MafiaMan

The NTHC? This conference reconfiguration is getting out of hand! I can't even keep up!

Andy Staples still has the Irish at #3 in his final ballot. Georgia is #4. I can think of 10 teams off the top of my head that would pummel Notre Dame and he drops them only two spots after last night's embarrassment.

I liked Bettman's decision to change the NHL shield from orange and black to silver and black. Does that count?

Or like having the winner of an All-Star game decide who gets home-field advantage in the championship. Oh, wait, that's already being done!

Who would that be? Off-topic, I know, but from the non-TD call in the Stanford game to the phantom interference call against Pitt to the two #2's on the field on the Pitt missed field goal in OT to Brent Musberger gushing over the Irish all season long...I just couldn't take it anymore. Then I read this am that Andy Staples final ballot has Alabama #1, Oregon #2, and Notre Dame falling all the way down to...#3. Wow. On-topic wish-list: get rid of 4 on 4 in ot. Sheesh, why not just make it 2 on 2 if you want to make sure we have a winner. Horrible rule.

I don't expect the BTHC to light the world on fire next season either. So is the 2014 BTHC tournament at the Xcel Energy Center? I forget what the new rotation is...

Yes, it's true, he could possibly have cared less, but I'm thinking Goon's caring had bottomed out so he couldn't have any more care to give, hence he could not care less.

Well it's true. LOL! Wish list: How could I forget bringing back the Quebec Nordiques? Make it happen, Bettman!

Not to get bogged down in semantics, but the proper expression is 'I couldn't care less.'

Gotcha. Thank you for clarifying the point.

Best youtube video ever. Oh no...

I've been testy since the country 'avoided' the fiscal cliff. I promise to be better come the annual Hoggsbreath lunch!

I would certainly say Florida State and Clemson have a recruiting advantage over Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. Conference affiliation isn't the only thing recruits consider. It will be a loooong time before THE Ohio State University or Penn State can consistently out-recruit Denver, BU, or North Dakota...at least in hockey.

You were disappointed in UCONN moving to Hockey East or where they will be playing? Don't the men's and women's basketball teams currently play there as well?

I get it...to a point. What people think of as 'small' schools in hockey have always been pretty successful though. NCAA hockey isn't football or basketball. Denver, North Dakota, UMD, Boston U, Maine, and others won't fall off the map just because Ohio State and Penn State are around. The BTHC has a long ways to go towards respectability. The only games the Buckeyes sell out are when Michigan comes to town. Folks in Columbus are only vaguely aware that Minnesota has a hockey team.

In other conspiracy theory news, 9/11 was an inside job and LBJ was behind the Kennedy assasination. Also, the Hartford Whalers played adjacent to a mall, not inside one.

And I rank watching women's hockey right up there with soccer - especially Olympic women's hockey.

The Spartans and Catamounts were pretty awful last year as well.

So subtracting games against LSSU and replacing them with Minnesota will make Ohio State better? Maybe in the long run, yes, but in the short term, that's two wins in exchange for a couple of smackdown losses.

I forgot a couple: Move Carolina Hurricanes back to Hartford. The Whalers will live again. If we need an expansion team to make an even number, I really like the sound of the Seattle Thunderbirds.

All's well that ends well.

Check your PM's.

I never ever implied or stated that Phil's decision had everything to do with Rocco's championship game performance. He could have chosen to sulk and pout but he chose to react in a positive manner. I'm guessing the Slovakia issue is dead and buried in the minds of both Grimaldi and Housley. Perhaps you also feel Herb Brooks should have handled the 1980 team a bit differently? After all, apparently you have seen 'Miracle'.

LOL...yea, because the true message to Rocco would have been to bench him for the title game. The quarterfinal game was a message and Rocco got it. You would be calling for Housley's head if Rocco was on the last shift of the game in that blow-out and got injured. Head on over to www.ponyhockey.com, look up Phil's e-mail address or call the number listed for him and tell him how you would have handled the situation better. Good luck! My apologies for venturing off-topic. Holy Cross played well last night.

Who's upset? I've dealt with far more snarky comments from Gopher fans surrounding me at the Final Five every year than on siouxsports.com.