Knickball2

Yeah Crevec, where the hell is Bison Boy's response to your numbers, Summit League indeed. Bison football is really making news, how about getting us some 52" HD tv's, now that's something to be proud of....

I see Alumni donors are beginning to weigh in, doesn't look good for Kelley or Faison, what with the accusation against Kelley of managing UND and not leading, sounds like someone is going to get shown the door. Do you really believe that the action taken by the SBoHE is truly the final decision? Interestingly, present at that meeting was B.J. Rainbow, a guy that is a close second to Erich Longie at Spirit Lake in his opposition to the logo, apparently now it's necessary for proponents of the nickname logo to be at the meetings of the SBoHE. Just sit back and watch the fallout, the money people are just beginning to voice their frustration, and lack of confidence in the University leaders. On a side note, how about them Bison shoplifters, what a tradition, one that the NCAA can be proud of.

Goon, that has always been my point, the effort and resources wasted by anti-nickname supporters will not in any way change the social conditions on the reservations. There will still be rampant unemployment, lack of housing, teenage suicide, alcoholism, diabetes, teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, joblessness and every other type of social evil in existence. But, by gosh, the nickname/logo being eliminated will be the initial step in irradicating those social evils, get real, the sorry living conditions on most of this country's reservation will not benefit one iota from such action. I for one am not convinced that this is the end of the Fighting Sioux, seems to me that the SBoHE still retains the ability to reconsider, given how absolutely ridiculous they will look after Standing Rock has voted. As for Kelley and Faison, those to disinterested people can go take a flying F.....

Sicatoka, I believe you hit the nail on the head. The members of the SBoHE don't have the gonads to drop the name and take the blame. Standing Rock will be handed back the hot potato and will have a vote. Relax, media isn't going to decide this, the majority at Standing Rock will be the people to determine the fate of the nickname/logo. I've been seeing posts for almost a year telling me that the nickname/logo is dead, hey I just bought a new windshirt with the logo prominantly displayed. Logo and nickname still have a pulse, I'm not in a panic. Time will tell! Hey Oxbow, that Whiskey Joe comment is really funny...

Wow, I must have missed NDSU's press conference relating the massive windfall the Bison athletic department received from the tournament due to Oakland's participation in the big dance. Should be just about enough to pay my retainer to defend the current Bison Athletes. Anybody besides me remember the Bison steriod scandal, or how about the Dick family shoplifting enterprise. Oh please, don't even try to compare the minor issues of Frattin, Finley or any of the hockey players, these guys are angelic compared to the thugs at MooU.

Let me think, the Fighting Sioux Logo is the largest selling logo in all of College Hockey, the logo was recently voted the nicest logo in all of hockey. At the University of North Dakota, Fighting Sioux hockey is king, generates the majority of the athletic revenue for the department, what with sell out after sell out, and even a Sunday night sell out against the Gophers. Hey Bison Boy, exactly what revenue has UND lost out on that the Summit League would have supplied. I'll go out on a limb here, exactly none. Not a penny, and judging from the farm school to the south, I'll reserve my fiscal analysis of that institution for further review. Sound fiscal and business judgment would dictate that the Bison lose as much by not playing the Fighting Sioux as the Sioux do, so stop pretending to be the voice of reason, everyone in here knows otherwise. Ha, you call me a blowhard, you and your gazillion posts.

Grand Forks Herald once again carries one of Erich Longie's many letters to the editor/his opinion, claims to have garnered 300 plus signatures to get a second vote at Spirit Lake. More than likely same 300 people that voted against nickname/logo first time around. Longie does not have the following to change the vote, the youth at Spirit Lake are wearing the logo all over the reservation. Erich simply likes a soapbox upon which to stand, so everyone will know who he is. He likes to think he's important. Note, this is the same individual that has like three degrees from UND, and his focus is on the famed UND party where some girls were dressed in Indian costumes. He has been attempting to depict this as a constant, however this is already over two years old. Give his opinion very little weight, credibility does count in this debate.

Also, Tarek Howard, 1987 most dominant team in college hockey, ever, I was around for that one too....

I'm thrilled to see Blais sign the extension with Omaha, he will build that program into a power and the people of Nebraska will love him, just like the people of North Dakota still love him. A great coach, as good as there is!

Hey, Goon, I've tried to reason with the "skippy" but any position except banishing the nickname and getting into the Summit as quickly as possible is unacceptable to him. I believe I've only seen one other individual on this board calling for the same, so we can all respectfully assume that the overwhelming majority of Sioux fans want the process to play out, and indeed want the nickname/logo saved. You know, I follow the other universities in North Dakota as much as anyone, but I would never presume to be a "Bison" expert and go onto their board spewing antagonistic rhetoric. What about those Bison, and the demand that the Sioux/Bison football game be every other year. Minneapolis/Bison rants of fiscal responsibility, when that one football game is annually a fiscal boom for both schools and the state of North Dakota, where's the deep sense of outrage over that bonehead stance. NDSU's athletic director seems to believe that the Bison are so beyond the Fighting Sioux in football, that it's a step down. Much like the greatest sports moment in Bison history, the loss to Kansas in basketball, the football program's claim to fame is beating the vaunted Minnesota Gophers worst team in school history. Come on Gene Taylor, before you know it, the University of North Dakota will be surpassing your agriculture school in your precious sport of football, and you will look like the goof you are. As long as Dale Lennon is coaching at Southern Illinois, the Bison will be also rans in the Missouri Valley Conference. Primary difference between the two programs, UND has been dealing with the D-1 big boys for years, we been beating the Gophers for years in a sport that Minnesota excels in, so big deal if the Bison win one football game against a down program, and in conclusion, everyone here knows what I think of the Summit League, yeah, go Oakland.

Same goes for 2000 National Champions, Lee Goren, Armbrust, DeFauw, Jeff Panzer, Wes Dorey, Travis Roche, Mike Commodore, Tim O'Connell, Aaron Schneekloth, Jason Noterman, Kevin Spiwak, Tim Skarperud, Trevor Hammer, Ryan Bayda, Karl Gerhring

Jason Blake. Kevin Hoogsteen, David Hoogsteen, Ian Kallay, Matt Henderson, Adam Calder, Curtis Murphy, Brad Williamson, Mitch Vig, Mark Pivetz, Dane Limke, Jason Ulmer, Jeff Ulmer, Jay Panzer, Brad DuFuaw, Peter Armbrust, Aaron Schweitzer, this 1997 Championship team will always be special to my family as my children were young and we followed this team everywhere during that great season, staying in the same motels, eating in the same restaurants. Great fun...

The discussion that Spirit Lake's Vern Lambert had with UND and Ralph officials initially was about scholarships for Spirit Lake members. The current Native American programs at UND are almost entirely run by Chippewas not Sioux. Therein lies much of the on campus opposition, that of Leigh Jenotte, a Chippewa, and his followers. For many years, his was one of the few voices of opposition, it's my opinion that he and others like him eventually convinced some Sioux leaders and some Sioux students that the nickname and logo is insulting and hostile. Also, my opinion, that it stems from historical jealousy between Chippewa and Sioux. I am of Sioux lineage, and it's my opinion that those Chippewa educational leaders would have been alright with the nickname and logo, if it were the Fighting Chippewas. That being said, it is fact that the majority of Native American graduates over the last 25 years have been Chippewas, that is who they have recruited and that is who they have provided the tuition waivers. The Native American programs on campus should have representatively more Sioux and less Chippewa. There, I said it, now argue with me.

Today on talk radio, Tim Hennessy bent over backwards in his support of Hakstol and the season's performance. He pointed to the great late season rush, and how in his opinion the players simply had fatigued legs against Yale. He also indicated that the team was heavily dinged up with injuries. He's as big a homer as there is, but he does have insight gained by travelling with the team all year. So good season, crappy finish, but we'll have to live with it. Next season, Go Sioux.

The money thing has bugged the hell out of me since the beginning, I know that the intial negotiation with Spirit Lake was through Mr. Vern Lambert, and he was demanding much more than a simple small percentage, then he got disenchanted with the lack of serious negotiation from the UND end of the equation. Very difficult to arrive at a consensus on who should be negotiating and with whom on both sides. It would have been much simpler if Ralph Engelstad had entertained some of the Native Americans and their ideas when the arena was being constructed.

You just don't listen, I have told you from the beginning, Standing Rock will have a vote and it will mirror Spirit Lake. The opposition on the reservation is minimal, now that Ron His Horse Is Thunder isn't making over $100,000.00 a year to do nothing but oppose the nickname. The Veterans and tribal elders are the intellect behind this action, as well as the families of those that gave the University of North Dakota their blessing in the early 70's. It will happen, as for the 30 year agreement, that can be worked out as a licensing or merchandising agreement at a later point in time. Individuals here tend to think that the Erich Longies and Jesse Taken Alives will simply put the issue to another vote at their leisure. Those opposition leaders do not enjoy the type of following that will allow that to happen, nor the resources. This process is moving along about as I have expected it would, personally knowing many of the parties involved, so Utopia, no, realistic. We will get to the Summit after this has played out.

Oh yeah, Standing Rock is being pushed alright, let's see SBoHE retiring nickname if Standing Rock doesn't decide by October 30, 2009. Just be glad the individuals like Tom Iron care enough to gather signatures. No personal benefit to those taking action.

The issue I have with the Hakstol lead Fighting Sioux teams is that they aren't rated number 1 in the country most of the season, so they don't carry the target on their backs when playing every team in the country, yes opposing teams do still get up to play the Sioux, but to try and compare that to the 1998 and 1999 teams getting beat. No comparison, the Blais teams were No. 1's for most of the year and everybody was gunning for the Jason Blake teams. The current Fighting Sioux team had the unique opportunity of sneaking up on the tourney teams, apparently Yale, wasn't one of them...Much more comfortable to be the sneaking team, than the one everybody is chasing, like that in most sports.

Although the task isn't impossible, the team sure hasn't shown up today, that I put on coaching, Blais never allowed his team to come out skating in quicksand. There better be a win one for the gipper moment going on in the locker room right now..Go Fighting Sioux, it's lunch bucket time....

I tell ya, the powder blue shirt that Hakstol wears, we lose every f'in time he comes to the rink wearing that sh-t. It's the difference between him and Blais, I'll take Dean with his white shirt, tie undone, and pit stains and his team playing to take no prisoners...As soon as I saw Hak and the powder blue, oh no...

Prediction, Standing Rock will have it's vote on it's own timetable, that tribe will not be pushed by any organization to do it rapidly; they will vote overwhelmingly to support the Fighting Sioux nickname/logo and subsequently, the Fighting Sioux will be accepted in a conference with an automatice bid. The rush that MinneapolisBison and the others constantly suggested will be proven to be inconsequential, 80 years of Fighting Sioux tradition lives on.

Frattin's hit aside, I think it was a good hit, but the writer mentions other vicious hits in the Minnesota playoff series, he must have been watching by braille..

Fighting Sioux team has moxie, this team is all grit and grind, not the most talented we've had, but no team has more heart. Also, good defense wins championships.....

I think Mario, and I think Marto, nice to see locals be heros too. Just great to see so many goals from so many different Sioux players, I would love to see Brent Davidson finally get a blast from the point, my wife is a first grade teacher and Davidson has been in her classroom reading with the kids on at least five different dates, and was there again today. What a great guy...

Oh yeah, I also thought we wouldn't get home ice, Hak and the coaches know what they're doing, and I'll quit coaching from my seats at the Ralph... Hell of a great season, especially ending Gopher season in the process...