nodakfan17

Even if you have a great facility that is capable of hosting men’s and women’s college hockey, you’d be forgoing other revenue by hosting poorly attended women’s hockey games. Ice time is expensive and other groups are willing to pay to use your university’s facilities for their own competitions. The University of North Dakota has no problem renting out their ice when the men’s team is on the road. They book various youth hockey tournaments, curling and figure skating competitions, and concerts. Not only does this help generate revenue for the university, but it also creates part time jobs for current students and helps showcase the campus to prospective students who visit for these activities.

Actually, it’s probably easier to add 18 different scholarships to existing women’s sports, but it’s a delicate balance. I believe there’s still a back door way for female students to force the school to add hockey either through a petition or an annual survey. There are different routes to Title IX compliance and it depends on which route the school has chosen.

The biggest expense associated with adding D1 Men’s Hockey? Adding D1 Women’s Hockey. Expansion is great for college hockey, but i just don’t think it’s feasible for many schools.

I just can’t get behind Vegas ... doesn’t seem fair to long suffering fan bases.

Designated Survivor was cancelled yesterday after 2 seasons. I’m bummed because it was one of the few shows my wife and I enjoyed together, but quality wise, there was a huge drop off from Season 1 to Season 2.

B99 on NBC - Oh Yes! I’ve read it was a casualty of Thursday Night Football on Fox. There was just less room on the Fall schedule. Hopefully, NBC gives it a fair shake. Pick a time slot and keep it there. No more 3-month hiatuses.

Last Man Standing gets picked up by Fox. Woot!

Pray for a streaming service pickup?

Just saw that Last Man on Earth and Brooklyn 99 were cancelled.

^^^ Agreed the 2013 season wasn’t as good as the original series, but obviously they had issues with bringing the cast back together after a 7-year hiatus. I’d still give it a B. It had its laughs. I’m hoping the format of the 2018 season will more closely mirror the original.

Arrested Development - Season 5 comes to Netflix on May 29. I’ve been on that bandwagon since they were still on Fox. It was an awful shame that Arrrested Development never picked up a large audience until people started watching on DVD after it was cancelled.

Yes, every company seeks profit and operates on thin margins. While you can (and should) occasionally seek a better salary elsewhere, I think aligning yourself with the right manager can be equally effective. There are still good men and women out there who go to bat for their direct reports and care about their development.

Loyalty still matters. When a company invests resources in your training and exercises patience as you work your way up the curve - they’re hoping you don’t leave too soon. A pattern of job-hopping, while not disqualify, is still a red flag. Choose your moves carefully. While loyalty still matters (the extent of which is debatable) we’re all the CEO of our own careers. Our high earning years are limited. Eventually, better opportunities arise and no one will think any less of you for capitalizing on them.

I know this will vary largely by industry, but what’s the long-term outlook for both employers? Is one employer at a greater risk of being purchased by a larger competitor? I tend to value stability, all else equal.

Take comfort in knowing that the Badgers are in the most stable conference in college hockey. Even though the NCHC (lame name) has been a success to date, you can bet fans from North Dakota, Denver, and Duluth are paranoid that one team will get a Big Ten affiliate invite and leave the others no longer competing at the 'highest level' of college hockey. As for this weekend's series, I'm predicting a split. It's early in the season and UND is still figuring out their line combos. They are 1-2-1 on Friday, but 4-0 on Saturday this season.

North Dakota at the Kohl Center tonight ... I badly wanted to make the trip from Green Bay. #4 @ #7 in an old school WCHA matchup.

I have been predicting a recession for 3 years. Thank goodness my auto contributions have saved me from myself.

Brew4U - I'm curious as to why you don't have the same fondness for UMD hockey as you do for the Badgers? I like UW hockey (thanks PBS) and all of the old WCHA teams, but Duluth has been a top 10 program for the last decade and I don't think they're going away anytime soon.

I'm glad to see two NCHC teams playing for the title. I'll also be pulling for Duluth - just because I want Nodak to get to 9 before Denver gets to 8. Enjoy the game. Go Bulldogs!

Duluth and Denver for the natty tonight.

The decision to eliminate women's hockey at North Dakota was based on economics - plain and simple. 10 years ago, North Dakota was being praised as a model for good state governance. They were one of the few states to run budget surpluses during the most recent financial crisis. Oil prices were high and the ample supply on the Bakken plane generated significant tax revenue for the state. Predictably, government spending increased to match revenue. Now, oil prices are lower and the most accessible supplies have tapped. Government spending must be decreased to match revenue. The legislature in Bismark mandated a $1.3 million reduction in athletics spending. Baseball was already cut last Spring. Women's hockey has known they were on the chopping block for at least a year. I could see keeping women's hockey at UND if they were any of the following: 1) profitable 2) successful 3) popular. None of the above apply. There is only one North Dakota native on the team. Half of the roster is made up of foreign players and the other half Minnesotans. Anyone advocating to keep the program is basically asking students and tax payers to subsidize Olympic development for foreign countries and organized hockey for girls who weren't good enough to play at Minnesota or Duluth. It sucks, but I get it.

The University of North Dakota cut women's hockey on Wednesday ... huge bummer. NCAA women's hockey was officially sanctioned in 2002 and UND was considered a Top 10 program out of the 30 or so DI women's programs that exist today. Unfortunately, they never enjoyed a high level of success (0 national titles, 0 conference titles, 2 playoff appearances). A large part of that was due to the highly successful programs at Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Duluth, which effectively blocked UND's program from greater exposure. The optics of the situation could not be any worse. The Title IX boo birds are out in full force. In the era of "twitter journalism," no one mentions that baseball was cut last year, or that all of the women's hockey scholarships will be re-allocated to other women's sports at UND, or that women's hockey costs (loses) $1.9 million per year.

Good luck, Badgers. I would love to see a classic Wisconsin / North Dakota matchup in the NCAAs. I love the Pairwise rankings - it's probably the fairest way to select tournament teams (vs. football or basketball). After you seed the conference tournament winners (who sometimes have lower rankings but qualify based on their conference auto-bid), teams basically have to be in the top 10-12 of the Pairwise rankings to make the tournament. However, I do find it odd that college hockey teams play series all year, but then play single games to decide a national champion.

It also helps that there are no pro sports in North Dakota. That hockey program probably has state wide love. Speaking of real North Dakota hockey, as a big Badgers hockey fan, i miss playing North Dakota home and away every year. They along with Minnesota used to be the Badgers biggest rivals. Plus, i thought they had the best looking uniforms in college hockey, especially when they still had the Fighting Sioux head on the front. You're right in that it probably helps that there are no professional sports teams in North Dakota, but the college basketball season runs concurrently with hockey and the UND men's team draws fewer than 4,000 per game. It they started making the NCAA tourney every year, I'm sure their following would grow, but there's just not much to be excited about there (even if it is Division I men's basketball). I miss the rivalries with Wisconsin and Minnesota, but those programs will be just fine (as will North Dakota). Growing up in Wisconsin, I have great memories of watching Badger hockey late at night on PBS with my dad. I'll always be a fan of the old WCHA teams. Notre Dame is in the Big Ten now for hockey - what the heck? Too funny that my outlook on North Dakota men's basketball has changed so drastically in 2 months ... Even though Arizona dropped 100 on them in the first round of the NCAA tournament, they still grew their following by going 22-9 and winning the Big Sky for the first time (regular season and tournament). Today, I just ordered UND basketball sweatshirts for my son and I (everything else my family owns says "hockey" after "North Dakota"). You cannot deny that, regardless of sport, winning is the key to building a following in the major professional leagues and NCAA Division I.

If I were to enter the rental game, I'd also start out with an above-average duplex to attract decent tenants and minimize headaches (both maintenance and personalities). I have two friends who bought older rental properties during the most recent financial crisis and couldn't wait to unload them after the market recovered a bit (boy, do they have some stories). I lack the patience for difficult maintenance / people, but I'm sure there's money to be made there for those with more discipline than myself. For me, it's low-fee, equity index funds in my 401(k) / IRA and Brewers Timeless Tickets (sarcasm).