SooToo

Heard Mussman say today he was hopeful they would have a schedule to announce within a week or so (although I know we've all heard that before). He seemed to be indicating an 11-game schedule but wasn't very specific.

Only if the president at Minnesota gets one first. Gotta keep up with the Joneses.

I hope Virg's latest installment, replete with the standard vitriol from some AC faithful, helps quell this outbreak of paranoia in Bisonland. As for the letters "supporting the move," well, I'll leave it to you to decide whether they "aren't as misinformed' as those printed in chapter one. Finally, I too have to admit I agree with Bison Dan on this one. And now I've thrown up im my mouth a little after confessing.

Playing your big rival and you're still here? Always this obsessed?

Hey, I'm not making accusations about "Imperial Cass," just pointing out the perception exists. (Little confession here; I live in Cass County.) Stating publicly that NDSU doesn't need the game and implying it will only happen in Fargo probably rubs a lot of North Dakotans, many of whom already view Fargo/Cass County as elitist, the wrong way. As for "people trying to impose their will," this issue has been neck deep in "politics" for years now on both sides.

You don't have to do much math to realize that, of course, the game now is more important to UND than NDSU. MVFC=9. Great West=5. But NDSU struggled through without the game and UND will, too, if need be. I agree, the legislature has more important issues to deal with and I'm sure they'll get around to them. This won't take much time. The filing of the bill was more about publicity than legislation, and that goal has already been reached, as evidenced by the local newspapers/newscasts. I'm not sure I buy the notion that playing UND is a "net negative' for NDSU when you compare the price of FSC guarantees vs a biennial bus trip to Grand Forks plus a huge statewide TV audience annually. But even if it is, what does that do to the NDSU argument that the teams would still be playing if only UND had agreed to continue when NDSU jumped divisions? Would the economics, as interpreted by Gene Taylor, be any different today? I understand you don't want the schools to play. If I venture into Bisonville, a lot of your buds there don't, either. But while zealots like you and me dig our heels in, a lot of sports fans from across the state are cheated out of a game that was viewed as one of the premiere sports/social events of the year. I'm not sure how those fans view the argument coming from NDSU, located in "Imperial Cass County," that the schools won't play in football because NDSU can make more money elsewhere.

Read S-L-O-W-L-Y, Dan. Faison could talk to Taylor ad nauseam and nothing will change until the presidents decide they will. Probably not a bad idea for the ADs to become acquainted, I agree. (Does Gene have Brian's number?) But as of now, Faison probably is more effective stating his case publicly than trying to privately schmooze a guy who can't make the decision anyway. When Chapman and Kelley agree, even a brief conversation between the ADs should get it done.

I thought it was apparent here that Joe Chapman is calling the shots for NDSU on scheduling UND; Taylor's just the water boy. Faison's been around. He recognizes someone blowing smoke. (Don't we all here?) I presume the UND administration has concluded there may be some advantage in speaking publicly to make it exceedingly clear to the general public/casual fan just where the roadblock lies in resuming competition between the two schools. They must be thrilled with Taylor's help so far. And in terms of conversation, Kelley and Chapman talk regularly -- hell, they even attended the Obama inauguration together. That's where this will be resolved, and a little political pressure on the side may speed the process.

You are correct, sir. The proper excuse for football is: "Gee, it's too difficult to schedule because of our conference schedule." (Meanwhile, two dates remain open on their schedule even for next year.) "The conference won't let us do it because of your nickname" is the proper excuse for all other sports.

So you're back to this argument? Time to get over it and move on, pal; let go of the bitterness -- or at least own up to it. A lot of sports fans around the state would love to see the competition, but UND will survive without playing the AC. Why do we care? Well, maybe the banner headlines in the Fargo sports section caught our attention or maybe, as was mentioned earlier, we just have a thing for honesty. Why should you care? Because the longer your boys play this transparent charade, the more evident their dishonesty and pettiness is to everyone outside of Bisonville.

Yes, who sought to harm whom? Was it UND that slighted NDSU? Was it NDSU, whose president declared his school "too good" for Division II and bailed out of the NCC? Honestly, both sides in this fiasco can point fingers but the back-and-forth, he-said-she-said is getting a little old, don't you think? If Joe Chapman and Gene Taylor -- along with the Bisonville faithful -- think its still payback time, have the stones to declare it instead of hiding behind a host of ever-more ridiculous excuses. Afraid of the fallout from the rest of the population that doesn't wear green-and-gold glasses?

Mussman said last fall after the St. Cloud game that none of the Minnesota schools will play UND in the future because of the nickname issue. I believe that's now a system-wide policy.

Refreshing and encouraging to see an acknowledgement of the poor job of outreach and marketing for UND sports. I hope that translates into more aggressive advertising and improved radio/tv coverage next year. We've been standing on the sidelines too long. Who knows where this kind of thinking could lead: Maybe we'll even start recruiting students for a change.

Per today's Herald, it appears Peterson will not be seeking the job full-time. Her choice? UND looking for more D1 experience? Any insight?

Congrats to Dale Lennon, 2008 MVFC coach of the year.

Interesting info, but a few questions: -- Is it me, or does Mussman sound unneccessarily pessimistic going into the off season? Shouldn't we at least hope to be competitive with "the Northern Iowa's" in recruiting? UND has solid academics, excellent sports facilities, financial commitment and a tradition of D2 success to sell. New recruits will be playoff-eligible, I believe, by their junior year. Granted, UNI is a perennial FSC power and a member of strong conference with fine facilities of their own, but last I checked, we're 1-0 vs the panthers on the field in modern times. -- This is at least the second off-season I've read about the potential of Chris Anderson at WR. To my knowledge he's yet to see the field. He was injured his senior year in high school two years ago. I think I saw him in street clothes on the sideline all of this year as well. Will he be healthy enough to play? (Also curious about the progress of Drew Daggett, who played at least on special teams.) -- Mitch Goertz and Brad Kelley were highly regarded recruits, I believe, at LB. Mussman has spoken highly of walk-on Jay Nelson from Wheaton. Kasowski and Cochran return. No "impact" linebackers among them?

No love for Danny Freund (72% completion rate) or Noah Sheppard?

Always nice to see those resources used effectively to promote the move to D1. I sincerely hope we do a better job with this next year. Does anyone know if Saturday's football game will be available on FSSN outside of Grand Forks or is that still a secret?

I have no info on that directly, but I remember hearing Mussman -- either on the Wednesday coaches show or the Sunday TV show -- say a few weeks ago he was trying to match up schedules with Chappell to talk about the possibility of his return. I presume that would indicate he's in school at the very least.

FWIW, I see Mark Kubacki, LB from Stillwater, has re-appeared on the Sioux roster.

WDAY reported tonight that UND -- and another school somewhere to the south -- have offered a scholly to Joe Hanstad (sp?), a sophomore guard from Dickinson, I believe at Trinity HS.

I'm truly humbled to have been able to contribute so much -- both in quality and quantity -- to the UND-NDSU discourse.

(worthy of at least 3 'Bison Dan "smiley faces"')

Doesn't Kingsville have something like 3-5 new transfers from BCS/1-A schools? That kind of "wild card" in the equation always makes me a little anxious about predictions of an easy win.