Pardon me, but its been a long time since I've quoted Yogi...
thats Berra, not Bear  :->
 
According to the article in this morning's Portland Press Herald, UMaine
is "considering legal action to block the decision".  The "decision", of
course, is that made by the Hockey East ADs to ban UMaine from playing
in the HE Tournament. An aide to UMaine President Fred Hutchinson
says Hutchinson 'feels that the action takenby Hockey East once again
punishes the student athletes for events that were totally outside their
 
control and responsibility' according to the paper.  John Diamond, acting
director of public affairs said Friday night that "one possible action
that we might take is a temporary restraining order against Hockey East."
Should UMaine go through with this action, and a judge approve it, UMaine
would then be allowed to play in the Tournament.  Hutchinson plans to
meet this weekend with Joyce Wheeler, the university's counsel to discuss
legal options.
 
Not to be brash, but if it worked for Tonya...who knows
 
As for the players and coaches, they were naturally surprised and hurt
by the decision.  When Shawn Walsh was informed of the decision hesaid
in a "surprised" voice, "Really?  Is that right?"  Whether Walsh meant
'right' as in 'correct' or 'right' as in 'just or fair' the paper didn't
say, but I guess a case can be made either way...  Walsh then went to the
locker room to tell the players.  "The kids were devastated.  I feel for
the kids. Its a disturbing precedent to be set." After the game Patrice
Tardif said, "It just cut our legs off right before the game.  The guys
tried their best, but it was really hard to play a good game."  Tardif
went on say that the Hockey East tournament would not be the same without
UMaine playing.  "If a team can't beat us to win the championship, it isn't
a championship because they didn't play Maine."  History would seem to
back him up...Although 7 of the 8 HE teams are within an hour of Boston,
and the tournament is played there each year, for the past 7 seasons the
road to the HE Tournament Championship has gone through Maine.  For the
first time in 7 years, Maine will not be playing in the final.
(I'm not saying that they would have this year, just pointing that out)
 
The other story surrounding the team was whether or not the Ferraro Twins
would play.  At first they had decided not to play, since they would lose
a full season of eligibility, and only be able to play in 2 games (barring
legal action and/or the NCAA giving Maine a berth in the NCAA Tournament).
But Chris and Peter talked to their father and Walsh, and 15 minutes before
the game, Peter Ferraro Sr. walked out of the locker room and gave a
"thumbs up".  The Ferraros now have two years of eligibility remaining.
 
I am disappointed that Maine won't get to play next weekend, I do agree
that the tournament won't be the same without the Bears.  There can be
(and will be) discussions over whether or not this punishment was fair,
but my view is that these players deserve better.  Whether you say the
fault lies with the HE ADs, the UMaine athletic department, or both, the
kids deserve better.
 
One other note, I did find the article pertaining to the number of credits
required by UMaine graduate students.  In it one of the student athletes
told the paper that she only took 6 credits because she was told the
university had changed its requirements (which was false), and she was
never informed that the NCAA required 8.  The paper failed to point out
that the information given to the player was incorrect, therefore I
assumed it was correct and posted it here.
 
John Forsyth
Still wondering what a "Zipperhead" is...