Best Winter Ever!

I've been holding off for a while and I hope I don't jinx this ... but this has been the best winter EVER for this region and I am now starting my 4th decade of winters here, so I've got a little personal data to base this declaration on...

First, we'll talk cold.  Usually, at least once a winter, typically in January and February, there will be a stretch of just brutal, brutal cold.  I'm talking the temperatures don't get above 0 degrees (Fahrenheit) at all for days at a time.  There was one winter where essentially the entire month of January the temperature was below zero...day and night.  And with the cold temps, it usually is accompanied by a steady, stiff breeze...really adding some bite to the cold temps.  Wind chills are sometimes 20, 30 below for an entire day.

So far this winter, there has been, I think, a total of 3 days where the temperature has been below zero...and 2 out of those 3 days the temp got above zero by mid afternoon.  In fact, right now, the temperature is in the low 30's (which is very nice for this time of year) and the forecast for the foreseeable future is roughly the same type of weather.  Oh, and it is sunny and calm.  And that's what it has been, essentially all winter this season...

Next, we'll talk snow fall.  Since I've moved into my house, which has been well over 10 years now, I know we have had a fairly significant snow fall.  I know most winters I would have to snowblow my walks and drive ways at least once a week, if not more.  Last year, we had tremendous blizzards over the Christmas and New Year's holiday...both of which dumped a lot of snow and shut the town down.

This year we haven't had anything that even resembles a blizzard and we've had a couple of days with some significant snowfall, but for the most part, we have been mostly snow free.  In fact, the snow that is on the ground right now was dropped about a month ago and with the mild temps of this week, we might be completely snow free before February is done.

February might be just a hair early to call this the best winter ever because there is still the chance that we could get some blizzards or even sink into a cold snap.  March and April are both months where the weather is a virtual grab bag.  But the truth is, no matter how bad winter gets from this point, we've likely passed what has typically been the more brutal parts of winter and it has been great!

State of North Dakota Fighting For Fighting Sioux Update

It what seems like it has become a yearly event, it has been almost a year but here we are again, at the verge of the State Of North Dakota taking the NCAA to court over the use of the Fighting Sioux nickname that the University of North Dakota uses.

So, in case you've missed it, here's what's happened since my last post...

The bill passed the ND legislature and was made law, then lawmakers met up with the NCAA to see if they could hash out some sort of deal...no deal was struck and the lawmakers came back and basically withdrew the law and took it off the books...but now, people from the state collected enough signatures to put the whole issue to a state wide vote which will happen in June.  If that measure passes, upholding the law that says the State of North Dakota will sue the NCAA if it tries to sanction or ban the university, then buckle up, because it's go time.

I think the NCAA would be foolish to go to court and have all its hypocrisy revealed.  And how much money does the NCAA want to waste on this endeavor in the first place?  I think they better take notice of the resolve the people of North Dakota have towards keeping the name and if they are willing to do all this to keep this nickname, the NCAA better have just as much of a desire to eliminate it, or else it will be no contest.

Of course this all comes down to a vote in June... I give the measure a 50/50 chance ... I know I will be voting to keep the nickname and I will be hoping for a court showdown...

Coming Soon To A Court Near You: State Of North Dakota vs NCAA

It happened...the North Dakota Senate passed a resolution that now will become law that the University of North Dakota has to use the nickname "Fighting Sioux" and it is illegal to change it and if the NCAA has a problem with it, then the state will sue the NCAA.

Unfrickinbeliavable is all I got to say.

The debate over this nickname will never end...at least not in my lifetime...

State Of North Dakota Fighting For Fighting Sioux

It was just about a year ago when I thought the final chapter was written for the University Of North Dakota's athletic name and logo, the Fighting Sioux. But of course I was silly to think that the nickname backers were going to go quietly away...not when they have lots of dollars left, and when I say lots I mean millions of dollars courtesy of the Ralph Engelstad estate.

I was curious as to why the nickname supporters were fairly quiet over the past year...after losing the supreme court decision, I thought the supporters would continue to pressure the Indians to garner their support...but the Indians are not the least bit interested in this topic and have refused to embrace or reject the use of the Fighting Sioux name.  But the nickname supporters are way more clever than I am...they went to the North Dakota legislature and so far got the ND House to pass a bill that would make it illegal for UND to change it's name from the Fighting Sioux.  It even goes so far to state that if the NCAA takes any action to prohibit UND from competing in NCAA sanctioned events that an anti-trust lawsuit will be filed against the NCAA.

This was a totally brilliant move by the nickname supporters...politicians, last I checked, are more than happy to accept campaign contributions from entities that they support...I bet you won't have to look too hard to see who got a nice campaign contribution from the Sioux nickname lobby...again, filled to the brim with millions of dollars.

I am a supporter of the nickname.  I have not seen nor have heard of many Sioux Indians that dislike the use of their name and, in fact, the last Sioux Indian I talked to about this issue, she was really proud that the college was using Fighting Sioux...and she always said THE Fighting Sioux...never just the Sioux, always, The Fighting Sioux.  I could tell she was proud of that name.

Sure, the ND Senate now needs to pass the bill and then the ball would go back into the NCAA's court...are they going to back down or are they going to continue the pissing match?  They have to know that if they choose to sanction UND they will have a lawsuit coming there way backed by a lot of money...and it isn't just the money part of it.  I think the NCAA is one of the most hypocritical, non-nonsensical governing body in sports, I think if this case goes to court, lots of NCAA hypocrisy will be exposed that could potentially open up a lot more cans of worms and this would be just the tip of the iceberg - which would hopefully, inevitably destroy the NCAA, which would make me happy.

And North Dakota isn't like Wisconsin or Minnesota or California with massive state debt and budget shortages...In 2010, estimates are that North Dakota had a budget surplus of $1 Billion ... yes, a surplus of ONE BILLION DOLLARS.  So if the NCAA wants to get into a pissing match with the State Of North Dakota, the state is ready to start pissing money down the drain right alongside the NCAA all over the use of The Fighting Sioux name...again, not sure of the rationale of the NCAA, but they probably feel so superior to us hayseeds in the barren wasteland...yet have no idea who they are dealing with...very stubborn, determined Germans and Scandinavians descendants that are use to getting their way or die trying....is the NCAA gonna be able to match that intensity?  No way.


 

Fighting Sioux Name To Be Retired

It appears as if the UND Fighting Sioux will be no more. After a few years of legal wrangling the pc crowd and the NCAA will come out victorious and the University of North Dakota will have to get rid of their nickname and mascot, the Fighting Sioux.

A state supreme court decision came down yesterday stating the the nickname can be retired at any time...whereas, supporters of the nickname wanted to have the name remain intact until the absolute last date...November 30th of this year.

In this world of political correctness, the verdict was probably inevitable...the supporters of the UND nickname had plenty of money to delay the change for as long as they could but in the end, they can not stop political correctness in today's America.

The best part of this, is that the late Ralph Engelstad knew that the nickname and logo would be under attack...so he made sure that neither would be forgotten if and when they would be banished...so he made sure that the Sioux logo is literally EVERYWHERE in one of the world's premiere hockey facilities, the Ralph Engelstad arena...stitched onto EVERY leather chair, logo is made of Italian marble etched throughout the concourse, holographic Sioux logos in the railings...it is everywhere and there is no way, without totally destroying the building, that those logos can or will be removed.

I know I have already begun to collect as much Fighting Sioux attire as I can...

Sioux Support UND's Use Of Name

I did a quick search through my blog and was surprised to see that I haven't commented on the University of North Dakota nickname battle.  UND's athletic programs are named the Fighting Sioux and because the NCAA is a hypocritical organization that puts money in front of any decision they make...will ban UND from any athletic post-season tournaments unless UND change's it's nickname or get the support of the two Sioux tribes in North Dakota, the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake tribes.

I have never thought the nickname is that offensive and, in fact, I thought that having a school use your name as a moniker would be kind of cool...even a memorial.  Also, the local protestors...at least the most vocal...always were non-Native Americans ... mainly white teachers and students.  It seemed to me that this group of people was more offended then the Native Americans themselves.

To prove that sometimes the vocal minority and the political correctness can oftentimes be just noise and not be true representatives of the truth...the Spirit Lake tribe voted in favor of having UND keep it's Fighting Sioux nickname by 67%...that's 2 out of 3 tribe members supporting the name.

The Standing Rock tribe has yet to hold a referendum, but the nickname supporters obviously focused on one tribe and will now set their sites on the Standing Rock tribe.  UND has until the fall of 2010 to get the support of the Standing Rock tribe and I wouldn't be surprised if a vote is taken there around this time next year.