Best Comments of 2008

I realize most people do their best ofs before the year is quite over, but I'm like a week late. It's hard to go through a full year's worth of posts and read all the comments. Without further ado, here are the best comments of 2008 in no particular order, except chronologically:


- Dawg: "Do you think Hoffbauer will stick around for at least 2 years or will his guranteed NBA lottery pick status force him to leave after his freshmen season?"

- Anonymous: "I will take sweet sweet Pam Oliver anyday"

- Super Sioux Fan: "I am sure you are some old guy who has to stare at it because you cant get it. Creeper"

- The Todd: "I love women...especially ones that are deuce plus and/or in wheel chairs."

- Dawg: "Its a well known fact that Iowans are very anti-vampire."

- Snacks: "fake boobs are very weird"

- Rabid Husky: "Nice blog idiots"

- Joe: "You are without question the most cynical man alive"

- The Todd: "Reason #37 why you are my hero."

- The Todd: "shit my pants drunk or dance with fat girls drunk?"

- Kevin: "Shane Schilling was nice"

- Roy: "Snake is far from a dipshit"

- Jacie Z: "Hot chicks are so nasty!"

- Snake: "I also just had Billy Bob on. One of the greatest pieces of cinema I have ever seen. GOd Damn Mox can sling the pill!"

- Dawg: "I hope they at least have the decency to spit on "it" before they rape us this Sunday"

- Dawg: "I refuse to call a white guy Jamal"

- Everyone: everyone proving how retarded Dawg is about baseball.

- Anonymous: "It's "Hoffarber" not Hoffbauer. You'd think after 20 games you'd know that by now."

- The Sidler: "I always died of dysentery..."

- Larry Eustachy: "Thats the least she could do to make up for her tiny breasts."

- Just telling the truth: "Snacks is gay"

- Anonymous: "This blog just hit rock bottom! Thanks WWWWWWWWWWW, another reader lost!"

- Anonymous: "You guys have to lay off the pipe."

- Jimmy: "I'd rather watch Balls of Fury than read another post from Dawg."

- From the Barn: "another coach was forced to resign because he was underutilizing Rico Tucker."

- Anonymous: "Is that her snizz hanging out?"

- Dawd:"in the last year I've seen you get your ass kicked by a ballerina wearing a white vest and Momma Souix Fan."

- Said Person: "Four Letter Lie is the greatest band ever"

- Dawg: "Why does a team that relies on obtaining free agents on the cheap miss oportunities for a couple of studs that are coming off injuries ie Colon and Prior"

- Theory: "Dr. Acula's boyfriend, Camillo Villegas"

- Dawg: "Give the little gay meat raffle guy from the Knight Cap a pat on his sloppy bottom from me."

- Snack's wife: "i'm all real bitch!"

- Amanda Jax: "the parents will have to sue some poor mexican bar tender from Cancun for his donkey and wool blankets because those sissy mankato students can't handle their drinks."

- Dr. Acula: "My buddy has a gay brother named Colton. His last name is not Iverson. Probably no relation."

- The Sidler: ""Twins Baseball - you're going to need two flasks!""

- Bear: "I'm going to go read Up with Bucky, with a flaccid crank"

- Super Sioux Fan: "most sioux fans are complete douches"

- C. Garey: "If you're looking for friends you've come to the wrong blog"

- Anonnymous: "Has Gardy ever made a mistake? I guess not since he's forgotten more baseball than me."

- C. Haskins: "I want to see a winning product. I couldn't give two shits less what the graduation rate is"

- Holy Hell: "I found this blog by googling suck my crank"

- Anonymous: "I didn't expect Blackburn to regress to the mean in the span of one inning..."

- Hawkeye Fan: "Sorry "friend", You got owned by a farmed raised Iowa boy." - after owning Dawg in one of the staggering amount of arguments he lost in the comments.

- Klinger: "I should clarify for this blog...NHL = National Hockey League - my apologies for wandering into this uncharted territory."

- Snake: "Young's problem is he doesn't swing enough. He needs to take less pitches and just chop away!"

- SLombardozzi#4: "Beasley will be a poor mans Anthony Mason in 2 years."

- Theory: "Tiger could punch an old lady in the face and the announcers would be like, "She probably deserved it."

- The Todd: "My main summer attire includes crocs, workout shorts and an old T'wolves KG jersey from Walmart."

- Snacks: "God I can't stand the people on the gopher hole"

- The Sidler: "Livan is the best pitcher on the team--he has 9 wins"

- Jeremy: "this dude is frickin' hilarious."

- Tiffany L: "So what ever happened to Van Peebles two anonymous "colored" friends on the boat? Hopefully they didn't end up in the water because I am guessing they couldn't swim very well."

- Sharks Love Revenge: "this is by far the best movie review of all time. If I had to listen to that queer talk about paladin's one more time I was going to have to go jump in the ocean hoping that some shark wanted revenge on my family too."

- Tom: "You are clearly one of the top 5 or 6 gopher bloggers out there"

- The Todd: "I'm also known as a very solid penetrator and am currently listed at 5'9/235 with a 17 inch vert and 6.7 forty time."

- Faldo: "Doctors say he will be fine but I say blindness, thats what you get when you dont come through for Faldo you get blindness"

- Dawg: "Blacky wins 16 games next season and probably starts dating Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan."

- Anonymous: "there is nothing worse than homer fan"

- Dawg: "By the way my name is Dawg McDawgerson."

- Anonymous: "Gardy is an asshole and so is anyone who doesnt agree."

- Anonymous: "This blog sucks so I would love to read a blog that is average!"

- Bear: "I think it's called You're A Douchebag In C Minor."

- Bogart: "I live in Chicago where I'm a fancy rich lawyer who makes tons of money and I am so much better than you, peasant."

- Matt: "Please spare me with this "blueprint" and "small ball" bullshit."

- Dawg: "The Gophers blew the doors off of Montana State the supposed cream of the I-AA crop."

- Dawg: "Naked Guy looked great taking naked BP today."

- Justin Bobby: "Heidi with Brody, haha, thats just proposterous!"

- Tiffany: "Bogart- You have been portrayed perfectly on this site by WWWWW. Gambling problem (check), poor eye for NFL QB talent (check), love of wearing NFL jerseys (check) and poor skin (check)"

- The Todd: "Suck it long and suck it hard Dharma Bum."

- Theory: "I thoroughly enjoy these golf posts. They're the only posts on here that I read."

- Trig: "Brady is a man's man, ultimate teammate, and a complete gamer"

- Anonymous: "Reason #2986 why dawg is a complete sports retard!"

- Dawg: "The difference between Okposo and a figure skater is the figure skater isn't afraid to get his hands dirty"

- Mama Dawger: "yeah, your a dork. But I still want to be your live in girlfriend."

- Dawg: "I love you more than Woody Allen and Dusty Rychart combined."

- Super Sioux Fan: "everyone looked at me like I was retarded or something."

- Super Sioux Fan: "I am gay"

- Super Sioux Fan: "I hate the gays..........and the jews."

- Dawg: "When your only interaction with African Americans is watching them from 15 rows up at a Gopher Basketball game then you are probably a racist."

- Mama Dawger: "You have obviously never wrestled. It is a pure man's sport. There is nothing homoerotic about it. Other then the singlettes, the 'saturday night ride' and 'checkin the oil'. I know it makes it "sound" gay. But it's really not."

- Bear: "I thought this was Down With Goldy, not Down With A Blatantly Offensive & Racist Mascot"

- Anonymous: "The only thing that could make that show more gay is to have unicorns prance around the set with rainbow streamers tied onto their little horns."

- Dawg: "Weber throws to Decker every time because nobody can cover him."

- Bear: "Hitler wasn't really that bad of a guy"

- The Todd: "Optimator and I would make out every time the Gophers scored."

- Anonymous: "Sounds like Dawg knows as much about Fantasy Football as he does Baseball and college hoops"

- Super Sioux Fan: "I think I am going to remain drunk until the end of this hockey season"

- Anonymous: "But as we know from Twins talk on this blog, expectations cant change mid year and we need to just accept that this team is doing as good as it is being so young."

- Anonymous: "billy bean can shove moneyball up his gay ass"

- Dawg: "I wish I would have got to see him bean Joe Morgan in his fat head."

- Snacks: "Remember how Hargrow used to put his head down and take it to the rack every single time he had a white guy guarding him?"

- Tubtastic: "D2 football = not able to let go. It is the xfl equivalent for college football. They should blast "Glory Days" in the background during all D2 football games."

- The Todd: "You'll be happy to know I babysat my nephew last night which allowed me some cable access for a few brief hours. And in my stupidity I came across a Gopher basketball game. At Indiana. Thinking it was live. I didn't realize until the very end that it was from last March."


And that'll do it. Do I have a favorite? Nope, comments are like kids, I hate every one equally. Keep up the good work in 2009, comments pretty much make this blog.

Hey Nerds

I've had like eleventeen vodka & cranberries (with lime, thanks Bogart) and I'm feeling a bit saucy. Also the baby is asleep and Mrs. W is at some stupid party I didn't get to go to because we didn't have a baby sitter, so instead I've been getting ripped and watching sports. That's not too bad I guess.

- Watching the Ravens beat the Cowboys in a very big win for them. I think. I saw some standings earlier that implied this was a big game for both teams. I'm not going to look it up because I don't feel like it, but I'm pretty sure this is a big win. I'm also pretty sure T.O. is a closet homosexual. Come on, like you'd be surprised.

- Did you know The Todd was in Oakdale this afternoon, and I live across the street from Oakdale, and he didn't bother to call me to hang out? And he always says stuff like "we should hang out?" What a jerk-hole. No wonder he can't get with the ladies.

- So the Gophers, after that massively awesome win against L'Ville today, are one of only a few undefeated teams left in NCAA basketball, which is great. You know who else is undefeated? Pitt. Again. Like every god damned year. They do this crap every year, where they play nobody and get ranked highly by beating nobody. Oh goodie, you beat Texas Tech. So did freaking Lamar. Christ, they even have a recruiting questionnaire for prospective players like a community college. Most overrated program of all time. Have they even ever had a good pro other than Larry Fitzgerald? Even their "best" college players were overrated. Brandin Knight? Couldn't shoot. Made Jacque Vaughn look like Pete Maravich. Aaron Gray? Jeff Hagen with a good supporting cast. Charles Smith? Once missed three layups in a ten second span. Their only good player in history is Jerome Lane, who was apparently absolutely fantastic (2 time all-american first team, once second, once third team) but who I remember more for this:


- Jason Witten with a TD, which greatly helps my fantasy keeper team, in the championship and playing $nake who used to post his hockey thoughts here. I almost sent him a text with some kind of trash talkiness, but since I got knocked out of the playoffs with the world's greatest team by three-touchdown Monday night games by Joe Horn and Drew Bennett, and he has Greg Jennings, I think I'll just keep my mouth shut.

- So Dallas kicks it deep, down two with 1:36 remaining. I don't get it. Even with three time outs, it's so risky. One first down and the game is over. And instead LeRon McClain goes 82 yards for a TD, completely blowing my McClain under 68 yards bet which was actually looking ok up until this point. Gay.

- I just witnessed the Pac 10 all-time receptions record broken here at the Mienike Poulan Weedeater PapaJohns.com bowl by someone named Mike Thomas who I think played DT for the Vikings in the 90s. Be still my heart.

- You know what was a good movie? Boyz n the Hood. That was a pretty good movie.

- I love how Brett Favre is a pro-bowler by the way. Did you know he leads the league in interceptions? It's so predictable it almost seems unbelievable, doesn't it? So let's get this shit straight, Philly Rivers leads the AFC in QB Rating, TD passes, and yards per attempt, and is third in yards, but he's not on the pro-bowl roster? Good to know that the pro bowl is as retarded as the baseball all-star game.

- I'm now watching Who wants to be a Millionaire, and some lady needed help on identifying, "In the Pythagorean Theorem, A squared plus B squared equals what?" I think that's my cue to stop typing.

Wheeler Leaves For The NH.....AHL

Blake Wheeler has left the Gopher Hockey team to sign a professional hockey contract. Although he hasn't signed a contract yet, all indications are he will sign one soon. It sounds like Blake announced his decision prior to signing a contract so the Gophers could try and fill his roster spot as soon as possible. Note to Okposo, that is how you handle things.

A lot of people think Wheeler was a bust as a player because of his #5 draft ranking. Actually Blake was a very solid player for the Gophers and improved each and every year. If Wheeler would have returned for his senior season there was a chance he would have joined the 150 point club for the U hockey program which is a pretty rare feat.

Blake will always have a spot in my heart for sticking it to North Dakota in the 2007 WCHA Final Five Championship game. That goal alone should get his mural hung in Mariucci. Below is a press release for the U of Minnesota.

The Todd, Are you trying to step on toes by breaking Gopher news prior to my post! You Son of Bitc.....

Press Release from the UofM:
University of Minnesota wrote:
Minnesota junior forward Blake Wheeler has withdrawn from the university to pursue a career in professional hockey. Wheeler, who was a 2004 first-round draft pick by the Phoenix Coyotes, has 30 days to sign with the team. Following the 30 days, if the two parties do not reach an agreement, Wheeler will become a free agent. He is the ninth Minnesota player to leave college early for the professional ranks since the end of the 2005-06 season. Wheeler is the third Gopher to leave from the 2007-08 season with Okposo, Frazee and now Wheeler. “Blake is an outstanding student, person and hockey player,” Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said. “He was a leader on our team both on and off the ice and we will certainly miss Blake’s contribution to the program. We are excited for the future in front of him and there is no question that he will have a long career in the NHL.” A native of Plymouth, Minn., Wheeler led the Gophers’ scoring charge with 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points this past season. He spread his 35 points over 29 different games and his 15 goals over 14 different games. In 28 conference games, Wheeler tallied 23 points and was named a third-team All-WCHA selection. He tied for ninth in WCHA scoring and 12th in both goal and assist scoring. One of the team’s assistant captains, Wheeler had six multiple-point games this season, including a season-high three-point performance in a 4-1 win over Minnesota Duluth (3/7). The Gophers finished seventh in the WCHA standings and were the WCHA Final Five runner-up team. Wheeler and the Gophers then made their eighth-straight NCAA appearance, only to fall to eventual champions, Boston College. In his career, Wheeler posted 42 goals and 54 assists for 96 points. In his sophomore campaign, Wheeler ranked fifth on the team in scoring with 38 points, while posting 23 points as a rookie in 2005-06. He was named the WCHA Final Five Most Valuable Player in 2006-07 after scoring a sensational overtime, game-winning goal in the 3-2 win over North Dakota in the title game. Michelle Traen Assistant Athletics Communications Director University of Minnesota gophersports.com

WCHA Final Five

The WCHA final five begins tonight at the Xcel. Tonights play-in game features the Gophers vs St. Cloud State. The winner of tonights game moves on to Friday's semi-finals to play #1 seed Colorado College. The other semi-final will feature the University of we hate native americans vs the Denver Pioneers.

The Gophers head to the Final Five after possibly the longest 3 game series in the history of the WCHA. The Gophers lost 1-0 in double OT, won 2-1 in OT and won 3-2 in double OT to advance. There are three keys to tonights game for the Gophers. 1) Kangas, 2) score 3+ goals and 3) stay out of the penalty box. They follow my keys and I guarantee victory.

Next years Hoby Baker winner needs to continue playing like he did last weekend. That might be a bit much to ask, but I have never been one to shy away from asking for to much. Kangas either gets shutouts all weekend or I write him off faster than Frazee! Seriously, if the Gophers want any chance of advancing this weekend Kangas can not allow more than two goals a game. Sad, but true.

Next to the Play of Kangas goal scoring is the next biggest factor for the gophers. I know that sounds like the dip shit analyst who says "whoever scores more goals will most likely win the game", but the Gophers need to find a way to score 3 goals without playing 100 minutes of hockey. Last Sundays game was a perfect example of what I am talking about. The Gophers had numerous chances to score goals right in front of the net and instead of putting the puck in the corner of the net the forwards would rush shots and hit the Mavericks goalie in the chest. The Mavericks goalie (Zacharias) played well last weekend, but the Gophers made him look better than he is. Mouth breather Jase Weslosky is not the goalie Zacharias is, so 3 goals isn't like asking for the moon.

ATTENTION TO THE BEARS GUY PELTIER!!!! The 3rd key to tonights game for the Gophers is staying out of the penalty box. St. Cloud basically lives by it's power play. Their #1 unit of Roe, Lasch and Nodl is possibly the best power play unit in the country. As a team, St. Cloud leads the WCHA in PP efficiency at 21.9%. That means the Gophers can only take necessary penalties. Note to Peltier, we don't need any Cross Checking, Roughing, Boarding or whatever other dumb penalty you decide take 60 feet behind the play. Those are the penalties that will get the Gophers beat tonight. Maybe the gophers should just sit Peltier all weekend? Hey Bear, nice player!

Predictions for the weekend.

Play-in game MN 4 St. Cloud 2. The Gophers will be to tired to skate all over the rink which is a good thing for this team. They will sit back and play "system" hockey and rely on Kangas to make saves. How much does it suck that the Gophers have turned into the Wisconsin Badgers of college hockey? God I can't wait for some actual talent to get back in the program next year! Also, keep your eyes out for the Todd slinging his shit on the ice if the gophers happen to lose. I am on record as saying The Todd doesn't have the arm to get it over the glass.

Semi-final #1 Denver 3 UND 2. Upset of the weekend. UND has been playing to good for to long. The also looked very poor last weekend. On top of that, Denver will be looking forward to this game after the cheap crap UND pulled up in Grand Forks last month. Yet another banner slips through the fingers of Neanderthal Hakstol.

Semi-final #2 CC 3 MN 1. Gophers have nothing left and even if they did Colorado would still beat them. I still think CC is the class of the WCHA.

3rd Place Game. Who really cares other than the Sioux fans who will still act like winning this game is a big deal, f'ing losers!

Championship- CC 5 Denver 2. Denver can't skate with CC. CC locks up a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Tom Pohl update from the University of Minnesota. Gophers Pohl in Intensive Care Following Surgery at Rochester Hospital. University of Minnesota senior Tom Pohl is in intensive care following surgery resulting from an injury suffered in the Golden Gophers double overtime victory over Minnesota State on Sunday in Mankato . Pohl sustained a skull fracture when his head hit the boards in front of the teams bench at 6:09 of the second period. The injury resulted in bleeding on the brain and Pohl was airlifted to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester . Successful surgery was performed to stop the bleeding and stabilize the fracture. Pohl remains at the hospital for further observation.We are very fortunate that he has tremendous medical care, said Minnesota coach Don Lucia, who is in Rochester with Pohl and his family. Were looking forward to him returning to school at one hundred percent and our thoughts and prayers remain with Tom and the Pohl family.

Here is a link to the Gophers incoming recruits. Things are really looking up talent wise. Only two questions marks coming in over the next two years, Brandon Martell and Josh Birkholz. Martell just isn't that good and Birkolz comes off as a whiny kid who pouts when things aren't going his way....f'ing cake eater! http://gopherpuck.blogspot.com/2007/01/committed-gopher-recruits.html

Kyle Okposo played in his first NHL game Tuesday night for the New York Islanders. The Black Ginger played 14 minutes and registered two shots on net. It looks like two months of Minor league hockey got his development back on track. Good thing he got out while the getting was good.

Lastly, even though the smartest man in Grand Forks is on record as saying the Gophers won't make the NCAA tournament they are a lock. The worst team to make the NCAA tournament in Gophers history....without a doubt, but I will still take a game or two in the NCAA after the season this team has had.

Lastly, Lastly....WWWWWW, nice NCAA picks! I thought you where suppose to be the hoops guy on this blog? The Sports Guy knows more about college hoops!

Ramblings from The Todd

If you've noticed in the comments section, The Todd is rather talkative today. He's also rather drunk. I'd love to comment on being drunk in the early afternoon on a weekday, but I've done it, and I miss it. Well anyway, he sent me some random ramblings. They're only partially sports related, and far, far too pro-Red Sox, but I like to support drunken rambling as well, so away we go:

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- Daytime TV sucks royal ass. I’m the biggest couch potato ever but shit, if I didn’t work, I don’t know what I’d do with myself. Embarrasingly enough I’ve been flipping between The Real Housewives of Orange Country and TRL. I think it’s time to fire up the PS2

- I’m the worst dancer ever but somehow love it. And while I’m wasted, I feel JT is working through me. Anyway, I was at the Independent in Uptown for a bit last night and that place was like fricken Footloose. A waitress came up to me and literally said, “you can’t dance here.” WTF is that? Where is John Lithgow. Am I that bad?

- This liqour store by my house has cases of Premium for like $13.50 or something, plus tax. Is that not cheap as hell? If you like the banana beer (I do), you should go to there, it’s on Lake Drive and Lextington Ave in Circle Pines. Call me and I’ll meet you at the DQ next door which has a “closing sale” sign I noticed today. That makes me sad, I love ice cream.

- I love the Shampoo Theory and validate that it holds true: I’m wasted on only my 7th beer in about 3.5 hours.

- Is today Thursday? That really sucks cuz I think I’m gonna have to go into the office tomorrow. Is it true you can’t smell booze on your breath if it’s Vodka? I’m willing to try it. Although my pants wetting might give me away as being drunk. Also I don’t have any vodka right now.

- I’m rambling and it’s amusing me.

- I miss Snacks, The Egytpian and WWWWWWW. We should watch the Sawx tonight while they go up 2-0. And what’s up with them leaving Wakefield off the WS roster….did I read that somewhere or was that my imagination?

- Kevin James is brilliant in the King of Queens but I hate those shows where the fat guy gets some hot babe. It gives douchebags like myself false hope which I refuse to let go of.

- To those Sioux fans I pissed off a few weeks ago, my apologies. I just wanna party. I got nothin but love. I missed the Gopher games last weekend but they got swept by CC in Colorado so….that hurts. UND seems to be solid as usual. Although I swear the Gophers have been slow starters in recent years, correct me if I’m wrong.

- Does anyone agree that I should make a career move and drive a bus for the MTC? How sweet would that job be? Although, I’d forsurely get a DUI. PS, whiskey plates are sweet. Can you buy those on eBay for much less than the actual 3+ DUI’s needed? I’m not sure how those work, someone please fill me in.

- Snacks, remember that time I hit a homerun over the fence off you in batting practice circa 1997? That was fun. I miss you, call me.

- (struggling)

- It’s mildly sobering to go to the liquor store at 10:47 in the morning on a weekday while still drunk to purchase a case of High Life interrupting 75 year old Pearl doing inventory at the counter. Slightly embarrassing. Even better that I’d just crawled out of bed and inevitably smelled of booze and fat girls. I take what I can get.

- That was mean, I apologize.

- The Office is on tonight. God how I love that show. How nice are Jan Levingston’s mammaries (sp?)? I heart boobs!

- Working out is so overrated and just ridiculous. If raging alcoholic, over weight, 27 year olds were cool…then consider me Miles Davis. I just pee’d my pants.

- Who wants to party? Bring the beer bong, I got the beer. Maas , I’m talking to you. Anyone else is welcome.

- Oh, how sad is it that the Gophers football lost to NDSU? I know they are dreadful but christ almighty. I’m seriously considering re-enrolling and trying to walk on. I run a 6.34 forty and can bench about 160…I gotta think that’s fas and strong enough for a starting secondary position, honestly. I have yet to watch a game this year but wow, it’s inexplicable without seeing any of the carnage. Can someone let me now if I could still tryout after re-enrolling? Maybe do a Masters program? I’m already a master at patheticness so I really don’t know how that would work. Snacks, you are smart, please explain.

- Wow, channel surfing and came across GAC….Sara Evans anyone? SMOKIN!

- I bowl in a league on Monday nights and my average is a less than stellar 124. To you, the F (pretty sure that shit ain’t regulation)!

- Jesus country is depressing, next

- Does anyone know how to get into Ultimate Fighting? I think I could be good at that but I’d have to drop about 4 weight classes. Oh wait, I’m a wuss…nevermind. I cried during The Little Mermaind, remember WWWWWW?

- I want to go down on Josh Beckett….with Schilling and Ortiz watching while Man-Ram films the tryst.

- I need a nap.

From the land of gun-racks, pickups and trailer parks….toodles.

The Todd

Golden Gopher Hockey - Catch the Fever

As I think I've made clear, both on here and in my personal life, I am no great fan of hockey. It's too cold.

However, the Gophers are kind of a big deal, and what kind of Gopher blog would this be without a Gopher hockey preview?

With that said, here is my first guest post, as my friend The Todd has decided to graciously write a Gopher Hockey preview for me. I read through it and I've heard of like, two of these people, but that's my deal. It's entertaining, and I'm going to assume it's informative. So here we go:

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It's just about time for the Juggernaut of Golden Gopher Men's Hockey to start the 2007-2008 season. Up here in Gopher country, we don't rebuild...we reload. This year should be familiar with the cream rising to the top. The defending two time WCHA champs have been picked to finish second in the league behind UND courtesy of an obviously biased Grand Forks Herald (the coaches poll).

Last year the Maroon and Gold finished atop the conference with an 18-7-3 record. As the ever growing parity of the WCHA increases from year to year, expect things to tighten even more for the race to the McNaughton Cup. North Dakota, Wisconsin, SCSU and Colorado College all have strong campaigns this year making the charge to the top a wild 5 team scramble. Michigan Tech, Denver, Mankato State, UMD and Alaska Anchorage round out the rest of the conference. Expect some noise and upsets from Denver and UMD as I think they will surprise some teams with their young talent and team speed.

The Gophers will be led by surprising sophomore returnee and all WCHA 2nd teamer Kyle Okposo who was a sure top 10 first round NHL draft pick but opted to stay one more year (my guess to bed some more coeds). Second year player Jay Barriball and Junior Blake Wheeler will also add to the offensive fire power looking to improve on stellar 2006-2007 campaigns. Senior Derek Peltier is captaining this ship and will bolster a young defensive core while junior Jeff Frazee will get the start in goal. This will be his first year to silence any critics as he will be the unanimous number one net minder and carry the bulk of the load between the pipes.

Juniors RJ Anderson, Justin Bostrom and Ryan Stoa combining with Sophomores Mike Carman, David Fischer Ryan Flynn, Tony Lucia and Brian Shack will play key roles to finding the identity of this team with defense being the main focus. Expected departures for the NHL cabbage were defensemen Erik Johnson and Alex Goligoski. Defenseman Mike Vanelli and Goalie Kellen Briggs who were two huge cornerstones of the rock solid defensive core of a year ago, were lost to graduation.

An influx of seven homegrown freshman will need to contribute to this year's success led by high flying All-State Forward Patrick White who hails from Grand Rapids, MN.

The Maroon and Gold should have plenty of offensive fire power and weapons to keep them in every single game this year. That should be a given. The one question is how will the D respond with so many new faces defending the goal.

Keep your eye on the weekends of 12/7-12/8 and 2/1-2/2 as these four games against North Dakota could prove pivotal determining the outcome for the McNaughton Cup and who is king of the hill. One thing is certain, it's going to be a dogfight to the very last weekend before a conference winner will be determined.

My homer prediction of course is the Gophers by a landslide over a surprise push from Wisconsin.

The Gophers open the season this weekend at the Xcel Energy Center against RPI and then the winner/loser of Michigan and Boston College.

Put the women and children to bed (and get Woog a drink), it's time to drop the puck!
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Thanks The Todd, and yeah for hockey! I am fired up now!