Random Rabble: August 12

Those who live around the Duluth area know why I haven't been around much. It hasn't been because I don't enjoy throwing up the occasional blog about nothing significant.

Been exceptionally busy with the real job, but hopefully things are back to normal on this day. It'll allow me to get back into my normal late-summer routine, preparing for the fall and winter sports season.

UMD football is

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Greg Jennings Showing Sensitive Side

The Star Tribune's Dan Wiederer has a great feature on new Vikings and former Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings in Thursday's editions.

Jennings has taken some veiled shots at the Packers -- most notably quarterback Aaron Rodgers -- since leaving Green Bay. He's talked of his desire to be a true No. 1 receiver, something that wasn't going to happen in Green Bay, where the offense is designed

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Ryan Braun Suspension Taints Brewers History

In 2008, the Milwaukee Brewers chased down their first playoff berth since 1982.

Over the final week of the season, Brewers fans experienced some real goosebump-type moments.



Three years later, more of the same, this time for the NL Central title.



Nearly five years later, those moments have suddenly taken on a different meaning.

And it isn't good.

The man responsible for many of those

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Commissioner For A Day: NHL

Let's get back into this vibe.

The NHL doesn't have as many dumb rules as college hockey, but there are some things we can change to improve the sport. As always, I want your thoughts via Twitter or the comments, but here are mine.

Bye bye, puck over glass rule

It has run its course.

This was a well-intentioned if unfortunate change coming out of the 2004-05 lockout. Basically, officials

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Ryan Braun, Others Targeted by Angry Bud Selig

Bud Selig is mad. I mean, he's pissed, man. He's mad as hell, and he's not going to take it anymore.

Selig is tired of his sport being torn down by steroid cheats.

If you don't believe he's mad, look at what he's reportedly about to do.


Commissioner Bud Selig's office is expected to suspend (Ryan) Braun and (Alex) Rodriguez, along with as many as 20 players sometime after next week's All-Star

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The Matt Cooke Conundrum

Listen, fans are going to react to things.

Remember, "fan" is short for "fanatic." Dictionary.com defines "fanatic" as "a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal."

No reasonable person expects a diehard fan to not react to news that involves said fan's favorite team.

However, a lot of Minnesota Wild fans went far enough over the weekend to embarrass themselves. Over-the-top

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Damn, Carlos Gomez

That's all I've got on this one. Wow.

Your browser does not support iframes.

The Carlos Gomez Breakout Campaign is easily the highlight of a generally miserable season in Milwaukee.

Bill Smith: The Gift That Keeps On Giving.

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UMD Players Past, Present, and Future at NHL Camps

Summer means a lot of downtime for hockey broadcasters. I've already taken a vacation and spent a lot of time at work watching old WWF YouTube videos working.

For hockey players, it's a good time to get some conditioning work in, as well as seeing where you stack up when it comes time to step to the next level.

A number of current and former UMD players are participating in NHL prospect

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Josh Fenton Named New Commissioner of NCHC

This from the NCHC Monday afternoon, announcing the appointment of Miami University associate AD Josh Fenton as the league's second commissioner, before it's played its first game.

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Board of Directors announced today that longtime Miami University administrator Josh Fenton has been named conference commissioner. Fenton will begin his appointment as

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Fare Thee Well, Patesy

It's no secret that longtime Duluth News Tribune scribe and UMD men's hockey guy Kevin Pates is hanging it up. He announced it about a year ago, I believe, and Monday is his last day at the paper.

Kevin worked at the DNT for three and a half decades, spending more than half his time covering UMD hockey. For anyone in the sports media business in this town, UMD hockey is the big deal. No

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2013 NHL Draft: UMD, Area Represented

The 2013 NHL Draft brought plenty of interesting moves and decisions.

While we didn't get the blockbuster trades that were rumored (does that ever really happen in any sport?), it's always fun to see the best player in a draft (Seth Jones in this case) go fourth overall.

And you wonder why the teams in the top three were in those positions, and why two of them seem to have been there quite

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Source: UMD, Amsoil Arena to Bid on NCAA Regionals

On Monday, a new PDF made its way through Twitter, detailing the guidelines for hosting NCAA men's hockey regionals.

Immediately, speculation began about what the guidelines would mean to the hosting process. While some of the focus was quickly placed on the potential -- at least laid out on paper -- of a Saturday/Monday NCAA Frozen Four in the future, I started asking questions about the

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Donald Driver Doesn't Sound Retired, Because He's a Packer and Packers Don't Retire

Former Packers receiver Donald Driver hosted his annual charity softball game in Appleton Sunday.

Packer fans love this guy because -- in large part -- he was almost always smiling and almost always good to the Packers' rabid supporters. He retired after last season, ending his career without playing for any other NFL team.

Sunday, Driver had the sound of a guy who really didn't want to retire,

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Packers Mount Rushmore; Can We Name Eight Guys?

The summer often leads to TV networks and websites finding ways to kill time while also creating interest.

ProFootballTalk has done a great job of both with its ongoing Mount Rushmore bit. The premise: Name four figures from each franchise to fill a Mount Rushmore for each NFL team.

It's fun, because it calls on fans to look back on their favorite team's history. Recognizing and respecting

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Commissioner For A Day: College Hockey

I did this a few years ago, back before I had labels on posts, but you can find the 2006 series by searching the site for "Commissioner For A Day."

I'm bringing it back, largely because I'm tired of not writing on the site, and also because I think there are ideas to improve many of the pro sports I enjoy watching.

Oh, and because UMD's offseason is entirely too long because the season ended

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Random Rabble: May 16

For those who can't get enough of me -- and I can't imagine there are many of you -- I'm covering Chicago-Detroit for SBNation's NHL hub. I'll have stories throughout the series. My take on Game 1 is here. At this point, I'm not sure I see anyone beating Chicago. The Blackhawks are playing at an exceptionally high level, and they have gotten the kind of goaltending championship teams need to get,

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UMD Hockey Awards; Other Offseason Notes

We have a few things to clean out of the proverbial notebook regarding UMD hockey.

For starters, UMD announced its annual player awards Tuesday night. Senior Mike Seidel is the team MVP. Seidel led the team with 17 goals, tied for the team lead with 34 points, and was named the Fan Favorite Award winner during the last weekend of the season.

Forward Tony Cameranesi was voted the team's top

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Jason Collins Comes Out; Chris Broussard Causes Kerfluffle

I don't have any words of wisdom on what NBA player Jason Collins did Monday. It's far above and beyond anything I'm qualified to offer much comment about. In a piece on SI.com, Collins came out. He is the first active player in a major pro sport to do so, and there probably isn't a better person out there to do something like this, based on the story Collins told SI.



 Now I'm a free agent,

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NFL Draft Horribly Overhyped, Still Interesting

I used to be a junkie.

Well, for the NFL Draft. Couldn't get enough of names scrolling across a TV screen for two straight days. Trade drama, curveballs, Mel Kiper. It was all great theater.

Things aren't the same. Three months of draft hype on ESPN and sports radio and the internet have robbed the event of much of its intrigue. I get it, because the NFL sells and the NFL wins, but it becomes a

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Alaska Anchorage Coaching Search Draws Criticism

Not unexpectedly, Alaska Anchorage let men's hockey coach Dave Shyiak go after another last-place finish in the WCHA. The Seawolves were plucky and competitive at times, but largely not good enough to make any real noise in the league.

Shyiak's a good dude, but this move was coming for a while, and it couldn't have been a real shock to him or anyone else connected to the UAA program. Probably

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UMD Announces 2013-14 Recruiting Class

The UMD men's hockey program has announced a seven-member recruiting class for this fall. Here is the release from the school about the three players to ink letters of intent during the spring signing period.


Two talented prospects from the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Spruce Grove Saints -- defenseman Carson Soucy and forward Sammy Spurrell --- and Shattuck-St. Mary standout blueliner Willie

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Chris Casto Turning Pro

UMD sophomore defenseman Chris Casto has decided to take his talents to the professional ranks.

The 6-3 Stillwater native will be or has signed a free-agent contract with the Boston Bruins. The undrafted Casto spent two seasons at UMD, playing 77 games and logging some big minutes over that time. Casto scored five goals and totaled 22 points as a Bulldog.

Monday night, Casto announced his

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Brewers Paying Players Twins Didn't Want

We're a week from Opening Day.

Actually, it's less than that.

So I'm going to throw a few baseball thoughts out there.

First off, over the course of spring training, the Brewers have now guaranteed $61 million to two former Twins. Carlos Gomez signed a three-year extension worth $24 million on top of a $4 million deal he already got for this season. Go-Go struggled to hit consistently in

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Game 38: UMD at Wisconsin (WCHA Rd1 Gm2)

MADISON, Wisc. -- And away we go from Madison, where the UMD men try to keep the proverbial -- and actual -- dream alive against Wisconsin.

Junior forward Joe Basaraba has shaken a virus and will play in this game, while senior captain Cody Danberg was injured Friday on a hit by Sean Little of Wisconsin (it was a boarding call in the third period) and will not be in the lineup. For Danberg and

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Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Everything on the Line for UMD

MADISON, Wisc. -- It has been a long time since this has happened, which means we're probably a little spoiled at this point.

Saturday night, UMD will play to preserve its season.

It's been five years, since the "Goals Somewhat At A Premium" 2007-08 season, that UMD has faced elimination this early.

Friday night, the Bulldogs couldn't generate any real consistent attack, couldn't slow down

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Adventures in Bad WCHA Officiating, Part 843

I don't have the strength to opine about UMD-Wisconsin at the moment. So please watch this video.



This was a five-minute major for contact to the head and a game misconduct for UND's Andrew MacWilliam.

Seriously.

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Game 37: UMD at Wisconsin (WCHA Rd 1 Gm 1)

MADISON, Wisc. -- UMD takes a four-game winning streak into Friday's game here to open a best-of-three against fourth-seeded Wisconsin.

Usually, such circumstances would keep a coach from doing any lineup tinkering. Unfortunately, UMD doesn't have that luxury.

Junior forward Joe Basaraba (virus) has missed a good chunk of the practice week and will not play in the opener. He did make the trip,

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Bulldogs, Badgers Finish Rivalry (For Now) With Playoff Series

Greetings from the mansion. Travel day tomorrow, and then it's time to hit the Kohl Center for playoff hockey.

UMD and Wisconsin haven't met in the postseason since 1993, when the Bulldogs bested UW 7-5 in the third-place game of the first-ever Final Five (at least the first year it was branded as such). They haven't met in a first-round series since 1991, and UMD has never beaten Wisconsin in a

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2013 WCHA Awards Announced

Here is the WCHA's annual awards release, which came out earlier Thursday.

St. Cloud State University forward Drew LeBlanc, a driving force behind the Huskies’ success in earning a share of the program’s first-ever conference regular season championship and MacNaughton Cup, has been honored as both the WCHA Player of the Year and the WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year to highlight the

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Game 36: Omaha at UMD

Alex Stalock is playing for the Sharks right now (NHL Network). So pardon the brevity. I need to go watch TV.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Seidel - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause

Olson - Welinski
Smith - Casto
Corrin - Bergman
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely - Fons

UNO
Walters - Montpetit - White
Searfoss - Zombo -

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One Man's All-WCHA Ballot

As is typical, I was handed a ballot for the All-WCHA team on Friday night, before UMD's game with Omaha.

And also typical is my general rule to post my ballot for the masses. I think it's fun for discussion, as everyone voting is going to have a different perspective.

The same rules apply. These selections are based on what I've seen, and discussions I've had with folks around the league. I

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Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Great Comeback Win Before Attention Turns to Seniors

Friday night was the kind of game UMD fans have been waiting for all season. In fact, it marked just the second time all year the Bulldogs won a home game after trailing at any point. Omaha started well, scoring twice in 40 seconds to take a 2-0 lead, then scoring a power-play goal less than a minute after UMD closed to within 2-1. A less-than-capacity crowd at Amsoil Arena was left to do a lot

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Game 35: Omaha at UMD

There's a lot going on. State tournament. Winter weather coming. I now have my All-WCHA ballot. Maybe I'll let Hunter help me.

Oh, and it's late in the season, so it must be time for Dean Blais to dress eight defensemen.

(Looks like four full forward lines, but Tony Turgeon and Brian O'Rourke are defensemen by trade.)

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Seidel - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Farley -

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Private School Problem Has Few Solutions for MSHSL

The Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament is one of the state's great traditions. For nearly 70 years, fans have gathered to watch the best of the best in the state, and it's always a tournament that just about anyone can win.

People screamed bloody murder when the Minnesota State High School League elected to go to a two-class system for hockey. The tournament was being watered down,

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Game 34: Alabama-Huntsville at UMD

Here we go with the final non-conference game of the season. Could be interesting. It's an odd spot, as it will be UAH's last game, no matter what. Will any of these seniors try to go out in a blaze of glory? Considering one of the seniors is named "Geoffrion," I hope UMD is smart about how it approaches this game.

For UMD, freshman goalie Matt McNeely is not dressing because of a lower-body

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Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament Schedule

Here is the schedule for the state quarterfinals, starting with Class A on Wednesday. Please note that the top five teams in voting were seeded, with the matchups for seeds No. 1-3 determined by a random draw.

Wednesday’s Class 1A Quarterfinals #2 Breck (24-3-1) vs. Marshall (14-10-1), 11 a.m. #3 Hermantown (23-4-1) vs. Duluth Marshall (16-12), 30 minutes after end of 11 a.m. game (Will air on

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Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Wins, But Where Was Everyone?

I don't want to poo-poo the actual game result. UMD won 4-2 over Alabama-Huntsville on Friday, in a game that probably should have been much more lopsided. The Bulldogs hit a season-high three goalposts, including three by Caleb Herbert on shots that clearly beat UAH goalie John Griggs. It was the wrong kind of hat trick for the sophomore.

Generally, UMD played all right. About the only notable

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Game 33: Alabama-Huntsville at UMD

First-year UAH coach Kurt Kleinendorst knew his work would be cut out for him, and it might not be immediately that the effort is rewarded. But the Chargers bench boss is continuing to work anyway, hoping to have this program ready for the jump to the WCHA next season.

There aren't a lot of negatives. A new league offers the kind of stability that Independent status doesn't these days.

(By the

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Ken Pauly Puts Himself in Crosshairs of Major Junior Fight

Somehow, the fact that Benilde-St. Margaret's lost in the Section 6AA final Wednesday night is a positive for most everyone out there. Even BSM coach Ken Pauly.

Why?

Because it allows Pauly to ride off into the sunset and enter the offseason, perhaps giving him some distance from an ugly story that blew up this week involving his program and a talented freshman player he booted.

Everything

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7AA Championship: Grand Rapids vs Duluth East

Here we go with the 7AA final, hopefully in front of a huge crowd here at Amsoil Arena.

Lines are as follows:

GRAND RAPIDS
Bischoff (Jonah) - Peterson - Holum (Reid)
Mann - Mackenhausen - Mangni
Frazier - Monley - Crippa
LaRoque (Michael) - Rajala - Sahlstrom

Bischoff (Jake) - Horsmann
Holum (Shafer) - Simonson
LaRoque (Connor) - Mischke

Shepard - Troumbly

DULUTH EAST
Toscano - Forbort -

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Denfeld Looks to Make History

It isn't often that history is made.

I mean, technically, history is made all the time. But not this kind of history.

The last time Duluth Denfeld made a state tournament, gas was less than a dollar a gallon, and a movie starring Jessica Tandy was winning tons of awards. The tournament was a one-class affair, with Denfeld advancing by winning Section 2 before falling to eventual runner-up

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Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Another Good Effort Leads to Another UMD Loss

MINNEAPOLIS -- When the losing continues, a team can either stay positive and keep working to move in the right direction, or it can give up and wilt away in the shroud of negativity.

So far, UMD seems to have decided to keep working.

And so far, the losing has continued.

Friday night, one of UMD's better efforts of the season -- especially over the first 40 minutes -- was wasted in a seventh

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Game 31: UMD at Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS -- The only stop in the WCHA where a lonely radio guy has to pay to park.

But it's still awesome here. Nice new scoreboard, and the sound system is upgraded (wouldn't take much).

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Seidel - Herbert - Crandall
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause

Olson - Welinski
Smith - Casto
Johnson - Bergman

McNeely - Fons

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Rivalry Weekend Sees Teams Going in Different Directions

MINNEAPOLIS -- One team appears to be trending upward, while the other is fighting to stay above water.

Unfortunately, this isn't 2009, when surging UMD ended Minnesota's season in the Final Five play-in game.

It's also not 2011, when a destined-to-miss-the-NCAA Tournament Gopher squad fell victim to Mike Connolly's career night (five goals) in a 6-4 UMD win at Amsoil Arena.

No, this time

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Game 30: UMD at Bemidji State

BEMIDJI, Minn. -- A suddenly banged-up UMD team is here for another crack at snapping a losing streak that has reached six.

As already chronicled, sophomore forward Caleb Herbert is not here due to an injury, and another top-six forward is out for this game, as sophomore Justin Crandall will sit out.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Farley - Cameranesi - Seidel
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause
Young - Tardy -

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Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Special Teams Sink UMD

BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Sometimes, this column is used to brag. Sometimes, it's therapy.

Lately, it's more about therapy, unfortunately.

Make it six losses in a row for UMD, as the season continues to fade away. Bemidji State snapped a 12-game winless streak here Friday with a 4-2 win.

In what has become almost routine fashion, a lot went right for UMD. The Bulldogs started strong, controlled most

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Game 29: UMD at Bemidji State

BEMIDJI, Minn. -- It's been quite a while (since October of 2010) between visits to Sanford Center, and it was quite easy to forget how neat this little place is. No building is perfect, but there isn't much to pick away about with this arena.

For the first time since the 2005-2006 season, UMD is going to employ three starting goaltenders in a season, as Alex Fons gets his first collegiate start

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Red Rock Radio, UMD Agree to Contract Extension

BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Some in-house news of sorts, something you may have seen on my Twitter feed, but I didn't have time to post a blog on it until I got to Bemidji.

My employers at Red Rock Radio and UMD have negotiated a two-year extension of their radio rights agreement. Here is the press release.

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