fightingsioux4life

No we are not the same person. But we often see eye to eye on things. What is your point?

Another person who just doesn't get it.

You are missing the point. When NDSU (a peer institution by any measure) can go to the NCAA tournament twice since becoming playoff eligible (including in their first season of eligibility) and consistently beat and/or gives high-major programs a run for their money, it debunks a lot of the excuses that some in our fan base are making for the Men's program. UND and NDSU have some of the same problems to overcome (weather, geography, one-bid conference affiliation, ect), but only one of these schools is having success and we both know which one it is. While NDSU puts together signature wins and contends for the NCAA tournament, UND works hard to punch their ticket to the CIT. If you don't have a problem with that, that is your perrogative. I for one expect more.

And people wonder why fans are cynical about the Twins. Hunter is as old as the hills in baseball years but hey, it is a "small market" franchise so this is just how it is, right? Funny, that wasn't the song they were singing when they were begging for public funds for Target Field. Look for new record low attendance figures at Target Field in 2015. Maybe that will send ownership and management a message about how crappy the product is.

I believe the whole Osborne debate started when you suggested that Bo Pelini should not have been fired by Nebraska. And I contended (and still contend) that comparing Osborne and Pelini is apples and oranges. Would I have fired Osborne way before 1994 came around? I would say no. Would I be critical of his teams losing big games on a regular basis? Yes I would. And that is the situation we have with Hakstol right now. As for how we should define success (national titles vs. regular season wins), that is a dilemma Gopher fans debated (quite heatedly, IIRC) during the 1980's and 90's. Would I want a bunch of losing teams and then one or two NCAA title teams? No I would not. But I would contend that scenario is the exception rather than the rule (and yes, yes, I know all about Duluth in 2011 and Wisconsin in 2006). On the other side of it, would I want a bunch of winning teams that fall short over and over and over again despite having world-class talent more years than not? No, but that is what we have right now. Hakstol is 1-5 in five trips to the Frozen Four. If the team is good enough to get there, why all the failures on the biggest stage in the entire sport (some of which were very hard to watch, btw). That is what some of our fans cannot figure out (including me). It isn't about "hating" Hakstol, it's about getting over that hump for the first time in almost 15 years. In closing, do I think "nattys" are all that matter? No, but they can and should be a part of the success of a storied, tradition-rich program like ours. The notion that national titles aren't "realistic" anymore and that we should just feel satisfied with "being there" is what infuriates me and others on this forum. As a kid in the 1980's and a college student in the 1990's, our fans were very disappointed when one of our championship-caliber teams failed to win a "natty". I remember 1998 and the crushing loss to Michigan; I believe a good portion of our fan base chose not to attend the Frozen Four. I sense that this level of passion does not exist in our fan base anymore. We have mellowed and have been conditioned to accept being "participants" in the NCAA tournament instead of winning it once in a while. I have not mellowed that much and I hope I never do. End rant.

But he did win them. Hakstol hasn't done that yet. And I left the Osborne conversation because we were just going in circles; no sense beating a dead horse.

Florida State is in a very weak conference and has a very weak schedule. That is why they must win out or they are out.

Hopefully those kids will get to transfer to a different school and still have good college careers.

False choice. You don't have to give up year to year consistency to win NCAA titles. And vice versa. Right now, Hakstol = Woog. Not meant to be an insult to Hak, but it's just the plain and simple truth. I do think this team has the potential to put this issue to rest once and for all.

Well, I am a Coaches Club member and have been for a long time. But you are right, the more people contributing to the athletic department, the better.

This may be true, with all the increased exposure that college football gets today vs. the 1970's and 80's. But I don't think that justifies keeping Pelini as head of the biggest athletic program in the state of Nebraska. Whether the next guy does better or not is an open question.

How much does baseball even cost? I would think it is one of our cheaper programs.

This goes back to a point I have made over and over again (and will continue to make no matter how much I get attacked for making it): If we can't afford to fund a competitive mid-major D-I product in MBB, WBB and VB and a competitive FCS FB program, we should not have moved up in the first place. We have a cash cow in REA, which sells out every game when the students aren't gone. The FB revenue situation should improve as the team improves. And we are getting a nice payout from Midco to televise our games. Also, I believe we get a check from the proceeds of the D-I Hockey and Basketball tournaments as a D-I school. Those are some pretty good revenue streams. I realize that D-I athletics is way more expensive than D-II, but that is what we signed up for when we moved up. We must find a way to compete or the move up was a waste of time and resources. I don't mind losing coaches to upper-level D-I schools (it has happened to NDSU). What I don't want is to lose coaches to other mid-major schools that offer more money and/or benefits. That would be a major red flag for all of us.

The expectations for MBB should be the same as they are for WBB. Brewster and his staff are setting a good example of what is not only possible, but probable as a mid-major basketball program. I for one do not want to exist as a bargain basement, run-of-the-mill school that has the Division I name and not much else. FB is now on the right track with Bubba and WBB is on the right track with Brewster. Now it's time for MBB to get on the right track. Whether Jones is the man to take us there has not been determined.

You are correct sir. 1994, 1995 and 1997. Three out of four is still pretty good. And something Pelini wasn't going to fulfill.

Really? You are comparing Osborne to Pelini? That's like comparing a Porsche to a Yugo.

The Blackhawks use the same guy all the time and it works for them. And, for the record, I am not a Blackhawks fan.

The 24 year gap was disconcerting for Husker fans (which I am not one), but unlike with Pelini, Nebraska was in big-time bowl games almost every year and was playing for the national title often. In the 1990's, they finally broke through and won three consecutive national titles. After Osborne retired, they slipped out of the upper echelon and really haven't gotten back. Pelini had 7 years to get his systems and players into place and they just didn't seem like they were moving back into the upper echelon of programs with him in charge. Nebraska is a program that should be perennial contenders in both the B1G and nationally, so I don't blame the suits in Lincoln for doing what they did.

He was there for 7 years and, like darell1976 said, beat bad teams and lost to good teams. They likely weren't going to rise any higher than that, so you either make a change or accept winning seasons that end in lower to mid-tier bowl games. A program with a long history of winning conference titles and contending for national titles like Nebraska isn't going to accept what Pelini accomplished for the long-term. Do you think Florida should have kept Muschamp around since they finished with a winning record this year, with the potential of doing better next year? That just isn't how programs with a championship tradition operate.

1994

Couldn't have said it better myself. Cut the crap and stick to the topic.

Thanks to Mark, we don't have to put up with all those "glee clubs" butchering the national anthem anymore. If we are going to sing it at the start of every game, let's do it right. Stick with Mark.

Um, I think the Seahawks will have something to say about that; their defense was nasty on Thanksgiving night against the 49ers. They've had some struggles this year, but I think they'll get into the playoffs and be very dangerous.

I'll stick to what I have said about this in the past. Dump the shootouts and go with a 4 x 4, 10 minute OT period. That would eliminate a lot of ties. And I really don't care if other leagues do the same thing or not. The shootout is not universal in NCAA hockey, so this shouldn't have to be either.

Yeah, I am getting tired of the split personality thing at home. We have two road sweeps this year, do we even have ONE at home? I don't think so.