redwing77

No, but it is interesting to see where everyone ends up in comparison to INCH's ratings. The unfortunate thing to all of this is that there is no other site that posts a comparable rating at any point. For example, draft rankings are done by many many organizations (CSS, ISS, Redleaf, whatnot). INCH is the only site I know of that rates NCAA incoming players and classes. If USCHO did it, I wonder what theirs would look like in comparison to INCH's?

I don't like Malkin as much as many do. I think Sid's better than Malkin and I believe Malkin has been the biggest beneficiary of Sid's talent. However, AO is only partially a cherry picker. Vanek was a cherry picker while in college. He was worthless defensively. AO actually hits people. He attempts (how successfully he does it is your opinion) to play both ends of the ice. AO has also come a long ways since juniors where he was a Earl-esque diving pansy. So, AO has the tendency to cherry-pick, true, one of the reasons why I don't like him either (but it is a balancing act as Cherry disliking him too makes me like AO a bit more now), however, he doesn't do it nearly as much as he used to. And no one cherry picked more at any level than Vanek did in Minnesota. Not even Kessel while with Minnesota. Not even any other Gopher player in hockey history.

Dear Coach Quenville, Thank you for giving Toews and Kane only 8 minutes and change for the first two periods of play. This really helped lock in our game and keep the matchups in our favor. Your team is obviously a good one, as Khabibulin was spectacular today, but I think the key was allowing us to experience a wonderful game environment without having to worry about two of your top playmakers for most of the game. We hope you consider continuing this trend or perhaps even increasing Toews and Kane's absences from the ice for even longer portions of the game. Sincerely, John Wings Fan Once again, Keep the Wings to less than 3 goals and you'll win. Hawks didn't. Hawks lose. And seriously, keeping Toews and Kane off the ice for as much as the Hawks did REALLY helped the Wings a lot.

Neither here nor there but.... Go over to INCH and look over the Top 20 Forwards and Defensemen and Top 10 Goaltenders. It's interesting to see what everyone did. For example, they were pretty darn accurate when it came to UND in the goaltending list. IMO, Eidsness was the second best Freshman goaltender in DI behind Milan of BU, who was UNLISTED! When it comes to INCH's ratings, I think after the season is when it becomes interesting reading material. Especially when it comes to predictions that either were way off or didn't come to fruition for other reasons (such as lack of playing time for much of the goaltenders listed). Since I'm bored, I'll post stats of the top 10 Forwards for your viewing pleasure: #1 -- Jordan Shroeder (UMN) 13-32-45 #2 -- Joe Colborne (DU) 10-21-31 #3 -- Zac Dalpe (tOSU) 13-12-25 #4 -- Corey Trivino (BU) 6-7-13 #5 -- Jason Gregoire (UND) 12-17-29 #6 -- Daultan Leveille (MSU) 9-8-17 #7 -- Robbie Czarnik (UM) 5-11-16 (though he wasn't really a scorer with the NTDP.. actually, his stats were pretty comparable) #8 -- Jack Connolly (UMD) 10-19-29 #9 -- Paul Carey (BC) 5-4-9 #10 -- Barry Almeida (BC) 7-11-18 So, going from stats alone, I'd reorder it like this: #1 -- Schroeder #2 -- Colborne #3 -- Gregoire #4 -- Connolly #5 -- Dalpe #6 -- Almeida #7 -- Leveille #8 -- Czarnik #9 -- Trivino #10 -- Carey There may be some in #11-20 who out statistically played some in the top 10.

DaveK- I will not say Sid is the best in the NHL. He's not the "best" in any single category or he'd be up for a lot more awards than he is. I WILL, however, say that he is in the top 4 players in the NHL this year along with AO and perhaps Malkin and Datsyuk. I also think players like Thomas, Lidstrom, Kane, Malkin, Getzlaf, Phaneuf, Green, Brodeur, Nash, Richards, Backstrom (MIN), and I'm sure I'm missing quite a few others are great players too this year. I only label a player as "best" in retrospect. Like I said, Sidney, at this rate, is a surefire hall of famer. He is definitely the heart and soul of the Penguins. However, I don't think he's the best in anything right now. And, historically speaking, he's not Gretzky. Hell, he's not even the best player to wear a Penguins jersey. To me, Lemieux will always be the best player ever to wear a Penguin jersey. Sidney could very well end up runner up by the end of his career.

I agree with the treatment of NA people being respectful. But I also advocate that we listen to what they want. they want to be treated as equals to everyone else. Well, right now they're not. I didn't have a Jewish or Caucasian Cultural Center on campus. Heck, I didn't even have a synnagogue even close to campus! But the NA people have a cultural center. Does UND have a Caucasian Studies program? A Jewish Studies program? A program for Jews or Caucasians to help them get into and through Med School like InMed? Relaxed GPA requirements in certain high need areas for Jewish and/or Caucasian ethnicities? No. So, in effect, NA students are treated BETTER than I was at UND. Those who talk about enrollment being so low at UND need to look outside of UND rather than at UND in that regards. I don't see how UND's enrollment could go higher if less than 60 percent of NA students in North Dakota (less than 50% in SD) are even graduating high school. When the nickname changes, I DO expect some UND students to act completely and totally retarded and give us PRO nicknamers a bad name. I'd be SHOCKED if it didn't happen. Like it or not, the 1% defines the whole when it comes to Ron His Horse Is Thunder and his crew. The vote proved that not all NA people are the victim mentality types. Not all NA people keep their heads in the sand. I want NA life to improve, but everything starts at home. And THAT is something that has NOTHING to do with ethnicity. I see it every day with people whose kids I teach. My school is very diverse with NA, African American, Asian American, African immigrant/Refuge, Mexican/Central/South American, and Caucasian ethnicities present. We are mostly Christian with a few Muslim. I am the only Jew I'm aware of at my school. Oh, and almost 50% of our students are on free or reduced lunch.

I must have been somewhere else when Parise committed because I didn't hear all the hype... or maybe I was less of a curmudgeon back then. I do recall the hype on Toews. Oh well. It is entertainment, but I like the entertainment to come from the action on the ice, not the hot air from the media types.

USAHockey has more faith in Osgood than I do (understatement). I think he's a time bomb. Luongo was the better goaltender coming into the Hawks/Canucks series and he laid a stinking egg a time or three. I don't think Osgood is going to escape without looking like a fool either.

Uh.... No. I don't care what happens with the nickname, the programs should remain. However, here's what I'd do: UND is in the perfect position to use a number of PR related excuses that aren't nickname related to accomplish these as well. First thing I'd do, if the Federal grant money earmarked for NA higher ed doesn't increase (as it pertains directly to UND), UND shouldn't invest any more than it already does in NA higher ed. With the nickname gone, there really is no incentive to treat NA students with any more honor or respect than any other ethnicity, caucasian included. Spending more on them than the caucasian students doesn't spell equality. It spells favoritism. The built in excuse is that, with this economy, UND doesn't have the money to expand on any one particular program over another. Second thing is, the tribes should be brought more into NA responsibilities. The NA Cultural Center and its employees should be paid by the tribes, not by UND (unless federal funding goes into that too). I don't see a Caucasian Cultural Center. I'm not even sure there's an African American Cultural Center... Third, to ensure that no NA symbols are wrongfully handled in the nickname change, the Tribes should supervise the process. Since they are supervising the process, they should pay said supervisors, pay disposal fees (all costs incurred during the removal process of the symbols from the University and REA), and lost merchandise fees (loss of money due to inventory already made that cannot be sold). UND would then be responsible for the costs of creating and producing new merchandise, and replacing whatever symbols etc that were removed. I'm not sure that was very clear, but let's put it this way: There is a large Sioux logo in the entrance way of the REA. The NA tribes will pay for its removal, leaving a whatever sized hole in the concrete/marble flooring. UND would then take over financial responsibility for replacing the flooring with whatever, be it the new logo or just matching concrete/marble. Does this produce hardships on the tribes? Yes, but the nickname is, by NCAA decree, THEIR nickname. So why should we pay for its removal? UND cannot be held responsible for third party property, even if it is now embedded in the flooring of their or cooperating facilities.

Like I said, if goaltending is the key to Detroit's advance and not their offense and PowerPlay, then Detroit's going to struggle with Chicago. Despite one of the two predictions I made in the series vs the Ducks not coming true (Osgood would sieve out at least one game), I think it is still possible for him to lay a stinking log on the ice in one of the games vs. the Hawks. The Hawks have speed, great transition, and similar sniping capabilities to Detroit. I honestly believe that defensive comparisons are a wash if you exclude age. Lidstrom is one of the best in the game, but I've always felt Rafalski is a bit overrated (especially defensively). Seabrook is solid. Again, goaltending comparisons are bogus because of the type of season Osgood has had. Historically, this area favors Detroit, as one cannot argue the talent of a goaltender that has his name on the Cup 3 times. However, both Khabibulin and Osgood this year have a tendency to occasionally allow goals that peewee goaltenders more often than not make the saves on. Interestingly enough, both do it in similar ways. Khabibulin will be lights out for most of the game up to a point, then go on a mental vacation for a while and get owned. Then he'll get back on track. Most of the time, the same is true with Osgood. In the playoffs, I think Osgood has been the slightly better of the goaltenders though. Despite this, I'm calling this comparison a wash. PP favors Detroit heavily. PK is a wash, as far as I'm concerned. Offense favors Detroit, but not by as much as you'd think from a Wings fan. I think Kane and Toews are players to be reckoned with. Datsyuk has been quiet lately.

I agree with this. Crosby has done well. And he is not a player you can ignore when he's not on the ice. He is also VERY important to the Pens as a whole. But I wish that's where it ended. I love the LeBron-Jordan reference. I think that's exactly what it is.

Sid is indeed good. However, Toews (whom I think you are referring to), is better in front of a microphone. Sid is a good hockey player, but he's not as good as the media thinks he is. Offensively, he is ROUTINELY outplayed over the course of a season and even the playoffs by Ovechkin. Defensively among forwards he's not among the top three in that category. If Crosby is "that good," then AO is even better offensivly and Datsyuk makes Crosby look puny defensively and in all around game. So where does that put Crosby? A-HA! Enter the media-fed hype machine. Crosby has the makings to be a great hockey player over the course of a career at this pace. However, is he the best in the game in any given season? No. Is he among the best? I'd have to say yes. Does he stand out if you take away the media? I'm not sure. I guess I'd have to watch every Penguin game over the course of a season with and without Crosby to know that. Will he be remembered as a great hockey player? At this rate, yes. Will he be a Hall of Famer? Again, at this rate, yes. Is he what the hype machine makes of him ("the next Gretzky")? No. Let's do a direct statistical comparison and assume the following conditions: WHA stats don't count The "state of hockey" is the same (this presents a flaw in the analysis, but otherwise analysis isn't possible regardless and the media is blowing a lot of smoke without need of comparison) The teammate effect doesn't matter Sidney Crosby has played 4 years in the NHL. He has played 290 regular season games and 38 playoff games. Total offensive numbers are: Regular season: 132g 165a Playoffs: 21g 32a Total: 153g 198a Wayne Gretzky's first 4 years he played 319 regular season games and 33 playoff games. Regular season offensive totals: 261g 440a Playoffs: 26g 48a Total: 287g 488a Sid the Kid has 3 NHL awards to his name after 4 seasons (could be more after this season). The Great One had 10. Great comparison, no? In summation, calling Crosby the next "great one" is fine, but anyone who does so is pretty much saying that they are mentally incapable of rational thought. And, before you all jump on me asking "When was Sid ever compared to Gretzky?" just listen to the media during Sid's first few NHL seasons. His name and Gretzky's come up ALL THE F---ING TIME. He is not. He will never be. AO has a better shot at reaching Gretzky's season goal scoring mark than Crosby ever will. I DOUBT Sid the Kid ever touches the 50 goal mark. AO has done it now what... let's put it this way. AO has played 4 seasons in the NHL. He's only failed to score 50 or more goals in a season ONE SEASON. Seriously, if we want to make that comparison, I think we should be talking more of AO than Crosby. And I don't even like AO. He's a showboater. I feel he can be rather reckless on the ice at times too. Kinda vitriolic considering that I still respect both of them for what they do. I just resent the media (DUH!) for not allowing their play to speak for themselves. I hate hype. I can honestly say that and mean it.

CRAP! I think we should have a retro tourney. Bring in Brown and Wayne State (back from the dead). Then we can have the Subway Classic (aka, the biggest joke of a tourney before they canned it).

That would shut up opposing fanbases, for sure!

I also don't understand why Cornell and Princeton are ranked so highly. Yeah, they were alright last season, but they certainly didn't set anyone's hair on fire.

Unless UND pulls a suck, there's no way ND and UND don't meet in the second round. Seriously... Niagara and Colgate? Why not just cut the crap and bring in Bentley and Quinnipiac?

I think #1fan and Goon missed my point. My point didn't have anything to do with on-ice play. I think what Walski brought to the team (like Foyt as well) wasn't on the ice. It was rather what he brought in practice and in the lockerroom and probably out of the arena as well. Harrington may never play a game at UND. He may. Who knows. I don't know if Walski ever thought he'd play in any games that mattered when he came to UND. I know that no one comes to UND just to be a practice player and never aspire to do otherwise, but realistically, I think what Walski accomplished was far more than I expected he'd do. To see him get an award was remarkable to me because of that.

I think the Penguins have a better shot than the Hawks do.

I found it amusing. I finally tune in to watch the last three games (or parts thereof) and notice that Game 5 and 6 are pretty good games. Then I tune in for Game 7 and it's like Varlamov was back with the Hershey Bears while facing the NHL Penguins. To me, lopsided contests are never fun to watch (unless it's your team winning in a lopsided manner). Being a fan of neither team, I can honestly say Game 7 was among the worst games of the 2009 playoffs. The Capitols played like they didn't even belong in the post season. And, yeah, Varlamov impressed me. And, true, historically I've never been a fan of Fleury. But games 1-4 aside (as I didn't watch them), the series did end up great. As for my earlier comments on the media and AO/Crosby, I found the key was to tune into the game after the game was underway and leave the game during period intermissions. Other news: Cam Ward defeats the Boston Bruins. Seriously, after Cam Ward, what else does Carolina have? Sure, this team is dangerous. Just like the 1995 Devils. A goaltender and a bunch of seemingly nobodies. No offense to Ryan Bayda. Detroit beats Anaheim. Once again, I said that if Anaheim fails to keep Detroit to less than 3 goals, they'll lose. They gave up 4. Their season is over. Historical information aside (meaning, this season is all that I'm looking at): Osgood remains the most overrated goaltender in the playoffs. Fleury is a close second. Khabibulin and Ward, IMO, are more known quantities. Everyone knows that Khabibulin is hot/cold and is prone to giving up absolutely putrid goals every now and then. Ward is the goaltender of the playoffs as he is singlehandedly carrying this team through each opponent. My opinion? Ward has to come down to earth eventually... Just like Hasek did when he was with Buffalo against Dallas. Detroit now squares off against Chicago. Personally, I hope Toews has an epic series and Detroit still trounces the Hawks. But seriously... I'm going to maintain my prediction: Keep Detroit below 3 goals, and you'll have a good chance at beating them. Carolina now faces Pittsburgh... I think this is going to be an interesting series. Ward is carrying the team and Fleury is jekyl/hyde-like. Pens have big time offense. So, can Ward beat the Penguins? I honestly don't know. I think, on paper, the Penguins should win this series. But then again, the Devils should have ended Carolina's season anyways. The Capitols should have ended Pittsburgh's season. Neither happened. Oh well. I say Detroit takes it 4 games to 2. I say Pittsburgh takes it 4 games to 3 (what the hell. I'm batting .500 on predictions at this point anyways, might as well be completely off target) I may be a Detroit fan, but I don't want a rematch of last year's SC Finals. But if it happens, well... more muting I guess.

I agree. Schroeder was good, but not as good as a one and done... unless the Islanders draft him.

Well, I suck at predictions. Assuming Detroit finishes off Anaheim (as they should), the same thing applies. If Chicago can hold the Wings to less than 3 goals per game, they have a chance. Kudos to the Hawks for finishing up a team I thought had the better team in several categories.

I find myself conflicted. I agree that it is an offensive slug fest, but as a fan of a balanced game, this game is great on one side (offense) and atrocious on another (defense). Kane with a hattrick. Toews with 2 goals 1 assist.

Another weak goal in the playoffs.. this time it helped the Caps beat the Penguins in OT. Seriously... FLeury's wanting to be flashy cost the Pens the game. Right now, the Hawk/Canuck game is amazing. Both teams are playing amazing offensive hockey. Both teams have absolutely NO DEFENSE. Seriously... it's like Detroit's offense paired with Islander Defense. At some point I think they should just give up the ghost and simply pull the goaltenders. It's going to be a final score of something like 9-8 or 10-8 at this rate. And in the "I told you so" department: What did I predict about the Detroit/Anaheim series? If Anaheim holds Detroit to less than 3 goals, they'll win. Anaheim has only won games where they've held Detroit to less than 3 goals.

Yeah, and I'm thankful for that. I feel both sides should be heard, but the approach each side seems to take is that of almost to full blown extremism in their selected bias. Limbaugh has been good at times and downright extreme at others. Schultz... well... I only listened to one of his shows before and he's quite an idiot, political views or otherwise. Anyways.... I think Fox's success has nothing to do with their bias. I think it has to do with the way they started up. They were continuously beating every other news agency to the story, even CNN. From there, they got their viewership because we live in a "NOW" generation. Murdoch injects a republican bias into their stories and CNN, still trying to recover from being sluggish and selective, overreacts and goes left. CNN could have recovered if they just did what they've always done, just tried to employ more of Fox's tactics in terms of story retrieval. Now, it's bias at every turn of the dial. I honestly don't watch much, if any, 24 hour news programming. I rely mostly on newspapers, internet, and the local news.

I think Walski as the Unsung hero stands out to me. Every good Sioux team (NC or not) has had a player like Walski on it. Others I can think of are Lee Marvin, Scott Foyt, and for some reason I can't remember any more. ARGH! Well, anyways, it doesn't have to be someone who doesn't play much (I think Porter and Fabian were examples of those with lots of playing time). My question is, who is going to step in and fill those shoes (playing time or otherwise)? Is it going to be Harrington? Davidson? I'm intrigued to see who it is.