fightingsioux4life

I guess it's a "free market" for the cable companies as they negotiate amongst themselves. But it's not the "free market" I learned about in college (or even high school for that matter). What you are describing is a oligopoly or a duopoly. While a perfectly competitive market does not (and probably never has and never will) exist, neither of these conditions can ever be described as a "free market".

If Cable One does eventually lose their exclusive contract with Fargo, the bolded sentence above will be a big reason why. Erecting barriers to entry like this backfire in the long-run.

I have no problem playing hardball to a point. Obviously, you don't want anyone taking advantage of you. But the fact that the fall sports season has started and this deal still isn't done tells me that someone is simply refusing to budge on anything. Since Midcontinent has successfully negotiated deals with other cable companies, but not Cable One, that would seem to point to Cable One as the main culprit. But that is just pure speculation; it could be Midcontinent or it could be both of them. Again, the main remedy for this is for UND fans in Fargo to contact Cable One and tell them what you want. Nothing else will have much impact on anybody.

I don't think we realized how special that 2001 season in the Alerus Center really was until those times were gone with the transition to FCS. Maybe this weekend will be a new beginning for us.

Where have I ever said that Midco should "give away" anything? Please do not put words in my mouth (and that goes for everybody else on this thread). Midcontinent should sell the rights to Cable One for whatever price they end up negotiating. The only point I have been trying to make is that both entities are trying to get 100% of what they want from each other. That never happens, I don't think it's even possible. And in the end, it's the customer (a.k.a. the people that ultimately pay the bills) that gets used as a pawn. Do you think Ralph Engelstad ever negotiated with the idea that he would get 100% of what he wanted from a potential partner and would walk away if he didn't get it? I say no. I say if he had, he wouldn't have been as successful in Las Vegas and we wouldn't have the $104 million arena bearing his name. I think Ralph even said he wanted to get out of the casino business because he tired of all the long legal contracts and liked it better when deals were sealed with a simple handshake. And please don't think I am a shill for Cable One; I have a buddy in Fargo that HATES Cable One and has said if he couldn't have a dish, he would just go without anything. I think their monopoly is bad for customers and I think it's only a matter of time before it is done away with, no matter what happens with this deal. There are just too many people in Fargo that want a choice in cable providers for it not to happen eventually. I am not promoting "altruism", I am promoting free market competition so that those of us paying ever-increasing monthly cable bills can vote with our wallets and influence what programming is offered to them. Cable One is just one example of how large, powerful, monopolistic companies are insulated from the natural consequences of marketplace competition and can just screw over whomever they want whenever they want. You, ironically, made my point for me when you brought up Standard Oil. They were broken up because they were using their monopolistic position to suck up all the wealth for themselves and shut out any potential competitors. AT&T was broken up in 1982; now there are a plethora of phone providers to choose from. My ultimate point is that one or both of these cable providers are likely being stubborn with each other and are trying to get 100% of everything for themselves and that the rest of us pay the price for it. UND fans in Fargo need to call Cable One and tell them you want UND sports this season. Let your wallets do the talking.

Just happened to run across this article from the LA Times (reprinted in today's Star Tribune). This is the point I have been trying to make, that Midcontinent and Cable One shouldn't sacrifice the long-term for the short-term: Cord-cutting reality: Pay-TV industry loses 217,000 subscribers http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-pay-tv-industry-loses-subscribers-20130903,0,7983225.story Cable companies turn off potential future customers at their own peril. Of course, the customer only has leverage if they use it. Fighting Sioux fans in Fargo need to contact Cable One and tell them they want UND sports on their televisions.

Again, like I said, I am not affected by this. I live in Grand Forks and I have season tickets to football and hockey. So I don't even have a dog in the fight, I was just making an observation. And I stand by that observation. The bolded part is what is wrong with our economy today. Companies getting too big for their britches, to the point where they feel they can screw over their customers without any natural consequences. And in this case, they are taking that attitude and applying it to each other with regards to programming. There is lots of money to be made by a lot of people without putting anyone out of business. Cable One is not a threat to Midcontinent in the Upper Midwest. And Midcontinent can score points with potential, future customers in Fargo by cutting a deal with Cable One (because, sooner or later, that exclusive contract will be done away with). But we live in a short-sighted society and this is another symptom of that. But please feel free to continue accepting whatever explanation you are given. I prefer to analyze it critically and point out things that need to be pointed out. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I think this has less to do with being scared of UND and more to do with having trouble selling tickets after they fired their head coach for what I can only imagine are political reasons. I think they did a lot of damage to their program when they did that.

This is priceless!!!

I like it, it makes sense. Which is why it has zero chance of happening.

You should know that I am filing all the smart remarks and cheap shots you guys are throwing at us right now in my memory for future reference. When the worm turns (and it will), I will use all this stuff against you and your team. And I will not be nice about it. Just remember two things before you hit that Post button: What goes around comes around and bad karma is tough to live with.

Based on this criteria, almost any bar fight could be construed as being attempted murder. But I agree with you. We don't know the details of why they are pressing the charges they are pressing. I doubt the DA is going to overreach and embarrass herself in the process. They all want judgeships down the road.

The problem with going back outside is that a bunch of people would dump their season tickets because they have become spoiled with having football indoors. I like the idea of outdoor football (heck, I wish the Vikings would go back to that!), but our society has come to accept and expect football to be played in indoor comfort. That ship has sailed.

Okay, first of all, nobody is talking about an undefeated season. You are the first poster to even bring it up, even in jest. Second of all, there are a good number of posters (I won't call anyone out, you know who you are) who are just fine and dandy with what our FB program is right now and that everything will just fix itself over time. What some of us find disturbing is not losing games (the road to winning is often paved with tough losses), it's how we've been losing them. We have been getting blown out by 40-50 points on the road against good teams far too often. Once something negative happens on the road (a turnover, a dropped pass, a penalty) the team gets discouraged and folds like a cheap piece of lawn furniture. That is the biggest thing that worries some of us. Losses like that are bad enough on the road. Getting blown out at home would be even worse. God help us if we have recruits in the stands watching. Nobody is expecting a long playoff run. But I think people expect us to have a solid winning season with 7 games at home and no FBS money game. And if we don't accomplish that, I think Muss is definitely on the hot seat.

This is precisely why I am reluctant to give NDSU kudos on anything. They give Gopher hockey fans a run for their money on being the most obnoxious and insufferable. Alabama would roll over most of the teams in the Big 12, so all this talk about how NDSU could match up with them is just insane. The SEC is a whole football universe by itself.

Well, the B1G has instituted what I like to call "The Minnesota Rule" because the Gophers couldn't beat teams like USD and NDSU at home. I wouldn't be surprised if other conferences did the same thing. Losing games to FCS schools is an embarrassment that most programs don't want to have to explain to deep-pocketed athletic boosters and potential blue chip recruits. As for UND getting to the top of FCS, that will require beating good FCS teams. With seven home games this year, this is the perfect time to establish ourselves.

That is correct. And you can bet that Duke compares itself to North Carolina and vise versa. Same with Louisville and Kentucky. Same with Arizona and Arizona State. And the same with UND and NDSU. And as long as both schools have athletics at the same level of competition, those comparisons will continue to be made.

I agree with you, but the problem is that a lot of our fans don't think our football program has "a long ways to go!". They are happy with being close to a winning season last year. I am on the fence about Mussman and his staff and I think they can still build a winner. But this season is huge for the current regime and will help determine whether they are ultimately successful or not.

Good post Johnny. First Bison fan that I have seen say anything good about UND hockey (or UND anything, for that matter).

I will take my medical advice from my doctor, thank you very much.

I agree with the posters above. But according to some people on here (you know who you are), we are doing "just fine" right now. Like I said before, this program is in need of a signature FCS win. Beating SDSU would fulfill that need nicely. Let's get it done boys!

It makes it tougher because NDSU is in our geographical and media backyard. It makes it tougher because NDSU looks much better to potential recruits than UND. And yes, UND and NDSU will be compared to each other in every sport that they both sponsor because that is the way it's always been. The rivalry is not dead, merely dormant. At some point in the future, we will play them again in football and in all other sports (even if we aren't in the same conference). And I suppose you will complain about people comparing both schools to each other like you are now. That won't stop it from happening, so you better just get used to it. And as for the admonition to "stop comparing and start looking for improvement within the program", you implied in another thread that football is "just fine" coming close to having a winning season in 2012. The fact is that the defense gave up bunches of yards last year against all the good teams on the schedule and the jury is still out on this year (beating up Valpo doesn't prove much). Potato Bowl will tell us a lot about this team and how much they have improved. I certainly didn't expect national titles right out of the gate, but I was hoping to not give up 600+ yards in games and get blown out on the road by 40-50 points more than once last year. If wanting at least a competitive product on the field is "asking too much, too soon", then God help us in the future, because we'll need it. And yes, our young kids look like good athletes, but we won't know if they will get the job done until they actually beat good teams on the field on Saturdays. And again, next week's Potato Bowl will tell us a lot about where we are and where we need to go. I like to call things as I see them and I like to speak from the heart. And if that deviates from the "ducky and bunny" thinking that is common on this forum, then so be it. Agree or disagree as you wish, but I don't think being honest about where I think we are and where I think we are going makes me a bad fan. My 2 cents, nothing more.

I knew I would get raked over the hot coals for expressing any opinions that don't follow the "ducky and bunny" field manual. I will stand by these comments until I am proven otherwise by our teams. I will gladly eat crow if our teams prove my pessimism wrong.

I guess I don't see how this benefits anyone but NDSU. The Bison are giant-killers, UND is "that other school in North Dakota". With our crappy transition and the continuing fallout from it, we have a tough road ahead of us to get back to prominence. Tonight's result in Kansas only makes that job tougher, not easier.

This is a long post, but I believe that these things must be said and must be said in public, in front of all our fans, so we can come to terms with one painful truth: These are dark days for the Fighting Sioux Empire. During my childhood years of the 1980’s, I watched Fighting Sioux hockey win 3 NCAA titles (1980, 1982 and 1987) and provide me with lots of great memories in the old Ralph Engelstad Arena (RIP old friend). During my college years of the 1990’s, I witnessed some of the greatest collegiate sports teams to ever grace our Grand Forks, ND campus. NCAA hockey titles in 1997 and 2000 and four WCHA titles (1997, 1998, 1999 and 2001). NCAA women’s basketball titles in 1997-1998-1999. Football teams that would lay the foundation for the 2001 NCAA title team that we still all remember with great fondness. But after that long-awaited football championship on December 8th, 2001, a series of setbacks took place that I believe still jinx us to this day: · The overtime loss to Boston College in the 2001 NCAA hockey title game · The overtime loss to Cal-Poly Pomona in the 2001 NCAA women’s basketball title game · The Men’s Basketball program losing to such powerhouse programs as U of Mary in Bismarck (in 2003, by 40 points), Sioux Falls College and Minot State · The loss to Grand Valley State in the 2003 NCAA football title game · The Women’s Basketball program underachieving in postseason play on an annual basis · The devastating football loss to Neb-Omaha (and our nemesis Pat Behrns) in the Alerus Center in October 2005 that ruined what was shaping up to be another national title team. I honestly think the program has never totally recovered from that meltdown in the 4th quarter I collectively define this tragic series of events as “Runner up U” syndrome. We became the program that served as stepping stones for other programs (Grand Valley State, Boston College) on their way to championships. That long-held standard of excellence that we took so much pride in slowly eroded; our fans got accustomed to falling short in the playoffs and that apathy took root. And then there are the institutional screw-ups: · The kowtowing to the management of Ralph Engelstad Arena, Inc. by the UND athletic department during the Roger Thomas era in the early years did no favors for the hockey program or any of our other teams. To this day, I cannot reconcile in my mind the athletic department being six figures in the red while REA was raking in the cash from alcohol, concession and merchandise sales. During its planning and construction phases, the new REA was promoted as being a cash cow for UND athletics and we were told that all revenues would go to UND to fund their athletic endeavors. The last time I checked, 2+2=5 only in George Orwell dystopian novels. While I believe our relationship with REA has improved greatly over the years, I also believe that damage was done to our programs during those early years. · The botched decision-making process on the Division I move by President Charles Kupchella and Athletic Director Roger Thomas that we are still paying for today. This shouldn’t surprise anyone since Kupchella barely tolerated the existence of intercollegiate athletics and Thomas (while a really nice guy and class act) was not the best AD that UND ever had · The hiring of Tom Buning as Athletic Director, which resulted in really bad football contract deals ($20,000 buyouts?) and a general degrading of morale within the walls of the athletic department · I also believe Buning deserves at least some of the blame for Dale Lennon leaving UND for Southern Illinois in December 2007, just as we were embarking on our Division I transition period. I honestly believe that Lennon got sick and tired of the lack of resources being allocated for the football program and wanted to go someplace where football wasn’t a red-headed stepchild to the fair-haired boy on campus (hockey). I think a little extra money might have kept him here. But we were just too cheap to come up with it. And the program really suffered as a result · Losing Lennon contributed to the ultimate disaster of the transition period; losing to Sioux Falls College (an NAIA program at the time) at home in 2009. And the fact that the game wasn’t even close made it even harder to swallow. This loss hurt the reputation of the program and really soured the fan base on the program. I believe it is, without question, the worst loss in program history. And I believe we still, to this day, haven’t totally recovered from it. Some might argue that dredging up all this sludge from the sea floor of sports history is a big, pointless waste of time. I disagree. I believe that all these events collectively impact the future and help define the boundaries our coaches and players must operate in. Despite Big Sky membership (which I am very excited about), despite having an indoor football arena (which is so important during October and November in North Dakota) and despite having a very nice (and homey) basketball arena in the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, our programs have yet to shake off the Division I transition growing pains. Men’s Basketball is showing some signs of life, but still hasn’t proven itself as a consistent winner. Women’s Basketball has really deteriorated to the point where a total rebuilding is in order. Football has potential this season, but I think people are still taking a “wait and see” attitude towards the program. As for hockey, Hakstol’s teams continue to win games and have some success in the postseason. But that old, hard fought and well-deserved tradition of winning the big games in March and April has taken somewhat of a beating during the past 13 years. I have heard every excuse in the book. The “hot goalie” excuse. The “one and done format” excuse. The “lucky bounces” excuse. The “Jerry York hasn’t retired yet” excuse. At some point, you run out of excuses and you have to face up to the fact that this program no longer wins the big games like it used to. And I believe that part of the problem is the $104 million Palace on the Prairie. Ever since the new REA opened in October 2001, our program has been stacked with NHL draft picks on an annual basis. But All-Star teams don’t always win championships. Teams with great chemistry and teamwork win championships more often. I think our program has become a quasi minor league team for blue chip players who are on their way to bigger and better things. The players we have now are more focused on their NHL careers (and the money that comes with it) than they are of winning national championships. Players that likely won’t make the NHL will focus on winning collegiate championships because that would be the pinnacle of their careers. At some point between the opening of this hockey palace and today, we have lost that focus on achieving that immortality that comes with winning championships at the highest level. Another problem is that our fans are spoiled having a palace like REA to watch games in. It becomes a place to “be seen” and to close out business deals. I honestly think some of the so-called “fans” at our home games don’t know the different between off-sides and icing. This makes not winning championships more tolerable. As long as we can go to REA on Friday and Saturday nights with our kids wearing jerseys that are two sizes too big for them, eat our extreme nachos and Bavarian almonds, drink our beer, hobnob with every VIP in Grand Forks and watch future NHL players on the ice, we are happy with having teams that post winning records every season, but fall short in March and April. I think this is a normal human reaction to circumstances like these and I am not bashing our fans for it. But I also feel it is unfortunate that the standard of excellence described by Cary Eades, "Greatness at North Dakota is measured in national championships" has faded away over the past 10 years or so. And I think that standard should apply to football as well. This in sharp contrast to what is happening in Imperial Cass County (specifically, on the campus of NDSU). While we wallow in the mire of bad administrative decisions and lowered expectations, NDSU has brought home back to back FCS titles, scored several wins over FBS programs and totally taken over the headlines and media coverage region-wide. With their prominent media mouthpieces KFGO 790 AM and KVLY Channel 11 talking Bison athletics 24/7/365 and UND relegated to the obsolete WDAY 970 AM and the still nascent Midco Sports Net, UND has become almost invisible regionally and nationally. We are “that other school in North Dakota”, which means we don’t even exist in some people’s minds. It’s all about Craig “Mr. Clean” Bohl, Saul Phillips and his “Slummit” League Men’s Basketball team and Scott “My Oh My” Miller with all his cute little comments (“There’s your dagger!”). Meanwhile, UND is known for half-full crowds at home football games and hockey games in a fancy, state-of-the-art arena where championships have taken a back seat to beer and bratwursts. Can the athletic department turn this around? Can we gain a foothold in the media and in the hearts and minds of people across the Dakotas and Minnesota once again? The answer to both questions is yes. We have great conference homes for our marquee sports (Big Sky, NCHC) and we have excellent facilities. However, I think Mr. Faison and Mr. Kelley (and those of us in the stands) need to start demanding and expecting excellence in both the classroom and on the court/field/ice. Without high expectations, greatness is impossible. For example, a 5-6 finish in football this season (with 7 of our games at home) would be unacceptable for a head coach that has been on the job since 2008 and who recently received a contract extension. I believe the men’s basketball team needs to show us something this season or it might be time for a change at the top of that program. I also believe that, sooner or later, the men’s hockey team will have to close the deal in March and April to maintain that hard-earned reputation as an elite program in NCAA hockey. Women’s basketball and hockey, I believe, deserve more time to get to that level. In conclusion, the recent demolition of the old REA (home of numerous championship teams) and the continued success of NDSU in football (and to a lesser extent men’s basketball) have crystallized in my mind just how far we’ve fallen from where we once were and just how difficult it will be to get back there. I really hope we can do it. Otherwise, we’ll be sitting around tables in coffee shops and bars ten years from now talking about the good old days of UND sports in the 1980’s and 90’s and how it will likely never be that way again. I don’t want that to happen. Do you?