(This was written yesterday and forwarded to Wayne for his edification.)
 
    Regarding Wayne's request to stop the bashing and in light of some
    comments I have made lately, I have requested and received permission
    from Wayne to clarify my statements and to apologize for
    causing anyone's blood pressure to rise.  I don't know if this has
    happened much as I've only received a couple of replies to things
    I posted, but I would still like to make known my feelings to
    clear things up.  Please read this as it is of relevance to the
    entire list.
 
    Re: Clarkson/ECAC bashing
 
    I personally have never bashed individual ECAC teams, and I certainly
    have nothing against Clarkson, etc.  I have fundamental differences
    of opinion with the people who run the ECAC, and that is where my
    comments arise from.  I have discussed these before on this list and
    would be happy to do so in person, as I have done with several people;
    I'm not sure many people are interested in hearing it again.  So, I
    am definitely against the ECAC's political structure, but I have nothing
    against individual teams or their fans.  That would run contrary to
    me being a fan of all of college hockey, and I am.
 
    Re: Minnesota/Coach Woog bashing
 
    I meant to rebut the writer who wrote the original article that Carol
    excerpted here and not Coach Woog or all Gopher fans.  I apologize
    for bringing his name into it.  I have the utmost respect for him and
    his program, as I'm sure many of you know.  I'm sorry that the tone of
    my article was such that it could be taken as an attack on Gopher
    hockey or on the Gopher staff.  I did not mean that.
 
    Re: Coach Walsh/other coach bashing
 
    I don't know if anyone has gotten upset at either the Hockeyfest Awards
    posting or the stick posting, but please be assured that both were
    to be taken tongue-in-cheek and I meant no ill will towards Coach Walsh.
    I may disagree with some of his tactics, but I believe he has been
    great for Maine and for the conference.  More than anyone else in HE,
    he has helped elevate it to the level of play it is at now.  I have no
    less than great respect for him and what he has done at Maine in such
    a short time, as I discussed with Doug last week.  The stick posting was
    in response to Carol's humorous comment on stick-tampering; that led me
    to dig out the posting from last year.  Just like last year, I never
    meant to imply that any crookery was being done on his part.  I just
    thought it was worth a laugh again. If Coach Walsh is still receiving
    news from the list, I hope you will send him this to clear this up.
 
    Erik brought up a good point to me about Coach Schafer mentioning us
    getting coaches on the list and that it sure doesn't look good right
    now.  He's right.  A number of coaches have been victims here lately.
    This is not a rink where you can buy a ticket, scream at the bad guys and
    root for the home team.  It's a forum for intelligent discussion about
    the game.  I have never meant to be a party to this abuse, but I'm afraid
    that indirectly I may have been.  That's why I wrote this.  If you
    want to root your team on, it's ok to put something in your .sig, but
    please don't send mail that consists simply of cheerleading.  I would
    like to someday be part of a list that does something no other sport
    does: have coaches, players, etc. as members who can provide unique
    insight into certain things.  That will take a certain amount of
    restraint on everyone's part to remain objective.
 
    And this goes the same for referee-bashing, too!  There has been
    entirely TOO much of that this year.
 
    Ironically, I am (was) also a member of another list (on which I was
    a lurker) that went under *today* because of many of the very same
    things that we have seen here lately.  I don't think any of us wants
    that to happen.  Before you send something out, remember netiquette
    and please consider if it is of interest to most people and if it
    could be misunderstood by anyone as being a flame.  I promise to put
    an extra effort into this and I hope you will follow my lead.  We
    do some great things together, like helping get everyone more up-to-date
    hockey info than you could ever expect from your local media, and
    I want that to continue.
 
    Finally...
 
    If I sometimes appear to be a bit outspoken in my postings, that's
    because I am.  I can't apologize for that.  I really love college hockey
    and that's why you hear so much from me, but I'd like to think most
    of it is interesting to some people.  I also try to be objective in
    most of what I write and I don't do any cheerleading.  I hope folks
    realize I have nothing against any program or person in particular
    and that I basically just support what I think is best for the sport.
    I am always happy to hear from people who disagree with me because
    maybe they know something I don't, and I'm not too set in my ways to
    refuse to change my views.
 
    I don't know if this was necessary, but I'd rather send it out than
    wonder.  Please, send any replies directly to me and not the list.
    Thanks for your time and consideration.
 
 
    - mike