FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Kilted Rat]

When Santana pitches, he should bat, Punto plays 3rd and the DH hits for him. How 'bout that?

Brilliant! Can't do any worse than Punto!

I don't think Sammy Sosa was any sure thing coming into the season. I wanted the Twins to sign him but only because a minor league contract is low, low risk.

I agree, but were Sidney Ponson, Ramon Ortiz, Rondell White, Tony Batista or Rueben Sierra?

[tmerton]

I am not a big fan of fighting, but I do understand why it happens (insert plug for a great book "The Code"). Teaching hockey players to fight is not new, but having a camp specifically for it probably is. I do have to wonder what parents are thinking when they sign their kids up for it! I have a friend that is into boxing/martial arts and he was telling me about one of his former instructors that use to be brought in to training camp for an AHL team every year to work on fighting skills with the players. Of course there is a big difference between teaching 21+ year old professionals and 13 year old kids!

I'm game, bennie - why is fighting in pro hockey understandable?  Why wouldn't it also be understandable in the Olympics?  How about rugby and football?  Why is hockey special in this regard?     I don't get it.

[frankrickard]

Nice to see Brewster taking action.

http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_199162103.html

[bman]

Ok hopping in from the east to chime in on this one....I'm sure my Karma wil take a beating, but IMHO...

Fighting (and to a degree just general intimidation) is a big part in hockey.  Hockey is a collision sport with less pads than football.  Imagine 2 guys going full bore into a corner after the puck.  Player A throws an elbow (insert any general physicality here) while player B is simply going for the puck.

A few shifts later, same 2 again going into the corner...in most cases who is going to back off a step to avoid the same treatment...of course player B.   1/4 of NHL players/teams have made a living off of this.   The Flyers won 2 cups and were dominant for a decade playing goon hockey.

Fighting serves almost the same role, it intimidates less physical teams and gives certain players an extra step by slowing the other team down when they have to have their heads on a swivel, and avoid instigation by the more agressive team.

Also in the older days, there was a code to fighting...you could run at the skilled players, but the goons always fought each other.  If someone ran a skilled player, you were going to have to face a goon eventually.   This eliminated alot of the cheap shots and stick work we see from the Euros in the game today.  If they had to face a Bob "Battleship" Kelly or a Paul Holgren (Insert any goon here).  That cheap stuff would disappear fast, but hockey, has sold out to mainstream America, and has done eerything it can to be more palatable to mothers/fathers who dont want their kids to "see such stuff" ...and that's a shame...it has ruined the sport...

OK, back to the MAC and LL...

[ratpak_prophet]

I just wanted to say hey to everyone out there.. It's been a long time. Welp, see ya later.

Prophet

[repete]

I've got the feeling that Shooter would go for the Punto/Santana move despite (or perhaps because of) his personal experience ...
CAREER BATTING STATS
     BATTING
Year    Team    Avg    G    AB    R    H    2B    3B    HR    RBI    BB    K OBP    SLG    OPS
1969    MIN    .000    6    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    .000    .000    .000

While it's a bit too close to the FB season to comfortably talk pux, I've got to say I love the faster international and college game, but also enjoy the lore of the occasional NHL goon.

Oddly enough, the goons are often the most thoughtful and articulate guys on the team.

True story: The first kids team I coached in any sport was squirt pux. I invited a big, but not all that tough blueliner from the local fledgling D1 team to the post-season pizza party. I'd known him for a while. The boys (and one girl) wanted to know if he'd  be going to the NHL. I kind of chuckled, figuring the guy was good enough for a pro look, a big-league camp and maybe a few seasons in the minors.

Turns out someone saw the guy and his 6-4, 220 frame and turned him into a forward.

A few years later:
1991-92 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 63 games  6 goals 3 assists  9 points  408 minutes

Guess I gave those kids a great role model ...

[johnnie_esq]

From Shooter today:

When the Gophers football team heads to St. John's in Collegeville, Minn., to kick off training camp Aug. 5, it will be the first time blocking sleds and other workout apparatus will appear on the storied Clemens Stadium field in 58 years.

"We operate on completely different planes," hall of fame St. John's coach John Gagliardi said with a laugh. "It will be interesting to see how they operate."

Gagliardi, who has coached more football victories (443) than anyone in history, operates by repetitiously running plays, not bang-up tackling drills.

"The only thing we'll have in common is that they will use our facilities," he said.

Brewster will transport
blocking sleds and tackling dummies to Collegeville.

"That's because we don't have one little item," Gagliardi said.

The Gophers wanted to stay an extra day at St. John's, but couldn't because perennial MIAC power St. John's needs to begin practice.

Will Gagliardi observe the Gophers' workouts?

"My job," he said, "is to stay out of the way."

[cobbernation]

Less than a month away for the beginning of training camp for the MIAC.  I think this will be an entertaining year of competition.  Hope everyone's summers are going well.  I hope the Twins can get on a winning streak soon so they can break into the playoffs.  Santana and company could use some needed run support.  Also, good to see that Brewster isn't putting up with any crap from his players when he dismissed 3 yesterday. 

Hopefully the Cobbers and Horan can figure out who will play the QB position this season.  There is a lot of controversy already and 4 players are competing for the spot.  This position will definately tell how the season will go up north.

[bennie]

*Warning- lengthy hockey related post ahead!

Just to ad a bit to what B-man and Repete stated.
Hockey is a very fast game. A lot of what happens on the ice is missed by the camera, the fans and more importantly, the refs, but you can bet damn well it isn't missed by the players! Intimidation did and to an extent still does play a role in the game. Intimidation does not equal fighting, but it does mean being willing and able to defend the space around you and in particular your premier players. Once again I am going to pimp out the book The Code. I don't have it here at the computer with me, but there is one story in it where a scorer talks about how before a certain enforcer/goon joined his team, he was constantly having to deal with stick work from the opposing team. They would take "liberties" if you will. Once the well known goon joined the team, just his presence alone opened up the ice. The book tells some kind of funny stories about the mind games that player would use to intimidate, like one goon who would wait until the official was about to drop the puck to announce to his linemates that he was feeling good that night and wanted to fight so they could highstick, board, and run players all they wanted. You can damn well bet that the other team's line probably thought twice about going into the corners after that!

I will admit that at some level the book made me very sad. But then I had to remind myself that hockey has its own culture. These guys have known that there is a price that they have to pay to play this game at a certain level since they were little kids. Right or wrong, that is the way it is. Most of the time in hockey fights, they are willing combatants. For some players, fighting is the way they made the team and even if I feel sorry for them, it is a choice they made that makes them a hell of a lot more money than I make. The "new" NHL has cut down on the number of players that are on rosters just to fight/intimidate. They have to now bring some skills to the table with them. I think that the NHL and their inability/unwillingness to deal with on ice transgressions in an equitable way combined with the instigator rule is just playing with fire.

[frankrickard]

When Santana pitches, he should bat, Punto plays 3rd and the DH hits for him. How 'bout that?

While good in theory, it wouldn't work as the DH can only bat for the pitcher.

http://abolishthedh.stonegauge.com/rule.htm

You would think that after the last three games the Twins have had with the Tigers Ryan would see that the pitching is easily good enough, but their hitting isn't good enough to beat Tom Selleck's Nagoya Chunichi Dragons in Mr. Baseball.

[finsleft]

When Santana pitches, he should bat, Punto plays 3rd and the DH hits for him. How 'bout that?

While good in theory, it wouldn't work as the DH can only bat for the pitcher.

http://abolishthedh.stonegauge.com/rule.htm

You would think that after the last three games the Twins have had with the Tigers Ryan would see that the pitching is easily good enough, but their hitting isn't good enough to beat Tom Selleck's Nagoya Chunichi Dragons in Mr. Baseball.

Dammit Frank! You and your technicalities! You sound like a frickin lawyer.

[frankrickard]

When Santana pitches, he should bat, Punto plays 3rd and the DH hits for him. How 'bout that?

While good in theory, it wouldn't work as the DH can only bat for the pitcher.

http://abolishthedh.stonegauge.com/rule.htm

You would think that after the last three games the Twins have had with the Tigers Ryan would see that the pitching is easily good enough, but their hitting isn't good enough to beat Tom Selleck's Nagoya Chunichi Dragons in Mr. Baseball.

Dammit Frank! You and your technicalities! You sound like a frickin lawyer.

From the late, great Johnny Cochran: "If Nick Punto doesn't hit, you must get rid"

[wildcat11]

Wildcat11 will be in heaven next Saturday as he attends the annual Oregon Brewfest in downtown Portland.

I almost fell out of my chair when I read all of the participating breweries.  I'll be sure to raise a glass to the PP'ers around the globe.

[DuffMan]

Wildcat11 will be in heaven next Saturday as he attends the annual Oregon Brewfest in downtown Portland.

I almost fell out of my chair when I read all of the participating breweries.  I'll be sure to raise a glass to the PP'ers around the globe.

My mouth is watering

[BDB]

I see the Twins are pounding the cover off the ball again. 

On GameDay it lists the weather for the MetroDome as 68 degrees and a
-1 MPH wind. 

Must be the air conditioning or our batters sucking wind.