Gopher Nation Celebration????

[LMITOUT]

Looks like the Gophers are off to a flying start.....what a bunch of punks. The entire U of M athletic system has been a joke since the beginning and always will be as there sure doesn't seem to be any indication of things changing.

The Gophers football spring game scheduled for today has been marred by news late Friday night that three players were taken into custody by university police investigating a complaint of criminal sexual conduct. University officials identified the players as junior defensive end Alex Daniels, sophomore cornerback Keith Massey and sophomore running back E.J. Jones. First-year head coach Tim Brewster announced in a statement that the players had been suspended until the investigation is complete.

[harvey lee]

We have to remember that they have not been found guilty yet. Anyone can press charges but the courts find guilt. I know this is a bad deal but who knows if they are guilty.

[LMITOUT]

While that is true, you have to agree that they will probably walk, guilty or not, with the way the "system" works when it comes to athletes. You also have to consider the person accusing them of the crime and if she's just out for revenge or to make headlines.

Either way, another black eye for the continuing trend of mediocre MN sports programs.

[PierBridge]

Yep clearly just the Minnesota Athletic programs they are all a bunch of thugs including the Baseball, Hockey, Wrestling, and all Womens athlectic Teams.

I knew I should have went to North Dakota or North Dakota State.

Have they convicted the Duke Lacrosse players yet...?

[bottomfeeder]

Well the main U does have hockey going for it. But for a big ten team, the basketball and football programs are an absolute joke. For crying outloud, they almost lost to und in football this past year.

dan, umd alum

[so haaad]

Patience, everyone. The U of M mens football and basketball programs are both improving. They may never be a powerhouse in football, but I do think they are improving. The new coach has done more networking and public outreach and shown more leadership in the past two months than Mason did during his entire tenure.

[fishin58]

I agree, watching Brewster Last Night on Rosens, He is making a huge effort to connect with the community, which I think goes a very long way, Things are looking way up, hopefully we will get a consistent team every saturday, not the roller coaster mason led us on. Go from competing down to the last minute with some top ten teams and crapping the bed against some Little sisters of the poor.

[fishyguy]

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Looks like the Gophers are off to a flying start.....what a bunch of punks. The entire U of M athletic system has been a joke since the beginning and always will be as there sure doesn't seem to be any indication of things changing.

i]

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First, let me say that if it is proven these players did it, then lock them up and throw away the key. That said I have some thoughts for LMITOUT.

Let's see. There are 3 players who have [ballegations/b] against them out of hundreds of student athletes but you label them all a bunch of punks. The U of M athletics has been a joke since the beginning? Does the beginning count the endless All American's and multiple national championships in football years ago? Recent respectable bowl appearances and all-america's in football? Does the beginning include the multiple national championships in hockey along with many all-america's and Hobey Baker winners? How national champs in wrestling, team and individual? How many recent final fours in women's hoops? How many Big Ten titles has the baseball team won? And lastly, how many of these players were arrested for anything?

I am not looking for answers to these questions but it sure comes across like you have been waiting for an opportunity to go after the U and their athletes and you pounced on one. I also hope you noticed that they were not charged as there is not enough evidence to do so. That includes a visit and examination at the hospital. I am not saying they are innocent but it sure seems that maybe they should not be brought to the gallows so quickly, especially in light of some of the other cases that have been out there, i.e., Duke lacrosse, BSU hockey, etc...

To finish my soapbox, if we are going to string up the entire U athletic department, football team and coaches for the alleged actions of 3 guys, shouldn't we do that for every major NCAA athletic department. Name me one major University that has not had an athlete get in trouble in the recent past.

[Coach1310]

I couldn't agree with you more fishguy. "Since the beginning..." how long have you been waiting to use that one LIMITOUT? While I'll agree things haven't been great, the hockey team has won a few National championships in recent years. The Wrestling team has done the same. The Women's bball team has visited the Final Four, but all of that has been said. I guess because there are a few bad apples, and some coaches have underacheived, lets lump the whole athletic department and all the athletes and coaches into one big LOSER heap!!! The bottom line is we will never be Michigan and Ohio State in football or a year in year out powerhouse in basketball. Our academic standards are too high and Minnesota doesn't have a huge appeal. Don't get me wrong, I love living here, but if you are a hoops star from New York or a football star from Texas, are you really going to come to MN, regardless of if they are a power???? We are on the way to gaining back some respect in football and Men's basketball. LIMITOUT, I have a feeling that you are a bigtime Gopher Bandwagoner!!!

[LMITOUT]

I admit that I shouldn't have said the entire athletic system, but rather the BB and FB programs as those are really the only important things, right? I mean come on...when you look at it on a national scale, people don't care about wrestling, hockey, womens BB, or baseball even though they have achieved some success. It's BB and FB that get the glory and the press. Period.

With that said, do you know the real story behind those FB championships years and years and years ago? Do some research. It'll surprise you what took place when they actually won. It's the biggest ongoing joke in the Big 10, although as the years go by (what 50 now??) more people are ignorant of the facts as they get forgotten with time. Respectable bowl games? Please tell me you're kidding. Newsflash, the Music City and Emerald Bowls year after year are not "big time". rofl. It's called mediocrity. Going 8-0 against teams with hypens in their name to begin the season so that you can finish 8-8 and fall into a bowl game isn't considered a respectable program. It's a joke is what it is, and a very transparent one at that.

How many years are they going to give these programs to "come back"?? Cripes, it's coach after coach! Now they're rebuilding again because of two new coaches so they have a clean record and essentially an excuse to fail and it all begins once again. You'll hear the same old excuses from the apologists saying that "it's just year 1, 2, 3, .... in the current staff's program and you shouldn't expect them to be successful until they start getting their own recruiting class playing". Sound familiar???? It's the same broken record you've been hearing for years. When are the sheep going to wise up and quit being blind followers?

OK, so they won't be Ohio St or Michigan because of this and that supposed reasons....so then why does everyone in this state put them up on a pedestal and act like they are the best ever....every single year?!?!?! Prove something once that doesn't have cheating scandals or other wrongdoings riding on the coattails and we'll talk.

I haven't been waiting for any particular opportunity to pounce....there have been so many continuous opportunities it's hard to decide which one to go for! It's like trying to jump onto a moving merry-go-round that never ends! When it comes to the "U" the circus never leaves town.

Bandwagon??? HARDLY!

[LMITOUT]

U of M on the front page once again:

University of Minnesota football coaches believed they had scored a coup by signing Robert McField to a scholarship tender in February 2006. McField, however, had been charged with two armed robberies in the St. Louis area more than three months earlier. University officials said Tuesday they weren't aware of that.

Now, McField is likely headed to prison. He pleaded guilty to two reduced counts of second-degree robbery and one count of armed criminal action -- all felonies -- on March 26 and is awaiting sentencing in June.

Prosecutors are expected to seek a 12-year prison sentence.

It also said that he was a roommate with a couple of those other boys who were arrested last week. They say trouble runs in packs.

They know how to pick'm!

[bottomfeeder]

Even northwestern rises to top occasionaly in football.

[fishyguy]

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I admit that I shouldn't have said the entire athletic system, but rather the BB and FB programs as those are really the only important things, right? I mean come on...when you look at it on a national scale, people don't care about wrestling, hockey, womens BB, or baseball even though they have achieved some success. It's BB and FB that get the glory and the press. Period.

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Agreed to some degree and had you posted more like this the response would have been different. You included the entire athletic department and I responded as such. Look at the pro ranks, the troubled players come mainly from basketball and football also. Maybe its not just the U. It might be a bigger issue about society and these players or where they come from as a whole.

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With that said, do you know the real story behind those FB championships years and years and years ago? Do some research. It'll surprise you what took place when they actually won. It's the biggest ongoing joke in the Big 10, although as the years go by (what 50 now??) more people are ignorant of the facts as they get forgotten with time. Respectable bowl games? Please tell me you're kidding. Newsflash, the Music City and Emerald Bowls year after year are not "big time". rofl. It's called mediocrity. Going 8-0 against teams with hypens in their name to begin the season so that you can finish 8-8 and fall into a bowl game isn't considered a respectable program. It's a joke is what it is, and a very transparent one at that.

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What is the joke? You play football in the year you are given to play football. If you win the championship, you should not have to apologize. I probably shouldn't have used the word respectable for the bowl games but they have been improving on the consistency. You have to become mediocre before you are great. By the way, they did play some patsies and do every year, but so does every other big time team. Gophers strength of schedule last year was 19th in the country and 2nd toughest in the Big Ten. Do some research, look it up.

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How many years are they going to give these programs to "come back"?? Cripes, it's coach after coach! Now they're rebuilding again because of two new coaches so they have a clean record and essentially an excuse to fail and it all begins once again. You'll hear the same old excuses from the apologists saying that "it's just year 1, 2, 3, .... in the current staff's program and you shouldn't expect them to be successful until they start getting their own recruiting class playing". Sound familiar???? It's the same broken record you've been hearing for years. When are the sheep going to wise up and quit being blind followers?

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I guess they will keep trying until they get it righted. What would you have them do? Fold up their tent and take their balls and go home? Any suggestions for them or just griping for the sake of griping?

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OK, so they won't be Ohio St or Michigan because of this and that supposed reasons....so then why does everyone in this state put them up on a pedestal and act like they are the best ever....every single year?!?!?! Prove something once that doesn't have cheating scandals or other wrongdoings riding on the coattails and we'll talk.

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I don't see that. I think the football team has been complemented for the strides they have taken from the days of 2 win seasons but I think everyone acknowledges they have a ways to go before they compete with Mich, OSU or even Wisconsin.

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I haven't been waiting for any particular opportunity to pounce....there have been so many continuous opportunities it's hard to decide which one to go for! It's like trying to jump onto a moving merry-go-round that never ends! When it comes to the "U" the circus never leaves town.

Bandwagon??? HARDLY!

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You either root for a team or you don't. Rooting should include an opportunity to criticize when things are going well. Your level of venom must mean one of two things. You either care and in my opinion, a little over the top, or if you don't really care, you then must be just griping for the sake of it, as it would not be worth your time and energy to have this kind of issue over it.

[LMITOUT]

Nope, don't root for the team. I just like ridculing the people who do and ask why? Why support such a joke year after year? That goes for most of the pro teams in town as well. Aren't fans tired of being pulled around by the nose and chasing the dangling carrot that these teams hang in front of them year after year with excuses and false hopes? Sorry, I'm not a blind follower, but I just don't see how fans keep believing anything great will happen....and it happens every year! They win a game or two and all of a sudden the media has them in the Super Bowl, Rose Bowl, Final 4, etc, etc. and the fans are frothing at the mouth ready to get their place on the sidewalk for the championship parade. Geesh!

It's one thing to have some hope but it's another thing to go off the deep end and that's exactly what happens every year in this state. That's why I think it's extremely hilarious as a person watching this from the fence. Great entertainment though. I don't understand why people get their hopes up so high at the beginning of every season, only to get them shot down again and again. There have been lab experiments where if mice go down the wrong tube they get shocked and learn relatively quickly to not make the same mistake again. Even they wise up sooner than MN sports fans it seems. How many shocks is it going to take before fans figure out their stuff don't stink in this state? PROVE SOMETHING, then strut and thump your chest.

Do some checking into those FB championships and what transpired between their losing seasons and surprising championship seasons. If you can't beat'm, join'm.....

Anyway, I've had enough laughs on this thread and it's time to catch the next merry-go-round! BTW, I don't have the maroon and gold glasses on so I see all of this from an unbiased point of view.......just a casual observer and not a fan of a rival team. I'm not trying to argue but rather point out what I've seen to repeat again and again. I think anyone who is an unbiased spectator to the MN sports world would agree. So, the debate was fun. Not much more to say than that...unless there is another headline in the paper tomorrow......

How does that MN cheer go???

M-E-D-I-O-C-R-I-T-Y...MEDIOCRITY, MEDIOCRITY, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH MEDIOCRITY!!!!!!

[fishyguy]

I guess I did not make my point very well, but thank you for taking the time to ridicule all of us sports fans. Do I want the team to win? Yes. Do I only watch them win or lose? Yes. Are they more entertaining when they win? Yes

I sure wish I wasn't such an (Contact Us Please) to actually think of sports as entertaining. Even worse I want to root for my home team. I don't know how they keep me off suicide watch right now. Timberwolves suck, Gophers stink, Vikes haven't done anything, even the Wild aren't favored to win it all. To what depths have I sunk? Is there a twelve step program for losers like me? LMITOUT, can you form a support group where the holier of us can mentor us low lifes who enjoy sports on occasion and sometimes even invest some pride into our teams. This may be the best social program this great state can provide us citizens to keep us off the street and keep families together.

I am actually laughing as I type this and am not angry but I wish you could actually read, see and feel how you come across with your posts.

[LMITOUT]

ROFL!

I think my point was just proven.

[Coach1310]

LIMITOUT- So if Football and Basketball at the U are a joke, what other schools should we strive to be like? Ohio State-you mean the school where the star QB was suspended to start the year because he was getting paid!!! Or how about Oklahoma where the QB and another player were getting paid for sitting in their dorm room playing video games. I'm just curious as to who you want us to be like! If you the U wants to win all they have to do is start paying kids. Don't tell me that nobody else does!!!!

[LMITOUT]

I either want the MN teams to be as good as everyone makes them out to be, which they are not....

OR

I want the fans to actually acknowledge that their teams really aren't that great and to act like it.

That's all I'm asking for. I'm tired of the homers. I'm tired of the excuses. I'm tired of the apologists. Go out there and DO SOMETHING. WIN SOMETHING.

The media in this state doesn't help either as they keep feeding the fans this false hope that the sports teams here will actually amount to something and it never happens, but neither is wise enough to realize it. As an outsider that moved here some years ago it really is good entertainment to see or guess what's coming next, and I can understand why someone who has lived here their entire life is a little delusional as it's been beaten into them that it's OK to root for the loser because, "that's our home team."

I dunno... this state is weird when it comes to sports fans. Must be something 3M put in the water a long time ago which causes them to ignore the facts and reality of being subpar.

Good luck.

[Coach1310]

I can understand your point of view. I hope you have to eat your words sometime soon, but if not I will keeping hoping and holding on to the "homer hope" one more year, one more season. And if it doesn't happen, I will hold out hope one more year and one more season

[snowman678]

So are you saying people should only cheer for whoever happens to be winning at the time? Kind of a weak bandwagon way to go in my opinion. I know that most if not all of the local teams underachieve at times, but some of them have also overachieved at times as well. I know they may not be the best, but I will cheer for them anyhow because that's what a fan does, cheers for their team good or bad.

[LMITOUT]

No, not saying that at all.

[so haaad]

LMITOUT,

I do believe that these forums are supposed to be for offering advise and support, not negative bashing of our University programs. I would think a HotSpotOutdoors Pro Staff would post with a little less sarcasm and not ridicule University of Minnesota football fans. Many of us are very proud of this state and support our universities, even during the non-bandwagon years.

[PierBridge]

I'm calling for the immediate suspension and or canceling of LimitOuts Radio show......

In a nutshell he along with other NoDak fans have not fully recovered from the DEVASTATING loss suffered by NDSU against the Gophers in College Football.

I'm thinking of canceling my hunting trips to the Dakotas because I can't stomach grown men whining 24/7 about said game......get over it you LOST!

And no this doesn't help prove your point....I don't care what kind of articulated trial Lawyer rebutal you post! NO!

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I either want the MN teams to be as good as everyone makes them out to be, which they are not....

OR

I want the fans to actually acknowledge that their teams really aren't that great and to act like it.

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HUH? where are these people?

[LMITOUT]

It's just a little ribbing. The best part about sports is debating about this and that! What fun is it if everyone agrees?

I criticized the U of M and that's my opinion. That's part of what these sports forums are about...debating opinions on sports. Because I'm an outsider and not all duckies and bunnies about MN sports then I get my head called for because I'm not one of the sheep? Point proven again.

[LMITOUT]

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I'm thinking of canceling my hunting trips to the Dakotas because I can't stomach grown men whining 24/7 about said game......get over it you LOST!

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If the result of losing games means non-residents will cancel hunting and fishing trips to ND, then I'm all for ND never winning again!!

Just wait until next time!