Lucia Article (by LGM)

The Star Tribune ran an article about Don Lucia and his struggles with health issues and the hockey team. Click HERE to read it.

I found it to be an interesting read. I'll be the first to fully admit that I have a huge bias against Don Lucia ever since he publicly stood up for Brian Shack and his actions towards Channing Boe a couple of seasons ago. You'll all remember that Shack came charging from across the ice to tackle Boe and didn't stop beating his head into the ice until he broke Boe's leg and had to be pulled off.

It is no secret that LGM is a big Channing Boe fan, thus these actions made me livid. Then to have Lucia stick up for Shack's antics several times made me lose all respect for the guy.

So, onto this article. After the above stated bias I will state my position. I think Lucia participated in this article as a last ditch effort to keep his job and have people feel sorry for him. Lots of excuses seem to go on in the article. Don't get me wrong, I feel bad for what he's gone through but he should have taken a medical leave if he was so rageful for so long. Also, if he wasn't in the position to do so why didn't the UofM step in and have him take a leave? Really, they allow someone to be a "madman" (as he described himself) and just lets the assistant coach make excuses to players and other professionals? Total BS if you ask me. The U needed to grow a pair and put him on leave. Now they can live with their decision.

Yep, I know I'm going to get some mean comments on my position but that's fine. To each their own. I do hope the best for recovery for Lucia and he has gone through some horrible things...but there's also the aspect of professionalism, which I think both he and the U have lacked for years.

MN's "Pride on Ice" is officially the "Pathetic on Ice" (by LGM)

Oh how the mighty have fallen in Gopher land. Do you hear all of the thuds in Minnesota? Yes folks, that is the sound of fans falling off the Gopher bandwagon left and right. Let's face it, it's easy to be a Gopher fan....you can stop at the local Super America store and buy a knock off jersey and watch the games on TV and learn to spell and twist your wrist. Super tough! How man of them are REAL fans though? How many have even been to Mariucci? I would argue that the majority have not. Pathetic, just like their team.

I'm a die hard Maverick fan, as everyone knows. I'm also a very honest fan and I'll be the first to say that the Mavericks are bad this year. I would go as far to say that they pretty much suck. This weekend was no exception. The Mavs did not play great and they EASILY swept the Gophers. If I was a Gopher fan I would be burning all of my Gopher stuff today.

Not only was their play embarrassing last night, the way their players acted was even worse. Seriously, is there a bigger punk in the league than Cepis? Christ, that kid was either running his mouth non-stop, taking dives, or taking cheap shots. Sadly, this is the type of hockey that Don Lucia has been endorsing for the past few years. I'm not a violent person but by the end of the 1st period of the weekend I was ready to go down to the ice and smack that kid. I'm all for the agitator in hockey but when you throw in the diving and cheap shots to the head and knees, that's just being a punk.

Sonic the Hedgehog...oops, I mean Don Lucia....used the excuse that Maverick goalie Phil Cook is the only reason the Goofs lost. Ok, so Cook had 49 saves but I'll tell you right now that only 15 of them were quality ones. The Gophers lobbed shots right into his glove or stomach and had some of the weakest shots possible. Also, I would argue that the guy counting shots on goal was very generous with the Gophers. I'm not sure who does shots on goals in Mankato but I've always said he sucks at his job. He's always WAY off and having to change it mid-game. A perfect example of that is when the Mavs got a goal on Friday night and no credit for a shot? Hmm...not sure how that works.

Anyways, so Donny is full of excuses after the sweep and won't say the real deal...so I will. Don sucks as a coach, the team if full of a bunch of primadonnas, and they're a bunch of cheap ass goons. Plain and simple.

So, how's that for analysis? I know Goon always has all these stats and stuff on his blog but that's just not my deal. So, if you were looking for stats and not Gopher ripping...you're reading the wrong post:) Oh hell, who am I kidding? You're a bunch of Sioux fans, of course you want to Gopher ripping.

It was a glorious weekend in Mankato with a beautiful sweep. Hopefully the Mavs can take some of that momentum into this weekend but I'm not holding my breath. I'm more than a bit worried for the weekend and am expecting the Sioux to put up double digits on one of the nights. Hopefully I'm wrong and the Mavs can get some points but I won't hold my breath:(