An Open Letter to Coach Umile

[unhpuckfan2001]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

The thing that too many people are missing, when they ask why people are calling for Coach Umile's head, is this constant factor:

UNH performs well in the regular season. However, UNH continues to lose in the NCAA tournament -- in games they should, usually win.

To take nothing away from RIT, that was a game UNH should have won going away. If the team that showed up Friday night v. Cornell had showed up, UNH would be making plans for Detroit right now. It was very clear early in the game that UNH had not done enough scouting work for RIT, and were also not amped enough for the game.

What frustrates so many UNH fans so often is that during this game, while UNH was getting outplayed and outcoached, Dick chose to lean against the glass and take it. It's a situation that you've seen Jerry York leaned over with a captain or an assistant, a whiteboard in his hands, making adjustments to the other teams' play. Coach Umile's inability to do this is what drives us nuts. How could you just sit there and accept the beating RIT was handing us?

I'm not saying Coach Umile needs to go, but something needs to change.

[thecomicbookguy]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

To take nothing away from RIT, that was a game UNH should have won going away. If the team that showed up Friday night v. Cornell had showed up, UNH would be making plans for Detroit right now.

The team that showed up against Cornell was one we'd seen only rarely this season. The team that showed up against RIT is the one we'd seen the majority of the year. It's not like the game against Notre Dame, where they played significantly worse than they had all season. This was about par for the course.

[PSW]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

The team that showed up against RIT is the one we'd seen the majority of the year.

What????.....regular season champs...NCAA bid...Nov/Dec unbeat'em.....Majority played like RIT, I don't think so..

[Jacques "Rabbit" Poriveau]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

Mon ami Chucks, I no you liking da crazy storys mais you no I not Quebecois, eh, I growed up on da farm ma grandmere en Nouveau Brunswick, juste like I putted on da WIS applicacion, n’est-ce pas. Et Manchvegian I not idure, I mean I been to da JFK pour de Celine Dion looksalike conteste, eveywait division, mais not for de work. All ze day I working in de blueberry field a ma grandmere arvesting de bewtiful leetle berry, right up to dat orrbile day dem BC football fan stop et urinate all ovure de field when dey getted lost on they way to da Frozen Haddock Processing Plant Bowl en Newfoundland (d’ACC reelly eez paying off pour dem, eh?) – all 5 of da peoples who go to dey Bowl games was der et you no ow dem guy like to drink…

Alors maintenant, non blueberry mo more, juste chopping de woods. Luckile many year ago I winned d’ome ec conteste in ih sckool so I getted de contracte to go Paris et design de womens andbags pour Karl Lagerfeld, oui, it big time mon ami!!! So now ma vie et de summure chopping de woods et de winture working avec Karl en Paris.

Only probleme, et dis eez wear daockey contente coming in, I tell eem I got to getting back see my Wildcat sometimes. Alors now me et Karl op de corprat jet couple time de year et ed pour Pease et den ovure to Durham. Karl not wanna coz de scene so we bof juste grow beerds et put on de cap baseball so we fitting right in, no ones noing us. It kinda suprising mais Karl loving d’ockey. Only ting e not like eez dem silvure turd jersey. First time e get a look at dem e faint rite der in section 134. I tot e ave de stroke ovure dem, no what I saying, mon Dieu! When e come to e put he and over he eyes et maked me describe de game to eem, e could not watch. Oh my god dem shirt is ugly Karl say.

Et Karl aussi say dat Dicks Umile need to lose da turtlesneck et change up da forecheck evury now den, eh. E also wondure why Dicks not ave dem go to dat net more when da game eez close. Zut alors, I mean even Karl Lagerfeld can see it, et e cant even skate cuz e feet swell up from de rough leathure (e delicate you no).

Messieurs, I not getting it, why you loving getting close to da finish et den stopping evury times. I no da teem colour eez blue mais do everyting ave to be blue, eh?

[thecomicbookguy]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

What????.....regular season champs...NCAA bid...Nov/Dec unbeat'em.....Majority played like RIT, I don't think so..

The majority of the year we saw a team that couldn't handle pressure in their own end, would often make horrible passes that wouldn't connect, and had trouble getting to the net. Sound like the RIT game? They didn't exactly run away with the RS title, needing a 3rd period comeback against BC to clinch it. In fact, they needed a bevy of 3rd period comebacks to win it (2 against NU the weekend before); they were far too reliant on the 3rd period.

Also, unbeaten in Nov/Dec? They lost in November, and beat Lowell, Vermont, and Providence once each in December. Just 3 games; 2 of them by just a goal (hung on for dear life against PC!).

[Chuck Murray]

Long time no see!

Mon ami Chucks, I no you liking da crazy storys mais you no I not Quebecois, eh, I growed up on da farm ma grandmere en Nouveau Brunswick, juste like I putted on da WIS applicacion, n’est-ce pas. Et Manchvegian I not idure, I mean I been to da JFK pour de Celine Dion looksalike conteste, eveywait division, mais not for de work.

Sorry 'bout that, Jimbo. Just assumed Quebec with the name and all, but you never struck me as the separatist sort anyhow.

Had to shut down the WIS post office box, so I never got your stuff. Went underground when some cross-eyed cougar type named Karen Che Guevara (or something like that?) started stalking me, looking for an endorsement for something or another. Nutcase wouldn't leave me alone, and even started sending her mother around. Creepy stuff. Last I heard, she relocated down to DC, and is now stalking some dude from Chicago or Kansas or Kenya. I'm just glad to be rid of her. But it was touch and go for awhile ...

All ze day I working in de blueberry field a ma grandmere arvesting de bewtiful leetle berry, right up to dat orrbile day dem BC football fan stop et urinate all ovure de field when dey getted lost on they way to da Frozen Haddock Processing Plant Bowl en Newfoundland (d’ACC reelly eez paying off pour dem, eh?) – all 5 of da peoples who go to dey Bowl games was der et you no ow dem guy like to drink…

Some things just never change, do they, mon ami.

Alors maintenant, non blueberry mo more, juste chopping de woods. Luckile many year ago I winned d’ome ec conteste in ih sckool so I getted de contracte to go Paris et design de womens andbags pour Karl Lagerfeld, oui, it big time mon ami!!! So now ma vie et de summure chopping de woods et de winture working avec Karl en Paris.

Only probleme, et dis eez wear daockey contente coming in, I tell eem I got to getting back see my Wildcat sometimes. Alors now me et Karl op de corprat jet couple time de year et ed pour Pease et den ovure to Durham. Karl not wanna coz de scene so we bof juste grow beerds et put on de cap baseball so we fitting right in, no ones noing us.

Hey Jimbo ... if your "beerd" looks anything like your boss' "beerd" in the item below, do make sure to invite me along next time you're in town, OK?

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/...81_468x460.jpg

And yeah, I agree "dem silvure turd jerseys" are pretty nasty looking. My kid won one in a drawing this year, but couldn't bring herself to wear it, so she gave it to the frat kids who hold the fish to help them conceal it into the rink on the Friday night playoff opener against UVM. So when they threw it at the midget UVM goalie, with the jersey still wrapped around it, it scared the kid so much he wet his diapers. Right there on the ice! I don't think he ever wanted to see that again, so that might go a long way towards explaining the two shutouts. Just sheer, unadulterated terror.

Keep chopping de woods, mon ami. Beau geste, and don't be a stranger!

((( ... GD flinnie and crew have a LOT to answer for on what dey did to poor Bunny ... )))

[scoreboard]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

To help Umile out with motivation in an NCAA regional or FF game, maybe they can get the 5 year old who spoke at the opening Red Sox game. "Screw em" and they won . Unfortunately, he may not be needed until he's 20.

[thecomicbookguy]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

To help Umile out with motivation in an NCAA regional or FF game, maybe they can get the 5 year old who spoke at the opening Red Sox game. "Screw em" and they won . Unfortunately, he may not be needed until he's 20.

"If we played 18 times, they might win 9...because the two teams are actually fairly evenly matched. I mean, they have the biggest payroll in the history of sports, and the Red Sox aren't exactly strapped for cash either. This speech doesn't really make sense in this context. It's not like the Sox are a bunch of scrubs playing against All-World guys. And is their time really over, even if they lose tonight? Even if they get slaughtered tonight? It's game one of 162. I'm not really sure how much 162 is (I'm only 5), but christ, the season lasts into next school year! I think they'll have plenty of time to get back into the hunt. Screw it! I just hope my dad is actually taking care of the money we get for appearing like this. I'm sure he's investing it probably to pay for my future, not blowing it all on a super-nice HDTV or beer, or something. Well, either way, at least this speech makes more sense than playing 'Sweet Caroline' in the middle of the 8th. Seriously, what the hell is up with that?"

[unhpuckfan2001]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

"If we played 18 times, they might win 9...because the two teams are actually fairly evenly matched. I mean, they have the biggest payroll in the history of sports, and the Red Sox aren't exactly strapped for cash either. This speech doesn't really make sense in this context. It's not like the Sox are a bunch of scrubs playing against All-World guys. And is their time really over, even if they lose tonight? Even if they get slaughtered tonight? It's game one of 162. I'm not really sure how much 162 is (I'm only 5), but christ, the season lasts into next school year! I think they'll have plenty of time to get back into the hunt. Screw it! I just hope my dad is actually taking care of the money we get for appearing like this. I'm sure he's investing it probably to pay for my future, not blowing it all on a super-nice HDTV or beer, or something. Well, either way, at least this speech makes more sense than playing 'Sweet Caroline' in the middle of the 8th. Seriously, what the hell is up with that?"

lol

Especially since nobody gave Neil Diamond a monitor and he clearly couldn't hear himself . . . that was pretty bad . . .

[Kepler]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

The team that showed up against Cornell was one we'd seen only rarely this season.

That was a complete dismantling of a very good team, but that's not even one of the top 20 reasons why calling for Umile's head is patently absurd.

[JB]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

That was a complete dismantling of a very good team, but that's not even one of the top 20 reasons why calling for Umile's head is patently absurd.

100% agree with this statement!

I do sincerely hope UNH is not leaving the future to chance and there have been thoughts and discussions on who is next. If I were AD I would have had a conversation with Umile about how much longer he thinks he is going to do this, and then you need to plan appropriately. You can make luck by putting yourself in a good position.

There are times I think Umile has another 5 to 10 years and then there are times I wonder if he is more like 3 to 5 before he chooses something else.

[Chuck Murray]

An Open Letter to Coach Umile

I do sincerely hope UNH is not leaving the future to chance and there have been thoughts and discussions on who is next. If I were AD I would have had a conversation with Umile about how much longer he thinks he is going to do this, and then you need to plan appropriately. You can make luck by putting yourself in a good position.

Agreed 100%.

There are times I think Umile has another 5 to 10 years and then there are times I wonder if he is more like 3 to 5 before he chooses something else.

... as long as he doesn't turn into a modern-day Captain Ahab - endlessly chasing "the big one" that (fairly or unfairly) has come to define his career in the eyes of his harshest critics - at the expense of the UNH hockey program.

Call me Ishmael ...

[JB]

Re: An Open Letter to Coach Umile

Agreed 100%.



... as long as he doesn't turn into a modern-day Captain Ahab - endlessly chasing "the big one" that (fairly or unfairly) has come to define his career in the eyes of his harshest critics - at the expense of the UNH hockey program.

Call me Ishmael ...

I think even if he is Ahab it is OK - not great mind you. This is as long as over the next 10 years he puts the team in the frozen 4 another 4 times and knocks on the door the other years.

I would appreciate not laying an egg in those chances but not winning it all wouldn't be the end of the world.

[Chuck Murray]

Levels of happiness

I think even if he is Ahab it is OK - not great mind you. This is as long as over the next 10 years he puts the team in the frozen 4 another 4 times and knocks on the door the other years.

It's been 7 years (going on 8) since the last FF trip, and back in the heydey you almost kind of expected those teams to make it to the FF. Nowadays, I think most UNH die-hards would have been pleasantly surprised to see their team make the FF at least the last two seasons, and for the better part of the last five seasons. Our expectations seemingly have been lowered over time, and (unfortunately) the teams seem to have followed that pattern. I'd love to see things reverse course and go back to where it was from '97-'03, but the evidence of such a consistent rebound is sparse at best.

I would appreciate not laying an egg in those chances but not winning it all wouldn't be the end of the world.

If you win one or two, "laying eggs" largely goes away - just look at how the perceptions of the BC program have changed since 2001, and then 2008. Up until 2001, I don't think anyone rivaled BC for coming up short in big games. After 2001, most of that went away ... after 2008, it's disappeared almost entirely (and rightly so). Did I just write that???

To paraphrase ... it's better to have competed and lost, than to have never competed at all. So I think we agree there. But the egg-laying stuff really has become a pain in the arse that I'd rather do without, thank you!!

[JB]

Re: Levels of happiness

To paraphrase ... it's better to have competed and lost, than to have never competed at all. So I think we agree there. But the egg-laying stuff really has become a pain in the arse that I'd rather do without, thank you!!

As I like to put it. Please let this group figure out how to be a tough out.