My family and friends are at this moment sitting in the next room watching the Maine-UNH game. I just thought I'd post some thoughts. We've had a heck of a month. We went through a struggle with team USA, and my heart went out for those 6 Maine kids. Thinking we'd salvage something from the Olympics, the family gathered round the TV on Sunday morning and watched a gut-wrenching gold medal game, only to watch Paul Kariya fall inches short after a heroic game (think back at the amount of ice time he had toward the end of the game AND the fact that he was the last USA player to score in the shootout). So, we try to forget the Olympics with a local focus, and our spirits are raised with some great final month play by the Black Bears. This throughout the athletic department's death of 1000 cuts by all of those silly violations. On to tonight. We hear that we're being banned from the HE tourney. I'm steamed. I want to lash out. I probably want to say a few things I'll regret later. Everyone I talk to up here is feeling the same way. This after I've had some great chats with hockey-l'ers about tourney possibilities. Then comes the interview with Coach Walsh. I breath in. What will he say? Something to the effect of "hey, we know as a team we had no control over this. We need to band together, play a great weekend, and carry it on to the next year". Thanks, Coach. See you at Skate with the Bears. Larry Latour UMaine