November 26th, 2009
Well here it is Thanksgiving day 2009 and the Bison football season has passed. My reasons for giving thanks this year will not include being thankful that the Bison are in the playoffs. Nope no playoffs again this year but I an thankful for the season to be over after the 3-8 debacle that was the 2009 football season. There were some highlights to be sure, among them Pat Paschall’s fantastic record setting run that made the highlight reel and will be remembered by many Bison fans. But for me the 2009 season has many more moments I’d like to forget about as opposed to the few highlights. Here’s hoping for a better off season this year and next years Bison team to be what we are all waiting for, a playoff team.
I read the Bison Media Blog and follow what Steve and the gang have to say. I’m also a regular caller into the sports talk shows on WDAY and I found one of the recent comments in the Bison Media Blog more than interesting. I’m referring to the blog about our coach and what it’s going to take for him to be back the year after next. I have asked Steve and Scotty twice at different times about what record Bohl needs to have to stay in Fargo after next year. IMHO nothing short of a playoff berth next year is acceptable. I like coach Bohl but his balance of fan support based on the two 10-1 seasons has been spent. It’s time for another deposit into that account with a playoff season Coach. Go get it done and start a tradition of domination in the MVFC similar to what Montana has done in the Big Sky. Then look at moving on but until then focus on whats going on in the dome on Saturdays in Fargo.
Now for the Basketball teams. Even though both teams have started out with some losses I’m optimistic about what both the men’s and women’s teams are doing on the court. Both teams have up and coming talent that gives me reason to think we are going to be more than competitive in the Summit League over the next couple of years. Sure the loss on the men’s side of the fab four hurts but Saul has brought in what appears to be the makings of another very good Summit team. My only question mark is the same as it’s been since the departure of Andre a couple years ago. That is the dominating Center or big man. Aaberg is doing fine so far but the Bison have not gotten into the meat of the schedule and he’s not been tested as of yet. He’s only a freshman but he needs to bulk up and get downright nasty under the basket. I’ve not seen that determination from him yet in his short Bison career. On the women’s side even though we just had a crushing defeat at the hands of the Gophers I think this team will be just fine. With the addition of Burich in the middle which has been a missing piece of the puzzle for the lady Bison for the last couple of years I think Dehoff is moving in the right direction. Now if the ladies can learn how to take care of the ball they will do some damage in the Summit.
Last but certainly not least on the list of Thanksgiving thoughts about the Bison is the tremendous run the Bison Volleyball team has had. Yes it ended abruptly and unexpectedly in the championship game but in my opinion the Bison women who make up the Bison volleyball team are all champions. They have given the fans more than they could ask for. Congratulations to coach Hinterstocker and the ladies for a great run and reason for us fans to be Thankful.
Posted in MVFC, Summit League | No Comments »
October 4th, 2009
I’ve watched the Bison Football team for years. I was really excited when they announced the move to DI FCS football and like most fans have been anxiously awaiting the long overdue Playoff football game in the Dome. A few years ago when we had two 10-1 seasons in a row I like many other fans thought next year when we become eligible our long wait will be over. Then the unthinkable happened. We had a team stacked with talent, some with potential NFL talent play a season of football that nobody expected and fell short of the goal that those who follow Bison football had waited for. So goes the cycle that is college football. Well someone said “there’s always next year” and so it goes here we are at that point. It’s next year folks so what’s going on? This isn’t supposed to happen two years in a row is it? Isn’t this the same coach who led the Bison to two 10-1 seasons? I like many fans have been left scratching my head saying what happened?
Now I know there are no guarantee’s in life or in sports other than the old “death and taxes” thing. I know other teams who have been to the peak in their respective sport at all levels have had off years but usually they rebound the next year and show some signs of hope and promise to the fans that all is not lost and we’ve got reason to look forward to next year. Do Bison fans feel that way this year? Is the proverbial next year comment apply here for you as a NDSU football fan? I sure wish I could answer that with a resounding yes. Sure it’s easy to armchair quarterback or ref from the stands. I like many fervent fans do it every Saturday. But is the real deal as easy? I’ve never been in that position but it’s clear the answer is no it’s not. But this is NDSU and to the ardent Bison faithful this is unacceptable. Roll out the pitchforks and the clubs and other mob-like tools to the masses I feel the crowd gathering at the NDSU football gates.
So how long do the powers at NDSU wait for this turnaround? Can they wait another year for the team to get on track? Will the Dome be full on Saturday’s with a raucous crowd cheering on Bohl and company if they field another team that falls short of the ultimate goal, a playoff game in the dome? Those are tough questions I’m sure Gene Taylor is pondering right now. It cannot be easy to look a coach in the eye (especially one who not long ago led you to those consecutive 10-1 seasons) and say it’s time for a change. But this isn’t just about football it’s about the cost of doing business at the DI level. If the fans or other financial supporters of the team are part of that angry mob calling for the change at the gates of the NDSU football offices Gene may just have to take that step and do what just two years ago would have been unthinkable. The goodwill and positive collateral that Bohl and company had saved up from those 10-1 seasons is about spent. How much of a loan of goodwill and support is Gene willing to offer Bohl and company next year? I guess we will find out but in the meantime they better make sure those gates outside of the NDSU football offices are strong. The natives are restless.
Posted in MVFC | 1 Comment »
March 8th, 2009
Here it is Sunday Morning and the first day after the big NDSU and SDSU wins. Bear in mind I was not at the games so I can’t comment on individual play except for what I heard on Scotty’s play by play calls which he does a fine job. I like so many NDSU fans got lulled into thinking the game was going to be a normal Bison win. The first half was somewhat of a sleeper as the Bison came out Strong and Centennary just seemed to be there but just going through the motions. Well not in the second half. I don’t know what their coach said to them but it certainly lit the fire under them in the second half. I guess we should have expected that since the games in the regular season against the Gents were not cakewalks. Congratulations to them on taking the #1 seeded Bison to the wire. As a Bison fan I was on the edge of my seat hoping the season for the Bison was going to include the next step against either SUU or IUPUI.
The SDSU men finally took the next step in their season. They finished out a game in the second half that seemed all but impossible. All season they struggled on the road. Yes I know this was hardly a road game given the deafening roar of the crowd everytime SDSU players did something good or ORU’s players did something bad but still. The SDSU men have not finished off an opponent in the second half nearly all season so to do it in the conference tourney against the #2 seed is nothing short of remarkable. While I give the SDSU men props for the comeback win I give the SDSU fans a big thumbs down for rooting against my Bison team.
One more comment I forgot to make. We all know how good ORU has been in the past four years in the Summit Tourney going 11-1 but did you realize that ORU when playing in the Summit Tourney when it’s not in Tulsa lost in the first round the last three times they played outside of Tulsa. ORU has never won two games in a tournament outside of Tulsa since joining the league. Show’s how important having the tourney in a friendly atmosphere really is.
Now a question that I hope some will answer.
1. Just how good or bad was the venue to watch the game in. Please if you have a comment give your reasons as I’ve read and heard some negative comments about the SF Arena. I’ve also heard some good things about it so don’t get me wrong I’m just curious to know your thoughts if you were there.
Sioux Falls Arena good or bad venue for the Summit Tourney?
- Approve (86%, 25 Votes)
- Dissaprove (14%, 4 Votes)
Total Voters: 29
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Tags: Mens Basketball, NCAA, NDSU, Summit league
Posted in Summit League | No Comments »
February 8th, 2009
Well I haven’t been keeping up on the blog like I should and there is lots to talk about. Football recruiting news, the mens & womens basketball teams not to mention wrestling. Also the track season already has 4 events in the books. The winter will soon be on the way out and Spring football and Bison Baseball will be the hot topics but until then we have the Summit Tournament to look forward to. For those who have not yet had a chance to get out and see the Bison men or women at the BSA times running out. These players and coaches really deserve the support from the fans so hopefully the remaining home games will see good crowds. It’s also a great way to beat the winter blues and stay warm as the BSA is like a Sauna the last few times I’ve been there. So thats it for now short and sweet but I’ll work on keeping the blog more active with more timely posts.
See ya at the BSA.
Tags: Bison Basketball, Summit league
Posted in MVFC | No Comments »
December 6th, 2008
I’m only commenting here because of the story in todays paper. Click here for the link to the story
I think there are two ways to look at this story.
1. It’s a bit disingenuous to say it’s “Normal” turnover when you have nearly half the presidents cabinet “retire” or “seek other opportunities” or whatever reason they want to give. I don’t recall a time when I’ve seen this happen at any other school. I’m no expert and don’t follow every schools administrative moves either so maybe I’m wrong but it sure does seem odd to me that all these people are leaving. At the surface things seem to be going about as well as can be expected at this stage of the transition for UND but is there more to this story thats not being reported? I can’t believe Harmeson was real excited to have his position under Kupchella cut by Kelly. I don’t disagree with the new president I think Harmeson was/is a cancer up at UND but that’s just my opinion. The rest of the cabinet I really don’t know enough about to comment.
2. The second way to look at it is this could be good for the future relations of NDSU and UND. If the new president is putting the clamps on so to speak and these moves are a result of that so be it. Only time will tell on whether he really wants to work constructively with the legislature and the rest of the university presidents or will he be another Kupchella in that he only wants to further the funding gap between UND and NDSU? I kind of doubt it since it seems folks are jumping ship. Would appear that its a sign of change for the better up North. Will the replacements for these people be from the outside or will he move people up from within UND? Another interesting question and one that could go a long way in answering the question about just how much is changing up North. It will be interesting to see how it develops thats for sure.
Posted in Summit League | 7 Comments »
September 21st, 2008
Well I was planning on reworking the blog page for quite some time and replaced the old blog software with some new hopefully better software. I worked on this earlier this summer but it got put on the back burner and the blog has been unavailable for some time now. While its still a work in progress yesterdays game at YSU gave me reason to come back to it this morning and make it available to all. Why I really don’t know as the game was nothing to write about from an NDSU fans perspective anyway. It’s always a good idea to wait until the next day to start commenting about a disappointing game. I didn’t wait though on the message board and was fairly critical of the way we played or didn’t play in Youngstown. While the season is far from over this game if not the last three games should have told us something. Our passing game is going to have prove itself. To date it has not.
Lets go back and take a look at the CCSU game for a moment. They schemed us well even though they took a loss in the game. Other teams have and will continue to do the same thing to the Bison until Mertens and the Bison can prove they can pass the ball efficiently. Force the Bison to pass and you have a good chance to win. This isn’t a knock on Tyler either but if he’s not at 100% and he’s not likely going to be for the rest of the season as an opposing coach why wouldn’t you do that? Even if Tyler has a good day if you employ the bend but don’t break philosophy against the Bison in the running game then the passing game will have to make up the difference. In that category the Bison have failed. I won’t lay the blame completely at Mertens feet either. They Wyoming game had plenty of goats in it if you cared to look. Dropped balls were the order of the day. While no player will ever play flawlessly the Wyoming debacle forced Mertens to have to throw more then he should have and we lost the turnover battle. YSU had a good game plan and executed it well. It wasn’t anything fancy just good old fashioned smash mouth football. The kind the Bison are supposed to play and hopefully win more often then not. Yesterday we didn’t and it was due to execution not only on offense but on defense. Speaking of defense what happened to ours? Wasn’t this supposed to be the strength of the Bison team this year? A bye week couldn’t come at a better time. Give the Bison a chance to rest some players and get well. Coaches can look at tape and hopefully correct some glaring problems on both sides of the football. Give the players some time to process the last two weeks and come out at home in two weeks better prepared to play the kind of football the Bison are used to. Even though the next home game doesn’t have all the glitter of a top 10 team coming into the dome for a game it’s likely going to determine if the Bison go to the playoffs this year or not. If the players can’t get up for that one and come out flat again this season will be one to forget about which is sad considering it’s not even half over. NDSU fans wanted a conference, well now we have one. Looks like some Bison fans maybe got a bit ahead of themselves in pedicting wins and losses to teams in this conference who they thought we’d beat. I’m as guilty as the rest in that category but yesterday changed my tune. Hopefully it will for some other fans as well.
Posted in MVFC | No Comments »
August 1st, 2008
This will be an ongoing project on BisonSports.Net so bear with us as we get this back up and running.
Posted in MVFC | 1 Comment »