DENVER -- This will be the first game for some new-look forward lines for UMD.
Meanwhile, Denver is dressing 12 forwards and six defensemen -- a more "standard" lineup -- for the first time this season.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Seidel - Connolly - Basaraba
Herbert - Oleksuk - Brown
Crandall (Justin) - Hendrickson - Grun
Krause - Tardy - Flaherty
Bergman - Lamb
Kishel - Casto
Olson - Smith
Reiter - Crandall (Aaron)
DU
Zucker - Shore (Drew) - Salazar
Knowlton - Ostrow - Jackson
Mermis - Shore (Nick) - Doremus
Larraza - Dewhurst - Loney
Ryder - Makowski
Phillips - Lee
LaLeggia - Didier
Olkinuora - Murray - Hope
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Kyle Busch Parked For Being an Idiot
Before I throw out any comments, here's the video from Friday's Camping World Truck race at Texas.
Absolutely ridiculous move by Busch, and NASCAR struck quickly, parking Busch for the weekend's Nationwide and Sprint Cup races.
Justifiable move, and probably the right one. There are some who want Busch parked for even longer. While I don't have a huge issue with that, I'd rather see NASCAR do something unique, and simply park Busch from Truck and Nationwide races for a specified period of time. He conducts himself differently in those series, especially now that he can't race for points in either one because he races for Cup points.
Want proof? Watch what he did in the Truck race at Bristol.
Kyle definitely leads the sport in "Using Race Car/Truck As Weapon." That's not a good thing.
Perhaps he'd learn by having to control his emotions at all times, instead of just when he's racing for points.
Absolutely ridiculous move by Busch, and NASCAR struck quickly, parking Busch for the weekend's Nationwide and Sprint Cup races.
NASCAR immediately parked Busch and continued that process Saturday morning by invoking Section 9-12 in its rule book, which states, "A NASCAR Supervisory Official may direct a Competitor to cease competition, to leave the racing premises, or to bring the car to the pit and/or garage area for a specified number of laps, and/or a specified time penalty, for the balance of the Race, or future NASCAR Races, if it is necessary to do so in order to promote the orderly conduct of the NASCAR Event(s). Such a directive will be given only in extraordinary circumstances, as determined by the NASCAR Supervisory Officials. It will not be deemed or construed to be a disqualification, suspension or other "penalty" within the meaning of Section 12 and is not appealable under that Section."
Justifiable move, and probably the right one. There are some who want Busch parked for even longer. While I don't have a huge issue with that, I'd rather see NASCAR do something unique, and simply park Busch from Truck and Nationwide races for a specified period of time. He conducts himself differently in those series, especially now that he can't race for points in either one because he races for Cup points.
Want proof? Watch what he did in the Truck race at Bristol.
Kyle definitely leads the sport in "Using Race Car/Truck As Weapon." That's not a good thing.
Perhaps he'd learn by having to control his emotions at all times, instead of just when he's racing for points.
Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Change We Can All Believe In
DENVER -- Before Friday's game, UMD coach Scott Sandelin and I were having our normal pregame conversation, and I asked him what he thought of his forward line tweaks made for the previous weekend's series against Bemidji State.
Predictably, the 12th-year head coach wasn't terribly excited about what he saw in Saturday's 1-0 win. But I wasn't expecting to hear what I heard.
"You might see some changes this weekend," Sandelin said. "We're on the road, we can't really match. We might move some guys around, to create some balance if it's not going well."
By the second period, the threat had been carried out, so to speak. UMD had tweaked its four forward lines, moving Caleb Herbert to left wing with center Travis Oleksuk and right wing J.T. Brown. Jack Connolly was centering Mike Seidel and Joe Basaraba.
The top six looked drastically different than it did at the opening faceoff. While none of the new forward lines put the puck in the net (UMD's only even-strength goal came in the first, before all the changes), the lines did provide a spark. Oleksuk's line had some especially good shifts in the third period and moreso in overtime. Seidel and Connolly both drew penalties in the third period with good plays (and Seidel showing some athleticism with a couple nice moves on his way to the net), and UMD rallied from two two-goal deficits to gain a 3-3 tie.
What it means for Saturday is uncertain as I write this Saturday morning. The Bulldogs hadn't made these types of drastic changes in the lineup during a game at any point this season. It will happen once in a while, but it always serves as a bit of a surprise when it actually does.
I thought Oleksuk's line established itself as the best of the new groups late in the game, but Connolly's line put together some nice shifts. I think Connolly and Seidel play pretty well together, though Seidel isn't a high-end skill guy like Connolly's previous linemates. He's a gritty, no-nonsense, drive-the-net player who is very good in small areas (and has really nice hair). I'm not sure Basaraba is the best compliment for those two at this point, but if the lines we saw late Friday are the direction UMD is heading in for the short term, there are few choices for Sandelin.
Since the coach has talked about pairing two players together to really make a line go, he might be on to something with Oleksuk and Brown reunited as center and right wing, and Connolly paired with Seidel. Now, it's just a matter of filling those lines in a way that provides both chemistry and balance.
(Look at Denver's top line for an example of this. Drew Shore and Jason Zucker are the engine that make it work. Those two play off each other very well. Luke Salazar might be considered a bit player on that line, but as shown Friday when Salazar got open on the right wing and was able to drive the net for a chance on Kenny Reiter, he can also make plays when called upon.)
Reiter, by the way, shook off what I thought was a bit of a slow start, and put together a very strong performance. By no means am I saying any of the goals were soft (DU's third goal was the closest to being that, but I don't think I could say it was). Instead, it looked like Reiter might have been fighting the puck a little bit early, but he got better as the game wore on.
He gave up a lot of big rebounds, and was fortunate that UMD's defending in front didn't break down more often than it did. I can remember Drew Olson and David Grun clearing away dangerous rebounds in the first half of the game.
But the goalie settled down after that, and he made the save of the night on a short-handed rush by Zucker and Drew Shore. Brady Lamb went to Zucker, who had the puck down the right wing. Zucker was able to saucer a pass over to Shore, who was wide open down the middle. Shore made a move to his left, and appeared to have an open net, but the athletic Reiter was able to get his stick on the shot by Shore. Zucker was then stopped on a quick rebound attempt. At the time, the score was still 3-2, and a shortie there would have been awful disheartening for UMD.
The Bulldogs played well, showed a lot of mettle in rallying from two goals down, and got a good point on the road. They can thank a lot of people for that, including Reiter for an outstanding save.
Elsewhere, Michigan Tech stayed unbeaten at home with a 1-0 win over Minnesota State. Ryan Furne had the only goal, and Josh Robinson picked up a shutout. The Huskies are 6-2-1 overall, and every win they pick up makes them an even better story going forward.
Colorado College and Nebraska-Omaha met for a wild, entertaining game in Omaha. The Mavericks led 3-0 and 4-1, but Colorado College got three goals 2:01 apart in the second period to tie the score at 4. CC took a 5-4 lead, but the Mavericks rallied back. Goals :24 apart gave UNO the lead back, and an empty-netter iced it. The WCHA is now out of unbeatens, and UNO was able to run its home winning streak to three.
St. Cloud State rolled past Wisconsin, 7-2. David Eddy and Ben Hanowski each scored twice, and Ryan Faragher got another win in goal.
Also, Minnesota goalie Kent Patterson picked up his fifth shutout in a 2-0 win over North Dakota. Yeah, five shutouts in nine games. That's a'ight. Nick Bjugstad and Tom Serratore (the Bemidji State coach's nephew, in case you didn't know) had the goals for Minnesota. The Gophers are still perfect in WCHA play.
Predictably, the 12th-year head coach wasn't terribly excited about what he saw in Saturday's 1-0 win. But I wasn't expecting to hear what I heard.
"You might see some changes this weekend," Sandelin said. "We're on the road, we can't really match. We might move some guys around, to create some balance if it's not going well."
By the second period, the threat had been carried out, so to speak. UMD had tweaked its four forward lines, moving Caleb Herbert to left wing with center Travis Oleksuk and right wing J.T. Brown. Jack Connolly was centering Mike Seidel and Joe Basaraba.
The top six looked drastically different than it did at the opening faceoff. While none of the new forward lines put the puck in the net (UMD's only even-strength goal came in the first, before all the changes), the lines did provide a spark. Oleksuk's line had some especially good shifts in the third period and moreso in overtime. Seidel and Connolly both drew penalties in the third period with good plays (and Seidel showing some athleticism with a couple nice moves on his way to the net), and UMD rallied from two two-goal deficits to gain a 3-3 tie.
What it means for Saturday is uncertain as I write this Saturday morning. The Bulldogs hadn't made these types of drastic changes in the lineup during a game at any point this season. It will happen once in a while, but it always serves as a bit of a surprise when it actually does.
I thought Oleksuk's line established itself as the best of the new groups late in the game, but Connolly's line put together some nice shifts. I think Connolly and Seidel play pretty well together, though Seidel isn't a high-end skill guy like Connolly's previous linemates. He's a gritty, no-nonsense, drive-the-net player who is very good in small areas (and has really nice hair). I'm not sure Basaraba is the best compliment for those two at this point, but if the lines we saw late Friday are the direction UMD is heading in for the short term, there are few choices for Sandelin.
Since the coach has talked about pairing two players together to really make a line go, he might be on to something with Oleksuk and Brown reunited as center and right wing, and Connolly paired with Seidel. Now, it's just a matter of filling those lines in a way that provides both chemistry and balance.
(Look at Denver's top line for an example of this. Drew Shore and Jason Zucker are the engine that make it work. Those two play off each other very well. Luke Salazar might be considered a bit player on that line, but as shown Friday when Salazar got open on the right wing and was able to drive the net for a chance on Kenny Reiter, he can also make plays when called upon.)
******
Reiter, by the way, shook off what I thought was a bit of a slow start, and put together a very strong performance. By no means am I saying any of the goals were soft (DU's third goal was the closest to being that, but I don't think I could say it was). Instead, it looked like Reiter might have been fighting the puck a little bit early, but he got better as the game wore on.
He gave up a lot of big rebounds, and was fortunate that UMD's defending in front didn't break down more often than it did. I can remember Drew Olson and David Grun clearing away dangerous rebounds in the first half of the game.
But the goalie settled down after that, and he made the save of the night on a short-handed rush by Zucker and Drew Shore. Brady Lamb went to Zucker, who had the puck down the right wing. Zucker was able to saucer a pass over to Shore, who was wide open down the middle. Shore made a move to his left, and appeared to have an open net, but the athletic Reiter was able to get his stick on the shot by Shore. Zucker was then stopped on a quick rebound attempt. At the time, the score was still 3-2, and a shortie there would have been awful disheartening for UMD.
The Bulldogs played well, showed a lot of mettle in rallying from two goals down, and got a good point on the road. They can thank a lot of people for that, including Reiter for an outstanding save.
******
Elsewhere, Michigan Tech stayed unbeaten at home with a 1-0 win over Minnesota State. Ryan Furne had the only goal, and Josh Robinson picked up a shutout. The Huskies are 6-2-1 overall, and every win they pick up makes them an even better story going forward.
Colorado College and Nebraska-Omaha met for a wild, entertaining game in Omaha. The Mavericks led 3-0 and 4-1, but Colorado College got three goals 2:01 apart in the second period to tie the score at 4. CC took a 5-4 lead, but the Mavericks rallied back. Goals :24 apart gave UNO the lead back, and an empty-netter iced it. The WCHA is now out of unbeatens, and UNO was able to run its home winning streak to three.
St. Cloud State rolled past Wisconsin, 7-2. David Eddy and Ben Hanowski each scored twice, and Ryan Faragher got another win in goal.
Also, Minnesota goalie Kent Patterson picked up his fifth shutout in a 2-0 win over North Dakota. Yeah, five shutouts in nine games. That's a'ight. Nick Bjugstad and Tom Serratore (the Bemidji State coach's nephew, in case you didn't know) had the goals for Minnesota. The Gophers are still perfect in WCHA play.
Friday, November 04, 2011
Game 9: UMD at Denver
DENVER -- Greetings from beautiful Denver, where UMD is ready to open a two-game series against the Denver Pioneers.
In case you're wondering, there is still snow on the ground, especially in areas that don't get a lot of sun because of tall buildings nearby.
Despite the presence of snow, it's been a great day, with mainly partly cloudy skies and temperatures into the 50s.
Enough weather. Time for hockey.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Oleksuk - Connolly - Brown
Seidel - Hendrickson - Basaraba
Crandall (Justin) - Herbert - Grun
DeLisle - Tardy - Flaherty
Bergman - Lamb
Kishel - Casto
Olson - McManus
Reiter - Crandall (Aaron)
DU
Zucker - Shore (Drew) - Salazar
Knowlton - Ostrow - Jackson
Mermis - Shore (Nick) - Doremus
Dewhurst - Tabrum
Ryder - Makowski
Phillips - Mayfield
LaLeggia - Lee
Didier
Murray - Olkinuora - Hope
(Denver dressing 11 forwards and seven defensemen, which they've done every night this season.)
In case you're wondering, there is still snow on the ground, especially in areas that don't get a lot of sun because of tall buildings nearby.
Despite the presence of snow, it's been a great day, with mainly partly cloudy skies and temperatures into the 50s.
Enough weather. Time for hockey.
Lines?
Lines.
UMD
Oleksuk - Connolly - Brown
Seidel - Hendrickson - Basaraba
Crandall (Justin) - Herbert - Grun
DeLisle - Tardy - Flaherty
Bergman - Lamb
Kishel - Casto
Olson - McManus
Reiter - Crandall (Aaron)
DU
Zucker - Shore (Drew) - Salazar
Knowlton - Ostrow - Jackson
Mermis - Shore (Nick) - Doremus
Dewhurst - Tabrum
Ryder - Makowski
Phillips - Mayfield
LaLeggia - Lee
Didier
Murray - Olkinuora - Hope
(Denver dressing 11 forwards and seven defensemen, which they've done every night this season.)
Former Bulldogs in Pro Hockey
This is my first attempt this season at listing former UMD men's hockey players currently in pro hockey.
I may have missed a few guys. Please send me an email or comment on this post if you know of any omissions.
Nick Anderson, Pontebba (Italy), 13 GP 1-4-5
Rob Bordson, Trenton (ECHL), 7 GP 1-4-5
Andrew Carroll, Hershey (AHL), 9 GP 0-1-1
Mike Connolly, Worcester (AHL), 7 GP 5-6-11
Justin Faulk, Charlotte (AHL), 6 GP 1-4-5; Carolina
Hurricanes, 3 GP 0-0-0
Justin Fontaine, Houston (AHL), 10 GP 3-3-6
Jordan Fulton, Stockton (ECHL), 6 GP 0-2-2
Jason Garrison, Florida Panthers, 12 GP 5-1-6
Travis Gawryletz, Karlovy Vary HC (Czech Republic), 4 GP
0-1-1; Ontario Reign (ECHL), 2 GP 0-0-0
Michael Gergen, Bakersfield (ECHL), 8 GP 1-1-2
Tim Hambly, Ingolstadt (Germany), 16 GP 2-3-5
Chad Huttel, Sheffield (England), 12 GP 1-3-4
Matt McKnight, Lausitzer Foxes (Germany), 11 GP 5-4-9
Josh Meyers, Bolzano (Italy), 13 GP 2-8-10
Mike Montgomery, Ontario (ECHL), 5 GP 0-0-0
Matt Niskanen, Pittsburgh Penguins, 14 GP 1-3-4
Evan Oberg, San Antonio (AHL), 4 GP 0-0-0
Trent Palm, Chicago (ECHL), 4 GP 0-0-0
Jay Rosehill, Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 GP 0-0-0
Kyle Schmidt, Lillehammer IK (Norway), 9 GP 1-3-4
MacGregor Sharp, Bolzano (Italy), 13 GP 8-4-12
Tim Stapleton, Winnipeg Jets, 8 GP 0-2-2
Thursday, November 03, 2011
UMD Visits Once-Familiar Grounds
DENVER -- It's a road trip that became quite familiar for the UMD Bulldogs a few years ago. Between March 10, 2006, and Nov. 8, 2008, UMD played 11 games in Denver (4-7 record). Buoyed by two playoff series here, it was UMD's most-visited venue in that timespan.
Since Nov. 8, 2008, the Bulldogs have played as many games at Magness Arena as they have at Wessman Arena.
Zero.
It's an odd scheduling quirk. The WCHA schedule for 2009-10 was set in a way that UMD wouldn't be visiting Denver. We all knew that going in. But when the league expanded to 12 teams for 2010-11, it meant the schedule rotation would be remade. That new rotation had UMD not going to Denver last year, too.
As a result, only three players who were on board UMD's bus to the Twin Cities and subsequent Delta flight to Denver who have played in Denver before. Senior captain Jack Connolly and defensemen Brady Lamb and Scott Kishel were all freshmen on that 2008-09 UMD squad. Connolly played both games of that weekend set, which was swept by Denver by scores of 5-1 and 2-1. Lamb was on the blue line for the Friday game, while Kishel played Saturday.
The rest of the roster is walking into practically a foreign environment this weekend, almost as if they are visiting a non-conference venue.
It's a strange twist on what became an enjoyable rivalry.
(The teams met so often that they had no choice but to develop a distaste for one another.)
This weekend, UMD and Denver meet again, and the stakes are somewhat high for this early in the season. The Pioneers lost and tied last weekend at Michigan Tech.
"Last weekend, I thought there were some areas where we were sorely lacking, especially in the compete level," head coach George Gwozdecky told me this week. "We've been working on that area of our game this week."
Gwozdecky has made no secret of this fact, so we all know he is expecting his team to come out and compete harder this weekend than they did last weekend. It should be no surprise to the visitors if it actually happens.
Expect UMD to be ready. They have answered challenges of a different kind the last two weeks, going unbeaten (3-0-1) against opponents (Providence and Bemidji State) that play a grinding style of hockey that UMD typically struggles against.
Denver isn't afraid to try to grind games out, but the Pioneers usually lean more toward a skating game, one that UMD is better-suited for.
The Bulldogs will keep the OCB line intact, and hopefully they're as hungry this weekend as they were Friday, when the line of Jack Connolly, Travis Oleksuk, and J.T. Brown skated circles around Bemidji State. They were on the ice for both UMD goals in the first after BSU jumped to a 2-0 lead. Connolly then scored the final goal in the third period, and the three were on the ice for Lamb's power play goal in the third.
UMD needs a productive top line, because it puts pressure on teams to find a way to slow down the effective third line of the Bulldogs, which features freshman Caleb Herbert centering fellow freshman Justin Crandall and senior David Grun. It's a line that can play multiple styles, with Grun serving as the responsible two-way forward who rarely gets caught out of position, while Herbert and Crandall can offer up a suffocating forecheck that creates scoring chances.
Look for a lot of Jason Zucker and Drew Shore for Denver. The Pioneers will lean on their top players just like UMD does, and Zucker and Shore are the Pioneers' top players.
We don't know what will happen for Denver in goal. Adam Murray was injured last week, but practiced this week and is expected to play at least once. Gwozdecky has hinted at the possibility of a platoon this weekend, with freshman Juho Olkinuora getting the other start after a solid first start in the Saturday tie at Tech.
I anticipate UMD fielding a lineup quite similar to last weekend's, including senior Kenny Reiter in goal.
Since Nov. 8, 2008, the Bulldogs have played as many games at Magness Arena as they have at Wessman Arena.
Zero.
It's an odd scheduling quirk. The WCHA schedule for 2009-10 was set in a way that UMD wouldn't be visiting Denver. We all knew that going in. But when the league expanded to 12 teams for 2010-11, it meant the schedule rotation would be remade. That new rotation had UMD not going to Denver last year, too.
As a result, only three players who were on board UMD's bus to the Twin Cities and subsequent Delta flight to Denver who have played in Denver before. Senior captain Jack Connolly and defensemen Brady Lamb and Scott Kishel were all freshmen on that 2008-09 UMD squad. Connolly played both games of that weekend set, which was swept by Denver by scores of 5-1 and 2-1. Lamb was on the blue line for the Friday game, while Kishel played Saturday.
The rest of the roster is walking into practically a foreign environment this weekend, almost as if they are visiting a non-conference venue.
It's a strange twist on what became an enjoyable rivalry.
(The teams met so often that they had no choice but to develop a distaste for one another.)
This weekend, UMD and Denver meet again, and the stakes are somewhat high for this early in the season. The Pioneers lost and tied last weekend at Michigan Tech.
"Last weekend, I thought there were some areas where we were sorely lacking, especially in the compete level," head coach George Gwozdecky told me this week. "We've been working on that area of our game this week."
Gwozdecky has made no secret of this fact, so we all know he is expecting his team to come out and compete harder this weekend than they did last weekend. It should be no surprise to the visitors if it actually happens.
Expect UMD to be ready. They have answered challenges of a different kind the last two weeks, going unbeaten (3-0-1) against opponents (Providence and Bemidji State) that play a grinding style of hockey that UMD typically struggles against.
Denver isn't afraid to try to grind games out, but the Pioneers usually lean more toward a skating game, one that UMD is better-suited for.
The Bulldogs will keep the OCB line intact, and hopefully they're as hungry this weekend as they were Friday, when the line of Jack Connolly, Travis Oleksuk, and J.T. Brown skated circles around Bemidji State. They were on the ice for both UMD goals in the first after BSU jumped to a 2-0 lead. Connolly then scored the final goal in the third period, and the three were on the ice for Lamb's power play goal in the third.
UMD needs a productive top line, because it puts pressure on teams to find a way to slow down the effective third line of the Bulldogs, which features freshman Caleb Herbert centering fellow freshman Justin Crandall and senior David Grun. It's a line that can play multiple styles, with Grun serving as the responsible two-way forward who rarely gets caught out of position, while Herbert and Crandall can offer up a suffocating forecheck that creates scoring chances.
Look for a lot of Jason Zucker and Drew Shore for Denver. The Pioneers will lean on their top players just like UMD does, and Zucker and Shore are the Pioneers' top players.
We don't know what will happen for Denver in goal. Adam Murray was injured last week, but practiced this week and is expected to play at least once. Gwozdecky has hinted at the possibility of a platoon this weekend, with freshman Juho Olkinuora getting the other start after a solid first start in the Saturday tie at Tech.
I anticipate UMD fielding a lineup quite similar to last weekend's, including senior Kenny Reiter in goal.
Vikings Situation Starts Looking Bad
No one questions my loyalty toward the Packers. I want to see my favorite football team win, and I don't care who they play against. Obviously, though, it's a bit more special when they play the Vikings and Bears.
The fun of NFC North rivalries could end up being tempered a bit soon, thanks to uninspired, clueless politicians in Minnesota.
The Vikings stadium debate has been going on since Red McCombs bought the team in 1998, starting spewing "Purple Pride" nonsense, and quickly threatened to try to move the team to San Antonio. When he couldn't get a new stadium built in Minnesota, McCombs sold the team to Zygi Wilf in 2005. Wilf has continued the effort to build a new home for his team, but he has conducted himself with more dignity and less bluster than McCombs.
Hasn't worked.
In February, the Vikings' lease with the Metrodome will expire. There is still no deal to replace it, and I think you can safely assume the Vikings won't be renewing their agreement to play at the Metrodome without a new stadium in place.
With the end of the lease on the horizon, I fully expected Minnesota politicians to act with a sense of urgency to get financing agreed upon and prepare to put shovels in the dirt.
Instead, the politicians have acted like they've been acting in Minnesota for years. They've done virtually nothing.
This is a state that's had two government shutdowns in the last decade. This is a state that needed a decade to figure out how to get a stadium done for its Major League Baseball team. This is a state that lost its NHL franchise -- process that ... Minnesota, a state where hockey rules over all, lost its NHL franchise -- before it figured out that a new arena might be a good idea.
(Yes, I know Norm Green sucks. But let's play along, shall we?)
Now, this state is potentially on the verge of losing its NFL team. And like when it lost the NHL, there is no promise that the NFL will ever return if it leaves.
Politicians continue to do ... nothing.
It's disappointing, even for a Packer fan. No sane Packer fan wants to see the Vikings leave. No respectable fan of any team wants to see another dedicated fan -- or, in this case, tens or hundreds of thousands of them -- go through the agony of seeing his/her favorite team move.
Same goes here. Vikings fans are generally good fans, just like everyone else's fans. There are bad apples in every fanbase, but those bad apples shouldn't make you want to see a team move. For a fan of a team, there is nothing more hurtful or agonizing.
And to see politicians -- not greedy, unreasonable owners -- doing a team in makes it even sadder.
The latest news on Thursday is encouraging, and hopefully it's not too late.
If a deal is done, the Vikings will stay. But if nothing is done by Feb. 1, all bets are off.
Should the unthinkable happen, I think we all know who to point the finger at.
The fun of NFC North rivalries could end up being tempered a bit soon, thanks to uninspired, clueless politicians in Minnesota.
The Vikings stadium debate has been going on since Red McCombs bought the team in 1998, starting spewing "Purple Pride" nonsense, and quickly threatened to try to move the team to San Antonio. When he couldn't get a new stadium built in Minnesota, McCombs sold the team to Zygi Wilf in 2005. Wilf has continued the effort to build a new home for his team, but he has conducted himself with more dignity and less bluster than McCombs.
Hasn't worked.
In February, the Vikings' lease with the Metrodome will expire. There is still no deal to replace it, and I think you can safely assume the Vikings won't be renewing their agreement to play at the Metrodome without a new stadium in place.
With the end of the lease on the horizon, I fully expected Minnesota politicians to act with a sense of urgency to get financing agreed upon and prepare to put shovels in the dirt.
Instead, the politicians have acted like they've been acting in Minnesota for years. They've done virtually nothing.
This is a state that's had two government shutdowns in the last decade. This is a state that needed a decade to figure out how to get a stadium done for its Major League Baseball team. This is a state that lost its NHL franchise -- process that ... Minnesota, a state where hockey rules over all, lost its NHL franchise -- before it figured out that a new arena might be a good idea.
(Yes, I know Norm Green sucks. But let's play along, shall we?)
Now, this state is potentially on the verge of losing its NFL team. And like when it lost the NHL, there is no promise that the NFL will ever return if it leaves.
Politicians continue to do ... nothing.
It's disappointing, even for a Packer fan. No sane Packer fan wants to see the Vikings leave. No respectable fan of any team wants to see another dedicated fan -- or, in this case, tens or hundreds of thousands of them -- go through the agony of seeing his/her favorite team move.
Same goes here. Vikings fans are generally good fans, just like everyone else's fans. There are bad apples in every fanbase, but those bad apples shouldn't make you want to see a team move. For a fan of a team, there is nothing more hurtful or agonizing.
And to see politicians -- not greedy, unreasonable owners -- doing a team in makes it even sadder.
The latest news on Thursday is encouraging, and hopefully it's not too late.
Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican bill authors met on Thursday morning and pledged to pass a Vikings stadium bill this year, with gaming as a funding source.
"If you're tired of it, so am I," said Rep. Morrie Lanning (R-Moorhead), co-author of the stadium bill that was presented this past spring. "I think the public is tired of it too. We need to make a decision."
Dayton announced last month he hoped to present a stadium plan on Monday and call a special session before Thankgiving. But that was thrown into limbo on Wednesday, after an email surfaced from House Speaker Kurt Zellers saying he wouldn't support a special session on the stadium bill and questioning the urgency of the issue.
If a deal is done, the Vikings will stay. But if nothing is done by Feb. 1, all bets are off.
Should the unthinkable happen, I think we all know who to point the finger at.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
NBC Sports Group Announced College Hockey TV Schedule; UMD Involved
The college hockey television landscape has grown. As previously reported, rumored, and discussed, NBC Sports Group is adding a package of college hockey broadcasts on what is now known as Versus.
That channel will become NBC Sports Network Jan. 2, the day of the NHL Winter Classic. Three days prior, on New Year's Eve, it will broadcast its first-ever college hockey game. That game, between host Notre Dame and Boston University, is the first of 16 scheduled games on the channel this season.
The press release from Versus/NBC Sports Group appears below.
Sam Flood, who does a wonderful job on NBC's NHL broadcasts and took over the Versus games last year when Comcast and NBC finalized their merger, is overseeing these broadcasts. This will not be small-time, public-access caliber television. This is one of the best groups you'll find in North America, and they're going to do a good job on these games.
Unlike in 2013-14, when they start doing Notre Dame home games, they are all over the map here. It's a Denver-heavy schedule when it comes to the WCHA, but UMD makes an appearance Jan. 13 at Nebraska-Omaha, and it's nice to see them doing games out of places like Houston Fieldhouse (RPI), Ingalls Rink (Yale), and Gutterson Fieldhouse (Vermont).
With the addition of this NBC Sports Network game, UMD has three road games televised this season for satellite users, with two of them on national TV. Friday's game at Denver will be on Root Sports Rocky Mountain (fed to My9 for those in Duluth who don't have satellite). The Friday night game at Wisconsin (Dec. 9) will be on Big Ten Network, too. In addition, the Feb. 10 home game with North Dakota will be on CBS Sports Network.
That channel will become NBC Sports Network Jan. 2, the day of the NHL Winter Classic. Three days prior, on New Year's Eve, it will broadcast its first-ever college hockey game. That game, between host Notre Dame and Boston University, is the first of 16 scheduled games on the channel this season.
The press release from Versus/NBC Sports Group appears below.
The NBC Sports Group will air 16 live college hockey games this season on NBC Sports Network, including four from the Hockey East Tournament (one Quarterfinal, both Semifinals and the Final). This season’s schedule, which marks the first time that the NBC Sports Group will air college hockey games, was developed through partnerships with numerous collegiate hockey associations and universities.Of note here ...
The coverage begins on VERSUS, which will be rebranded as the NBC Sports Network on Jan. 2, on Saturday, December 31, when No. 4 Notre Dame hosts No. 12 Boston University at 7 p.m. ET. The remainder of this season’s schedule, which includes a game each Friday in primetime starting in January, will be seen on NBC Sports Network. The schedule culminates with live coverage of the Hockey East Tournament with a Quarterfinal game on March 9, as well as both Semifinals and the Final on March 16 and 17, 2012, respectively, from TD Garden in Boston, Mass.
“We are excited to be launching our first-ever college hockey package by building a destination on Friday nights on the NBC Sports Network with many of the preeminent brands in the sport,” said Jon Miller, President of Programming for NBC Sports Group.
Additional regular-season highlights include No. 4 Notre Dame hosting No. 3 Michigan on Jan. 20; No. 9 Yale facing Harvard on Jan. 27; and a Feb. 10 doubleheader featuring No. 1 Boston College traveling to Vermont and No. 8 Denver hosting No. 5 Minnesota.
The college hockey telecasts will be produced by the same Emmy Award-winning team that oversees all of the NHL games for the NBC Sports Group, led by Sam Flood, Executive Producer for NBC Sports and VERSUS.
The NBC Sports Group also recently announced a multi-year deal with Notre Dame to have their home games televised on the NBC Sports Network beginning with the 2013-14 season, when the school joins Hockey East.
NBC Sports Network’s College Hockey Schedule (all times ET, subject to change):
DATE GAME TIME
Saturday, Dec. 31 #12 Boston University at #4 Notre Dame 7:00 p.m. (VERSUS)
Jan. 6 Dartmouth at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 13 #14 Minnesota-Duluth at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 20 #3 Michigan at #4 Notre Dame 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 27 #9 Yale at Harvard 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 3 Cornell at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 #1 Boston College at Vermont 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 10 #5 Minnesota at #8 Denver 10:00 p.m.
Feb. 17 Dartmouth at #9 Yale 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24 #12 Boston University at Vermont 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24 #15 North Dakota at #8 Denver 10:00 p.m.
March 2 #8 Denver at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.
Hockey East Tournament
March 9 Quarterfinals 7:30 p.m.
March 16 Semifinals 5:00 p.m. and 8 p.m.
March 17 Finals 8:00 p.m.
All rankings based off USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine 2011-12 Men’s College Hockey Poll #5 (October 31, 2011).
Sam Flood, who does a wonderful job on NBC's NHL broadcasts and took over the Versus games last year when Comcast and NBC finalized their merger, is overseeing these broadcasts. This will not be small-time, public-access caliber television. This is one of the best groups you'll find in North America, and they're going to do a good job on these games.
Unlike in 2013-14, when they start doing Notre Dame home games, they are all over the map here. It's a Denver-heavy schedule when it comes to the WCHA, but UMD makes an appearance Jan. 13 at Nebraska-Omaha, and it's nice to see them doing games out of places like Houston Fieldhouse (RPI), Ingalls Rink (Yale), and Gutterson Fieldhouse (Vermont).
With the addition of this NBC Sports Network game, UMD has three road games televised this season for satellite users, with two of them on national TV. Friday's game at Denver will be on Root Sports Rocky Mountain (fed to My9 for those in Duluth who don't have satellite). The Friday night game at Wisconsin (Dec. 9) will be on Big Ten Network, too. In addition, the Feb. 10 home game with North Dakota will be on CBS Sports Network.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Big Ten Football = Not Good
One of the things that gets cast aside once my attention span gets dominated by college hockey is college football.
I love college football, but the fact that we still don't have a likable system to decide a major-college champion is a problem, and it doesn't help that the Big Ten is basically a non-competitive entity in the sport.
If that hadn't been proven beyond a doubt before this weekend, things that happened Saturday only underscored the problems this league is having right now.
We know who the top Big Ten teams are in football. Nebraska, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Penn State, and probably either Michigan or Ohio State are the top five. What we didn't know is how far this upper tier is from being a legitimate contender nationally.
The only one of the group -- Wisconsin -- that had even a prayer of a BCS title shot blew it the last two weekends. How did they blow it?
Well, I'm glad you asked. Against Michigan State, in Wisconsin's first true road game of the season, the Badgers jumped to a 14-0 lead, fell behind 31-17 with a bunch of third-down screw-ups on defense, special teams bloopers, and two Russell Wilson interceptions. The Badgers then tied the score thanks to two great drives led by Wilson. And then Michigan State scored on a Hail Mary pass on the last play of the game. While three Badgers stood and watched, Kurt Nichol caught a deflected pass, then leaned into the end zone.
As if that wasn't gut-wrenching enough, Wisconsin went to Columbus Saturday, jumped to another early lead, and then went through a similar comedy of errors in falling behind 26-14 in the fourth quarter. Wilson led them back again, and Wisconsin took a 29-26 lead into the final minute. Then Ohio State got a 40-yard score in the last 30 seconds. Buckeyes win 33-29. Ugh.
This isn't about blame. The Badgers aren't good enough, and haven't been good enough for years. They prove it when they go on the road to play good, but inferior, teams.
(No disrespect intended here. But I'm sorry. Ohio State and Michigan State aren't as good as Wisconsin, and never should have been in position to win those games. It's a symptom of a problem for Wisconsin.)
And if Wisconsin -- with the mercenary quarterback, stout running game, and somewhat decent defense -- isn't good enough to win a national title out of the Big Ten, there's no hope.
Nebraska is decent, but got blown out at Wisconsin a month ago, and it's not like that was an accident. Michigan State and Ohio State are good teams, but MSU had no chance Saturday in Lincoln, and tOSU wasn't good enough to beat middling Miami. Or Michigan State. Michigan lost to Michigan State, and the quarterback is hardly consistent with his throws, but they're good, and they should be good enough to end their tOSU losing streak later in November.
Penn State may have lost convincingly to Alabama, but that's no crime. What is a crime is that they still only have that one loss, despite an offense that makes the phrase "sets football back 40 years" seem like an understatement. Did you watch that Illinois game? My word. I knew Illinois wasn't that good, but that was one of the worst football games you'll see all season.
Who's coming out of this league? Probably Nebraska at this rate. And what chance will Nebraska have against Oregon or Stanford or whoever else in the Rose Bowl? Probably not very much.
This is the state of Big Ten football. On the outside looking in.
I love college football, but the fact that we still don't have a likable system to decide a major-college champion is a problem, and it doesn't help that the Big Ten is basically a non-competitive entity in the sport.
If that hadn't been proven beyond a doubt before this weekend, things that happened Saturday only underscored the problems this league is having right now.
We know who the top Big Ten teams are in football. Nebraska, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Penn State, and probably either Michigan or Ohio State are the top five. What we didn't know is how far this upper tier is from being a legitimate contender nationally.
The only one of the group -- Wisconsin -- that had even a prayer of a BCS title shot blew it the last two weekends. How did they blow it?
Well, I'm glad you asked. Against Michigan State, in Wisconsin's first true road game of the season, the Badgers jumped to a 14-0 lead, fell behind 31-17 with a bunch of third-down screw-ups on defense, special teams bloopers, and two Russell Wilson interceptions. The Badgers then tied the score thanks to two great drives led by Wilson. And then Michigan State scored on a Hail Mary pass on the last play of the game. While three Badgers stood and watched, Kurt Nichol caught a deflected pass, then leaned into the end zone.
As if that wasn't gut-wrenching enough, Wisconsin went to Columbus Saturday, jumped to another early lead, and then went through a similar comedy of errors in falling behind 26-14 in the fourth quarter. Wilson led them back again, and Wisconsin took a 29-26 lead into the final minute. Then Ohio State got a 40-yard score in the last 30 seconds. Buckeyes win 33-29. Ugh.
This isn't about blame. The Badgers aren't good enough, and haven't been good enough for years. They prove it when they go on the road to play good, but inferior, teams.
(No disrespect intended here. But I'm sorry. Ohio State and Michigan State aren't as good as Wisconsin, and never should have been in position to win those games. It's a symptom of a problem for Wisconsin.)
And if Wisconsin -- with the mercenary quarterback, stout running game, and somewhat decent defense -- isn't good enough to win a national title out of the Big Ten, there's no hope.
Nebraska is decent, but got blown out at Wisconsin a month ago, and it's not like that was an accident. Michigan State and Ohio State are good teams, but MSU had no chance Saturday in Lincoln, and tOSU wasn't good enough to beat middling Miami. Or Michigan State. Michigan lost to Michigan State, and the quarterback is hardly consistent with his throws, but they're good, and they should be good enough to end their tOSU losing streak later in November.
Penn State may have lost convincingly to Alabama, but that's no crime. What is a crime is that they still only have that one loss, despite an offense that makes the phrase "sets football back 40 years" seem like an understatement. Did you watch that Illinois game? My word. I knew Illinois wasn't that good, but that was one of the worst football games you'll see all season.
Who's coming out of this league? Probably Nebraska at this rate. And what chance will Nebraska have against Oregon or Stanford or whoever else in the Rose Bowl? Probably not very much.
This is the state of Big Ten football. On the outside looking in.
BlogPoll Ballot: October 31
Another week, another ballot.
Thoughts:
The Ciskie Blog Ballot - Week 10
| Rank | Team | Delta |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU Tigers | -- |
| 2 | Alabama Crimson Tide | -- |
| 3 | Boise St. Broncos | -- |
| 4 | Oklahoma St. Cowboys | -- |
| 5 | Stanford Cardinal | -- |
| 6 | Oregon Ducks |  1 |
| 7 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 1 |
| 8 | Oklahoma Sooners | 2 |
| 9 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | 3 |
| 10 | Clemson Tigers |  -4 |
| 11 | Virginia Tech Hokies | 3 |
| 12 | Houston Cougars | 5 |
| 13 | Michigan Wolverines | 3 |
| 14 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 1 |
| 15 | Kansas St. Wildcats | -6 |
| 16 | Arizona St. Sun Devils | 2 |
| 17 | Penn St. Nittany Lions | 2 |
| 18 | Michigan St. Spartans | -5 |
| 19 | Texas A&M Aggies | 1 |
| 20 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 1 |
| 21 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | -- |
| 22 | Wisconsin Badgers | -11 |
| 23 | Georgia Bulldogs | 1 |
| 24 | Southern Miss. Golden Eagles | 1 |
| 25 | Washington Huskies | -- |
| Dropouts: Texas Tech Red Raiders, USC Trojans | ||
SB Nation BlogPoll College Football Top 25 Rankings »
Thoughts:
- Wisconsin is a fraud. Typical Badger team that folds as soon as things get tough. At some point, people will get tired of the same bloopers when this team plays on the road. Two true road games this season, and two losses to inferior teams.
- LSU and Alabama go head to head this weekend. You might have heard about that.
- Not impressed by anyone ranked below like No. 14. Lots of issues with those teams, especially Kansas State and Penn State. Kansas State done got exposed by OU, while Penn State still probably needs to be exposed. Tough defense, but an embarrassing offense.
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