Flash Mob Scheduled - Volleyball Match - Friday, October 2nd, 7:00 p.m. Hamilton Gym

This Friday, Denver Boone, in cooperation with LetsGoDU, is calling for a volleyball FLASH MOB!

• Why: Show your PIONEER SPIRIT
• Where: Hamilton Gym
• What: Women's Volleyball vs. South Dakota - 7:00 p.m.
• When: In Game 2 when the Pioneers score their 10th point, Denver Boone will push the large EASY BUTTON - the students & DU fans will go CRAZY!

Students:
Students can come from the hockey camp-out or go directly to the game. The game can be followed on DU's gametracker HERE if students want to come at the beginning of the second game. 

It is Pink Night to recognize breast cancer at volleyball so feel free to wear pink or any crazy costume will do. Also, enjoy the student hockey ticket camp-out. Remember regular Pioneer Spirit during the match but pandemonium when Boone hits the easy button!

The event will be filmed and posted on social media.

Final Reminder - Vote on the Best DU Watering Hole

Vote for your favorite pub to cheer on the Pioneers. The poll ends Thursday with results announced Friday. Voting is tight - you could make the difference!

Follow the link below to vote for your favorite:
Vote Here

LetsGoDU will announce the winner October 4th prior to the DU hockey game vs. Calgary to start the 2015-2016 season. The winning bar will get a special feature in LetsGoDU and one week of free mention in LetsGoDU.

Puck Drop in the Desert

Arizona State University is preparing for the puck drop, their first year in Division 1. The Sun Devil season starts October 3rd against Arizona - an old ACHA club foe. Then, a week later they are off to Alaska Anchorage for their first official NCAA D-1 tilt of 2015.

While their new arena is under construction, they will play 22 games on the road. Their coach Gary Powers has big plans,"Really what we're focused on right now is being the most successful startup Division I hockey program ever," he said. "Penn State set a really good bar... We want to be better."

No Name Beats Lame Name

As 70% of North Dakota students plead for 'no nickname' or, at least, addition of a UND/North Dakota option to the ballot, UND president, Robert O. Kelley, insists on the selection of a new nickname.

In an open letter in the Grand Forks Herald, an alum pleads for sanity.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/opinion/letters/3849266-letter-still-time-put-undnorth-dakota-option-ballot

Heinen Named to CHN Preseason All-America Team

On Tuesday, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced that three players from the conference were named to the College Hockey News (CHN) 2015-2016 preseason All-America team. The three players honored are:

UNO Flush with Excitement

In an event that "was intended to build excitement on campus", volunteers flushed the toilets in the new University of Nebraska Omaha Baxter Arena and received free T-shirts.

LetsGoDU cannot confirm if the new arena has electricity.

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/hundreds-flush-get-commemorative-t-shirts-in-test-of-uno/article_e11e2c58-66f6-11e5-9273-9bac1dff02bf.html

Pioneers Shine Tuesday Night

A confident bunch of soccer Pioneers (8-0-1) imposed their will on the South Florida Bulls Tuesday night at CIBER field. In a showdown of highly ranked opponents, the Pioneers proved to be up to the task. After a 0-0 draw in the first half, DU took control and scored nifty goal by Karsten Hanlin in front of a large Tuesday night crowd.

Inside Magness at the Hamilton Gym, the volleyball team (14-4) dispatched the North Dakota State Bison 3-0 and came out to watch the second half of the soccer match.

The evening proved that the soccer program is 'for real' with defense, firepower, and strong coaching. Will there be a let-down in Summit League play and will league play prepare them for a likely NCAA playoff appearance?

As for the volleyball program, they continue on the rise with a solid victory. If they can continue winning at home and splitting on the road, they have a chance at a Summit title with a very young team.

A great evening to be a Pioneer fan.

Free Advice: Read & Retreat!!!

A camel is a horse created by committee.

As the time grows closer for 'the vote' on a new mascot name for North Dakota, proponents are selling their favorite option among the choices of Sundogs, Nodaks, North Stars, Fighting Hawks, and Roughriders.

In a peculiar letter to the Grand Forks Herald, Ruthmary Arnason Unruh writes:

I love UND! The university is an important part of our Grand Forks community.

Let's get together and support a new nickname and logo.

There are five choices. Of them, only Nodaks and Sundogs are unique.
Humans are visual creatures. Most of us process information based on what we see.
And since no designs have been submitted, many people are not able to see or picture an image of the future UND logo and nickname.
So, consider these ideas. Perhaps others also will come forward and share their visions.
NODAKS—Imagine this:

• A bold outline of the state of North Dakota
• A background of green and white (stripes, checks, lightning bolts, etc.)
• The word "NODAKS" in big letters covering the state—in a bold, funky font
• The eternal flame aglow in the letter "D" like the existing UND symbol
• This is a personal favorite. We are truly Nodaks.

Opinion: From Thoroughbred to Nag, SMU Runs Amuck

From the school that brought you the NCAA death penalty, SMU is at it again. Coach Larry Brown, now a 3-time NCAA sanction loser, is facing a nine game suspension and post-season suspension for 2016. First, SMU was tarnished for their infractions in football which did significant reputational damage with the 'death penalty' (and eventual re-start) of their football program. Now, Larry Brown is producing his own institutional carnage in basketball by lying to the NCAA about his assistants taking tests for incoming recruits and a host of other violations.

Anyone who has been around recruiting for football and basketball know how cutthroat that business can be. Showering prospects with calls, texts, & letters; adoring tweets and orchestrated campus tours with attractive coeds; and lavish praise from coaches. Plus, pressure from the boosters, fans, and administration. Then, there is the "under the table stuff". With nearly 350 D1 basketball programs, the difference between a two star recruit and a three star recruit is often the difference between following the rules or violating the rules.

The SMU basketball turn-around miracle, led by Larry Brown, is a illusion created by a program that was willing to win at all costs.

See the link below for Dick Vitale's take:
http://proxy.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/13772294/smu-larry-brown-banned-coaching-college-basketball

Gameday - Ranked Soccer Teams Clash Tonight

#8 (NCAA Poll) University of Denver practices mid-morning in preparation for tonight's game against #17 South Florida.

CIBER field 7:00 p.m. tonight

Hockey - LetsGoDU Super Poll

Following the Damien Goddard trade marked LetsGoDU Super PollTM predictive tool, the 2015-2016 pre-season Collegiate Hockey rankings are as follows:

1. Denver - Denver is always undefeated in the same year as a super blood moon lunar eclipse (Check it out)
2. Boston College - Hockey invented here - just ask them.
3. Boston University - The White Sox of Boston. 2nd in their own city - always and forever.
4. Minnesota-Duluth - Most confused freshmen in hockey, "Where's Don Lucia?"
5. Providence - Loved the movie
6. North Dakota - Take away the oil and two trees and you have Lot E at the Pepsi Center
T7. Harvard - No 'Athletic' Scholarships? Sure...and I got into Harvard.
T7. Miami - Take away the sunscreen, sand, pretty girls, and palm trees and you're there
8. Nebraska-Omaha - Without Warren Buffet, this place is Camden
9.Minnesota - Don Lucia turns hockey prep All-Stars into the Washington Generals
10.Yale - No 'Athletic Scholarships? Sure...and it felt so good to tell their admissions department, "Thanks but I'm going to DU!"
57) Colorado College - Last National Championship was the same year when All Shook Up (Elvis) was #1. Ironic isn't it?
*The LetsGoDU Super PollTM is a scientific analysis factoring strength of schedule, player statistics and coaching tendencies. Then, Denver is placed in the one hole, CC is placed last and the rest of the teams more or less settle where they might likely finish.

Ranked Opponent's Rank Logo

With DU facing the University of South Florida (USF) in men's soccer Tuesday night, one begins to think about butt-ugly team logos. In this writer's view, the USF  Bulls have the ugliest logo in all of college sports.

Athlon Sports, through a graphic design artist, Daly Cantrell, looked at all the college FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) logos and came up with the best and worst logos. The logos and her comments below:

Top Three:
1. Texas

Talk about classic. The Longhorns’ logo is simply unique and is arguably one of the best  in college football.
2.North Carolina

The Tar Heels’ logo is a staple. The font used fits the NC perfectly together creating a timeless look.
3.Cal

I love a good script font that is gender neutral… and this logo does the trick. The color scheme along with the beautiful flow of the letters makes this logo top in my book in the Pac-12.

The worst (Alphabetical Order):
Kansas

The Jayhawk has design potential, but this cartoon look isn’t it. Someone needs to jump into the 21st century and modernize this bad boy.
 Oregon State

I am just not a fan of the beaver... it looks like a blob..
South Carolina

Gamecocks, you’ve got too much going on in your logo. It all starts to blur together and then it’s hard to see what it really is.
Utah

This logo could be really cool, but the circle bothers me. The block U and feather detail is great, but it the circle gives an off-balanced feel.
 Wisconsin

This logo wouldn’t be that bad if the W didn’t look like it is dancing. This gives it a cartoonish look and the drop shadow doesn’t help its case.

Care to agree or disagree?

Complete Athlon Sports article below:
http://beta.athlonsports.com/college-football/ranking-college-footballs-best-and-worst-logos-2015

Patty Wagon Pucksters

AMHERST, Mass. — Massachusetts players Shane Walsh and Ben Gallacher, and former forward Evan Stack, were arrested early Sunday for noise violations involving a party at an off-campus residence, according to MassLive.
Also arrested was sophomore goalie Henry Dill, for punching a police cruiser, the report said.

Punching the police cruiser? Let's hope he didn't drop his gloves!

Ahhh, college hockey season upon us. I wonder if the Grand Forks PD has new coach Brad Berry on speed dial?

Source:
http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2015/09/28_three_umass_players_arrested.php

Denver Neighbor Stages Unique Defense

A DU neighbor is in the news.  Observatory Park resident Richard Kirk is charged with the April 14, 2014 homicide of his wife. At the time, he had consumed marijuana edibles and was hallucinating when she made a 911 call to police.

Attorneys for Kirk are arguing 'marijuana intoxication' and plead 'not guilty by reason of insanity' in pretrial filings. This defense is a legal first since Colorado legalized recreational marijuana.



http://www.denverpost.com/news/local/ci_28883496/a-preview-of-pots-possible-role-in-insanity-defense-in-denver-murder

NCHC Invades Pre-Season Top Ten

The USCHO pre-season hockey poll released today places the Denver Pioneers in fifth position. Three other NCHC teams made the list to include Minnesota - Duluth, North Dakota, & Nebraska-Omaha. In a surprising twist, North Dakota (#4) slipped by the Pioneers who were favored to finish second in the conference by the writer's NCHC conference poll.

1.Boston College
2.Minnesota-Duluth
3.Boston University
4.North Dakota
5.Denver
6.Minnesota State
7.Providence
8.Harvard
9.Minnesota
10.Nebraska-Omaha

While casual college hockey fans were awaiting the USCHO poll, the collegiate hockey world will be eagerly awaiting the LetsGoDU Super Polltm . This poll, utilizing a sophisticated predictive scoring methodology, is going to be released tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. MST.

Link to USCHO:
http://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-i-mens-poll/2015-2016/poll,0928/september-28,-2015/

Don't know the Difference Between a Kip and Arabesque? Neither do we!

Well, LetsGoDU may not know a lot about gymnastics. But we can try, especially if they win!

Women's gymnastics moves to the Big 12 this year and the schedule, announced earlier this week, looks like DU has upped their game in gymnastics.  A regional power under Melissa Kutcher, DU women's gymnastics has the potential to be a national power with great coaching, local fan support, and a tough schedule.

Can DU take the next step? Frankly, the LetsGoDU audience generally does not follow gymnastics closely but we will be following DU's progress this year. One of the goals with the relaunch of LetsGoDU is to expand coverage as appropriate to draw a broader audience and DU continues to make noise in collegiate women's gymnastics.

DATE	OPPONENT	TIME
January 9	West Virginia, Southern Utah	6 p.m.
January 18	at Iowa	1 p.m.
January 23	Washington	6 p.m.
January 30	at Bowling Green State	2 p.m.
February 6	Utah State	6 p.m.
February 12	at Perfect 10 Challenge	5:45 p.m.
	(Oklahoma, George Washington, Utah State)
February 20	at Penn State, Alabama, Cornell	2 p.m.
February 27	Iowa, Southeast Missouri, Illinois-Chicago	6 p.m.
March 4	Minnesota, Air Force	7 p.m.
March 6	at Air Force, Minnesota	1 p.m.
March 12	at Washington, Seattle Pacific	7 p.m.
March 19	at Big 12 Championships (Frisco, Texas)	TBA
April 2	at NCAA Regionals	TBA

*All times MST

Weekend Road Warriors Return Home for Simultaneous Bouts

The high-flying DU men's soccer team took down the Leathernecks of Western Illinois 2-0 in Macomb, Illinois. The women's volleyball team, coming off a big Friday road win, dropped a tight Saturday match to IUPUI on the road on the second night of a challenging back-to-back road trip.

Big questions remain for both squads. Can they return to Denver and win important early week matches against North Dakota State and The University of South Florida respectively? Both teams play at home (CIBER/Magness) on Tuesday the 29th at 7:00 p.m..

If you live in Denver, which match are you going to watch live?

Best DU Watering Hole - LetsGoDU Super Pub Survey

When in Denver, where do you go to celebrate a big Pioneer win or drown a Pioneer loss? 

Follow the link below to vote for your favorite:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JGNJ7H7

LetsGoDU will announce the winner October 4th prior to the DU hockey game vs. Calgary to start the 2015-2016 season. The winning bar will get a special feature in LetsGoDU and one week of free mention in LetsGoDU.

ESPN Prepares to Ax Broadcast Rights Fees

As Damien Goddared cited in an earlier note to LetsGoDU, changes are on the horizon for college sports. Especially, the exorbitant licensing fees paid the NCAA and others leagues for programming rights. ESPN's parent company Disney, is starting to reign-in ESPN and drive down costs, primarily broadcast rights fees. While it is still unclear how this will impact the Power 5 football conferences, you can bet it will lead to reduced broadcast rights fees on other sports as well.

As this point it is not clear how this might impact DU over time. However, with cost of attendance (CoA) and other rising expenses, it is unclear if this will level the playing field over time or if there will continue to be a growing gap between the 'haves' and 'have-nots'.

Business Insider gives details of the ESPN shake-up below:

http://www.businessinsider.com/cost-cutting-is-coming-to-espn-2015-7

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL

The final score didn't matter (1-2 L)

It was 41.30 of the first period on a warm fall night in Denver, Colorado. The situation was routine. The snake-bit Pioneers, in a 0-0 tie, had a free kick near mid-field along the sideline closest the main home field stands. Stella Norman, a junior center back from Colorado,  looked goalward and launched the ball. Like a scene from a corny sports move, 'the shot' launched into the dark evening sky. A pair of Pioneer forwards cut toward the goal, the goalie frozen. The ball went over the Denver players, bounced past a surprised goalie and went into the right-hand corner of the goal, bouncing up into the net. The place went crazy. The end of 'the streak'  after no goals in nearly eight and a half games.

The Pioneers still have a chance to do damage this season. As they start the Summit Conference schedule, all teams are 0-0 and the team that wins the league will get an automatic berth to the NCAA's. The Pioneers played with confidence against a tough Portland team. Who is to say say that this team with nine losses and one goal in pre-conference play can't win the Summit and pull off one more miracle this season? They may have a chance to do something that has, likely, never happened before. If so, this is the night that will be remembered as the beginning of a new streak.

Non-Mystery Mystery Solved as Not So Serious Mystery Mystery

Of course, by now, we all agree that #55 was not Wes Berg's Pioneer jersey in the championship display case at the Ritchie Center.

As for the #55 jersey displayed with the NCAA trophy at Magness Arena, according to the athletic department, "there is no significance to the jersey except for it is one that the a student-athlete had in Philadelphia for the championship. It features the patch from Championship Weekend and that is what we were trying to highlight." The department wanted to have the display up for Chancellor Chopp's inauguration.

As a bit of additional background from the athletic department: Teams do not necessarily get new home and road uniforms every year so Berg's number 14 jersey may be assigned to another student-athlete this year or in the future.

So, no mystery and no mystery to solve. 

Crimson & Gold Displays the Pioneer Spirit

For those of you that do not live in the DU area, The Crimson & Gold bar near University & Asbury recently completed a wall mural featuring DU athletics on their north-facing wall. From the DU Conoco station on University, you can see the hand-painted tribute on the side of Crimson & Gold (C&G). The mural is done by hand and features a hockey player, a rugby player, and a lacrosse player.

A great piece of art to promote Pioneer Spirit!

Denver Pounds IPFW on the Road & Handles Bullies at Home

Denver women's volleyball swept the first Summit League game on the road 3-0 last night against IPFW.

The team was also featured in an article by 9 News. They visited a special needs 5th grader, Bella Griggs, at her school. The young girl was signed by the team and attends DU home games. Bella was being teased for wearing hearing aids and nine players showed up at her school in a show of support.
http://www.9news.com/story/sports/2015/09/25/university-of-denver-volleyball-team-impact/72836850/

So what is next for the sizzling Pioneers? LGDU suggests that there is still time for them in September to place the dome on the under-construction Daniel-Fellix Ritchie School of Engineering or resolve those pesky traffic back-ups at University & Evans.

Vote for DU's Best Watering Hole

Where do you go before, during or after a game to raise your pioneer spirit?

Follow the link below to vote for your favorite pub:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JGNJ7H7

LetsGoDU will announce the winner October 4th prior to the season-opening game between DU and Calgary. The winning bar will get a special feature in LetsGoDU and one week of free mention in LetsGoDU.

NCHC Foe Faces Suit

Three former coaches at hockey foe, University Minnesota Duluth (UMD), have scheduled a press conference in Minneapolis to announce their intentions to sue the university in federal court. Shannon Miller was the head women's hockey coach and won 5 NCAA titles in 16 years and was fired in 2015. Jen Banford, who was the head women’s softball coach, was informed at the same time as the rest of Miller’s hockey staff that she would not be brought back. She later rejected a one-year contract offer from UMD to remain as softball coach after leading the Bulldogs to four NCAA tournament berths and a conference title in her 10 seasons. Annette Wiles announced her resignation on June 1 as head women’s basketball coach after seven seasons with the Bulldogs.

Lynne Williams, UMD’s director of marketing and public relations, responded via email.
“We are aware that there is a press conference on Monday and are not in a position to comment about what the individuals or their lawyers will discuss there,” she said. “We have fully cooperated with an internal review of the complaints raised, and dispute the broad claims of discrimination.”

Doubtful that this will impact men's hockey operations but certainly a distraction for both the university and the athletic department.

Source: Duluth News & Tribune 
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/sports/hockey/3844544-former-umd-coaches-miller-banford-wiles-expected-announce-lawsuit-next-week

Men's Soccer Surges to Number 10 in the Nation

Surging Pioneers crack the 10th spot in SoccerAmerica poll. The Pioneers continue to plow new ground with a program achieving national recognition. Expectations were high heading into the season but the results so far have exceeded nearly everyone's expectations. The big question mark is: Can they sustain this level of performance against conference foes? An NCAA bid and high seed will likely require the Pioneers win the Summit.

The men's team heads into Summit Conference play September 26th against Western Illinois on Saturday, September 26th in Macomb, Illinois.

Women's Soccer Team Ends 'the streak' with a First Half Header....

...So says our noted local fortune teller about the DU - Portland match Saturday night. We invited her back because some people are gullible when it comes to this stuff and it seems to generate web traffic.

She boldly predicted, " 'the (scoreless) streak' will come to an end at CIBER Field in the 26th minute off a header against the Pilots" but left our session to take paying customer before she could answer the big question, "Will DU win the match, too?" Again, if you don't believe this stuff, you will need to go and see it for yourself Saturday at 7:00 at CIBER Field.

If this prediction comes true, it's probably luck. If incorrect, we  may use her again because people continue to get pulled-in by this kind of a shallow ploy to drive readership.

Did Anonymous LGDU Reader Solve Display Mystery?

Yesterday, LGDU posted a picture of the lacrosse champions display at Magness Arena. The display featured the NCAA D-1 trophy and memorabilia for the national champs. The #55 jersey was prominently displayed. LGDU searched Google for #55 assuming it was Wes Berg, the championship game MVP. It didn't seem right but, sure enough, Google images had Berg in a #55 Denver jersey.

An anonymous reader quickly pointed out that Berg was, of course, #14 as a Denver Pioneer. After searching Google again, LGDU realized this was his Denver Outlaw jersey number was 55! Did the athletic department make the same mistake when putting together the display? LGDU is following with the athletic department for a response. Or, does the display feature "rarely used player Todd Fedych" (per anonymous reader)?

Best DU Watering Hole - LetsGoDU Super Pub Survey

We are lucky to have some fantastic bars around DU. Whether you visiting Denver for a game or are a local Pioneer fan, the bar options are great. You can drink at Spanky's Urban Roadhouse for breakfast. The Stadium Inn is scary looking but has cheap Jim Beam and fantastic Yelp Reviews. The Campus Inn is just far away enough that you can have fun and not ruin your neighborhood reputation. The Pioneer has a roof top bar and hosts DU coach radio shows, too. With the front doors open and the beer flowing, Fermentaera microbrewery on Evans offers fresh suds and great food truck eats. Boone's Tavern has the name we love and the food is delivered fresh from the same kitchen as the pricey Atticus next door. Crimson & Gold is a short crawl to Magness and just completed an awesome tribute mural to DU athletics.

Follow the link below to vote for your favorite:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JGNJ7H7

LetsGoDU will announce the winner October 4th prior to the DU hockey game vs. Calgary in game 1 of the 2015-2016 season. The winning bar will get a special feature in LetsGoDU and one week of free mention in LetsGoDU.

Women's Soccer: Can Player Rituals Stop 'The Streak'

Most of us will never play D-1 sports, much less become professional athletes. But many of us have rituals that we believe allow us to compete more effectively.

Tiger Woods wears a red shirt during final rounds of golf. Michael Jordan wore his college basketball shorts from UNC under his uniform. Wade Boggs ate chicken before every baseball game. Even fans have rituals to help the home team such as lucky clothes and rally caps.

According to an article in Applied Sports Psychology in an article entitled The Power of Ritual & Superstition in Sports, a ritual in sports can be defined as ‘a certain behaviour or action that a sports performer carries out with the belief that these behaviours have a specific purpose, or power, to influence their performance’. Many sports performers believe that performing a specific ritual before a competition improves the outcome of their performance.

As the Denver Women's Soccer program braces for their match with Portland Saturday, there are surely players and fans, especially parents and close friends, who will follow rituals and superstitions to will a goal and, ultimately, victory.

The article cites a study by Damisch, Stoberock and Mussweiler (2010) researched the performance benefits of these superstitions and tried identifying their underlying psychological mechanisms. Their results...suggest that these performance benefits are produced by changes in the sports people’s perceived self-efficiency, which activates a superstition boost in a sports person’s confidence in successful completion of the upcoming tasks; this in turn improves their individual performance.

LetsGoDU wishes them the very best...fingers crossed. Beat Portland!

Source: Applied Sports Psychology
http://believeperform.com/performance/the-power-of-superstitions-and-rituals-in-sport/

LAX Hardware on Display

Next time you are in Magness arena, check out the Lacrosse display for the 2014-2015 National Champs. Wes Berg's jersey is prominently displayed along with the NCAA D-1 Championship trophy, What an accomplishment!

Blog Note: With a few changes to the cabinet, there is room for an additional trophy or two. 

Photo compliments of Tim Healy

Is DU Hockey Better When CC is Very Good?

Root for CC? Well, not exactly. But, after placing last in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) media poll for the second straight year, is DU hockey actually better off with a strong Colorado College team? Of course, any hockey team can win on any given night because hockey is about emotion and effort as much as it is skill. Especially in a relatively short 4-game series when the under dog is highly motivated. But, over the course of a long season, the most skilled teams will usually rise to the top of league standings.

Do you think DU hockey is better when their main rival, CC, can battle for the top spot? Or, do you see an extremely competitive NCHC and believe DU needs to scratch out every win it can get - especially against CC!

If you missed it...

August 26th, The University of Denver Magazine offered an in-depth article on the 15 newcomers to DU men's lacrosse. Give it a look...Men's Lacrosse Re-Fuels Roster with 15 Newcomers in 2015. As LetsGoDU mentioned in an earlier article, most of the new recruits are from either Colorado or California. Link Below:

http://magazine.du.edu/sports-recreation/mens-lacrosse-re-fuels-roster-with-15-newcomers-in-2016/

Hoops TV, Radio, & Fan Jam

The following is the University of Denver radio & TV schedule for 2015-2016:

ROOT SPORTS TV BROADCAST
Men’s Basketball - Magness Arena
Wednesday, Dec. 2, 7 p.m. – Wyoming
Saturday, Dec. 5, 2 p.m. – Air Force
Sunday, Dec. 13, 12 p.m. – Weber State
Wednesday, Jan. 6, 7 p.m. – Oral Roberts
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2 p.m. – South Dakota State
Saturday, Feb. 27, 4 p.m. – North Dakota State

Women’s Basketball - Magness Arena
Wednesday, Dec. 9, 12 p.m.– Wyoming (will re-air at 7 p.m.)

RADIO COVERAGE
Games will be broadcast on AM 1340. In addition to the game broadcasts, AM 1340 will be home to the weekly Joe Scott Radio Show. Brad Thompson will host the show. Raj Sharon will make the play-by-play call for the games.

PIONEER VISION

Games can also be seen and heard on Pioneer Vision. Link Below:

http://www.denverpioneers.com/collegesportslive/

Fan Jam - October 14th

The event is free to the students and public. Concession stands will be open and will have free food. There will be audience participation & prizes. Also, fans can stay around after the event and shoot on the court, meet the players, coaches and cheer teams.

Both the men's and women's basketball teams are young this year. The men have six new freshmen and the women have only one senior. They need the support of Pioneer Nation this year to play their best.

NCHC Media Poll Tabs Pios #2

A media poll, sponsored by the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), predicted the order of finish for the conference for 2015-2016. The order is as follows:
1. Minnesota-Duluth
2. Denver
3. North Dakota
4. Nebraska-Omaha
5. Miami
6. St. Cloud State
7. Western Michigan
8. Colorado College

Considered by many experts as the toughest league in Collegiate Hockey, a number of teams from the conference are expected to receive eventual NCAA bids. Clearly, there are high expectations for Denver. Still, no one will be surprised if any of the top 5-6 are in the hunt going into the final weekend of the regular season.

The prior day, the NCHC announced their 2015 Preseason All-Conference Team. The Pioneers landed forwards Trevor Moore and Danton Heinen on the first team. Minnesota Duluth placed two players as well.

Any surprises?

Vikings Sack Mascot; UND Schedules Team Name Vote

Despite pleas of 'Free Ragner' (the Viking mascot) from football fans, it appears that another mascot bites the dust. The following cryptic note from the Vikings:

"The Vikings greatly appreciate what Ragnar has meant to the organization and to the fans over the last two decades. We intend to honor his 21 seasons on the field during a 2015 Vikings home game and we will welcome him to future ceremonial events. We will always consider Ragnar an important part of Vikings history."

Sound familiar? In other words..."you're fired".

http://www.startribune.com/ragnar-missing-from-vikings-game-says-it-was-not-by-my-choice/328535641/#1
________________________________________________

In other news, University of North Dakota stakeholders begin on-line voting on Monday October 19rd thru Friday, October 23rd on a new team name to replace Fighting Sioux. Students, faculty, staff, retirees, alums, and season ticket holders will vote. The names under consideration are:

• Fighting Hawks
• Nodaks
• North Stars
• Roughriders
• Sundogs

In early preference voting on the top UND blog, Goon's World, Roughriders holds 34% of the votes followed by Fighting Hawks with 24%

Amygdala Threatens Portland 'Tilt'

The amygdala (shown in red) is an almond-shaped structure in the brain; its name comes from the Greek word for “almond”. The amygdala or amygdalae (plural)  are essential to your ability to feel certain emotions. This part of the brain manages perceived fear and threats and activates during stressful situations.

According to a video (below) targeted to computer 'gamers', the amygdala can hijack a brain and put a player on 'tilt' resulting in deteriorated performance. This in part may explain DU's women's soccer team's 8-game scoreless streak. The longer the streak lasts, as scoring opportunities present themselves and are lost, the amygdala is activated, resulting in anxiety and reduced performance. The video, How to Stop Losing Streaks, recommends taking breaks, controlling emotions, and relaxing - i.e. don't care about losing.

The DU women play Portland at CIBER field on Saturday, September 26th at 7:00 p.m..The Pilots are giving up less than one goal per game over their last 5 games and shut out Washington State in their latest match.

NCHC Beefs Up TV Schedule

Earlier, LetsGoDU reported that Root Sports  (ROOT) will be televising six DU hockey games.

Assuming you have access to CBS Sports Network (CBSSN), American Sports Network (ASN), and Fox College Sports (FCS), there are an additional 6 games (below) you can watch DU as well as a number of other NCHC tilts on these same networks. DU's announced television games:

ROOT           Friday, Oct 16         Michigan State @ Denver
ROOT           Friday, Nov 6          CC @ Denver
FCS              Saturday, Dec. 5      Denver @ North Dakota
ROOT           Friday, Dec 11        St Cloud @ Denver
CBSSN         Friday, Jan 1           Notre Dame @ Denver
ROOT           Saturday, Jan 2       Notre Dame @ Denver
ASN              Friday, Jan 15         Western Michigan @ Denver
ROOT           Friday, Jan 22         Minnesota Duluth @ Denver
CBSSN         Friday, Jan 29         Denver @ Miami
CBSSN         Friday, Feb 12         North Dakota @ Denver
ROOT           Saturday, Feb 13     North Dakota @ Denver
ASN             Thursday, Feb 18     Denver @ CC
???               Saturday, Feb 20     *CC @ Denver (Coors Field)

It will be interesting to see if the Battle on Blake on Saturday, February 20th makes it onto television.

Overall, a great move by the NCHC to increase exposure.

*Battle on Blake night game - TBD???

Streaking Pios Crush UNC

The red hot Denver volleyball team sweeps the University of Northern Colorado 3-0 tonight at Hamilton Arena. They move to 12-3 as the NCAA D-1 leader in kills. A solid mid-week crowd cheered on the Pioneers.

With only one senior, Sarah Schmid, they are the surprise team at DU this fall. Are they the next women's program at DU with the  potential to become one of the nations elite programs? Or, is  another DU women's team poised to join the DU women's gymnastics program as an elite power?

They head on the road to IPFW at Fort Wayne this Friday, September 25th to start Summit League play.

Who will be DU's Hockey MVP in 2015-2016?

With a promising hockey season in front of us, who  will be DU's most valuable player this upcoming season? LGDU takes a look at several key players for the 2015-2016 Pioneers:

UNO Hops into Beer Game

University of Nebraska Omaha will be offering beer sales at their new Baxter Arena on their home campus. This will make them the first university in Nebraska to offer beer at their on-campus athletic events. Beer will be served during basketball and hockey games.

There are 32 universities that serve beer at their on-campus stadiums. University of Denver is among these 32 and sells both beer and liquor.

UNO patrons should be advised that, despite the amount of alcohol consumed, they will still wake up in Omaha.

http://netnebraska.org/article/news/990063/uno-sell-beer-new-campus-arena

Champs Dress for Success

Lacrosse practices for the men and women have started. LetsGoDU got an exclusive look at the almost completed men's locker room under the Peter Barton south stands.. Well, not exactly "exclusive" -  just walked in.