On the subject of kids being recruited who aren't interested in the
academics of being in school, I wholeheartedly agree that this is a
problem.  I don't see that it is related to the issue of Canadians, though.
A lot of the Canadian students do very well in school, and there are
plenty of Americans who don't seem interested; we've had several of them
here at Minnesota.  I can't say how many, since the only way I find out
about the problem is when they leave the team, but it happens.
  I received private e-mail from an individual telling me that I obviously
never played hockey since I don't understand the unspoken biases against
players from across the border.  Now, I'll admit that I never played
hockey; hell, I never even learned to skate.  I do know something about
intense rivalries, though.  As I've stated before, part of my inability to
see the point of Minnesota partisans on this issue is that I am from
out-of-state.  I think the most value is obtained from going away to
college.  Use it as a chance to broaden one's horizons.  The whole concept
of limiting a school's recruiting to a local area strikes at the very heart
of what a university ought to be about.  I don't care how passionate the
ties are or how talent heavy the local area is.  This sort of narrow-minded
parochialism is exactly what higher education is supposed to combat.  Don't
get me wrong, I love it here in Minnesota.  I just think that the
experience of becoming teammates for four years with players from a wider
geographical region than Rochester to Warroad is important.
 
On to the subject of the RPI.  Charlie Shub noted that Colorado College
fell after beating Air Force.  I've long been a proponent of having a
strength of schedule measure in any rating system.  However, CC isn't a
worse team for playing and beating Air Force than they would be if they
hadn't played them at all.  Is there any way in the numbers to allow a team
to drop a win from its record if such a game hurts their standing?  Should
the NCAA go to such a system if the numbers allow it?  Colorado College is
locked into these games with Air Force for a lot of reasons that they
couldn't get out of if they wanted to (such as that Air Force is letting
them use their arena).  Is it fair to punish CC for playing these games, or
any other team in a similar situation?  They're in a no win situation; win
or lose, these games hurt their tournament chances.
 
J. Michael Jackson
 
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