For those who question why the B's need him.

It's been a long Summer and there is no break through in the contract negotiations between the Bruins GM and Phil Kessel. I have seen a lot of ridiculous things written by Bruins fans that think the Bruins don't need or that the Bruins will be fine without Phil Kessel. Again; who is going to pick up the offensive slack? For those who have forgot what the young man brings to the table check out this speed and these hands as he blow by the Habs defense and deposits the puck behind Habs sieve Carey Price. The last two season Phil Kessel is a Hab killer, who has scored some big time goals against our hated division foe.

Wheeler on WZLX

Check out this interview. Is it my imagination or are these hosts drinking beer while they on the air? I was always under the impression that was forbidden.

While Wheeler is right, hockey is a business, I am not thrilled about Begin being a member of the Bruins. I think the guy is a hack and there are hundreds of other guys the Bruins could have picked up instead of this guy. Here is a good example of him type of work.

Chiarelli not pleased with Kessel Agent.

It would appear that the Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli isn't all that pleased with Phil Kessel's agent, it's apparent from Chiarelli's comments. That being said, when I read something like this, I interpret it as Chiarelli is low balling Phil because he doesn't have an offer sheet but is upset to be called out.

And then Chiarelli decided it was time to explain his position on the situation with the restricted free agent. Chiarelli joked that he could “just give him a pailful of money and it will be done.” He went on to explain:

“It’s a different system now. It really is a different system now and to be a hard-liner so to speak, you have to keep in mind what these players make after their entry-level contracts. The percentage of increase is huge. And what it does is it throws everything else out of whack. So there’s a balance that you have to keep. And Phil’s a terrific young player.

“And I’m responsible to our team and the fact that there’s a fixed-cost system that may go down, all parties considered have to look at the team, have to look at their own interest and you see more sacrifices made on both sides now. These are things that a lot of people don’t understand or they fail to look at. It’s a lot more of a balancing act now than ever.

Here is the zinger and I almost have to think that maybe the cheap label might be a little deserved, it's not like Chiarelli is the second coming of Harry Sinden but Kessel deserves to be paid after scoring 36 goals and would have probably scored 40+ had he not gotten mono. Lastly, in my opinion I believe the Bruins have over paid Bergeron and Krecji might have actually deserved a little more.

“It becomes a distraction because the other party starts making it a distraction,” he said. “I understand all the tools of their trade too. I used to be an agent. So you deal with it. We have a strong room, we’ve got strong leadership. It’s just part of the game.

“I just get a little disturbed when they talk about us being cheap. Because it’s not about that. Look at some of the second contracts we’ve given — (Patrice) Bergeron, (David) Krejci. It’s not about that. It’s about a balance.”
[the Bruins Blog] , [Illegal Curve], [Big Bad Blog], [Stanley Cup of Chowder]

Odd for winning the Stanley Cup 2009-2010.

The odds are out for the 2009-2010 season and my two favorite teams the Boston Bruins are 8-1 to win the Stanley Cup and the Minnesota Wilda are at 40-1 odds to win it all.

Anaheim Ducks 18/1
Atlanta Thrashers 100/1
Boston Bruins 8/1
Buffalo Sabres 40/1
Calgary Flames 20/1
Carolina Hurricanes 26/1
Chicago Blackhawks 8/1
Colorado Avalanche 70/1
Columbus Blue Jackets 45/1
Dallas Stars 40/1
Detroit Red Wings 4/1
Edmonton Oilers 40/1
Florida Panthers 55/1
Los Angeles Kings 60/1
Minnesota Wild 40/1
Montreal Canadiens 30/1
Nashville Predators 50/1
New Jersey Devils 20/1
New York Islanders 150/1
New York Rangers 26/1
Ottawa Senators 45/1
Philadelphia Flyers 16/1
Phoenix Coyotes 85/1
Pittsburgh Penguins 5/1
San Jose Sharks 8/1
St. Louis Blues 36/1
Tampa Bay Lightning 70/1
Toronto Maple Leafs 70/1
Vancouver Canucks 20/1
Washington Capitals 11/1
[props]

Holy Cow!?!

Apparently the fans over on belligerentville.com are all up in arms because Fighting Sioux football head coach Chris Mussman said go Cyclones at the end of his interview with Dan Hammer. For all of the people getting excited about this; just for the record Chris Mussman played his college football at ISU from 1987-1990 so maybe it's time to remove your panties from the crack of your ass and settle down. I mean seriously, Mussman didn't say, 'you can't have suck with out SU.' Maybe he should have. Mussman simply said, "go Cyclones." Not everyone in Fargo is a Bison fans. [listen to the clip here]

So who is going to budge first?

The dead lock continues between Bruins RFA Phil Kessel and the Bruins management and you have to wonder what the hold up is? I also wonder who is going to budge first? One stinking offer. It would almost appear as if the Bruins GM is low balling Kessel and since the Penner debacle in Edmonton it seems like no one really wants to put out an offer sheets for RFA's.

The Bruins do hold the cards to a point because if Kessel gets an offer sheet eventually from another team and the Bruins don't match they will get some first high draft choices. The thing that pisses me off is those draft choices do nothing this season and this team is close to making a run deep into the playoffs if not contending for a Stanley Cup. Currently the Bruins have no one currently on their roster besides Michael Rider, David Krecji and Marc Savard that have the ability to score 30-45 goals. I keep hearing how Sturm and Bergeron will pick up the slack but Sturm has never some close to scoring 40 goals and Bergeron has had to concussion in two consecutive season and is one check away from life after hockey.

The Bruins, up against the salary-cap ceiling and faced with an uphill challenge to re-sign Phil Kessel, are speaking with several teams about trading the 21-year-old restricted free agent, according to a league source.

“More than one team is very interested,’’ said the source.

General manager Peter Chiarelli didn’t offer any insight on a possible trade.

“I don’t comment on contract negotiations,’’ said Chiarelli. “But we really would like to get Phil in the mix. You don’t come across players like this very often. It’s hard to come by players with this skill. We believe there’s still a lot of growth to his game.’’

Wade Arnott, Kessel’s agent, declined to comment on a possible destination for the 36-goal scorer. Arnott, however, confirmed a virtual nonexistence of negotiations with the Bruins. Arnott said the Bruins made only one contract offer, which was quickly rejected, prior to the draft.

The Bruins thought they had a deal in place at the draft with Toronto that would have landed Tomas Kaberle in Boston in a package for Kessel. But there had been a miscommunication between Chiarelli and Leafs counterpart Brian Burke.

Kessel is recovering from May 21 surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum in his left shoulder. While Kessel will not be ready for the season opener, Arnott said he’s progressing well and could skate sometime next week.

There is a chance Kessel might not be fit to play until early December, so the Bruins don’t have to make a trade swiftly. However, teams would prefer to have their rosters - and corresponding cap situations - in place for camp. A trade could also take place once the season kicks off if the Bruins (or other clubs) start slowly and need Kessel’s offensive presence. [Boston Globe]

Blais on 1620 the Zone.

Dean Blais was on a recent radio show in Omaha on 1620 AM the zone ESPN Radio. The show is called Unsportsmanlike Conduct, Blais talks about settling in down at UNO. coach Blais is also still up on the Fighting Sioux name and talks about conditioning and his recent knee replacement. Blais also talks about the conditioning that the Mavericks are going to do. [click to listen]

Bayda still hoping for an NHL job

Here is more on Bayda's bid for an NHL contract. Looks as if Bayda could be heading to Europe to play hockey.

It's late August, with NHL training camps only days away from opening, and Ryan Bayda is starting over. Again.

In May, Bayda was playing for the Carolina Hurricanes in the final game of their Eastern Conference finals sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Three months later, he is still looking for work.

He came into the league as a third-round pick harboring hopes of being a scoring forward. After a nasty knee injury, he recast himself as a gritty hard-working fourth-liner, playing his way back into the NHL.

Now, he's just looking for a place to play.

"It's not the fun part of hockey, that's for sure," Bayda said from his offseason home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. "It's pretty nerve-wracking still sitting around at the end of August with people asking you where you are going, and you don't have a good answer for them."

Bayda has seen the good times, the playoff wins and the six-figure contracts. He also has seen the other side of hockey, where no matter how well you played the season before, no one is interested in your services -- at least, not interested enough.

For players such as Bayda, the goal is a one-way contract, which has one salary, an NHL salary. Those are given to players the team expects to spend the entire season in the NHL, as Bayda did last season. Everyone else gets a two-way contract, with one salary for the NHL and one salary for the minors. The NHL minimum is $500,000. The best minor league players are lucky to crack $100,000 on the other side of their contracts. [News & Observer]

2009-2010 Sioux captains.

This is what Chay Genoway brings to the table, a whole lot of offense. Genoway is a gifted player that usually makes the right play and can fly and is very offensive minded. Shall we say; "as Chay Genoway goes so do the Fighting Sioux." Many of odd man breakaways have started off of Genoway's stick or with him leading the way. Genoway was recognized for his leadership and named the 2009-2010 captain of the Fighting Sioux hockey team. Other Sioux hockey players wearing the letter this season will be alternate captains senior Chris VandeVelde, and Darcy Zajac.

Fast and Furious

There is all kinds of hockey news today.

Boston Bruins forward David Krejci (hip) has resumed skating and plans on playing in October. That is good news for the Bruins.
[Boston Globe]

Alexander Ovechkin has a tramp stamp, or what ever you call it on a dude. [Puck Daddy]

Yawn! Boring! Marco Sturm is staking with out limitations and should be fine for this season. [Boston Globe]

Former Badger Kyle Turris has added 10 pounds in the off season.

The Dany Heatly saga goes on. Sens consider drop-dead for Heatley trade: Murray [Ottawa Sun]

Former Fighting Sioux hockey player Ryan Bayda hopes he can get a one way contract. Apparently the Canes want to give him a two way contract. [Roto World]

According to the Michael Russo Twitter page the Wild are interested in Jonathan Cheechoo. He would look good in the Wild's new third jersey.

Here is what Chara had to say on the Phil Kessel Matter.

On the Phil Kessel situation, Chara didn’t want to cause any controversy with his take on the restricted free agent’s ongoing contract situation.

“It’s part of the thing that every player has to realize and decide what he wants to do,” Chara said. “And obviously the rest of it is up to the management and Phil. So as a player I can’t really wish anything more than have both sides be happy. But we’ll see what’s going to happen.” [The Bruins Blog]

Is the Kessel Saga ending a conclusion? [NESN.COM]

But last Friday, we may have seen the gates open once again. San Jose is rumored to be a suitor for both players and cleared some cap space by trading defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich to the Canucks. Many around the league feel this may be a precursor to a bigger deal, possibly for Heatley or Kessel.

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reported Sunday that the Sharks could actually be preparing to make an offer sheet to Kessel. The Bruins are on record as saying they would match any offer sheets made to the restricted free agent -- though, on occasion, general manager Peter Chiarelli has slipped in the “within reason” when saying he would match. So unless Sharks GM Doug Wilson decides to throw a ridiculous contract at Kessel, expect the Bruins to match any offer sheet thrown down by him.

There were also rumors this past week that the Rangers and Devils have interest in Kessel, but sources with both teams denied that. Chiarelli was on vacation last week and unavailable for comment while a call to Kessel’s agent, Wade Arnott, went unreturned through the weekend.

So who's going to San Jose?

The Sharks freed up about five million in cap space by trading a few of their players, now the question is who is going to San Jose? Is it going to be the disgruntled Heatly or is it Kessel?

League sources say the Sharks are among a couple of teams that have interest in Heatley, but Wilson said the deal he made yesterday “makes sense.”

“When the right thing is there,” Wilson told the San Jose Mercury News, referring to trade talks, “having that flexibility is a wonderful thing under this system, being able to explore things or put closure to them. When the timing is right and it makes sense to both teams, you have the flexibility and those things can happen.”

Also, talk won’t go away that the Sharks are set to give Bruins restricted free-agent winger Phil Kessel an offer sheet.

As reported earlier this summer by Sun Media, Heatley’s agents, J.P. Barry and Stacey McAlpine, have been given Murray’s permission to broker a deal.
[slam sports --- Canoe]

Hockey rumors and rumblings.

Former Golden Gopher and Boston Bruin RFA has been the subject of many rumors this past summer. So Bruins fans have to wonder where Phil "the Thrill" Kessel is going to end up. There has been a stand still in the negoiations and the Boston Bruins are going to have to move someone to make room for him under the cap. From this article it doesn't appear to be Edmonton isn't in the running. Any team that makes Kessel an offer sheet is going to have to give up a lot if the Bruins don't match that said offer sheet.

While Comrie's out of the picture, it appears the Oilers aren't going to make a pitch to deal for Group 2 free agent Phil Kessel. The Boston Bruins forward, who had 36 goals last year, is being shopped because Boston is already well over the$56.8-million cap ceiling. [Edmonton Journal]

Here is some more from the self professed Phil Kessel Hater KPD.

Headed into the weekend, it was same ol’, same ol’ on the Phil Kessel watch. No reason to expect him on Causeway Street when the Bruins open training camp Sept. 12. A Group 2 free agent, he remains without a contract. A source familiar with the sporadic talks throughout the summer confirmed that the Bruins front office has made multiple offers, with varying length of term, but nothing has convinced the speedy 21-year-old winger to sign on the dotted line. Kessel told this space two weeks ago that he will have a new deal prior to the season - be it here or elsewhere - and he also felt that David Krejci’s new three-year pact (average $3.75 million) didn’t factor into where he set his value. Meanwhile, a New York Post story had the Rangers possibly ready to pony up for Kessel, who must sign prior to Dec. 1 or will be unable to play in the NHL in 2009-10. [Boston Globe]

Speaking of Mike Comrie, there have been a lot of rumors bouncing around that the Wild were interested in signing the former Michigan Wolverine and Senator to a contract. According to Wild beat writer Mike Russo that isn't true.

Contrary to the rumor mongers out there, the Wild has zero interest in Mike Comrie. [Russo's Rants]

Former Fighting Sioux hockey player Drew Stafford is a restricted free agent and still unsigned and doesn't have a contract for the up coming season.

But GM Darcy Regier still has one more noteworthy task at hand, and that is to reach a deal with restricted free agent, Drew Stafford.

Earlier this summer, Regier extended qualifying offers to three of the Sabres' five restricted free agents, Pat Kaleta, Andrej Sekera and Stafford.

Kaleta signed a one-year deal, while Sekera was inked for two years at a little over $1 million per year. Clarke MacArthur, another restricted free agent, signed a deal similar to Sekera's.

Both parties (Stafford and the Sabres) are likely working feverishly behind closed doors to get a deal done. But when talks extend all the way until mid-August, there becomes a growing concern that both sides may be far apart. [Bleacher Report]

Here is another blurb about Drew Stafford's contract negoiations. Sounds a lot like the Kessel situation in Boston, young players with pretty good numbers, the negoiations are at a stand still.

Then there's Drew Stafford, who remains unsigned as a restricted free agent. Stafford, 23, scored 20 goals last season. He's big (6-foot-2, 202 pounds), skilled and plays with an edge. He is a big part of the team's future. But two weeks before camp, he's still looking for a contract.

Maybe Stafford's agent is shooting for the moon, knowing the Sabres need to sign someone of consequence. But if they believe in Stafford, why play hardball? If their plan is to develop stars from within, they should sign Stafford and show the fans how much they believe in him.

Of course, you have to wonder if Stafford is truly worth the money. There is no lack of pro athletes in this town, on both the Sabres and Bills, who are being paid like stars but fall short of the designation. [Buffalo News]

Chris from Western College Hockey profiled two Sioux recruits Mike Cichy and Danny Kristo. I am excited to see both players in a Fighting Sioux uniform this fall.

Sunday morning reading.

The hockey season is quickly approaching and September is right around the corner, Tuesday is officially beginning of the end of summer and the beginning of the start of hockey season. NHL teams will begin reporting to training camp in September and college hockey team nation wide will begin preseason work outs in preparation for the up coming season that will start in October.

The summer that wasn’t

The big question this summer was; where was summer? With the end of summer that never happened, I kind of feel like I have been cheated because we had 2 days above 90 degrees and very few days in the 80’s, there were a lot of over cast days in the 70’s and 60’s. Global warming, yeah! This morning it was a balmy 48 degrees, it’s not even September yet. If we aren’t careful the ducks and geese will fly south before the start of duck hunting season.

Oh yeah the new buzz word is climate change. What ever it’s called we could use some global warming right about now because I am freezing my ass off this summer. Yes, I am rolling my eyes right now. Can you tell?

It was so warm in August I actually wore a warm jacket that I would normally wore in October while hunting for Canada geese on the 20th of August. While this weather is great for sleeping it’s not all that great for working on the tan or going to the lake. The two times that I made it to the lake the weather was substandard.


Great for growing grass but not golf

While my yard looks great and some weeks I have mowed it twice a week, I didn’t play as much golf as I could have because of the inconsistent weather. Rain good for growing grass, not good for gripping golf clubs. About 4 or 5 times I was going to go golfing and the weather just didn’t cooperate I ended up staying home. That sucks because I bought brand new clubs this season; I figured it couldn’t be the golfer so I decided that it was time to go out and by brand new irons and wood. I mean seriously it had to be the clubs. I was going to replace the putter next if I didn’t start draining some putts.

So alas I went to the golf center and bought the new Taylor Made Burner driver and three woods and X22 Callaway irons. After almost four months of golf I am just finally starting to hit the X22’s the way they were made to hit. The Taylor Made Burners worked right away and were great from the start: so it had to be the old woods.

When you hit an X22 Callaway iron correctly the ball explodes off the club. Like Kevin Costner said in the movie Tin Cup "Let that tuning fork ring in your loins!" While most of us will never break 80 in a friendly game of golf (I have come close to breaking 80 about five times) and only 10% of the golfing public breaks 100, Its shots like that, that will bring most of us weekend hackers back for more.

When I wasn’t perfecting my really bad golf game, I was riding my newly purchased Trek 4500 Mountain bike. As of this day I have rode over 500 miles this summer since the middle of June. The lower temps are very condusive for riding bike.

Moving forward

I always said that when blogging was no longer fun or became too much like work I would give it up. As of this current time Goon’s World is still fun and hasn’t yet ruined my marriage. In other words, I am not living on my deck with my dog sleeping in deck furniture. The mission statement of this blog is to have fun and not take ourselves too seriously. We will leave that to others. Sioux7 and I will continue to cover the Fighting Sioux hockey team or what ever name UND decides to call their sports teams. I will also continue to cover College Hockey, the Minnesota Wild and Boston Bruins. As of right now I will also write a weekly column for the hockey blog the Illegal Curve. Kyle and Richard asked me if I would be interested in writing for them and I accepted. We will see how it goes.

In the last year from August 30, 2008 to August 30, 2009 we have had 392,703 hits, I never in my wildest dreams thought that when I started this blog in December of 2005 I would have almost 790,000 people would read this blog. My wife told me that it was me clicking on my blog about 500,000 times. I told her I don’t have enough time in the day to do that.

Like I said earlier, I do this for fun and I don’t take my self very seriously. I am not going to patrol other blogs and get into pissing contests or start fake fan blogs under false names to rip other bloggers. If there is something to comment on we will address it. I am not out to win a Pulitzer Prize.

I am actually been mulling over a couple of offers I have received and I am leaning towards one that may actually transpire in the next week or two. We will see how it goes, if it happens great, if it doesn’t happen it’s no big deal.

Another Kessel Rumor.

Doesn't look like we can blame this rumor on KPD. I dunno, I also don't think teams are going to give up a first, second and third round pick on a player that has only three seasons in the NHL. Also, the Bruins don't have any room under the cap. That being saied, if there was one team that would over pay a UFA 6 million it would be the New York Rangers. This rumor almost sounds like some of the ones that come from EK.

Time is running short for the Rangers to renew their interest -- and for the Devils to jump into the bidding -- with trade talks said to be heating up elsewhere for Boston's Phil Kessel.

The Bruins have no cap space left to accommodate the $5 million salary their restricted free agent commands, and would have to dismantle their team to fit him by Oct. 1, when all teams must be under the $56.8 million cap.

The Rangers are believed to have talked seriously with the Bruins about trading for Kessel, but not lately. At least two other teams are believed to have stepped up their bidding of late. Kessel is rehabbing from rotator cuff surgery, but may be ready to skate when camps open next month.

A righty center/right wing, Kessel led the Bruins with 36 goals last season, despite missing 12 games, and stood plus-23. He went 6-5-11 and plus-7 in 11 playoff games for Boston. He won't turn 22 until Oct. 2.

Once Oct. 1 passes, the Bruins would be unable to match any Group 2 offer sheets, and would thus receive draft-pick compensation for Kessel. For salaries between $4.520 million and $6.026 million, compensation is a first-, second- and third-round pick. Fifth overall in 2006, Kessel is the Bruins' highest pick since they grabbed Joe Thornton first overall in 1997.

Kessel would fill a major need for either the Rangers or the thus-far uninvolved Devils, both in serious need of a No. 1 center -- one with blazing speed, a major scoring touch and defensive skills, as well. [New York Post]

Wild snubbed by Alex Tanguay.

Even though Jacques Lemaire and Doug Risebrough are gone from the Minnesota Wild it would appear that Wild still can’t win the battles to get prized free agents. Alex Tanguay took an offer from Tampa Bay to play for the Lighting over the “State of Hockey.” I guess Tanguay would rather play in front of half full arena for a horrible team than play for a team that has sellouts and a fan base that is rabid about hockey. Good luck with that Alex.

The Wild waited patiently for free-agent winger Alex Tanguay to make a decision on his future, and it appears that decision has been made.

Canada's RDS reported Friday night that Tanguay has agreed to terms with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Sources said Friday morning that the Wild hadn't budged on a one-year, $2.5 million offer -- the max it could legitimately offer the playmaker and still be comfortably under the $56.8 million salary cap ceiling -- but the Wild continued to talk to both Tanguay and his agent. [Star Tribune]

How about this line of thinking? Sounds almost like his predecessor, see we tried but in the end we were unable to land any prized free agents. No disrespect to Chuck Fletcher but it tells me that Wild have run out of option and Wild fans are going to be stuck watching James Sheppard, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Benoit Pouliot for the most part three unimpressive first round draft choices. Of the three mentioned first round busts/duds, only one that has any worth is PMB and he is a perimeter player that is afraid to go to the dirty areas to score goals.

I mean seriously; if the Wild are to get Phil Kessel he is going to cost them at least 3.75 million to a top end price of 5 million dollars a couple of draft choices and or a top of the line player, this is true with the other teams. Personally, if I had been Fletcher maybe I might have been tempted to take the proposed trade and sent Brent Burns to the Senators for Dany Heatley.

If Tanguay declines the Wild's offer, the team isn't worried because there should be a number of top players on waivers or on the trading block in September.

Chicago, Vancouver, Detroit, Ottawa, Washington and Boston are over the cap. Montreal, Philadelphia, Edmonton and Carolina are within $1 million of the cap. When one considers San Jose is at $53.5 million for only 17 players, the Sharks are theoretically at or over the cap.

Teams can be 10 percent over the cap up until the last day of training camp.

The Wild has shown interest in San Jose's Jonathan Cheechoo, Chicago's Patrick Sharp and unsigned Boston forward Phil Kessel. [Star Tribune]

Facebook poll on the Fighting Sioux name.

There is a poll on face book right now on whether UND should keep the Fighting Sioux nick name. The poll results are like 92% for right 2% against the name and 1%.

Here is what Archie D. Fool Bear had to say on this matter, I think it is worth a read and he does give a strong case for keeping the Fighting Sioux nick name. Just for the Record Archie is a full blooded Native American from the Sioux tribe and he is for the University of North Dakota keeping the Fighting Sioux name.

Archie D. Fool Bear 10:53 pm
The deadline is not written in stone.. The actual Court order says 2010, not Oct 1 2009. From my experiences.. UND did not create prejudice, hatred or a hostile environment..but you can guarantee those who look for the worst in any thing will find it. If you look hard enough for bad you'll find it, but the same is true for the Good. The logo didnt create what the anit-logo group is saying, and this issue isn't a cowboy NDN issue its an issue of whether or not our own tribes truly believe in their customs, practices and traditions. In 1969 we gave UND the right to use name. I like what the Spirit Lake did, the people voted to see that their opinion mattered and they did not listen to the negative people. The anti Sioux Movement came to standing rock to change the tribes name, using the UND issues, but it didnt work in June 2008 the people of Standing Rock overwhelmingly voted down the name change . There lys the fear of a vote for the people of Standing Rock.

More on the new Wild 3rd jersey.

I dunno, I just am not a fan of these ugly jerseys I really like the red jerseys that the Wild wore at home last season. I know there are quite a few people that don't like the red jerseys, but is this the best they can do for the third jersey? I was a fan of the old Green Wild Jerseys. [props]

This seems to be a bit late.

This article seems to make no sense at all what so ever. I am not sure what the point of it is at this time. It's like an article that has turrets syndrome. A delayed reaction. It's like no duh! This was addressed last spring during the NCAA tourney.

The Northern Michigan University Wildcats will remain members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association for the foreseeable future. Although there was talk about the possibility of moving the team to the WCHA (Western Collegiate Hockey Association), the decision was ultimately made to keep the Wildcats where they are.

"We were approached by that league, about whether we'd consider rejoining or not," said Wildcat hockey coach Walt Kyle. "Any time that happens, you're foolish to just throw away options."

Northern Michigan University was once a member of the WCHA from 1984-1997, a period during which the Wildcats made four NCAA tournament appearances, winning the title in 1991.

The WCHA would pit the 'Cats against perennial powerhouses like University of Minnesota, Wisconsin-Madison, and University of North Dakota, but the staff at NMU decided it wasn't worth the switch.

"We think we're in arguably one of the best conferences in the country right now," Kyle said. "When you compare [the two leagues], our league has certainly been more successful at putting teams in the national tournament."

Keeping games available to alumni was also motivation.

"The bulk of our alumni base is downstate," said Kyle. "That's the reason we made the move back to the CCHA."

One school that is leaving the CCHA is University of Nebraska-Omaha. The Mavericks will play their final season as CCHA members this year and compete as a WCHA team in 2010. Also going to the WCHA are the Bemidji State University Beavers. The Beavers' current home, College Hockey America, is disbanding in 2010, forcing its teams to move elsewhere.

Two of the four CHA members, Niagara University and Robert Morris are going to the Atlantic Hockey conference, leaving the University of Alabama-Huntsville as the only school without a place to go. The Chargers of UA-Huntsville applied for admission to the CCHA, but were denied. [North Wind on line]

Awesome Nike hockey commercial.

I really like this commercial although I thought Nike was getting out of the hockey business. [Props]

UND ranked 2nd in the Hockey News WCHA Jersey Rankings

UND was ranked second in the Hockey News WCHA jersey rankings, I was shocked that the Minnesota Golden Gophers ugly Hockey jersey was ranked first over all for the WCHA. I guess the fans think the hated “M” is better college hockey jersey than the storied Fighting Sioux sweater.

On a less humorless note, some of the fans in the WCHA are apparently unimpressed with the Hockey News. I don’t blame them because if they are going to have a fan generated voting poll at least be a little more informed on the teams in the WCHA or risk pissing off their fans who would be your potential customers.

Here are a few of the things that I noticed; as of this season BSU is in the CHA for one more season before they become a member of the WCHA. The next head scrather is that while they included BSU with the WCHA they also forgot to add the UNO Mavericks. Duh! Also, the Hockey News down right dissed UAA and DU. DU has seven NCAA titles and deserves some respect. UAA has been a member of the WCHA since the 1990's and they do deserve respect and is a member in good standing in the WCHA.

While I have never personally been to Anchorage Alaska or to Fairbanks at least I know they are two different schools 358 miles apart, breaking it down further, not only are the two Universities are in two different towns but are also in two different conferences (UAA WCHA, UAF, CCHA).

If I was personally ranking the WCHA jersey’s I would say:

1.) UND
2.) MTU
3.) UAA
4.) UMN
5.) UMD
6.) C.C.
7.) Wisconsin
8.) D.U.
9.) SCSU
10.) MSU-M