Error during command authentication.
Error - unable to initiate communication with LISTSERV (errno=111). The server is probably not started.
Ryan Robbins already posted the major details about the most recent development in the continuing drama that is known as UMaine athletics, but I'd like to add a few more details and a few comments. First, I want to make a brief comment about UMaine's President, Fred Hutchinson. People may look at the fact that several problems with athleticsat UMaine have come to light during Hutchinson's brief tenure and wonder if there is a connection. There is. But it is not a negative one. Hutchinson is the best president UMaine has had in several years, he is not using this job as a stepping stone to get to the "next level", he genuinely wants to make positive changes to the University. He has taken a no-holds barred approach that was unpopular at first but I believe has shown results. He is not only doing this on the academic front, but also on the athletic front. He is not allowing traditions or egos to stand in the way of progress on campus, and he is getting results. Everytime he has had to give a press conference during the past year, his number one concern has been "the efficiencyand integrity of the [athletic] program." and if that means, as Ryan put it, heads must roll, then they will roll. In the past week several posts have appeared on hockey-l with rumors about illegal activities within the UMaine hockey program. In recent months the university has come under fire for several wrong doings, and each time, Hutchinson has acted swiftly when all the facts were presented to him. Hutchinson is going to clean up the program, and hopefully put a stop to the rumors (some true, some unfounded) that have been circulating about UMaine athletics. I think a lot more schools around the country could use a man like him in charge. End of "Fred Hutchinson for President of the Year" speech. How this will affect the hockey program: One Maine hockey player was found to be ineligible. Unfortunately, the player named was Patrice Tardif, who has endured more than his share of heart breaks in the recent past and has risen to become the emotional (and scoring) leader on the team. Accordingto Hutchinson,"[He] played by the rules" and "did nothing wrong", the fault goes to the UMaine Athletic Department, not the students. Too bad the students involved are the ones who are going to have to pay a dear price for the incompetance of the people in the Athletic Department. Because Tardif has been named ineligible, it is likely that UMaine will have to forfeit every game in which he played (any of this sound familiar?). It is unclear exactlyhow the NCAA and Hockey East will handle this situation but its likely to have a profound impact on the Hockey East standings and seedings for the Hockey East Tournament, now only a couple of weeks away.I don't have the stats sheet, but I believe Tardif has played in every game this season for the Black Bears, which means they would have to forfeit the entire season to this point, effectively placing them last in the league. However, the Portland Press Herald article does paint a rather optimistic picture, saying that UMaine would still qualify for the HE Tournament, and if they won that, they would gain an NCAA automatic bid and the chanceto win the title again. I think the PPH is trying to sugar coat this story just a tad. They fail to point out that both HE and NCAA could bar the Black Bears from entering their respective tournaments.All this kind of makes the Jeff Tory incident look small, and it appears that the decision by the HE AD's earlier this month to give 6 points to Providence will be inconsequential since Maine would have to forfeit them anyway, and I think PC would have gotten all 6 points in this situation anyway. As for the integrity of Maine's program, that is shot for now. The NCAA is likely to begin (if they haven't already) a broad-sweeping investigation into the Athletic Deptartment. However, in the long run, I think that the fact that this has come to lightwill be beneficial to the program. For several people (myself included) the integrity of Maine's programhas been in question for some time, even before the Cal Ingraham/Jeff Tory fiascos, the Women's Basketball debacle and this most recent situation. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction. I only wonder how much more will be found out in the coming months. One other note, as soon as this came to light, AD Michael Ploszek and others re-examined the roster of the 92-93 hockey rosterand found no similar cases, so at least the the National Championship will remain in Orono...for now. John Forsyth 1991-93: 73-5-2..oh how the mighty have fallen. UMaine/Team Canada: The Gold Medal Connection