PCM

I get your point, but they beat UND with a QB who may have been academically ineligible to play. Maybe it's square. I wouldn't consider it fair, however.

I suspect the "Harlon Hill Buzz" about Klosterman was inside your head only and was probably just a fly stuck in there. Maybe all the "buzz" was in Fargo, not Grand Forks.

I think that the key is to make certain that what's posted on this board is an accurate reflection of the comments made on the radio. I don't put quote marks around a statement unless I'm 100 percent certain that it's exactly what was said. Otherwise, I try to paraphrase the statements. Nobody should take my postings as "verbatim transcripts" of the interviews because they are not intended as such. I also operate on the assumption that what Blais or any other coach says on the radio is what he wants people to hear, regardless of whether it ruffles the feathers of opposing coaches, players and fans. When someone makes statements in a public forum, it's pointless to attempt to guess at which statements were for the general populace and which were intended for a specific audience.

Monday's Herald said that Hrkac's mother and other members of his family had tickets to attend the game. They didn't tell Tony until Friday that he wasn't going on the trip. His relatives showed up anyway.

Not that my insight counts for anything, but I thought Roche played solid defensively. I could be wrong, but I don't think the Wild gave up any goals while he was on the ice. They had him out on the power play and on penalty kills (the Wild had a lot of penalties to kill.) He did a great job of hustling back at one point to break up a 2-on-1 rush. I also remember him breaking up a couple other Thrasher plays close to the net. He had a few of nice hits and a penalty. Brad Brown looked more like a liability than an asset, especially when he took a stupid 4-minute slashing penalty. That might help Roche stick with the Wild.

Here's an admitedly poor picture of Roche and Bombardir giving their stick salute. I was way up in the nose-bleed section.

What a bonehead PR move it was by the Thrashers to leave Hrkac in Atlanta. They gave some lame excuse about him being a big draw for home games. I could see sitting him for one of the last two games, but having it be the game in Grand Forks was just plain dumb. All that did was encourage fans to cheer almost exclusively for the Wild.

It sure was great seeing Roche and Bombardir team up for the game-winning goal in OT. Here's a photo from the end of the game. Roche, number 39, is looking at Bombardir. I think that's backup goalie Dwayne Roloson tugging on Brad's jersey. I'm not sure why he's doing that. Roche and Bombardir came out on the ice together and gave a stick salute to the fans. It was a nice comeback win for the Wild, who didn't give fans much reason to cheer before the final period.

Those Bison will do almost anything to get noticed.

One aspect of the Blais interview I should have mentioned was his point about how Mike Commodore's offensive skills improved with time. The reason he brought that up was because although he admits that there is no Travis Roche or Curtis Murphy on the team, it is possible for D-minded defensemen to evolve into a more offensive role. My interpretation of this is that we shouldn't be surprised to see someone like Andy Schneider, Matt Jones or Nick Fuehr develop into competent blueline QBs. Instead of one Travis Roche, perhaps the Sioux will have two or three Brad Williamsons. Would that be so bad?

Here are my notes from today's KKXL radio interview with Dean Blais conducted by Tim Hennessy and Scott Swygman: Blais isn't surprised to be picked to finish fifth as a result of 6th place finish last season. He expected Denver to be picked to repeat because of its goaltending. Blais thinks the Sioux can finish better than fifth place, but "we're still a young team." About the defensive corps, he said that they are probably the biggest he's had, but they're surprisingly mobile. "They

In the annual Grand Forks Herald preseason coaches poll published today, Denver is picked to win the WCHA and the Sioux were picked to finish fifth. Zach Parise was picked as the league's preseason rookie of the year, picking up 9 of 10 votes. Denver goalie Wade Dubielewicz was selected as the WCHA's preseason player of the year. Unfortunately, the Herald's Web site doesn't list the entire poll results and I don't have the paper with me. Here's how the coaches voted for the top five spots and the number of first-place votes the teams received: 1. Denver - 6 2. Minnesota - 3 3. SCSU - 1 4. Colorado College 5. North Dakota

I thought I saw Jason out jogging the other day near the Ralph. If it was him, it looks like he's been spending a fair amount of time in the weight room. Those pipes are in big trouble now! Regardless of whether he's wearing the C or A, as a senior, I'm sure Jason will be a team leader. I've never heard anyone accuse him of giving less than 100 percent effort. He will lead by example.

JBB is strangely silent. I wonder why?

According to an article in the spring issue of Native Directions about Mark Ranfranz, son of Flandreau-Santee Sioux Tribal President Tom Ranfranz: "The younger Ranfranz was on the UND hockey team and hopes to rejoin the team during the 2002-2003 season." Could Ranfranz be the fourth goalie? If so, how would that play at SCSU?

Since when? Or do they no longer teach grammar at NDSU?

I came to that conclusion the day I heard that Fournier left.

Hey! I resemble that remark!

I'm looking forward to seeing Travis and Brad play in the new arena. I also hope that I get to see Tony Hrkac, Dany Heatly and Mark Hartigan play for the Thrashers. I'll be at the game with a freind of mine who is a UND grad. He lives in the Twin Cities and swore that he'd never return to Grand Forks. I lured him back with a ticket, a chance to see an NHL game in the new arena and the opportunity to eat at the Red Pepper. It would sure be great if Travis landed a spot on the Wild. I certainly miss seeing him in a Sioux jersey. He gave us a lot of great memories in two seasons.

But JBB, wasn't NDSU, with its great returning talent, supposed to win it all last season? Which QB got the job done and which one didn't? I don't pay much attention to the Bison, so I don't know what Gorder's problem is. However, I know that Klosterman, doesn't have the offensive line, the receivers or the running game he had supporting him last season. It's no wonder that he and the Sioux are struggling. What's Gorder's excuse this year?

Thanks for the update, Jimmy Bob Bubba. Please get back to us when Gordo is wearing a national championship ring.

The last I heard, about 5,000 tickets had been sold -- two of them to me.

Bisonguy, I'm with you. I'll cheer on NDSU if UND or one other NCC school to the south that shall remain nameless isn't in the playoffs. Thanks you for your support!

Wow. Football stadiums have more seating capacity than hockey arenas. Who would have guessed?

When in doubt, play the race card, right, JBB? That's not "personalizing the issue," is it? It's interesting to note that after a two-year investigation at UND, the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights found no signs of pervasive or severe racism at the university. I wouldn't get too smug about team names if I were you, JBB. Given the fact that Native Americans consider the bison a sacred animal, NDSU's moniker could easily end up on the PC hit list.