leifolson

From what my Jazz fan friends have been telling me, Utah was high on Beasley for the first round. Not sure the validity of information, but for some reason, my friends usually tend to be pretty well informed when it comes to Jazz basketball.

Since I live only 2 minutes from the Duck Pond, I have to say that it will be extremely exciting to see the Cup Finals in my back yard. But, as an Avs fan (watching my team lose to the Wild) and growing up in Grand Forks right next to Minnesota, I was rooting for the Wild since the first round. It would have been really exciting to see the Wild in the finals. As it is, I'll be cheering for the Ducks. My roommate is an enormous Devils fan and I will be damned if I cheer for those bastards. I guess it would be cool to see Ottatwat in the finals though...you need a Canadian team every few years. At any rate....Go Ducks..........hopefully your fans are better than the a$$hole Raider fans I (as Broncos fan) run into at the bar every weekend.

nothing wrong with christmas trees.

I think, though, that this is something you're going to find at most professional arenas, not just from Wild fans.

I don't know...I think it's a tough call to say that the 1995 Devils were a less talented team. Please don't read this as shot at the Wild...I think that they are very talented. I just think that the Devils in 95 were very talented as well, and no less talented than the Wild are this season.

Yeah...I read about this on Worcester's website....great job Jeff. And Goren, as well.

I'm afraid I have to agree, Jim. This letter writer goes a lot further than Kiszla actually goes.. Why not stay on topic and purely point out the faults in in Kiszla's column...that would have been quite a bit more effective.

That sounds logical and is probably a fair assesment of next season, flatspin. I didn't mention Smaby exactly because he is considered a stronger recruit and probably expected to step in more quickly than Bina. I mentioned Bina because he is a bit of an unknown and getting good production out of him would be very exciting and would help take a lot of pressure off of the older guys who might feel that they need to do everything, so that they can go out and just play hockey. I realize going back over the thread that I didn't exactly answer siouxhockey03's original question but rather put a hopeful spin on it, which is, obviously what has brought us to this discussion, and makes me look like I don't have any idea what I'm talking about.

I didn't say that he should fill the hole, but rather HELP fill the hole. Obviously one of the older defensemen needs to step up to actually fill the leadership role that Hale left, because, you're right, that isn't fair to ask of a freshman. But if we can get some good help from younger players, even just a few shifts a game of good solid hitting, running guys off of pucks and blocking shots in front of the goaltender, we'll be quite a bit better off. It doesn't seem too unrealistic to hope that a freshman could do that; after all, it is why we recruit--to help fill holes that players leaving (whether through graduation or going pro) creates. Freshmen should be able to produce a little bit if they play. (I not saying he should come in and do exactly what Hale or Commie or insert-your-favorite-former-Sioux-defensemen-here, could do in their best seasons.) I never said he was a direct replacement...never even slightly inferred it. I merely stated a hope that he could HELP the guys we already have. That, I think, is fair to ask of him, even as a freshman.

I hope Bina can step in and help fill the hole that Hale's leaving opens up. It sounds like he's pretty physical even as small as he is, and lord knows we could use some good physical defensemen to hit people off of the puck and maybe even stop them before they gain the zone.

Actually , I guess, Forsberg has been talking all year (probably not too loudly) that he'd like to finish his hockey career playing for his father in Sweden, and contemplated leaving the US after this season wehn he becomes a free agent. Hopefully, he'll decide against it and return for a few more years. Roy is also once again talking retirement and claims to have his mind 90% made up in one direction or the other, but hasnt made any remarks pointing for or against. I don't think that Aebischer is really ready to take over as the fulltime goalie so they'll probably have to hope there is a big boy somewhere ready to leave his current team to join the Avs. Could be a bit of a different team next year, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I do have to say that a statement like this dismays me some. The statements of some raving lunatic columnist in a local paper (albeit a well known one) should not cause one to HATE a team or its fans. Believe me, there are plenty of other, and generally, much more logical reasons to dislike a team (generally conference, divisional or historical rivalry is a good place to start). My two least favorite teams are the Stars (because having grown up in North Dakota I watched the North Stars and was disappointed when they left) and the Devils (mainly because they always scare the hell out of me). But there really seems to be no reason to hate an entire group of fans; my hatred for my roommate who is an avid Devils fan notwithstanding, of course. As an avid Avs fan myself, I certainly don't feel comfortable when people say that they hate Avs fans, mainly because I don't think I've done anything to cause anyone to hate me as an Avs fan (I realize you are not talking about me specifically, or any of the other outed Avs fans on this board, but your statement to Kiszla was all encompassing and doesn't leave much leeway). Most of the Colorado fans that I know (granted, I certainly don't know them all, but I know quite a few) aren't really all that different from fans of all other teams, including the Wild. They're rabid for their team; they get disappointed and not just a little p*$$ed off when they lose; they talk crap about other teams, especially their biggest rivals (because really, isn't that the nature of fandom--within reason of course). Yeah, Colorado fans are a bit spoiled, but honestly, not any more than Sioux fans have been since the late nineties. Not anymore than the Red Wings fans have been since the early nineties. Not any more than the Devils fans have been since 1995. We Avs fans don't like to see our team lose. Wild fans don't like to see their team lose. Devils fans don't like to see their team lose. It's the nature of being a fan. We Avs fans get upset when they lose, especially since they have so much talent and at times the team seems nearly invincible. We know that this is hockey and on any given night, any team can beat another team, no matter what their record. I don't think it has anything to do with being a fairweather anything. The fans boo at home games when the team is not performing at the level they know the team can perform at. In my experience, it often seems to help push the team a little harder, because no one likes to get booed at home. Some people see that as an act of fairweatherism; I personally find an act of support through negative response--I guess it all comes down to how you decide to look at it. Again, dislike the guy who wrote the article but don't hate the team or its fans because of the guy who wrote the article. A lot of people have talked about the dirty play of some of the Avs players, but honestly, the Avs played no dirtier than the Wild played themselves (Forsberg got punched in the face 3 times tonight and only once did someone get called--I'd probably start to fight back myself in that situation), or really, any of the other teams in the playoffs for that matter (I don't claim to know the specific statistics, but I have seen every team in the playoffs play at least twice, and every team has done as much as it could get away with in order to win the game, including tripping, holding, roughing, interference, etc...--can't hardly fault them really; it is, after all, the hardest championship trophy to win in professional sports). Anyway...that's all I have to say about that. I'm not so much commenting on your post MinnesotaNorthStar as I am commenting on a lot of the grotesquely negative comments about my team and fellow fans in a couple of different threads on this board. I mean honestly, hoping that a team bus crashes...seems a bit extreme and unnecessary even if it's a joke. As far as the rest of the playoffs are concerned: Go Wild! Go Ducks! But in the end: Go Wild!

The initial level of being p*$$ed off is over and now I'm just hoping to see the Wild go all the way. It was a great series. One of these days the Avs are going to learn how to put away a team when they've got that team on the ropes...and won't that be fun to watch.

that's a quality joke right there.

Maybe Colorado could play at the Ralph.

Well he certainly isn't getting a lot of love from Avs fans either. Too many of us believe at least a little bit in Karma, and Kiszla screwed us royally.

Even as disappointed as I am for so many reasons (not the least of which is the outcome of this game), I have to give the Wild their due. I was upset at so many people thinking that the Avs should have had this series in the bag, because that is never true in the playoffs. While the Avs played VERY well in this series, the Wild played with them and got the breaks when they were really important (which is what so often means the difference between advancing in the playoffs and going home until August. The Avs just couldn't seem to get things by Fernandez...which happens. For an Avs fan, it was an exciting second half of the season, and unfortunately, an all too exciting and disappointing playoff run. But...the Avs will be back next season, hopefully hungrier than this season. The Roy not removing his helmet during the National Anthem has never bothered me, mainly because as several people have already posted, so many goalies do it. To lose respect for Roy alone for that reason seems a tad bit unnecessary...wouldn't you have to lose respect for so many others in the league as well? And playing off of a previous post, Joe Sakic has always been a class act in hockey...one of the classiest in hockey for that matter. Always selfless and extremely respectful of all of his opponents and teammates alike (read never condescending). At any rate, congratulations to the Wild. Here's to hoping for a Wild/Ducks Western Conference Final. Followed by a Wild Stanley Cup.

uh...ok. seems a bit extreme.

5 straight game 7s for the Avs dating back to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Devils. This is getting a tad bit tedious for us Avs fans who have to watch this year in and year out. I'm all for keeping the series interesting, but one of these days it's not going to work out in the end for the Avs. I have all the respect in the world for the Wild; behind the Avs, they are number 2 for me, but I am ready for them to stop being so good for at least one game. By the same token, it's time for the Avs to step it up and play as hard as they obviously can. No more of this stupid come-back-from-2-or-3-goals-down-at-the-end-of-the-game-only-to-lose-in-the-end-anyway-crap. It's time to score first...and score often. I hope tonight is a great game...with the Avs winning 75-0.

I hardly think he was saying that in any kind of condecending manner. More than likely he was pointing out how disappointed they (the Avs) were not to win, but they are trying to put the loss behind them in order to focus on tonight's game. Here's hoping it's a damn good game. Unfortunately, only one of the teams can win; I like the Wild a lot, but Go Avs!

If that is the case, I just hope that match up ends up the same way it did in 2001.

I was just about to edit my post because I just caught Around the Horn on ESPN about half an hour ago. I do appreciate Paige's defense of hockey....but I still think he's a bit of a !@#$%!. I'm afraid I'm not a terribly big fan of the show in general...it never seems to me like anyone actually ever says anything. This may, of course, be a product of the format. Kellerman gets to mute anyone anytime they start to say something he doesn't like...which makes for a very lopsided and rather silent show.

Oh yeah...and I kind of dig the Wild's jerseys. Hell of a lot better than Brown's jerseys...remember when they visited for the Subway Classic this winter....those were some poopy looking uniforms.

"After two playoff games, the Avs can barely hide their Wild contempt for this nuisance. And can anybody really blame them?" I found this statement particularly amusing. I've seen all of the games and I'm a huge Avs fan...but I also like the Wild. BUt, I've not seen any contempt from the Avs toward the "nuisance" of the Wild. It actually seems like the Avs have shown quite a bit of respect for the Wild, especially since the Wild were able to come into the Pepsi center and win game one. I don't think anyone expected that. I certainly didn't...but I also certainly didn't think that it couldn't have happened. The Wild are a damn good team...and if anyone noticed (especially Kiszla) the Avs were pretty piss poor until their victory against the Wings on around January 18th. I mean they were PATHETIC (relative to previous years, of course) for the first few months of the season and weren't even in the playoff hunt at that point (something that cost Bob Hartley his job). The Avs peaked at just the right time and rode that wave of great play into the playoffs. The Wild, however, have been strong nearly all season. And they've played very well against the Avs. Like you said, it's been greatly due to Roy that the Wild haven't scored many more goals in this series. That's not to say that the rest of the Avs haven't been playing well also; it just means that the Wild are a strong team and guys like Gaborik and Walz have been pretty good at skating with the Avs big guns. I've been really impressed with the Wild. "The Wild is a hockey team that tries to goad you into doing something stupid. Minnesota lives for the dumb turnover, the odd-man rush, the penalty of frustration and the soft goal." Well DUH...Isn't that what any good hockey team is going to do? My God, many games are decided by dumb turnovers (remember when Roy passed the puck to a Kings' forward in game five of their series the year the Avs won the Cup, letting the Kings back into the series and sending it to seven games before they finally ended it?) I mean that entire run at the Cup hinged on dumb turnovers. The Sioux themselves lived off of odd-man rushes throughout the late 90s and continue until this day. And, I can't even tell you how many games have been won by soft goals and given away by taking stupid penalties late in the game. jackass. I'd also like to point out that the Denver Post is not really known for its intelligent and insightful columnists. Has anyone ever seen Woody Paige on that sports show (I think it's on FSN) AROUND THE HORN? Paige is on quite a bit and I just have to say that the guy is a complete and total !@#$%!. He gives me and most of the Colorado fans that I know (irregardless of sport) terrible headaches everytime we see/hear him. "OK, I am done ranting, Go Wild!! IF Colorado ends up winning the series, I hope that they get absolutely destroyed in the second round. Most likey St. Louis or Anaheim." Don't worry about ranting when something pisses you off. I also found the article pretty stupid. However, I can't follow in you desires to see the Avs destroyed in the second round. But, I'd also like to point out that this round is FAR from over. I think the Wild are a tough team (as I think that any team who makes the playoffs has a legitimate chance to go all the way...look at the Canes last year...granted they didn't win, but my roommate is a gigantic Devils fan--poor fella--and you can't even imagine the words flying out of his mouth when we'd watch that series last year, mainly because he didn't believe that there was any way that the Canes could have beaten the Devils). At any rate, I'll not breath easily again until the Avs are once again hoisting Sir Stanley's Cup high above their heads in about 6 weeks.