southpaw

i really enjoy number 11 of the affidavit: "...uniform application of rules is important..."

getting to watch parise and zajac on the same line has been pretty awesome. you can tell they both have a little "UND" still in them. they tend to cycle the puck a lot and it looks like they're a member of the fighting sioux out there. imagine if they had a 3rd UND kid on that line. they'd just tire teams out from a constant cycle like blais' teams used to do.

me too! (ps, small change of plans. won't be able to get to the bar til the 2nd intermission)

in the first year after the lockout, the average nhl attendance rose to it's highest level ever. source: NHL Attendance 19 teams reported higher numbers last year than the year prior to the lockout. in a world where sports supposedly struggle after a lockout or player strike, that's amazing numbers. it took baseball 5 years after the strike to get fan level back to what it was the year before the strike. sure seems like professional hockey is dying.

many times, there is no rage involved when fighting in the nhl. like has been said before, the reason for fighting in the nhl is to limit (notice nobody has said fighting completely stops) cheap shots. it is to back up your star player when they get speared or slashed or anything deemed worthy of a fight (but oh no! who is to decide what is worthy of a fight? ). in a perfect world, the refs would call cheap shots, the league would impose a stiff penalty and they wouldn't happen very often. however, as long as all you're punished is two minutes for slashing the opposing team's star, i think fighting should be an option. these are million dollar athletes who could have their careers ended by a cheap shot. if you were the owner, would you want those stars to only be protected by the refs and their calls for two minute minors? or do you want a player who can stand up to the cheapshot artists and protect your star player? two years ago we'd hear stories about opposing team forwards being scared to come into the sioux zone because our D would hit guys and hit them hard. is it that much of a stretch to think guys are less likely to cheapshot if they know they're going to get more than a two minute minor?

on the contrary, i think he's shown his point better than anyone else. even if you disagree with what he has to say, there's no doubt you know his viewpoint, that can't be said for others in this thread. other than intramurals in college, i haven't played organized hockey since i was 10, but i know about the unwritten rules of fighting. a "fair fight" has to do with two guys squaring off. both guys dropping the gloves and agreeing to go at it. those "unwritten rules," also called sportsmanship, are why once one fighter drops to the ground, the fight is over.

i do know that my sophomore year of college (01-02), he was my ra and was against the nickname. he wasn't as vocal about it, but i do know he didn't like it.

he never said you couldn't comment about it. lord knows we'll get your commentary left and right. however, he says if you haven't been there in the game, you don't know what its like. throw your crap opinions out left and right, but unless you've actually been in a situation like that you're just talking out your ears.

word on the street is cichy wears UND stuff around at the ndtp. him and kristo are becoming very good friends. brad will have an update on his blog sometime tonight.

for everyone who wants to be triouxper (and me) a beer on friday... i'll be in the bar during 1st period intermission.

i would win, as pcm would leave because he can't stand fighting. plus, there are kids who read this message board and they could look up to us as rolemodels, so perhaps you shouldn't be advocating fights. those poor little children need to be protected. put em in a ball and never let em get hurt!

pretty bad attempt at sarcasm. it's usually followed by a smiley, or at least sounds sarcastic.

i'm going to post it in this thread, because i don't want hundreds of people using it... but for those who don't get a chance to watch some sioux alumni in the majors and want to: go to: NHL Center Ice on Internet it will show you a list of games that you can watch on the internet for free. the quality isn't spectacular (except for the ones on yahoo), but it's good enough that you can see the puck and easily follow the play. you're going to need at least dsl internet for the games to stream nicely, cable will be perfect. there are two programs that you can download to watch. for the yahoo games, you don't need to download anything. there is a link to a forum on that page that will give you the yahoo link about 10 minutes before the game. the two programs (sopcast, and tvuplayer) can both be downloaded from download.com, so they're safe. i checked for any spyware after i installed and there was none. it's a pretty sweet idea and i really like it because i get to watch at least one game a night. they tend to vary it up, so you'll get to see a lot of teams from around the league. they tend to play a lot of nj and pittsburgh games too, which i enjoy.

early in the season. i'd rather have grieco get some experience now than possibly have to throw him into the fire later in the year if lammy goes down again. i'm not worried. the team defense will get better and as it does, the goals will go down.

you should run for office with how much you're misrepresenting information in this thread. remind me again where it says "87 percent of all current NHL fans would stop watching the NHL if fighting is reduced." you make the ridiculous jump (im assuming to prove your point) that someone who likes fighting in the game will stop watching if it's taken out. i guess since you don't like fighting, you never watch any pro hockey. so how would you know if the fighting level has gone down? fans can want fighting in the game without feeling like a fight is something they enjoy. i don't mind having it in the nhl because it cuts down on the number of cheap shots. you are more responsible for the actions you take. players like taffe who would cheapshot guys are made to stand up for what they do. no the case in college hockey, where the ticky-tack stuff is a lot more prevalent and goes unpunished.

they had things to type with back then? figured it be called "rocking" or something.

matt jones with his first career goal in the first period against the rangers tonight. other sioux scoring so far tonight: parise (goal) zajac (assist) blake (goal/assist) and belfour lost in a shootout against nyi, 4-3. looks like bayda got sent back down just a couple days after scoring his first goal of the year for carolina.

my bad, i didn't read the lower article. i had wrongly assumed that when she referred to herself as a hoosier, she meant as an alum. i still think it's a different situation.

and i understand that general idea. but you don't see natives of indiana calling themselves hoosiers. you do see tribes in nd specifically calling themselves sioux.

i've noticed you're championing the cause of "hypocrisy of the ncaa" quite a bit. and while i agree with you that they are two-faced when it comes to a lot of issues, this one is a stretch. words take over different meanings as time passes. for the "hoosiers" it became a rallying nickname. like the article says, just like hawkeyes, buckeyes, knicks, badgers... etc. i'd imagine you will find zero people who think "hoosiers" is offensive. there are at least some native americans who think the fighting sioux nickname is offensive. the n-word isn't on the list of hostile and abusive names, so why would cracker be? the word cracker has evolved in the opposite direction of hoosier. cracker was never (or at least very rarely) accepted by white people as a nickname. just because 200 years ago two words were interchangable, doesn't mean they have the same connotation now.

just connect it to the ralph. then throw a skyway from the betty to the wellness center and you've got one massive athletics "complex."

next time i see you in the bar, i may have to buy you a drink just to make sure i stay on your good side.

great story. i've always seen the UND community as something huge (lots of people) with a small town feel. people will go out of their way for nearly anyone. it's part of living in north dakota. great to hear stories like this about sioux fans who go above and beyond for each other. keep up the good work yanea!

ryan bayda also scored his first goal of the season in that game for carolina. (the box score on the link isn't updated. it still lists just 3 goals by each team).