fightingsioux4life

The truth hurts, doesn't it "Star". Or, based on your posts, you could be Rob Port for all we know.

Screw Rob Port and his piece of crap political dirt sheet blog! I am sick and tired of that demagogue running around talking like he has microphones planted in all these meetings so he can give "the folks" in North Dakota "the rest of the story". Everyone should take the garbage he prints with a big, fat grain of salt. I hope Port crosses the wrong people and gets sued over it. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy. And shame on YOU, Star, for getting your "news" from this Matt Drudge wanna-be.

Mac Schneider is fighting to retire the nickname because he knows that keeping it at all costs will forever ruin the athletic department at UND. In case you have forgotten; Schneider was the starting Center on the 2001 D-II National Championship Football team. I suppose the hockey-only crowd couldn't care less about that championship, but I and most of us on here will never forget it and are grateful to Mac for his contributions to that team. I think Mac knows what it meant to play three playoff games at home and what it meant to be in a strong conference like the NCC. Without those crucial elements, that trophy would not reside in Grand Forks, ND. To reduce Schneider, a proud member of UND's athletic alumni family, to the role of a "Democratic PCer" who just wants to run for Federal office is shameful and misleading. Shame on you, Mr. The-Big-Sky-is-only-bluffing. Thank God you are not in charge of UND's athletic department.

I find it very interesting that they are suing REA, Inc. for the right to collect signatures on arena grounds. That tells me they are having some trouble gathering signatures. Why go through all the expense of legal action if the signature collection campaign was going good? It is tough to gather signatures in a state as spread out and expansive as North Dakota is. I really hope that it never gets on the ballot.

This is the excuse Rich Glas would use; there just aren't any big men we can get. Then Augustana would come to town with a big man in the middle. This definitely needs to be addressed.

I am not sure if we would have a choice. Moving to D-II or D-III is still within the NCAA's dictatorial reach. We cannot maintain an athletic department as a Division I independent; the costs would be enormous. Other schools won't play us because of the name and logo. The anti-logo crowd doesn't care what home the athletic department has; they just hate the name and logo and want it gone. I don't want it gone, but if it means our athletic department is crippled forever, then it has to go.

The hockey-only people are so tone deaf it's unreal. Let me lay it out for you, like I have many, many, many times before: -The Big Sky will revoke their offer of membership in their league (remember, our membership isn't official until July 1st, 2012). -Minnesota and Wisconsin will announce they will no longer schedule us in any sport in which we don't share conference affiliation(including hockey). Other schools, pressured by the autocrats at the NCAA, will follow suit. -Recruiting will become increasingly difficult for football and basketball because of the lack of conference affiliation. Coaches like Chris Mussman and Brian Jones will leave for better jobs elsewhere. Gene Roebuck will retire and get out while the getting is good. -The athletic department will bleed red ink from the travel costs of being a Division I independent and the scheduling difficulties until it is determined that a move to NAIA will be required (both to escape the sanctions and to cut costs). -The hockey teams will then be forced to leave the NCAA and petition the CCAA for membership. With our fan base, facilities, tradition and media exposure, they will welcome us with open arms. But it will represent a clear downgrade from what we enjoy today. -While all this is happening, the Ag College will become a national power in FCS football, winning national title after national title and their basetball programs will become well-known in March in the NCAA tournament. They will gladly (and gleefully) fill the vaccum created by our implosion and destruction created by "Clueless Al" Carlson and the myopic viewpoint of the nickname-at-all-costs crowd. Simply put, you must sponsor at least 7 sports for both men and women to be a part of the NCAA. Without a conference home, we will drown in a sea of red ink. And I don't care how much money REA generates, it won't be enough to cover all those unpaid bills. Every school has one big revenue sport to help fund the other sports and hockey is ours. But do you REALLY want hockey to drive a bus without any passengers on it? Is the name and logo REALLY worth the total and complete destruction of UND athletics? Bottom line, whether you and the rest of the nickname-only, hockey-only crowd like it or not, either all our sports rise up together or we all crash and burn. I know which path I am choosing.

Is that UND's SID you are talking about? I haven't read his stuff too much, but I will take your word for it. You are right, Schlossman doesn't do it all the time, but he has done it enough to get my attention. The rest of the Grand Forks media is also to blame for it. But in the end, it's a team game and it's teams that win or lose games, not individuals.

We'll just have to agree to disagree then. I will give him credit this morning, though. He didn't blame last night's tie on a hot goaltender. Personally, I think the team is just so beat up and shorthanded they can't sustain 60 minutes of effort.

Read my signature.

Karma has already bitten them in the backside; remember Russia's comeback in the gold medal game last year? And our gold medal in Saskatoon that shut up the crowd. As the U.S. gets better and better in hockey and as other nations work to build up their programs, there'll be more opportunities to stick it to Team O' Canada.

They have totally collapsed in the third period for two straight games, games that were close and could have gone either way. You can invoke the Schlossman Rule if you wish, but medal winning teams find a way to finish their chances when they get them. This team is incapable of doing that. They are not medal material. This whole tournament has been a total disaster for USA Hockey. It will take a minor miracle to salvage it.

This team just does not have "it". Today makes two third period collapses in as many games. Looks like we'll be fighting for our lives in relegation this year. No medal, no nothing.

The whole recruiting process is a crapshoot, just like professional drafts. In a couple of years, we'll know which kids lived up to the hype and which kids fell short. I am not worried about our program at all, we will continue to bring in top talent.

I don't think we want another kid like Derrick Byfuglien (Defenseman from Roseau). I remember him quitting the team as a freshman six games into his college career in 2000, whining and crying about lack of playing time. He went Major Junior with the Erie Otters (OHL) and then "enjoyed" a five year run in the ECHL with ten different teams. http://www.hockeydb....y.php?pid=51272. Dean Blais and his coaching staff could have worked with him and helped him develop into a solid NHL player, but he chose to take a hike instead of working on his game and earning playing time. Let's stick with kids that are going to work hard and improve. That is why we have 7 NCAA titles and 15 WCHA titles.

I think it's becoming painfully clear that this team simply does not have the shooters to win consistently against Division I teams. You won't totally shut down many teams at this level (the athletes are simply too good), so you better knock down some shots on a regular basis or you can forget about winning. Aside from eliminating the shot clock, I don't know what can be done to help the team in its current form win these games.

Brooks Bollinger doesn't get enough credit for his accomplishments and for putting Grand Forks on the map. He lead Wisconsin to two Rose Bowls and had the chance to start for a couple of NFL teams. But because of the presence of that overrated stiff Jim Sorgi as Bollinger's back-up at Wisconsin, Brooks does not get the level of credit and recognition he deserves. Some know-it-alls (namely Justin Gaard on KFAN radio) think "Jim Sorgi should have been the starter when he was at Wisconsin." Sorgi has hung around the NFL for seven years by signing with teams that are secure in the QB position (Peyton Manning in Indianapolis and Eli Manning in New York), so he doesn't have to play and get the crap beat out of him. This web site named Sorgi the most overrated player from Wisconsin during the BCS era (some interesting names on that list btw): http://bleacherreport.com/articles/915860-the-most-overrated-player-of-all-time-for-every-bcs-college-football-team#/articles/915860-the-most-overrated-player-of-all-time-for-every-bcs-college-football-team/page/68 Anyway, in closing, thanks for the memories Brooks and good luck with your high school coaching career.

Mask didn't like going to class. I believe he was kicked off the team because of academic issues. What a waste of talent and potential.

Okay, fair enough. I shall refrain from any further criticisms.

I will say this one more time: It...is...not...an...option. Your "hypothetical quesiton" is not even a valid point of discussion because the NCAA would never allow a school to have just one sport each for men and women. You hockey-only types love to preach that "hockey drives the bus". Well, what is the point of having a bus without any passengers? And what was the point of moving up to Division I if everything is going to revolve around hockey and what REA, Inc. wants? We are losing ground to the Ag College in Fargo every year this nickname fight drags on and I am sick and tired of it.

If we can't get into the Big Sky Conference and other schools refuse to play us, the Athletic Department will drown in a sea of red ink. No amount of beer sold at REA will make up for that. We will then be forced to choose between dropping athletics altogether or leave the NCAA for the NAIA. NDSU would be thrilled about that, but I sure as heck wouldn't. And I don't think you would like it much, either.

Amen x 1000!!!

You are right, "Clueless Al" is only one man. But he is also the ND House Majority Leader and has a lot of power and influence; this wasn't some freshman Legislator trying to make some noise and a name for himself. Simply put, if "Clueless Al" hadn't pushed this idiotic idea in the first place, we wouldn't have to deal with all this garbage that we are dealing with right now. As for others deserving blame, I agree with you. But most of the House and Senate (and the governor) wised up after it was clear the law wouldn't change the NCAA's mind; "Clueless Al" still wouldn't let it go. He kept using his power and influence to push the Legislature to uphold the law in the special session. He even introduced that stupid amendment that would have required us to keep the name and logo until all legal action had been exhausted on the issue. Thank God the rest of the committee was smarter than that.

This is the ultimate dream of the hockey-only crowd, but it simply will not happen. The NCAA requires that school sponsor a certain number of sports for men and women. I guess we could petition to join the Pioneer League for football and the Ivy League for everything else and go non-scholarship, but I don't think our alums and fan base would support something like that. But NDSU fans and alums would support this 100% because they would have the run of the state (and region) for recruiting. That alone makes this a non-starter for me.

Do you really think that Rep. "Clueless Al" Carlson (NDSU-Fargo), a self-professed Bison booster, gives a rip about the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo or the University of North Dakota as a whole? He did what he did to diminish the power of the Higher Ed system; which he has never been a big fan of. He has zero incentive to stand up for the general welfare of the University of North Dakota and is not doing so here. He is a false prophet and will lead us into an athletics blackhole from which there will be no escape. But I suppose you (and others like you) will consider that "a small price to pay". If you ask me, you are the one that thinks saying things will make them true. The choice right now is stark and clear; Big Sky Membership and a vibrant Division I athletic department or NAIA obscurity. I know which one I would choose.