I did see it -- it sounds as if people had to ask permission to show some kind of distaste for the current coaching leadership.  Nothing was said about how the protest was staged.  Tim said that it was a distraction to the players, their families, the staff and their families and they essentially needed to ignore it and keep playing and hoping for wins.

I just checked the WABI website and the clip is not available.  It might be after they use it again on the 11:00 news tonight.  I haven't seen anything about any sort of protest written up in the Bangor paper ... check www.wabi.tv later and see if they post the clip.

On Tue, Dec 13, 2011 at 6:51 PM, Jon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

I guess WABI asked Tim about the fans wanting him fired tonight on the news. I didn't see it, did anyone see it?

Jon

On Tue, Dec 13, 2011 at 10:36 AM, Wayne Smith <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

On Mon, Dec 12, 2011 at 9:03 PM, Matt Dewkett <[log in to unmask]> wrote, in part:

I think the telling sign in all of this is Grant Standbrook "retiring".  If you retire to spend time with your family, and then ultimately get back into coaching and recruiting halfway across the country rather than in your own back yard, that speaks volumes to the situation in Orono.

While I don't disagree with this statement, it's not necessarily true/fair. 

Coach Standbrook did stay on at Maine longer than he planned and well after his wife had retired.  They retired to Florida.  He apparently got a call from Jim Montgomery to come up for a few days to help new head coach Jim with goalies.  I can imagine Jim pleading that he was in over his head and didn't know what to do with (so-and-so).  So Grant went up for a few days ... and  that became a week and then a month.   I think the case could be made that college hockey wasn't out of Grant's blood, and though his intention was retirement, maybe there should be more coaching.  Accounts I've heard has Jim and Grant turning their club around in a big way.

That said, I've heard Grant wasn't comfortable with some of the roles Tim needed.

AD Abbott has some serious work to do.  He found an incredible person to lead women's basketball ... I just hope he can be retained ... but I digress.

Comments by Jon and Bob on development are perhaps as serious, as it should be obvious that the Maine state government and UMaine are not going to contribute the funds necessary to sustain success as we have become accustomed.  Maybe fund-raising  is concentrating on the larger donors and so "we" get the student calls?  Maybe fund-raising is concentrating on the relatively large ($14M) Memorial Gym/Field House project?  We did get a $4.85M renovation to the Alfond last summer ... not too shabby. ;-)

If the extent of the plan is to terminate the current coach, we don't have much of a plan, IMHO.  While winning game against the best of college hockey may be what we want, it's the result of what is done, not what we can do directly ... if that makes any sense.

If you could buy wins, then the BCs, BUs, Michigans and Minnesotas would win most of the time.  Hmmm, they do win most of the time.  How to compete?  I'm not at all saying we can't ... just that it will take a very, very good plan and very, very good effort and people.

Cheers, Wayne

--
Norinne "Nonni" Hilchey Daly, Ed.D.
Adj. Assistant Professor ~ Animal & Veterinary Science ~  University of Maine
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