MafiaMan

Having been at the WCOH games these past two weeks at Xcel Energy Center, I can tell you that protective netting is at MUST-HAVE. The game has become so devoted to the "casual" fan who is there in the building to yap on his cell phone, drink as much beer as possible, and yell "you suck" to the opposing goalie while chuckling w/his buddies about how witty he is, that the true fan is hardly noticed now. Then idiots like this get plunked on the head with a flying puck and BAM! It's Who wants to be a millionaire? Teams have to protect themselves, it's that simple.

It'll be interesting to see if Notre Dame rebounds and plays Michigan tough or if they really are less talented than Toledo. Judging by what I saw against BYU the other night...you just might be right in your talent assessment! Boy did the college staff on ESPN torch ND in their post-game comments.

Disappointing day for the MAC all the way around. I'll even admit...Goldy might have some potential this year. How about that sorry crowd, though?

Bisonfan1234, Real barn-burner at the Metrodome this past weekend, huh?

I still think UND's intentions are to watch and see what happens with NDSU before making any major decisions. If NDSU flounders at D1-AA, UND won't budge and will mock NDSU for making the move itself. However, If Moo-U starts churning out titles in football and women's basketball, I'd expect UND to try to bump up ASAP. With extra scholarships, blue-chippers who might be considering heading to Grand Forks might decide the additional "prestige" of being a D1-AA school would make it more worthwhile to attend NDSU instead.

Again, Bisonfan1234, why waste time with pre-season polls and numbers? If that's the case, why bother playing the games at all? Just give Toledo a win over Minnesota on the basis of being the higher ranked team and Michigan will no doubt pound Notre Dame in front of 90,000 Irish fans. Please. Let's see what these teams do over the course of the full season, then look back. Like I said before, no one expected the Irish to beat Michigan back in 2002 and that upset certainly propelled the Irish to wins over other big-name teams that year. Similarly, a team like Toledo upsetting a Penn State or Minnesota can lead them on a big year, too. Or conversely, like Washington in 2002, a heartbreaking loss in an opener can cause a downward spiral the rest of the way. It's easy to look at the schedule and say "cupdake" at the beginning, but isn't there always a surprise team somewhere? Heck, just look at the (gasp) NBA recently...when the Lakers earned the right to play the Pistons, every prediction I heard was 4-0 or 4-1 Lakers. I promise you that anyone in Vegas who bet on the Pistons in 5 was laughed at...but they earned a good chunk of change in return. Pre-season rankings and polls are b.s. You and I both know that.

Let's take a look at some years' gone by, shall we Bisonfan1234? 2003 losses by Toledo included a 28-18 defeat at the hands of UNLV, a 38-14 loss to Ball State, and a 34-7 thumping at the hands of a sub .500 Syracuse team. 2002 included a 10 point loss (31-21) to Minnesota in addition to a 51-25 pasting at the hands of a mediocre Boston College team. 2001's big win for Toledo was a 38-7 pounding of Minnesota. Of course, they followed that up with 24-20 and 56-21 losses to Ball State and Bowling Green, respectively. Let's face it, Toledo football was put on the map on the basis of a September 2000 win against Penn State and a 2001 win over Minnesota. Those games made Big 10 teams take note. However, we've seen Joe Pa's PSU squad in total disarray over the past 4-5 years and that Toledo game was only the start. I'm no fan of Notre Dame, but I think your assessment of the game featuring better talent on the field in each of those games is preposterous. What's next, saying that the Dickinson State Blue Hawks have more talent on the field than the Bison?

Bisonfan1234, Are you seriously saying that big things weren't predicted for Notre Dame last year after their 10-3 finish the season before, which included an upset against Michigan? EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE was hyped for last year's Michigan/Notre Dame game. If you had told me that Notre Dame would lose by 30+ points, I'd have bet the farm against that happening. No one saw that coming. I had no idea pre-season polls meant so much to you. You enjoy Toledo/Minnesota at the Hot-AirDome. I'll take Notre Dame/Michigan any day no matter what the team records are. You sound more like a Gopher homer than a Bison fan. 8-4 seasons are cause for ticker-tape parades on the U of small m campus. On the big U of M campus, coaches get canned for records like that. By the way, Illinois State pasted St Xavier University of Chicago last weekend 44-14 in front of just over 7,000 fans. Circle that date on your calendar, Goldy! Genius.

Czech girls are hot, too.

I'm talking Russian hockey babes and this guy is debating Vanek vs Parise?

WYOBISONFAN...still living off of the Perry Tuttle 1983 NCAA title, are we? Clemson has great tradition and yes, they have their own "Death Valley," but let's let the Tigers and Bayou Bengals debate that. No sense being the Hatfields and McCoys over this issue. Here we go again, Bisonfan1234...another fan touting the University of Toledo as a "big-time" Division I football opponent. Gimme a frickin' break. Non-conference opponents for the Gophers... 2004: Toledo, Illinois State, Colorado State. I'll spot you that CSU is decent, even a top 25 club. 2003: Tulsa, Troy State, @ Ohio, Louisiana-Lafayette - you're kidding, right? I remember this 4-0 run that vaulted Minnesota into the top 25. Ugh. 2002: Texas State, @ Louisiana-Lafayette, Toledo, Buffalo - Buffalo...if memory serves me right, rated the worst D-1 school of the 117 D-1's three years running. Didn't Scott Bakula play in a bad movie in the 1980's with a green Texas State team? Sheesh. What a sad schedule. 2001: @ Toledo, Louisiana-Lafayette, Murray State - MURRAY FREAKIN' STATE? Michigan non-conference schedule over the same period.. 2004: Miami (OH), @ Notre Dame, San Diego State - Nothing major, but the Notre Dame game is a huge rivalry so anything can happen. And I'm sure ND will have revenge on their mind after last year's humiliating loss in Ann Arbor. 2003: Central Michigan, Houston, Notre Dame, @ Oregon - Smaller Michigan schools contracting to play at the Big House, Houston ended up being a Bowl team by the end of the season, again, big rivalry with Notre Dame that turned out to be disaster for NDU this time around, and @ Oregon...two out of four big-name opponents. 2002: Washington, @ Western Michigan, @ Notre Dame, Utah - I was at this home opener...#8 vs #9 in the country. Washington went on to lose a heart-breaker and had a disappointing season. @ Notre Dame was a loss for Michigan in a surprising big season for the Irish. Again, two good opponents in four non-conference games right out of the chute. 2001: Miami (OH), @ Washington, Western Michigan - Another big loss on the road to a big-time opponent in September for Michigan. One out of three solid clubs, two cupcakes. The defense rests, Bisonfan1234. The bottom line is you tout potential top 25 opponents as major players all you want. Glenn Mason can be happy with his Sun Bowl trophies. At Michigan, coaches are fired for 8-4 seasons. Now...back to the North Dakota move up to D1-AA debate...

Thanks for the compliments, boys. I thought my other avatar was good, too, but you can't clearly see the bikini-clad girls from the King of Diamonds in it. Funny funny story from last night's game...my buddy (in his 1980 white USA jersey) and I (red 1980 CCCP jersey) are sitting three rows up behind the goalie. I'm 34, he's 33...after the first intermission, a half-dozen Russian college girls dressed up with face-paint and bedecked in the Russian flag show up asking to take a picture with us. The whole section was razzing me about supporting the "commies," but their jaws dropped when this flock of hotties came over to us. I have the pic...it's a matter of time before it's posted! Note to self: Russian Red Army hockey jersey tonite for the Slovakia game.

Doesn't Minnesota pack its schedule with enough patsies already? Michigan opens up two years ago with Notre Dame in what was supposed to be a big game...Minnesota, on the other hand, opens up with THE Ohio University. Cupcake U!

I think 20,000 Gopher fans is a bit optimistic. They only sell out WI, Michigan, and Iowa because of the number of OPPOSING fans who buy all the tickets!

How many fans would truly show up to see UND get beat 77-0 by Minnesota? My guess is not many.

And that's where I have a problem with going big-time. It's not about being competitive in a D-II or DI-AA conference, it's about getting your a** whooped once or twice a season so the athletic department can rake in some big bucks. THERE is the problem with college sports these days.

What's your point, IowaBison? There are pluses and minuses for everything. I totally agree with what an earlier poster stated. Going DI-AA isn't going to get more kids from Oakes, Fargo South, or Watford City onto the football team at UND. It's going to result in kids from Miami, Detroit, or Chicago who aren't good enough for D-1 coming to North Dakota for football. That I think is a big minus. However, there are the obvious "prestige" reasons to want to be a D-1 school, whether it be with the big boys or DI-AA.

I concur, Frankenstein. I seem to recall another former D-II school jumping up the ladder...anyone remember Troy State? Look up their past few years...you'll see some absolute drubbings at the hands of Nebraska. And that's a recruiting selling point?

And I believe I stated some opinions on that, IowaBison.

Not until WYOBISONMAN admits that I am right!

WYOBISONMAN, Trust me, I've been in Baton Rouge. The ONLY Death Valley is the home of the Bayou Bengals. They poke fun of Clemson's version. Click on the attached link and scroll down for the picture of the stadium and some info. Tiger Stadium (91,600)

The Gopher football program plays in a joke of a stadium with absolutely ZERO atmosphere. Look me up when the Big 10 football season is over, Bisonfan1234. I'm keeping your quote for future reference when I need a good chuckle. Big 10 champs, huh? If that happens, I'll draw a red circle with a slash thru it over my Sioux tatt.

DaveK, Amen! The only bad thing about Memorial Stadium was the artificial turf. Michigan Stadium is no work of art...it's old and you are packed in like sardines on a hot summer day...or snuggled up when it's 30 degrees outside. But the atmosphere is what makes it. The Alerus Center is Grand Forks' Metrodome. Yawn.

Coming from someone with an NDSU background (my dad and my two sisters went to school there), I always rooted for NDSU its football games except when they played UND. I grew up watching the NDSU/UND game on TV and it was quite honestly, the ONLY football game that my dad would watch. That being said, I consider myself somewhat of a fan of NDSU football, despite having graduated from UND in 1992 and having the Sioux logo tattooed on my back left shoulderblade (for hockey purposes obviously). What's funny is the banter back and forth between die-hard Sioux football fans and I-bleed-green-and-yellow Bison football fans. Let's look at the facts, shall we? UND plays big-whoop-dee-doo Division II football. Having personally attended a half-dozen Michigan games at The Big House, I can honestly tell you how small-time Sioux football is. Do I support the Sioux? Yes. Did I watch them win the title a few years ago and lose a heart-breaker last year? Yes again. Does it remotely compare to seeing 107,514 fans sitting in Michigan Stadium? Not even close. On the other hand, NDSU is spouting off about how "big-time" its program is now that they're (and I use this term loosely) "Division I." Keep in mind, you're Division I-AA, folks. Again, big difference. And if you think playing "big-time" D-1 football is heading to the Metrodome for a thumping at the hands of Big 10 wanna-be Minnesota (2003-2004 Sun Bowl Champs!), you have another thing coming. Until you've seen the sea of red at Nebraska, 107,000+ at Michigan, the Horseshoe and Ohio State, USC vs UCLA, Death Valley at LSU, Florida/Georgia, or even the steam at Miami's Orange Bowl, you're still small-time. I'm glad folks in Fargo are proud of beating up Valparaiso, the school still living off of Bryce Drew's miracle basketball shot against Ole Miss several years ago. Big whoop-dee-doo number two. Now, if we're going to argue what's better, DII or D1-AA, we might as well discuss what's better, checkers or chess? It's pointless to even argue. I hope NDSU goes on to do well in D1-AA and quite honestly, I hope UND decides to move up the rest of their sports within a few years so these two schools can renew their storied rivalry. It's a shame that it had to end this season. Good luck to NDSU in D1-AA this season. It'll be interesting to see how it works out. And good luck to UND, too, obviously. Avenge the GVSU game! MafiaMan

ScottM...funny stuff...I hear it's so "Woog-esque," that David Hakstol is giving out several scholarships himself to help out the recruits!