In article <[log in to unmask]>, Bri Farenell <[log in to unmask]> says: > >Just a thought though, as much as I may not like Shawn Walsh, it's >unfortunate that his name will be dragged through the mud because of >this year's incidents. Although he may have bore some blame for the >Tory incident, neither the Ingraham nor it appears, the Tardif situation >was there anything he could have done about it. ...... > >As for the Tardif situation, is Carville as incompetent as he seems? I mean, >he was the NCAA COMPLIANCE OFFICER. He's supposed to know the NCAA rules. > Both of the above are very good points. This is what I was pointing out earlier, when some people aired the possibility that the Maine hockey program might be "out of control". >I also wonder why the athletic people, whomever, didn't relay >Tardif's potential ineligiblity to the coaching staff. Since they >allegedly knew as early as Thursday, they had time, according to the >AP, to get in contact with Walsh or his staff and inform him that Tardif >may have been ineligible. > This one is definitely inexplicable. It seems logical that as soon as it was found out that Tardif might be ineligible, they should have rested him for that weekend series with BU. The blame is certainly on someone in the athletic dept. for not letting the coaches know. Maine could have salvaged 2 more games and avoided these questions, at least. >My question is: >a) Do any Mainers know for sure if Tardif has turned pro or if he's > going to shortly? >b) If it was his concern for an education that prompted him to go to > grad school, then why should his athletic ineligiblity affect > his staying in grad school or not? > From what I've read/heard, Tardif had one year of eligibilty left for playing hockey; and the Blues, who had drafted him, wanted him to stay at Maine and get the additional experience. Whether he was also motivated by gaining the extra education - I don't think that I or anyone else, other than Tardif himselfcan answer that question. While his decision to leave immediately after his apparent disqualification might appear to point in any one direction, it still can be only speculation. Considering that he completed his Bachelor's (while several student athletes don't), and the way his hockey days seem to have ended (I don't think any athlete would like to finish his/her program in such a manner), I am willing to give him the benefit of doubt, and can probably understand why he would choose to leave. The interesting question is: what would he have done next year, if none of this had happened? Would anyone be upset, if he'd chosen to leave without finishing his graduate program? Cheers Venky [hoping that all this mess is resolved soon]