redwing77

A few notes here and there: 1. Why any team would want Sean Avery on their team is still beyond me. He truly is the exception to my rule (fighters and instigators should contribute in some other way than the enforcer/agitator role). I wish he'd just be forced out. Maybe he can get a career on WEC or the WWE. 2. Folks, I hate to say this, especially since I'm pulling to Toews, but I think the Hawks are done. They played good enough at times even in the losses, but Calgary has just played better the past two games (and maybe for even longer despite the fact that the series is tied). I can't believe the weak goals Chicago gives up. I don't like Calgary (though I respect Phaneuf and Kipprusoff and Iginla), but I think they're just better right now than Chicago. 3. Thank you Boston for proving to everyone that Montreal had no business in the playoffs. And, he may be the future, but MY PARISE is Carey Price overrated. Yeah, he made a few great saves and was dominant in some portions of games, but he's EXTREMELY inconsistent. He reminds me of MA Fleury's first few years with Pittsburgh. Sorry Pens fans, but Fleury sucked his first few years. I actually think Halak is the better of the two goaltenders. Maybe Price will mature like Fleury did (though Fleury still stinks it up occasionally), but right now, he's not a go-to #1. And yeah, I know Montreal had injury problems, but how could anyone expect a team that relies on an overrated goaltender (Price) and an overrated and overhyped skater (Kovalev.. seriously... why they make him an Alternate Captain? He only shows up on Alternate occasions!) shouldn't be too surprised. 4. St. Louis doesn't have D. 5. San Jose is just amazing. I'm curious if Anaheim lets them stick around to see Game 6 or just finishes them off. Seriously, this Anaheim team reminds me a ton like their Stanley Cup winning team. Who the hell plays for them? A team of nothing specials and they go all the way. Losing to Anaheim isn't necessarily embarrassing, but I don't know if I'd be too happy to be a Shark fan right now. 6. There is NO REASON I can think of as to why the Devils insist on making their series a series. 7. I still could give crap zero about the Phi-Pit series. Who the hell cares. 8. Detroit got a wakeup call. Columbus was a great story and I was happy they made it, but they didn't expect Osgood to show up. He showed up for almost every game in the series except for Period 2 in Game 4. THAT period was precisely what I was expecting to see from Osgood. Seriously, they better look HARD at Game 4 if they expect to do anything in the next round. They better thank their lucky stars it was Columbus playing them and not... well... just about anyone else or Detroit would be in trouble. This team has played VERY well for 3 of 4 Playoff games thus far, but I still think they are a FAR CRY from the Finals. I can't imagine the Detroit of Game 4 doing anything against a team like Boston or New Jersey or Anaheim. Limit their offensive chances and make Osgood win the game for you and you've got Detroit's number still. Yeah, I'll be excited if they do repeat, but it still wouldn't stop me from being shocked about it too. PS - Sioux Hab-It: Sorry for trashing your team like I did. Don't take it personally. A good deal of my disdain is thanks to the hockey media.

I don't know why it is even in question that the tribal council could accept the results. It's not whether they will or won't. It's when they won't. Reelection isn't going to be much of a problem because I really think this issue overall is a minor issue in the eyes of reservation people. Now, that's an assumption of course, based upon a myriad of different problems I see the poor folks on the reservations go through. I mean, really, if I were in the position of a reservation resident, why would I care what UND calls itself? I'd be more worried about my socioeconomic status or perhaps possible personal issues such as health or education or alcoholism. And for those of you who jump on my use of education, know this: If the nickname is affecting education on the reservation than the problem isn't the nickname, it's within the walls of the schools. Fix what you can fix to make your lives better. Changing outside visages based on idealism and victimology (to make up a term) is not effective. What is effective is to try to make some sort of progress towards public health and public education. Is there a way to curb alcoholism? Is there a way to curb truancy and dropping out of high school? There are others I'm sure, but those are great starts. I'd love to see NA graduation rates in ND get over 60%. All it takes is a 4% shift to the positive (based upon old, but accessible information). Is there a public perception on NA reservations that education just isn't important? I realize that there are quality issues with the schools themselves, which is a problem, but seriously..... Why any ethnicity allows themselves to fail in basic public education like the NA do (hispanics in ND apparently have worse numbers due to many being migratory I'm sure). Make a difference, NA people. Graduate high school. Go to college. Look at African Americans. Not 60 years ago, they were in similar positions. They didn't seem to place much value in education as they were bound to menial jobs and no real future. Then, in the 1960s (and surely leading up to the 1960s) their civil rights movement took full swing and now, things are much better for them. Sure, there are still issues, but they've shaken the image for the most part and now there are many prominent African Americans in society. I firmly believe that the NA people could be the same way. They just have to shed a mentality and come to terms with moving to the future rather than staying in the quagmire of doom and gloom that is their terrible past.

Yeah. what a wierd turn of events. Which team is going to suck next? Both D look terrible at times, but I think of all the goals, the ones Khabibulin gave up were weaker overall.

Don't look now, but Chicago is doing their Hoover impression.... they're sucking hardcore right now. This series is over. I don't know if Chicago will win another game. They just don't have the D or the goaltending.

Cries of invalid voting.... a few recounts... a revote perhaps.

The only thing that you've missed is the fact that some posters here are predispositioned to like certain players and feel dislike towards others regardless of what the player has done or how well they've progressed. Face it... it comes down to the freshman year and the first half of the season. A mistake here or there is just getting used to the game. A bad game or two, and it's lights out. Genoway played great his freshman year and became a fan favorite. He got burned a lot more this year than he did in previous years (or so I noticed) but if he had a bad game, he didn't get roasted or overly criticized for it. LaPoint was shakey his first half of the first season with the Sioux and well... now he's on "on ice liability." Ben Blood is headed the same direction. I wouldn't be surprised if Fienhage would be in the same boat had he played a bit more. Has LaPoint had bad games? Yup. Is he a liability? Nope. Should we be uncomfortable with any player on the ice? Nope. If you do, then perhaps you need to question the coaching. I trust Hakstol and company. If he sends out a cheerleader to play goaltender, I'll support it. I may look at him funny and question why, but I support it. I will not feel a glimmer of nerves with LaPoint on the ice. He's just fine.

Nah. I wouldn't be too worried. Sauer was supposed to be lights out but wasn't. Hogan's been alright. As a Wings fan, though, I love noticing how Sauer is a Colorado draft pick. Now they have two sieves in the system (Budaj and Sauer). If they'd only get Huet.... In unrelated news, my mother was flying back from Chicago and sat next to current Shattuck Midget AAA goaltender Markus Zelzer. He's being looked at by the Force. He's currently a junior at SSM. He told my mother (who isn't at all connected with hockey but knows hockey through me) that, at SSM, UND is one of the premier programs that SSM players look up to. That doesn't mean that they all strive to play for UND, but it reaffirms that the pipeline is still available. As for how good Zelzer is, I don't know. I'm not sure UND is in the market for a goaltender unless Eids bolts within the next 2 years. On a purely roster-made note, Zelzer doesn't fit UND's mold. He's 6'3" tall. I think the goaltender height limit is 6'1.

I just want to add a thought of his older brother. Pointer goes out there game after game under a charade perpetrated by these loser coaches, teammates, NHL scouts, etc. etc. believing that he's going a good job. I mean.. what does the older brother do? Surely every non coach watching the game has been wooed into false security about such a heinously subpar player like LaPoint and sooner or later, LaPoint is going to find out and, as his brother surely watches the game from a non-coaching standpoint, even he's gotta know. Tough position for him to be in. It's kinda like Brian Lee. If LaPoint came in and played the role of offense first like he did in the USHL, he'd be burned and haters would frenzy. If he abandoned the USHL role, he'd be criticized because he's had to redevelop a new role that was not seen by him at the USHL level so he's not playing as well as he could. Seriously, every time I long on and see posts criticizing players in most cases unfairly, I pray that no one who is friends or family or loved ones of the players have read the post. Simply sad how people can only see negatives. Lee never had a shot after his first few games. Finley too. LaPoint was heading there but got injured which stopped most of the hating cold. Oh well.

Depends. If the anti-nicknamers win, the results will be very soon. If they lose, then it will take a while to find some loophole to invalidate the vote.

Toews has played very well... but there's something about the game... Chicago turns it on and then simmers down. Calgary's been consistent. Not overpowering, but relentless. Now they're up 2-1. I really think this game is Calgary's to lose. Especially since the second goal was WEAK.

Wow. And just think of the psychological damage you'd inflict on the goalies you scored upon. Like those Boogaard scored on.

Don't mock the tape. Do you know what it is like to play with a stick taped amateurishly? Seriously, do you? I wouldn't know.

I don't think any chant for the new nickname will be accepted for a very long time.... Certainly not within the first 5 years or so. There will be too many hard feelings, displeasure with the nickname change, displeasure with the nickname choice, and the list goes on and on. A lot of the chants I've remembered and cherished don't have the Sioux name in it. However, I'm not certain many of the current students know the chants. Most are well.... rather obscene. However, they all are awesome. Some chants I remember that don't involve the Sioux nickname: The Sieve chant Hey Goalie (Black hole) chant M-I-C-K-E-Y chant Goalie-Sieve chant and others....

Perhaps, but the perception is unbelievable. Right now, I percieve that working with the tribes wouldn't mean a partnership. It would mean divesting control over many issues, not necessarily NA related to a non-campus entity. It would be like the State of Nebraska dictating certain public funding mandates for the state of Iowa forcing Iowa to spend Iowa state funding on things that benefits Nebraskans and not necessarily Iowans without any particular investment by Nebraska other than the mandating. The tribes shouldn't control UND or any part of it. Nor should any particular race or ethnic group. They shouldn't control anything but their own people.

I don't mind it as much as some. All comments would do would emphasize how ignorant a portion of the readership really is. In other words, it would just become a flamefest with neither side looking good.

Anyone know what's going to be done with all the sand, sandbags, and so forth? I'm out of the loop so I don't know if everything is back to normal or not. It's going to be/is one heckuva cleanup job even without the damage.

Maybe they do, but so many times this year, before Osgood got injured and after, the Wings were doing just fine and suddenly Osgood would sieve out hardcore. At the beginning of the season the NHL Network ninnies were all abuzz about how poorly Turco was playing. Enough so that the term "Turco'd" started to mean something. Soon, though, Turco was surplanted in the realm of piss poor stats by Osgood. Even the Islanders were getting better goaltending that Detroit...and DiPietro was injured at the time. Osgood has his name on the Stanley Cup 3 times. Looking at how he has played this year overall, Detroit or otherwise, would you have a lot of faith in the guy? Would he even be still on the team? Legace was cut this year. Osgood's history and partially his salary was what saved him in Detroit this year. Heh... I watched a few Maple Leaf games and noticed CuJo win a few games and make some great saves thinking "This 42 year old is playing better than Osgood." And that's something. CuJo with the Wings is analogous to Theodore with the Caps.

You're right. It is a time-waster. I think maybe 5 actually look remotely alike. There's one (Malkin/Atkinson) where I think they were drunk when they made that one up. The only one that is "spooky" close is the first one with Boyle.

They do have the weapons.... but do they have BALANCE? During the regular season, Detroit was the anti-Minnesota: Offense first, D and G last. To a certain extent, they still are. Quite honestly, I'm not sure if Columbus is making Osgood look good or is Osgood finally extracting his mask from the back of his breezers. I still am not convinced that the Wings will win it all this year. I think they drew the best first round opponent after Boston (seriously, it's just like Colorado last season IIRC. Montreal, like last year's Avs, have no business in the playoffs... but they still beat Minnesota... maybe I'm thinking of two years ago? Oh well). I think their chances have improved drastically to make it to the finals though.

I remember reading some MJ message boards. However.... I'm not so sure that it would have mattered where Toews went, MJ or NCAA. He's truly a special player. He is certainly the best all around player I've seen play. And what he does with Chicago is downright scary good. I hope 20 years down the line, we're posting about his Hockey HOF induction.

A miracle win last night for Chicago. I just think Calgary is the better team overall right now. They have more consistent goaltending. The fact that Kipprusoff has seen the most rubber of all goaltenders this year makes the Defensive comparisons interesting (though how much so depends upon how much weight do you place on goaltending. I mean, lets say you have a GREAT defensive corps and your goaltender is the world's worst sieve...does it make that big of a difference compared to having a crap D and the league's best goaltender?) I think Detroits draw of Columbus ensures a second round. Bruins will advance easily. Montreal is one of the most overrated teams in the Playoffs. I guess I can see Philly having trouble with Pittsburgh... though I can't imagine anyone outside of Pennsylvania (or Pens/Flyers fans) caring about this series. As for the Wild, I'll say this: I don't care where they're from, but drafting GOAL SCORERS would be a great start. For example, in the 2002 Entry draft, they could have skipped PM Bouchard and drafted Semin, traded down in the 3rd round and gotten an extra pick and Matthew Lombardi... (on a tangent, the very last pick in the draft was made that year by Detroit... and he is on Detroit's playoff roster (Ericsson, a Dman)) Or let's go to 2001, Minnesota could have drafted the cheap punk Cammelleri in the second round (traded down for another pick perhaps too), Patrick Sharp in the 3rd round... Not sure they could have done better in the 2000 draft... seems to me, in retrospect like 2000 was a pretty weak year except for the top two picks (DiPietro and Heatley). Gaborik was drafted #3 overall and I don't see who Minnesota could have drafted that was available at the time that would have been a better choice.... Scott Hartnell has turned into a nice player, but I don't think he has the upside Gaborik had at the time. Tough to predict how things would turn out 2004 to present, but... in 2004, Zajac, Stafford, and Wolski were all available when they took AJ nutcase. So was Mike Green (what an offensive Dman he turned into...wow). David Booth and Brandon Dubinsky were available in the second round in 2004. Hey Johan Franzen was available too... a gritty forward that can score... Minnesota could use a Franzen. Heh, in 2005, the Wild could have had Kopitar, Oshie, Cogliano, Bergfors (though he's not yet really broken onto the scene)... I'm not going go through 2006-8 because it's really too early to tell for even 2005 picks really.

I think it will be anticlimactic. The NA tribal councils have had a history of corrupt practices. Why not ballot fixing? Who's going to stop them? Their own tibal government? Those are the people wanting to fix the ballot! I think the ballots don't matter. The only way it will be published is if the anti nicknamers win. If they lose, they'll declare a misvote or a ballot violation in some way and nullify the ballot.... or they'll pull a Florida in 2000 and "lose" certain boxes of ballots.

He's an instigator, Goon. Just like some posters in the past. Only I think Happy Gilmore is slightly more intelligent. By wording everything carefully, he's able to get your goat without saying anything not in alliance with board policies. I don't think he's a Sioux fan, or if he is, he's just looking for a rise out of people. Take it with a grain of salt. We've seen a lot worse than he... And there is some sense to what he says. We were brutal to Paukovich, but I think Goon counters it well by saying the fact that Finley has never done anything closely resembling what Paukovich did. Paukovich, if it truly is the same one, even came to DU with a count of criminal sexual misconduct having been served as a minor (which more than likely means it's no longer on his record). But, those thinks (Paukovich included) pass in time.

I'd love to know more about Forbort... like how he compares to the highly regarded D recruits (MJ or otherwise) out there. I don't think the ISS or the CSS can be a true indicator or NCAA potential.

squirtcoach- Like I said, this is a minority of a minority that enjoy slowing the bus down by throwing down impromptu speed bumps, if you will (GBPakrzz would be proud that I didn't use the phrase...). Mattson doesn't come in next year, so I think he is a long shot. And Siouxman is right on. I might be the only one who noticed this, but most of the time Finley went and tried to get as physical as the Smaby/Commodore/Greene type one of two things typically happened: 1. he got called for a penalty (most common) 2. He got either out of position or burned. When he simply played positional hockey, his game was very effective. Sure, the small forwards could burn him, but they did the same this year to many of our D... even everyone's favorite: Genoway. I'm with squirtcoach. I don't overly criticize players. I can't say that I never have...shamefully, I need only remind myself of Siembida for that claim to get burned. I am as big a fan of the great teammate/rare playing time type player (ala Scott Foyt, Lee Marvin, Aaron Walski, etc.) as the top tier player and everyone in between.