fightingsioux4life

As I have mentioned in another discussion in the community forum, to some Fargoians (I suspect a good chunk of them), if it's north of Harwood, south of Horace and west of Casselton, it just doesn't matter. Fargo and Grand Forks have two distinct and opposite problems: Grand Forks has a major inferiority complex (We can't do this and we can't do that, so we shouldn't even try) and Fargo has a major superiority complex (We are the next Minneapolis, we are the biggest city in North Dakota and everything else in the state sucks). Grand Forks needs to embrace change and opportunity more often and Fargo needs to soak it's head in a bucket of ice water and get over this "the world revolves around us" mentality. Having said all this, both cities should be thankful that they have two vibrant Universities (UND and NDSU) and that they are located in the Red River Valley (access to both Minnesota's and North Dakota's resources).

Since we are on the subject of obsolete, museum-worthy computer systems...... The fall before the flood (1996), which was beautiful weather-wise until mid-November, I was walking through the now-defunct City Center Mall and a small computer shop had brand-new C64's in their original boxes for the low, low price of $100. Being nostolgic as I am about most things (including old computers and electronics), I almost bought one just for the heck of it. But being in college at the time with limited financial resources, I passed. The video game system I started out with was the Intellivision video game system. I still have it with about three dozen games to choose from. Next was the NES and Super NES. My NES is at my parent's house (my mom still plays it on occasion) and I have the Super NES at my place. One of my favorite games is NHL 95 (with season mode, create-your-own player mode and trade mode). I like to build up teams that the computer can't beat and then finish 84-0 in the regular season and then finish 16-0 in the playoffs to win the Stanley Cup (100-0 every time). Most of my games end with scores like 25-1, 35-3, 25-0. I think I even hit the 50 goal mark a couple of times. Realistic? No. Fun? Definitely. I also have the original version of Civilization for Super NES (very addictive). These games may be more primative in terms of graphics and other things, but they are still fun to me.

Looks like that program needs some serious housecleaning before they can start building a winner. A sad, sad situation for sure.

Now come on, I don't think that is what The Sicatoka meant. He's a loyal supporter of the green and white. I don't think he would ever call our players "bums" and "losers". What he is trying to say (the same things I got slammed for saying back in April) is that you get only "X" number of chances to win a national championship. And the fact of the matter is, no one remembers the team that finishes runner-up (BC the last two years) or the team that finishes as a semi-finalist (UND the last two years), unless you are a Cinderalla program that has never gotten there before and wasn't expected to be there. They remember who won it all. This group of players collectively gave up millions of dollars to take one more shot at the national championship. If they don't get it done, will they be considered "bums" and "losers"? Of course not, because there are no guarrantees in sports and because they are high quality players and people. But will it be a major disappointment if they don't get it done? Of course it will, because this program has high standards and expectations every season. It is what separates us from the programs that never win a conference championship or programs that get excited about winning more games than they lose. National championships are what a program's legacy is built on. I think these guys understand, accept and embrace these expectations or else they would never have come to school here. Even if they fall short of their ultimate goal, we will all be proud of them for delaying the instant gratification of a signing bonus to take one last shot at winning Title #8. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I have read some of the Tribune's editorials and they were anything but liberal. Maybe it has changed.

The overall quality and quantity of content of the Heraldo (copyright KJ 108's Big Dogz ) has gotten better since Forum Communications took over. Knight-Ridder was too concerned with cost-cutting and profit margins and not concerned enough with quality content. Forum Communications has addressed this. As for the editorials, sometimes I agree with them and sometimes I don't. I will say that The Forum leans to the right politically and the Heraldo is center-left (any paper with a conservative like Tom Dennis as the editorial editor cannot be called a liberal rag, however). No paper is perfect, but the Forum and Heraldo are light years ahead of the Minot Daily News and the Bismarck Tribune. The Tribune is run by hard-core neoconservatives and the Daily News just isn't very good in terms of content. Those of us that live next to the Red River are fortunate that we don't have to put up with any of that crap. End rant.

As a long-time resident of Grand Forks, here is my perspective on this (take it for what it's worth): 1) Grand Forks - My hometown for 30 years. Went to Central High School (class of 1993) and UND (class of 1998 and 2000). Now I work at UND thanks to Kupchella's dedication to research. Very nice community with good people and good schools. Housing costs are a concern. Showing some significant growth on the south-end. Has a major inferiority complex when it comes to progress and economic growth (if we don't have it, we don't need it; if we have it, we should try to get rid of it). Thinks that what worked 50 years ago is good enough for now and forever. Most GF economic growth is because of UND's increasing research mission and not because of what the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has (not) done. They have too much power and shouldn't be making policy decisions. Nobody elected them to anything. The goal of the Council and the Mayor seems to be to butter the bread of local businesses and not increasing economic opportunity for our young people and working class families. GF has a lot of potential, but needs better leadership to realize it. 2) Fargo - Largest city in North Dakota (there, I said it! ), with a positive and forward-looking attitude towards economic development and progress on slowing down and stopping outmigration. On the negative side, there is way too much traffic, public infrastructure has not kept up with population growth. Has a major superiority complex with relation to the rest of North Dakota. Everything north of Harwood, west of Casselton and south of Horace just doesn't matter and/or isn't important. "Imperial Cass County", as I like to call the Fargo area, thinks it's entitled to whatever it wants and whines when it doesn't get it. Some people are still whining and crying about the National Weather Service office moving to GF in the mid-1990's (along with the Radar site to Mayville). The movie "Fargo" was filmed mostly in Northeast ND and Minnesota, but if you listened to "Imperial Cass County" boosters, you would think that it was about them. In the minds of some Fargoians, "the rest of ND could go to Hades in a Handbasket, but as long as we are doing well, that is all that matters." Fargo also has a futile longing to be just like Minneapolis. The Fargodome (Metrodome), The Fargo Walk of Fame (Hollywood Walk of Fame) and the Fargo Marathon (Boston Marathon) are examples of an inferiority complex in relation to those larger metro areas. I am not saying that those things are bad or having them is wrong, but I think part of the motive is to become the next Minneapolis. And before someone points out the Alerus Center being built as an answer to the Fargodome, let me point out that GF spent years and years debating the Event Center question before finally approving the Aurora (now Alerus). One could argue that Fargo ripped the idea off of Grand Forks (credit to them for showing the initiative). 3) Bismarck - The seat of North Dakota government. I have been there several times (mostly on my way to other places). Seems to have more locally-owned restaurants than GF or Fargo. Would be an even better city if Bismarck State was a larger, four-year institution and the city had more of a college flavor to it (that is what is great about GF). Wouldn't mind living there if that is where life took me. 4) Minot - Used to visit there all the time when I was a kid and my parents wanted to visit relatives. My grandparents on my mother's side used to live in Drake, ND (down the road on HWY 52). Kind of a weird town. North Dakota State Fair and Zoo only reasons to visit, IMHO. More reflects the Western North Dakota culture than Bismarck does. Will likely continue to struggle with population loss. 5) Honorable Mention (Hillsboro, Grafton, Mayville-Portland) - Hillsboro is in a good location (between GF and Fargo) and has a Burger King right on the Interstate . Grafton has Marvin Windows (beat GF for it, too! ) and I think has some potential for future growth. May-Port would suffer greatly if Mayville State ever closed, but right now is a nice area. That's my two cents (and then some).

I think you are right, assuming Chorney doesn't leave. And let's hope that we don't lose too many players overall, the bleeding was pretty bad last offseason. If the bleeding is limited and the freshmen adapt and adjust quickly, we'll have a good chance at making another run next year. And you are also right about baseball and the NBA. The NBA is a joke and baseball isn't interesting until the playoffs. I am now counting the days until Sioux Football 2007!

At some point in the future (maybe even next year), we are going to win another national title. So I wouldn't throw rocks from a glass house if I were you.

I don't expect to win the Frozen Four every time we get there; college hockey is just too competitive. But it is frustrating to come up short three straight times. In 2005, just getting there and beating the Gophers was more than enough. In 2006, getting there with a very young team was exciting. This year, it looked promising and it didn't pan out. That is very disappointing. I just don't think that being disappointed is equivalent to whining. I am a proud season-ticket holder and will continue to go to every home game (and a few road games as well). If we make another playoff run, I will go to those games if I can. If not, I'll watch it on TV. Our returning players will dust themselves off and be back in October. I think you can be a loyal fan and be disappointed at the same time. I'm sorry if some of you don't agree with that.

Sorry PCM, but I don't need to be lectured by you or anyone else. -I was there during Gino's last year (11 wins total), but still went to every home game. -I was there when Blais rebuilt the program (it didn't take long) and supported the team during the 1990's when we were winning. -When we hit the skids for a couple of years (2001-02 and 2002-03) I still went to every home game and supported the team. I drove down to the Regional in Minneapolis and watched us lose to Ferris State. I didn't have a good feeling about the game beforehand, but I still went and I still felt that the trip was worth it. -When Hakstol was struggling during his first season and a bunch of people on this forum wanted him fired, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. -I go to the Final Five and support our team every year, whether we are playing for the championship or in the 3rd place game. -And I WILL support this team next year no matter how many underclassmen we lose or how much the freshmen struggle (and they WILL struggle, it's just a matter of how much), or if we have a down year. And I have already pointed out that it's better to have a program like ours instead of a program that can't seem to get it together (Michigan Tech and Anchorage come to mind). If you weren't cherry-picking my posts, you would realize that I haven't ripped any of our players or coaches. I haven't ripped the officiating (although I don't think it was up to championship standard for either team tonight). All I've done is express my sadness that we didn't finish what we started in Denver. And if that makes me a bad fan, so be it. In short, Sioux-cia and I are dealing with tonight's loss in different ways. Neither way is right or wrong. I respect her as a fan (and her positive outlook on almost everything). I just don't always agree with or share her approach on things. And this is one of those times. I don't have a problem with that; I'm sorry that you do.

Sorry Sioux-cia, I respect you as a fan and a person, but I just can't get excited about getting to the Frozen Four three years in a row and coming up short each time. Remember all of those Gopher teams in the 1980's and early to mid 1990's that got to the Frozen Four many times, but couldn't win it all even once? Their fans got tired of it and now I know what it feels like. Even ONE title out of three trips would have been awesome. Even ONE title during the past 7 years would be better than zero. Granted, it's better to make playoff runs like this than be like Michigan Tech or UM-Duluth and struggle to get out of the second-half of the league, but it's just so frustrating to get so close and come up short. You just don't know how many chances you are going to get at playing in the Frozen Four; you have to take advantage of them before the window closes. I'll always support this program; I plan on forking over another chunk of cash for season tickets again for next year. But a program's legacy is built on National Titles and we just haven't cashed in during the last seven years like we used to. Having said all that.....enjoy St. Louis!

Oh come on, let's not even go there. If it wasn't for Lammy, this game would have gotten out of hand during the 2nd period when we were getting our butts handed to us. Heck, if it wasn't for Lammy, the Rodents would have been playing tonight instead of us. And I don't think their goaltending would have been as effective as ours was tonight. I think Michigan State's goalie is better than what Boston College has. I don't know if it will make a difference in the outcome, but you never know. Not that I care either way.

Oh, I don't know, I'd like to be on the winning side of one of those 'hot goaltender' games for once. How come that phenomenon never works in our favor?

Another trip to the Frozen Four, another loss. Ever since 2001, we can't win the big game in hockey or any other sport. I won't list them here, most of us know which games and sports I am talking about and frankly, I'm not in the mood. I am not bashing any of our players or coaches or anyone else; I will support this program (and all of our other programs) forever. But at some point, just getting there isn't good enough anymore. This loss really, really hurts. And now we can sit back and watch as another half-dozen or so players leave school early and Hak is left with a bunch of question marks and not enough answers come October. What a great offseason THIS is going to be. I couldn't care less about Saturday's game now, I don't plan on even watching it. And if that sounds like a sore loser, then so be it. I really don't care. October can't get here soon enough.

A lot of times in big games, the big guns for both teams get a lot of defensive attention. That results in some lower profile players getting the big goals. Duncan used to be a low profile player, but now everyone knows who he is and what he is capable of. I think someone like Fabian or Bina will win it for us tonight.

We have to stop the stupid neutral-zone turnovers! We had more turnovers than a bakery in the 2nd period! The Eagles are going to generate a lot of chances on their own, we don't want to give them more odd-man rushes on top of those. Lammy playing a fantastic game; as long as he doesn't get too emotional and lose focus, he'll be fine. We MUST score on this upcoming Power Play and then play stingy defense (no more stupid turnovers) if we want to advance to Saturday night.

I agree, this game will be decided in the 3rd period.

Norton is a good analyst and knows the game, but there is a definite Eastern bias with him. Not as bad as some of the other E$PN clowns, but it is there.

We have to stay out of the box or we will not win this game. The momentum was ours until those back-to-back penalties by Bina and Porter. Stay out of the box and we'll win.

CC station having technical problems. I wonder if Clear Channel owns them?

Same here, I was dragging my butt the next morning! But it was worth it.

I believe that the game times are 7:37 Friday, 7:07 Saturday and 7:07 Sunday (if necessary).

Bottom line....we get third place. Now we have to win our first round playoff series and lets finish Mankato off in two games. I hate those Sunday evening games.

Dang it, the CC feed is about 45 seconds behind the DU feed.