MafiaMan

I'm in the ballpark of $300 in contributions thus far...thank you all for your kindness.

Not too shabby. Now if I can just locate a long-lost college friend and a couch to sleep on moderately-priced hotel room, I'm all set.

How much are those tickets?

I'm hoping to bring MafiaMan Jr. to Grand Forks Thanksgiving weekend for some Sioux hockey as a surprise birthday present. If you're heading out of town and looking to part with some tickets, let me know. Thanks and much appreciated!

I was born in Dickinson and grew up about 40 miles northwest of there. The town and the campus of DSU are still a pretty tight community. I hope and pray for a positive outcome... Dickinson State Softball Players Missing

Sorry, probably TMI.

I just crapped my pants.

Yes please. I'm writing a personal check to the Kennedy Hockey Association this weekend when I'm at the rink.

Thanks for the help, ScottM! I'm in the neighborhood of $250 in pledges at the moment. I'm going to inform the coordinator that this is ineed a 'go'. I need to turn in a check by November 15th to the association and we're off!

OK, I have until November 15th to round up some funds...I'm a bit hesitant to put my home address here, so if you're interested in contributing, send me a PM and I'll reply back with my address. Judging by the handful of responses I've seen so far, I'm in the neighborhood of $100-$150, so I'm hoping for some more interest. Thanks everyone!

My son has hockey practice this afternoon and I'll be talking with the Mite Director then. I should have an update later today for everyone.

Keep in mind, the Gophers lost on Thursday night, so their fan base was pretty tame the rest of the weekend. I would suggest you check out the behavior from some fans of games at the X that involve the Sioux being beaten by Minnesota and you might report back differently about Sioux and Gopher fans hugging each other...not that there's anything wrong with you being hugged by a Gopher fan, I'm just sayin'...

I was referring to the Wild, because I assume Gopherguy33 is a fan of them too.

Got my math wrong, yes, 7-5 on the season, but you weren't predicting a win against MSU tomorrow, so you're kinda saying 6-6. I'm still confused...

You did earlier by saying that if they beat MSU, that 8-5 is a "lock." You realize that Decker's not playing, right?

I'm not comparing UND football to Minnesota. That's apples to oranges and, even though I'm a big Sioux hockey guy, I've never been one to brag about D-II or FCS football. If you think the Gophers are going 3-1 the rest of the way minus Decker, well, good luck with that. Secondly, you mention that Kirk Ferentz worked out pretty well. Rewind your DVR recordings from ESPN College Gameday last January after bowl week and through a few of the past offseasons and you'll see many Iowa fans were calling for Ferentz's head on a platter. Same thing with Randy Shannon from Miami, and now they're practically building a monument to him outside of Landshark Stadium.

Let's back that up with some facts, shall we? Brewster Overall and Big-10 records (in parentheses) 1-11 (0-8) 7-6 (3-5) 4-4 (2-3) Ferentz Overall and Big-10 records (in parentheses) 1-10 (0-8) 3-9 (3-5) 7-5 (4-4) Alvarez Overall and Big-10 records (in parentheses) 1-10 (0-8) 5-6 (2-6) 5-6 (3-5) Pretty comparable first years, improvement from Ferentz and Alvarez in year three over year two. If you think the Gophers will wind up better than last year's 7-6 record, you're crazy. Ferentz and Alvarez both made HUGE leaps in year four...we'll see what Brewster does next season.

Well, when you're shut-out on back-to-back Friday nights, there aren't many opportunities to chant that other than pre-game warm-ups. Look on the bright side, though, that football team is turning things around...oh, wait, nevermind...

The day after the Blake Wheeler goal in the Final Five championship game against the Sioux, I trekked over to BIG for my son's mite's hockey practice and endured a day full of ribbing. A self-proclaimed "huge Gopher fan" razzed me more than the rest and I told him we'd see what happened the next week at the regional. His response? "Huh...isn't the season over?". I had to explain to him that that was just the conference tournament and that NCAA play was the following weekend. I also spend the entire Final Five last year trying to convince the maroon-and-gold fans behind me that the one-and-done finish at the Final Five probably cost the 'U' its season. I was told that Minnesota was a "shoo-in' to make the NCAA tournment. Dimwit fans exist in all colors, gopherz. And, hey, if f*** the Gophers is a lame cheer, you must never get bored of this one, huh? Whoaaa....you buddy...you're outta here...you hack...and you suck...you worthless piece of shiiiiiiii

Which reminds me, who's playing in that this year, was it Mounds View or Tartan?

I'm just doing my part to make Ryan Stoa throw up the next time he visits BIG.

I posted this earlier in "Community" and with Jim's permission, have moved this to the Men's Hockey section in the hopes of making this happen... I've often joked with my Gopher friends on weekends at the Bloomington Ice Gardens that it would be amusing if one of the mite teams was sponsored by something affiliated with the Fighting Sioux. Well, here's my chance - I received an e-mail today from our association asking for sponsors. This one caught my eye, especially due to the sponsor name on the back of a mite team set of hockey jerseys. I'd be more than happy to kick in a chunk of money myself to see "SIOUXSPORTS.COM" written on the back of a team set of jerseys right smack dab in the heart of the land of maroon and gold and thought I'd throw it out there to people on this message board. If you're interested in participating in such a venture, PM me and I'll add up what we might be able to contribute and if it's anywhere near $500, we'll go from there. Go Sioux! Team Sponsor - $500

Thanks, Jim. I thought I sent you a PM but maybe you missed that too!

It was two years ago yesterday that Joel was murdered. I just thought it was worth mentioning since he's obviously still remembered by friends and acquaintences. I hope you and THETRIOUXPER are having some good conversations up there on the ice rink in the sky.