MafiaMan

I was just pointing out that teams left areas that love hockey for those that had really never known the game, not specifically pointing out a Florida "move" from Winnipeg. I do know what teams moved where and which ones were expansion teams. By the way, redwing77, the Wings just aren't the same without Paul Coffey back on the blueline. 1995, baby...we were robbed!

Moving teams from established hockey hotbeds like Hartford, Quebec City, and Winnipeg and putting them in sinkholes like Miami, Tampa Bay, and Carolina hasn't had any effect on the NHL? As commissioner, Bettman represents ownership. Was he not smart enough to see years ago that rising salaries were going to wipe out the game? That's his job. As commissioner, he enacted some rule changes designed to help the game. Instead, we got a 2004 season full of ice slugs and neutral zone traps like the Wild and Devils play. In one of the more thuggish incidents I've ever seen, Todd Bertuzzi serves a fairly minor regular season suspension, is suspended for the playoffs, then gets banned for a year. Oh...but since we didn't play last year, we'll life the ban this year? Meanwhile, the guy he almost beat into a coma will never play hockey again. Way to throw the hammer down, Gary, and stop permitting violence like that to ruin a great game. Go get a clue yourself, BinaIsGod.

Regular season non-conference vs pre-season = no brainer. Give me regular season anything over pre-season. What a gigantic rip-off and people buy right into it. People whine all the time about the $100 million gift by Ralph Engelstad to Grand Forks, yet I don't hear a mouse fart from anyone in Minneapolis/St Paul about a proposed $790 million stadium that will be used for 8-15 Sundays PER FREAKIN' YEAR! The NHL had a great thing going (see Sports Illustrated circa 1994 for a cover page article on why the NHL is hot and the NBA is not) and you'll see what I mean. Thanks for screwin' it all up, Gary & co. Nice to see guys like Mark Messier, Ron Francis, and others ride off into retirement after taking a year off. Nice to see them get the farewell and good-bye send-off that they deserve. You've ruined a great game. Now you're going to gain it back by changing a logo or two, telling the officials to enforce the rules they were supposed to enforce two years ago, and bring back fans by plotting a marketing plan that is more secretive than nuclear weapons in North Korea? I'll get off my soapbox now. Sorry for the rant.

I've skipped St Cloud the past few years to avoid mouthy protesters and a student body full of neanderthals. Mankato has been much more fun, but with the Mavericks off the schedule this year, I guess I'll have to pass on the Midwest Wireless Civic Center and a trip to Mettler's next door in favor of a one-hour drive west. I believe there is some trademark infringement with your use of "National Concrete Center." I am pretty sure that I invented that term about 15 years ago. Feel free to use it, though, it's always been one of my favorites.

One hyphenated word: PRE-SEASON! Sorry, but it's hard to get fired up for a game that doesn't count. It's like talking about the Vikings during the pre-season...hey...they're 5-0. Nice work. Now how many Super Bowl trophies does that get you? ZERO. Have some balls, NHL, and play a regular season game in Grand Forks. Sure, it's not 18,000 at the Xcel, but it's also not 9,000 in North Carolina either. Expose some fans to the NHL that otherwise might not see it. Heaven knows since ESPN doesn't want your product, you've got to market it somehow. How about a Boston game in Hartford? Maybe a Kings game in Las Vegas? Chicago Blackhawks playing in Indianapolis? Shake it up, Bettman!

What would be even crazier is 5,000 Sioux fans in the stands cheering for Robert Morris to beat up on the Huskies.

I'm assuming you mean the word 'loser'?

Priceless.

That issue could be resolved fairly easily by asking other schools (I've only heard this at NDSU to be honest with you) to make an effort to stop the "Sioux suck" chants at sporting events. Seriously, though, I'm more offended by UND's student section chanting "f*** Mankato" at games that I've been too but that's another story. The really interesting part I thought was the "examples" of discrimination and humiliation in the form of t-shirts and parade floats. The samples I saw were t-shirts from the 1980's and one person opposed to the name was recalling racist floats in parades in the 1970's. Welcome to 2005! For crying out loud, tell me those images still exist on campus. Tell me the last time you saw a guy wearing a Bison t-shirt with an Indian image between the bull's legs? Yea, that t-shirt made me sick when I saw it...I remember seeing it when I was in college 15 years ago. I'm telling you...if someone wore that to a sporting event on campus, they would get the snot beat out of them today...and justifiably so.

LOL...were you a part of freshman "Fab Five" at Ellendale High or what?

And therein lies the true heart of the problem. Even if we win (the pro-keep the name forces), the NCAA may just chuckle and say "good for you guys...now enjoy not being picked for the NCAA tournament or playing any playoff games on the road." I don't know if I like that thought any better.

Keep in mind, I by NO MEANS am for a name change. I'm talking about the will of the people. I'm not going to sit by and listen to GrahamKracker proclaim to be some sort of messiah in the same way I'm not going to tell everyone that their favorite color is green or that country music CD's will no longer be allowed in North Dakota. One hundred people voicing their opinion out of five thousand doesn't get my attention. However, it does get the NCAA's attention. The best way to combat that is to turn around with the support of the other four thousand nine hundred. The video clip attached somewhere on siouxsports.com really made me think. President Kupchella? "I've never met the fella." Remember that? My first thought was 'WHAT?". UND is screaming honor and tradition and yet they've never met some of the tribal leaders who might actually be on our side? UGH...get out there and get it done. A liberal? When I start screaming and hollering that George Bush ordered a nuclear weapon blown up in the Atlantic so it would cause a huge change in the atmosphere thereby resulting in Hurricane Katrina to divert attention from the war in Iraq...THEN you can call me a liberal.

If the NCAA wants to get tough on uniform monstrosities, perhaps it should start with some of the Nike teams in college football. Did anyone see Miami's hideous uniform Monday night? UGH!

Before I get called a racist with my "drummed up" comment...pun NOT intended.

I'm with ya there. Twice in the past week, I've driven by a woman driving a car with a bumper sticker reading "YOU CAN NO MORE WIN A WAR THAN YOU CAN WIN AN EARTHQUAKE." I pulled up along side of her the second time I saw her, rolled down my window, and yelled this out: "IT'S A GOOD THING WE WON WORLD WAR TWO OTHERWISE YOUR BUMPER STICKER WOULD BE WRITTEN IN GERMAN!". Some people just don't get it. Anyways, I guess my point isn't to go about saying "bring it on" and head to the court system to settle this. I still think support can be drummed up at the local level with the people in North Dakota's tribes.

I agree with ESPNInsider on this one, folks. I will always love the University of North Dakota, regardless of what the nickname is today or one hundred years from now. However, I do see certain points of view, particularly with Sioux-venirs, H-Sioux-Oh, Sioux-per Shoot-outs, and Sioux-perDogs. It would appear that some on this board want to stuff the Constitution down the throats of people and say "in your face...we can call the team the 'Sioux.' I hardly think that that solution benefits everyone and it certainly would give rise to more groups wanting to 86 the nickname. President Kupchella and others need to ignore people like GrahamKracker and others like him who will NEVER be convinced that the nickname is ok and focus their efforts on convincing those in middle-ground that there are good reasons why it should stay and good that can come BECAUSE of the nickname. Right, wrong, good, bad, or indifferent, if the established tribes in North Dakota took an actual democratic vote amongst their people and the end results were 90% enrolled members voting and 80% opposed to the nickname, you wouldn't think "hmnnn...maybe we need to think about this...?" I would.

Why not? It's not like groups don't exist ignoring other amendments (the right of the people to keep and bear arms comes to mind), right?

Supposedly they DO stand up for First Amendment protections and rights. Unless, of course, they don't agree with it...

Or the Democratic Party holding a panel on positive accomplishments during the Bush administration?

Would you seriously have ridden with him, HockeyMom?

Nope. Edmonton scored 43 touchdowns, but had an extra point blocked and run back for a two-point conversion by the Bison.