Attorneys Issue Response to Accusations in Lawsuit Filed by Former UMD Women's Coaches

Ahead of a scheduled pre-trial conference Monday, attorneys for the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota have issued a response to a lawsuit filed by former UMD coaches Shannon Miller, Jen Banford, and Annette Wiles. The lawsuit alleges discrimination by UMD based on gender, sexual orientation, national origin, and age, allegations strongly denied by the defendant.

I have obtained a copy of the response, which was filed Wednesday. The 11-page document answers allegations levied by Miller, Banford, and Wiles.

Specifically, the response to the lawsuit addresses claims made by Miller regarding scholarship money allocated to the men's and women's hockey programs.

According to the statement of case: "Indeed, the total women’s hockey scholarship funding has historically exceeded that of the men’s hockey team. For instance, in 2014–15, total scholarships of $460,785 were awarded for women’s hockey, versus $408,754 for men’s hockey, even though the men’s team had more players."

The statement goes on to refute Miller's allegation of discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation by noting the female who was hired to take over the UMD women's program (Maura Crowell) identifies as gay.

It also addresses claims by Miller that the school's treatment of men's coach Scott Sandelin is evidence of discrimination towards her. The statement says Sandelin's contract doesn't expire until 2017, and notes his 6-2 record in three recent appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Over that same time span, Miller's teams went 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament. It also notes that Sandelin's base salary was $265,000, not "in excess of $300,000" as claimed in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also brings up the contract extension given to football coach Curt Wiese as support of discrimination allegations. The school refutes that, noting Wiese's salary was a fraction of Miller's, and his teams had performed consistently at a high level.

From the statement of case: "Wiese’s pay of $85,000 was approximately 40% of Miller’s, and—unlike Miller—he was not the highest paid coach in his sport’s level of intercollegiate athletics (i.e., NCAA Division II football).  He was not even the highest-paid football coach in UMD’s conference (the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC)).  Rather, Wiese’s pay ranked 8th out of 16 in the conference. Yet, since Wiese’s arrival (as offensive coordinator, then promoted to head coach in 2012) at UMD in February 2008, the football team has gone 86-10 (for an .895 winning percentage—a figure unmatched by any Division II football program), and the team captured two NCAA Division II national championships (2008 and 2010) along with six NSIC titles (2008–12 and 2014) while producing two perfect 15-0 seasons."

Regarding Banford, the statement of case accuses her of hiding a significant fact from her January 2015 disclosure to ESPNw and other media outlets that she was being non-renewed as UMD's softball coach and director of women's hockey operations.

Again, taken from the statement: "A few days after (Assistant Athletic Director Jay) Finnerty emailed Banford the non-renewal letter regarding the hybrid position, on or about December 16, 2014, Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator Karen Stromme met with the softball team and told them that Banford would be their softball coach for the coming season.  Finnerty then spoke to Banford on or about December 17, 2014, and told her that it would be an approximately 60-day process to provide her the new appointment as head softball coach.  Berlo also spoke with Banford on or about December 18, 2014, and communicated that the University fully intended to retain her and that they were working through the details. 

"About one month later, on January 15, 2015, Banford inquired of Finnerty by email as to the status of the new appointment.  Finnerty advised her in person that same day that the appointment was still in process.  Also that same day, Finnerty facilitated the electronic scheduling of a January 20, 2015 meeting with Berlo and Banford to explain where they were in the process.  Banford accepted the meeting appointment.  Two days later, on January 17, 2015, Banford electronically declined the previously-accepted January 20th meeting and apparently reported to the media that her contract as head softball coach had been non-renewed.  Banford supplied the media only with the letter of non-renewal of the hybrid Head Softball Coach/Director of Women’s Hockey position and neglected to supply the media with Finnerty’s cover email.  Thus, on Sunday, January 18, 2015, ESPNw reported that Banford said that she received notice that her Head Softball Coach position would not be renewed.  The online version of the story provided a link to the non-renewal letter, but not the cover email, which Banford chose to hide from the press."

The response also notes that UMD's softball team played its greatest number of home games in the last five years, as the teams that shared Malosky Stadium -- football, track and field, and soccer -- made accommodations for each other, as well as for softball. It also denies Banford's allegations that equipment for players was "held hostage" by the school.

Wiles, you might remember, resigned from UMD after the 2014-15 season, alleging a hostile work environment. The school denies such an environment existed, and the response notes a conversation Wiles had with two other coaches in the spring of 2015 where she admitted she didn't experience a hostile work environment and said UMD was a "great place to work."

The statement of case goes on to detail the friendship between Wiles and UMD Assistant Athletic Director Abbey Strong. It says Wiles severed that friendship in October 2014 after she incurred charges of over $1,000 for wear and tear on a leased Toyota vehicle that was provided to her free of charge. The contract said Wiles would responsible for wear and tear charges and mileage overages, but she wanted Strong to find money in the department's budget to pay for them. When Strong struggled to do that, "Wiles became hostile toward Strong -- not the other way around," the statement says.

"Coaches throughout the Athletic Department were treated similarly with respect to leased vehicles: each coach who received a leased vehicle rather than a monthly stipend signed a lease with Toyota obliging the coach to pay wear-and-tear charges, mileage overage charges, and the like."

The statement also says Wiles -- like Banford and Miller -- are alleging gender discrimination when UMD hired a woman (Mandy Pearson) for the position of women's basketball head coach.

The final page of the statement of case addresses unequal pay accusations.

"Plaintiffs’ allegation that they received unequal pay for equal work is meritless. Compensation for each employee depends on job performance, duties and responsibilities, and market conditions.  An employee’s gender and sexual orientation were not considered in determining compensation."

More to come as the case continues.

UMD Women's Hockey Struggling With Elite Opponents

Earlier this week, UMD announced it would not renew the contracts of head women's hockey coach Shannon Miller or her assistants, Laura Schuler and Gina Kingsbury. There's been much made of this story (read the above link for interviews with both Miller and athletic director Josh Berlo, and you can podcast my interview with Berlo from Thursday morning here -- fast forward to around the top of the show's third hour), and there is probably more to come.

Hopefully, the end of the story includes a long and fruitful playoff run for the women. They've worked hard this season, as evidenced by practices and games I've seen, and they're clearly improved from the start of the year. Miller is doing a very good job, and if the group can rally from this and not let it affect play, there's no reason UMD can't return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since a quarterfinal exit in 2011.

Yes, I said 2011. It's the only sustained NCAA Tournament drought Miller has experienced since joining UMD to launch its women's hockey program in 1999. UMD missed in 2004 after three straight titles, but rebounded to make the national playoffs seven straight years -- with two more titles -- before this three-year absence started in 2012.

That stretch of missing the national tournament has coincided with a precipitous drop in success for UMD against the other elite programs of the WCHA, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Since I couldn't sleep Wednesday night, I started doing some research on this topic. The findings are quite interesting.

After going a respectable 6-7-1 against Minnesota in 2008-2010, it fell off a cliff for the Bulldogs against their biggest in-state rival.

In the four-plus seasons since UMD's last national championship -- won, coincidentally, in 2010 at Ridder Arena -- the Bulldogs have played 21 games against the Gophers. The record? 3-16-2. In those 16 losses, UMD has been shut out nine times. Over the 21 games, UMD has scored 28 goals and allowed 78. A tie (followed by a UMD shootout win for an extra WCHA point) in October broke a streak of 12 straight losses to the Gophers by an aggregate of 55-10.

Against Wisconsin, things haven't been much easier. Over the last 20 meetings stretching to the start of the 2010-11 season, UMD is just 4-14-2 against the Badgers. They've been outscored 55-35. Games have generally been much more competitive, even if UMD isn't winning a significantly higher number of them. UMD is 4-10 against the Badgers in games decided by one or two goals in those last 20 meetings. In the 21 games against the Gophers, only six have been decided by one or two goals, with UMD going 3-3.

(NOTE: This research does not differentiate between regular-season and playoff games. Teams meet four times -- two games at each respective venue -- during the regular season, for a fully-balanced, 28-game league schedule.)

So since the start of the 2010-11 season, the score of the average Minnesota-UMD game: Minnesota 3.7, UMD 1.3

The score of the average Wisconsin-UMD game: Wisconsin 2.75, UMD 1.67

Certainly this is a bigger problem against the Gophers than it is the Badgers, but UMD is not nearly as competitive against the WCHA's two best programs as it used to be.

If you throw in North Dakota, which had a nice run thanks to the Lamoureux twins, the numbers don't get much better. In the same time frame, UMD is 5-9-4 against North Dakota.

Here are the overall winning percentages of the WCHA's top four programs over the last four-plus years (all numbers are through this week):

UMD: 84-59-17 .578 (1 NCAA appearance)
North Dakota: 97-58-13 .616 (2 NCAA appearances)
Wisconsin: 138-27-9 .819 (3 NCAA appearances, 1 title, 1 second place)
Minnesota: 155-18-7 .881 (4 NCAA appearances, 2 titles, 1 second place)

In addition, UMD has not picked up a single point against the Gophers at Ridder Arena since Jan. 14, 2011, a run of seven straight regulation or overtime road losses to Minnesota. UMD's last regular season win at Minnesota was Jan. 23, 2009.

(UMD beat Minnesota at Ridder on March 19, 2010, in the Frozen Four semifinals.)

WCHA teams who have won more recently at Minnesota than UMD has (regular-season games only)? Wisconsin (Nov. 6, 2010), North Dakota (Nov. 17, 2013), and Bemidji State (Nov. 1 of this year). Ohio State (Jan. 11 of this year) has a point at Minnesota more recently than UMD's last point there.

All the while, Miller has continued to be the highest-paid women's hockey coach in Division I (at least that we can find). Over the last four years, via public employee salary postings easily accessed for Minnesota and Wisconsin, Miller has made an average of around $223,000 in base pay. Wisconsin's Mark Johnson has averaged $166,000, while Brad Frost of Minnesota has made $134,000 on average.

(All numbers are rounded for simplicity.)

******

It isn't easy to admit it, but there's no question. The program has fallen off a bit in recent years. Part of that is the push forward Minnesota has made since Frost took over. Wisconsin has also surged ahead of UMD. What's even more interesting is how well North Dakota fared against the Bulldogs. You could argue UMD -- a five-time national champion over a span of just ten years -- has been the fourth-best program in the WCHA since the start of the 2010-11 season.

(In fairness, UND has fallen back a bit so far this season, and I don't think I'm qualified enough to say UND has passed UMD in terms of recruiting. It's clear Minnesota and Wisconsin have.)

Maybe it comes back in 2015, but UMD is 1-4-1 against Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, and that was with all but the UND games at home. A six-game run that starts with UND at home in late January will tell us a lot, because that's followed up by roadies to Minnesota and Wisconsin. Beyond that, UMD would surely have to take down either Minnesota or Wisconsin in order to make the Frozen Four, assuming it finishes strong enough to make the NCAA Tournament.

No matter what happens, it won't be a "plug and play" situation for whoever takes over for Miller. It would be tough enough to ever have to take over at UMD for Miller, but the controversy surrounding her departure at the end of this season will only increase the pressure. Make no mistake: There are many who are very loyal to Shannon Miller. You don't win 375 games in one place -- and she'll add to that number before she leaves -- without building up some equity and earning the respect and loyalty of people around you.

Throw in there the fact that UMD is no longer the top program in its conference, nor is it really knocking on the door of a well-established top two. This should be a destination job for any qualified Division I women's hockey coach, but that person will have plenty of work to do to get this team back to legitimate, year-to-year, national contention.

I don't care who gets the job. I just hope whoever does is able to use the program's history and high-quality facilities to get UMD back to the top of the WCHA. It's a place the Bulldogs haven't been in a while, and it'd be nice to knock on the door again.

UMD Women's Hockey Program Ending an Era

The only coach the UMD women's hockey program has ever known, Shannon Miller, will be finishing the 2014-15 season and then moving on from the university.

The school made the announcement Monday night via a press release.

University of Minnesota Duluth women’s hockey head coach Shannon Miller will not have her contract extended beyond the 2014-15 season, due to financial considerations. Two assistant coaches and a part-time director of operations will also not have their contracts renewed.

“We deeply appreciate and are proud of what Shannon has built and accomplished at UMD,” said Athletic Director Josh Berlo. “She established a winning program, raised it to the highest level of competition and sustained a national championship tradition over the last 15 years. Today’s decision about Shannon’s contract was an immensely difficult and financially driven decision. Unfortunately, UMD Athletics is not in a position to sustain the current salary levels of our women’s hockey coaching staff. However, we remain committed to supporting the Bulldog women’s hockey program.”

Chancellor Lendley (Lynn) Black expressed his deep appreciation for Coach Miller’s tenure: “Thank you for being one of the best coaches in the history of UMD Intercollegiate Athletics.  I will always fondly remember our 2010 trip to the White House!”

Coach Miller came to UMD in 1998 and immediately established the program as a national powerhouse, winning five NCAA championships since the program’s inception. In that time, she developed 28 current and former Olympians, as well as multiple national team coaches. The championship tradition of Bulldog Women’s Hockey was built with players from the United States, Canada and around the globe bringing an international community to Duluth. Coach Miller boasts a .713 winning percentage at UMD.

"I am extremely shocked and saddened by this news, as is our entire staff and team,” said Miller. “But we are committed to staying here to coach these great young women for the rest of the season and to a national championship."

A national search will take place following the 2014-15 season.

UMD is 12-5-3 this season and off until Jan. 10. Senior forward Zoe Hickel was one of the only players to chime in on Twitter Monday night.

Lots of emotions here, and understandably so. I'm in the building quite a bit, but I'm not going to claim great knowledge of the goings-on on the women's side of Amsoil Arena. That said, if you think the players aren't going to speak out in support of the person who brought them here and has been coaching them for however long, you're insane. If they don't come out and support Miller here, something is probably amiss.

Miller has always been courteous and professional in my inquiries to her over the years. I have no gripes, not that I'd necessarily share them in this forum anyway. But I don't.

(And you know me. I'd probably have said something on Twitter if I had a gripe.)

I am scheduled to visit with Josh Berlo on Thursday -- previously scheduled -- and I don't expect to hit him up any earlier than that. Duluth News Tribune noob Matt Wellens did speak both to Berlo and Miller Monday night.

Berlo interview
Miller interview

I'd suggest reading both of them. Good quotes from each party, and Matt asks just about every question I could think to ask myself. And he did it on his day off.

Thinking Out Loud: Tony Dungy's Irrational Fear of Distractions, Chris Kluwe's Fight

The idea of an openly gay player in a professional sports locker room is one that's been danced around for years. Many have been afraid to discuss it, and while it's unquestionably true that we've had gay professional athletes, none have been willing to come out during their playing careers.

Before going through the combine and the NFL Draft, Missouri linebacker Michael Sam decided it was time to do just that. He came out as gay, saying his teammates knew last season.

You know the rest of this story. The St. Louis Rams took Sam in the seventh round, and he will have a chance to make the team during training camp, which starts this week.

Good thing Tony Dungy wasn't in Jeff Fisher's spot.

"I wouldn't have taken him,'' Dungy told the Tampa Bay Tribune. “Not because I don't believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn't want to deal with all of it.

"It's not going to be totally smooth ... things will happen."

Keep in mind: Dungy blazed a trail for African Americans to become head coaches in the NFL. He wasn't the first, but he was one of the most successful, and his presence made a huge difference for those who thought the NFL was not providing African Americans the opportunity to become head coaches.

Dungy is a man who stared racism down and persevered despite it.

Sam is blazing a different kind of trail, and Dungy says that trail is too distracting to a team.

That tells you all you need to know about the NFL and its priorities.

Michael Sam's gay. That's a distraction.

Ray Rice drags his fiancee around a casino, and that isn't.

Take it away, Mike Freeman.

Unfortunately, Dungy isn't alone, but Dungy is supposed to know better. He's supposed to be a leader, a man of principal, a man who knows the sting of bigotry. Quite simply, he's supposed to understand.

... Dungy should know better, but he is clearly a good man with a weak spot. Imagine if an NFL team, when Dungy came into football, decided not to draft him because they wouldn't want to "deal with all of it" by picking a black man. Or if Dungy's hero, Chuck Noll, instead of hiring Dungy as an assistant coach, decided, "You know what, the attention will be negative. I don't want to 'deal with all of it.' "

When Dungy was trying to be a head coach, he was rebuffed in many instances because of the color of his skin. Or other superficial features. The late George Young, who was the general manager of the Giants, once told Dungy (as told in Michael MacCambridge's book America's Game): "I want to help you. I want to see you succeed in this business, and I think you can. But you'll never advance any farther with that beard. It's just not seen in the NFL."

When Dungy told Steelers owner Dan Rooney about Young's words, Rooney said: "In some organizations, that's probably true. But we like people to be themselves."

I like people to be themselves, too. I like Richard Sherman as Richard Sherman. He adds to the experience of watching football. As much as Jermichael Finley's flamboyance drove me nuts at times, it'll be missed in Green Bay if he can't play again. I believe the Vikings will miss Jared Allen's personality, possibly as much as the Bears will appreciate having him around.

Some guys stand out because of their uniqueness. If they're doing their jobs and the team isn't suffering because of that "individuality," there's no reason to think that player is a distraction.

Sure, Finley's gestures after every random catch look stupid if the team is down 30-7 or if the record is 3-9. Same for Allen's calf-roping sack dance. But if the team is winning, it's like a rallying cry.

It's amazing that Dungy -- a well-spoken, intelligent man who went through a lot of crap before he finally got the opportunity he needed to prove himself as a coach -- would so easily dismiss a guy like Sam.

Michael Sam's a distraction, but the guy who was thrown in prison for his role in a dogfighting ring (Michael Vick) deserved a second chance at the NFL.

OK, Tony.

I wonder how Dungy would have handled Chris Kluwe if the two had worked together at any point. There's another story.

Kluwe basically took a live grenade to his NFL career in January, when he penned a piece for Deadspin.com where he alleged he was let go by the Vikings because of his outspoken support for gay marriage. If that wasn't enough, Kluwe threatened to sue the team (and apparently will file that suit on Wednesday) if they didn't release the results of their commissioned investigation that resulted from Kluwe's piece, as well as levy heavy sanctions against the main subject of that story, special teams coordinator Mike Priefer.

The Vikings called Kluwe's bluff. He wasn't bluffing.

Do I think Kluwe is a bit of an attention seeker? Yes. But I also believe he is standing up for something he feels strongly about: gay rights. And he thinks he is still doing that in trying to get the Vikings to change what he insists is a broken culture within the organization and, more specifically, in the locker room.

This isn't a money grab from Kluwe. He said he will donate every dime he may be awarded from the Vikings. It also isn't a ploy to get back in the NFL. Between the Deadspin piece that started all of this in January and the pending lawsuit, Kluwe knows he's done in the league.

And as the Vikings tried to deflect Kluwe's barbs by leaking word that he had taken part in some ribbing of a Penn State alum on the Vikings' staff (making fun of the Jerry Sandusky scandal), Kluwe went back on the offensive. He said (correctly) that his behavior, while not necessarily right, doesn't justify anything Priefer is alleged to have said in team settings. Priefer is a leader and held to a higher standard, Kluwe says, and he's right.

Just ask the Miami Dolphins, who fired offensive line coach Jim Turner last year after he was found to be taking part in the bullying of lineman Jonathan Martin.

"The language and behavior as described in the Ted Wells report are against the core values of our organization," Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement. "After receiving the report, I conducted my own internal review of the facts to determine the appropriate steps for our organization. Jim Turner and Kevin O'Neill are good people who care a great deal about their profession and the players whom they serve, but both exhibited poor judgment at times which led me to this conclusion.

"As owner, I know firsthand of the high-character and dedicated professionals in our building. I believe in our team and know the hard work and sacrifices they make every day on the field and in the community. However, this is an opportunity and a teaching moment not only for the coaches, staff and players in our locker room, but also for participants throughout sports."

I don't know if Priefer should have been fired, but the results of this Vikings investigation -- even our limited knowledge from that report -- make it clear that locker-room behavior continues to be a problem for the NFL.

Guys are going to kid around, have fun, and get on each other's nerves. But there has to be a line where words and actions start to genuinely offend people. And those people have to be encouraged to speak up, not ripped limb from limb when they do.

Random Rabble: August 12

Those who live around the Duluth area know why I haven't been around much. It hasn't been because I don't enjoy throwing up the occasional blog about nothing significant.

Been exceptionally busy with the real job, but hopefully things are back to normal on this day. It'll allow me to get back into my normal late-summer routine, preparing for the fall and winter sports season.

UMD football is first up. I'm looking forward to getting up to campus next week for Media Day as we start to get a lay of the land. New coach in Curt Wiese, a good dude and a guy I think we in the media will all like from a standpoint of access and information. New quarterback to "replace" Chase Vogler, one of the more understated guys to come through this program in a long time. I never doubted for a second that Isaac Odim was appreciated when he was playing at UMD. I'm not entirely sure Vogler was appreciated as much as he should have been.

For evidence, look at what he did for the offense in the playoff loss to Missouri Western. 379 total yards, including 184 on the ground. Yeah, Austin Sikorski was a beast running that day, but Vogler almost singlehandedly kept UMD in the game, especially when Western was threatening a blowout early.

Sikorski is back, as is Aaron Roth and most of the offensive line. The defense was practically disastrous at times, especially in the St. Cloud and Western losses. That said, John Steger is a hell of a coach, and nearly everyone is back there as well.

If that's not enough local football, a St. Scholastica team that returns a ton of talent is picked to win the UMAC in the preseason league coaches' poll. The Saints started slowly last year as they broke in a new starting quarterback (Tyler Harper) and tried to find an offensive identity. A 7-1 UMAC record put CSS in a three-way tie for first, one that was broken by a blind draw conducted over the internet; and CSS won the draw for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs.

The Saints have a slew of starters back, including Harper and running backs Jake Jensen and Chris Gassert. However, the receiving corps took a hit, including the graduation of Nick Thiry, and the defensive line lost a lot of talent.

I'm excited to see what Wisconsin does in its first year under Gary Andersen. Longtime blog readers will know that I was never really a fan of Bret Bielema. I just didn't trust him in big games or close games, and his record -- especially last year -- would seem to support my trust issues. Andersen last worked at Utah State, hardly a powerhouse, but he built a winner there after years of mediocre or worse football.

Job No. 1: Find a quarterback. Usually, I'd put my chips in on the guy the new coach recruited, but it doesn't sound like junior college transfer Tanner McEvoy is throwing well early on. He's the best athlete of the bunch, but senior Curt Phillips and sophomore Joel Stave are both probably better options for the passing game, at least in the early going. How quickly the quarterback race comes together will determine Wisconsin's BCS hopes.

Speaking of the B1G, Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune had a must-read feature on Minnesota coach Jerry Kill in Sunday's paper.

Now, at the dawn of a new season, Kill has come to a pivotal juncture in his eight-year quest to gain control of his seizures. The Gophers need to keep improving, and he needs to prove he can stay healthy.

Knowing the stakes, he found a new doctor, changed medication plans, honed his diet, exercised and adopted a whole new outlook — embracing the word epilepsy instead of shunning it.

“Believe me, there’s nobody who’s trying to do the right thing more than I am because I love coaching the game of football,” Kill said. “And I want to make sure I never have a situation, ever, during a game again.”

Experts say about 70 percent of the people with epilepsy can become seizure-free with the right medication. Kill insists he’s making progress.

We learn that stress and a lack of sleep can make the body less resistant to these seizures. The point? Kill's chosen profession -- football coach -- practically invites his body to continue to have these problems. It means that everything else he does has to be done almost perfectly. He has to make sure he gets enough rest, relaxes as much as possible, and he can't let his guard down.

When Kill seized at halftime of that game against Michigan State last season -- his fifth documented seizure since taking the UMTC job -- people began to talk about the need for the university to move on. Kill himself says in this article that he understands he can't miss entire halves of games when he's the head coach.

Kill is a good coach, and I've heard very good things about him away from the field, too. There is no reason to do anything here but wish for the best for him and his family. He wants to coach, so hopefully his body allows him to continue doing so.

Random Rabble: May 16

For those who can't get enough of me -- and I can't imagine there are many of you -- I'm covering Chicago-Detroit for SBNation's NHL hub. I'll have stories throughout the series. My take on Game 1 is here. At this point, I'm not sure I see anyone beating Chicago. The Blackhawks are playing at an exceptionally high level, and they have gotten the kind of goaltending championship teams need to get, no matter how well they're playing.

As for the Wild, anyone who follows me on Twitter knows I'm somewhat conflicted on what I've seen from head coach Mike Yeo. That said, he had to stay, for a number of reasons. I'm not sure it's totally fair to judge a second-year coach after a shortened season like this. The Wild made a slew of big changes over the summer, and the young players GM Chuck Fletcher set out to start acquiring when he arrived are just now starting to make a real impact.

That said, improvement is a must now for Yeo. I didn't think the personnel was handled exquisitely. It seemed too much faith was put in veterans, even when they were struggling. Not enough lineup changes were made during the playoffs when things were clearly going south. The power play never really got going, and it was 0-for-17 in the five-game series loss to Chicago.

Wisconsin racing legend and former NASCAR driver Dick Trickle died Thursday of an apparent suicide. I don't quote Wikipedia often, but here's the lowdown on Trickle's short-track career, much of which came in the Badger State.

A big turning point in Trickle's career happened at the National Short Track Championship race at Rockford Speedway in 1966. Trickle said, "The cars in that area were fancier and looked like they were ahead of us. The didn't treat us bad, but they sort of giggled at us kids with the rat cars. After two days, they look differently at those rat cars. I won and pocketed $1,645. Before, I questioned spending the money to travel that far. But if you could win, that was a different story." Trickle started the 1967 season by winning at State Park Speedway and ended the season with 25 feature victories including wins at Wisconsin Dells Speedway (now Dells Raceway Park) and Golden Sands Speedway (near Wisconsin Rapids).

He toured on the Central Wisconsin Racing Association (CWRA) tracks in 1971. The circuit consisted of larger asphalt track racing on most nights of the week.[9] CWRA regular drivers were able to run over 100 events in a year, and most did the tour with one car and one engine. Drivers would drive on Wednesday nights at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway, Thursday nights at State Park Speedway near Wausau, Friday nights at Capitol Speedway (now Madison International Speedway) near Madison, La Crosse, or Adams-Friendship, Saturday nights at Wisconsin Dells Speedway, and Sunday nights at Griffith Park. Tuesday nights were available for special events.

On Thursday nights at the quarter mile State Park Speedway, he won seven features and lowered his July 1 14.27 second track record to 14.09 seconds on the following week. On Friday nights he raced primarily at Capitol Speedway, winning most nights that rain or his car did not break. Trickle went to Adams-Friendship on July 23 and won the feature after setting the track record. He held the track record at six tracks: Adams-Friendship, Capitol, Wausau, Wisconsin Dells, and La Crosse. He raced at the newly opened third mile Wisconsin Dells Speedway on Saturday nights. By the end of the year, Trickle had won 58 feature events.

Trickle started his 1972 season by winning at Golden Sands Speedway near Wisconsin Rapids. Wisconsin's short track racing season starts in April. By May 13, he had twelve wins in thirteen events. He got this fifteenth win in twenty starts on May 27. Trickle became the winningest short track driver that year when he won his 67th race.

Trickle won numerous special events outside of Wisconsin in 1973, including a 200-lap feature at Rolla, Missouri in April, following by winning a 50-lap feature the following day at I-70 Speedway near Odessa, Missouri. In May he won a 50-lapper at Springfield, Missouri and two more features at I-70 Speedway. Trickle used his purple 1970 Ford Mustang to win at the Minnesota Fair and at Rockford Speedway in September. He had a total of 57 wins in 1973.

Trickle became well-known nationally during his NASCAR Winston Cup career. The old ESPN SportsCenter pair of Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann always made a point to mention where Trickle finished. Maybe they liked his name or something. Olbermann noted the following on Twitter upon word of Trickle's passing.

Awful news: Dick Trickle is dead ... No sports figure Dan + I had fun with took it more graciously. In fact, gratefully.

Olbermann went on to credit Trickle for helping increase NASCAR's visibility on SportsCenter. He said the attention they gave Trickle eventually trickled down (pun intended) to the races themselves, whether Trickle raced in them or not.

His name probably made him famous more than his driving, but Dick Trickle was one hell of a race car driver.

Alaska Anchorage Coaching Search Draws Criticism

Not unexpectedly, Alaska Anchorage let men's hockey coach Dave Shyiak go after another last-place finish in the WCHA. The Seawolves were plucky and competitive at times, but largely not good enough to make any real noise in the league.

Shyiak's a good dude, but this move was coming for a while, and it couldn't have been a real shock to him or anyone else connected to the UAA program. Probably was a necessary move, too, as things weren't improving.

Attendance has dropped like a rock. The photo to the right was taken before a UMD game at Sullivan Arena a couple seasons ago. No tricks, kids. It was legitimately that empty after the pregame warmup. And it was more the norm than any kind of exception there as of late.

When I was there in December, it was pretty clear that Shyiak would be out, barring a miraculous turnaround in the second half of the season. The team wasn't drawing, wasn't playing well, and recruiting was taking a serious hit. UMD players talked about the substandard facilities, and while a pack of us were waiting for the locker room to be cleared out and the bus loaded for the next day's trip back to Minnesota, we saw UAA players hauling their bags out of the building.

Why? Because there isn't a locker room at Sullivan Arena that UAA can use full-time. They have to take their stuff to campus after home series. That's how bad Sullivan is for this program.

UAA has announced four candidates to take over the program. None of them seem to have grabbed the attention of the locals.

Evidently, the Anchorage hockey community is blowing up the in-box of UAA Chancellor Tom Case in regards to the school's search for a new hockey coach.

And judging from many emails that have been forwarded this way, the authors -- alumni and UAA hockey supporters among them -- are not sending attaboys.

Instead, a number of them are very critical of the four-man committee UAA assembled to winnow candidates to four finalists announced this week, and very critical of athletic director Steve Cobb..

The problem people appear to have with the committee is that it does not include a member of the hockey program's alumni or the hockey community, two groups severely alienated from UAA hockey.

The whole process at UAA is driven by human resources, which according to Cobb requires members of the search committee to be university employees.

Doyle Woody of the Anchorage Daily News seems to have a good idea what's going on. And the fans don't like it. Neither does the Alaska State Hockey Association.

The Alaska State Hockey Association, a group that represents thousands of the state's hockey players, coaches and officials, "resoundingly, quickly and unanimously" approved a vote of no-confidence in UAA athletic director Steve Cobb, its president said Saturday.

In a resolution sent to a range of university and state leaders, the association cited the steady decline of UAA hockey and claimed repeated efforts to reach out to the university's athletic department and hockey coaches have been "systematically met with callous indifference."

The resolution wields no power, but AHSA president Darryl Thompson said it sends a long overdue message at a time when the school is looking for a new coach.

There's an interesting twist on this story, according to Woody. I'll let him cover the bases.

Former UAA hockey head coach John Hill wants the job again.

Hill, the Anchorage native who coached the Seawolves for four seasons (2001-05) and currently scouts hockey's amateur ranks for the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, said he seeks the job that became open when UAA fired eight-year head coach Dave Shyiak two weeks ago.

... Hill, 52, a former UAA captain and assistant coach, presided over the worst season in UAA history and followed it the next season with the deepest Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoff run in the program's history.

After going 1-28-7 in 2002-03 -- the Seawolves won their season-opening nonconference game, but never won again -- UAA in 2004 beat host Wisconsin twice in a best-of-3, first-round series to advance to the WCHA Final Five for the first time in school history. At the Final Five in St. Paul, UAA beat Colorado College in the play-in game, which remains the deepest the Seawolves have gone in the WCHA playoffs in 21 seasons of postseason play in the conference.

As the article notes, Hill resigned after the 2003-2004 season, citing issues that showed a clear lack of commitment from the university. He coached at Minnesota under Don Lucia, and has been working as a scout since leaving the U.

Hill is not one of the four finalists.

I don't know that he's the best fit out there, but it seems this program -- more than any other -- needs a local guy. There is virtually no connection between the Anchorage community and the program. It's not just about the losing, because the program up north in Fairbanks has such a connection, even though it isn't the most wonderfully-successful hockey program in Division I, either.

I'm not saying none of the finalists will be automatically incapable of restoring that connection. But Hill has played and coached there and knows what is needed. That puts him a step ahead of any newcomer.

Of course, until the university is fully committed to the program, none of the other stuff matters. Anchorage is a great town with good youth hockey and great support for the sport. The fact UAA hasn't experienced any of that support recently is on UAA, not on Anchorage.

Bob Nielson Leaves UMD For Division I Gig

Speculation ramped up late last week that UMD football coach and athletic director Bob Nielson could be on his way out. In its search for a new coach, Division I Western Illinois University listed Nielson as a finalist for the position last week, and interviewed him on Monday.

Tuesday, it began to become more clear that there was at least a real chance Nielson would move on.

Now, it appears to be a done deal.

According to a source within UMD, Nielson has decided to take the head coaching position at WIU. Various reports have indicated there could be a press conference as soon as Wednesday afternoon.

Nielson went 100-26 in two stints as the Bulldogs' football coach, including 62-7 over the last five seasons, with two Division II titles during that span. A program that had not made a single appearance in the Division II playoffs before Nielson arrived has now made six, including five in a row.

Replacing Nielson won't be easy, especially considering that he is also the school's athletic director, and has been since 2003.

It's unclear what direction the school will take with that position, but indications are that both football coordinators -- Curt Wiese on offense and John Steger on defense -- will stick around, with Wiese the likely successor to Nielson as head coach.

Getting a coach hired is important, because whoever it ends up being has to nail down a recruiting class that was expecting to sign to play for Nielson. The athletic director search can be a bit more protracted, and could very well include outside candidates.

We hope all Bulldog fans wish Nielson well. It was always good to work with him, and there's no doubt in my mind he'll do well at the next level of college football.

Bret Bielema's Departure Stuns Wisconsin

Shocking news out of Madison Tuesday, as Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema has decided to head to Arkansas.

Bielema’s agreement with Arkansas came together in less than 24 hours, according to multiple sources.

... Money likely played a role in Bielema’s decision. He reportedly will make $3.2 million from Arkansas and turned down even more, so the money could go to his assistants.

... Having a better chance to win a national title also was a motivating factor for Bielema, Ball said. Arkansas is a member of the Southeastern Conference, which has produced the last six national champions.

Arkansas, which competes in the loaded West Division against the likes of Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M, has yet to win an SEC title since coming over from the former Southwest Conference in 1992, losing all three of its appearances in the league title game.

The Razorbacks are upgrading their infrastructure, with an 80,000-square-foot football operations center currently under construction, and are looking into expanding the 72,000-seat Razorback Stadium.

After going 68-24 in seven seasons at UW, Bielema leaves a hole.

(I've never been Bret Bielema's No. 1 fan, but it's impossible to argue that he wasn't successful at Wisconsin, as evidenced by his teams winning 44 more games than they lost in seven seasons.)

Athletic director Barry Alvarez is now charged with filling that hole. At least temporarily, there's a puncher's chance he'll fill it with Barry Alvarez.

According to a source close to the UW football program, athletic director Barry Alvarez does not plan to allow Bret Bielema to coach the Badgers in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 against Stanford and may lead the team on the sideline himself.

That source said Alvarez, who was out of town and unavailable for comment, planned to oversee the team while he searches for a replacement for Bielema, who accepted a job Tuesday to coach the University of Arkansas.

Alvarez's last game as coach at UW was the 2006 Capitol One Bowl, a 24-10 victory over Auburn. He led UW to victories in the 1994, 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowls.

In the university's only public comment about Bielema's departure, Alvarez made it a point to say that one of his priorities was making sure the current players, "especially our seniors ... have a tremendous experience in the Rose Bowl."

Certainly, you can infer -- if you're inclined to read between lines and such. It sure seems as if Alvarez is contemplating taking the team to Pasadena himself, and the report linked above from Jeff Potrykus adds more fuel.

As a UW football fan, I'd have to support the endeavor. Perhaps it'd be a trial balloon of sorts for a full-time return. One more run for Alvarez, and the chance to perhaps pick his own successor a second time.

With a 68-24 record and three straight Big Ten titles, I'd say Alvarez did all right with his choice of Bielema.

Stunned by his departure, perhaps the best thing Alvarez can do is let the smoke clear, focus on his current crop of football players having a great time at the Rose Bowl, and make sure he does the right thing for the program's future.

Video: Frank Serratore Clairvoyant After Win

This is a couple days old, but still worth the time to post.

After Friday's 5-1 win over Penn State, Air Force men's hockey coach Frank Serratore sat down for a press conference with the assembled media. What followed -- even for a Serratore, which sets a pretty high standard -- was absolute gold.


Serratore's money shot came around 35 seconds in, when he declared that if his Falcons were to play that way in Saturday's series finale, the score would be reversed.

Penn State ended up winning Saturday's game ... 5-1.

Contained in this video is exactly why the college hockey media loves the Serratore brothers (Tom is the head coach at Bemidji State). They're absolutely fantastic when near a microphone.

Of course, when you turn off the microphone, they're even better, because the language has a tendency to get a little colorful.

Troy Jutting Hired at Nebraska Omaha

While we wait out the final two months before college hockey season kicks in, Nebraska Omaha has hired a new assistant coach. You might be familiar with this particular gentleman.

University of Nebraska Omaha head hockey coach Dean Blais announced today that Troy Jutting has been named the team's new assistant coach.  Jutting takes over for Brian Renfrew who left Omaha after one year to take a position with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League.

Jutting is well known to fans of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, having served as the head coach of Minnesota State for the last 12 years.

“We are fortunate that we have been able to add someone of Troy's experience to our staff,” said Blais.  “After so many games coaching against us, he knows our program and our players.  Just as important, he knows the WCHA and what it takes to be successful there.  I think he can help us as we compete for league and national championships.”

While leading the MSU Mavericks, Jutting compiled a career record of 184-224-55 and was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year in 2002-03 and 2007-08.  In both seasons, MSU finished in the top five in the WCHA.  In 2007-08, he also was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award as the nation's top Division I coach.

In all, Jutting had a 26-year affiliation with the Minnesota State program, a term than included 14 winning seasons.  Prior to taking over as head coach in March of 2000, the native of Richfield, Minn. was an assistant coach with the Mavericks from 1990-2000, contributing to MSU's move from Division II to Division I.  He played for the Mavericks from 1982-86.  In 136 games, he earned 145 points and still today ranks among MSU's all-time leaders in goals, assists, points and single-season goals.  As a senior, he finished sixth in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association in scoring and earned all-conference honors.  He was a member of three NCAA Division III tournament teams including one that appeared in the D-III final four.

Like I said when he was dismissed by Minnesota State, Jutting is good people. He also knows the game. If he brings a more physical element to the UNO program through coaching style and recruiting, it wouldn't be a terrible thing for UNO. No question Blais can compete for high-end players.

(This should also tell you how badly Jutting wants to coach. He could have sat out the season and been paid by MSU to work as a special assistant, whatever that would have meant. Instead, his salary comes off MSU's books, and he gets to coach again. Everyone wins in that scenario, it seems.)

UNO disappointed a tad last season, finishing seventh after a horribly-timed slump at the end of the season. All the Mavericks needed over their last four games was two points, and they would have been home for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Instead, UNO received zero, and ended up losing in two games at St. Cloud State in the first round.

Blais and Jutting -- along with new assistant Steve Johnson, who replaced new MSU head coach Mike Hastings -- will be charged with keeping a similar collapse from marring the reddish Mavericks' 2012-13 season.

Brewers Scapegoat Bullpen Coach for Bullpen Failures

From the Brewers' website beat writer, Adam McCalvy:

The Brewers’ struggling bullpen has produced another casualty. Longtime coach Stan Kyles was “relieved of his duties” today, according to the team.

Lee Tunnell will replace Kyles on an interim basis and report to the team on Tuesday. Kyles had been in his current role since 2009 and coached in the Minor Leagues before that.

“It is important that we make every effort to try to improve our bullpen performance,” Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said in a statement. “While Stan is not solely responsible, I felt that this change was the first step and was necessary. Stan has been a loyal member of the Milwaukee Brewers organization for 11 years. His hard work and dedication has been an integral part of the Brewers’ success and is greatly appreciated. His professionalism, personality and knowledge will be missed.”

Tunnell is  his fourth season with the organization and had been Minor League pitching coordinator. Prior to that role, he spent three seasons with the Reds as interim bullpen coach (2006) and pro scout (2007-08). He also coached in the Rangers organization for nine seasons (1997-2005).

Brewers relievers are 15-26 with a 4.80 ERA this season. The bullpen has recorded the most losses and blown saves (20) in the Major Leagues and ranks 28th in ERA and 29th in opponent batting average (.274).


Yeah, that'll fix it.

Melvin just fired the guy who answers the bullpen phone, then turns around and tells the relief pitcher of choice to start warming up. Maybe the next step is to can the bullpen catcher. After all, he should have that relief pitcher dialed in when the warmup session is over.

Maybe they can fire the guy who opens the bullpen gate so the relief pitcher can run/trot/walk to the mound. Open the door sooner, so the poor guy doesn't have to wait an extra second and get out of rhythm.

Maybe Melvin can fire the head groundskeeper to atone for all the errors being made by infielders. Must be something he's doing wrong.

Stan Kyles didn't sign Francisco Rodriguez for too much money. He didn't trade for the always-erratic Jose Veras. He isn't the one who put Manny Parra on the major-league roster, and he surely isn't the one telling John Axford how to throw the baseball.

But, apparently, Melvin thinks his embarrassment of a bullpen will turn things around, now that he's fired the guy who sits out there and keeps track of absolutely nothing until the manager calls down and asks that a pitcher be warmed up. It's the ultimate scapegoat maneuver, a classic move by a team like the Yankees where the overpaid players can't be fired, but the coaches are seen as interchangeable parts.

Of course, the Brewers aren't the Yankees. If they were, they'd still have Zack Greinke and/or CC Sabathia.

And then, just maybe, the bullpen wouldn't look like such a joke.

Phil Housley Hire Stunner From USA Hockey

According to multiple reports, most notably a tweet from ESPN hockey guy (no, that's not an oxymoron) John Buccigross, former NHL defenseman Phil Housley will be named head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team Monday.

The team will compete in the IIHF World Junior Championships, which start the day after Christmas in Ufa, Russia.

USA Hockey supporters on Twitter aren't exactly loving this move, as it is quite the break from what has become the norm since a 2009 failure with National Team Development Program coach Ron Rolston coaching. In 2010, established college coach Dean Blais led the United States to a gold medal in Saskatoon. Yale's Keith Allain took the reins for a bronze medal in 2011. Last year's team, an experienced one coached again by Blais, disappointed greatly in finishing seventh.

Now, the powers-that-be at USA Hockey have chosen 2013, which should feature a very inexperienced United States team, to hire a coach with no head-coaching experience above the high school level.

Housley was a great defenseman, one of the best American-born players of all time. He's second in points among all U.S.-born players, trailing only Mike Modano. While Housley never won a Stanley Cup, he did win a gold medal with the 1996 U.S. team in the World Cup of Hockey. He was also on the silver-medal 2002 U.S. Olympic team.

(Wait. Did someone mention the 1996 World Cup of Hockey?)



Housley's coaching experience is more limited than anyone who has gotten this prestigious job in a long time. It makes him an easy target, especially after last winter's disappointment. His head coaching experience is limited to his time at Stillwater High School, where the Ponies have made zero state tournaments under Housley.

(To be fair, they have also made zero state tournaments with other coaches in their history.)

He's a name. USA Hockey loves names, and while I may disagree with the philosophy, it's clear that the governing body believes this is the best time to move away from established college coaches to run the junior team.

Perhaps running a high school program means Housley will have more time to spend focusing on picking a team and getting his players prepared for what lies ahead. There's no real way of knowing that.

I've suggested in the past that USA Hockey hire a full-time coach to run the junior program. That single voice would be charged with doing due diligence on players, especially those who have not been involved with the NTDP, as well as being the face of the junior team. No, Canada doesn't run things this way, but Canada's insane success from the U20 level up doesn't mean that Canada's way is the only way.

That said, my reaction is probably similar to most of you. After seeing established college coaches take this job more often than not in recent years, it's a rather surprising piece of news to see USA Hockey go with a high school coach.

Housley is no dummy, however. He played a lot of hockey, and he spent a lot of time in leadership roles on his various teams. He's coached junior hockey before, and now he coaches high school-age kids. Relating to players should be no issue for Housley.

I'd expect that his coaching staff will include at least one veteran amateur coach, preferably one with some experience coaching an international tournament like this.

A lot of people seem to hate this hire. I'll be honest and say that I don't like it a whole lot. There is pressure on this program to win now. It's not like the old days where a medal was cause for a parade. We've past that point. Two medals in a row -- bracketed by teams that everyone feels should have been better than they were -- is going to put that kind of heat on a team. This is not the time for an experiment, or a guess, especially with the number of inexperienced players who could end up on this World Junior team.

It's a tough spot for Housley. He'll be expected to work with a group that a highly-respected coach like Blais may have struggled to medal with.

In the end, we should all band together in wishing Housley the best. He needs the support of American hockey fans, not their catcalls.

Bobby Petrino Gone, Showing Integrity Matters SOMEWHERE in College Football

Ever since the news broke Tuesday night that Bobby Petrino was out as the football coach at Arkansas, I've been battling a couple different reactions.

Frankly, I don't like the idea that Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long should be commended for doing the right thing here, even though the school obviously did just that.

It's not that I disagree. Long clearly didn't want to fire Petrino, but he felt he was given no choice, thanks to the former coach's pattern of deceit. Long did what Long felt was right and necessary, even though it wasn't the desired outcome.

And obviously, given Petrino lied to his bosses about the circumstances surrounding the accident, as well as the reason he hired his mistress for a position within the football program, he had to go. I don't argue for one single solitary second Petrino should have kept his job.

What I don't like is the overwhelming praise being heaped upon Long for doing something that anyone in any sort of management position in any other kind of job in this country would have done. If Michael Scott hired his mistress to work at Dunder Mifflin over 158 other applicants for the job, and didn't bother to tell corporate that he was hiring someone he had a relationship with, Michael Scott would have been fired. Instantly.

(Sorry. It was more exciting to make an Office reference than to talk about myself or use some other dumb pronoun to make an example.)

George Schroeder, a rock-solid scribe, probably said it better than I can.

Look, Long and the Arkansas powerbrokers might have had no other option. It turns out Petrino had given the woman a $20,000 gift, and she got the job in the football office over 158 other applicants. But I agree, it was good to see the school get it right.

It was surprising, too. As the saga played out, I figured they would find a way to retain the coach.

At Arkansas like so many other places, football is too big to fail, which is why I’m more interested in the reaction of those fans at that goofy rally.

As an Arkansan, sure, I cringed, but I understood their passion. In the last few days I heard from several friends back home who were wrestling with the dilemma. The guy who organized the rally put it this way:

“We want to forgive, forget and win.”

Pay close attention to that last part, because it might hit close to home.

Ask yourself: If something similar happened at Oregon, or Oregon State — or insert your favorite school here — what would you want to happen? (Or if, say, the NCAA started digging and found significant issues?)

Integrity sounds nice in theory. But winning usually seems to matter more.

It's easy to talk about integrity, but like Schroeder says, it usually comes down to winning. In this case, however, a program 21-5 the last two years after a lot of mediocrity in recent decades just fired the coach largely responsible for that record and the product that will be on the field this fall.

I am not about to condone what Petrino did, but he probably felt that -- just like at other places in the country -- the coach was big enough to survive a couple off-field missteps. In other words, he thought he was untouchable.

The reaction of the fans -- protesting on his behalf -- certainly would lead one to a similar conclusion. Luckily, Long didn't feel like a few hundred people protesting represented his fanbase, and he didn't think Petrino's actions were those of a man who deserved to keep his job.

When the time comes for Petrino to be judged, I won't be doing the judging. But I sure am glad my son wasn't playing for that smarmy, self-absorbed, poor excuse for a human being. Someone as capable of Petrino's behavior might look like a good coach, but he's not a leader of young men.

In that way, Arkansas wins here, even if the team loses in the short-term without Petrino.

Gregg Williams Speech Should End Saints Appeal of Bounty Bans

Thursday, the NFL is scheduled to hear appeals by the New Orleans Saints, general manager Mickey Loomis, assistant coach Joe Vitt, and head coach Sean Payton of their respective punishments from the bounty scandal that's been all the rage. The Saints took a fine and lost two draft picks. Loomis was suspended for half the upcoming season. Vitt got a six-game ban. Payton was suspended for a year.

Also suspended was former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who has since moved on to the St. Louis Rams. Williams was suspended indefinitely -- he will miss at least the upcoming season before he can be reinstated.

After Wednesday's revelation, Williams should be informed he will never be welcome back in the league, and the Saints should just scrap the idea of trying to appeal these suspensions.

I'll let Mike Silver, the fine NFL writer for Yahoo! Sports, take it from here.

The night before Gregg Williams’ final game as the New Orleans Saints’ defensive coordinator, the since-suspended coach gave a fiery speech to the team’s defensive players during which he made specific references to inflicting physical punishment upon several San Francisco 49ers in a postseason game the next day.

In the speech at the team’s hotel near the San Francisco Airport, Williams – according to documentary filmmaker Sean Pamphilon – at one point made a hand signal suggesting he would personally pay for a ferocious shot on 49ers quarterback Alex Smith.

Williams also referenced the prospect of his players inflicting a severe knee injury upon San Francisco wideout Michael Crabtree and exhorted them to “put a lick on” backup receiver Kyle Williams in an effort to “find out” if he was still suffering from the effects of a late-December concussion.

That's the G-rated stuff.

Simply ridiculous.

I know that the Saints weren't the first -- and likely won't be the last -- team to use a bounty system to fire up players or unite them or whatever stupid excuse you want to buy into.

But as I've said numerous times before in a number of different situations, "Everyone else is doing it" is no more an excuse for breaking the rules than ignorance -- "Oh, I didn't know that was against the rules" -- is.

You don't get to stand up and say you're not worthy of a severe punishment because others are breaking the same rule. It's that simple.

The Williams audio -- available here if you can stomach it -- flies against the spirit of competition, and it is as disrespectful as anything you'll ever hear when it comes to a coach trying to fire up his team.

The audio isn't damning of Loomis or Payton. Filmmaker Sean Pamphilon, who was working on a project featuring former Saint Steve Gleason, who now suffers from ALS, said Loomis and Payton weren't present for the meeting where this particular audio was recorded.

That said, this audio should end their appeals. The team was aware of the league investigation before this playoff game. The team was aware that there was a freaking filmmaker who had access to meetings and was recording them. In a move that reeks of the ultimate "You can't touch me" arrogance, the Saints continued to allow Williams to run roughshod, letting him deliver a speech that was at the height of insanity.

Loomis didn't do anything enough to stop the bounties. Payton didn't do anything enough to stop the bounties.

Now, it's clear Williams was not backing down, even faced with the strong possibility of getting caught. His indefinite ban should be turned into a permanent one, no matter how strongly he tries to speak out against this type of behavior. He did what he did, and then he delivered his own version of an "eff you" to the NFL by continuing the program amid the ongoing league investigation.

The NFL doesn't need to mess around with reinstating this guy. Send him into retirement, where he can think indefinitely about the strong reputation he tarnished when he crossed the line and started asking his players to hurt opponents for money.

Troy Jutting Out At Minnesota State

Minnesota State made the first coaching change of the men's college hockey offseason Sunday, announcing that Troy Jutting will be reassigned within the athletic department. Jutting spent 26 years at Minnesota State, including four as a player, a decade as an assistant coach, and then 12 years as head coach. I may not have approved of the physical play I saw from many of his teams, but Jutting worked his tail off to better the MSU hockey program, and he often proved to be a good soundbite -- the type of thing that matters to a hardened radio nerd.

(I'm easy. I appreciate any coach who helps make my job easier. Minnesota State doesn't get on television a lot, so I lean on those around the team for some insights before UMD plays the Mavericks. Everyone, most notably Jutting, has always been great.)

MSU has a tough decision ahead. As proven by schools like Ferris State, UMD, Minnesota, and many others, stability can really matter. UMD and Minnesota, most notably, had decisions to make in recent years regarding the direction of their respectable programs. After the 2007-2008 season, UMD fans were starting to call for coach Scott Sandelin's head. A WCHA title in 2009 earned him a modest two-year extension, but a third straight 20-win season and the school's first NCAA title in 2011 was the reward UMD deserved for its patience.

Last year, Minnesota fans were all over Don Lucia. Instead of changing the head coach, the school gave Lucia an extension, and Lucia replaced assistant coach John Hill with longtime aide Mike Guentzel. That seems to have worked out well, as Minnesota is back in the Frozen Four this week. Lucia is safe again.

Ferris State has Bob Daniels, a 20-year head coach responsible for more than half the wins in Ferris' history as a Division I program. The Bulldogs have never been a highly-regarded program in a league -- the CCHA -- loaded with big-name programs like Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. Ferris is in the Frozen Four, off a CCHA regular-season championship.

Of course, not every program has seen success with the stability route. Look at Western Michigan. Jeff Blashill was hired before the 2010-11 season, and a downtrodden program saw immediate success. Western made the NCAAs and started landing some serious recruits. Blashill rode off into the sunset as quickly as he arrived, taking a job with the Detroit Red Wings.

The school brought in former NHL coach Andy Murray, who proved a quick study to college coaching. The Broncos won the CCHA tournament and made the NCAAs in Murray's first year. Thanks to the upcoming membership in the NCHC, things are really looking up in Kalamazoo.

Obviously, Murray may bring the school more stability than his predecessor could, but reality is that Western hired the best available coach (Blashill), probably understanding that he could very well bolt quickly if his rebuild was successful. It's not like WMU had Murray in its back pocket all along, instead it was about getting the best coach for the job.

Nothing is permanent. If you're Minnesota State, you can't go into this looking for a guy who will be around for a decade. After all, if the administration hits on this hire, reality is that the new guy will be coaching in Mankato, not exactly fertile ground for college hockey immortality.

I have four names that popped into my head immediately. None of them have any Division I head coaching experience. Someone on Twitter mentioned the idea of alum Ryan McKelvie, currently head coach at Division III Lake Forest (Ill.), but I think that's a heck of a home run swing that could come up empty. He's pretty inexperienced at this point, and won just five games in his first season with the Foresters.

The four names I came up with were former UMD assistant Steve Rohlik, now an assistant with Ohio State; Minnesota assistant coach Mike Guentzel, who may be a head-coach-in-waiting type at Minnesota, depending on how much longer you think Don Lucia wants to do this; Colorado College assistant Eric Rud, former head coach in Green Bay (USHL), as well as a former St. Cloud State assistant; and Green Bay's current head coach, Derek Lalonde, a former Denver assistant.

I can't guarantee any would give you long-term stability. You just never know how the coaching climate will be from year to year. One school's trash can become another's treasure, and an unknown coach can get his name on the map pretty quickly.

MSU needs to do what every school says it's doing. It needs to hire the best available coach, regardless of pedigree, and regardless of what the tea leaves say about that coach's willingness to spend 20 years in Mankato.

I'm biased, but I think Rohlik should get the first crack at the job. I don't know if he would take it, but with the number of contacts he has, and the number of close relationships he has, I can't imagine he would be a bad hire. He has great intensity, understands the game, and is a very good recruiter.

I think any of the four guys I listed would be great hires, even if they didn't end up being long for Mankato. They all have the look of being guys whose work would end up being good for the Minnesota State program's future.

No one should celebrate on a day like this, as a good man has lost a job he cared a lot about. It is ultimately an opportunity for Minnesota State to improve its signature sports program, and it's not an opportunity anyone should take lightly.

Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Welcome Back, JT Brown

JT Brown's first shift Friday night ended with a shot on goal.

So did his last.

In between, you could see why UMD so badly missed the sophomore winger, even though it got three points out of its one series without him, last weekend against Minnesota State. Brown led UMD with nine shots on goal, was a factor all over the ice, and ended up scoring the game-winner in overtime to give the Bulldogs a 4-3 win over Colorado College at Amsoil Arena.

Brown's 19th goal of the season came on a play we've seen UMD run quite a bit. Brown stood behind and a bit to the left of center Travis Oleksuk. The play relies on a clean faceoff win to work, which is fine, because Oleksuk is a beast -- or, as Barry Melrose said after the NCAA title game winner last year, a "tower of strength" -- on faceoffs.

For the third time this season, Oleksuk won a draw clean to Brown, who made no mistake with the quick shot. It's a play that can only really be stopped two ways: don't let Oleksuk win the draw clean (easier said than done), or block the shot (good luck). Brown can shoot, and this might have been the best shot. Colorado College goalie Josh Thorimbert likely isn't stopping that missile even if he knows exactly where it's heading.

Before the overtime winner, Brown had already shown he had no rust after missing a week. He was really a factor in all three zones, and it was one of those nights where his game-breaking speed was especially noticeable. He used it to run guys down from behind and steal pucks. He used it to get behind unsuspecting CC players. He used it to drive around Tiger defenders and try to create scoring opportunities.

It was fitting Oleksuk's line got UMD's game-winning goal, because it was a factor all night. It was also the line that drew UMD's power play in overtime, as Caleb Herbert was tackled on a dump-in, and Joe Marciano was whistled for interference.

All four UMD lines created scoring chances or goals in the game. Once again, junior Jake Hendrickson was a rock. He won faceoffs, forechecked, and he and linemates Joe Basaraba and David Grun created a myriad of problems for Colorado College. Max Tardy's fourth line scored a goal (Justin Crandall) and also had a little jump to its step, though there were a couple times it got bottled up on the wrong end of the rink.

For the most part, though, UMD was pretty good in this game. It needed to be, because Colorado College had impressive pushback all night after a pretty stale first period both ways. The Tigers kept fighting down 3-0, got a huge goal late in the second to get on the board, shut down back-to-back UMD power plays that could have iced the game in the third, and eventually got two goals in 72 seconds to tie it.

Once CC tied the game, UMD did regain some control over the affair, outshooting the Tigers 8-1 from that point. Brown's goal was officially the only shot of overtime, though UMD did generate plenty of pressure during its power play.

It's great to have a guy like Brown back in the lineup. His speed and pure goal-scoring ability make him a big-time game-breaker, and we saw that first-hand on Friday night.

******

In other WCHA games, North Dakota held off a furious Denver rally in a 4-3 win at Magness Arena. Danny Kristo scored on a penalty shot, and Carter Rowney and Stephane Pattyn added third-period goals to chase DU starting goalie Sam Brittain. The Pioneers rallied, getting goals from Joey LaLeggia and Jason Zucker in the final minute, but couldn't get an equalizer. Brad Eidsness is unbeaten in three starts since taking over for Aaron Dell in Duluth two weekends ago.

Oh, and since it was a nationally televised game (NBC Sports Network), of course there was a controversial hit that resulted in an ejection.



Since I tend to think time served is enough on this one, it will probably result in me getting an email from the WCHA announcing a one-game suspension for UND defenseman Andrew MacWilliam.

(Honestly, I'm starting to lean towards the camp that says we need to start making an example of bad hits and be more liberal with issuing suspensions. So maybe we do need to suspend MacWilliam. I don't know.)

Anyway, big win for North Dakota, pulling within a point of Denver for third place. I know the Sioux are somewhat short-handed, but this should give ungrateful UND fans everywhere a greater appreciation for the work Dave Hakstol has done as the head coach there. Getting this team -- with little depth, especially on the blue line -- into WCHA contention shows that guy has a pretty solid grasp on what it takes to win at this level.

Of course, as soon as UND loses a game again, we'll be back to the familiar "Hak doesn't know what he's doing" refrain from the prairies. Such is life as the head coach of the Fighting Sioux. But in a year where many people are assuming Mel Pearson has already won WCHA Coach of the Year, Hakstol should at least get a couple votes, especially if his team keeps playing the way it has been lately.

******

Minnesota stayed in first, using a Jake Parenteau goal in overtime to win at Nebraska Omaha, 3-2. It's Parenteau's first goal of the season, and it came at exactly 5:00 of a five-minute overtime.

Wisconsin held off Bemidji State, 4-2. Three Badger defensemen -- Justin Schultz, Frankie Simonelli, and John Ramage -- scored in support of Joel Rumpel, who was pretty solid in net.

Also, St. Cloud State won 5-2 at Michigan Tech. The Minnesota version of the Huskies got 34 saves from Mike Lee, whose return combined with the continually improved play from guys up front, makes this a dangerous team in the postseason, even if it will be a road team in the playoffs.

Non-conference, Alaska-Anchorage got a huge 3-2 win over Alaska. 27 saves from Chris Kamal were enough to make three second-period goals stand up. Alaska outshot the Seawolves 29-17. Over 5,000 fans attended the opening game of the annual Governor's Cup home-and-home series.

Wisconsin Lets Great Season Slip Away

Hope everyone had a good New Year's weekend. Back in the grind we go, I guess.

After back-to-back losses on Hail Mary throws derailed Wisconsin's BCS title hopes before October was over, there was still a chance for the Badgers to finish the season on a high note. The Big Ten title was within their grasp -- thanks in large part to the numerous flaws shown by division foes Ohio State and Penn State throughout the season -- and therefore the Rose Bowl was still a possibility.

By winning out, Wisconsin was able to earn the Big Ten championship, and they got that Rose Bowl slot against Oregon Monday.

It was there that Wisconsin's inability to manage the clock and close a game again bit them hard. This time, Oregon found a way to win the highest-scoring Rose Bowl ever, 45-38. Both teams led, but neither ever led by more than seven points.

Turnovers were a factor, with Wisconsin getting a touchdown off an Oregon fumble, and Oregon getting a huge touchdown off a Wisconsin interception. But it was a turnover that only led to a punt that turned the game for good.

Wisconsin sophomore receiver Jared Abbrederis caught a long pass from Russell Wilson. As he was being tackled near the sideline, he lost the ball. Inexplicably, the ball died on the grass and didn't bounce out of bounds. Oregon recovered. Abbrederis has to secure the ball more effectively, but it was a great strip and a hell of a lucky break for Oregon, because the ball totally should have bounced out of bounds.

The other big play in the game was a Wisconsin kickoff that went for a touchback.

The Oregon returner fielded the kick in the end zone, took a couple steps, then thought better of it and dropped to a knee. The rules say the ball must be completely out of the end zone to be out of it (just like the tip of the ball just has to cross the goal line for a touchdown to stand). The ball was clearly not out of the end zone. Only half of it (maybe) was.

Badgers coach Bret Bielema protested the call, then burned a timeout to try to get the officials to review it. That left Wisconsin with only one timeout later, and instead of getting the ball back with 50 seconds left, Wisconsin didn't even have 20.

Then came the spike at the end of the game. Wilson tried to kill the clock, but there wasn't enough time for that. I don't know if that call came from Wilson or Bielema, but it was a poor decision. Along with the unnecessarily burned timeout, it was another example of Bielema struggling with clock management.

To recap, Wisconsin lost three games this season. The first came on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the game where three Badgers watched a Michigan State player catch an already-tipped pass before any of them tried to tackle the receiver (on a tipped pass, there can be no pass interference ... everyone is fair game). The second came on a glorified Hail Mary pass in which Wisconsin let an Ohio State player run down the field without bothering to do much about it.

Then came the Rose Bowl.

Ugh.

Bielema is getting shredded for his clock/timeout management. He should. It's not getting better.

However, the big picture dictates that Bielema is doing a pretty good job. Yeah, he's 2-4 in bowl games (Barry Alvarez was 8-3). Yeah, he's 0-2 at the Rose Bowl (Alvarez was 3-0). But this is not a program that tasted a ton of success before Alvarez arrived. The transition wasn't perfect, but Bielema did well taking over and keeping things going with at least a solid rate of success on the field.

He doesn't strike me as a threat to win a national championship, but neither did Gene Chizik, either. And Les Miles is potentially crazy, yet is going for another title on Monday. Chip Kelly is nuts, too, and he could have won last year.

Bielema is flawed, but is he more flawed than others who have caught lightning in a bottle and won? I don't know.

It's frustrating to be sunk by similar circumstances in losses, but it's also easy to lose sight of all the good Bielema has done. The Badgers had a great power running game this season, but Wilson's presence allowed them to form a formidable passing game that consistently took pressure off Montee Ball. Offensive coordinator Paul Chryst will be missed as he makes his way to Pittsburgh to become head coach, but there is talent, and if Bielema can solve the inconsistency at quarterback that forced him to recruit Wilson in the first place, Wisconsin will be back in Pasadena soon.

As Bielema himself said Monday, hopefully a future trip is accompanied by tears of joy, not tears of sorrow.

Is Leslie Frazier In Over His Head?

I've tried not to harp too much on this year's NFL happenings, mainly because I completely whiffed on the NFC North, outside of Green Bay.

I am not going to rub anyone's face in the Packers' success. It's been a lot of fun to watch, and it's probably not a lot of fun for a lot of the readers of this blog, many of whom are not Packers fans.

I thought Minnesota would be good. I actually thought they could compete for a playoff spot.

I was dead wrong.

Minnesota is simply a bad team. The Vikings don't have any serious play-making receivers, a porous offensive line, and they are incredibly weak and thin in the secondary, especially at safety.

There are players on this team. Adrian Peterson is a beast, Jared Allen is having a huge season, Brian Robison is a real upgrade on Ray Edwards, Kevin Williams -- even injured -- can go, and while Chad Greenway isn't dynamic in any way at linebacker, he's reliable and very solid.

But it's not enough. The Vikings made a bad move at quarterback with Donovan McNabb, paid for it with a poor start to the season, and rookie Christian Ponder is quickly finding out that it wasn't McNabb's fault that plays weren't being made downfield.

So there are real concerns about the talent. But how much of this can be pinned on head coach Leslie Frazier?

At times, it looks like Frazier's in over his head a bit, like the job of head coach is too big for him to handle. There are times where the Vikings have looked unprepared for games, as if they don't understand how to handle their opposition.

One of those times was Monday night. In a perfect storm of sorts for Frazier, the Vikings were on national television (ESPN) against a rival (Green Bay) and coming off a bye week. Losing 45-7 in that situation just looks bad for Frazier and the entire staff.

But it's not that simple. Look at what Frazier took over.

We're in a passing league nowadays. The Vikings' problems are magnified because of the lack of receivers who can make plays at this level. While Aaron Rodgers is posting obscene passer ratings week after week (he's at 130.2 for the season), and it seems everyone is throwing the ball with great success, the Vikings can't move the ball through the air. Even with Ponder on board, they're going to find it excessively difficult to even present the threat of a passing game that can take heat off Peterson and the ground game.

These problems existed before, but having a quarterback in Brett Favre who could throw a ball 50 yards into a moving wastebasket helps mask such deficiencies. Guys that don't come around every day, and Favre made a rather pedestrian group of Vikings receivers look like stars. Sidney Rice's heyday helped, too, because his big-play ability on the outside took a lot of coverage away from Percy Harvin.

Now, Harvin -- not the best receiver when playing outside the slot -- is much more limited in what he can do. The injuries he keeps battling don't help, either.

Those are circumstances beyond Frazier's control, and they shouldn't be held against him when conducting a fair evaluation of his coaching acumen.

Did the Vikings look unprepared Monday night, or were they just overwhelmed by a team far superior in every area of the game? The defense permitted just ten points in the first half (remember, the first touchdown was a punt return). They kept Rodgers at bay as much as anyone has in the last year-plus, outside of the Bears and maybe Philadelphia in last year's Wild Card game. It was a good effort, and the Vikings had a 17-0 hole to show for it. That's a hole that was on the offense, not the defense, which did everything it could to keep the team in the game despite being overmatched on paper.

To rip Frazier for offensive shortcomings that appear to be talent-driven and not coach- or coordinator-driven seems unfair. Holding the defense responsible for those shortcomings also seems unfair. Yeah, the Packers rolled up 28 points in the second half, and didn't appear to be really trying in the fourth quarter while scoring the last 14. But saying that and putting it on the head coach is convenient, when that same team held the Packers to ten offensive points in the first 30 minutes.

Frazier might look like he's in over his head, but it's amazing what a couple good drafts can do to the perception people have of a coach. Mike McCarthy, who looked to be on the hot seat that national pundits love so much just a year or so ago, is lauded now as a genius. He earned a chunk of that praise, coaching a team full of injured stars to a championship last year. But part of it is the talent level that Ted Thompson has accumulated on the roster.

In the NFL, people like to say teams take on the personality of the coach. It's a convenient argument usually only thrown around when a team is losing and the coach appears stoic on the sidelines. When the bluster-filled, energetic coach can't win, no one seems to want to roll out this argument.

I'm not saying Frazier is the answer in Minnesota. I'm saying 15 games -- counting his time as interim head coach last year -- isn't enough to make that judgment.

Don Lucia Shows Leadership

In 24 seasons as a head coach, Don Lucia has won a small number of games (555). He has two national titles to his credit, and is one of the more respectable people in a tough industry.

Lucia should carry some clout when he speaks, no matter what you think of Minnesota.

This week, we found out that he's willing to step up and be a leader when it comes to college hockey in Minnesota, not just college hockey at the University of Minnesota.

In comments published by the St. Cloud Times, Lucia says he'd like to see regular non-conference play with the Minnesota programs remaining in the WCHA -- Bemidji State, St. Cloud State, and Minnesota State -- as well as an annual tournament.

Lucia said he has talked with Huskies coach Bob Motzko, Beavers coach Tom Serratore and Mavericks coach Troy Jutting about the Gophers playing games against their programs beginning in 2013-14, which is the first season that the Gophers and Wisconsin leave the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for the Big Ten Conference.

Lucia also said that he plans to talk with Minnesota-Duluth coach Scott Sandelin about the same arrangement with the Bulldogs, who also leave the WCHA after the 2012-13 season and will join the newly formed National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

“We have 14 nonleague games to work with and our goal is to play those (four) teams every year,” Lucia said. “It would be good for our program, all the other programs and for the state of Minnesota.

“I think it’s a win-win for everyone, for our fans and the proximity of playing each other. We should continue playing each other.”

Even if Minnesota and Wisconsin still insist on playing 20 home games a year (that would mean 10 of the 14 non-conference games they play would need to be at home), there's no reason there can't be regular games against WCHA teams once they join the Big Ten. It would be very beneficial for the WCHA to find a way to come up with a scheduling arrangement with the CCHA, NCHC, and/or Big Ten. But in the end, Minnesota probably won't need one to do the right thing. It sounds like Lucia is intent on making it happen.

Good on Don Lucia.

I'm sure not trying to indict other coaches, but let's face it. Minnesota is different. People need to see the five programs having some sort of camaraderie with one another. They need to see some effort being made by Minnesota to help "the little guys," especially the three programs left in the WCHA while Minnesota and UMD move on to "bigger and better things."

UMD will bear some responsibility here, too. They can't just schedule Minnesota and be done with it. They need to also work with Bemidji, St. Cloud, and MSU to come up with an arrangement that helps all parties.

From my perspective, though, this is a good and appreciated move by Lucia. I stood firmly behind Lucia last season in the face of "Fire!" cries from Gopher fans everywhere. I have not backed down from those words one bit.

He's a class act, and he understands his program's role in this state. Give him credit for speaking out and taking a lead role during this time of incredible and historic change in college hockey.

******

The WCHA added Northern Michigan officially Wednesday, meaning they'll have the minimum of six teams required for an NCAA automatic bid. Now we'll see what the CCHA ends up doing, and if anyone has the heart enough to pick up Alabama-Huntsville. Hopefully that happens, because even with everything else going on, I still have more worries about UAH's future than anyone else.

I've had some people ask me about other programs' ability to schedule non-conference games.

• As long as Alaska and Alaska-Anchorage are still around, they'll have few problems with scheduling. Each hosts an October tournament, and they make the trip to the other's event. The other two non-conference games they're allowed to play are against each other in a home-and-home.
• Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech are in a tough position. Perhaps there's some sort of deal that can be worked out with Northern Michigan where Tech and NMU regularly play Lake State, because that makes too much sense to not have it happen. Obviously, Tech and Northern will be playing each other as part of the WCHA schedule.
• Don't be surprised if UMD is making semi-regular visits to Houghton. I hope that's not just wishful thinking. I always complain about that trip, but I usually end up enjoying it.