MafiaMan

You know, if I had a nickel for every fan I run into (no matter what the school affiliation) who says "I can't believe we're not Minnesota's biggest rival," I'd be a rich man. St Cloud grumbles about it, so does Mankato. UND does, and even UMD does. But unless you are familiar with the basketball, football, and hockey atmosphere, there's certainly no denying that Minnesota and Wisconsin absolutely loathe and detest each other and deserve to play each other four times every year.

Myles has probably been talking to Phil Jackson recently. If it's 1% opposed, not a big deal, but if 5 or 10% want something changed, the other 95% or 90% should feel obligated to change their mind. We live in a world gone mad.

I was talking about my particular area of growing up, specifically Billings County.

My dad was on the Billings County school board in the 1980's and instrumental in helping build larger schools in Medora, Fryburg, and Fairfield and closing some smaller one-room schools. In one extremely remote area of the county, a teacher lived on one side of the Little Missouri River and a family with two children lived on the other side of the river. Each morning, the father or mother would put the kids in a cart that stretched across the Little Mo and the teach would wheel the kids over for school. At the end of the day, one of the parents would wheel the kids back to the other side. If memory serves me right, the nearest bridge crossing the river was some 10-12 miles away. This wasn't the 1880's, this was the 1980's. While one-room schools certainly appear to have some advantages, it's practically culture shock for some kids who spent 8 years in a one-room school with 3-4 other kids and then move on to a high school where 100 kids seems like a metro area. How about sports? How can a kid possibly be on a basketball team or in a choir when going to a one-room school with 3 other kids?

My "hometown" was actually a farm in Billings County. Depending on where you lived in the county, you either went to high school in Beach, Killdeer, Belfield, or South Heart. The county was made of of many one-room schools for students in grades 1-8, from Fryburg to the Fairfield area.

And time after time in the 1980's, the folks in the eastern half of the state thought it was only fair that oil revenues be taken from lesser-populated counties like Billings, Stark, and McKenzie and funneled out east to improve things like education. I knew people in Fargo who felt it was ridiculous that the western half of the state wouldn't support such revenue "sharing". Never mind that one-room schoolhouses with wood stoves to provide heat during the winter and outhouses out back behind the school were still the norm in the western half of the state well into the late 1980's. No one living east of Bismarck gave a rat's a** about the western part of the state until some oil money started rolling in, then it was, "hmnn...let's get our hands on that!" Kinda reminds me of Michigan a few years back. I was in the UP at a time when they had a record snowfall. 12-20' (that's feet, not inches) all around. Local officials screamed to Lansing that the Michigan National Guard was needed for assistance. The governor refused, but three weeks later when Detroit had 4" (inches, not feet) of snow, the NG was promptly activated and sent there.

How do you explain a state that is so overwhelmingly pro-Republican in presidential elections continuing to re-elect three members of Congress who are so overwhelmingly opposed to everything the president stands for? It's just as ironic as the Catholic Church preaching vote Democrat, support 'immigrants' rights, stand up for the poor, etc., yet you hear the appeals every Sunday ranting against gay marriage and abortion. Am I the only one who is confused?

He needed a good game given the 3 penalties in about 8 minutes of action against the Red Wings in the first round.

Quite frankly, this attitude is exactly what's WRONG with this country today. The "job," as you so well put it, of elected officials is not to bring in money from Washington, it's to do what they feel is in the best interest of the home district, state, and country, and NOT necessarily in that order. All too often these days, pork-loaded bills get to Congress filled to the brim with pet projects for the home district or state. Too many people in Washington view their elected position as their 'career' and a lifestyle that they are entitled to. And in order to maintain that lifestyle, they will do whatever it takes to get re-elected. It's all about heading back home and saying 'look at the money I brought in for project X and grant Y" and pat themselves on the back. Is that all it's about? Sad indeed. Find some principles, people, and stop looking at the latest trends and polls to decide what's best for this country. Dru's law? Dorgan's a big sponsor? Nice that a state senator loved by the ACLU finally gets on board with something that should have been a law 100 years ago. Frankly, I'm stunned he is a sponsor given the flak someone supporting a bill like that would get from justice "advocates" like those in the ACLU.

Isn't that Phil Kessel's body?

airmail, if you're going to invoke your ancestry, please spell it correctly!

Where'd he get the jersey from? Eh, budda-bing-buddha-boom, freakin' fuggedaboudit, Rutgers is goin' to da Orange Bowl dis year, bay-bee!

Which is exactly what's wrong with the NCAA. What's next? No NCAA games hosted in North Dakota because the two state senators are white? Or banning tournament games in Michigan because Myles Brand isn't a big fan of the Red Wings? Or maye it's just too sunny in Nevada for an NCAA event? What exactly is the criteria? Whatever Myles and his PC bandits decide is the correct way to think? He certainly doesn't see a need to investigate corruption in college football or basketball, but he's going to hang his legacy on college nicknames? Please, for the love of humanity, stop being a self-appointed do-gooder and savior of all!

Behold, the voice of reason! I believe I mentioned quite some time ago that Dorgan, Conrad, and Pomeroy couldn't be counted on because they're NOT ON OUR SIDE, FOLKS!

Coach Hakstol's name was mis-spelled in the blurb? That's ridiculous. I call for a boycott of Red Baron pizza!

If your cheeks get numb, why don't you try drinking while standing?

When Hillary Clinton and Patrick "Dude, where's my car?" Kennedy climb on board, I'll know for sure that this isn't a one-party issue.

The best goalie you have EVER seen? Been watching the game long? I'm not sure what you're defiant about, but maybe you can 'definitely' see Parise being a captain next year. I, however, cannot.

If Matt Greene keeps playing like he did the other day for Edmonton (he of the 3 penalties and I believe 2 of them were almost back-to-back), the Oilers might be wishing he'd stayed for another season in Grand Forks.

The deal is done, AZSIOUX. I expect the Red Wings to have you in the line-up by game 5 with an incentive-laden deal, which I think you'll be happy with. The contract calls for a base salary that includes $35K per year plus a new BMW for me in addition to a new plasma screen TV in my apartment. Provided you reach some easily-attainable goals next season (leading the lead in points, assists, PIMs, and shoot-out goals), clauses will kick in paying you another $10K as well as financing for a new house for me on Lake Minnetonka. Much like Ricky Williams' first contract with New Orleans, I think this is a contract where we all win, the Red Wings and me. Oh...and you too.

I talked to AZSIOUX's cousin's brother's uncle yesterday and it looks like he will sign shortly too. Good luck AZSIOUX!

I couldn't agree more with those statements! Part of the reason kids go to a school like UND has to do with playing Wisconsin, Denver, CC, and Minnesota. Take away WI and MN and now try to sell recruits on Alaska-Anchorage, Minnesota State, Alaska-Anchorage, Michigan Tech, Bemidji State or Robert Morris and those recruits will be thinking "but if I go to Michigan State, I get to play Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Wisconsin...". Bad idea all the way around. All that being said, if there is one school that I wish would turn things around, it's Michigan Tech. Colorado College was a doormat in the late 1980's and they have turned things around and played at a consistently high level since the mid 1990's.

I think my favorite one is the referee giving the goal signal against Holy Cross where the announcer says "I think my headset just popped off my ears!".

You're obviously correct. In my head, I was thinking (again, no disrespect) schools like Minnesota State, St Cloud, and Alaska-Anchorage. Denver and CC have plenty of NCAA tournament tradition and history behind them as well as UND, MN, and WI.