Big A HG

I was actually pursuing my Entrepreneur Certificate from UND (until a significant matter came up with scheduling and me not wanting to stick around for another year and a half to finish the two classes needed to finish the certificate and get my degree), and in one of my classes involved starting a fictional business in Grand Forks complete with business plans and financial information related to it. It was a three person project, and one of my partners was a girl from Seattle who lives solely off of organic based products. The other partner wasn't such an advocate, but was very interested in the subject, and ultimately, I went along with the proposal of an organic store in Grand Forks. Ultimately, by the end of our research, we all knew it wouldn't work in Grand Forks, and if it DID, it wouldn't work on the north side. The downtown location (forget the name of the business...Amazing Grains or something) has a limited variety of products, but actually does quite well. An entire store involving a multitude of products and groceries would likely only be best served on the south side, if it were to survive at all. We actually received a lot of good financial information from Amazing Grains(?) and other stores in larger cities whom the girl had a connection to, but ultimately it would be a smart decision not to take the risk of starting such a place in the Suite 49 location.

Who said it had to be a Whole Foods franchise? Why can't you start your own organic store? These types of places are better served in metro areas and near the coasts, where a healthy lifestyle is more "in." I'm not saying it can't work, I just don't think it stands a chance in GF.

My guess is he aggravated it jumping out of his chair after the OT goal last night by USA. Then, Big Daddy Ron and Brett dropped the gloves and settled the border battle once and for all right in their living room. I'm pretty sure that's why he's out now but was able to return in the Shillelagh.

If you are so confident, why don't you start one? Heck, the loans to start the place should be no problem because you'll be raking in a ton of cash, right? Right...

It's all fine and dandy you picked a few teams who didn't deliver in the end. I was arguing the point of you being convinced they wouldn't win the title for whatever obscure reasoning. You've said it in multiple threads now (Miami being included). I don't think there is any way you can be convinced Denver won't win the title just because a few teams in history didn't win a title that probably should have.

I said nothing in the way of chalking them up as champion. All I said was is they have a really good team who can make a strong post-season run. To say they won't "just cuz" isn't an arguable point.

The government has given Native American's a lot of opportunity. They get a lot of benefits when attending college. How many take that path? Very few. They get a lot of money not only because of the suffering of their people many years ago, but to help them get a jump start in life and make something of themselves. What do they do? Waste the money and choose to live in poverish conditions. Not every Native American does this, and I commend the ones who don't. The ones that live off the system will always do just that, though, and that's the majority. On a reservation near me, the state took money to build them nice houses to live in on their reservations instead of run-down mobile homes. The Native Americans on that reservation welcomed their new free houses, only to run those down so bad they weren't liveable anymore, so back to the trailer homes they went. That's the problem with this new Socialist attitude our government has. They want to give money to the poor so they can make something of themselves, the only problem is it will never work, because those people will only go and buy the latest high-definition television with every channel imaginable while drinking themselves further into poverty. If you really want to make something of yourself, there are ways to do it, most just choose not to...not because it's not possible. I'm all for providing Native Americans with what they need in order to succeed, if they actually put in the effort to do just that...succeed. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. That's why building them a nice facility to play hockey in will only become another run-down facility while some people who want to lead normal lives on the reservation will go without clean water and without heat in the winter. I really feel for the people who want to be something, but can't...so don't get confused with what I said. It's just that you have to face the facts when it comes to the situation, and that is most of them don't want to be something in life.

GF doesn't seem liberal enough to buy into the organic and other related products a place like that would sell. If it was a good market, anywhere on the north side would be a horrible location. The population that MAY be interested in that would likely come more from the south side...other than a few of the students who would shop there. Students like to get out and about though, so going to the south side is no big deal for them whether it's to Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy or someplace else. I agree with Goon. Something that caters more to the students and their budget would make a more sensible fit. What that type of place may be is another thing. Something that caters towards the whole community of Grand Forks would likely be better served on the south side. On a side note, I always thought a north side Wal-Mart would be a great business if you could franchise it...which you can't unfortunately (or I'd be doing it already!). This would assume you could put the north side Wal-Mart near the interstate. 1) It's closer to the AFB and those who come to town just for that type of shopping. 2) It's closer to some of the reservations and many surrounding rural communities who come to GF to shop. 3) It's closer to campus, students love going to Wal-Mart at all times of the day, especially at night. This is also a big deal for when students are moving in for the school year. 4) GF has the population to support two Wal-Marts. Where I live now, the population is nearly identical, and we support two Wal-Marts just fine. 5) It's the first big store Canadians would see on their way into town...which is why most come down to GF. Wal-Mart is bad for local business, but that doesn't stop people from shopping there. Just like people prefer eating at crappy places like Applebee's over other locally owned joints.

Goon, you've been pretty convinced that Denver isn't going to do anything this post-season....I'm not so sure. I think they have more pieces to make a run than we do, and a little heart and desire goes a long ways. We'll see if that stacks up or not, but I'm pretty convinced they'll make a strong run in the post season.

The other day I was at Oneida Bingo & Casino in Green Bay, WI with a buddy. I had my '09 Macnaughton Cup Champs shirt on while just watching my buddy throw a couple hundred bucks on the craps table. There were 4 employees working the table, 3 of which were people of the Oneida Tribe. One gentleman asked me if my shirt was hockey related in Grand Forks, in which I proudly replied yes. He mentioned he had some Native American classes of some sort in South Dakota at one point. I politely asked him what he thought about the nickname issue, which led to an interesting discussion.... At first he was like, "well, I'm not a Sioux so I really don't care." At that point, I told him to put himself in a Sioux person's shoes and answer it that way. He didn't care if we used it, since there were more important issues to worry about as a Native American, but overall was against it. At that point, a lady chimed in at the table (another employee and fellow Oneida citizen) and said it was great that we used the name to honor the Sioux tribes. She was so far it and actually argued verbally at the table with the other guy about the rights and wrongs while I just stood there and listened. She was proud to see that a Native American image was so proudly presented above all else on the campus and said it should stay forever. The other guy, again, then got a bit more against it by saying it'd be like them giving themselves a "White Nazis" nickname. He also said that our logo was very "weak" and wondered why another Native American would draw such a weak-figured image. I didn't know what he meant, but I just assumed that he thought an image of a chief or something should have been depicted. However, as much as he's against all this, he mentioned that his favorite NFL team is the Washington Redskins, just because of the Native American connections. Overall, it was a very kind and genuine conversation, but you could tell that there are very mixed feelings among all Native Americans about related imagery. Just thought I'd share my experiences.

I hope this isn't the same Shillelagh trophy I found on Google

Just don't let Gregoire do the shootout....the guy has been cursed.

Toews definitely lost, but "whooped" is a bit strong.

Mark is like what a Santa is to a kid.... You can go to one mall and see Santa, then you go to another store or mall right after and see Santa again, and the kid wonders how Santa got from one place to another so quick, and can be in so many places in one day! The guy has a memory like a steel trap too. I had a roommate who refs high school football and basketball in the area. One fall day two years ago, Mark was right along the sideline or something and gave my friend who was reffing some heat for a bad call (in Mark's eyes). Like 4 months later, we ran into him (outside of anything sports related) and Mark was like..."Hey ref, you blew that call in that game!" My roommate knew who he was so, so he found it amusing, but Mark never forgot. Congrats Kauker!

I don't like splitting up the goal scorers. Should Hak have split up Duncan, Oshie, and Toews? No. They just made a purely dominant line, then when other lines chipped in a couple, it made them that much more dangerous. If you split up all your scorers, you make it easier for the defense to shut down that one individual on each line versus trying to stop three great players on one line.

I actually really like that nickname. Yes, I do know there are the Nashville Predators, but it's almost impossible to come up with a good nickname that also isn't already taken. Where does UND go with the nickname though?

Zajac's hernia surgery isn't a huge issue other than having to miss some time. I've had two hernia operations in gadeschool, and after a week of being sore, it wasn't much of an issue. U still have to let it heal, but my guess is it will be a 3 to 4 week ordeal.

I'm way behind on researching anything...what kind of prices did you pay if I may ask?

I noticed a Lee Brodeur played for UND for one season in 84-85 before transferring to Western Michigan. He was a 4th round pick by Montreal (home of Martin Brodeur), so was intrigued by the possibility of him being relation to Martin...despite knowing that it's probably a longshot. Anyone know for sure?

Just saw that as well. My guess is he's going to play this semester. They will likely work him into the lineup before throwing him into a major role, but he might be an important key to the second half puzzle. It sucks to be one of the freshman on the fence of playing and not playing right now. Also, it might be awhile before we see the same old Matt Frattin as well. He hasn't played since March, so he'll be rusty for sure. Nonetheless, good to hear. He's paid his dues with the team and the university, so I think the past will be behind him from now on.

Anyone else going to the tournament? I live 2 and a half hours north of their and was considering going down if UND plays Notre Dame on Sunday.

How 'bout something real simple, like "Athletes". I based it off of "Athletics", which is a common generic nickname for many clubs...mostly baseball in which I've encountered. 1) It would allow the university to market itself mainly as "North Dakota" while still having a formal nickname to fallback on for revenue reasons. 2) It's unique 3) No gender bias, no silly animal, no stereotype, it's plural (don't care for nicknames such as "Magic" or "Green Wave") 4) Allows for abbreviation of "A's" (yes, I know of the Oakland A's) for logo and other reasons 1) It's uninspiring nor great sounding 2) Not very intimidating or "special" like Sioux is (but what could be?) All-in-all, it's not my favorite, but I'm just speaking with an open-mind. I do like the "Frontier" idea, or some sort of spin off of it, without being another "Pioneers."

I thought the buildings on NDSU's campus look and function like this here barn...? Also, I hope no innocent farm animals were harmed in the collapsing of the building.

Here's an awesome behind-the-scenese story of Jonathan Toews and how things are going for him in Chicago: LINK to Chicago Tribune article

Need I say more?! Hehehe Sorry Goon, I had to take advantage of that facebook pic.