activists in South Dakota have asked the Watertown High School Arrows to stop using their logo because it appears to show eagle feathers, a similar request to the NDSU Bison can