I have enjoyed being on Hockey-L for quite a few years now. When I joined Hockey-L back in the 91-92 season, Hockey-L was a great list. It was comprised of quality hockey commentary and constructive criticism. Not anymore. Let's label 1996-97 as the "year to take cheap shots at Michigan." Michigan is a quality hockey program with quality hockey fans. Yes--I'll say this right up front--Michigan has many bandwagon & obnoxious fans as well. SHOW ME A TEAM THAT DOESN'T. If you're going to take every shot you can against Michigan, fine, just don't even try to tell me that your team is perfect. The Michigan Hockey team is comprised of quality young men. They have worked very hard this season and they were expected, BY NEARLY EVERYONE IN THE COLLEGE HOCKEY FIELD, to repeat as champions. Not everyone may have wanted it to happen, but they expected it to. Come on, people, no matter where you are from, you can't argue this fact: Michigan came into the Phinal Phour as the favored team. Michigan, ON PAPER, was the best team in college hockey throughout the entire season. However, we all know that paper isn't worth anything come Tournament time. As BU's Jack Parker said when asked about Michigan, on WEDNESDAY: "The best team doesn't always win the championship. It's the team that plays the best two games." Hmm, that phrase sounds familiar. Okay, EVERYONE who's belittled Brendan Morrison, how about doing the same to Jack Parker? I mean, after all, he said it first ;-) . BU played a better game than Michigan on Thursday. NoDak played a better game than BU on Saturday. NoDak has the right to call themselves National Champions. No other team in College Hockey can make that claim. At 08:07 PM 3/31/97 -0600, Charles Bell wrote: >>>>>>>> = He started talking to us, and went mentioned that he played for UND back = in the 60's. Furthermore, he talked about playing against Red Berenson. = He said that his coach at the time pointed Berenson out to him and told = him to defend him and watch out for him at all times. He said that toward = the end of the game that Berenson speared him and as he sat on the bench, he = noticed he was bleeding from the wound. He also had a championship ring = from that year. CHEAP SHOT. Let's do a little research... NoDak won the National Championship in 1963. Berenson's senior year was 1962. Hmmmmmmm.... = sat next to Coach Blais and got to talk to him throughout = the game. He said before the game that Michigan was basically in a league = of their own and said that he was surprised that they lost any games = during the year. Hmmmmm again. It seems that Coach Blais thought that Michigan was the best team too. = Unfortunately, the line took away most of the respect that I have = for Morrison. Oh, come on. A) the context in which Brendan made the comment. Most people seem to have forgotten that Brendan was in the middle of thanking & consoling his teammates--all of whom showed up to applaud their friend; and B) Jack Parker and Dean Blais seemed to think that Michigan was the best team. I don't hear you ridiculing them. Now, let me say this. Michigan may have been the best team going into the phinal phour, but they did not come out with the National Championship trophy. The players will have to live with that. I did not feel that Michigan was the best team in Cincinnati. They came home with the trophy. That's the way sports work. When the puck is dropped, or the first pitch is thrown, or the ball is kicked off, it becomes irrelevant "who the best team is"--it all becomes "who wants it more." BU and NoDak, this year, wanted it more. BU outplayed Michigan and they deserve every bit of praise for it. BU & NoDak played an excellent and exciting championship game. They deserve every bit of praise for doing so. And the University of North Dakota is the NCAA Division I 1997 National Champion. They deserve every bit of it. = Some kid from Illinois - Don't know who this person was, but he was = frantically giving me the thumb's down sign on Friday as his mother was = speeding past me on the beltway. I promptly gave him another sign (use = your imagination). = <<<<<<<< Boy, Mr. Bell, giving (use your imagination) signs to kids. And you dare call others classless. I'm sorry. I'm sick of every little thing being taken out on the Wolverines. The Michigan Hockey team is as classy and generous and hardworking as any other team out there. And that's a statement that I'll stand behind until the day that I die. Roger Spurgeon University of Michigan Hockey (and damn proud of it). HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.