redwing77

Unless he gets to choose his successor

I just got back from the office and they said that it will be posted at 7pm tonight.

Who is Zach Praise?

Shut up! That's something that the REA would do if they could. I like the weighted lottery. Another idea would be to allow the students who had them last year to be able to apply for renewal. Now, this application would not get you the SAME seat as last year, it would get you a spot in line. Then, the line will be drawn from a hat from those who are already entered. The line stays the same regardless, so, you have no line outside the Ralph. The line to get tickets would start at 10am on the day tickets are sold in the order of cards drawn. Everyone must be present. If a group is not present in line by 10am, each extra spot (card of 4) would be added to the 90 seats drawn for the following week. The same would go for however many people on the cards that do not show up (without filling out that form and having it approved). Students of good academic standing, who did not get kicked out the previous season would be eligible to renew provided they furnish a ticket from last year's season tickets (any) and a valid Student ID.

They may not practice on the ice, but they have been dry land conditioning since the beginning of school (or earlier than that). Some have been working out all summer long. Some have been in NHL Prospect camps, some at hockey camp, and our freshmen were probably studying the plays off ice.

I wonder if someone could purposely act as stupid as Happy... Don't wish to find out. In any case, what's .5 of a goaltender? JJ?

I was. I was in the hockey band, in fact. I've read people coming onto this board and talking about how dedicated these people are. Well, I agree to a certain point. These band players love the team and support UND athletics, however, I can't remember once where they tried to practice as a group. Instead, they just trust it to those who have the time to do it individually. I quit the band because I woke up one morning and realized that, when it came to playing in a band, I couldn't cut it. I was just too awful and I couldn't hit the notes. Now, I realize not everyone would come to these same conclusions, but I have no regrets about leaving the band. That being said, you are right, there are a lot of distractions going on, which is why I think something should be done to help the hockey band out. I don't know what can be done because, when I was in the band, I never played at a football game. Only basketball and hockey. I don't know if that system could be brought back feasibly. The only thing I am saying is that they need to practice or they shouldn't play. Everyone here has probably been to a band at one point that sounded awful. No one, especially musicians, can stand sitting through a poor musical performance.

How about the technology getting used for something other than ads when there is a stoppage in play or between periods? Cheers can be put up, rousers, etc. In fact, I THINK there is an old thread around here somewhere that says what can be done with the tech. A question: Not entirely appropriate to this thread but... what time does the General Public gates open? Does it open the same time as the students?

I never really considered DeMarchi to be anything more than what Jake Taylor was last season: Someone to clear the front of the net while he's not occupying the penalty box. I doubt DeMarchi's departure was that bad for the Gophers. If Taylor were the only one to leave this season, his presence probably would not be missed either.

Two things: 1. I'm happy that the band will be there. I think that a band is important to the atmosphere of the event. 2. #1 only applies if the band members PRACTICE the material. Last season, and the season before that, the band was overblowing, overplaying, and under practiced. Especially the trumpets. If you can't hit the notes, you shouldn't be in the band. With the mics being there, the trumpets shouldn't have to blow so hard. I like the band, but I can't stand it when they outblow the song or just plain can't play it. Oh yeah, dump the prep crap. We don't need Hootie, Sheryl Crow, and stuff you wouldn't find outside of the junior high pep band concert. I know it is football, but look at the DIA football pep bands and what they play. The band needs to find songs that get the fans into the game, not show just how much pop culture is stocked in the Hughes Music Library.

I wish I could find where it was mentioned, but it was said that Kaip was a player of the style of Rory McMahon.

True, Schneider's offensive numbers did go down, but when didn't he show up to play defense? I think defensively, Schneider has remained consistant at least the past two years. I really think that the players are all about sharing the duties. Matt Greene has no offensive expectations. His job is to be a defensive brick wall. With only that dimension to worry about, I think Matt will be a great captain because he won't be juggling defense, offense, powerplay, and penalty kill like Schneider did last season and will do this season. Greene basically does defense and penalty kill. Workload alone would say that, if he is the leader type, that the "C" will not be much of a burden.

How much of the recruiting was done by Hakstol? I know that for sure Blais didn't do all of the recruiting. I'd be curious to know which current players are mainly Hakstol's recruiting and which are Blais'? I'm fairly certain Bo and ZPar were recruited by Blais, but what about Stafford? Zajac? Our Defense? I think Hak's role in recruiting is a lot larger than most people believe.

Congrats Matt G, Rory, and Matt J! I was actually expecting jones to be named captain, but Greene is just as good. As for Andy, I think he'll actually do a lot better as assistant (or is it alternate?) captain. After two seasons ago's production, the C seemed to weigh him down. I am predicting a resurgence in numbers for Mr. Schneider this season.

I find it humorous to compare Grand Forks malls to anywhere else Even Fargo has a better mall. New restaurants are popping up like Culvers and Qdoba. I hear we are also getting a Coldstone Ice Cream place. There is a lot of development under consideration including a movie theater that will bring Grand Forks past the 1990s in terms of theater quality (but we don't know if and when that will be built). The point is, Grand Forks is slowly growing and with it comes more attractions. No, if you come here expecting it to be even half of what the Twin Cities is, you'll be greatly disappointed. But if you want an atmosphere where you can leave for your cross town workplace 10-15 minutes before your shift starts, friendly people, and a decent atmosphere despite the conditions, GF is a nice place. Siouxtupa makes good recommendations for eats if your pocketbook can handle it.

It's like the NCAA decree on the penalty calling: I'll wait and see before I sing any praises for ESPN. ESPN is deeply dedicated to basketball and the drive to bring forth new "sports" onto the air (like Poker and street ball). ESPN and college hockey is not going to happen unless BC plays Maine 10 times a season and the other 20 games are between BU and UNH or Harvard. There could be an occasional Michigan game in there... maybe Michigan versus Michigan State. In other words: Don't hold your breath for college hockey on ESPN. Stay tuned because there is new All Stars of Poker faceoffs in 12 hours 26 minutes and 46 seconds.

One of the people that I work with is a member of one of the Fighting Sioux Clubs and has season tickets for basketball, football, and hockey. He brought up an interesting comment about the people who run the Ralph. He claims that the Ralph Inc is starting to try to run UND's Athletic Department and the Sioux boosters are starting to grow upset about it. He says that the waiting list for Sioux hockey season tickets is moving fast as existing members are choosing not to renew memberships. He claims someone is giong to "buck" so to speak pretty quick. How true is this? Is the Ralph peeps biting off more than they should chew?

The XCel Energy Center is a great arena, but it isn't a COLLEGE arena. XCel is only used for playoffs and perhaps a Frozen Four somewhere down the line. As far as college arenas are concerned there are really only a few that can compete with the REA: UNO's new arena, BU's new arena (when it is built I'm sure it will be nice), UW's Kohl Center, and maybe CC's arena. I think that is it. Last season Mariucci showed its age (ice coils starting to burn out) but it is still an ok arena.

Last season there was talk that Parise was good enough for the Devils' 4th Line. Not exactly sure where he'd end up when the NHL resumes play again.

Being at work and getting the message that I didn't get in with my group (none of us did) made my senior year a rather somber one athletics wise. Knowing that my job will keep me out of the GA line until just before the gates open brings my spirits down further. I support Fighting Sioux hockey, but my eyesight isn't exactly perfect. I find it hard to follow the game from the nosebleeds so I am thinking about just watching it at home on TV or listening to it on the radio. I think there is one more lottery drawing left and I'll enter it, but I know that I'm just dilluting the odds because I've never won a lottery in my life. Heck, I never even won a school lottery when I had odds of 1 in 20 to win and there were 10 prizes! Ok, maybe the odds I wrote up aren't accurate, but the point is made. I'll cross my fingers but I'm not going to hold my breath.

I thought the lottery system was just for the last two rows of 108 and 109. The cards were marked first come first served and, once the remainder of seats in the lower bowl were filled, they were turned away by the guy marking the cards. This would eliminate those standing in line overnight only not to get a ticket?

Maybe. It really depends upon the day. I think the biggest benefactor for this whole thing is that now they can air more college basketball. ESPN's own surveys believe that college basketball has higher rankings than it really has. Of course, they probably poll places that have DI basketball.... like Chapel Hill, Raleigh/Durham, East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Syracuse, etc. If they ever polled an equal distribution of places even within the same state as DI bball programs, their numbers may be a bit less flattering to their true sports love. In any case, lots of college and high school bball and poker (which is enough of a sport to be petitioning to make it an Olympic event),

Nope. Devil anything won't work in ND. The Devils Lake community will make you change the name to the Dakota Fighting Donuts or the Saints or something like that. (Reference: DL's high school mascot) Seriously though, why are we considering this? There isn't the need for a pro team here. No market really.