Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Charlie Murphy has written a letter rejecting a deadline on UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname, but there are differences of opinion among State Board of Higher Education members about what that actually means.
Board Chairman Richie Smith said it’s pretty clear to him that the tribe won’t work under a deadline. If that’s the case, “I wouldn’t personally extend the deadline,” he said today. “This issue is more or less holding UND back from going on about its business,” he said.
Without a deadline extension, the board likely would ask UND to begin retiring the 79-year-old nickname, which some have called racist.
Board member Grant Shaft, who’s from Grand Forks, took a different view.
“I took it as though they are wanting to dialogue with this, as though the month of November would be useful to them,” he said. If there was indication that Standing Rock leaders are working to make a decision on the nickname, he said he doesn’t see a problem giving the tribe more time.
“I don’t want the deadline to be a deterrent in itself for the tribe from being able to speak on the issue,” he said.
The board is scheduled to meet Nov. 19 at Minot State University, and Smith said he expects the nickname deadline will come up then. There would be no special board meeting earlier than that.
Shaft said he understands there’s a Tribal Council meeting Nov. 9. If the tribe reaches a consensus on the nickname then, he said, it would affect the board’s discussion.
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Summit League
For some board members, Dec. 31 is another deadline. Shaft said no board member is willing to cross that threshold.
The driving force behind the deadlines is UND’s desire to apply to the Summit League athletic conference as soon as possible. The mostly Midwestern league is seen as a good fit for the university, but the league won’t consider an application until the nickname issue is resolved.
With the start of the new year, league members will begin working on scheduling, Shaft said, and it would be harmful if UND still was struggling with the nickname.
In recent meetings, board members have indicated they were anxious to move on after shuffling deadlines to wait out the Standing Rock tribe.
The Tribal Council at the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation, the other Sioux tribe in the state, has approved the nickname after a referendum in which 67 percent of tribal members gave their approval.
Shaft recognized that many board members feel what he called “issue fatigue.”
“Those of us here in Grand Forks, we’re more on the front line of the issue,” he said. “This issue for board members that aren't here in Grand Forks isn't as front and center." [Grand Forks Herald]
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) - Standing Rock tribal Chairman Charles Murphy says the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname is not at the top of his administration's priorities right now but he's willing to talk about it if no deadlines are imposed.
In a letter to University System Chancellor William Goetz, Murphy says tribal members clearly are divided over the nickname and Indianhead logo.
The NCAA considers the nickname and logo hostile and abusive. The state Board of Higher Education plans to drop them unless the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake Sioux tribes sign off on long term agreements.
Murphy says he's aware of the desire for a 30-year agreement but he says those types of conditions are "better discussed and agreed upon rather than stipulated."
His letter says he's ready to meet with board members if they're willing to talk about it without deadlines and stipulations.
It was a tough hit. I don't think it was anything intentional with the kid but it was still, in my view, after watching the videotape --- the paper had an unbelievable shot of it. [See Sunday's Star Tribune Sports section.] It was a shot to the head.
"As much as you want to say it was a good hit, there are rules put in. And that's why there is zero tolerance for shots to the head. Just as in football, you don't allow crackback blocks. You don't allow blows to the head. You have rules in there to protect the players for a reason. I don't think the kid tried to, but still it was a shot to the head."
Lucia said he has already talked to Greg Shepherd, the supervisor of officials, about the play. "I talked to our referee in chief and I forwarded it and I think those things have to be looked at because that is a dangerous play," Lucia said. "Even though you are in a vulnerable position, that doesn't mean you can make that hit like that. That is my opinion. That is why the rule is in there."
One reporter after the Gophers' 4-1 victory over Alaska Anchorage, asked Lucia how a player can avoid a hit like that? "You just can't hit him in the head, plain and simple," Lucia said. "That's why it is in the rulebook. Zero tolerance.
"Look at the concussions in the game today. [Leddy] gets out because of a fractured jaw. Those are the kind of hits you want to eliminate from the game."
Lucia said he does not think Leddy will have to have his jaw wired. "I am hoping that within a week or two he can come out and skate a little bit," Lucia said, "so he can stay in conditioning. We'll see how it goes from here."
Shepherd was at the Gophers vs. Alaska Anchorage game on Sunday. But the on-ice action was very tame compared to Friday's game when there were 35 penalties called for 78 minutes.
On Sunday, there were eight minorrs, four per side, for 16 minutes total .
After the league reviews Portwood's hit on Leddy near the end of the first period, I expect he will suspended for at least one or two games. And it should happen quickly, by Monday or Tuesday.
Portwood is a 6-3, 207-pound sophomore from Victoria, British Columbia.
[Star Tribune]
KITCHENER, Ont. -- A junior hockey player remains in critical condition with skull and facial fractures after a hard check into the glass during a game Friday night.
Kitchener Rangers defenseman Ben Fanelli fell to the ice after getting hit by Erie's Michael Liambas during a 4-0 victory in an Ontario Hockey League game.
Fanelli's helmet went flying during the collision, and a pool of blood from a cut on his face formed on the ice under his head. The 16-year-old player was conscious when he was airlifted to a Hamilton hospital.
Rangers CEO Steve Bienkowski said in a statement posted on the team's Web site Sunday that Fanelli was in critical but stable condition.
Liambas received a boarding penalty and was ejected from the game for delivering the hit.
NCAA tourney formula drives changes
Eaves said recent adjustments in how strength of schedule factors into an NCAA tournament resume is driving the changes. In the past three years, the value of an opponent's winning percentage has decreased significantly in the power rating equation (from 50 percent to 21) and a school with a record under .500 can no longer qualify for an at-large berth regardless of its schedule strength or where it stands in the Pairwise Rankings.
Alabama-Huntsville, projected to be an NCAA Division I independent in 2010-11, and Massachusetts, a consistent second-division club in Hockey East, will play series here next season.
Mike Cerniglia, the UW director of hockey operations, said another non-conference home series will likely be added for 2010-11 because the Icebreaker is exempt from the normal 34-game regular season and UW prefers to have 20 home dates per season.
Even though the WCHA is adding two schools next year -- Nebraska-Omaha and Bemidji State will make it a 12-team league -- it will continue to have 28 conference games [Madison.Com]
As the Wild keeps losing (it is 3-9), Gaborik keeps scoring (10 goals), although in a fitting twist of irony, Gaborik's St. Paul homecoming is threatened tonight because of that oh-so familiar "lower body" injury. He hasn't skated since Monday.
But let's be honest: Gaborik's fast start under the Broadway spotlight was as predictable as a rush-hour traffic jam through the Lincoln Tunnel.
If you're a disgruntled, Gaborik-loving Wild fan who plans to spend the next five years keeping one eye on the Rangers, you're going to give yourself an aneurysm by January.
Gaborik, tied for second in the NHL with 10 goals and third with 18 points, is an incredible talent. From a goals-per-game standpoint since the lockout, Gaborik's name can be uttered in the same breath as Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk. The only thing that's impeded Gaborik from becoming a true superstar is that dirty five-letter word that starts with "G" and ends with "roin."
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In most cases, stars are home-grown draft picks, which is why it's imperative the Wild starts developing these players. The Wild has nothing coming in the near future as far as skilled forwards. Nothing.
This is a franchise that has managed to draft and develop arguably one top-six forward since 2002 -- Pierre-Marc Bouchard -- and three in its history -- Gaborik, Mikko Koivu and Bouchard. It botched the 2004 first-round selection of A.J. Thelen, and it appears the Wild flubbed the 2005 and 2006 drafts with Benoit Pouliot and James Sheppard.
That's why even though it will be painful for the Wild and its fans, losing, real losing, has its benefits. It won't be fun, but a high draft pick next summer will help the Wild rebuild. This team needs an influx of young talent. It needs to develop another Gaborik.
Gaborik wasn't perfect. He had defensive deficiencies. He often was injured. He might even have been "one-dimensional." But he possessed the dimension teams need: He scores goals.
And as often is the case, you don't realize what you're missing until it's gone.
This is a franchise that has managed to draft and develop arguably one top-six forward since 2002 -- Pierre-Marc Bouchard -- and three in its history -- Gaborik, Mikko Koivu and Bouchard. It botched the 2004 first-round selection of A.J. Thelen, and it appears the Wild flubbed the 2005 and 2006 drafts with Benoit Pouliot and James Sheppard.
[Star Tribune]
To: UND Men's Hockey Season Ticket Holders
From: UND Athletics
Re: Crowd Behavior – Your Input is Requested
There has been much discussion about crowd behavior following the recent men's hockey series between the Fighting Sioux and the University of Minnesota.
While we feel the vast majority of our fans conduct themselves in an enthusiastic and respectful manner, we also feel there are issues that need to be addressed and we are seeking suggestions from our most valued customers.
Please submit your suggestions to help eliminate inappropriate fan behavior to the e-mail address below and we'll include your feedback as we develop plans for the future.
We have the best program, the best facility and the best fans in all of college hockey. Our goal is to continue to make the experience of attending a game at the Ralph Engelstad Arena the best in the country and we are asking for your help.
Please e-mail your comments and suggestions to GreenFanSatisfaction@gmail.com.
Thanks for your support and Go Sioux!
Marian Gaborik certainly didn’t sound hopeful today that he’d be able to play tomorrow night, which would ruin his homecoming to Minnesota. The short version: He’s going to make the trip, he’s still sore, he lists himself as day to day, he’ll try to skate tomorrow morning and see how he feels, he won’t try to rush himself back and put himself at further risk for injury.Here is another quote from Steve Zipay of Newsday that doesn't think that Gaborik will play until the Bruins and Rangers meet on Sunday afternoon. If it's not serious why is the injury keeping you out of the line up.
Still not definitive word on what his injury his but there seems little disputing that it’s a right leg issue. Gaborik had some ink marks just above his right knee, indicating perhaps a thigh or a hamstring problem. His right knee was not wrapped but it could be a knee issue. Gaborik said he was hurt in a collision in front of the net, not along the boards as first believed, and he played a shift after hurting himself. He initially thought the injury was worse.
“It’s not that serious,” Gaborik said. “I thought it was going to be worse the way it felt. I have to make sure I do the right thing and treat it and take it day by day. It doesn’t feel great but it feels better.”
[Ranger Rants]
Personally, I believe the Slovakian right winger isn't playing until Sunday afternoon against Boston in the Garden, but there's a chance he'll dress in Minnesota, where he played eight years, on Friday night.
Standing in the locker room with reporters after another practice in which he did not participate ---he was receiving treatment on his right leg, possibly thigh or hamstring, the club is not disclosing---he called himself "day-to-day."
Not playing would be disappointing, Gaborik said. “We don’t play them that often. Definitely it would be something special.”
He confirmed that he was still sore from a front of the net collision late in the third period against Phoenix on Monday, but would be on the plane to Minneapolis this afternoon. The team's top scorer, with 18 points, said he initially thought the injury was more severe.
“It’s not that serious,” said Gaborik, who skated another shift after the hit before shutting down. “I thought it was going to be worse the way it felt. I have to make sure I do the right thing and treat it and take it day by day. It doesn’t feel great but it feels better."
BISMARCK — The chancellor of the North Dakota University System says he’s willing to grant the Standing Rock Sioux tribe 30 more days to consider UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.
Saturday is the deadline for Standing Rock leaders to weigh in on the debate. Some tribal members want to put the issue to a vote.
Chancellor William Goetz said he talked with tribal Chairman Charles Murphy on Wednesday. He said the Tribal Council is not scheduled to meet until the week of Nov. 9.
The state board has said it will drop the Sioux nickname and logo unless it gets long-term agreements from Sioux tribes.
Murphy told KNOX radio of Grand Forks earlier that he knows some people support a tribal vote on the issue but said it’s not clear if or when that will happen.
Under terms of a settlement with the NCAA, which considers American Indian nicknames offensive, UND has until February to win the approval of both Sioux tribes in the state. The Spirit Lake tribe has approved the nickname, but the Standing Rock tribe has not.
The death of 13-year-old Evan Frustaglio from the H1N1 flu virus hit hard for one Toronto Maple Leafs player.
Two years ago, Leafs forward Jason Blake was new to the team and the city and struggling to deal with the news he had chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare but treatable form of cancer. However, the little boy next door who loved hockey always made him smile.
“‘I can’t imagine what they are going through,” Blake said Wednesday morning of his former Etobicoke neighbors, the Frustaglio family, two days after Evan died from the flu. “They are a great family with great kids. Evan was a hell of a hockey player.
“It’s tough. My prayers and thoughts go with them.”
Blake, his wife Sara and their three children lived in the house next door to the Frustaglios for the 2007-08 season, his first in Toronto after signing a five-year $20-million (U.S.) contract with the NHL team. It was a difficult year for Blake, as his illness weighed heavily on his play. While the disease was treatable with regular medication, Blake went from 40 goals the season before with the New York Islanders to 15 with the Leafs.
Things were a little better at home, though, as Paul and Ann-Marie Frustaglio welcomed the Blake family to the neighbourhood.
“We became good friends with them,” Blake recalled as the Leafs got ready to play the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night. “They showed us the ropes when we got to town. They were our next-door neighbours, their kids came over and played driveway hockey. We had dinners together.
[Globe and Mail]
NEW YORK — Minnesota Wild fans anticipating the return of erstwhile superstar Marian Gaborik on Friday night likely are in for a disappointment.The always colorful interview that is New York Ranges head coach John Tortorella, I wonder how many times Torts has taken Larry Brook’s head off.
The first-year Rangers right-winger will travel to Minnesota for his team's only game in 2009-10 at Xcel Energy Center, but a leg injury threatens to ruin the homecoming.
Gaborik injured his leg late in Tuesday night's 5-2 victory over Phoenix, a game in which he scored two goals and added an assist.
He and the team emphasized the problem is unrelated to his hips or groin muscles, which have plagued him most of his career. Gaborik will not play tonight against the Islanders and his status for Friday is doubtful.
Gaborik, the Wild's first draft choice who played eight seasons in Minnesota, signed a five-year, $37.5-million contract with the Rangers after Minnesota declined to make him an offer upon becoming a free agent July 1.
In the Big Apple, he is off to his best start in seven years. Gaborik is tied with Anze Kopitar of Los Angeles for the league lead in goals with 10, and his 18 points are second only to Kopitar's 21.
Gaborik came out of the trainer's room at the Garden late Monday night and said the injury was unrelated to the hip and groin ailments that have bothered him in the past, and John Tortorella stressed that again Tuesday while saying that he wasn't overly concerned with the injury.
"It was a little sore, so we just kept him off the ice," the coach said. "It has nothing to do with any of his (past) injuries."
Asked to confirm whether it was a lower-body injury, Tortorella said, "It's a body injury."
Read more: [New York Daily News]
A Grand Forks man hurt in a fight after the Sioux-Gopher hockey game is still in the hospital but has been moved to Altru's rehab center.
34-year-old Jason Smith of Grand Forks was severely hurt in the fight.
Police say 28-year-old Peter Chwialkowski (fee-uh-cuss-key) hit 34 year old Jason Smith of Grand Forks.
Chwialkowski faces an aggravated assault charge.
He has been released after posting $1,000 cash bond.
According to Jason Smith's caringbridge site, during the fight he fell to the ground, hitting his head on the concrete.
The site says Smith had surgery to remove pieces of shattered skull and doctors inserted plates and 65 screws.
It says he will now have physical therapy, speech therapy and respiratory therapy for 8 hours each day. [WDAZ]
Smith originally received a major penalty and game disqualification for checking from behind against Minnesota State-Mankato Oct. 24. That meant Smith would have to sit out Friday's series opener.
But Eaves said he was notified by the WCHA that Smith has had another game added to that punishment. Eaves didn't disagree with the action because Smith didn't appear to slow down when he crosschecked Mankato left winger Geoff Irwin into the boards in the third period of a 3-2 loss.
[Madison.Com]
