Godsmack

If it comes to changing the nickname and logo, I just pray we do not go with some stupid WNBA-type name (i.e., The Storm, The Rage, The Sky, etc.). Ideally, I too would like something that is somewhat unique and represents North Dakota, whatever that may be. However, I would like something that is aggressive (not Flickertails!) too. Again, I think we should retire the current nickname on our terms-I do not support cutting some financial deal where we have to bribe the tribes with money in order to keep it. Who's to say the won't re-neg and blackmail us for a larger cut in the future?

Not to mention the tons of money UND receives from the federal gov't. for offering these programs. UND would be crazy to get rid of these programs from both an economic as well as P.R. standpoint.

Creating reservations was one of the biggest mistakes our government made. Part of the reason for the "us vs. them" mentality and all of the drugs/poverty/crime/poor education that exists on the reservations is due to the nature of the reservations themselves. Its similar to the welfare state created in the 1960's that basically has kept generations of people relying on others to take care of them. They've created a culture of under-achievement and avictim-status attitude. Again, I think we should retire the name and move on. I do not want to be held hostage to a few people who will hold the threat of taking away their support if we don't give them more $. If we arrange a deal to give them a share of the royalties, we are simply buying them off. I say change the name and let the University keep all of the royalties for the betterment of the school and its students (whether those students are American or Native American).

I am a supporter of the Sioux nickname, always will be but I came to the realization a few weeks ago that perhaps now is the time that we give up the name. First off, we would be letting it go on OUR terms. Second, even if we reached some sort of agreement with the tribes, who's to say they won't change their minds in the future-we will always have the threat of them changing their minds in the future creating an environment of instability. Ask anyone who knows and they will tell you that the tribes have a poor reputation for stability when it comes to tribal governance; the leadership changes frequently, they oftentimes are crooked, and they don't necessarily look out for the interests of their member constituents. I think the settlement unfairly put this decision in the hands of the tribes-to their defense, if we pursue an agreement with them and it gets shot down, this will make the tribes look bad. I think the school should simply not pursue an agreement with them and move on with finding a new nick name (not Flickertails). I also do not support "buying them off" by giving them a portion of the school's royalties for things such as coffee cups, jerseys, pucks, etc. This is just bribary and, over time, who's to say they don't reneg on the agreemement and come back asking for "more" and eventually turning it into blackmail? I think the University, alums, and community can come up with a new name and mascot and the fans will still be there supporting them full heartedly. My loyalty to the school will not diminsh one bit if the school changes names.

Can anyone give me some guidance as to how or where I can get tickets for the BC/Northeastern series?

If the people of Fargo only realized how non-relevant they really are! I live in Denver and whenever the subject of North Dakota comes up, people snicker about Fargo. They particularly laugh when I tell them about some Fargo residents' attitudes of being "superior" to the rest of the state, particularly GF. They laugh even harder. Growing up in GF, I wouldn't say one is necessarily better than the other but c'mon Fargo, get over yourself and your arrogance! Minneapolis wanna-be's!!!

Now if the AD would only do something about getting rid of that blonde chick with the annoyingly high pitched voice that does the talking during the silly games played during the intermissions! Oh wait, they can't get rid of her because she's got political connections to the powers-that-be at UND....

Wow, a tragedy like this really puts in perspective winning or losing a hockey game. It is very scary to think that acts like this can happen virtually anywhere. Prayers go out to the victims, families, friends, and the entire Virginia Tech community.

Hopefully Cujo2 didn't take my post out of context. I was merely pointing out the fallacy in my belief as to how easy it is to win and that I take nothing for granted anymore-regardless of who UND plays. Yesterday was truly a barn burner of a game. The Minnesota fans are no different than Sioux fans and to categorically lump all Minnesota fans into some sort of box is as ridiculous as doing that to CC, Sioux, or any other team's fans.

The one thing I learned back in April of 2001, was that you win some and you lose some. It took UND's championship loss to BC for me to recognize just how hard it is to win EVERY SINGLE GAME. I was spoiled-I expected the Sioux to win championships every single year. I was cocky-I thought our dominance over teams like Denver would go on forever....I suffered the same fate in the West Regionals of 2004. Living in Denver, I think some DU fans experienced this air of invincability after winning two straight NCAA championships. When the bar has been raised so high, a fan expects their team to maintain that level or, in some cases, raise it even further. I can't say a negative thing about the Gopher fans at the Pepsi Center-they were as energetic and supportive of their team as any of the other three teams' fans. I knew that I could just as easily be taking that dreaded walk out of that arena, having to listen to the celebration of Minnesota fans. That being said, I told myself I would not be a jerk about it if the Sioux should prevail when leaving that arena. I also credit the Gopher fans who came over to Brooklyn's after the game to have some drinks and food. This game was truly a coin flip. I wouldn't touch this one in Vegas if my life depended on it. One thing I do know, Minnesota will come back next season as loaded as ever.

Oh yah, one more thing-LET'S GO SIOUX!!!!

I live in Denver and will be at the regionals! There is a bar right next to "The Can" (the Pepsi Center) called Brooklyn's. You can get your drink on and walk a few feet and be at the arena. Hopefully I won't regret doing this (please Gopher fans, don't pass my number out to any Amway Salesmen!) but here's my cell if you wanna give me a holler, my girlfriend and I will be partying it up and going to the games (and hopefully, celebrating a west regional tournament championship!): (303)981-7846. -Dan

Sad to lose on a fluke goal. Wheeler's hustle (and lackthereof from Lee) was the reason Minn. won the game. I thought Minnesota really elevated their game. The Sioux spent 8 of 20 minutes in the first period killing penalties, this tired out the Sioux's top lines and it prevented Hak from rolling his 4 lines. Officiating was marginal at best. Minn. brought their A game and I think the Sioux didn't-they looked to be taken off. Frazee was never seriously challenged, which is a shame because he really is a goalie who can be exploited. Congrats to Minn. we'll see what happens in the NCAA's.

Any thoughts on how this weekend is playing out in terms of Denver's chances? (Someone please tell me that DU is not going to sneak into the NC$$ tournament).

My fear is DU resting during next week's Final 5, getting into the NCAA tourney out west, and then going all the way again as they did in '04 (a dreadful experience for me at the World Arena). Of all teams I DISLIKE, DU has surpassed the Gophers.

Anyone have an opinion on whether or not DU gets an invitation into the NCAA tourney? My inclination is that they will "squeak" in simply because of revenue considerations (west regional is at the Pepsi Center in Denver). But I'm also inclined to think that the WCHA will only get 4 teams into the tourney (Minn, St.Cloud, the SIOUX, and CC/Tech). Thoughts?

I went to the game last night and here were my impressions: 1)Continued "puck luck" on DU's side against us (we hit a post w/ 3 mins to play, Watkins had a shot trickle through Fisher's legs, etc.) 2)Lammy made some incredible saves to keep us in it; only mistake was going down to early on DU's first goal 3)They badly outshot us, something like 38-25 4)Need production from 2, 3, and 4th lines 5)Defensemen inexplicably kept falling down, leading to DU's 2nd goal on an odd man rush 6)Lack of hustle on D-men's parts led to 3 of DU's goals Not trying to be negative just pointing out that DU didn't beat the Sioux last night, the Sioux beat the Sioux.

Wow - thats bold. Well, Stearns county is in fact conservative, but hardly the most in the state and how can you make the claim that SCSU is conservative at all - let alone the most in the state (far and away?). I would like to know how a statement like that can be supported. It appears to be fairly evident that liberals (especially at the elitest academic level) support free speech only when they agree with what is being said and/or supports their position. One case in point; http://www.nypost.com/seven/12232006/posto...editorials_.htm

I know-political correctness comes in all shapes, from the left and the right....with my interest in heavy metal, we catch it from the religious right too (ask Marilyn Manson!). It's just that my experience has been that the left is always supporting "free speech" so long as it caters to their agenda. I spent 4 years at Colorado College-a VERY liberal school-and saw this first hand. Geez, you can't even say the word, "Freshman" at CC! They are referred to as "First Years" because nobody wants to offend women. This was a ridiculous term created by the sociology department at CC. I could give you several more examples but they aren't worth mentioning on this post. The point of my post was to highlight an example of when the left doesn't support free speech. You say that SCSU is a conservative school, which makes me curious as to why they would be one of the more aggressive schools in regards to opposition to the Sioux nickname.

I know this is off topic but since everyone's reading this thread I thought I'd mention it..... Read about the latest hypocricy from the PC left and their attempted censorship (ala NCAA, U of M, etc. regarding Native American imagary) toward a rap/metal band called Stuck Mojo. They have a new song and video titled "Open Season" that, despite moving to the top of the "most viewed video charts," on U Tube and iFilm.com, these media groups have pulled the video. The song is anti-jihad, pro-military and pro-U.S.A. Seems that these media groups have a problem with this message and have decided to pull the video simply because Stuck Mojo's message does not conform to their left-leaning credo. They go so far as to accuse this Georgia-based band as being racists, meanwhile the lead singer is African-American and, last I checked, Jihadist isn't a race!!! The group publicly states that the are NOT anti-Islam....rather anti-Jihadist. People, this isn't about being Democrat or Republican. The left's attempt at blocking free speech simply if it doesn't conform to their politics is flat out wrong. The similarities between this sort of music censorship and what the University of North Dakota are experiencing are uncanny. I urge you to go to www.knac.com and read the article titled, "Stuck Mojo Banned Again for Anti-Jihadist Video" and to support the band, whether you like that kind of music or not. Free speech is for people of ALL political leanings, not just the left. Thank you for your time, Dan

Sorry-I'm just so frickin frustrated right now. Lammy's play hasn't been "bad" I was simply referring to our inability to get a big save at a critical point of the game. That PP goal Wisco got-the soft wrist shot taken from the point that squirted under Lammy's arm is what really made my blood boil. I'm more frustrated when you sum everything up. It's even harder to stomach when you watch teams like DU or Minny (who I can't stand) play-those teams are very consistent and seem to have all the pieces together. I wish the Sioux well tonight. Let's get the 2 points tonight, go out to Dartmouth and win that tourney in honor of that stupid athletic director out there, and then look at the second half of the season as the start of something great.

Why is it Wisconsin consistently recruits consistent goalies and puts out winning teams when they usually lack goal scoring power? I think it's fair to say that North Dakota has not had a history of recruiting top notch goalies over their years like Wisco, CC, Michigan, and others. We've had Goehring, Belfour, Casey and others but look at the long list of inconsistent net minders-Brandt, Siembeda, Kolar, to name a few. I think the Sioux have been successful with average goaltending because they've always been able to put the puck in the net and they had strong defensive play. Lammy's play this year has been spotty, I think everyone can admit to that. The D has been soft and the forwards don't back check.

Born and raised in Grand Forks. Have lived in Colorado since 1991 but get back to GF regularly for Sioux series as well as see them when they travel to CC and DU. I graduated from CC but my friends from school can tell you that I'm 100% Sioux. I was a student during those rough years at the tail end of Gasperini's tenure. I recall seeing the Sioux get spanked by CC at the Air Force Academy prior to the building of the World Arena. I took a LOT of hazing from my CC friends in those days.

I just read all 23 pages as I was unable to listen to the game last night. I came up to Grand Forks from Denver to see the Sioux last week against Wisco. Here are my thoughts about that weekend and probably the season as a whole: 1)Lee is one of the most over rated defensemen. He didn't skate in the 2nd period of the Friday game against Wisco and he doesn't seem to hit enough. I think the press clippings have gone to his head. Someone on this board correctly opined how our current team do not block shots at the rate that Schneider, Fuher, Greene, Prpich, etc. did. 2)Due to the fact that Hakstol is married to the daughter of the President of the alumni association, there will always be controversy surrounding his promotion to head coach. Having personally spoken to John Marks, who was a candidate for the head coaching position, the word among all of the candidates and in college hockey in general was that Hak got the position in part because he is O'Keefe's son-in-law. I don't know if that was sour grapes on those who mention this or if there's truth to it; afterall, Blais did give his public support to Hakstol and we all know that Blais has a TON of credibility due to what he did for the program and its many successes. I personally think Hakstol knows the game and is due a huge amount of credit for the team's successes when Blais was coach but I do get tired of hearing his post-game commentary which is beginning to sound like a broken record ("we didn't have puck luck," "the bounces didn't go our way", etc.). 3)I went to Sioux boosters last week and Hakstol stated that Oshie broke his thumb about 7 weeks ago and it was never publicly announced. This is likely why his goal production is down (you try shooting with a sore broken thumb). I give Oshie props for staying in the lineup. I give Oshie props for not using that as his excuse for not scoring. 4)Goaltending. Lammy goes down too early/too often. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a majority of Wisco's goals were up high. Opponents have scouted him well and they know his weakness. In his defense though, a little back checking in the 3rd period of Saturday's game by the defense and forwards might have prevented the game tying and go-ahead goals. 5)Lack of consistent shot production. 18 shots on net in the 1st period of Friday's game against Wisco. Outstanding. Followed up by 4 shots in 2nd period, the first shot not coming until about mid way through the period...not going to get it done. 6)Stupid, untimely penalties. Lack of shots in 2nd period due primarily to spending a majority of the period killing penalties. I can't remember who, but a Sioux player took a dumbass elbowing penalty when they were in the offensive zone!!! Blais would've benched his ass. Hopefully I won't be accused of ragging on the Sioux. I love the Sioux and my friends in Colorado always state that despite not liking the Sioux (they're DU or CC fans), they admire how, over the years, the team has that never-say-die work ethic and attitude. Win or lose, there was never any quit in them. The teams under Blais' reign garnered much respect from both opponents and opposing fans because of their discipline and hard work. I didn't see that fire in either game against the Badgers. Is this the coaching staff's fault? The players' fault? Both? Anyone, please weigh in.

Here is the link to uscho.com of the tv schedule. My understanding is that the Sioux/BU game WILL be televised. http://www.uscho.com/m/ncaad1/?data=tv2005