fightingsioux4life

I have stated over and over that I think a couple of more years is needed to determine if Mussman and company has the program on the right direction. After that, I think we'll know if all these recruiting "chest bumps" are warrented.

Gross exaggerations, that's what you come back with? Okay, whatever.

Questionning whether a particular individual is the long-term solution is not "calling for people's jobs and livelihoods in.....a cavalier manner". It is looking out for the long-term health and vitality of the program. No matter what we all do for a living, we are always under some kind of informal evaluation process. I don't mean the formal evals we get on a 6 and/or 12 month basis, but the day-to-day, week-to-week type of evaluation as we do our jobs. For Mussman and his staff, that means people watching and/or listening to games, tracking the progress of recruits and how they are producing and/or not producing, seeing how the team responds to adversity and setbacks, how competitive the team is against certain programs in certain situations and so on. While this is not the NFL, these coaches are paid professionals and should be able to handle criticism that inevitably comes from the fans, the media, the boosters, ect. They know this goes with the territory of being a coach at the college level and I don't think they take it personally. Why some people on here take it personally, I don't know. By the way, comparing our jobs to college coaches is pure apples and oranges. The point some people on here don't get is that what happens now will affect what happens with the program in the future. There is a big picture that not everyone is seeing. If we dig a huge hole for the program and it has to be rebuilt piece by piece, get ready for a repeat of the late 80's to early 90's as Roger Thomas and his staff struggled to build a contender with a national power just 80 miles away. It wasn't fun and I don't want to relive it if it can be helped. And there are some serious, fair questions as to whether this program is in the right hands. I think it will take a couple of more years to find out. But I must say I have some nagging doubts as to whether this staff will get it done. And if you don't think this is the proper forum to talk about this, go talk to the mods and get it banned from here. Otherwise, stop scolding and preaching to the rest of us.

What I want to hear is higher expectations for our football program. People have been dialing down their hopes and expectations for the program for several years now. There are some serious questions concerning the week to week competitiveness of the program. When this team suffers a 40 point drubbing at Montana State and didn't look competitive at all, it is going to bother people. Losing is part of the process of building the program; not being competitive at all in games is a red flag. As I have said before, I think Mussman should get a couple of more years to recruit as a Big Sky program. It could make all the difference. But after that, is everyone on here going to stick with the same talking points about "patience", "transition", ect? That is what concerns me. If there is lack of expectations with the fan base and the boosters, there will be less urgency within the athletic department to change things. We moved up in large part for football. If we sink back to the level of the mid-1980's, it will be all for naught. And if you don't like my posts, just ignore them. Don't run around here acting like the "conscience of SS.com".

Based on the ducky and bunny BS I am reading on here, we should just join the non-scholarship Pioneer League for football. Then we won't have to worry about getting to the playoffs and winning national titles anymore. Maybe we'll develop a kick-butt rivalry wtih Valparaiso. THAT will get the Alerus Center rocking (not). If this was men's hockey, the tone of the conversation would be much, much different. Flame away, but those are the facts.

I never said it wasn't. But besides Men's BB, what else is the Scummit good at? There is a reason why the Scummit is referring to schools by the cities in which they are located; nobody could figure out where these schools were. You don't see other conferences resorting to that.

Amen. Thank you for stating what most of us are thinking.

All you guys can come back with is the whole "Men's Basketball RPI" response. There is more to a conference than that. The Scummit is just a dumping ground for teams that don't have better options. You guys would be better served in the MVC for all sports; that would really elevate your programs. It would be nice to get all the Dakota schools in there at some point, but it would take a lot more shuffling of teams to make it possible.

Now I get what the reference was; I guess I don't follow all the recruiting stuff. I honestly don't care who verbals for what team, who looks like a "big, strong kid", blah, blah, blah. I would rather watch paint dry. As for JT Miller, what anybody else did does not excuse his two-faced, back-stabbing decision. He made his choice and whatever happens as a result of that is something he will have to live with. Our program will continue either way.

That is pure apples and oranges. Gregoire was a flight risk following his junior year and everybody knew it. St. Clair was declared ineligible by the NCAA and had to wait a year. Miller signed an NLI, talked about how he couldn't wait to come here and then bolted at the last minute. He used us as leverage to get a better deal and then left without so much as a goodbye. Well son, I hope it works out for you, because if it doesn't I won't be shedding tears for you.

If we do get stuck with that name, it will be Wayne Nelson's fault. He started all this Green and White crap. Ryan Bakken had a really good column on this, saying Green and White shouldn't be used. And I have noticed it being used less and less. Even one time is one time too many for me.

The problem with JT "Benedict Arnold" Miller is that he made a committment and then bailed right before the season. That is just two-faced, back-stabbing behavior. That being said, this is the World Junior Tournament and it's about Team USA winning whatever they can. If Miller can help them do that, then please keep him on the team.

Here is what Rodney Harrison said about the Texans before he declared the Viking defense "not that good": “If I’m Houston, I’m concerned offensively. They can’t even score a touchdown at home against Minnesota.” http://sportsmedianews.com/football-night-in-america-notes-quotes-week-16-2/ Yeah, Jared Allen and company had nothing to do with it either, right Rodney?

Yes it is. It's always a bit of a let down when one of the teams is bad and the game doesn't have much meaning to it. Kind of like the 2002 game vs. the Bison in the Dome. Both teams sucked that year and so did the game itself.

I was on SCSU's campus a couple of times, once for a football playoff game in 2004. I was not all that impressed with it. I have no idea what kind of academics they have there, but it looked a little run down.

The point is, it is very unlikely that top recruits won't choose a certain school because of the negativity of the fan base on message boards. But you are right, gfhockey is one of the most negative posters here.

You are pretty confident considering that the Vikings D held the Packer offense in check for most of the game in Green Bay. If Ponder had played even an average game, the outcome could have been much different. AP had an awesome game vs. the Packer defense (which is up and down depending on which week it is) and next week's game is in the Dome, so Lombardi's ghost won't help the Packers this time. It will be a great game and tickets will probably cost a small fortune. Go Vikings!!!

Rodney Harrison of Football Night in America would disagree with that. He ripped the Texans for not doing better against the Viking defense because "it's a decent defense.......but not that good." What a load of crap. This team would not have anything close to a winning record without the defense doing what it has been doing most of the season. What's next, Jared Allen is overrated? Harrison can stick his opinion where the sun don't shine.

A solid, all-around performance by the Purple today, on the road against one of the top teams in the AFC. Everyone is focused on AP's quest for 2K (yards) and the single-season rushing record, but the defense is much improved from last year and has some young, talented guys starting for them. A couple of more drafts like 2012 and this will be a tough team to beat week in and week out.

Okay, then let's just give the coaches lifetime contract extensions because nothing they do matters, one way or the other. Then we can put the on-field captains in charge of calling plays and deciding who plays and who sits, because they are the ones out on the field. And if you believe any of that crap, I have a Minnesota Gopher BCS Championship Trophy to sell you. Do I think Mussman should be canned right now? No. Should he get a couple of more recruiting classes in the Big Sky to improve our depth and talent levels? Yes. But the next couple of years will be critical for Mussman and his staff to prove they can get it done at this level, which is much different than the old Division II North Central Conference was. These are paid professionals and the idea that you simply cannot criticize them (unless you are a crusty old sports fan that played football with leather helmets) is just plain Ducky and Bunny, Polyannish BS. The difference between UND and FU right now is that Bohl made the changes that had to be made after that 3-8 season a couple of years ago, while Mussman has basically stayed the course despite some pretty pathetic results. We've all heard the mulligans used to explain it all away (transition, "Clueless Al's" nickname folly, conference uncertainty, blah, blah, blah) and they definitely have some truth to them. But in 3-5 years, if we still are struggling, and I keep hearing the same tired old excuses being used to explain it all away and how we should just keep waiting for something to change, we will find ourselves back in the same situation as the mid 1980's, with a program in ruins and facing a rebuilding job with a national power just 80 miles away. I don't want that to happen. Do you?

I wonder if any of these changes might help college hockey stop the bleeding of talent to the CHL. Giving coaches more of a chance to explain the advantages of the college route to Canadian kids might make a difference.

Be careful, you'll be told (in a preachy tone) that the coaches have nothing to do with winning and losing.

You should know that I (and others here) are going to remember all the arrogant and pompus comments made by NDSU and their media mouthpiece (KFGO). And when the shoe is on the other foot in the future (it's only a matter of time), we will not hesitate to use it against you and the rest of Bison Nation. And don't think I won't remember all this crap......I have a very good long-term memory, as do a lot of other people on ss.com. Now, please go back to Bisonville and talk about that hypothetical match-up with Alabama and how you all "believe in miracles".

That forecast picture was all over Facebook this week! At least SOME people still have a sense of humor. Here's another one: