McGregor, Johnson lead Bulldogs out of cellar

There will be the usual “Senior Night” at WCHA home sites for this weekend’s regular-season finales, and when UMD plays host to Wisconsin, it will be an emotional moment for Bryan McGregor, Jeff McFarland, Ryan Geris, and Josh Johnson. If the WCHA wanted to advertise the benefits of completing four years of college hockey, the perfect method would be a poster of that Bulldog quartet.

McGregor would have to be front and center in any such array, because he has the most compelling story of the four. He came to the University of Minnesota-Duluth as a highly-sought, 112-point scorer for the Vernon Vipers, champions of the junior British Columbia Hockey League. Then he sat and waited, played a little, sat some more, and waited, but he understood, as a freshman on a veteran team. He admits he spent three restless years failing to get much chance, and at one point had packed up to leave for a waiting position in the Junior A Ontario Hockey League. But he decided to stay, even though he scored only 9 goals-12 assists—21 points – total, through three miserable seasons.

As a senior, there was little indication things would be different, but he was different. But he has worked his way to a major-impact senior year. He played hard and effectively to move from the third line, to the second, and has finally become a solid resident on the first line, a solid 6-foot, 210-pounder who moved from center to right wing with sophomores Mason Raymond on the left, and MacGregor Sharp at center.

“Coach (Scott) Sandelin told me to quit thinking about hockey, to just go home and work someplace, and don’t even think about hockey until I came back to school,” said McGregor. “I went back home to Niagara Falls, Ontario, and worked construction, and I came back with a fresh perspective – a clean slate. I knew I had to come out of the gate well, too, but I had 10 breakaways in the first eight games and didn’t score. I’ve probably had 65 breakaways this season, and I should have about 50 goals.”

McFarland, another hard-working senior who has been a solid team guy but without much to show for it, and Geris, a defenseman who was granted a final year of eligibility after two injury-plagued seasons, also are hard-luck stories. So is Johnson, a goaltending star at Cloquet-Esko-Carlton High School, who won the Frank Brimsek Award as the stateÂ’s best goalie with a 1.67 goals-against average, and eight shutouts en route to a state tournament trip. He had one solid year of junior hockey, but had never started more than four consecutive games during his first three seasons. He slid to a career-low 3-4 record with a 4.19 goals-against and .848 save percentage last season, as a junior.

After Johnson, Nate Ziegelmann, and Alex Stalock each played a period of the 8-1 preseason romp over Lakehead, freshman Stalock was granted the position, starting the next10 straight games. Johnson started only one of 17 games. When Sandelin decided to try alternating him with Stalock, he suffered a bad cut on his hand when teammate Andrew Carroll jumped over the boards while Johnson was manning the gate on the bench, and was set back another three weeks. He finally got into an alternating spot during Christmas break. In January, Johnson beat Michigan Tech, Colorado College, Northern Michigan, and took over after also beating Denver to open February. He has started a career-high five straight games, and has gone 4-1-1, and 6-2-1, with a loss and tie at North Dakota and the other loss against St. Cloud State.

For the year, Johnson goes into the Wisconsin series with a 7-4-1 season record – equaling half of his total victories through three seasons (14-12-2) – and has a 2.51 goals-against average and has brought his save percentage steadily upward to .901. He said he couldn’t remember where he was playing, possibly Cloque-Esko-Carlton High School, the last time he started five straight games, but in the five he has a 3-1-1 slate and a 2.00 goals-against mark.

If JohnsonÂ’s patience has been a virtue, McGregor also is nearing the end of his college days, but he seems to be just beginning to realize the potential that had failed to materialize through three seasons of part-time work, which could make him a plum as a free-agent for some discerning NHL team.

McGregor has 13-11—24 statistics this season, exceeding the 21 points he totaled in his first three years. Raymond, the team’s most explosive scoring threat, has 14-29—43, and has been involved in 45.3 percent of all of UMD’s goals this season. McGregor has worked well with him, and scored seven of his season’s goals in a six-game surge that also has coincided with UMD’s late-season upswing. The last goal in McGregor’s run was last weekend in the 3-2 victory over Alaska-Anchorage, which also was the sixth time he had scored UMD’s first goal in a game, before he failed to score in the 5-0 second game. The sweep lifted UMD out of 10th place, dropping the slumping Seawolves to last, with their WCHA season completed.

“This was the first time I’d ever been on a team that was in last place, and it doesn’t feel too good,” said McGregor, of the long, torturous struggle. “Nobody respects you, around the league or even among our own fans. But you have to go through adverse times. If you never faced it, you won’t know how to deal with it.”

McGregor, more than anyone, knows how to deal with adversity. Back home in Niagara Falls, his parents supported him fully, as did his grandparents, who lived up the street. His grandmother backed him a chocolate cake every time he scored a hat trick in youth hockey. Then he had the chance to play for Cowichan Valley in the British Columbia junior league. He lived with former NHLer Doug Bodger, who taught him a lot through example, and by watching every hockey game and old videos on a 70-inch television set.
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Cowichan Valley acquired a flashy scorer named T.J. Caig and a couple of other players for the stretch run, and a week later, one of them made a serious impression on McGregor. “I was skating a drill in practice,” McGregor recalled, “and this new guy caught me with an elbow and drove it right into my face. It broke my jaw, and I landed face-first. It pretty much shattered my face. The coach rushed me to the hospital, and they had to do a lot of surgery, and put metal in my jaw, and wire my mouth shut.”

Nobody expected him back, but he returned after six months at home, joining Cowichan Valley for a game in Nanaimo. “I was skating out for my first shift, and a guy from their team punched me right in the face,” McGregor said.

He recovered again, and played three weeks with Caig, who was a scoring machine who later was recruited to UMD. “He was my idol,” said McGregor. “But I was doing well. I scored three goals and three assists one night, and after the game, our coach told me I had been traded to Vernon. I couldn’t believe it. But I got a goal on my first shift, got 2-2 in the game, and we went on to win the BCHL championship.”

McGregor scored 49-46–95 for Vernon in 61 regular season games, and added 10-7–17 during an undefeated run through 12 playoff games. That’s a 59-53–112 season in 73 games. So coming to UMD, McGregor had high hopes and unlimited potential.

Instead, he met only frustration when he couldnÂ’t crack the lineup, and more when he’d get in, play well, then be a healthy scratch the next game. That 2003-04 season also was an adjustment off the ice.

“I was rooming with Jesse Unklesbay,” McGregor recalled. “He was 26, and I was 18 — eight years older than I was. WeÂ’d be home at night, and heÂ’d be talking to his fiancé on the phone, and IÂ’m watching cartoons.”

A friendly, personable sort, McGregor adjusted, but he couldnÂ’t adjust to not playing regularly, and he wondered if he had made the right choice by going to UMD. At one point, he was informed that he had a guaranteed spot to play with Peterborough in the prestigious Ontario Hockey League. He was set up with a family to live with, and even told who he would play with on a line.

“I almost left,” he said. “I had my car all packed, and I was ready to go.”

But he stayed, and fought through the frustration. This season, despite the teamÂ’s struggles, has made up for the first three years. And McGregor knows that for him and his fellow seniors, as well as for the whole UMD program, there is still room for more before this season officially ends.

Wisconsin, of course, is the defending NCAA champion, and travels to Duluth needing to beat UMD to survive the hectic middle-of-the-pack battle where the fifth and final home-ice spot for the playoffs is still up for grabs. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, need to keep building on the momentum of their 4-2-1 run in order to have any chance of springing a playoff upset. It would take an opening-round series upset to reach the WCHA Final Five, then three straight victories there to earn an automatic berth in the NCAA.

ThatÂ’s pretty far-fetched. But after what Bryan McGregor has been through, anything is possible. Besides, he scored two goals in three straight games in the last month, but he hasnÂ’t gotten a hat trick yet in a college game. And back in Niagara Falls, his parents and grandparents follow every game Bryan plays. And grandma still sets a chocolate cake mix on the table before every game, just in case.

Cars, surprises, cold, and fun fill Chicago Auto Show

CHICAGO, ILL. — The Chicago Auto Show is, without a doubt, the most fun of the major U.S. shows. At least, from the standpoint of auto journalists who attend media days prior to the public start of the show, which continues through February 18 at McCormick Place, the Chicago show is as casual and low-key as shows at Detroit, Los Angeles and New York are intense and hectic in their attempts to out-sophisticate the rest.

McCormick Place, incidentally, is large enough to encase the Detroit, L.A., and New York shows simultaneously, they tell us, and without question, there is no need for a workout after trying to hit all the displays in a two-day stretch.

Let’s do a quick run-around, which begins with a drive from Minneapolis to Chicago. My son, and photographic helper, Jack, and I departed in a Ford Escape Hybrid. I had driven the Hybrid for the week prior to heading for Chicago and the timing was perfect, because it worked without hesitation during a stretch when it rarely got above zero in Minnesota. A lot of misinformation has been spread about how the Escape uses Toyota licensed technology, when in reality Ford did its own work, but on completion found a half-dozen of its items had been patented by Toyota. Rather than redo things, Ford decided to simply license those few items – and, in fact, Toyota used some Ford techniques in return.

The reason that’s a topic is that I had experienced a previous Toyota Prius that warned “Do Not Drive!” when it got to 20 below zero. The Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive boasts properly of being a “full hybrid,” because it will run on electric power alone, but that’s a two-headed sword, because it doesn’t want to ever run on the gas engine alone, using it instead as a generator for creating electric power. So, in severe cold, if the battery power goes to zero, the gas engine will start, but it doesn’t want to run the car. In the Honda, the gas engine runs all the time, so that wouldn’t be an issue, and further evidence that the Ford Escape Hybrid is not dependent on Toyota’s system, the Escape Hybrid can run on electric alone at low speed, on gas engine alone at high speed, and on both during mid-range or acceleration. It gets better fuel economy in city than on highway driving, similar to the Toyotas, and I got 28 miles per gallon on the 400 miles from Minneapolis to Chicago. I would have liked more, but more on that later.

It was cold and nasty on the way. Semis were off the freeway, closing them in places, and cars had skidded off on ice and packed snow every now and then. Interstate 90 just south of Madison was closed for what sounded like an indefinite period to clear up a semi and car multiple crash, so we veered east on 94, through Milwaukee, and came into Chicago from the north. We made amazingly good time, until we got to Chicago, when we again experienced the best reason for light-rail transit in the universe. Chicago’s “El” works so well because cars and traffic don’t work.

The Swissotel was our headquarters, a great hotel, with a view of Lake Michigan from our 28th floor perch. Bridgestone puts on a great welcome reception for the media, and greeted us warmly. Just as Michelin sponsors a lot of media stuff at Detroit, Bridgestone handles it all at Chicago, and its image is not hampered by the uplift in fun.
At the show, the Midwest Auto Media Association (MAMA) breakfast to kick off media days had Ford executive Mark Fields was the keynote speaker. He kicked off the whole week by proclaiming that Ford was going to rename the 2008 Five Hundred sedan as the Taurus, and the 2008 Freestyle crossover SUV as the Taurus X. The companion Mercury Montego will become the Sable for 2008.

Talk about an identity crisis! Ford’s financial woes have been big news recently, but it can’t even decide what to name its cars anymore. It started with the sleek new Lincoln Zephyr, which reclaimed a proud old name that was used back in the 1950s as Lincoln’s hottest performer. After about six months, they decided to change the name to MKZ. The reason? Ford corporate types decided that Lincoln didn’t get used enough when people talked about the Navigator or Continental by their names only, so it went to MKZ so folks would call it the “Lincoln MKZ.” Of course, those new-age marketing wizards must not have been born when the previous Zephyr lived, because NOBODY called it the Zephyr – everyone called it the “Lincoln Zephyr.” So Lincoln went away from that to try to gain what it might have had with it.

While continuing to make the Taurus as a fleet vehicle in its last days, Ford brought out a slightly smaller sedan, called the Fusion, and a roomier one, called the Five Hundred. And, Ford insisted, we had to spell it out, even though Ford had gained great fame with a numerical 500 years ago. The past few months have seen numerous stories on how sad it is that the loyal Taurus, which was the largest-selling sedan in the U.S. for years, no longer exists. More stories came when the last one rolled off the assembly line. There was enough negative publicity on the TaurusÂ’s demise to make it seem heroic in retrospect. I wondered, at the time, why they just didnÂ’t put the name Taurus on one of the new cars that would replace the Taurus.

Meanwhile, the Five Hundred didn’t sell, more because of a stodgy design – particularly the grille and front end – so new design chief Peter Horbury did a quick makeover to give it a Fusion-like three-horizontal-bar grille, and the marketing guys waved their magic wands. Presto! No more stodgy Five Hundred, and the 2008 model will indeed become the Taurus. It not only benefits from the new grille, but it also gains some clout with the new 3.5-liter V6. Curiously enough, those attributes were all marketed in a very nice Ford overview booklet at the Detroit Auto Show – exactly one month earlier. Ford boasted about what a great job they had done keeping the change secret; I believe it wasn’t all that tough, because they must have made the decision to change within the month between the Detroit and Chicago shows.

After breakfast, Toyota had an introduction to show off its new redesign of the Highlander SUV, enlarged by 12 cubic feet inside, and with 55 more horsepower by switching from 3.3 to 3.5 liters in its V6, and a hybrid version to follow.

General Motors was next, with Saturn introducing the new Astra subcompact. After the Aura proved to be such a success in its first year, the Astra will follow as the little brother this fall. The Aura won the juryÂ’s nod as North American International Car of the Year for 2007, even though it actually is a refaced Opel Vectra with a Cadillac-designed 3.6-liter V6. So the Opel-ization of Saturn continues with the introduction of the Astra, which will be a version of the Opel Astra, also built by GMÂ’s German subsidiary, with a 1.8-liter Ecotec four-cylinder. It makes good sense, economically and technically, to share key components, and that will rise again for 2008 when the new Chevrolet Malibu is introduced. It, too, is a very impressive looking sedan, and it is another version of the Vecta/Aura triumvirate.

Ford’s turn was next, although its press conference had been upstaged by the breakfast announcement. We were informed that the name-change to Taurus was important because “It would take years for Five Hundred and Freestyle to become household names.” Especially, I must add, if sales didn’t drastically improve. The question now will be whether bringing the name Taurus back will also cause the vehicle to fly off showroom floors.

Chrysler Group showed off its new Dodge models, and said the new retro Challenger would come to live for real as a 2008 model. Dodge also showed off enormous 5500 and 4500 Ram models with Cummins turbo diesels boasting 610 foot-pounds of torque, and capable of running on biodiesel.

Volkswagen displayed its new R32 sporty version of the Golf, which is now the Rabbit. Got it? VW has made the GTI separate from the Golf/Rabbit, and the GLI separate from the Jetta (which hasn’t yet been renamed), as their sporty updates. The R32 is more potent still, with the direct-injection 3.2-liter V6 and 4-Motion all-wheel drive, and the direct shift gearbox – a paddle-shifted automatic shared in Audi vehicles. BMW showed off a new Alpina sedan, an aftermarket project, while its new 3-Series coupe and retractable hardtop-convertible stole the set.

Pontiac concluded the day with vice president Bob Lutz introducing the new G8. Now, the new G8 will replace the Grand Prix, being renamed in alpha-numeric fashion as a large, rear-drive sedan with a V8. Grand Prix was a grand old name, to coin a phrase, and alpha-numeric names can be confusing to the point of being maddening. So at least GM canÂ’t ridicule Lincoln for changing Zephyr to MKZ, even if I can.

Curiously, I was one of those asked to vote on the best of several categories, including concept cars. The new Five Hundred and Freestyle were on the ballot, because, I suppose, Ford was still keeping the secret at the time it was filled out. The Volvo XC-60 was not on the ballot, but it was there, and looked great. The hotly anticipated Honda Accord concept coupe was on display, but the even hotter Advanced Concept Coupe was not. I learned, sadly, that the only one in existence was a hard-foam prototype, shown at the Detroit show. As it waited in storage to be transferred to Chicago, the severe cold temperature caused the foam to crack – so the NSX replacement was a no-show. But it was on the ballot. I considered giving it an absentee vote, but instead I gave part of a vote to the Taurus as a write-in.

Later, we discovered a spectacular new concept version of the Mitsubishi Outlander, a hot, sporty vehicle named the “Evolander” to make a connection with the Evolution version of the Lancer. It was not on the ballot, and we didn’t see it until after the vote had to be turned in. I would have ranked it right up there with the Kia Kue and the Accord coupe – which will be out this fall as the 2008 Accord – as my favorites.
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The Chicago show is so much fun because itÂ’s in Chicago, which is filled with night spots, great restaurants, and a vibrant lifestyle, the Blackhawks notwithstanding. By chance, the hockey team was out of town, so we ended up two nights in a row at the House of Blues, the latter at the annual Stars, Cars and Bars party. Jim Belushi surprised most of us by Blues-Brothering up a storm in a stage show that would have made his late brother John proud.

The next morning, we had an early start again, with Porsche talking a little racing and showing off the new redesign – subtle as it may be – of the Cayenne SUV. Then it was next door for Toyota to take over again, this time introducing two new Scion models. Toyota’s plan all along was to revise and change the subcompact entry-level Scion models, so the XA will be replaced by a new XD, which shares platforms with the Yaris subcompact, and the square-ish XB will prove, in Toyota’s words, “We will always have a box in our lineup,” although the new one is a foot longer and three inches wider. These are youth-market aimed, and have attained the industry’s youngest average age of 30, but older drivers also might appreciate the electronic gizmos and the iPod connectivity.

Maserati showed off its magnificent Quatroporte and said it would make a coupe version of that, retiring the MC Victory.

Nissan has redone the huge Armada SUV outside and in, and will offer a V8 engine in the Pathfinder for the first time, boosting it to 7,000-pounds of towing. Kia, from Korea, has a new Kue that is a stunning concept vehicle, and the sporty Rondo SX.

At that point, it was time to take off. We had a long, seven-hour drive back to Minneapolis, and we had given in to a request to seize the opportunity to test-drive the all new Ford F450. Ford trucks start with the Ranger (for now, at least), then the full-size 120, heavier duty 350, and enormo 450 with a giant turbo diesel V8, and dual wheels on the rear. As a 4×4, itÂ’s actually a 6×6, I guess, because it has six drive wheels, counting the dualies. When I saw it, I realized it was huge. It is not like having a living room on the road; it is like having a living room and a large den on the road together.

It was large enough that we passed up our trip-long plan to swing by GinoÂ’s East on the way out of town, to pick up a deep-dish sausage and pepper pizza and eat it on the way home. I never eat deep-dish pizza except in Chicago, where it is the best, and GinoÂ’s, which uses corn-meal in its crust, is worth craving whenever youÂ’re not in Chicago. We blew it, and off we went, still craving GinoÂ’s East.

We made good time, beating rush-hour, so there was only heavy congestion, not gridlock. The big Ford handled well, although it sure filled the lane with little to spare on either side. Sirius satellite radio was good too, with me seeking Coffeehouse for its contemporary singer-songwriters, and Margaritaville, for its Jimmy Buffett-flavored content, but we spent most of the trip at the three comedy stations. ItÂ’s impossible to get too drowsy behind the wheel when youÂ’re laughing at Lewis Black, countless others, or sessions by the late Mitch Hedberg.

On the freeway home, we made it to Osseo, Wis., by dinnertime – just in time to pull off and stop at the Norske Nook for a hot-beef and mashed potatos in a homemade breadbowl, with a small dose of pecan-fudge pie. The meal was great, the pie was sensational, and the coffee was…well at least it was hot. Strong does not equal good when it comes to coffee, and I’m a Dunn Brothers snob because in Minnesota, Dunn Brothers out-Starbucks and out-Caribous all the others. I know where to find it in the Twin Cities, and in Duluth, and even in Forest Lake, at a joint car-wash and Dunn Brothers(?), and I know how long my thermal mug can go between their various locations.

However, while it had been hinted to me that even that gigantic Ford F450 might get 25 or so miles per gallon with the diesel, I was distressed first to notice that diesel fuel was $2.59 a gallon – 30 cents more than premium – and I was distressed more when I calculated and recalculated my fuel economy and couldn’t make it come out any better than 9.1 to 9.7 no matter how I did it.

If it hadnÂ’t been so cold out, I could have taken solace from the fact that if I had been towing a house trailer it probably wouldnÂ’t have gotten any worse than 9.1 either. But then, I didnÂ’t have any house trailer available. That Ford Escape Hybrid’s 28.6 mpg looked really good, about then.

Domestic car-makers score with concepts in Detroit

DETROIT, MICH. — Just because the automotive age seems to be moving rapidly into the future doesnÂ’t mean there wonÂ’t continue to be significant backward glances. The Detroit International Auto Show, always a good barometer of whatÂ’s coming, displayed futuristic concept vehicles and new-wave crossover SUVs, but seemed to counter with such bows to traditions as high-powered sports cars, big trucks, and even some new spins on an old, familiar minivan.

It was the same as media preview days began with the unveiling of the North American International Car and Truck of the Year awards. The 49 North American journalists named the Mazda CX-7 and Ford Edge – two new-wave crossovers – among its three truck of the year finalists, but the winner was the Chevrolet Silverado, an entirely redesigned and reengineered version of the traditional, full-sized stalwart pickup truck as its winner.

The same jury paid tribute to the gas-price concerns of the publilc by naming the Honda Fit – a standard-setter for a new wave of small, economy cars – as one of its three finalists, but named the Saturn Aura as the car of the year winner over the Fit and the traditional best-selling Toyota Camry. The Aura is all-new, based on the German Opel sedan with Cadillac’s 3.6-liter V6 engine, and shares the competitive midsize segment with the Camry.

While those awards were a public relations coup for General Motors, GM also commanded the spotlight with the display of a convertible version of its retro Camaro concept car, plus a stunning new plug-in electric powred sports car concept car called the Volt. The car has a 40-mile limit, but also has an on-board generator that can kick in to add power. GM vice president Bob Lutz said 70 percent of Americans live within 20 miles of work, so they could make the round trip before getting home to plug in the Volt.

Lutz said he was as excited about the Volt as he ever has been about any new vehicle. However, as is usual with electric vehicles, the idea has great merit, but any projection of great numbers of such vehicles faces one as-yet insurmountable challenge: the required increase in power from coal-burning power plants can cause an increase of pollution of such magnitude that it could offset the clean-burning benefits of electric car power.

A bigger sure-thing for GM appeared to be the resurrection of the Malibu name on an interesting new midsize sedan, which looks like a Chevrolet version of the car-of-the-year Aura.

Chrysler, always known for clever auto show introductions, groped a bit for ideas at Detroit. A lengthy video and music theme about bread and butter led up to the introduction of renovated 2008 Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country minivans, which have been the company’s “bread and butter” (get it?) vehicles for 23 years – selling 11 million units in that time. Of the 35 new features claimed for the new vans, by far the most impressive is a swivel-seat idea. Second-row bucket seats spin to face the third-row seats, and a table on a floor post turns them into a picnic or card table. Following the easily stored stow-and-go seat idea, Swivel-and-Go could add another 23 years to the segment it created itself, and from which Ford and Chevrolet have faded from in recent years.
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On the second of three media days, Chrysler put an impressive African drum group to work in a very entertaining session that turned out to be a belabored lead-up to a quite lame comment that the company “marches to the beat of a different drummer” as it displayed the Jeep Trailhawk concept, plus a very impressive — and different – four-seat luxury concept called the Nassau.

On the third of three media days, Chrysler marched out its NASCAR race drivers, including Juan Pablo Montoya, former Formula 1 star who will race a new Avenger this coming season. An Avenger? Yes, it is a compact version on the just-introduced Chrysler Sebring platform, but looking like a compacted Charger sedan. A redone Dodge Viper with an 8.4-liter V10 that boasts 600 horsepower, 560 foot-pounds of torque and sub-4-second 0-60 times.

The domestic Big Three enjoys primary focus in Detroit – the hub of the U.S. car industry – even if all three are slipping against imports outside of the city. Along with GM and Chrysler Group, Ford had the most valid connection with the 100th anniversary of the Detroit show, because chairman William Ford’s great grandfather Henry Ford unveiled the Model T at the initial show in 1907.

Ford seemed most focused on futuristic but real-world presence with the announcement of a merger with Microsoft for a synchronized plan that will coordinate hands-free control of vehicle functions, Bluetooth communications and MP3 and iPod musical devices. Ford also showed off a flurry of new products, ranging from the new Lincoln MKR, to concepts such as a slick design model of the Mustang, an Airstream-inspired crossover SUV, and an Interceptor muscle-car, and a completely redone Focus compact that includes a coupe version.

Prideful as they are of their new designs and soon-to-arrive move into the future, all three Big Three manufacturers are fully aware of how they depend on worldwide partnerships to not only succeed in contemporary times, but to survive in a new and global automotive world.

Minnesota football teams could learn from Boise State

The Christmas-New Year’s holiday season always belongs to football. Even if you hated football, you wouldn’t be able to avoid the almost-daily dosage of college bowl games and NFL season-ending games. This year, however, three different games told a unique story about all the best that can happen in football, as well as the worst – particularly in Minnesota.

First, the University of Minnesota played Texas Tech in Phoenix in something called the Insight Bowl. Nobody knew how prophetic that name was, but it provided amazing insight into the once-Golden Gophers, who have stumbled through a decade of mediocrity under coach Glen Mason.

By parlaying a cluster of patsy nonconference foes, an average Big Ten record of 3-5, and an embarrassing run of nondescript bowl appearances kept alive, for some reason, for teams that reach the .500 level of mediocrity. In 10 years, a record of about .500 overall might sound decent to those for whom mediocrity is a lofty standard, but it includes the 32-48 mark in a Big Ten Conference that more often than not was a “Big Two or Three” in national stature.

I was at a Dodge Classic hockey tournament game in which No. 1 ranked Minnesota was beating Alabama-Huntsville 3-1 despite not having five regulars, who were playing for the U.S. World Junior tournament team. They flashed the Insight Bowl score when it was 7-0, and got a cheer. Then 14-0, 21-0, and 28-0, and the cheers actually lessened, as the fans realized Texas Tech must be a cupcake. When I left Mariucci Arena, it was 38-7 in the second half.

As I walked to my car, I noticed some activity next door, in Ridder Arena. The championship game of the girls high school hockey Schwan Cup tournament was still going on, so I went in and watched the whole third period as Benilde-St. MargaretÂ’s finished a 6-2 victory over Blake for the title.

Then I went to my car, and when I clicked on the radio, the first thing I heard was David Mona, a former classmate of mine who went from journalist to the dark side — a money-making PR career — and became an enthusiastic booster-commentator on WCCO radio Gopher football broadcasts. Wondering by how much the Gophers had won, the first thing I heard Mona say was: “With such an explosive offense, Texas Tech is not the kind of team you want to face in overtime.”

What? Overtime? Sure enough, the Gophers had blown a 38-7 lead and was tied 38-38 on a 52-yard field goal with two seconds to go. As I listened in amazement, Minnesota came up with only a field goal in overtime, then Texas Tech got its turn and sliced through the Gopher defense for a touchdown and a 44-41 victory. All I could think of was my sarcastic assessment that if the Gophers had any class, they would have turned down the chance to go to the Insight Bowl. If they had, Glen Mason would still have his job.

Instead, Joel Maturi, the personable athletic director who has drawn wrath from Twin Cities columnists for being a nice guy, fired Mason after being pressured into giving him a big extension a year ago. The total team collapse against Texas Tech wasn’t the reason, so much as it was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. The camel itself was Mason’s creation. And so were all those straws on its back, built from a decade of similar collapses, leading up to this record Division I nationally televised embarrassment.

Game 2 was the Minnesota Vikings season finale against the St. Louis Rams, although you could go back to the next-to-last game against the Green Bay Packers just as well. The Vikings had a horrible second half of the season, and the fans booed quarterback Brad Johnson for faltering and clamored for quick-footed rookie Tarvaris Jackson to take over. First-year coach Brad Childress, who chose to be a micro-managing play-caller with an extremely conservative and rigid game plan.

When Johnson, always a loyal soldier, kept quiet and tried to make the best of executing game schemes that gave him little latitude for creativity. He would look sharp, and the offense looked efficient, for the first drive, and maybe the second and third possessions, and then opposing defenses made simple adjustments that led to frequent creaming of the quarterback, and clogging the elementary passing routes for cinch interceptions.

At the end, Childress benched Johnson for being the loyal soldier, and put in Jackson, a rookie who seems to have a rocket arm, and Michael Vick-like feet to make a formidable scrambling threat. But alas, given only the same tightly structured game plan, Jackson could only drop back two or three, or five, steps, and pass. He didnÂ’t scramble, and in the end, he couldnÂ’t come up with any plays that were even up to Brad JohnsonÂ’s standards with that offensive structure. In his first start, Jackson led the Vikings to three first downs, a franchise record low, and the only points Minnesota got came on an interception return.

In the dismal finish, against the Rams, the Vikings were a study in ineptitude. After it was over, Childress, to his credit, announced that next year he would have to do a better job of calling plays, in hopes of scoring more. In my mind, I thought back to when my two sons were youngsters, and my wife and I would round up a couple of their friends in the neighborhood, plus the few parents who were willing, and we would arrange touch football games. I remember mapping out plays that created voids by misdirection, then working pass plays that almost always worked.

I also recalled the first Vikings teams, where quarterback Fran Tarkenton would literally crouch down on the dirt-infield portion of the Met Stadium field and diagram an improvisational play in the dirt. They almost always worked. I got so I would rather watch Tarkenton – given the freedom of Bud Grant’s coaching – quarterback a team that might lose rather than somebody else in a carefully patterned victory.

Game 3 snapped me out of those memories. Game 3 was the Fiesta Bowl, in which a Boise State team that was as unheralded as it was undefeated faced ominous power Oklahoma. It seemed almost a condescending token to allow Boise State in to play with the big boys, but that soon became a needless condescension, as the Broncos pounded Oklahoma to build a startling lead. Oklahoma, of course, is far from a pretender, and came stalking back, making up the deficit with cold precision. In the closing minutes, the Sooners caught up, scored the equalizing touchdown, and got the tying two-point conversion on their third try, with penalties saving each team once. Then they kicked off.

On Boise State’s first down, a Sooner safety intercepted Jared Zabransky’s sideline pass and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown. The kick put Oklahoma ahead 35-28 with barely a minute to play. Zabransky brought the Broncos to midfield, but with fourth and 17, and 14 seconds to play, it looked like Cinderella’s coach was already morphing into a pumpkin. But a brilliantly creative version of the “hook and ladder” play, with a 15-yard pass to a receiver who was immediately converged upon by defenders, who were caught completely off-guard by a little lateral to a speeding Jerard Rabb, who went the rest of the way and dived into the end zone for a touchdown with 0:07 left. The kick made it 35-all, and overtime ensued.

Oklahoma got the ball first, and on first down at the 25, Adrian Peterson sprinted around left end and went all the way for a sudden touchdown. The placekick made it 42-35 for Oklahoma. Again, pumpkin time, but maybe thatÂ’s why Boise State wears so much orange.

On their turn with the ball, the Broncos advanced, but in smaller bits. Since they had spent their trick play, it seemed that only a big but programmable play could remain when it was fourth and two, but when they lined up, suddenly Zabransky took off, in motion to the left. Have you ever seen a quarterback go in motion? Neither have I. Receiver Vinny Perretta took the snap, and while a pass to the roaming quarterback seemed likely, Instead, Perretta passed to his right, to tight end Derek Schouman, for a touchdown that cut it to 42-41.

Enough with trying for the equalizer. First year Boise State coach Chris Petersen – isn’t that a great, Minnesota-sounding name? – went for two. In a sensational bit of gamesmanship, the Broncos lined up with three receivers right. Oklahoma called time out. Petersen knew Oklahoma does some of its best scholastic studying when it comes to opposing videotapes, and he knew that the Sooners braintrust had scouted the tapes so well they recognized the formation as one from which Boise State had won a game on a screen pass to the three-receiver set.

Zabransky took the snap and dropped back a step. He brought the ball up with both hands to pass, then as he came up with his right hand and made his best throwing motion, complete with a full snap of his right wrist, everybody looked to the right end zone. Everybody but star running back Ian Johnson, who was running hard from right to left behind Zabransky. ZabranskyÂ’s fake pass was so convincing nobody realized he was holding the ball behind his back with his left hand while he flipped his right wrist, and by the time the fake was executed, Johnson had already taken the ball out of ZabranskyÂ’s hand and was dashing untouched into the left corner of the end zone. Not to be overlooked was that the left side of the Boise State line all had moved left, and sealed off any unfooled Sooner defenders who considered reacting to the sleight-of-hand.

To have such trick plays, and to have them so well-rehearsed that everybody on the field acted out their parts, is truly impressive. Imagine how much fun it must be even to practice in such a setting.

The two-point conversion gave Boise State a 43-42 victory, and a perfect 13-0 record. Afterward, Johnson successfully proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend on live national television. She said yes. If she hadnÂ’t, she probably would have been swarmed by the entire Boise State cheering section.

Less noticed was the post-game interview with coach Petersen. (Did I mention he had a Minnesota-sounding name, and that he was in his first year as head coach? Do coaches lose their enthusiasm and creativeness after a few years?) In the interview, Petersen give credit to his star players, but when asked about the trick plays that won the game, he promptly said that his two backup quarterbacks had worked on those plays and convinced him to go for them at the critical turning points.

In a sport where coaches blame their players for mistakes, even when they might be due to coaching shortcomings, here was a coach willing to duck the easy credit for two or three of the greatest play calls of this or any season, and instead give the credit to his two backup quarterbacks.

Maybe Ohio State will win the championship game and stay No. 1. If Florida beats the Buckeyes, Southern Cal, which throttled Michigan, would be the likely No. 1 if Florida isnÂ’t. But it doesnÂ’t matter. Boise State is my No. 1 team.

The imaginative, creative offense obviously kept the Broncos stimulated and fired up enough to win the game, and kept players like Zabransky determined to finish off the colossal upset by being unafraid to make a mistake, and knowing he wouldnÂ’t hear any blame for the huge mistake he did make.

It made you wonder if now-ex-Gopher coach Glen Mason had watched that game. And it made you hope that current Vikings coach Brad Childress had not only watched it, but taken copious notes.

Buckeyes, UMD women split series of role reversal

Proof of parity in the Women’s WCHA race — to say nothing of a classic role-reversal — this one was a classic.

Ohio State travels to Duluth to face the University of Minnesota-Duluth’s perennial women’s hockey power – a familiar scene during the eight-year history of the two programs. That’s where things became unfamiliar.

A quiz is in order: 1. Which of the two teams extends its nation’s-best unbeaten streak to 10 games (9-0-1) by cruising to a 3-0 shutout victory in the first game? 2. Which team wins the second game to snap out of a nine-game (1-7-1) slump, in which it scored only one goal in the four most recent games – all losses?

Observers of the first eight years of the Women’s WCHA would probably say UMD is the answer to question 1, because the Bulldogs have routinely gone on hot streaks, and had lost only two of 34 previous games against Ohio State. Ohio State might figure to be the logical answer to question 2, because the Buckeyes have never had a winning streak of the proportions needed to qualify for question 1, while UMD had never experienced such a prolonged slump.

The logical answers would be: wrong, and wrong, Zamboni-breath!

It is the Ohio State Buckeyes who go into the holiday break as the hottest team in the country, having stretched their nation’s longest unbeaten streak on Erika VanderveerÂ’s 3-0 shutout in the first game. Even though their program-record unbeaten run came to an end in the second game at Duluth, the Buckeyes are well beyond the five-game losing streak that started the season 2-5, and have now risen to 7-6-1 in the WCHA and 10-7-1 overall.

Strong goaltending and defensive play, and balanced scoring all came together for coach Jackie Barto, whose Buckeyes started the 9-0-1 streak with a 2-1 victory over Minnesota, and kept stretching it through the 3-0 victory at Duluth. Defenseman Tessa Bonhomme scored in the opening minute of both the first and second periods, and team scoring leader Erin Keys, who assisted on the first two goals, made it 3-0 with her 11th goal, only five minutes into the second for the 3-0 triumph.

And it is the UMD Bulldogs who stumbled through a school record slump that reached its lowest point when they were shut out by Vanderveer. Not only were the Dogs blanked, it happened despite 11 power plays that were a tribute to the Buckeye penalty killers, and a study in ineptitude for a Bulldog team that opened the season 8-0 in the WCHA, but are now 10-5-1 in the league and 10-7-1 overall.

Four straight losses compare to UMD losing as many as three in a row twice in its history – last year, and in their first season of 1999-2000. Only one other winless streak went as long as four games, and it also came in that first season, with a tie and three losses while playing the nation’s 1-2 teams, New Hampshire and Minnesota, back to back.

Perhaps it was predictable that when OSU’s unbeaten streak ended, and UMD’s slump was snapped, it would be of seismic proportions – and it was, as Noemie Marin scored three goals and Tawni Mattila two as UMD went 6-12 on power plays and romped 9-1 by hurling 50 shots at Vanderveer. But even that couldn’t dampen the spirit of the Buckeyes and coach Barto.

“They came out hard, and played with purpose, on a mission,” said Barto. “Give Duluth credit.”

It was considerably easier to be gracious in defeat than in past years, when losses to UMD were pretty consistent, now that the Buckeyes have cracked the nation’s top 10, and have moved up impressively enough to stretch the WCHA’s “top three” to a “top four” with Wisconsin, Minnesota and UMD.

This time, Barto set some small objectives for little victories in the third period, and after being outshot 45-17 through two periods and eventually trailing 8-0, Katie MahoneyÂ’s goal broke Kim MartinÂ’s shutout bid and Ohio State outshot the Bulldogs 17-5 in the third period.

Barto had to be upset at referee Shawn Thiele, who sent a constant stream of Buckeyes to the penalty box in both games, with 17 infractions for 45 minutes in the first game – 2:47 of it spent facing 5-on-3 power plays — and 15 for 38 minutes in the second – outrageous numbers for a team that entered the weekend in the nationÂ’s lowest percentile of being penalized. That resulted in 23 power plays for UMD in the two games, to 10 for Ohio State. But Barto held her cool.

“The refs do the best they can, and we try to do the best we can,” said Barto, in a wonderfully subtle evaluation.

Always organized, Barto sets goals for her teams, but to suggest that is the reason for OSUÂ’s record surge is because of those goals is oversimplifying things.

“Within games, I’ll set some goals, and I set some pretty high goals for the season before we started,” said Barto. “One was to challenge the top teams in the WCHA, and another was to make the NCAAs.

“I think the strength of our team is that we’ve had outstanding goaltending, and good team defense, and everyone has been contributing,” said Barto. “Keys has been a big contributor on offense, and leads us in goals and assists, but during our streak, I think we found that the girls play hard for each other, and everybody works to do the little things that lead to success.”

Keys, who played at Cretin-Derham Hall high school in St. Paul, has emerged as a strong scorer this season and leads the team with 11-13—24. She plays right wing with Peckles at center, and Jody Heywood at left wing on an all-junior line. But other than second line sophomores Morgan Marziali, who has 7 goals, and Hayley Klassen, who has 5, no other forward has more than four goals.
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The scoring of the defense has been a real strength. Senior Amber Bowman (5-17—22) and Bonhomme (9-11—20), a junior, form a formidable first tandem on defense that no other team in the country can match, and junior Lisa Chesson (5-11—16) is close behind.

“Tessa Bonhomme, Amber Bowman, and Lisa Chesson are three of the top defensemen in the league, and they’re all among our top scorers,” said Barto.

Vanderveer, a senior from Bradford, Ontario, is the pillar of strength in goal who has been the beneficiary of the teamÂ’s uplifted play this season. She had given up just nine goals in the 9-0-1 streak, and for the whole season she stood 10-2-1 with a 1.31 goals-against and a .954 save percentage, and she made 41 saves in the second game, and the nine goals only raised her goals-against average to 1.86, and lowered her save percentage to .938.

“I don’t think we helped her much in that one,” said Barto. “Erika is a competitor, and this won’t bother her.”

As for the slowly evolving parity within the WCHA, Wisconsin, Minnesota and UMD are still there, but Ohio State is leading the way for the rest of the WCHA, where Minnesota State-Mankato, St. Cloud State, and Bemidji State have improved considerably, and North Dakota is rebuilding.

“I don’t think anyone can take a night off any more in our league,” said Barto. “We played very well and it was an exciting stretch during our streak, but now we’ll have to see what happens as we get closer to the league playoffs and the NCAAs.”

Those objectives are still out there, and another streak can wait until after the holidays.

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• About the Author

  John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
  
  For those who want to keep up with John Gilbert's view of sports, mainly hockey with a Minnesota slant, click on the following:
  
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• Exhaust Notes:

  PADDLING
  More and more cars are offering steering-wheel paddles to allow drivers manual control over automatic or CVT transmissions. A good idea might be to standardize them. Most allow upshifting by pulling on the right-side paddle and downshifting with the left. But a recent road-test of the new Porsche Panamera, the paddles for the slick PDK direct-sequential gearbox were counter-intuitive -- both the right or left thumb paddles could upshift or downshift, but pushing on either one would upshift, and pulling back on either paddle downshifted. I enjoy using paddles, but I spent the full week trying not to downshift when I wanted to upshift. A little simple standardization would alleviate the problem.
  
  

  SPEAKING OF PADDLES
  The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution has the best paddle system, and Infiniti has made the best mainstream copy of that system for the new Q50, and other sporty models. And why not? It's simply the best. In both, the paddles are long, slender magnesium strips, affixed to the steering column rather than the steering wheel. Pull on the right paddle and upshift, pull on the left and downshift. The beauty is that while needing to upshift in a tight curve might cause a driver to lose the steering wheel paddle for an instant, but having the paddles long, and fixed, means no matter how hard the steering wheel is cranked, reaching anywhere on the right puts the upshift paddle on your fingertips.
  
  

  TIRES MAKE CONTACT
  Even in snow-country, a few stubborn old-school drivers want to stick with rear-wheel drive, but the vast majority realize the clear superiority of front-wheel drive. Going to all-wheel drive, naturally, is the all-out best. But the majority of drivers facing icy roadways complain about traction for going, stopping and steering with all configurations. They overlook the simple but total influence of having the right tires can make. There are several companies that make good all-season or snow tires, but there are precious few that are exceptional. The Bridgestone Blizzak continues to be the best=known and most popular, but in places like Duluth, MN., where scaling 10-12 blocks of 20-30 degree hills is a daily challenge, my favorite is the Nokian WR. Made without compromising tread compound, the Nokians maintain their flexibility no matter how cold it gets, so they stick, even on icy streets, and can turn a skittish car into a winter-beater.