FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[chewey]

I'm back boys!!!  Just in time right...I'm here to cheer on Bethel this week cause the Johnnies are gay!!!  Bethel by a friggin' monkey stomp times 10!!! TDT is incredibly WEAK!!!   Go Bethel!!! Absolutely run over them and steal there lunch and take there sand toys just like you did last year when the Johnnies got ROLLLLLLLLLLLED!!!!!!!!  ABSOLUTELY ROLLLLLLLLLLLLLED!!!

He just was informed that Brothel now allows dancing at athletic events.  I can't wait to see his reaction when he learns how well Brothel girls like good company. 

[Mr.Shoes]

To Whom It May Concern: Are there pics of said Halloween costume floating around cyberspace??

Cyberspace, no. My home computer, probably.

Unfortunately, I don't have any good shots of the costume. This is the best I have:


(click to embiggen)

[retagent]

Hey White Silly - I got chunks of guys like you in my stool!!!

TC - Your story reminds me of the time I met Heath Schuler (D), at the dry cleaners in Ashburn, VA a few years back. Boy was I thrilled!!

[OzJohnnie]

My chance meeting with fame was in my post HS days working as a clerk (afternoon shift manager!... of a staff of one...) in a friendly St Paul neighborhood 7-11, before it became a friendly St Paul neighborhood Super America (super fresh and super clean!).

I noticed a man, dressed in a grey tweed jacket, come walking into the store.  It seemed as if this walking mountain almost scraped his head on the ceiling as he walked down the isle (candy?  Can't quite remember...).  As he approaches and places his items on the counter I say to this giant of a man, "You look just like Alan Page."  He replies, wrists as thick as a 15 year old poplar, "I am Alan Page."  And I say, "Well, you don't meet a Purple People Eater every day (it was in the days that he worked in the AG's office, pre-SC)."  He gave me half a smile (probably because it was the first time he was ever recognized in public) and walked out, never to return on my shift.

[bcflyguy1]

No way the MIAC gets three teams, especially if two of them are two loss teams.  Olaf being in the Top 25 is very deceiving, to say the least.  If SJU wins this Saturday, BU is a VERY long shot to get into the show and Olaf lost by 21 to BU so there's no way they could be in too.  Not enough slots to go around, and Olaf has proven that they're not ready to see that level of football anyway.  That Olaf coach's offense and a bunch of Florida kids playing in the cold and snow sounds like a monkey-stomp waiting to happen.

If BU loses and by some miracle get in at 8-2 it would almost certainly mean going on the road to Whitewater or SJU.  Does that sound like fun to anybody not from SJU or UWW?  Not this guy.  BU's playoffs start this Saturday, and assuming they win will hope they don't  get screwed in the bracket like they did last year (what a travesty that was).  Hope Flannery is a go for this Saturday too since it's going to take the best BU can muster. 

I guess I don't understand how Bethel got "screwed" last year.  Yes, they had to go on the road, but their options were to play 1.) a conference champ or 2.) the WIAC second place.  The committee gave them the benefit of playing a second place team instead of another conference champ.   Did Bethel deserve to play SNC? Hardly.  With two WIAC schools in the 8, chances are pretty good you're going to have to beat a WIAC team to advance anyway.

As far as hosting, there was no magic MIAC last year, since our non-conference record wasn't all that good thanks to GAC and UST getting beat by IIAC teams.  This year is better, save Bethel's loss to BVU.  As far as head to head, Bethel beat SJU but lost to Carleton.  UW-LaCrosse beat D1-AA S. Dakota State and lost to UW-Whitewater.  I don't call having UW-L host then a travesty.

This year, if BU beats SJU, it is possible (based on regional rankings) that BU could face SNC.  If BU goes one-and-done in that matchup, you may see a movement to have the Royals expelled from the conference!

Esq-
If I had given you the choice between SJU having to play at UWLAX or Central, I'm pretty sure you would have taken Central every day of the week and twice on Saturday.  It was just a little backward that the MIAC's second place finisher drew a better match-up.  Yes, Central won their conference and LAX didn't but my point still remains.  At the end of the day, BU has to win no matter who they get paired with.  Perhaps this is the year it happens, but the Royals have to get through their play-in game this Saturday first.

TDT-
Nice article.

[bcflyguy1]

How 'bout some classic BU/SJU memories?  A few of mine:

2001.  BU comes into Clemens thinking they're cock-of-the-walk.  After a thorough half of getting beat like red-headed step-children, the way they were hanging their heads walking into the locker room was priceless.

2002.  I wrenched my ankle pretty darn good on the wonderful astroturf at the 'dome.  After the game, Mike Johnson comes over to congratulate me on a kick return or punt return, mistakenly thinking I was Blake Elliot.

2002.  I was crutching my way through the innards of the 'dome after the game when I run across Steve Johnson, who says, "I hope my boys didn't do that to you."  Ummm, no, I injured myself.  

2005.  Enjoying the game with a delightfully intoxicated Kilted Rat and his wife.

It's all in good fun Duffman, but this post just begged for the Bethel response and so here it is. This rivalry is so much fun!

1999- BC 24, SJU 20.  Eric Carlson catches a fly route from Bart Becker right in front of the SJU bench and takes it 80 yards to the house on his way to a 200+ yard game.  Did he taunt anybody on the way to the endzone?  Nope, the end zone film revealed nothing but a huge smile on his face.  In the first half, Kirk Midthun hit Ryan Tritz so hard I still don't know how Tritz a. got back up (hat's off to him) b. held onto the football.  Kris Collins intercepts Corey Stanger to seal Bethel's first win against SJU.  The whining from Austin Murphy and countless others about how Bethel soaked the field was priceless !

2000- BC 43, SJU 36.  Nate Klint runs back two kicks for touchdowns against the formerly vaunted SJU special teams, and Bethel owns the kicking game all day.  Rumblings came out of Collegeville in the build-up to this game about Bethel having an illegal player.  This unsettled Deon Jordan so much that all he did to the SJU secondary was catch 13 passes for 151 yards and several critical first downs.  I can imagine no better response to such garbage.  Tom "Jedi Master" Linneman ran his mouth in the papers all week, and then proceeded to throw five interceptions.  Well played, Yoda.  Again, priceless!

2006- BU 28, SJU 13.  The Royals get down 13-0 and fears of a monkey-stomp well up, but then BU scores 28 unanswered to the shock of the Clemens Stadium faithful.  Bethel gets its first win behind the Pine Curtain!

-K all you want guys!  It's all in good fun, so cheers!

[DuffMan]

Those two returns by Klint were sick (at least they made me sick )!

[sju56321]

Carl-I understand the Bethel perspective from last year, but there is no way the NCAA is going to have Central, a team rated higher in the regional rankings, host a conference champion, no matter their record. It made sense from the NCAA perspective to have the IIAC conference champ play the MIAC runner-up. Can you imagine the response from the Central fans if they were paired with the MIAC conference champ and two second place teams faced each other. Perhaps Bethel should have hosted the game, but they were ranked lower by the NCAA.

[sju56321]

Which team comes out tight on Saturday-Bethel needing a win for the conference championship and a playoff spot or SJU, needing a win for the conference championship, but already a lock for the playoffs. And does playing a home add more pressure?

[johnnie_esq]

Esq-
If I had given you the choice between SJU having to play at UWLAX or Central, I'm pretty sure you would have taken Central every day of the week and twice on Saturday.  It was just a little backward that the MIAC's second place finisher drew a better match-up.  Yes, Central won their conference and LAX didn't but my point still remains.  At the end of the day, BU has to win no matter who they get paired with.  Perhaps this is the year it happens, but the Royals have to get through their play-in game this Saturday first.

Sure I would take the Dutch-- we've done pretty well against Central recently.  After all, what is the difference between the IIAC champ and a WIAC second place?  Should be pretty comparable, no? Are the Royals really sure they wanted an IIAC team, in hindsight, after BVU this year?

Don't forget, the Royals loss to Carleton killed them last year.  Since the MIAC was considered down, and your loss in conference was to a non-playoff team, you are at the mercy of other conferences.  SJU was pool C and took what they got, but their loss was to a playoff team; as was UW-L's.

I do agree with you though that the pairings should have been more in line with pure seedings-- thanks be to the SCIAC/NWC for the flight rules that necessitate this screwy-ness.  But the NCAA only advocates fair entry into the playoffs-- not fairness once you are in the playoffs.  Once you are in, you have to win-- and while I have a very small sense of sympathy for BU, you have to win to keep dancing.  And BU has not shown an ability to do that.

[Rugman]

Which team comes out tight on Saturday-Bethel needing a win for the conference championship and a playoff spot or SJU, needing a win for the conference championship, but already a lock for the playoffs. And does playing a home add more pressure?

I hope the team isn't feeling like I do, because I'm pretty tight.  My worst case scenario is this:

Bethel is able to run the ball up the middle with good success.  Their QB has success on designed runs and scrambing against our pass rush.  When the Johnnies adjust to the run the QB has success on quick out's in front of our corners.  When our corners move up to limit these they beat us on a couple of long bombs down the sidelines.

On offense we can't establish a strong running game and when AK11 tries to pass they get a good rush on him and when he scrambles he has footing troubles like he had at River Falls and Carleton.  He takes a few sacks and has a hard time finding open receivers.

The board is open to analyses to loosen up my worries.

[GoldandBlueBU]

Which team comes out tight on Saturday-Bethel needing a win for the conference championship and a playoff spot or SJU, needing a win for the conference championship, but already a lock for the playoffs. And does playing a home add more pressure?

I hope the team isn't feeling like I do, because I'm pretty tight.  My worst case scenario is this:

Bethel is able to run the ball up the middle with good success.  Their QB has success on designed runs and scrambing against our pass rush.  When the Johnnies adjust to the run the QB has success on quick out's in front of our corners.  When our corners move up to limit these they beat us on a couple of long bombs down the sidelines.

On offense we can't establish a strong running game and when AK11 tries to pass they get a good rush on him and when he scrambles he has footing troubles like he had at River Falls and Carleton.  He takes a few sacks and has a hard time finding open receivers.

The board is open to analyses to loosen up my worries.

Well  we weren't able to get much pressure on augsburg's qb, even with blitzes, so I wouldn't worry about that.  My biggest worry is our pass defense.  After seeing it horribly exposed against the auggies, it worries me when SJU is coming to town.

[justadad]

It is time for AK11 to step up and play well on a field that sucks.  The Johnnie D will play well.  Our corners will play better than they did against STU.  2 turnovers by Bethel and a break through special teams game spell victory for SJU.

[Rugman]

It is time for AK11 to step up and play well on a field that sucks.  The Johnnie D will play well.  Our corners will play better than they did against STU.  2 turnovers by Bethel and a break through special teams game spell victory for SJU.

How does he do that?  He's not going to change his style in the last regular season game of his career, so how do we design a game plan that allows him to succeed in situations where in the past he has been at a disadvantage?

[DuffMan]

It is time for AK11 to step up and play well on a field that sucks.  The Johnnie D will play well.  Our corners will play better than they did against STU.  2 turnovers by Bethel and a break through special teams game spell victory for SJU.

That's much better