fightingsioux4life

Screen pass against the blitz, Augie to UND 29 yard line. Time for D to step up. Again.

Augie going for it on fourth down. First down Augie!!!

SACK!!! Jared Enger, Augie pushed back to the 41. 3rd and 16

Good return by Chappell, first down from Sioux 49. Chappell fumbles, Augie recovers! We are giving this game away! 7:20 in first quarter Augustana 3 North Dakota 0

30 yard field goal good Augustana 3 North Dakota 0 8:27 in first quarter

Big third down coming up for defense. 3rd and 7 for Augie on Sioux 14. Sioux hold again, Augie field goal coming up.

First down Augustana at Sioux 17. UND 0 Augustana 0 9:25 left in first quarter

Sioux defense holds, force punt from midfield. Dressler fair catch at 15. Offsides on UND, Augie first down!!! Penalties have to stop.

Augie advances to UND 37 yard line. Time for defense to step up.

Incomplete pass. Punting time.

Illegal procedure wipes out Sioux first down. 3rd and 8, Augei 49

I'll be there. It has to be more entertaining than watching the Vikings kick a bunch of field goals against the Bills. GO SIOUX!!!

More love for Rutgers from Sporting News College Football columnist Matt Hayes: If Schiano has a clue, he won't leave Rutgers for the "U" (Miami) Interesting choice, stick with a rising power in Jersey or take the big money at Miami and risk being run out of town for winning "only" 7 games?

Our program has never gotten the respect it deserves from the Hockey Least/EZAC brown-nosing hockey journalist community. Take this "poll" for what it's worth (NOTHING!) and get ready for another great year. We all know which conference is the best.

redwing77, I didn't like Green or McCombs, either. McCombs is back to selling used cars and Green can bake in the Arizona desert forever for all I care. They took this organization and ran it into the ground with their arrogance and greed. That being said, both of them are gone, and I am very optimistic about the future with Childress and Wilf in charge of the franchise. This is a transition year (and I think there will be at least one more transition year after this), but the team already is showing more toughness and resiliance in the first three games of 2006 than during the entire Mike Tice era. The offense needs rebuilding thru the draft and free agency, the defense needs more depth in certain spots, and they have to improve the special teams coverage on punts and kickoffs. Too many long returns for my taste. But overall, they are headed in the right direction. Playoffs? Probably not. But give Childress a couple of more drafts and free agent periods to work with and this team will be a contender in the playoffs. Not a pretender like during the Denny "take a knee" Green era.

star2city, No, you got it all wrong on this one. Let JBB (er, I mean Holdem) keep posting on here. He is so good at hanging himself with his ridiculous anti-UND, anti-Grand Forks comments that banning him isn't necessary. It's good entertainment to watch him try to spin NDSU's football program into looking like a D-I power. He just wants everybody to forget who has the Nickel and who has won 10 out of the past 13 matchups between the two schools. Letting him post on here gives us a chance to counter his revisionist views of UND-NDSU football. By the way, I like the new name: Holdem. As I recall, that's what happened the last time we played the BISON in Grand Forks. In overtime. UND up 28-21. 4th and Inches. Digger Anderson stops the ballcarrier to secure the win and the Nickel until we meet again (in a couple of years)! Hmm, maybe THAT'S why JBB doesn't want to play us anymore?

dakotadan, I don't think anyone has suggested that this team should be hanging banners yet. All anyone wants is some (any!) evidence that the team is getting better or that there is some hope for the future. Maybe this crop of freshmen will be the catalyst; the sooner the better. More off the ice problems will only scare top recruits away, which is what will get us to the next level (read: championships). My main problem with Rivard is that she sets low expectations for the team; and then the team invariably lives up (or down in this case) to those expectations. All that talk about not having any Olympians just reinforces the idea that the players can't compete with other teams and most certainly can't win. That is the wrong mentality to have if you want to be competitive, which is the first step to winning. Teams take on the personality of their head coach. Rivard has not been sending the right messages through the media and that is part of the problem. Set high standards for the players and they will work hard to achieve those standards. Eventually, they will get there. That is how Blais turned around a dormant men's program in the mid-1990's in such a short period of time and that is how Rivard can build a solid foundation for the women's program. If this team can show signs of that this season, I say give Rivard another chance. If not, it might be time for a change.

Sioux-cia, Fair enough. It's a long season and anything can happen. The Falcons are getting beat by the Saints 23-3 in the third quarter!

Sioux-cia, I wasn't abusing you, I was pointing out that "Da Bears" haven't proven anything yet. If they beat the Seahawks, I'll start believing. But until then, I remain a skeptic.

"Da Bears" haven't proven anything yet. If they are such a great football team, they should have won by two or three touchdowns on Sunday. Grossman practically gave the Vikings 6 points with that awful interception in the third quarter. Thanks to the 5 to 10 yard cushions the Bears receivers were getting, Grossman had some real easy pass completions. The Vikings have to tighten that up in the future. The Vikings did do a good job against the run, something "Da Bears" always pride themselves on. If "Da Bears" can beat the Seahawks, I will start taking them seriously. Even without Shaun Alexander (who I understand will be out indefinitely with a hairline fracture in his foot), the Seahawks offense will pose a much bigger challenge to the Bears D than the Vikings did. They have one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and a solid line (even without Hutchinson). Their defense is pretty athletic, so Grossman better be on his best behavior. The Vikings weren't supposed to be a great team this year, with all the changes in the offseason and a 38 year old quarterback whose best days are behind him. A 2-1 start is looking pretty good right now. The Bears, on the other hand, have been hailed as the greatest thing since sliced bread all offseason. They are supposed to be dominant, but so far they haven't been (unless you count the dismantlings of the Packers and Lions). And until "Da Bears" can win a playoff game (or two), I would put the Falcons in the Super Bowl before I would put the "Grossman Gang" in it. Last year, Steve Smith almost single-handedly destroyed the Bears vaunted defense in the playoffs (in Soldier Field, no less). Unless "Da Bears" can overcome that this year, it won't matter if they win 14 or 15 games during the regular season. It's time "Da Bears" take advantage of their Super Bowl "window of opportunity" before it closes.

The one reason Kleinsasser was drafted in the 2nd round (44th overall) in 1999 is that he is a great blocker. It's like having another offensive lineman out there. He's just a big, Sherman tank that runs over anything in his way. He doesn't get a lot of highlight time because blocking tight ends aren't highlight material. But good blocking is just as important to an offense as catching and running. Why do you think the Vikings keep Jermaine Wiggins on the team? Because he can catch the ball and sometimes get some yards after the catch, something Kleinsasser has never been very good at. If I ever open up my Sporting News and read that Kleinsasser shouldn't be on the Vikings roster because he "isn't great after the catch" again, I think I'll throw up. That's not what he's on the team for. I think Jimmy might have a couple of seasons left in him, provided he stays healthy.

redwing77, When you have this many players just up and leave the women's hockey program (along with assistant coaches), there is something seriously wrong. If this team doesn't show at least an incremental improvement in their won-loss record this season, I think Rivard is gone. The way I look at it, if she complains even once about not having any "Olympians", I think she should be gone!

Pat Sweeney is no worse than Ed Shultz, Dana Mock and Steve Hallstrom were/are when it comes to the Bison. That's why during the Sioux-Bison games, they would put one broadcaster each from WDAZ and WDAY; to balance out the biases. When it comes to this rivalry; it's UND vs. NDSU, Grand Forks vs. Fargo, brother vs brother, husband vs wife, etc. There isn't anyone in the state with an unbiased bone in their body. I don't think that will change once the rivalry resumes.

I have been a Vikings fan since I was old enough to understand what football is. .....I was too young to remember the 1970's Super Bowl-losing teams (and I am grateful for that! ). .....I lived with the 1980's all-Defense, no-Offense teams. .....I lived with the late 1990's, early 2000's all-Offense, no-Defense teams. .....I put up with Mike "not ready for primetime" Tice and Denny "take a knee" Green. .....I cheered the day Red "cheapskate" McCombs sold the team. .....I cried my eyes out after the 1987 NFC championship game. .....I nearly threw up (literally) after the 1999 NFC championship game. .....I wanted to crawl in a hole after the 2001 NFC championship game. And I still wouldn't change my allegiance to another team if you paid me. Now that the Vikings have an owner who will spend money and a head coach with a clue, I think the years ahead are promising. But even if they aren't, I will always be a Vikings fan. GO VIKINGS!!!

How could they NOT win the NFC North with one of the softest schedules in the NFL? That, plus the fact that the other three teams in the division have too many question marks. The question for you guys is, can you produce in the playoffs this year? Last year's playoff loss to the Panthers must have been tough to swallow. Predicted order of finish in the NFC North: 1) Bears (great D + improved O + soft schedule = first place finish) 2) Vikings (Childress Rebuilding Plan, Phase 1) 3) Lions (Matt Millen must go! Opps, I could get kicked out of Ford Field for saying that!) 4) Packers (Favre should have retired) GO VIKINGS!!! PURPLE PRIDE, PURPLE PRIDE!!!