MafiaMan

We're becoming a nation ruled by a minority of one. If one person disagrees with something, we scrap the whole project entirely until something acceptable is offered.

I just re-read something...where on earth did you read about a .500 season record and most fans not expecting the Gophers to even qualify for the NCAA tournament? How hard is it to finish in the top 16 when you're the "Pride on Ice"? You've gotta be kidding me. You went into the season not expecting to even make the tournament? Put down the crack pipe, WPoS!

WPoS, I've met you in person and everyone loves beer darts, so I tend to think of you as being an intelligent Gopher fan, a rarity in itself. However, you're not making a convincing argument here. Before the season started, you KNEW you had the regional at Mariucci. Again, all you needed to be was in the top 16 in the country and you were assured two games at home. I don't care if you were playing BC, Michigan, North Dakota, Denver, Maine, or the Soviet Union 1980 Olympic team...if that regional is at Mariucci, I'd ASSUME you'd make a run. Now I also believe that had Minnesota play Maine or Cornell anyplace else, you'd have enjoyed the Frozen Four on TV and not had to waste your time making travel plans to Columbus. You saying that would be like most Sioux fans not expecting to make "a run" next season. Losing players or not, the regional is in REA and the Sioux SHOULD make a run. Like I said, we'll see. That being said, I do agree with you about running into the typical bandwagon Gopher homer. You should have seen the look on the fan's face (the guy who told me to enjoy the win because the Sioux season was over) when I told him to give me a business card and I would mail him a check for $100 if the Sioux were not picked for the NCAA tournament on Sunday morning. What a moron.

I'm not sure where those fans were, WPoS. I ran into many cocky Gopher fans during the Final Five after the third place game, including one moron who told me to enjoy the win because the Sioux weren't going anyplace anyways. Lots of people I saw after that game were mumbling that "it doesn't matter anyways" and most seemed to think the Frozen Four was a shoo-in. I don't care what the schedule looks like, the fact of the matter is that when you look at the schedule before the season starts and it winds up with "regional game in your own building," I would hardly think that you as a Gopher fan had ZERO expectations about reaching the Frozen Four. Look at the last several years' worth of home regionals in the western part of the country... 1998 Michigan - advances to Frozen Four 2002 Michigan - advances to Frozen Four 2005 Minnesota - advances to Frozen Four 2006 North Dakota - ? Everyone knows the Gophers just needed to qualify for the NCAA tournament and they'd have two games in their own barn. They didn't need to be the #1 team in the country, all they needed to be was somewhere between 2 and 16. It's the same thing with the Sioux next year. We'll see if they can take advantage of it.

I happen to live in Mpls/St Paul, my friend, and they were practically wanting to lynch Don Lucia over the team's showing this season. Did you happen to read the paper after the seedings for the tournament were announced (Patrick Reusse) or after the Gophers lost to the Sioux for the second time in three weeks? I'm surprised there wasn't a riot here like after winning the NCAA title!

Frank DeFord's "American Indian nicknames do not honor the culture" Found on www.si.com today...

I'm guessing the rules in the State of Minnesota differ from those in North Dakota, but I can't imagine why Sid would think Craig Dahl can "annoint" his successor. If they're talking about firing the guy, why would you let him pick who is going to take over? It's weird. My thought is that Sid is trying to stir the pot a bit to pursuade some Gopher assistants to stay put and not look 70 miles west for career advancement opportunities.

According to USAToday, Stonehill College of Massachusetts has announced that effective July 1st, the school's athletic teams will be known as the Skyhawks instead of Chieftains. Score another point for the change-the-nicknames group. Also score another point for dumb nicknames: Heat, Lightning, Storm, Red Storm, and now Skyhawks. As opposed to Waterhawks or Groundhawks. Nice work, Stonehill!

I found it interesting that Sid is reporting that Motzko will take over after Craig Dahl's retirement. Being a state-supported institution, I would imagine that St Cloud State would have to at least hold interviews to at least give the impression that they were being fair. Sid, why would you post such a foolish comment? Oh, maybe it's because you want to try to sandbag any quality candidates who might want to interview and discourage them from doing so. You wouldn't want that rivalry to heat up any and affect Minnesota's recruiting, would you Sid?

Cue Beavis and Butthead: Heh heh heh...Sicatoka said "bulge."

Curtis Murphy did indeed play four years at UND.

Thanks for the story, NorthDakotaHockey. I can't imagine the stress of playing and knowing that every game you play might be the last time your mom sees you in action. I've always had a lot of respect for the CC program and how they play the game. Marty Sertich is an prime example of Tiger pride and class. May God be with the Sertich family at this time.

Yep, two other good examples, even though Jeff hasn't really played in the NHL. Jason Blake has carved out a pretty good role with the Islanders and even been on ESPN's top plays once with a circus-like goal.

I agree 100%. PCM...I NEED MORE COWBELL!

I think while it's feasable for a school like Minnesota-Crookston to make a run at playing in the CHA, it's silly to ponder kicking out established programs in the WCHA in favor of small-time colleges. With all due respect to Minnesota-Crookston and Bemidji State, I'd rather have Denver, Colorado College, and Michigan Tech on board. The day you start downsizing the WCHA into small schools trying to work their way up is the day that big schools like Minnesota and Wisconsin start daydreaming about that Big 10 Conference. And, cmon, what fun would the WCHA be without Bucky and Goldy in it?

Other than that, I think the venue was quite fine, don't you? I enjoyed the "back on campus" feel. Having all sorts of camera angles doesn't mean a thing. Just ask the 2001 Sioux. Remember a St Cloud player tripping up Andy Kollar a second or two before a 90' slap shot goes right by him? That goal should have easily been over-turned.

And you know this because you were in Columbus, DamStrait?

I seem to remember a delay in wearing the yellow jerseys a second time as they turned colors when washed and some improvements had to be made. The Ducks wore green for most of the rest of the season, I believe 2002 or 2003.

Where is the guy puking face when I need him? Nevermind. I just found him. Oregon uniforms? See to the top of my post for my opinion on the Ducks jerseys. I do agree with you, though, ESPNInsider, on their uniforms. Sports Illustrated talked about them at length in an issue a few years ago and the players of today rave about them. I honestly don't mind them, but I don't understand why two different shades of green were used in addition to the yellow. The one green almost looks black. I think it was revised last season to be only one shade of green, but don't quote me on that. For some reason, the yellow uniforms are almost...interesting? It's like a train wreck or a cop car having pulled someone over. You're almost compelled to slow down and take a look. After a quarter of watching them, I am almost hypnotized by their yellow-ness. OK, I like 'em. But I don't know why. The green home and away white, though? Hideous. I'd like to think a high school senior picking a college to attend wouldn't base his decision on the nameplate-less jersey he'd be wearing at Penn State vs the gaudy uniform that Oregon State wears, but given the state of education in this country, I'd have to say it's swayed more than one recruit.