redwing77

And so what are you going to do or say here if the Warriors lose? Here are the most obvious options: A. Simply not post here. (A common option among smack talkers after their team loses the game) B. Complain about something or another that "caused" the loss that was outside of their control which is usually made up. (Darn refs! If UND wouldn't have cheated...etc.) C. Take out your disappointment that the team you root for losing by coming onto here and hurling enough insults to get you banned. D. Take the high road and congratulate the better team (A rare thing for a poster who does nothing but talk smack) I don't know really what you will do, warrior_08, but if I had my guess based on statistics, I'd guess A would be the most likely option and D the least likely option.

Exactly. And one thing about the NDSU vs. Minnesota thing: You heard it here folks. I hope NDSU humiliates Minnesota. Anything to get the type of publicity Mason deserves. NDSU can still be a top tier D-IAA power. Minnesota, under Mason, will never be anything better than mediocre. NDSU's defeat of Minnesota would be ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS. Soon thereafter, UND should play the Gophers so that, when an outgoing DII program beats them, MAYBE the UMN admin will wake up and do the right thing: Fire Mason.

The CHA isn't disbanding. They got an exemption on the autobid. As for where UBC goes, I'd suspect the CHA would take them. I don't see the WCHA taking on a school like UBC. If anything, I'd think (My opinion here) that, if the schools would desire it, the WCHA would take schools like Bemidji or UNO before they'd take UBC.

Read that post by Tony and he was spot on. Tony has had his clashes with this board and I find myself not agreeing with him all that much, but really, he said what everyone in Grand Forks AND Fargo should realize in that if you are so blinded by your distaste or hatred of the other town/school that you cannot root for such a team even if it benefits yours (not saying that this UNI loss benefits NDSU necessarily) then you really look like a jackass. It's amazing to me both here and on the hockey board how much the hatred flows on both sides (NDSU v. UND in the football thread and UND vs Minnesota in the hockey thread). I don't like NDSU. I don't like Minnesota. But if they do well, I'll acknowledge it. If they do something embarrassing, I'll laugh at it. We don't have to like each other, we just have to respect each other as a program. We're not direct competitors so that excuse doesn't hold water.

GREAT WIN SIOUX!!! Well, I was wrong in the poll. But nothing new there.

No. Mike Tice had a coaching style like an osterich. He ruffles feathers and dances about and then hides his head in the sand when things get out of control. If what people are saying about Rivard are true, then the Tasmanian Devil may be a more accurate description.

Fighting Cavalry

Oh please. I dont' take the WJC squad invite as all that much of anything. Jones is still yet to make the squad and I'd be surprised if he did. I thought they wanted 2 way defensemen and Jones is obviously a defensive defenseman. I couldn't disagree more with you though. Genoway will make the team in the capacity like Marvin did. Finley's slot is secure. If he falters, he may sit a game or two, but that's about it. I trust Hakstol knew what he was dong when he recruited Finley. Other than that, all I can say is, you're entitled to your opinion. And I believe your opinion is incorrect.

I think Lee's offensive upside is simply monster, but 15 goals is a tad high, IMO as well.

That would solve things nicely. Thanks for the offer! It always comes down to that. West teams suck, east teams rule. And after that, specific teams emerge. Maybe the West is where to go to root for hockey because they haven't developed any sense of superiority over anything or anyone? It may just be something akin to just, say, a hockey game? I dunno. But really, Wilbur, when a West team beats an East team (which it will happen sooner or later), it's going to be real difficult not to be glib about it. Anyways, looking forward to your reports on Minot and the other "wastes" of state tourney space.

A correction, farce. Smaby never fractured his arm. That was Finley. Otherwise, some good points. As for meanness, you cited two mean guys we lost, and I agree. But we have three mean guys returning: Finley, Jones, and Kaip. Radke has an edgy side too. Goal is a good question. I have no idea on that one. One thing that worries me is depth. Yeah, we have enough players to cover injuries, I think, but there's still concerns with how well they will play, in my opinion.

Or maybe he realized that leaving UND was just plain nuts and he's trying desperately to regain the "glamor" that the NCC Chair used to have?

Yeah, but I'm confused as to the meaning of "original." I seem to recall that, before using the electric chair or lethal injection, they used a hanging. In the past people (not necessarily the US) used an executioner (either with a big axe or with a guillotine). So, if we speak of the "original recipe" will the jury have to consult history books?

I hope it isn't a whacking. I'm optimistically saying that we'll keep up with them for most of the game. Not expecting a win, but if we manage to keep the point difference to 20 points or less, I'll take it as a victory.

BisSioux- FOrgot about that. Ah well. I guess mediocrity is an apt label for Mason.

Your point is valid if stated a bit on the defensive side. As for trying to find out who would fit your bill, I can only find it relative to other players. For example, Barry Sanders and Emmitt (Sp?) Smith weren't considered the fastest running backs in the league during their prime, but that's only relative to the league's RBs at the time. Mike Alstott isn't all that fast. I don't consider Jerome Bettis that fast. I guess they may not apply. It depends upon your definition of "awesome football player."

Not me. I won't be shocked at all to see Finley as a Sioux for at least 3 years. If you want to fret about next off season's defections on defense, look no further than linemates in Lee and Chorney.

Well at least Mason has 1 fan. They are perrenially NEARLY a top 25 team for a school that, in the past, used to be preetty dominant. But maybe the Music City Bowl and the Insight Bowl really are "elite": bowls and we should be rahrahrah-ing that they represent Minnesota in those glorious bowl games. Seriously, that's as good as Mason gets. Averaging 8 wins a season puts them at about 8-4 when you have to what... go 10-2 to make a top tier bowl game? I don't think Mason has it in him to put together a team that can only manage to lose 2 games. Sure, I agree with you inasmuch as the Gophers could beat any DIAA team. I know about Montana State's win and that's an abomination. It just shouldn't happen. However, Mason is good enough to have his teams finish better than .500 football. But he's not good enough to compete with the top 15 teams in the nation. This is being nice and saying he can compete with #16-#25 in the polls and even that is questionable.

Yeah, Vanek and Kessel were legit at #5 and both were better than Wheeler. I just view draft location in the first round in such a way that the top 5 are as close to "can't miss" prospects as one can project, the top 10 are the "elite prospects" and the rest of the first round are those prospects with uspides superior to the rest of the draft. I don't see Wheeler as a "can't miss" prospect, which is why I'm so hard on him. You're right that I shouldn't really use this to judge how a player fares in college, but both Vanek and Kessel were "can't miss" prospects who did pretty darn good in college even their freshmen years.

According to Mason, Minnesota isn't a bottom feeder because they make it to a good Bowl game the past few seasons!

I'd just like us to go out there and play our hardest and best game in and game out. Projecting our freshmen goal totals only sets us up for boom or bust type celebrations. Look at Wheeler. He was selected #5 in the draft and coming into Minnesota, people thought he would be a huge contributer, even if the contributions came during the second half of his freshman campaign. 9 goals is respectable for a freshman, but not where he was drafted. If Wheeler were drafted where everyone else in the hockey world thought he'd be drafted (between 20th overall and the last pick in the first round), I'd say he was right on par with the selection and no one would really use Wheeler as a poster child for anything. Thanks to a delusional Gretzky, Wheeler's "bar of expectations" is huge so a 10 goal freshman campaign (which most people would have thought great for a 2nd-9th round draft pick) is a disappointment for a top 5 draft pick. EDIT: Sorry, the above paragraph is my opinion. I'm sure there were Gopher fans who expected not much out of Wheeler or were happy with Wheeler's performance both as a freshman and thus far. That being said, none of these guys (Forney, Vandevelde, Zajac) were drafted that high (if at all in Zajac's case). I would be happy if they scored when it mattered. I'd much rather Forney score 2 goals (both game winners) than have him score 10 goals when the goals were meaningless. No, I won't turn away a double digit goal total on any freshman, but I think all expectations should be placed on the shoulders of the team as a whole, not on the shoulders of a select few.

I agree completely. Why put your team in a position to be crushed? You don't learn much. You ruin morale. You don't prove anything. Yeah, I know about the $$$ involved, but still, I wouldn't like it if UND were fodder for some DIA team. It serves no purpose.

It's interesting to note that Malkin's parents were being harrassed and had to relocate because of it. Sad to see. Well, soon enough they can move to Pittsburgh or Boca Raton or wherever on Malkin's dime.

I also heard that the Devils are having some difficulty concerning the salary cap and that may be what's holding things up.

Thanks again, jloos.