> David from Wisconsin writes:
  (that's me)
 
> > *THE NEXT DAY* Sauer was told that if they lost to CC (remember, this
> > was before NMU beat Minnesota for the WCHA Tournament Championship),
> > that they wouldn't be in the NCAA (and Providence would be).
> > Sauer was very upset by this news.  Derksen played, and the Badger's won.
> >
> > That evening, NMU beat Minnesota for the WCHA Tournament
> > Cahmpionship, and NMU Coach and NCAA Committee Member Comley
> > openly lobbied for Wisconsin to be 5W and the Wildcats 6W. (That
> > sounds harsh -- I am not saying Comley did anything wrong -- it
> > was the circumstances that were wrong. Seedings shouldn't be
> > subject to political pressure).
> >
> David, I'm pretty uncomfortable with seeing something like this on a
> nationally distributed list without more background.  Even though you
> say you feel Rick Comley did nothing wrong, what you relate certainly
> looks bad, in a couple of respects, to others, I think.(It does to me
> and you know who I root for!).  Would you please tell us your source
> for such detailed and intimate information?  Thanks.
 
It was in both Madison newspapers and reported on the radio by
both radio stations that cover Wisconsin hockey. There was one
point that was vauge or conflicting in the reports, however, and
I guess I could have elaborated:
 
	It isn't clear to me WHO told Sauer that Wisconsin had
	to beat CC on Saturday. The radio said Rick Comely told
	him. The paper said something to the effect of "rumors began
	circulating of an Eastern lobby pushing for Providence"
 
As for the lobbying by Rick Comley to get the 6W seed, Andy Baggot,
college hockey beat reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal reported
that he lobbied for it Saturday night, and said something about his
comments during the press conference the next day. Since I didn't see
the press conference, nor do I have the paper here right now, I can't
say any more about it.
 
I realize that my comments sounded bad. I honestly didn't mean to be
critcizing Comley. His job is coaching the Wildcats, and he did a good
job of it. I don't think anyone took him seriously, but his lobbying
was not reported as a joke.
 
So, two points:
 
	1) Yes, people out here knew that 6W was probably the "best"
	seed
 
	2) The way the tournament is structured, the teams selected,
	and the teams seeded leads to several problems, including an
	appearance of conflict-of-interest, no matter who is on the
	committee, as long as the committee is coaches and ADs of
	schools that are in the tournament.
 
--david