Holy Smokes! Woody Paige Mentions DU Hockey

This may not have been the way the University of Denver dreamed of getting a shout out from ESPN personality and Denver Post columnist Woody Paige, but you take what you can get.  Woody Paige wants Gwozdecky and Sacic running the Avs.

68 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great reference to Greta Garbo, though it's an insult to Greta to even put her in the same article with Ms. PBJ (and the wise old men behind her).

DU hockey fans have witnessed two golden eras with Murray and George. Regardless of the spin, it seems unlikely that DU will rise to those heights again for sometime, if ever, given the poor leadership at the helm.

This reminds me of the '80s when the libraries were gutted, professors left and the school was left as a hollow shell until Richie arrived.

The current group are no Richie's.

Woody is right to suggest that Gwoz should go to the Avs, but I suspect he wants to go back to a classy, committed college hockey program. There are plenty in the new Big 10 with big money and big ambition. The new NCHC will be small potatoes compared to that.

Ms. PBJ and the braintrust behind her have made a mistake. Only time will tell how big a mistake they've made.

dusince59 said...

Anon 10:09 Thats a bunch of bunk. The school is just fine and the hockey progrm will be just fine also. Woodys articles are good for the bottom of the bird cage.

Anonymous said...

anon 10:09
Whatever you are smoking --stop.

Anonymous said...

If Coombe told Peg to cut the athletics budget by $500,000 ASAP, are other coaches/programs in danger of being Gwozed?

Anonymous said...

The obama show fiasco knows no limits. Athletics, building projects, faculty, staff, vendors, all will be affected. Stay tuned, the truth on the total cost will astound you

Anonymous said...

anon 12:44

you are either a troll just messing around that won't go away or the dumbest SOB to come around in awhile, either way, you are a joke

DU is in good shape, the sky isn't falling folks. We lost a good coach in a contract dispute - thats about it!

Anonymous said...

Hey, it's DG's blog. He can troll if he wants. The statement - Coombe told PBD to cut the athletics budget by $500,000 ASAP - came from DG. The question about other cuts was mine. Gwoz is still getting paid. Montgomery will be getting paid. That's an increase to the budget not a decrease. If Peg is supposed to cut $500,000 ASAP, won't other coaches/programs have to take a hit?

Anonymous said...

That is the nature of anonymous posting--we have the same one or two people posting the same crap here continuously. Just gotta sort the wheat from the chaff, I guess, until the anon posting is discontinued.

Anonymous said...

anonymous is an idiot.

Anonymous said...

I don't like the Gwoz situation either, but I think the Board is as much to blame as Peg is (if not more)

I am getting a little tired of posters who keep attacking Peg for her gender, her hyphen and calling for her to be fired for this.

You need to see the big pcture. I think a strong case could be made that she's the best AD DU has ever had.

1) DU is the top D-I athletic dept in the country without football.

2) Strong coaching hires to date

3) Six of 17 DU teams are ranked in top 20 of their sports. That's frickin' amazing.

4) DU no longer just a hockey school. Men's hoops and lax are nationally relveant programs.

5) DU is no longer in the Sun Belt, a geographically innapropriate conference for DU. Summit League is better for us.

6) Athletic Grad Rates (90%) and GPA (3.3) are both higher than regular DU student body.

7) No DU athletes arrested under her tenure

8) School spirit up during tenure

9) Fundraising, TV and Corporate Sponsorships are better now than 2005

10) Her fellow ADs elected her to the NCAA leadership council, which speaks to wo other ADs rate her.

Gwozdecky aside, Peg has done a pretty fantastic job here.

Anonymous said...

2:28, those are all great stats...kinda reminds me of Gwoz's resume actually. But, the guidelines Peg has established for everyone else and herself are greater. Where are all the national championships? Regular season success doesn't matter. Good student GPAs don't matter.

We used to win skiing championships left and right and this year we weren't even a contender. Sure, LAX is ranked #1 but that coaching decision and hiring came from higher ups at DU. Think BOT, the same people you claim fired Gwoz.

Peg hasn't achieved the baseline goals she establishes for her own sports teams.

Fire Peg if she doesn't gracefully step down.

Anonymous said...

I don't think Peg expects national championships in hockey every year.

I do think she wants better than 1-6 since 2005.

Getting to the Frozen Four every four years is more of the target zone...Gwoz had lots of teams that could have competed that goal, but first round flamouts to lower seeded teams hurt.

Anonymous said...

3:02...

skiing is doing just fine, most recent championship in 2010, they were a contender this year and a freshman won two individual titles

Peg has achieved quite a lot as pointed out by 2:28

all of you people that think DU is falling apart are misguided (mostly by DG)

dggoddard said...

Not sure why I'm copping the blame.

I didn't fire the hockey coach.

I didn't raise tuition ever single year.

I didn't freeze the faculty's pay.

I didn't have anything to do with Sammie quitting as golf coach.

I didn't have anything to do with the Denver Post ripping DU every single day last week

DU is one serving up turd sandwiches, I've just been passing out the menus. :-)

Anonymous said...

The question wasn't slamming PBD. It was a simple question/concern about the economics of cutting $500,000 from the athletics budget while adding an additional coach’s salary for a year.

The cheerleading posts for Peg are becoming tiresome as well. So with that – “No DU athletes arrested under her tenure” but she just hired a coach with a criminal record.

Anonymous said...

Didn't DG have a post on USCHO saying that there would be less tv coverage and less revenue in the initial years of the NCHC? Root coverage may be gone. Have any of the corporate sponsers jumped ship with all the negative media coverage?

Is that true from basketball as well?

Anonymous said...

hey boy scout--one D.U.I. doesn't condemn someone as a criminal. Grow up!

dggoddard said...

Just to clarify my TV comments.

CBS Sports Network will have national rights to any NCHC games they wish to televise.

DU is allowed to televise any of their non-conference games and perhaps some non-CBS NCHC games locally on Root Sports or Altitude but they are far apart from reaching an agreement.

As I understand it Root Sports wants to be paid to cover their costs, DU wants to be paid because they feel the games have value.

Number of DU hockey games televised on Root Sports-RM:

2007-08 14 games

2008-09 17 games

2009-10 19 games

2010-11 13 games

2011-12 7 games

2012-13 6 games

Anonymous said...

By definition a DUI is criminal. Does Jimmy have more than one conviction?

dggoddard said...

Lets try and leave poor Jimmy alone.

But to set the record straight, the most important arrests in DU history occurred in 2009.

Two lacrosse players were arrested and posted bond after an incident outside The Border. It led to the eventual firing of DU lacrosse coach Jamie Munro.

Peg's Zero Tolerance stance led to DU's greatest Coup; Bill Tierney.

Anonymous said...

Other than the hiring of Tierney, credit really should be given to Diane Murphy for the prior list of successes. Dr. Murphy transformed the University's athletics program from Division II status into one of the top Division I programs in the country. Her design still serves as a model for academic as well as athletic excellence.

Anonymous said...

Strange how still 2 years later, nobody seems to remember Dan Olzewski's night out while on a road trip with the team up at the University of Wisconsin. And I guess technically, Aaron McKenzie is safe because he's no longer a student.

Anonymous said...

anon 6:04
It would do you well to check with the people who worked for Murphy before you give her any credit. A horror story!

Anonymous said...

And yet, the hockey team won the national Title in 2004 under her guidance. Isn't that all that really counts anyway. Just win!

Anonymous said...

Gee-I didn't know she 'GUIDED" the hockey team. She came from Tennessee and knew squat about ice hockey

Anonymous said...

Peg loves hockey. She played goalie for the men's ice hockey team in college.

Anonymous said...

Murphy replaced Dora on the wing after he was suspended for the final. Did a great job filling in and her guidance on the bench is mentioned by several players on the team as the reason they won.

Anonymous said...

Yeh! I remember seeing her down there on the bench telling Gwoz. what to do when Maine had us 6 on 3 in the last two minites. Now I finally know how we pulled that one off.

Anonymous said...

Peg may have caught a lot of rubber in college but she didn't play hockey. Oh wait, that was her nickname, now I get it.

Anonymous said...

Did Kvistad have any relish for the obama show appetizer?

Anonymous said...

Nice job with managing the anon posts.

And u complain about DU being managed by idiots?

Look in the mirror!

Anonymous said...

DU handled the situation poorly - there's absolutely no doubt about that. For me, however, that's now overshadowed by the embarrassing comments on this blog and from other DU grads (including some on my Facebook feed). Come on, we're better than not-so-veiled attacks on our AD because of her sex and the "Obama show" garbage. It's amazing to see the cowardly crap that people post anonymously, yet would never repeat in person.

5BWest said...

I agree. It is time to move forward and stop the personal attacks. With the exception of some trolls, we are all Pioneers.

No one can argue that Peg has made some great coaching hires. No one can argue that our athletic department is one of the best in the country. No one can argue that everyone is doing their best - even if we disagree about the 'how'.

Many of us like to have fun (and I do make my fair share attempts at humor) but I do think there is a limit. If we want this forum to have an positive impact on DU and the administration, there has to be a bit of 'self monitoring' or this site becomes an irrelevant bitch-fest. I think we can all agree that things could be a lot worse and we have a lot to be grateful for when it comes to DU.

Nincompoop said...

You want to think about things being worse? I am grateful that Colorado College has not won an NCAA Ice Hockey Championship since 1957. I am equally grateful that the University of North Dakota has not won more National Championships than the University of Denver has. When CC or UND owns 8 Championships.....you'll know the definition of "worse".

5BWest said...

Now that is the LetsGoDU that I remember!

Anonymous said...

New official facebook page ... by DU, they put it out on their other feed ... you can guess what it's about

www.facebook.com/dumascot

Anonymous said...

I think the bitching is actually valuable and can serve as a thermometer of the the people who care enough about DU sports to post.

Anytime the administration wants to take the temperature of die hard DU fans, they can see it here, 24 hours a day.

I know for a fact that these views are read everyday on Buchtel Blvd.

Anonymous said...

I was the Anon 11:58, prior to Tim's post. I absolutely agree that this should be a forum for critical discussion, and appreciate that piece. I don't like personal attacks and lightly veiled sexist remarks. We're a better institution than that.

In general, I'm encouraged with the progress at DU and in our athletic department. We've made great hires and elevated sports such as lacrosse, soccer, basketball and women's golf. I do believe the Summit is a better fit, and I do believe we'll eventually get that coveted West Coast Conference bid.

I will say, however, that it's time for the university to take a more outward approach in our future growth. I love events like the Nobel Peace prize winners a few years ago and the presidential debate - they bring heft to our institution. I also love to see nationally recognized hires like Christopher Hill at GSIS and, yes, Peg Bradley-Doppes. We're now at a point where, at least in academic circles, the institution has a strong national reputation. We need to leverage that reputation to bring in better leaders at the top. I generally like Bob Coombe and Greg Kvistad, but I don't know that they're the people to lead DU to greater heights. Internal hires (which they each were) can work for stability, but I feel like we're at the point where we need fresh eyes and ideas at those levels. I hope when those positions turn over (and I wouldn't be disappointed if it was in the near future), we'd cast our net far and wide.

Oh, and CC sucks!

Apologies for the rant....

Anonymous said...

Condi Rice was Danny boy's first choice. She said no because she was digging that Sec. of state gig.
Maybe now, since she is just a Stanford professor, she will have a change of heart. Our "brand" would significantly improve. Plus, she's a sports geek.

Anonymous said...

Adding to the above I also should have mentioned that she has her undergrad and doctorate from our grand school.

Anonymous said...

Coombe was a caretaker hire designed to placate the cranky faculty after years of autocratic rule from Dan Ritchie, who mostly ignored the faculty.

DU is ready for a visionary, charismatic fundraising star Chancellor, who embraces DU's history and traditions, who isn't going to play the PC game which ends in dilution.

Anonymous said...

Anon 4:47 that sounds like Condi to me!

5BWest said...

Condi would be excellent. Our Provost and Chancellor at both Cal-Berkeley graduates -- not very diverse!

old pio said...

I can't imagine anyone who would give DU the instant credibility that Dr. Rice would. She is a person with world wide recognition and reputation. But would she even remotely be interested? And would DU be in a position to meet her demands, of which compensation would obviously be one? Her impact on DU branding would be incalculable. As a tuition-driven institution, I can only imagine the impact she could have on applications. And her years in the national leadership would be invaluable in expanding new development sources. Being our chancellor wouldn't have to interfere with her writing, consulting or speech making. And think of the number of times she'd appear on TV, introduced as the "Chancellor of the University of Denver." We couldn't buy that kind of exposure. As has been pointed out, she's a huge sports fan. Would she even consider an overture from DU? She has said many times she wants to be NFL Commissioner some day. And I wouldn't bet against her. On the other hand, the worst she could say, if asked, is "no." I say, let's fire a shot.

Anonymous said...

I think it would be awesome to have Condi Rice involved with DU on some level. I just kinda don't see it happening. She has reached some serious pinnacles in her career--obviously, with that little Secretary of State gig, but also as the provost of Stanford--the school that seems to have unlimited everything. I just don't know if DU could provide her enough incentives. Plus, although she has 2 degrees from DU and has returned to campus a couple of times, I just don't sense that her "connection" to DU is sufficient reason enough to motivate her to return to DU for a leadership position. And although I understand that she was a hockey fan while at DU, I thought it was a little odd that she didn't visit with the hockey team in 2004 when they visited the White House (I could be wrong on that one, but I think I'm right) So I don't see her as ever being Chancellor. Maybe DU could work something out, though, where they create a new subdivision of the school of international studies in her name, and have her contribute her efforts to that on some level.

Anonymous said...

A Secretary of State who served under a war criminal who should face The Hague? No thanks....

Anonymous said...

Condi isn't coming to Denver. Jeez, you guys must have been at the same hooka bar.

I hear Elvis is a leading candidate to take up the DU job!

But back to reality, does anyone remember that it was 35 years between Murray and Gwoz National Championships? Great coaches come along very rarely, and DU just kicked one out the door.

I've been a donor to DU for about 25 years, but that is ending now. I can't continue to support such utter arrogant incompetence.

I'm thinking that some other donors with many more zeroes than I contribute are doing the same.

Peg, Coombs, and a whole lot of others should be fired immediately.

5BWest said...

Anon
You missed the memo. We have moved from anger to grief to acceptance. Time to get under the pioneer tent or take your donations somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

timt89 - Under the Pioneer Tent? Too funny. You must be one of Coombs assistants.

But regarding donations ... Done - thanks for the advice.

Anonymous said...

Condi would do wonders for bringing D.U. up onto the national stage. Attracting international scholars as well as top U.S.students

Anonymous said...

9:06: I'm sure DU will miss your 10 dollar contribution. I would fire YOU from your job immediately, if you had a job.

Anonymous said...

Ha! I'm guessing DU could use every $10 they can get. Losing big dollars from real donors would be a bummer.

Anonymous said...

It sure would be a bummer. No need to worry, though, until they come on to DG's blog and threaten in an anonymous comment to withhold millions of dollars. Cause that's how it would usually go down.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:03 War Criminal? Yo are one sick person. Get some help soon.

Nincompoop said...

Damn this topic sure has gone off the beaten path. Anybody remember hockey here? Our coach is competing for the USHL title...Mitch Hyder had a good interview with Monty .... did u see it? Sounds like DU will play a little bit different style than we're used to, which might be interesting in the new league, if opponents don't realize and adjust to it. 5 guys in the zone....I like it!

Anonymous said...

Daniels Dean Christine Riordan has done an extraordinary job during her five years at DU in terms of fundraising, national rankings, faculty recruiting, student satisfaction, etc. She is now one of three finalists for the provost job at the University of Kentucky. Offering Riordan a path to the provost or chancellor's position at DU would be a smart move.
http://www.kentucky.com/2013/04/16/2603230/three-finalists-chosen-for-university.html

Anonymous said...

9:07----

Starting an unjust war makes, or should make, little bushy a criminal. If you support war just for the sake of it, then maybe you are in need of some help. Electrshock therapy should help......

Anonymous said...

when will the TRUE cost of the obama show come to light? Has a lot of bearing on the reasons for the budget dilemma.

Anonymous said...

Still confused as to why it's the "Obama show," unless you just take that much pride in being a know-nothing. Those are some very red glasses you're wearing.

"A Gallup poll found that 72% of the debate watchers believed Romney was the clear winner"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election_debates,_2012#October_3:_First_presidential_debate_.28University_of_Denver.29

dggoddard said...

I believe "Obama Show's" point is the Debate went way over budget.

In Oct., 2011 the "Hosting Rights" were revealed to be $1.3 million and DU was "looking for donors and were confident that they would find them.

In September 2012 the Denver Post said that the costs would be $1.6 million, but that there were many "hidden costs."

Hostra said that they spent $4.5 million and Belmont admitted to $3.5 million in 2008.

http://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/ci_21642701/du-sees-benefit-massive-national-media-exposure-debate-will-bring

So its possible that the number is very large and as usual DU didn't attract the level of donors that Belmont & Hofstra landed in 2008.

Anonymous said...

It's a valid point made less valid by stupid labels.

Never a good move to undermine your own credibility.

Nincompoop said...

Anyone here besides me going to listen to the live radio feed tonight of Dubuque vs. Muskegeon? There's a link on the Saints website. I wish Coach Monty and his team good luck. Hurry up and win that thing; so you can get the U-Haul packed! That stretch through Nebraska is a bitch; going I-70 through Kansas is no better.

Anonymous said...

Good blog dg. Tumultuous times at DU. Despite the wide range of comments here, it's a credit to you for creating a forum where people can express their opinions. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Agree with 7:31

5BWest said...

Debuque just went up 2-0 in their series with a 4-3 win last night.

Anonymous said...

DG, Any response from your email to Kivestad? Didnt think so, chirp, chirpp, chirppppppppppppppppppppppppp

Anonymous said...

DG, No response from dear leaders?
Amazing

Anonymous said...

chirp, chirppp, chirpppppppppp