I tried posting a message last week but Deron informs me that it did not get through. The one time I don't save a copy of a message and it doesn't make it through - that figures. I have attempted to rewrite it... What I write will likely upset some people, but I also think it will strike a chord with others who perhaps feel the same but don't want to say anything. I bear no ill-will towards any player who leaves the University of Maine Hockey Program. If anything, it only proves that they were good students after all: They have learned the lesson of the 80's and 90's - look out for #1. That is not to say I am pleased that they are leaving. I am sorry to see them go, but realize the opportunities they have, and the short period of time in which they have to fulfill them. I was sorry to see players leave in 1992 and 94 to play with Team USA and Team Canada; and I am sorry to see these players leave now. But as I recall, it was seen at that time as a great opportunity when those players left. It was a chance for the University of Maine to send athletes to star in international competition, bringing fame to themselves and to the institution. I was personally heart-broken when Jean-Yves left to sign with the Rangers. I was there when his contract came, and I joked he should tell them he had reconsidered - then I saw all the 000's. It was his opportunity to do what he loved, and get paid at the same time. How many people are fortunate enough to have that chance? These players do not have long to prove their talent and earn that living before their chance has passed. If a person has a chance to improve his life, I wish him all the best. As for Tim Lovell..most people, in this group and elsewhere, have assumed that he left to gain exposure for a hopeful pro career. They have suggested that going to UMass was not the best move for such exposure. While that may be true, I have a different premise for his departure from UM, which has nothing to do with his prospects. I have not spoken with him, and I have heard him say nothing to this effect, but I do know a little of what those players are going through. I think that a possible reason for Tim's transfer from Orono is nothing more than his way of escaping a bad situation. Having UM Hockey associated with your name is no longer the positive it once was. People no longer ask me how the team looks this season, they ask how much I knew and why didn't I do something to stop it. No one ever talks about what was possibly the greatest hockey team to ever step into a college arena, they say we cheated and didn't deserve to win. Having worked in the hockey office is now like saying you - sorry for the comparison, especially since Jack Parker was the first to make it, but its the way I feel - worked in the Nixon White House. I think Tim saw a way to escape an environment where lies, deceptions, half-truths and cover-ups had become a way of life; where the focus was no longer on what you did on the ice, but what the coach had done for the previous decade off the ice; where the media threw around words like "scandal," "sanctions" and "death penalty" in nearly every story featuring the program and the school. It is not pleasant to have your name associated with such characteristics, and could be potentially damaging to a person's prospects, not to mention their psyche. And a message for our temp. head coach. As I recall, Shawn always managed to have a printout of anything I wrote on hockey-l shortly after I posted it, so I trust this will pass before Greg's eyes at some point. Please stop whining. You whined after a small turnout at a home game last season, neglecting the fact that one of the winter's worst storms was raging outside. You have whined about the NCAA investigation, the subsequent sanctions, and now you are whining about loyalty to (your quote) "my program." I must have missed the press release where you were named permanent head coach. That aside, you have no right to complain about loyalty. These players owe you, Shawn and the school nothing. For every dime in scholarships they have earned, they have brought back ten-fold in the form of merchandising, TV rights and alumni and corporate donations to the school and program. For every day you, Shawn and Grant spent recruiting them, they have brought you wins and glory. If the coaches want to see who is responsible for breaking the bond of loyalty, use a mirror. It was not the players who broke the rules. They did not get caught with their hands in the cookie jar. They did not try to cover their actions by lying and tampering with witnesses. They did not go crying to the media about how unfair it all was. They went out, worked their butts off and had a damned good season, when it would have been very easy to throw in the towel. I have said it before, and I'll say it until I am blue in the face (or have writer's cramp in this case) They are the ones who have suffered despite the fact that they did absolutely nothing wrong. While those who destroyed the university's image and reduced the program to ashes with their actions remain employed, earning some of the top salaries to come out of the taxpayer's pockets. Who betrayed whom? One last message: I trust Grant's skill at recruiting players. He has brought some of the best to Alfond. While they may only be freshmen, and weren't expected to play much this season, some of these kids might surprise you. Rather than sitting in the stands watching, they'll have a chance to play. Someone might even step up and lead the team. It wouldn't be the first time Maine found a diamond in the rough (see: Mike McHugh). So please, no more whining. Pull yourself up and try to carry yourself the way the university believes you can. Do the best with what you've got and get on with it. Expectations couldn't be much lower, so you have nothing to lose. Win or lose, if we see effort, you'll earn our respect. If we pick up the paper or turn on the news and hear you complaining, you'll start to see even more empty seats - and not because of blizzards. I don't know when I'll be in to read my mail again, but I'm sure I'll have a lot to read.... John Forsyth "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth - because I wear Super Shoes" Lou Gehrig, as told by Keith Olbermann in protest of classic movies being re-touched for use in commercials.