Team Illinois/Wisconsin.

The illegal curve has Team Illinois/Team Wisconsin up.

One of the readers of our 2010 State Olympic teams asked me why I didn’t put together a Team Illinois or Team Wisconsin since I had mentioned them in the list of 6 States which were the highest producers of U.S. born NHL players. My response was that while they did help to contribute, their input was almost half of what the 4th State (Team Massachusetts) provided so it might be difficult to put together a competitive team. Even by going to the AHL & College ranks it was difficult to put together a team that could contend in this ‘fantasy’ tournament.

However being up for the challenge I decided that since these two states border each other, why not combine the two and see what kind of team we could have. (as could be seen with Team Maritimes, when you don’t have enough players from one region, why not combine).

So without further ado, here is Team Illisconsin.

You can see the following teams:Team Quebec, Team Maritimes, Team Ontario, Team Saskatchewan, Team Michigan, Team Manitoba, Team Alberta, Team British Columbia , Team Minnesota, Team Massachusetts.

No need to rush on signing Kessel.

It kind of makes sense, he might not be able to play till December. Eventually he will have to sign a contract or risk sitting out all season because no team has offered him a offer sheet.

For those fretting about Phil Kessel remaining unsigned, remember that there is no rush for either side to put pen to paper. The 21-year-old forward might not be ready to play until December because of rehabilitation following shoulder surgery. Kessel can continue his rehab and see if the Bruins sputter at the start, which could put pressure on the club to lock him up. On the other side, the team has a deep lineup up front. Three summers ago, Patrice Bergeron, also an unsigned restricted free agent, didn’t agree to his five-year, $23.75 million extension until Aug. 22 . . . [Boston Globe]

NHL asks Court to toss out Jim Balsillie's bid for Coyotes

I knew this was going to happen. The NHL has the right to choose who they want to own a team and in the case I think they can decided that they don't want Jim Balsillie to be an NHL owner. I also think the Buffalo Sabres or the Toronto Maple Leafs don't want another team in their area. If the Yotes go any where I would like to see them go back to where they belong in Winnipeg.

PHOENIX -- The NHL has asked a bankruptcy judge to throw out Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie's bid to buy the Phoenix Coyotes based on the league's overwhelming rejection of him as a potential owner.

The 26-page motion, accompanied by declarations from Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, says the owners have concluded that Balsillie would be untrustworthy and that the court has no right to overturn their July 29 vote.

The owners say their opinion is based on Balsillie's behaviour in earlier attempts to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators.

"We voted to deny approval to Mr. Balsillie because we concluded he lacks the good character and integrity required of a new owner" required under NHL bylaws, said Jacobs, chairman of the league's board of governors.

The board, made up of a representative from each NHL team, voted 26-0 against Balsillie's application. Three abstained and one representative was absent, according to Jacobs.

UND receives another honor. (sort of)

Actually I am on my way out of town to decompress at the hunting shack and scout for Canadian Honkers, the season opens next weekend for North Dakota early goose season, really I am. Yeah the geese will be out with their sunglasses sitting in the ponds sunning themselves as hunters try sneaking up on them or will be laying in the decoys when it is 70-90 degrees or not.

Okay! I may consume one or two beers by the fire pit both nights. Donna from Running with the Dogs sent me this link. Apparently not only is UND a great party school, their students don't spend much time in the classroom either. That being said it's a pretty impressive list, UND is on par some of the cooler schools in SEC.
1. West Virginia University (Morgantown, W.Va.)
2. University of Maryland -- College Park
3. State University of New York -- University at Albany
4. University of Mississippi (University, Miss.) aka, "Ole Miss"
5. University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, N.D.)
"Size and affordability are very nice draws" at the University of North Dakota. The number of undergrads here is ideal, and UND offers "the best bang for the buck anywhere." Student activities at UND run the gamut. There are more than 200 clubs and organizations. The student recreation center is enormous and state of the art. Intramural sports are quite popular, and many students are "huge supporters of the Fighting Sioux," the intercollegiate athletic teams. Specifically, "hockey is king here." The team is formidable year in and year out, and it has won several national championships. Home games in the "breathtaking" arena are well attended and "extremely fun." Students describe the overall academic experience at UND as "pretty good" "and not too stressful." Students report the fraternities and sororities loom large in the social scheme of things. Beginning on Friday (or maybe Thursday), "everybody is on a quest to entertain themselves."

Students who considered University of North Dakota also looked at Concordia College, Minot State University, Saint Cloud State University, University of Minnesota -- Crookston, and University of Minnesota -- Duluth.
6. Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, La.)
7. Florida State University (Tallahassee, Fla.)
8. University of Florida (Gainesville, Fla.)
9. Florida Southern College (Lakeland, Fla.)
10. University of Georgia (Athens, Ga.)

Friday Linkorama.

Mike Russo the Minnesota Wild beat writer has an interesting article on whether the Wild would be interested in Nikolai Zherdev. I am going to say no don't do it.

Bruins forward David Krejci is ranked second in the top 10 Czechs in the game. Martin Havlat of the Minnesota Wild is ranked seventh.

Former Wisconsin Badgers goalie Brian Elliott has a new two year deal.

Props NHL.COM Former Fighting Sioux hockey coach and current UNO Maverick and USA WJC coach Dean Blais is looking for the right mix of players for Team USA.

"They've got questionnaires on them, you have all the stats on these guys, but we want to see how they get along with teammates. Can they jell? Can they be team players? Can they do the little things to win that we ask them to do?

Sidney Crosby had his day with the Stanley Cup.

More on the Dany Heatley Saga: Dany Heatley's Ottawa Senators teammates could/would accept Heatley back this season but they want an explanation. This is what Chris Neil had to say.

Everyone's in the dark here. I think guys would want an explanation.
"But, if Dany shows up at camp and he's ready to go, we'd welcome him back.

Nice article on Carter Rowney.

Here is a really good article on incoming Sioux freshman Carter Rowney. I can't wait to see this Carter Rowney in a UND Fighting Sioux uniform this season. Rowney was not drafted during the 2009 entry draft.

If the Grande Prairie Storm repeat as AJHL champions this season, they’ll do so without the services of all-star forward Carter Rowney.

Rowney will forfeit his final year of junior eligibility to leave for the University of North Dakota, where he’ll play NCAA Division I hockey with the Fighting Sioux.
He’ll also continue his education, working towards a business degree.

The forward had the option of joining the Fighting Sioux either this season or in 2010, and while he’s been leaning towards making the jump for some time, everything has now been made official. He’ll be on his way in about two weeks.

“The plan is right now, I’m going down to North Dakota,” Rowney said.

“I’ve gone through it all now. I think I just finished doing all my paperwork finally.”
--------(snip)-----------
Rowney was a scorer with the Storm, but his role with North Dakota has yet to be decided.

“It’ll all come down to the type of opportunity that they give him,” Vandekamp said.

“He’s a good enough player. It’s going to be a jump for him for sure, as it is for all players to go from junior A to Division I college.

“North Dakota has a very competitive program so he’ll be competing with some very good players to get ice time, but I think he’s ready.”

Rowney has his sights on getting consistent playing time.

With the calibre of hockey as high as it is in the NCAA, Rowney has been working hard to help make that goal a reality.

He spent two weeks in Vernon, B.C., to train earlier in the summer and then he spent another two going through orientation with his new team.

He said he hasn’t taken a night off from working out to help build up his strength – something he sees as an area of his game that needs improvement.

Rowney doesn’t know how North Dakota will play out, but he’s optimistic his first year of college will be a good one.
[Daily Herald - Tribune]

Judge expands bidding for Coyotes to any buyer

This is going to get really ugly. The NHL owners don't want Balsillie to have an NHL team. This is going to test the league office and it will be interesting to see how this turns out. I still think it is an uphill battle for Balsillie because I believe the NHL can still ultimately decide who they want to own the Coyottes.

PHOENIX (AP) - A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has expanded bidding for the Phoenix Coyotes to include potential buyers who would move the team.

Judge Redfield T. Baum ruled Wednesday that all bids, those to keep the team in Arizona or to move it elsewhere, would be accepted for the Sept. 10 auction.
He specifically said the $212.5 million offer from Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie would be considered. That sets up another showdown between Balsillie and the NHL, because the league's board of governors has unanimously rejected him as an owner.

Balsillie's bid is contingent on moving the team to Hamilton, Ontario.

Balsillie spokesman Bill Walker praised the judge's for creating a "fair and transparent" sales process.

Team Massachusetts

Our friend Kyle from the Illegal Curve has team Mass up.

As part of our ongoing project of choosing Olympic teams based on states and provinces, I volunteered to take Team Mass., thinking it would be pretty easy to find a solid squad. While I was able to round off the defensive corps pretty quickly, the forwards took some work, with a search of the American League made necessary by the lack of NHL calibre forwards hailing from the state.

You can see the following teams:Team Quebec, Team Maritimes, Team Ontario, Team Saskatchewan, Team Michigan, Team Manitoba, Team Alberta, Team British Columbia , Team Minnesota.

Add team New York.

David from the Illegalcurve.com posted team New York today. As you can see from the other teams posted there are some impressive players from the teams from Michigan, Minnesota and New York. It's a matter of fact that Michigan is loaded.

Team New York is an interesting mix. The 27th largest state in the union based on total geography, it ranks as the third in total population. As a result one would expect that New York state would be well represented in the NHL. Turns out that it currently ranks third, behind Michigan and Minnesota.

Very talented group of forwards without alot of pop from the back end. The goalie contingent looks like a future Red Wings goalie camp. To complete our trio we had to coax a goalie out of recent retirement to have a full compliment of tenders.

You can see the following teams: Team Quebec, Team Maritimes, Team Ontario, Team Saskatchewan, Team Michigan, Team Manitoba, Team Alberta, Team British Columbia , Team Minnesota, team New York.

Avery on Donald Brashear.

Interesting interview with Sean "sloppy seconds" Avery. I still wonder how some of his Rangers team mates will feel about having Donald Brashear in locker room after he took out their team mates Blair Betts with a cheap shot last spring during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

On Donald Brashear: “I know he’s a scary dude…I’ve never fought him; I’ve never been dumb enough to do that… It’s always good to have a presence physically on the team, whether it’s a guy on the back or a guy upfront, I think it’s something that’s important, and as much as people say it’s not a part of the game, it is. It was certainly bittersweet to see Colton (Orr) go, I’m happy that he got a nice contract and he definitely deserves it. But it’s a new season and Brash will definitely be welcome in this dressing room and be part of our team for sure.” When reminded that Brashear---a former Flyer---had received tips from Joe Frazier during the lockout, he said: “I don’t know if Joe Frazier has enough left in the tank, I know Brash does, that’s all I’m worried about [Newsday.com]

“

Hey Olympians don't get hurt.

I saw this posted by Alan Walsh on Twitter last night and I couldn't believe it when I first read it. The NHL is stopping its season to play the Olympics; why in the hell would they do this? The NHLPA doesn't want its players skating in the camps because there isn't adequate insurance coverage for their elephantine contracts. Personally, I think there would be more injuries from the compacted season then there is from the Olympic games.

I don’t know if there is any way around this; the countries participating in the Olympics are going to need to have some kind of an evaluation camp so they can decided which players are going to be the best fits for their countries’ Olympic team. This is just shameful. Maybe the Olympics needs to go back to having amateurs play in the Olympic Games.

So the NHLPA has told players not to participate in any on-ice drills at the upcoming orientation camps for the Olympics. Apparently the NHL has now also sent out a memo that dissuades player involvement as well, as the memo apparently states that the league will not honour NHL contracts for a player injured at a summer camp.

Call me crazy, but wasn't it the NHL and the NHLPA that agreed to participate in the Olympics? [Shaune Vetter, Hockey Buzz]

Top Ten USA Hockey Players.

NHL.COM has the top ten ranked American players in the NHL. Nice to see the ex-college hockey players getting recognized. As an alum of UND it's nice to see Zach Parise ranked number one.

1. Zach Parise, F, New Jersey (UND)-- Parise was a big reason the Devils won the Atlantic Division in 2008-09. He ranked third in the League in goals (45), fifth in points (94), tied for first in overtime goals (3) and tied for seventh in game-winning goals (8) while setting a team record for shots in a season (364). The 2009 All-Star also is regarded as one of the NHL's finest defensive forwards, accruing 65 hits, 34 takeaways and a career-best plus-30 rating.
2. Tim Thomas, G, Boston (UVM)
3. Patrick Kane, F, Chicago (OHL)
4. Ryan Miller, G, Buffalo (MSU)
5. Brian Rafalski, D, Detroit (UW)
6. Mike Komisarek, D, Toronto (Mich)
7. Jamie Langenbrunner, F, New Jersey
8. Phil Kessel, F, Boston (UMN)
9. Dustin Brown, F, Los Angeles (OHL)
10. Paul Stastny, F, Colorado (DU)-- Stastny was born in Quebec has opted to play for the United States in international competitions.

Team Minnesota.

Here is the team that Kyle asked me to submit to the illegal curve.
You can see the following teams: Team Quebec, Team Maritimes, Team Ontario, Team Saskatchewan, Team Michigan, Team Manitoba, Team Alberta, Team British Columbia .

As supplied by Goon of Goon’s World:

Coming as no big surprise, Team Minnesota looks like the class of the south of the border entries. A potent forward group and young, mobile defensive corps make the 10000 Lakers a team to beat. The Achilles Heel seems to be their goaltending, which, while talented, is a little shy on experience.

Coach: Dean Blais- While he lacks professional experience, Blais is a keen motivator who knows how to handle this group, mainly former collegians. He won’t take any shit and will get the most out of any underachievers.

Goalie:

1. Alex Stalock

2. Adam Berkhoel

3. John Curry

Defense:

1. Keith Ballard

2. Tom Gilbert

3. Andy Albers

4. Erik Johnson

5. Paul Martin

6. Alex Goligoski

7. Mark Stuart

Forwards:

1. Kyle Okposo

2. David Backes

3. TJ Oshie

4. Zach Parise

5. Dustin Byfuglien

6. Jamie Langenbrunner

7. Blake Wheeler

8. Matt Cullen

9. Jason Blake

10. Ryan Carter

11. Brandon Bochenski

12. Peter Mueller

13. Toby Petersen

The Minnesotans boast a pretty impressive back end. All young, mobile guys, there will be no problem with puck movement or with the power play. While none are all-stars, as a group they represent a formidable top 6. In an quick tournament such as the fictitious North America Cup, they can really hurt you.

I see them paired as follows:

Johnson-Gilbert

Ballard-Martin

Goligoski-Stuart

I have Andrew Albers as my extra.

Up front, a wealth of firepower awaits anyone standing in the way of the Maroon and Gold (assuming?). The top 6 all have elite level talent and can all put the puck in the net. Additionally, there is enough of a veteran presence to calm the ship should they fall behind to a team. While they might lack in overall grit, players such as Langenbrunner and Byfuglien are no strangers to the corners and Mark Parrish is at home at the top of the crease. I see the lines like this:

Okposo-Oshie-Parise

Wheeler-Cullen-Backes

Byfuglien-Langenbrunner-Blake

Carter-Mueller-Bochenski

Toby Petersen is my extra guy.

Robbie Bina game worn jersey.

Sioux fans you can bid on a Robbie Bina Stockton Thunder game worn Jersey

Single-game tickets on sale Sept. 12 for hockey

I have had a bunch of people ask me about when single game tickets go on sale for Fighting Sioux hockey. It's official Single game tickets go for Fighting Sioux Sports go on sale September 12, 2009. Per a tweet from UNDathletics, "the Single-game tix on sale Sept. 12 for FB, M/W hockey, M/W basketball and volleyball."

Here is the official press release for the ticket sales linked below. Funny, this also shoots some holes in a certain bloggers theory on what a college hockey team makes for a hockey game as far as ticket prices go. The only tickets that are 15.00 are youths ages 2-12. We rounded the figure off to 25.00 dollars a ticket x 8,500 per game(8,500 X 25.00 x 20 = 4,250,000). You can see that UND and REA makes a lot of money from Fighting Sioux hockey and this isn't even counting concessions and other stuff that is sold in the Sioux shop. I wouldn't be surprised if it's another million or so based on suite sales.

GRAND FORKS, N.D.—University of North Dakota Director of Athletics Brian Faison announced today that single-game tickets for Fighting Sioux football, men’s and women’s hockey, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball will go on sale on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m.
Men’s hockey
Manitoba, Merrimack, USA World Juniors, Mankato & Michigan Tech Adult $25.
Youth (2-12)$15.
Student $7 – increases to $9 after the one month threshold
Minnesota $45.
Wisconsin and Denver $40.
St. Cloud State, Minnesota-Duluth $30.
Subway Holiday Classic
4 game ticket packages
Adult - $69
Youth - $49
Students - $20

Single Session (2 games on same day)
Adult - $40
Youth - $20
Students - $10

Tickets for all UND home events can be purchased at the UND Box Office at Ralph Engelstad Arena, the Alerus Center, all Ticketmaster outlets and at www.TicketMaster.com.

Oshie Sports Celebrity Benefit and Golf Tournament Pictures.

These are some of the pictures that were sent to me in email from Coach Osh, I also taken a few of the pictures as well.

ESPNU comes to MIDCO.

There is some really good news for college hockey and sports fans that have Midcontinent communications as their cable provider. The most unavailable channel on the television dial ESPNU is now part of the Midcontinet Communications line up and is on channel 320 in the Greater Grand Forks, ND area.

During the NCAA division one hockey regional(s) You will not have to have travel to one of the local bars in town to be able to watch a important NCAA hockey games. This move is long over due and should have happened a long time ago, I have called hundreds of times to complain about not recieving this channel. I am sure that all of those calls that fans made during the college hockey season might have finally paid off.

NFL Network/HD, ESPNU, NHL Network Added to Preferred Cable Lineup in August

Sports heaven is upon us! The NFL Network/HD, NHL Network, and ESPNU will be added to Preferred Cable in a many systems on August 1. The Sioux Falls area will receive ESPNU and NFL HD on August 25. Contact us for more information.

Oshie article.

In today's Grand Forks Herald, Fighting Sioux beat writer Brad Elliott Schlossman has a nice article on former Sioux hockey player T.J. Oshie if you remember last year the Oshie pummeled Rick Nash twice in two games. [Pummel number two]

Oshie’s popularity shot up in the second half of the season after a sequence of highlight-reel plays that included devastating hits on star players of opposing teams.

On March 24, Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown — known as a tough forward — picked up the puck near the boards and turned around to face the Blues goal. As he turned, Oshie closed in and delivered a shoulder check, knocking Brown off of his skates to a stand-ing ovation by the St. Louis crowd.

On March 26, Oshie picked up a puck in the neutral zone, skated around a Vancouver Ca-nucks defenseman, deked out another, got All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo to commit early and he shelved it. NHL.com named it the goal of the year.

On March 28, Columbus Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash was standing in the corner with the puck, looking to make a centering pass. Right after the 6-foot-4, 218-pound Nash released the puck, Oshie came in and delivered a devastating hit that knocked Nash off of his skates.

The next night, Columbus and St. Louis played again, and Nash was looking to even the score. Oshie carried the puck behind the net, looking to start a rush the other way. Nash made a run at Oshie, but the Blue Jackets captain once again got knocked off of his skates with a huge hit.

After that, Blues fans started campaigning to have Oshie elected mayor. In nearby O’Fallon, Mo., a fan took a cell phone picture of his vote for Oshie on the mayor ballot, anger-ing city officials because it is illegal to take pictures of a ballot.

At home games, “You got Oshied,” signs popped up frequently, and t-shirts were made with the most popular definition of the newly created verb: To destroy with reckless abandon.

Moron(s) of the Week

From the comments section of the article we also have our candidates for Moron/douche bag of the Week. Anyone want to guess what team they probably cheer for? It’s like give it a rest already. Please put aside your pettiness. The Oshie Sports celebrity golf tournament was a blast and all of the Celebrities acted with respect and were very gracious and fun to interact with.

Joel P.
08/02/2009 2:13 AM

I hear at the "celebrity" golf tournament, all of the port-a-potty's were converted to elevators for all the players to use the bathroom in.
-----------------------
scott e.
08/02/2009 1:07 AM

You should have seen him campaigning in the local bars this weekend, begging for waitresses to sign his shirt and for them to give him their phone numbers. Seems like there's nothing better for him to do. I can understand having a blast in the offseason, going out in a community where you were once respected (until you started urinating all over it) waiting for people to approach you, and "ask" for your autograph, not demanding it, is something to be appreciated. show some class now that you're representing a professional organization. oh, and be sure to make sure daddy's credit cards are paid in full. hope when you go back to st. louis you can play on the ice as well as you think you can play the barmaids

Celebrity hockey game video featured ex-Fighting Sioux.

Check out this video there are a lot of ex-Fighting Sioux hockey players in this video; you have Jonathan Toews, Zach Parise, Jason Blake, Drew Stafford. This would have be a fun game to go to and watch, an incredible amount of talent participated in this game.

The Heatley Saga marches on.

Former Wisconsin Badger Dany Heatley will not be going to the Oilers and the funniest quote I have seen on this matter comes from Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy, "Whatever the case, the Oilers formally announced today that they're tired of being the fat girl at the dance ("More To Love" made the world safe again for that analogy) and are moving on from the Heatley Saga." That is some funny stuff right there, unless you're the general manager of the Edmonton Oilers.

Steve Tambellini held a "Friday before the long weekend" press conference to talk about the soap opera that has become the Dany Heatley trade.

Tambellini said Ottawa has been informed that the Oilers are no longer involved in any trade participation for Heatley. He stated their #1 priority was goaltending and their #1 name was Nikolai Khabibulin. They are moving on.

Jim Matheson asked the "Heatley holding you hostage" question, and Tambellini said (apparently they were using the Pizza Hut order center phones) it was never a problem with regard to the player. He did say that they told Ottawa after last weekend about the opt out.[Lowetide]

Here is the audio of the Dan Tencer interview of Oilers GM Steve Tambellini [click for the interview] Interesting stuff here. Tencer asks some good tough questions.