fightingsioux4life

This weekend should give our guys some much-needed confidence after the beat-down we suffered last week.

Not trying to pour cold water on the festivities, just trying to get a feel for this team. Not sure what to think yet. Thankfully it's October and not March right now.

If we don't get some goaltending and defense sometime before Christmas, it won't matter for us.

GOAL!!!! MILLER!!!! 7-5 North Dakota!!! 4:48 left in game

6:07 left in game. 6-5 Sioux lead. Come on boys, hang on!!!

7:40 left 6-5 North Dakota lead. We have to tighten up the defense. We won't win anything this year if we give up 4-5 goals a game.

And I hate to tell YOU this (but I will, anyway): Gopher fans that claim we aren't a rival are casual fans who care more about basketball and football than hockey. The hockey-loving portion of Rodentia (with a few exceptions here and there) hates UND hockey and everything it stands for. For years, I have read and posted on forums such as this one and have seen Gopher fans trashing our program, the number of Canadians we have on the roster, the number of older players we have, the University itself, the city of Grand Forks, the State of North Dakota, the quality of education we offer here, the fact we aren't D-I in everything (soon to change); you name it, they bring it. If they can't beat us on the ice, they hit us over the head with all that other garbage. They can't stand the fact that a small school (13,000 enrollment) in a small state (population 600,000) can beat them in anything. If Gopher hockey fans think that North Dakota is "just another team on the schedule", then how come it is next to impossible to get tickets for a Sioux-Gophers series in Marriucci Arena (unless you know someone that has tickets and can't use them)? Nuff said. I'm sorry, but you can't have it both ways. You can't trash a fellow conference rival like this and then in the next breath say "it's not a rivalry on our end, all we care about is Wisconsin". Both of these programs have been playing each other for years in the same conference and have had many classic matchups; many for championships or playoff positioning. To try and argue that teams with this kind of history don't have a rivalry is the height of arrogance and conceit. But that's Rodentia and it likely won't change anytime soon. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

PCM, You are right, it would be self-destructive and there is no way that Dale Lennon or Tom Buning would go along with it. And it wouldn't help matters any to decline a playoff bid. But even as a big supporter of UND football, I am angry enough about this whole situation that any way we can tell the NCAA Politburo to stick it sounds tempting. I was just brainstorming out loud. Probably not one of my better ideas. Having all playoff games on the road equals no national title, especially in a tough region like ours. You can have some games on the road, but not all of them. It doesn't matter how talented your team is or how good your coaching staff is. Home playoff games are more important in football than in any other sport. In hockey, it doesn't mean as much because all playoff games are regionalized and have been for a long time. In basketball, it's not as daunting to travel to another team's home court and win a regional (re: UND at NDSU in Women's Basketball in 1997). But in football, home field advantage is very important. Both years we advanced to the title game we had all our games at home (2001 and 2003). In 2004, we won at St. Cloud (a game I went to) and at Michigan Tech and then beat Grand Valley State at home. If we had to go to Allendale, Michigan for that game, I don't think we would have won (GVSU is as unbeatable at home as we are). Then we had to go to Pittsburg State and lost. In the early rounds, it wouldn't be as much of a problem. But the further you advance in the playoffs, the tougher the teams get and the tougher it is to win games on the road and get to Florence. It isn't impossible, but it is very close to impossible. I will support all of our teams forever, no matter what the circumstances (check out my username if you ever question that). But I also realize that football is one of the major reasons we are moving up to D-I in all sports. It is one of the sports in which we can win a national title at the next level (Men's and Women's Hockey are the others). But if we don't win this legal war (and it is a war, don't ever forget that), we can scratch football off of that list. We have two years of D-II playoff eligibility until we go on five years of playoff probation. If we don't get an injunction, we are in danger of losing this war and of wasting two chances at a potential national championship in the number two sport on campus (behind Men's Hockey). Let's hope that November 9th goes well in the courtroom so our football team can kick butt on the gridiron into December.

This is going to sound crazy, but I think that UND should consider declining any football playoff bid if the restrictions are still in place. Accepting a playoff bid under these conditions gives credibility to the nickname ban that the NCAA Politburo and Secretary-General Myles Brand imposed by imperial edict on August 5th, 2005. By declining the bid (and I think we will finish in the top six in the region), we would make the playoff field less credible and make the NCAA look really foolish. I know it isn't going to happen, but I would love to see our athletic department thumb its nose at the NCAA however it can. Even better would be winning the national championship while on the road for every game. What would the NCAA do then, strip us of the title and ban us from postseason play for all sports? It would be the ultimate slap in the face to the NCAA Politburo. But I think the odds of any team pulling this off are very slim, if not none. I have always believed that accepting the restrictions permanently would destroy our football program forever. Let's all hope and pray for victory in court so that these tough choices don't have to be made. I can't WAIT until November 9th!!! Bring it, Myles Brand!!!

Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Heraldo will probably tell you otherwise in Sunday's sports section. Read my signature below for further details.

Minnesota barely qualifies as a I-A team. I get so sick and tired of hearing Gopher fans brag about their football team being in the Big Ten. "We're Big Ten and you're not!" Well, Indiana, Illinois and Northwestern are also in the Big Ten, but that doesn't make them good programs either. Either fire Mason and get a young, up and coming coach to build the program or move down to D-IAA. And no, I am not joking.

This series is very important for this team. This weekend was basically a disaster, but the good news is that it was a non-conference series with no points at stake. But next weekend, we'll be playing for points and if we don't get at least 2 points of out 4, that will be a bad omen for this team. Mankato is supposed to be down this year, but I have a feeling we will have our hands full. We can't afford to dig ourselves a hole in the conference standings this early in the year.

The City of Fargo owns the Fargodome, not NDSU. And if it doesn't affect NDSU in a negative manner, I don't think the City is going to listen to their complaining.

Next week we are at MSU-Mankato, which means their goaltender will be a stud for that weekend only! Seriously though, next weekend is a must-win situation, with conference points and the confidence of our players on the line. GO SIOUX, LET'S REBOUND!!!

Penalty on Sioux. Game Over.

GOAL!!! 3-1 Maine leads. Still need a miracle here.

Maine playing a strictly defensive posture with a 3 goal cushion, ala Wisconsin. Tough to get good scoring opportunities now.

C'mon, they can't be as bad as Mazacco and Woog.

The silver lining in this weekend is that it is October, not March. If Maine is peaking this early, that does not bode well for them. If we can improve over the next couple of months, we'll be all right. Next week we are at MSU-Mankato, a conference series and a must-win situation after this weekend.

If you shoot at the goalie's chest, chances are you won't get a rebound. If you miss a wide open net and hit the post, you definitely won't score. But when Maine gets chances in the slot or right in front of the net, they bury them. That is the mark of a veteran team. We can't blame good goaltending every time we lose or don't get results. All good teams have good to great goaltending (except maybe Minnesota ), we just have to deal with it. Otherwise, we better start lowering expectations for this year.

Only Secretary-General Brand and the NCAA Politburo (I suggest we start calling them that from now on) would think that UND playing it's games in the Fargodome would be considered "hosting". It is still a road game, just not on the opponent's home field; which it should not be if they are the lower seed. If their stated goal was to eliminate Native American imagery from "their" tournaments, then this would do just that. Of course, their real goals are much loftier. I think the issue of the temporary and permanent injunctions will give us an idea of what chances we have with the overall lawsuit. If a judge grants the injunction, I think it would indicate that our case has a good chance of prevailing. If the judge doesn't grant the injunction, I think we better start brainstorming a new name right now. I tend to think we will get the injunction because of all the inconsistencies in the NCAA's policy and justification of that policy. If it wasn't so unfair to our players and coaches, I would suggest we decline any football playoff bids awarded under these restrictions (just to stick it to the NCAA Politburo). But my instincts say we won't have to make that kind of choice.

Some of you will think I am crazy for suggesting this (a lot of people think I'm crazy, anyway! ), but I think I might have a solution for our football team for the playoffs in case we can't get a court-ordered injunction against the NCAA before the playoffs start on November 18th. If our team earns a high enough regional ranking for home playoff games (not a lock, by any means), I propose that we rent out the Fargodome (a neutral site) for our "home" playoff games, assuming the NCAA doesn't come up with an excuse to forbid it. I heard Tom Buning talk about a "neutral-site solution" on television (KVLY) shortly after the NCAA mandate was announced in 2005. There are many advantages to this: 1) It would be a neutral site (Fargodome) in a neutral city (Fargo). We would not be "hosting". 2) No "hostile and abusive" imagery for the NCAA to get mad about (unless you count the Bison logos! ). 3) A short one-hour drive for the team. And fans like myself. 4) Plenty of Sioux alums in Fargo to fill the place up. 5) Plenty of seating for the opposing team (more proof that it's a "neutral site") 6) The Fargodome would finally host a playoff game (sorry Bison fans, couldn't resist! ). 7) Related to #6, the Dome would make some money out of the deal, encouraging them to go along with this. 8) The NCAA would also make some money off of the deal. I call this an advantage because if there is one thing the NCAA likes more than political correctness, it's the Almighty Dollar. Crazy? I suppose. But in situations like this, you have to think outside the box. By using the NCAA's own arrogance and greed against them, we can get a better deal for our team and give us a shot at getting to Florence before we move up and go on playoff probation (starting in 2008). Hopefully, North Dakota's legal team will be able to get the injunction and all of this will become a moot point. Flame away!

Thanks!

I've always felt that Bismarck is a nice town; it just needs more of a college atmosphere to it (a bigger Bismarck State College would help). Grafton is also a nice place; much smaller than what I am used to, but nice nonetheless.

The BCS honchos will do and say anything to maintain the current "system", if you can even call it that. Repeat the same crap over and over and people will start believing it. Sounds familiar to those of us fighting to keep the Sioux name, doesn't it? All of their arguments are bunk. The Bowl "System" would make more money than a playoff (bunk), the regular season would be diminished (bunk), the student-athlete would miss too much classroom time (bunk), the season would be too long (bunk), the "little guy" in D-IA college football would be hurt by a playoff system (bunk)....... Bunk, bunk, bunk, bunk, bunk!!! Some BCS-ites have even went as far as to trash the NCAA Basketball Tournament for diminishing the regular season and being too long and watered-down and as proof that the BCS is somehow better. I can't really blame them for doing this, because their "system" is totally indefensible, so they have to trash the system another sport uses (with great success, I might add). But if you try to use March Madness as an example as to why football should have a playoff system, they respond with "that's apples and oranges, you can't use that comparison" blah, blah, blah. It's okay if the BCS-ites do it, but if you are a playoff supporter, it's wrong. This is one major reason UND (or NDSU for that matter) should NEVER go D-IA in football. Ever. We'll never qualify for a bowl game that anyone cares about and if there is a playoff in the future, we'll probably never qualify for that, either. At least in D-IAA, we'll be able to make our mark as national title contenders (as soon as we get our scholarships up, that is). The complicated political entanglements in D-IA football are what keep a playoff from happening, not "money". At least our football program doesn't have to deal with this garbage. End rant.