redwing77

I'm just irate that I could have saved $500 by switching to GEICO.

CC and UNO traded goaltenders. Anaheim sent McIhenny (sp?) to the Lightning for Ellis.

I don't think Erik Johnson is as "bad" as you think he is Goon. He will be now that he's on a crap team like the Avs though.

That's like saying putting lipstick on a pig would at least make the pig presentable in public when it doesn't matter what you do to a pig, it's still a pig. You're absolutely right.

I think the MTU one is worse. Bina's shot, as you say, was a bouncer. It took a wacky bounce and a fluke happened. Genoe was off in lalaland and it shot in under his right pad. He was just out to lunch on this one. The puck wasn't bouncing at all. This should have been a REALLY easy save.

UW wasn't that impressive on Friday. Their D was mediocre and Gudmanson was exposed for what he really is all along: A mediocre goaltender in a great defensive system. Put Gudmanson on BSU or UNO or MSUM or even UMN and he'd be a punch line.

As a Wings fan, it tickles me to see the Avs fold. How? "Peter Budaj now is the #1 starter." They didn't learn before. They'll relearn now. He's about as epic a goaltender as that last guy they had... David SIEVBischer... I mean Aebischer.

Daddy Shep will slap them on the wrist and say "As long as you learned something, then that's fine." And despite the pay, that's why being a ref in the WCHA is such a good gig. You can screw up all you want (provided you don't pull a Randy Schmidt) and the worst thing that will happen to you is that you may either get fewer assignments or you'll be suspended for a month with pay. That's why I'm calling it "Getting Daddy Shep'd" when the administration at work does something inept. Direct Translation? "Incompetent administration"

Skille was traded recently... so...

I'm NOT a moderator.... read that three times before continuing so that I don't get accused of putting words in Jim's mouth. Danny's Frostbite: At first, it was casual speculation then it got harsh. We started not to speculate, but to assume and from there, we went from assuming to accusing Danny's family of covering up and from there, added UND to the list of covering up entities. Speculation is only worthwhile until accusations start flying and then it gets ugly without proof. There is no proof. So the thread lost its usefulness. The Coach: I don't know why this one is moderated myself, but I can tell you that it is rather tiresome. Just because I find all this hate towards Hakstol unnecessary and rather unenjoyable doesn't really mean it should be banned. Maybe Jim should investigate adding a subconference just for the haters? They can go on there and bash Hakstol, wish for his dismissal, hope that he's tossed into a Chipper Shredder or whatever in peace and preach to their own choir while the rest of us discuss matters they find aggravating. I dunno. UND topics on other websites: Well... Gopher fans used to come here and troll complaining about our obsession with other teams' fans. We used to call them trolls and scoff them off the site. Now Jim cracks down on this and we're upset? I doubt the fact that we come up on GPL or Bisonville and we post on it is the reason why it is frowned upon here. Why? Those posts only last 2 or 3 posts into the thread before it turns into a bisonville/gpl/whatever bash fest. And what does that have to do with UND athletics? Just my opinion. Just my take on it.

YOu won't get a star rb with a 3rd or 4th round pick unless you pull a Belicheck and get lucky. I agree with you about the DE position. Although defensively, I'd love to get the other Matthews kid out of Oregon... but doubt that will happen. I also think that the Packers won't get that CB guy. However, the Jets picking him up would be HILARIOUS as he was the source of Revis' holdout. I don't think the Packers would be bad off if Jones left. The guy is good for at least one key drop a game. And Rodgers didn't often go back to him after he dropped the ball last post season. I'd still say that the Packers should draft a WR... Here's my draft order: 1. OL 2. DE 3. WR 4. RB 5. OLB 6. OL 7. Best available

Doesn't much bother me who you like or dislike. I'm just not going to sit here and listen to people justify Matt Cooke's playing style. You can instigate and be a menace on the ice without headhunting, going after the knees, or delivering cheap shots. I despise Sean Avery, but I must admit that he's found a way to do that. Dustin Byfuglien did it so well last year in the playoffs that the Canucks spent all game chasing him instead of playing hockey and lost because of it. Tomas Holmstrom has done well at it in the past. On the Pens, Rupp can do that (or I saw him do it while with the Devils). So can Kunitz. Matt Cooke isn't playing the game in a sportsmanlike manner. He is a danger on the ice. The league won't take action other than the barest necessary. One of these days, I fear that Cooke is going to whallop a player and he's never going to get up. That poor player will end up rooming with Steve Moore or Travis Roy... Matt Cooke may not deserve the same rep as Todd Bertuzzi, but he certainly belongs in the same conversation as Steve Downie and Marty McSorley.

Big A Hg- You guessed what I'd do if I were Ted Thompson at the draft with my first and perhaps second round picks! Definitely going after OLine. What I see in the TE position: I don't think a half season and a partial season (due to injury) can justify complete faith. Todd Heap, Jay Novacek, Shannon Sharpe (I think he was a TE at one time? Sterling was a WR...), Ozzie Newsome, Mike Ditka, Tony Gonzalez, and so on didn't garner their reputations on 8-14 games over two seasons. IF Finley can stay healthy and put up that kind of play (even if it isn't putting up that kind of numbers), then great. If not, then GB should be concerned. And you just justified my concerns on RB. Brandon Jackson isn't a great RB. I'd love to see him on another team, but if not, he'd be an ok short yardage guy or perhaps he can be trained to block on pass plays. Starks may turn into the premier back but he still may not. I thought Tyrone Wheatley and Rashan Salaam would turn into great NFL RBs due to their speed and strength but they busted out. Starks has speed and strength and he has shown signs of greatness. But Grant is coming off of an injury and you have Starks. Not much depth, no? I'd like to see a RB taken in perhaps the 3rd or 4th round. Maybe we need a CB to replace Woodson? Woodson may have another year (I don't know if he's a free agent or is going to retire or not) left but it would be nice to draft his replacement this year.

First off, I do think there was a bit of luck in GB's win. Yeah, the first half was great but... In the squeakers GB has won in this past postseason: The Bears, Eagles, and Steelers.... each win relied upon a significant mistake being made by the home team in the second half. The Raji interception vs. Chicago... the Mendenhall Fumble... and for some reason I can't remember the specific play vs. the Eagles (Vick INT?) all made it possible for the Pack to win it all. Only the game vs. Atlanta did GB put on 4 quarters of domination. In all others, each second half was pretty bad. Was ARodg the culprit in the second half vs. the Steelers? I'd say 20% was. I'd say about 65% were the WRs and 15% their lackadaisical bend but don't break defense. I don't like the idea of simply giving the opposition basically from their goal line to the defense's 40 yard line or so almost free. I didn't like the fact that at one point, the only categories GB was superior to PIT were points and turnover ratio/ points off of turnovers. True, the only thing that matters is points in the super bowl, but you cannot claim dominance as the reason why GB won. Secondly: CAS.... 2005 draft was Tice's last draft. Williamson was Tice's F-U to the Purple. Sure, I was impressed with Williamson's speed and his story but anyone could have told you that there were big signs that Williamson wasn't going to be the guy that the Vikings wanted him to be. He had no hands and had no ability to learn the routes. Those two things are SLIGHTLY important if you are to be a deep threat WR, which the Vikings drafted him to be... Third, the Vikings don't have exactly poor ownership. They have clueless ownership who run it like a family business and not like a break neck hardcore sport. When most high stakes business have a boss who isn't or can't hack it, they may try a few intervention measures but will cut the cord if it just doesn't work. The Wilfs have a disasterous system to talk it through and sort of coach out their problems with the head coach. That's dumb if they truly want to be competitive every year or simply fall flat on their faces a year after being dominant despite basically bringing the same team to the field in consecutive years. Then again, that dominant team won despite Chilly rather than because of him. They also have morons surrounding them coaching them on football decisions. They need a dedicated GM with freedom to build the team and the coaching staff. Frasier is a good transition coach but he's not going to take the team deep into the playoffs... at least not with a respectable time span. This Vikings team has almost nothing left of it. For those who think Webb will stick at QB, I've got a great opportunity for you all with some PRIME agricultural real estate in Death Valley.... He has potential to be a good Antoine Randle El or Jason Smith (NY Jets) style guy who can run trick plays and the Wildcat but that's about it. If the Vikings don't go after a QB with their first pick overall, I'm going to hope they're going to tank it (if the season exists) to get Andrew Luck.

Funny, DaveK.... I'm not a big fighting guy but I'd rather have fighting around and eliminate cheap shots than shrug off cheap shots and do away with fighting. So I guess you can condemn Engeland all you want and covet Matt Cooke. That's your choice. The rest of the hockey world (outside of Pens fans) will condemn Matt Cooke and turn a blind eye to Engeland (or however you spell it).

True, but they don't have great depth. After Quarless, who do they have? Sure, I don't think Lee, Quarless, and Finley will all go down at one time but... I'd like to see more depth. Quarless will have to explode and Finley will have to keep up the half seasons' worth of studness to not make my claim true. I wonder how much their ownership has to do with the wallet. To be honest, I'm not sure how that whole situation works. I say, bye bye Jones. And if Driver wishes to stay, I say keep him provided he asks for the right price. He's a good leader and locker room guy. He's not bad in the field. A good #4 WR if GB decides to run it that way. Signing Larry Fitzgerald would be a great move. Jennings is probably the closest of all the WRs to be reliable with his hands, but he's still not eyebrow raising good in that department. I was extremely happy that the Packers won the Super Bowl despite an almost unbelievable amount of mediocrity that the WR Corps displayed. They didn't exactly suck, but I wouldn't call them any better than "meh." I say if there is a great option in the first or second round for a WR with great hands, I'd be ok if they drafted the guy. However, it's unlikely they will. I don't know. Certainly not the first or second round. But I wouldn't be surprised to see a 3rd or 4th round pick. No lower than 7th round. Grant is coming off of a big time injury, Starks has to show more than just flashes of brilliance (not to mention keep up a good work ethic), and Brandon Jackson is about as good as he's going to get. I'd love to see the Packers draft a RB perhaps in the mold of a Chester Taylor... Perhaps because I'm not sold on Jackson or Starks.

My NFC Impressions and predicted outcome: .... I think there will be a lockout. However, if a miracle does occur: 1. Green Bay - I think Green Bay goes after a WR. Sorry, I may be a Packer fan, but I don't drink the Kool-Aid. They WR Corps are NOT as good as everyone says they are. The Pack could use a more reliably catching WR, even if he is a bit slower than what they got. Ferguson while he was with GB wasn't the fastest player but he was reliable with his hands. Chris Carter with the Vikings wasn't that fast but he caught EVERYTHING. The Pack need more of that if they are to be effective. I'd also argue that they need more help in TE, OLine, and RB Depth. 2. Chicago - They won't finish close to GB. Their D is getting old. Cutler is overrated and a bit fragile. Their WRs are ok but I think their OLine will again fail, but this time they won't recover. They will seek OLine help and QB depth. They'll draft D pretty highly. 3. Detroit - They will finish 8-8 in my mind. This team will be very much improved. Unfortunately, Stafford can't stay healthy and their OLine sucks. They'll draft OLine and probably try to sign them too. Their D is pretty good but they might go after some Secondary in the draft. 4. Minnesota - This team will be awful next year. No QB, No OLine, No Pass Secondary, Little WR and TE help. The only position they're fairly solid at is RB. There is simply too many problems with this team for the Vikings to be competitive in one off season. It will take 2-3 years for them to return to the top ranks in the mediocre-strengthed NFC North.

It's ok to condemn a backup goaltender. I'm waiting for the condemnation of Matt Cooke, the tsk tsking of Crosby's crybaby attitude, and the pointing of fingers towards players of more than "medium" importance.

I was going to recommend something similar but I forgot....

Drew Stafford follows up a 3 point night vs. Toronto with a Hat Trick tonight (4 points total) vs. Tampa Bay tonight.

They root for the Gophers except when they play the Sioux.

You are odd. I investigated several social groups both religious and secular in GF, Fargo, Omaha, and Seattle (every place I've lived for more than 1 year) and noticed that social groups in my age group basically pattern their activities around alcohol. Everything is "[whatever] and wine/alcohol of whatever variety" or "Schmooze with booze at the Bar." Funny... the 20-30s group at my synnagogue went dormant because they ran out of permutations that does anything other than consume alcohol.

Just a random note: ICE is involved in this matter. Now we know what they're up to instead of handling illegal immigration. Border Patrol can handle that. We'll ignore the I in ICE and just focus on internet sites and customs. I say dissolve ICE completely and rebuild it from the ground up.

Could you imagine what the US would be like if the following two things occurred: 1. Alcohol ceased to exist 2. TV and Video Games ceased to exist I think more than 75% of the current population of people between 12-50 would commit suicide. Meanwhile more and more people have less and less people skills and even less ability to handle stress and criticism. Is this advancing as a society?

Anyone else think this as more fodder to convince people that the alcohol problem on college campuses really is worse than we think? I think this statement is depressing and rather telling to be truthful.