MafiaMan

Did someone say "The Platinum Fox"? My ears just popped. Let's just say that Sioux men...and women...ruled the roost there most of the weekend.

Missed ya at the FF, PCM. You can hang out w/me there next year.

Check out the What's MafiaMan Doing thread, Greyeagle. You're a friend of mine, I can get you on the bus for next year!

Air Force One, you only wish you had been in Columbus. You think you missed the "regular" posters? I swear, we were ALL there introducing ourselves. It was a hoot. Greyeagle, did you miss the Al Pearson charter or what?

I've personally met PCM and I can honestly tell you, the Fab Five should do a show in Grand Forks...and SOON!

The site is NCAAphotos.com. I just checked it out...plenty of good Sioux photos on there from 2000, including a team shot.

Lots of views, but no comments...apparently, I'm not as funny as I think!

It was all fun and games until Jim took the boobs away.

Seeing Adam Hauser dump a couple of Black Bears in OT in the 2002 title game (you remember the call on a Black Bear later that led to the game-winning goal for Minnesota) and then losing the 2005 regional game in Mariucci has also helped sway some fans our way.

I'm with ya there, cfm. I collect hockey jerseys and am even happier now that I won a Maine jersey on Ebay last week. Class fans all the way there.

Glad to know you made it back in one piece, LadyDy.

No I wasn't. Actually, my ticket was in section 408 row U (that's right, top row of the joint). I went down to 220 by the Sioux fans and found many a seat open Thursday afternoon and night. Saturday was pretty full and I bounced around being ejected several times from sections 219 and 218 before landing a vacated seat in the midst of the Sioux fans in 220.

More random musings from Columbus...I swear, they were coming to me in my sleep! PLUS-SIDE: Stepping on the Al Pearson Special in Oakdale and having the person in the third seat I see on the bus blurt out "MAFIAMAN!". DOWN-SIDE: Stepping on the Al Pearson Special in Oakdale and having the person in the third seat I see on the bus blurt out "MAFIAMAN!". PLUS-SIDE: Tim (the name has NOT been changed to protect the innocent) from Grand Forks, upon finding out that I am MafiaMan: "You're MafiaMan? Wow. I feel like I should have you sign my jersey or something. I read you all the time...you're a legend!" DOWN-SIDE: Sadly, Tim was dropped off in Fargo, promptly placed in a straight-jacket, and transported to Jamestown for a psychological evaluation. Get well soon, Tim! We're all pulling for you. PLUS-SIDE: Building public relations w/the local girls in Columbus by chatting w/them about Sioux hockey history, the city of Columbus, and shopping for shoes. DOWN-SIDE: Seeing that good PR wrecked when "Finley Jeff" (again, the name has NOT been changed to protect the innocent) joins in and promptly asks me to help his chances with the ladies by informing them that he spent a few years in the National Hockey League. PLUS-SIDE: Finley Jeff, however, has heard so much about siouxsports.com, that he will no doubt head to Grand Forks today to buy himself a computer. PLUS-SIDE: Chatting w/another poster on the bus who tells me that Jim Dahl had some things to say about me. DOWN-SIDE: "That guy is obsessed with boobs." PLUS-SIDE: Our hotel being right across the street from The Platinum Fox. DOWN-SIDE: An apparent shortage of silicone and saline in Columbus. Now back to work!

I saw what you saw, AZSioux...some pretty big gaps in the Gopher fan section on Saturday night. I know the band obviously made a difference, but I think more than a few fans packed up and went home.

Definitely thanks, seniors, for a memorable ride. Jake Brandt, you could have been a Keyshawn Johnson type prima-donna griping that it was "your time" as a senior, but instead, you accepted your role this season and were the ultimate teammate. You reminded me a lot of Toby Kvalevog back in '97. I appreciated your wave to the fans in the Sioux section. You and your eight fellow-seniors have done the Sioux tradition proud.

Where do I begin? Is it an update everyone wants? Here's a quick recap along with some color commentary. PLUS-SIDE: Having the Al Pearson charter go out of its way to pick up siouxguyinstpaul and me in Oakdale, MN. DOWN-SIDE: Acquiring the last two seats in the bus, facing backwards and sharing leg and foot space w/two other fans. They were cool and all, but damn, not a lot of room w/four people sharing such tight quarters. Next year, to make sure I get a better seat, I will drive from Minneapolis to Grand Forks to catch the charter to Milwaukee. DOWN-SIDE: In addition to my jersey smelling like booze, it unfortunately smells like smoke. PLUS-SIDE: Contrary to popular belief on this board, neither smell was the result of my smoking or drinking. OK, I had a couple of drinks, but I'm not exactly Animal House material these days. PLUS-SIDE: Having the Sioux faithful on the bus rolling in the aisles at my humor. DOWN-SIDE: Most of the jokes were self-deprecating. PLUS-SIDE: Hanging out and catching some sun with the "Al Pearson bus fans" at the hotel Saturday morning/afternoon. DOWN-SIDE: Forgetting that my bald head can only handle so much afore-mentioned sun this early in the season. Yowza! PLUS-SIDE: Beating the Gophers on Thursday night sure quieted the Minnesota faithful and made for a fun Friday all day and Saturday morning/afternoon for the fans in green. DOWN-SIDE: Having to restrain myself from punching Gopher fans in the face after seeing the smirks on their faces following the DU game Saturday night. PLUS-SIDE: Seeing the Sioux play their hearts out Saturday night and feeling that although the team I cheered for lost, that they had accomplished plenty this season. Thank you for a hellofa run. DOWN-SIDE: Seeing nine seniors skate off the ice for the last time as a member of the Fighting Sioux. PLUS-SIDE: Jake Brandt and Coach Hakstol giving a quick wave to the Sioux fans as they exited the Schottenstein. DOUBLE-BONUS PLUS SIDE: The number of Sioux fans in our section who politely clapped when the PA announcer called out the 2005 NCAA Hockey champions. A class act, fans, and you know who you are. PLUS-SIDE: All the Maine fans who seem to love Sioux hockey. DOWN-SIDE: Being single handedly responsible for destroying years of Sioux/Black Bear goodwill by teasing Mainers about those east-coast accents and "wicked haaaad slaaaap shots." PLUS-SIDE: I saw Ed Belfour at the arena and even got to shake his hand. DOWN-SIDE: Apparently Ed is still in pretty good shape as he chased me all the way to the Horseshoe and beat the snot out of me after I asked him if I could take a picture of his girlfriend and use it as my new avatar. PLUS-SIDE: No, I did not make the baptism. The family was totally cool w/it. DOWN-SIDE: Since I didn't call my sister until 1:00 pm Friday afternoon when I was already in Columbus, the point was pretty much moot. PLUS-SIDE: The Ohio State University has the hottest 18-22 year old women I've seen on any college campus. DOWN-SIDE: I'm 34 years old and they're totally out of my league. PLUS-SIDE: Plenty of good souvenir stores in Buckeye-land. DOWN-SIDE: Do not...I repeat...DO NOT...ask them if they sell Michigan Wolverine stuff. PLUS-SIDE: Stunningly enough, our bus arrived in St Paul at 8:00 pm and I did make the 9:00 pm Sunday night Catholic mass in Minneapolis on the U of M campus. DOWN-SIDE: Unfortunately, it was 71 degrees out tonite and I did not feel like sweating my butt off wearing my Sioux jersey in church. I was gloating inside, though. DOUBLE-DOWN-SIDE: Going to the 9:00 pm mass delayed my response time to this message board. PLUS-SIDE: Meeting about 40 new friends on the bus to and from Columbus. DOWN-SIDE: Saying good-bye to you all at about 8:00 pm tonite. Don't be strangers...drop me a line. I hope that our paths cross again. Thanks for a great time! MafiaMan

I hope you're not referring to the call that led to DU's third goal. That was pretty much a textbook cross-check and should be called 10 out of 10 times.

I would also like to say thanks to Jim & Co. This site is invaluable information-wise and I honestly wouldn't have had the same level of fun I had this weekend w/out people coming up to me seemingly at random and asking me "are you gonna make the baptism?", "YOU'RE MAFIAMAN?" and other gems. What an unbelievable time in Columbus and seriously, a lot of the fun I had I owe to this site. To Schmidtdoggydog, YaneA, siouxguyinstpaul, jozee, AZSioux, LadyDi, and anyone else I have missed mentioning here but met this weekend, thanks for saying hi. I hope you had a few laughs at my expense and enjoyed yourself as much as I did.

Contrary to reports of my demise, I am alive and well, having arrived back home at 8:00 pm Sunday night. Oh the stories I could tell...

Saturday high of 65 and sunny weather? I'll tell you one thing that goes great w/my green Sioux jersey...my khaki shorts and sandals! Bring on the warm weather.

First things first. If I can't have hot chicks w/nice boobs as an avatar, then that gay male model of yours (this means you, jozee) has got to go! Secondly, keep the red line, just get rid of the two-line pass rule in the NHL. I don't see where getting rid of touch-up icing will help increase scoring. I give Buffalo credit for thinking outside the box.