Hi -
 
  Me thinks someone has misinterpreted a pretty good (at least to these
eyes :-) stab at *sarcasm* as an attack on BU/Parker <see further comments
below> ....
 
On Thu, 1 Jan 1998, Edward N. Moller wrote:
 
> On Wed, 31 Dec 1997 13:47:00 -0500 Steve Klein <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> I gotta weigh in on this one to ring out the Old Year. It's been bothering
>> me since October.
>> Let's make sure that EVERYONE knows if BU lost any players to the World
>> Junior Team (like no one else did, too?).
>> Or the World Senior Team.
>> Or the NHL.
>> Or grades.
>> Or knitting classes.
>> Or anything other than the fact THEY LOST A GAME.
>> Maybe we can figure out some way this game doesn't count, either.
>> After all, BU isn't counting the loss to Michigan State in Madison in
>> October. There were all kinds of excuses for that one, too.
>> BU always seems to have some kind of excuse when it loses, so I'm sure there
>> must be one for the Princeton game.  After all, we ALL know that Princeton
>> couldn't have beaten BU unless BU had some excuse.
>>
>> Steve Klein
 
  [snip, snip]
 
> I am sick and tired of the nonsensical rantings posted to this list pertaining
> to the apocryphal excuses BU makes.  BU's players, coaches, and fans have far
> too much integrity and class to offer excuses when the opposing team wins fair
> and square.  To intimate that the Terriers are anything less than a standup
> group is indicative of the poorest kind of envy and sportsmanship that give
> competition a bad name.
>
> I submit the following:
> 1.    Princeton won because they outplayed BU.
> 2.    Only Greg Quebec, a third line forward, was out due to injury.
> 3.    There were no Terriers out for international play.
> 4.    BU is not the only team that isn't counting the October tournament.
> 5.    I agree that the NCAA should rule quickly on the October tournament.
 
  While not presuming to speak authoritatively for Mr. Klein, I would wager
that he'd agree with you on each/all of your points made above.  My take on
his post quoted above is that he was *sarcastically* jibing other posts made
to the List over the past weeks/months/years to the effect that whenever a
heavily favored team lost a game 'round the Holidays, there were always folks
looking to blame it on World Junior losses, "rustiness," etc., etc., as though
simply being ouplayed by the opposition was inconceivable.  Let the nay-sayers
wail and gnash their teeth; losses happen, and I dare say that both Mr. Klein
and Mr. Moller share the more knowledgable view that looking for excuses of
the kind parodied above is folly ....
 
> BU is not perfect.  At times their players' behavior has been reprehensible.
> But the constant targeting of Jack Parker on this list and at visiting arenas
> around Hockey East is rubbish.  His 25-year tenure at Boston University is
> testimony to the best that college hockey has to offer.  I challenge anyone on
> this list to provide documented proof that Parker's behavior speaks badly for
> his school.  While some of his players and fans have provided embarrassing
> moments (and which teams have not?), he has always been gracious in defeat.
 
  Calm down .... While I've witnessed some Parker antics that might challenge
your last statement (ask Mike M. to define the Jackie Parker trifecta again
for you :-), that in no way detracts from my respect of the man as the finest
college hockey coach of his generation ....
 
> As for Mr. Klein, your email domain identifies you as an employee of USA-
> Today.  If you are a member of the press, I am sure you can provide us all
> with quotes supporting your claims.  Otherwise, I can only say that your
> remarks serve your employer poorly.
 
  Read his remarks again, this time without the rose (or whatever BU officially
calls its version of "red" :-) colored glasses, and I think you'll see that his
remarks were not intended to inflame, but to gently ridicule some patently
ridiculous nonsense.  If every satirist had to apologize for being clever,
the world would be a *very* boring place <grin> ....
 
  Cheers from the Chesapeake - Jim
 
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