If only every Minnesota team had him......

I remember the first time I met Mikko Koivu....

I was in line ( first in line) waiting to meet him for the first time and kinda had the same feeling every teenage girl had when Backstreet Boys pretended to sing 15 years ago.
Along with Mikko was Eric Belanger who was another Wild player (at the time). When it was time for them to sit down and get ready to sign stuff, they didn't know which seat was theirs so they played a simple game of Rock-Paper-Scissors......As they started, Mikko lost the first game and instantly wanted two out three, so they played again and he lost for a second time....

After they sat down and were all ready, it was time for me to come up and meet the players. There was one thing that was clearly evident when I approached them, Mikko was red in the face and really mad that he lost that game with Belanger..... Sure you can say I assume that, but while Mikko was signing some things for me, I said "Tough loss their with Belanger" and he quickly replied to me that "Yeah, I hate losing in everything"...

The Star Tribune wrote an article about Mikko the other day.. click here for it.

This is what you want in your Captain for your hockey team. Now sure, Mikko is my favorite player but I usually just don't pick my favorite players based on anything. I always look at their all around game and how that player makes other people better. I am never quick to decide who is my favorite player on teams or leagues.

Mikko Koivu is my favorite Minnesota Wild player because he will admit to you that he is sucking and needs to play better... he never criticizes anybody but himself and will always look to improve. There is a reason why he has led the Wild in points for the past couple of years. His effort is unmatched on the team.

I truly believe is lack of production this early in the season is that with the new contract on his shoulders, he is beating himself up to much and expects too much out of him. But I know Mikko will bounce back because he always does. You know that he is constantly looking for ways to improve his game..

Who is your favorite Wild player and why?

Thanks for reading the rant.

Stay Fresh,

Noel

Is Bucky being bad??

Interesting story coming out of the Badger Herald a couple of days ago and now coming out of the Star Tribune...click here for the story.

Apparently, one of the writers of the Herald has a really big problem with Wisconsin students buying tickets for the Rose Bowl and then selling them to make a profit on websites like Stubhub, Craigslist, and Ebay......

So what the writer did was find out who was doing this horrible terrible act and then publish their names in the paper under the title "The Worse People on Campus"......

Now I understand if you are bitter about this situation.....actually I don't......Because if people had kept their tickets to every sporting event in the world, there is now way I would have seen so many games that range in 12 different pro and college venues.... You think that I would have found a ticket to the "Big House" in Michigan without buying it from someone who wasn't selling theirs???

I am sure people buying things and re-selling them for a profit has been going on for a couple thousand years.....or is that just me?

Accept the fact Badger Herald....That the scalping world may affect the Rose Bowl......
I'm sure any Gopher Fan would have this wonderful problem any day..


Stay Fresh,

Noel

Who is this guy?

Gopher Athletic Director Joel Maturi announced he hired Jerry Kill as the next coach for Gopher Football......

I feel like I should repeat that so you seem more confused...


Yes, Jerry Kill..... Who is this guy...

Well he is the guy who led the Northern Illinios Huskies in a victory over the Gophers this year and then ended up losing to Miami (Ohio) which were a 17 1/2-point underdog in the MAC Title game.

If I was going to the Mid-American conference to find a coach, wouldn't I want the coach who won it???

hmmmmmmm.

Hopefully this guy doesn't announce promises to the Gopher Nation that we are going to the Rose Bowl.....

I can already feel Wisconsin, Michigan, and Iowa already licking their chomps...


Can you?

Stay Fresh,
Noel

Only thing Wild is Richard's coaching style...

Happy Thursday to you all,

Here comes my first blog that I take time and write about my favorite team, the Minnesota Wild. Let me start off this baby the right way and say that the Wild have more wins then the Vikings and the T-Puppies combined.

A couple of years ago, I would have argued that the Wild would be the first pro team to bring in World Championship since the 1991 Minnesota Twins....But my view on the subject has changed a little bit. Todd Richards enters his 2nd year as the head coach of the Wild. Let me say that he replaced one of the best player/coach the NHL has ever seen in Jacques Lemaire whose coaching style may be boring and pure defensive.... lets say that the Wild would trade for that any day replacing the up - tempo attack Todd Richards teaches..

The problem with the style Richards prefers the Wild playing is that he doesn't have the players to fit into the system that he desires. How he doesn't realize it is insulting to the Wild faithful. Before Richards was hired he was an assistant coach for the San Jose Sharks, which I would say perfect the style he so wishes the Wild could do. If you look at the Sharks roster, you see speed, toughness, and size.......... I would say the Wild lack everything but toughness.

Now sure it is easy to blame the GM Check Fletcher for not bringing in the right players but Richards need to adjust to the strengths of his team. We no longer need a coach who daydreams! We need a coach who evaluates his players and mold the team that utilizes everyone's strengths....Since speed is something the Wild lack, why are we pushing them for this up-tempo fast style of play? Clearly you know something is wrong when the Wild score more goals under the defensive minded coach Lemaire then they have with Richards........


Another thing about Richards.... I don't care if you don't like our best player, play him! For some reason, Richards refuses to play Martin Havlat with significant ice time. When we are paying the man $30 million dollars, I want to see him on the ice. Martin Havlat is one of the best 1 on 1 offensive players and arguably one of the best skaters in the league. I don't understand how you expect us to win when he only gets 13 minutes a game.....Which it explains why Havlat's agent Allan Walsh pubivly addressed the situation a couple of weeks ago, which made me happy because the Wild thought they were getting away with benching one of their best players..

Since the agent incident, Havlat has averaged 19 minutes a game and has 16 points in 15 games. It seriously isn't rocket science people, clearly Richards doesn't get it.
Click here for a Havlat article.

I am not endorsing a coaching change, I just wish Brent Burns would shake some sense into Richards....... anybody? just me??

Todd Richards bio here

I think it's simple.. Having your best players on the bench isn't the smartest way of winning games.

Any who,

Stay fresh
Noel

Who will be smelling the Roses....??

Good day to you,

Another blog 2 days in a row....??
Which means a lot is going on in the sports world.
I want to address the upcoming Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

Not many people know that this whole BCS Bowl thing is a bunch of politics if you were really think about it...

Yes, there is a set rules that determine which team goes where (techinically)... You have to know that there is also a committee to every bowl that also has some say to which team it will invite to that bowl. If you don't believe me, why do you think the Insight Bowl has hosted the Gophers 3 times the last 3 times the Gophers were eligible for a bowl. It's because no one wanted the Gophers to come due to the fact that the Gopher Nation really doesn't like to spend money to see them play around the country.

Each committee wants a team with rich tradition and huge fan following to come so the bowl can have more profit and revenue. It's all about the money which may be a surprise to you.

There are news reports around the bay area that Stanford would rather play in the Rose Bowl then the Orange or Fiesta Bowl. Due to the fact that the Rose Bowl isn't far away ( only 6 hour drive) and the Rose Bowl has more tradition then any other bowl game. Reports are also saying that Stanford would rather play an elite program like Wisconsin instead of a Big East or ACC team.... I can't blame them.

So it will be interesting to see what teams go where when the Bowl games are announced.
Here are some bowl predictions from ESPN.. Click here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wisconsin vs TCU??

It looks like TCU will be coming to Pasadena to take on Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. This is a huge oppturnity for the Horned Toads or Frogs or tadpoles to make an impact on a national scene. Too bad they face one of the best teams in the nation that will run over you like a Midwest woman who wants another Swedish meatball. I am interested to see how many TCU fans come out to Cali to cheer for their team, we all know Pasadena will be bleeding red due to the fact that everyone in Madison already has their plane ticket out of the snow.

I will and always be against teams like Boise State and TCU to play for any championship title due to the fact that these teams really don't play anybody in the regular season. Although I will have to say I give respect for TCU joining the Big East in a couple years to put rest my argument. I just keep on thinking that what will Boise State's record be if they play in the Big Ten or SEC? You think Boise State or TCU could win on the road in those conferences?
I have feeling that is a big NO. Either way, TCU has a chance to prove me wrong on January 1st.
But TCU will see an offense like no other due to the fact that Wisconsin has a running game that I have never seen before. What is unique about Wisconsin is that they have a zone blocking scheme for their running game, which TCU will have to prepare for.

Either way, Wisconsin will win this game no matter who they play. I will say Stanford opposes a bigger threat then TCU, but they most likely be playing in the Orange Bowl.

What do you think about the upcoming bowl season?

Stay Fresh,

Noel