UNH 2020 Off-Season Thread: That Rinky-Shrinky Thang And Other Lively Banter :D

[msprice]

Stay safe chucky and lets hope we will be able to see some UNH hockey in person this season.

[Chuck Murray]

It is amazing what propaganda can accomplish. It pushes forward narratives the user wants to be true, rather than actually analyzing a problem. If a 20-something demographic is impacted, someone may push forward as the answer that 20-something kids rarely die. However, a person trying to realistically assess the risk, might ask if 20 year olds can pass the virus on to other demographics, even if they themselves are unlikely to suffer severe impact. But if the "nothing to see here" lends itself to the outcome the person wants, they may ignore the second part.

FWIW I'm living (not ignoring) "the second part", and have been for many weeks now. I'd never ask (lest expect) anyone in a younger demographic to curtail their activities for my benefit. Yet there are teachers literally half my age, professing to be "terrorized" by the prospect of having to deal with the same young adults I'm working with. Please. And folks wonder why I've often criticized us as a people (Americans) for becoming SO soft.

The NEA messengers of doom are constantly trying to spread their narrative of fear, and they have an enormous megaphone (NEA via MSM) whereas I have this little patch of the Internet. So yeah, I do get your spiel on propaganda, and how difficult it is to overcome. Again, I'm living it.

Of course, a logical person might also have asked if a virus could travel from blue states to red states. But some, driven by political bent, chose to believe the snapshot in time because it is a pleasing answer, without asking the follow up question there, too.

Not too many folks asking follow-up questions to Govs. Cuomo, Murphy, Baker-Parker, and now Whitmer about catastrophic mismanagement of COVID-19 in their nursing homes, I hope you'd agree?

Not much logic behind those comparing those wholesale fiascos with the relatively small flare-ups down in the Sun Belt, yet it hasn't stopped way too many of the Blue persuasion to almost be rooting for more carnage down south under the guise of karma.

People can disagree about how to solve a problem (balancing the risk against the cost). There's a wider range of choices in that balancing. Heck, my family is a bit more risk-taking during the summer, having small gatherings and graduation parties, and having three of the kids' friends stay with my mother in law for a week this summer. It's not that we're trying to make a political point, just a personal choice, and we know that what we are doing is a bit more risky than others would choose.

That's all very much the American way now, isn't it? I think 99.9% of the populace can get on board with the sentiment and process you've described here. Free people, living their lives freely.

But then you had to go down the shopworn "science" road, refusing to admit that "science" has in so many ways become just so politicized. This has its roots in our previous discussions over the so-called "climate change" thing. Anyway ...

But we are not just ignoring the risk with basic faulty analysis that wouldn't pass Logic 101, doesn't do much for me. And we also don't view this solely as a political issue and the virus will just disappear on November 3rd, even though nothing in the science changes on that day.

Sadly, "science" has been hijacked in many instances. For several months now, we've been told by the powers-that-be that Dr. Fauci is a purely science guy, and to question him and/or his motives was heresy, denial, etc. All despite his flip-flopping more than a career politician on some of the most basic safety issues and advisories. Last week, he couldn't even answer a line of questioning about limiting protests as a matter of public health without weaving and dodging, and this week we find out that not only is Dr. Fauci a virology expert, but now he is also a recognized Social Justice Warrior, whose actions have been recognized alongside those of Dr. Colin Kaepernick:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-fauc...-rights-award/

Counterpoint - his recognition may have to do with his work on AIDS about 30 years ago. Fair enough. But does anyone really believe he's being recognized right now for something he just as easily (and probably deservedly) should have been honored for a generation ago? Or a Lifetime Achievement Award to a guy who's been a useful tool for Perma DC in 2020?

Listen, I'll all for a scientific approach, 'Watcher. But science is all about challenging assumptions, not random guesswork (where Dr. Fauci has veered far from his field of expertise) and definitely not "settled science" (the soft "foundation" of so-called climate change). And if a scientist cannot simply concede a point that the GF protests almost certainly reignited the spread of the virus, while ordering everyone else to live highly altered lives in various stages of lockdown - not to mention his appearance at Nationals Park with his mask down, and surrounded at close quarters by two associates not doing social distancing - then words like "fraud" and "hypocrite" start to come to mind. And I doubt he'll decline his RFK Ripples award.

I know you're not an ideologue, 'Watcher (and neither am I) so I appreciate the positive updates you provide, and I enjoy the good faith back-and-forth with you. I'm having a hard time getting engaged with the NHL playoffs so far, our attempt to generate discussion about UNH's 20/21 outlook landed with a thud, and with my summer mini-season of coaching coming to an end in a few weeks, so I've gotta find other things to do with my time. Maybe even finish up a WIS story thread or two (insert winky icon that the USCHO Deep State) has wrenched away from me) ... continued best wishes to you and yours.

As for realistic changes, in addition to the four phase 3 vaccines (the Oxford one which will now be controlled by an Indian manufacturer), there are partial treatments that may minimize the risk of Covid to a manageable level.

Regeneron’s antibody therapy was effective in hamsters and primates. It is in phase 3 and could theoretically be ready by September.
Regeneron says antibody cocktail prevents and treats COVID-19 in animals

[Chuck Murray]

Stay safe chucky and lets hope we will be able to see some UNH hockey in person this season.

Nothing would make me happier. Hockey talk on a hockey board. What a concept, eh?

[Snively65]

I think you pretty much nailed it there, pricey. And yes, unless one or more of the Rutgers kids had a compromised immune system beforehand, they'll all be fine in a week or two, tops. The medical science is mixed at this early point, but it's even possible that if some of these fine scholar-athletes have dabbling in steroids, those may actually aid in their recovery.

One correction though: it's the China Virus, or Wuhan Virus, or even the Kung Flu.

China has a long history of generating viruses that result in pandemics. I even lived through the "Hong Kong Flu" in the late 1960's, and many of our old-timers on here probably lived through the 1957 "Asian Flu" pandemic. SARS also originated in China, while I believe the H1N1/Swine Flue thing was of Mexican origin (willing to stand corrected if that's wrong?).

https://www.britannica.com/event/1968-flu-pandemic

https://www.britannica.com/event/1957-flu-pandemic

The US is known for freedom, Canada is known for hockey. France does wine top shelf, Germany nails beer, and England was responsible for spreading football (soccer) around the world in its colonial era. More locally, now Portland is known as Antifa HQ, Seattle as the home of CHAZ/CHAD/CHOP, and Minneapolis as the origin of "do-it-yourself" law enforcement. China just happens to be the worldwide leader on viruses. And (surprising exactly no rational human being) it all post-dates the rise to power of their totalitarian/Communist regime. Shocking.

U.S. also known for jazz, with Charlie Parker (not Jack Parker, not Charlie Baker) an exemplar on alto sax.

[NCAA watcher]

FWIW I'm living (not ignoring) "the second part", and have been for many weeks now.

My confusion was to Whaler's non-sequitur about shark deaths, which didn't really address the risk.

The NEA messengers of doom are constantly trying to spread their narrative of fear, and they have an enormous megaphone (NEA via MSM) whereas I have this little patch of the Internet.

Not sure I understand their "doom" or "fear" other than the warning that the USA is objectively lagging behind the world in a response. Even Blix seems to dare to articulate that now.

Not much logic behind those comparing those wholesale fiascos with the relatively small flare-ups down in the Sun Belt, yet it hasn't stopped way too many of the Blue persuasion to almost be rooting for more carnage down south under the guise of karma.

Not sure if those are "flare ups." Even the official numbers out of Florida, which are suspect, show an out of control virus, hence Trump and DeSantis' drop in ratings.

I disagree about you calling it "rooting." The knowledgeable people were trying to head it off by yelling at Kemp and DeSantis about their errors. Pointing out how disasterous their decisions were is not rooting for carnage.

Sadly, "science" has been hijacked in many instances. For several months now, we've been told by the powers-that-be that Dr. Fauci is a purely science guy, and to question him and/or his motives was heresy, denial, etc. All despite his flip-flopping more than a career politician on some of the most basic safety issues and advisories. Last week, he couldn't even answer a line of questioning about limiting protests as a matter of public health without weaving and dodging

By flip flopping, I know of only one item. He equivocated during the first month about masks. That's pretty much it. On the last point, about the margins of how to enfoce social distancing in church v. protests, I tended to see a valid queston by Jordan, even if he is a grandstanding putz. Yes, Fauci dodged that policy choice.

Listen, I'll all for a scientific approach, 'Watcher. But science is all about challenging assumptions, not random guesswork (where Dr. Fauci has veered far from his field of expertise) and definitely not "settled science" (the soft "foundation" of so-called climate change).

There's a wide gap between random guesswork and perfection. The virus in earlier forms has been known for years, so the concepts of how to deal with it were known, and are not theory. But rather than buy into that well-known solution, the other side was sure that it was false, telling people not to wear masks, and prohibiting that. That goes beyond "challenging assumptions." And yes, I did swipe at you for the November 3rd thing, because it makes no sense in any reality (I even left stand your "Antifa" reference. As an aside, my brother in law in RI is a foxer, and expressed concern about his sister in Portland and the riots, even as she has laughed with us about the peaceful protests.)

I'm having a hard time getting engaged with the NHL playoffs

Try baskeball and baseball. More enjoyable. Pro hockey has gotten way too random for me. Give me a college game where a player can make plays rather than just be in a pinball where they touch the puck for maybe 3 seconds. If I wanted to see a pinball machine, I'd go down to the arcade.

[Chuck Murray]

Just a few pesky nits to pick ...

Not sure if those are "flare ups." Even the official numbers out of Florida, which are suspect, show an out of control virus, hence Trump and DeSantis' drop in ratings.

I disagree about you calling it "rooting." The knowledgeable people were trying to head it off by yelling at Kemp and DeSantis about their errors. Pointing out how disasterous their decisions were is not rooting for carnage.

I remember, back in the bad ol' days of the USCHO Boards, when the Chestnut Hillbillies would often run amok with some fantastical narratives, which when left unchecked would take on a life of their own. And hence it is with the current narrative of "Florida, Texas and Georgia should have done what well-managed (*guffaw*) states like New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts did, now they're getting theirs for not listening". Yet, once again, the up-to-date hard numbers tell a FAR different tale.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...hs-us-by-state

Not too long ago, I was pointing out that FL-TX-GA had slightly less total cases combined than Massachusetts alone, with 9-10 times more residents in those combined larger states. And while that's no longer true, all three (3) of those bigger states still have less individually than does itty bitty Dark Blue RINO managed MA. And while combined they now have twice the total deaths of MA, it still indicates you are about four (4) to five (5) times as likely to die with COVID in MA than in those other 3 larger states combined.

This says nothing about New York and New Jersey, whose numbers still rank them as the worst COVID managed states.

So if you're selling DeSantis or Kemp being "disasterous", I'm not buying. And the data is decidedly (still) on my side.

That's good news for everyone, right?

Anyway …

And yes, I did swipe at you for the November 3rd thing, because it makes no sense in any reality (I even left stand your "Antifa" reference. As an aside, my brother in law in RI is a foxer, and expressed concern about his sister in Portland and the riots, even as she has laughed with us about the peaceful protests.)

You can absolutely positively take a swipe at me in good faith and good nature. I stand behind my point. In an election year, it's all about politics. Vaccines, riots, "science", things contrary to the MSM/liberal narrative disappearing from the Internet, etc. If the guy hiding in his basement wins on November 3rd, the "return to normalcy" narrative will magically spring out of the depths of darkness, slowly but steadily, as the country approaches the inauguration. And if the 77% of conservatives (all way more motivated than their opponents, even based on MSM polls) who have been keeping their powder dry come out in force like I expect them to … well, then it's probably going to be another 4 year temper tantrum by the MSM, more silly made-up narratives, and maybe the Dems find their way back to the middle, and crawl back from their socialist-to-communist perch?

Dare to dream, eh?

As far as Portland goes, it's a fairly big city, no doubt. Never been there, and have no desire to visit. You could have nightly riots at the Moakley Courthouse/Seaport District in Boston for two straight months, and there's a very good chance no one living on Beacon Hill would be any the wiser for it. But it doesn't mean it's not happening. I'm not sure from your wording if you guys are laughing about how the riots have been dubbed "peaceful protests" OR at supposedly peaceful protests being dubbed "riots"?

Try baskeball and baseball. More enjoyable. Pro hockey has gotten way too random for me. Give me a college game where a player can make plays rather than just be in a pinball where they touch the puck for maybe 3 seconds. If I wanted to see a pinball machine, I'd go down to the arcade.

It's funny, but that's a very good description of what the NHL does look like these days to me, too.

We gotta get goalies up off their knees, that's still my crusade - more athletes, less space-fillers.

[NCAA watcher]

Just a few pesky nits to pick ...



I remember, back in the bad ol' days of the USCHO Boards, when the Chestnut Hillbillies would often run amok with some fantastical narratives, which when left unchecked would take on a life of their own.

That Eddie Caron was an overrated bust who regularly appeared on milk-cartons? That Tony Hutchins was better than his brother Mike? That Krys Kolanos was better than his brother Mark?

As to the rest, let's agree to disagree, rather than use up more ink, or bandwidth on this crappy new interface.

This, for nostalgia, is how a simple message board should look

http://web.archive.org/web/200103311...=60&LastLogin=


http://web.archive.org/web/200312141...ML/008643.html

[Whalers]

My confusion was to Whaler's non-sequitur about shark deaths, which didn't really address the risk.

Watcher, the shark reference was not a non-sequitor, just a comparison figure to hopefully open some eyes to the fear mongering on getting kids back to school. If the death risk to this age group in New England is Corona = 1 and total Deaths by White Shark in New England = 1, then I believe our fear priorities are clearly in the wrong places. If we fear kids going back to classrooms will spread the virus like cooties and they will start dropping like flies, this is just not supported by the "science". If the next fear is that these kids will then spread it along to Grandma, last I checked schools don’t share space with nursing homes. We will have to tell Grandma that visits will need to be curtailed for a few months while these kids get something potentially useful to their future called an education. I am sure 99% of the grandmothers who aren't narcissists will understand.

I see plenty of kids, parents, and yes, even grandparents, happily frolicking TOGETHER at the beaches of New England while a deadly menace supposedly lurks everywhere. Perfect Example - My teenage daughter, who works in retail with all it's corona exposure to people from parts unknown, recently took my 80 year Mom (with underlying conditions) to an ocean beach. Neither wore a mask and happily spent the day around a sea of humanity of all ages, most without a mask. Both said it was a GREAT day (no mention of corona virus, pandemics), so I asked how the boogie boarding was. Daughter's response - "oh we didn’t go in the water, a Sharktivity alert came up about a white shark in the area."

HEY!! Chief Brody!!! You better close the beaches or risk getting slapped in the face again.

[Chuck Murray]

That Eddie Caron was an overrated bust who regularly appeared on milk-cartons? That Tony Hutchins was better than his brother Mike? That Krys Kolanos was better than his brother Mark?

Oh, there's no doubt the Chestnut Hillbillies had their moments, and Caron (and Travis Banga from around the same time) were two painful recruiting fails during that era, which the CHB's exploited wonderfully.

But they had their "blue chippas" who pooped the bed early and often as well (anyone remember "future B's starting goalie Matti Kaltiainen" - oops, not quite - or Adam Pineault, who made Eddie Caron look like Kevin Stevens? Anyone??). I think it all came to a head (retrospectively) with the Joe Exter incident at Conte in the playoffs circa 2003, when the forum was figuratively on fire for a couple of weeks. I had some fantastic contacts back then, and got some very reliable insight on some behind the scenes stuff that I was able to share some bits and pieces without betraying confidences, which did not reflect well on the CHB's guys. So they crafted some factually-deficient defenses in response, which gradually came to light. I remember dialing things back a little bit after (suspect they did as well - I knew most of those guys for real at one point, and all in all, we got along in person) - even if readers who've been on here long enough are probably shrewd enough to recognize some things from L'Affaire Exter that still stick in my craw even now. They did get the last laugh TBF when 5 years later, BC embarked on their dominant run of 3 NC's in 5 seasons. Good times, I miss it.

As to the rest, let's agree to disagree, rather than use up more ink, or bandwidth on this crappy new interface.

Agreed on the quality (or lack thereof) of the new interface, especially when you followed up with ...

This, for nostalgia, is how a simple message board should look

http://web.archive.org/web/200103311...=60&LastLogin=


http://web.archive.org/web/200312141...ML/008643.html

Wow, those took me back. Even some of the posters named in the screenshots, haven't seen for awhile.

Perfect examples to expose how "newer" definitely does not mean "better", sadly.

[HockeyRef]

Glad to hear you are out at the beaches and staying safe. Just wear a mask for others, as your not taking any casualties is largely a benefit of others doing their jobs. It's the single most significant risk-reducer we know of. (Though, I must confess, when we're outdoors and only briefly encounter others, I'm more lax.) But indoors, just wear one and that will help get things back to normal more quickly.

UNH is missing a good opportunity to sell cut outs of the fans for the Whit, like they have at the baseball games. I'd say each season ticket holder could get one for an additional $10 charge. As for the games, I'll be interested to hear how the junior hockey games nd camps are working in preventing any infections. I believe the transmission rate for outdoor sports is very low, but if you're on the bench next to a guy wheezing, it is probably a lot larger. For the NHL they can do multiple tests, but testing may not be so easy for a University and a lower revenue sport.

Of course, the larger item that would upset the games is the university getting a significant outbreak. It's bound to happen once students are back, particularly in urban schools like BU and Northeastern, so what's the tolerance for cases at the Universities themselves. One of our kids will be remote in the fall, and the other will be in person starting August 17th, with a plan. Let's see how that plan develops.

HR, thanks for being on the real front lines with the kids. While the incidents in your area of NH are clearly in your favor, the insidious thing about this is it can be passed even by young people who are asymptomatic, so you can never know. Stay safe as best you can by providing a good example to kids about safety, caring for others by doing a small step, and listening to better educated people instead of just doing what feels good. It may be easier to convince a child to act grown up, rather than some other examples who may encourage them to do just to make a selfish point.

In a best case scenario, one of the five vaccines in phase 3 will be effective and can be distributed by early next year. So far so good in terms of phase 1 safety to the users, and also Phase 2 generating the immune response required by the body to fight off the real thing. It also sounds like the "challenge" tests on the monkeys that actually expose them to Covid has been successful, though I am told that this is only a slight indicators of the results in humans. So, phase 3 of giving the vaccine to users near hot spots will see if they have lower or no infection rates. Even if the success rate is less than 100%, the impact on reducing the virus' spread will be significant.

Probably not by Nov. 4th, as Whaler predicts, but in early 2021, the virus will hopefully begin to disappear. Not through magical thinking, but through science.

If we can get some hockey in, so much the better. But the 2021 season will be fun, both because things may be back to normal, but because UNH's class of 2021 is pretty strong.

Thanks 'Watcher; I have my face shield and mask ready. Our school is going full in plus remote if parents want it. Was so hoping for a hybrid model at the High School at least. My classroom is not big enough to practice even 3 feet of SD if they keep the normal class size of 22 students (plus any paraprofessionals). I know this falls on death ears but, we don't know fully what's going to really happen when we bring in students en masse since we LEFT when it all started to go down. I am grateful our numbers are very low, but summer being summer and with events like 'motorcycle' week going down right before school (and many of our students work the hospitality field) I am wary to say the least. Year 41...thinking it's time to hang it up, do something else...we'll see....Be well!

[Chuck Murray]

... I know this falls on death ears but ...

Holy crap - that's one heck of an ear infection, 'Ref!?!?! j/k

Welcome back.

[acs64]

Oh, there's no doubt the Chestnut Hillbillies had their moments, and Caron (and Travis Banga from around the same time) were two painful recruiting fails during that era, which the CHB's exploited wonderfully.

But they had their "blue chippas" who pooped the bed early and often as well (anyone remember "future B's starting goalie Matti Kaltiainen" - oops, not quite - or Adam Pineault, who made Eddie Caron look like Kevin Stevens? Anyone??). I think it all came to a head (retrospectively) with the Joe Exter incident at Conte in the playoffs circa 2003, when the forum was figuratively on fire for a couple of weeks. I had some fantastic contacts back then, and got some very reliable insight on some behind the scenes stuff that I was able to share some bits and pieces without betraying confidences, which did not reflect well on the CHB's guys. So they crafted some factually-deficient defenses in response, which gradually came to light. I remember dialing things back a little bit after (suspect they did as well - I knew most of those guys for real at one point, and all in all, we got along in person) - even if readers who've been on here long enough are probably shrewd enough to recognize some things from L'Affaire Exter that still stick in my craw even now. They did get the last laugh TBF when 5 years later, BC embarked on their dominant run of 3 NC's in 5 seasons. Good times, I miss it.



Agreed on the quality (or lack thereof) of the new interface, especially when you followed up with ...



Wow, those took me back. Even some of the posters named in the screenshots, haven't seen for awhile.

Perfect examples to expose how "newer" definitely does not mean "better", sadly.

Chuck, I sure hope you haven't forgotten that Joe Exter, because of his ultra-competitiveness, absolutely intentionally slammed his head into Patrick Eaves knee. Chris!!!! would be soooooo upset should you think otherwise. Those were the days of total board anarchy werent they?

[HockeyRef]

Holy crap - that's one heck of an ear infection, 'Ref!?!?! j/k

Welcome back.

Oh my....well, I guess you know what I have on my mind!! ha! Funny just watched Monty Python's Holy Grail (I'm not dead yet!) just so much school talk my head is spinning more than usual!

[Chuck Murray]

Chuck, I sure hope you haven't forgotten that Joe Exter, because of his ultra-competitiveness, absolutely intentionally slammed his head into Patrick Eaves knee. Chris!!!! would be soooooo upset should you think otherwise. Those were the days of total board anarchy werent they?

I vividly remember getting out of The Whitt that evening after a UNH playoff game (couldn't tell you against whom, or even the outcome, although a W was likely, as it would have been on UNH's way to their HE Tourney repeat title), turning on the radio to catch Dick & Pete's post-game show, and even by then, word had gotten to them about the catastrophic injury to Exter, so (due to the delays from the injury) I found that game elsewhere on the car radio dial for the final few minutes.

By the time I got back to the WIS Estate (less than a half hour out of the lot), I'd already started getting calls, and then the e-mails followed, and of course the Board was gonna be post-season busy anyway, but with the Exter situation, it was crazy off the hook, as you'll probably recall. Raw and real emotion. The late Chris Serino (Umile's former UNH capo) was head coach for Merrimack at the time, so they were kind of a "second team" for many UNH fans (myself included), so while UNH didn't have any "skin in the game" (so to speak), so to me it felt like the neighborhood bully punched your kid brother.

And it was BC, of course, in a world where UNH had an argument that the post-Walsh future of HE was going to be between UNH and BC. A month later, it would be UNH in the FF Finals, capping off a two year burst in which UNH won their only two HE Tourneys, and made it to back-to-back Frozen Fours - while BC was two years out from their first modern NC, and hadn't made it back to the FF since. It was a very different competitive landscape back then.

The USCHO Boards were a real blast back then, acs64. Shudder to think how today's snow-flakery would handle that stuff. Kinda like playing a DVD of the old "Dean Martin Roasts (fill in the blank)" to your local school committee board these days, eh? Lots and lots of melting involved.

Not to mention, there were like 3-4 different "smileys" and they all worked perfectly!

Thanks for prompting the trip down USCHO Memory Lane, acs64.

[Chuck Murray]

Old ESPN story on the Joe Exter incident, footage of the actual event, and some sobering observations from Coach Serino, Exter's parents, and Joe Exter himself.