NW overcomes ridiculous coaching by Fitzgerald to beat Kentucky by one and leaving the BIG 4-0 with OSu, Michigan. PennState, and Wisconsin to go. It's nice to not have to listen to how weak the BIG is every bowl season.

Can these fricken refs possible miss any more calls.

Felt we needed another thread.

Alabama beats #5 Texas A&M and Arkansas beats #19 Tennessee. Both wins help us come selection time.

Pregame reads:

• Film Review: Harvard
• Harvard preview
• Behind Enemy Lines: Harvard
• Harvard presser notes: Pitino, Coffey, McBrayer

Harvard has four top 100 players, so they're a very talented mid-major squad but have significantly underperformed, which Pitino thinks is because of "for whatever reason" they've shooted poorly. They're also a young team.

Point guard Bryce Aiken is a scoring first lead guard that's a former four-star, Jordan Brand All-American, and played with Dupree McBrayer at The Patrick School. Aiken has missed the last two games to injury and is probable to play today. Chris Lewis is a center that rebounds well, is very good near the basket, and has a mid-range game. Seth Towns is the second leading scorer and is a versatile 4 that's most recently come off the bench.

Harvard has amazingly had 16 players start this year. It's almost as if they were actively trying to set a record. In the BEL interview, a Harvard writer explains why.

The Crimson have a four-out motion offense that tries to get center Chris Lewis touches. When Lewis is out, they'll go five out. Chris Aiken is the best player and also a centerpiece of the offense. When things stall, he'll look to create for himself.

Harvard's a solid defensive team, but their offense has struggled, partly because they've shooted so poorly from three, despite many of their players coming in as shooters. They also turn the ball over at a very high rate, probably because they're so young.

Richard Pitino

• It was a bit of a struggle offensively. Got good looks but were missing shots.
• Good crowd given how cold it was. Won't say how cold in case recruits are reading.
• Played hard, effort was there. The effort's been there since after the Arkansas game.
• It seems like every time Washington gets the ball, he can shoot it. We watched the last 75 of Kyrie Irving's layups, and Kyrie does some wacky layups at times. But for the most part, they're off the glass layups from two feet being planted. He's taking the coaching, which is great. He'll continue to learn. The biggest thing with freshman is you can't tell them it's a bad shot, it's a low percentage shot, because they know they can make it.
• Needed that game from McBrayer. He's important to us. He hasn't been a 100% but he's a good player. If you asked me at the beginning of the year who would make a big jump, I would say McBrayer but he's been hurt.
• Not sure how close Nate Mason was to playing. Training staff just told him he couldn't play. He can run and shoot shots but it's probably the lateral movement that limits him right now.
• Michael Hurt is making me play him, which is great. He's playing the right way. He's evolving as a sophomore and getting confident.
• We've started to find our identity more on defense. We're starting to defend the three better.
• Harvard's a strong, physical team that's well-coached.
• A lot of Reggie and Jordan's success has to do with where they're catching the ball. If they can catch the ball deeper, their touches will be more productive.
• Thought the team moved the ball well today.
• We lost road games. It happens, you're not going to win every game. Have to understand what wins on the road: you need to defend, rebound, not worry about the refs, etc. The last couple games our identity has been more like last year.

Jordan Murphy

• Dupree's a dual-threat every time he catches the ball because he can drive or shoot.
• Isaiah's been telling me in practice that he rebounds now, and I didn't see it until now. I'll probably hear about it in practice.
• Hurt's active cuts, nose for the ball and rebounds adds so much in addition to his shooting.
• We have great chemistry and need to make sure the young guys know what's coming and prepare them mentally.

Dupree McBrayer

• Passed up a couple shots and teammates kept telling me to shoot. It felt good.
• Our identity is defense, so if we play defense and get stops, we'll get wins.
• Coming here from NYC, all you know is showtime. When you come to a high-major school, you have to learn how to play within a system and with other high-major players, and Isaiah will get there. Same for me, all I knew was isolation basketball.
• Left leg is hurting where his stress fracture is but tomorrow we have off and he'll get treatment.

Stewart Mandel‏Verified account@slmandel

Congrats to J.T. Barrett for passing Drew Brees on Big Ten all-time total offense. .. You could give me 1,000 guesses & I still would not have guessed former Gopher Adam Weber is No. 3.

I quit 15 years ago today. Words can't describe the joy of getting that monkey off my back. Not sure how it got so crazy out-of-hand but lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 back in the 70's sure didn't help. The first weekend with the new age meant 3 years of kids had their birthdays on the same night. You couldn't get in the bars because they were to full, mostly drank outside the bars with 1/2 your classmates. A lot of those kids had never drank and were getting sick, they'd puke on the side of the building and we'd stuff them in their cars and point them home. That just seems so wrong to me now, but at the time perfectly normal. Anyway was just reminiscing and wondered if anyone had any memories of that weekend.

why am I on here?

I suspect @Vifan is glued to his TV in Toledo...

Are we cheering for the Buckeyes or USC? Is this the default Rose Bowl as these two conferences are too shitty to play in the playoffs?

Why is it so quiet on here?

What is wrong with everyone?

USA! USA! USA!

By the way, Go Gophers to make it tGR material

Link: Harvard preview

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Richard Pitino

• Nate Mason is day-to-day. He went through an individual workout yesterday but mostly just put up shots. He'll be evaluated again today. If you ask Nate, he thinks he's going to play. After the injury happened, he went out to eat with his family and he just kept on checking his phone because he was concerned for Nate.
• Dupree is doing well. Hopefully both can play. He just needed a break, the trainer looked at the schedule and thought a break would be good. The infection is always going to be there.
• Tells Isaiah Washington to stop shooting bad shots. He can really go by anybody, but sometimes just working the offense is a good thing. Shooting 13% from three is not a good thing. Thinks the last couple games have been better in terms of shot selection. A lot of his problem is that he can just go by people at will but he needs to tone it down a little bit. It takes time. He doesn't understand slowing down and working the clock a little bit but really thinks he'll get there. He loves the game and lives for basketball. Watched film with Isaiah Washington personally. He really likes Kyrie Irving so they'll watch Kyrie film and Pitino will point things out about how he controls the game.
• It's important the backcourt moves the ball well because they call can score it, so it's important they share. When Michael Hurt was in the lineup, the ball moved better.
• It's been hard for Dupree to find his rhythm because he was out for the summer ans has just struggled to get healthy.
• Harvard has four top 100 kids. Harvard is talented, well-coached, and play hard but they just haven't been able to make shots for whatever reason, even though they're a good shooting team. They're young. The key to scheduling games is to schedule teams who are going to win a lot of games and that's what he sees in Harvard, even though they're 4-6. Sees them as a top 100 or top 75 team. Harvard is a good team that can beat us. They played Kentucky tough at Kentucky.
• The last two games were good for us. Michael Hurt got valuable minutes, and it seems like Davonte Fitzgerald is developing more confidence. Bakary, Gas, and Jamir Harris have all gotten minutes. We've had good practices.
• I don't know if Fitzgerald is an x-factor but he's a wild card. We need him, and when he's healthy and confident, he can be a great rebounder, defender, and shot blocker. Thinks he'll give some really valuable minutes but he's sat out for two years and there's a confidence factor with his knee so it's taking some time.

Dupree McBrayer

• Having a quick break over Christmas helped set his mind free about his leg and talking with family gave him perspective.
• The leg started to hurt at the practice sometime around the Drake game. The training staff wanted to sit him to take precaution and then sat out the next two games because it kept hurting.
• Playing in the Big Ten Tournament at Madison Square Garden will be fun. Some people try to show out when playing at home but that's not him and he just wants to make the right plays. First time playing at the Garden.
• From the bench you see things differently, and Eric Curry has said that too. Eric has said he sees why Coach yells and tries to get you going, so when he had to sit with injury he saw it as well.
• Told Isaiah Washington that he was in his shoes two years ago and that his shot wasn't falling. Showed him that in the middle of the season his freshman year is when he started to do better and that if you put in the work, the results will come. Pitino talked to him too.

Amir Coffey

• Different experience to step into a leadership role in the backcourt with Nate and Dupree out when Nate went down with the injury.
• Don't see too many teams that can play with us when we're 100%.
• The early schedule is kind of weird with when games are, so having a rhythm with Big Ten games will be nice.

GOPHERS SET FOR ARMY WEST POINT SERIES



2017-18 Gopher Hockey
Game 21 No. 10 Minnesota vs. Army
Date Friday, Dec. 29, 2017
Time 7:00 p.m. CT
TV FOX Sports North
Stream BTN2Go | FOX Sports Go
Radio 1130 KTLK AM | 103.5 FM | Listen Online
Live Stats Gametracker
Live Updates Game Day Live
Game 22 No. 10 Minnesota vs. Army
Date Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017
Time 7:00 p.m. CT
TV FOX Sports North PLUS (Channel Guide)
Stream BTN2Go | FOX Sports Go
Radio 1130 KTLK AM | 103.5 FM | Listen Online
Live Stats Gametracker
Live Updates Game Day Live
Location 3M Arena at Mariucci | Minneapolis, Minn.
Tickets GopherSports.com/Tickets
Game Notes Minnesota | Army | Big Ten
Social Media @GopherHockey | Facebook | Instagram
Fan Information Tickets| Local Weather|Parking|Preferred Hotels

Dec. 27, 2017

MINNEAPOLIS -- For the first time in more than 50 years, the No. 10 Gopher Hockey program will take on Army West Point this weekend in a pair of nonconference games at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Both games in the Friday/Saturday series are set for 7 p.m. CT puck drops.

Gophers Announce Roster Changes
The Gopher Hockey program has added freshman defenseman Clayton Phillips (Edina, Minn./Muskegon Lumberjacks) to the 2017-18 roster while freshman defenseman Nate Knoepke has returned to the USHL for the rest of the season with the Sioux City Musketeers. Additionally, sophomore forward Luke Notermann has been cleared to return for the second half of the season.

More on Clayton Phillips
Clayton Phillips joins the Maroon & Gold after spending parts of the last three seasons in the USHL with the Muskegon Lumberjacks and the Fargo Force. The defenseman was named to the 2017 USHL All-Rookie Team with Fargo last year before being traded to Muskegon earlier this season. Phillips also spent two seasons at Edina High School and most recently helped the U.S. Junior Select Team to a silver medal at the 2017 World Junior A Challenge. He previously earned gold medals at the 2016 World Junior A Challenge and the 2015 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament as well as a silver medal at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup. A third round pick (93rd overall) by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Phillips will wear No. 6 for the Maroon & Gold.

Against Army West Point
The Gophers will be playing Army West Point for the first time in 51 years when they host the Black Knights at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Minnesota is 2-0-0 all-time against this weekend's opponent, beating Army West Point 6-3 at home on Jan. 5, 1964 and 12-1 on Dec. 28, 1966 as part of the St. Paul Hockey Classic. No active Gophers have competed against Army West Point.

Lindgren, Mittelstadt Make U.S. WJC Roster
Sophomore defenseman Ryan Lindgren and freshman forward Casey Mittelstadt have been named to the final roster for the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team that is currently competing in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. Lindgren, who helped the U.S. claim gold last year, is serving as an alternate captain for the team while Gopher Hockey alum Grant Potulny is serving as an assistant coach for the U.S. The University of Minnesota has now been represented at 40 of the 42 IIHF World Junior Championships dating back to the inaugural event in 1977.

Schierhorn's Historic Streak Comes to an End
Two-time Big Ten Goaltender of the Year Eric Schierhorn's historic streak in goal for the Gophers came to an end earlier this month. The junior, who owns a 53-37-4 career record for the Maroon & Gold, started 94-straight games in net -- the longest streak in school history and the fourth-longest streak in NCAA history. Schierhorn currently ranks tied for fifth in program history in shutouts (10) and ranks eighth all-time in wins (53) -- he needs one win to tie Steve DeBus for seventh all-time. Schierhorn now also ranks 8th all-time in saves (2,394).

Strength of Schedule
Minnesota enters the week with the fourth-toughest strength of schedule in college hockey as 16 of the program's first 20 games have come against nationally ranked teams. Things don't get any easier for Minnesota following this weekend as the Gophers kick off 2018 with an in-state home-and-home showdown against top-ranked St. Cloud State (Jan. 6-7).

Mittelstadt Leads the Rookie Charge
Inactive this weekend while competing with the 2018 U.S. National Junior Team, freshman forward Casey Mittelstadt leads all Gophers freshmen and ranks fourth among all NCAA freshmen with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 19 games this season.

Boyd Makes NHL Debut
Gopher Hockey alum Travis Boyd made his NHL debut earlier this month in a 4-1 win for the Washington Capitals over the San Jose Sharks. A Second Team All-Big Ten selection as a senior in 2014-15, Boyd is the 114th Gopher Hockey alum to play in the NHL and the 19th to play in the league this year. He joins Justin Kloos (Minnesota Wild) as former University of Minnesota players who have made their NHL debuts this year.

Gophers Picked to Repeat as B1G Champs
The Gophers made NCAA history in 2016-17 as the Maroon & Gold captured their sixth-straight regular-season conference championship including the first four conference titles in Big Ten history (Minnesota also earned WCHA regular-season titles in its final two seasons in the league). The Gophers were selected as the Big Ten favorite again in the 2017-18 Big Ten Hockey Preseason Coaches' Poll ahead of Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State.

Sheehy Steps Up as Captain
Forward Tyler Sheehy had one of the best individual seasons in recent program history during the 2016-17 campaign. A First Team All-America, the Big Ten Player of the Year and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, Sheehy tallied 53 points (20 goals, 33 assists) -- the most points in a season by a Gopher since Ryan Potulny notched 63 during the 2005-06 season. Now a junior, Sheehy will serve as team captain for Minnesota this year while Mike Szmatula, Leon Bristedt and Ryan Lindgren will serve as alternate captains.

Gophers, 3M Announce Sponsorship Agreement
On July 10, 2017, the University of Minnesota and 3M announced a new sponsorship agreement -- the latest in a 90-year relationship between two of the state's largest institutions. The 14-year, $11.2 million sponsorship of Gopher Athletics includes the naming rights to what was previously known as Mariucci Arena. Keeping the historic Mariucci name, the Gopher Hockey facility will now be known as 3M Arena at Mariucci.

Big Ten's Best
In addition to the first four regular-season titles in Big Ten Conference history, Minnesota also boasts a conference-best record of 58-26-8-1 in 92 regular-season games since the inaugural year of Big Ten play in 2013-14. The Gophers also boast an impressive 34-8-3-0 mark in conference games on home ice and have set and matched a conference single-season record with 14 wins in 2013-14, 2015-16 and 2016-17

Gophers in the NHL Draft
Fourteen current Gophers have had their names called at the NHL Entry Draft including newcomers Casey Mittelstadt (2017, 1st Round, eighth overall), Clayton Phillips (2017, 3rd round, 93rd overall), Scott Reedy(2017, 4th Round, 102nd overall) and Connor Hurley (2013, 2nd Round, 38th overall). Mittelstadt is Minnesota's highest active draft pick, the 20th First Round selection in program history and the team's highest draft pick since 2006. Twelve NHL teams hold draft rights for Gophers, led by the Nashville Predators and the Buffalo Sabres with two each.

Our Home, Our Hockey
The Gophers boast an all-time record of 332-131-48 in the 24-year history of 3M Arena at Mariucci (formerly Mariucci Arena). Since the start of the 2011-12 season, the Maroon & Gold lead the NCAA in home wins (92) and home winning percentage (.758). Minnesota is 34-8-3-0 in Big Ten games on home ice including one victory at TCF Bank Stadium for the 2014 Hockey City Classic.

First Responders Night Set for Jan. 7
The Gopher Hockey program is proud to show its appreciation for the men and women who serve as First Responders in our community with the first-ever First Responders Night on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 3M Arena at Mariucci. Ticket packages for the inaugural event include a Gopher Hockey First Responders t-shirt. To purchase tickets for First Responders Night and for more information, please contact Jacob Gilbertson in the Gopher Ticket Office (gilbertj@umn.edu, 612-626-1592).

Accused of sexual harassment.

I really don't know what to think. Sad.

He denies it and of coarse she says it happened!

Neither will win and both should have hired Lawyers to work something out.

Link: Behind Enemy Lines: Harvard

Despite some curious decisions by Fitzgerald, Northwestern pulled out a win over Kentucky. That makes the Big Ten undefeated in bowl games. Hopefully the conference can finish the bowl season with a 7-1 record.

We've seen the film, the analysis, the upside in his character. Put him under center versus Rhoda/ Croft. Do you think he would've got the Gophers another one or two wins even though our WR core was young and racked with injuries? Just me, but I think we win both the Maryland and Purdue games, and maybe Iowa. Both Rhoda and Croft were so hesitent in many situations. In regards to football IQ, I think both came in below average Vic too me, looks like a "football player", and boy do we need that under center.

I lost a lot of respect for Brohm when he tried to jump ship for Tennessee and a better deal after one year at Purdue. But I have to admit, some of the stuff he comes up with on the offensive side of the ball is absolutely incredible. I'm referencing the fake kneel down before the 1st half vs Arizona. Will we ever see this sort of imagination out of Cirroaca? Let's hope that with some very talented and athletic kids signed for next year that he unleashes their talents and lets them run the the thoroughbreds they are.

Sorry. Don't Know how to edit the writing in a gif yet. But This says it all!!!

Link: Rivals250 RB Jirehl Brock hearing from Minnesota often

I've read this article and if you live in Minneapolis or the area I would like to know if this is really happening or what some of you are hearing on the ground.

Thanks and I'll read what you're writing.


U.S. WOMAN STABBED 14 TIMES BY SOMALI MIGRANT, MEDIA GO DARK
1 more for growing Big List of related crimes being swept under rug
Published: 3 hours ago. Updated: 12/26/2017 at 7:29 PM
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Morgan Evenson was stabbed 14 times by a Somali man while walking home from work Dec. 13

Morgan Evenson was walking home in downtown Minneapolis about 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 13 when a black man got out of his car, chased her down, tackled and stabbed her repeatedly.

The feisty 26-year-old frantically fought back, kicking, scratching and screaming for help.

At some point, neighbors heard her screams and came to help. Her attacker – described as a Somali man in his early 20s, about 5-foot-7 with a slight build and wearing grey stone-washed jeans – ran away.

Evenson was left bleeding on the curb with 14 stab wounds on her arms, neck and back. Her kidney was lacerated. She was lucky to survive the attack.

It happened while she was walking home from the Apple Store, where she worked, about eight blocks away from her apartment. That’s when the man attacked her for no apparent reason. Police, who have not made any arrests in the case, are calling it a botched robbery.

Police have called the case unusual for the level of brutality just to get a woman’s purse, leading some to wonder if the assailant didn’t want more than just a purse.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the city’s largest newspaper, has been AWOL on the story.

The newspaper’s on-duty news editor, Maria Reeve, did not return WND’s calls Tuesday to inquire about why it went dark on such a brutal, unprovoked attack on a defenseless, unarmed woman walking home from work.

Other media, such as the Southwest Journal, have reported on the crime but left out the assailant’s full description as a Somali migrant.

Only one media outlet, local ABC News affiliate KSTP, included in its on-air coverage the fact that the victim described her assailant as Somali, but the station’s website article failed to mention that fact.

Watch KSTP’s description of the attack and the suspect in the report below:













A friend of Evenson’s started a GoFundMe page to raise money for uncovered medical costs.

The page said Evenson was readmitted to the hospital Dec. 19 to monitor a recurring fever and blood pressure.

As of Tuesday afternoon the GoFundMe page had raised more than $15,000 for uncovered medical bills.

No isolated case

The case of Morgan Evenson continues a pattern of Somali crimes being covered up, downplayed, lightly investigated and eventually falling off the radar in Minnesota.

Here are just some of the Somali-related cases in Minnesota that never seem to get resolved.

1. Justine Damond, 40, was killed in July after calling police to report a sexual assault in progress in the ally next to her home in Minneapolis’s 5th precinct. Two officers arrived in a squad car, and the one sitting in the passenger seat, Officer Mohamed Noor, fired across his partner at Damon when she approached the police car in her nightgown.
   No formal charges have yet been brought against Noor, who was precinct’s first Somali refugee to be hired as a cop, a fact that Mayor Betsy Hodges had bragged about in her city newsletter.
   Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman was recorded earlier this month telling a gathering of union members that he was frustrated at a lack of evidence to charge Noor.
   Freeman has since apologized for his remarks, saying they were “ill-advised”, and promised more details on the “status of our charging decision” in the coming days. Relatives of Damond said last week they were concerned her death was not being investigated properly.
2. For three straight days in late June 2016, residents of Linden Hills neighborhood on Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis were terrorized by a group of more than a dozen Somali men in their early- to mid-20s. Several of the men threatened to rape a female resident of the community, saying it was their right under Shariah law, while others drove their cars over neighbors lawns shouting “jihad,” set off bottle rockets, and pretending to shoot people on the beach. The Minneapolis police were repeatedly called, but every time they responded too late to make any arrests, and the investigation never resulted in any arrests. The story was carried by one local TV station and ignored by the newspapers.
3. In 2014 a mysterious New Year’s Day explosion occurred at a building containing several apartments and a grocery store in the heavily-Somali area of Cedar Riverside, Minneapolis. According to a Freedom of Information lawsuit filed by Judicial Watch, the city fire department requested that the federal ATF not investigate the explosion, which killed three people, and the investigation has never come to an official conclusion on the cause. All of the apartments were occupied by Somali residents.
4. In April 2017 WND reported on the presence of “Shariah cops” patrolling the streets of Cedar Riverside, making uninvited visits to the homes of local Somalis to make sure they were living in compliance with Sharia, requiring appropriate attire for women and minimal contact between unmarried members of the opposite sexes. Police said they were “monitoring” the situation but made no arrests, even though they knew the identity of the lead suspect, Abdullah Rashid, and had complaints from local Muslims about Rashid and his cohorts harassing them.
5. In August 2017, someone threw a low-grade incendiary device into a window at the Dar al-Farooq Islamic Center in Bloomington. The device was thrown into the imam’s office through a window at a time when the imam was not there. No one was hurt. Gov. Mark Dayton and local CAIR officials immediately labeled the incident an anti-Muslim “hate crime,” despite not having any evidence to tie the attack to an anti-Muslim person or group. No arrests have been made, but the mosque has raised thousands of dollars of sympathy money off the incident.
6. In November 2017, a Somali man carried out a bloody knife attack against two brothers in the changing room of a clothing store at Mall of America. The police and local media described the incident as a botched robbery in which the two brothers were attacked after trying to stop the Somali from shoplifting. WND has since been told by a friend of the family that the narrative put out by the media was not accurate, that the attack was completely unprovoked and random.

Debra Anderson, chair of ACT For America’s Minnesota chapter, said she has been trying for four years, without success, to get Minnesota sheriffs to train their departments to better prepare and deal with Sharia-related crime such as FGM, honor violence and terrorism.

She said it was telling that no police response was recorded in the stabbing attack on Morgan Evenson. Her life was only saved because she fought back and her screams were heard by people living and working in the area.

“It was interesting the articles I read didn’t say anything about the police coming. Not a thing. Just sounds like the classic media template used in Europe,” Anderson told WND. “You had to get all the way through that KSTP [broadcast only] report to find out he’s Somali, and it was never mentioned in the other media outlets at all.”

That’s very disconcerting for someone who has been trying to educate Minnesotans about the pitfalls of kowtowing to the Somali community and its “civil rights” advocates at CAIR.

“It’s unofficial but Minnesota law enforcement agencies are enforcing, or at least tolerating, Shariah law. Most people don’t know it yet but the police are not here to protect the indigenous Minnesotans anymore,” Anderson said. “They have been incrementally changing their search policies and their use of force policies for years. We’re not being protected anymore. They’re protecting the Muslims, so it’s becoming increasingly like Europe. Yes, it’s here now.”

I'll post more details when I have them or when they become more concrete, but for now... this could be something Minnesota fans want to keep an eye on

Antwan Reed

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The final week of 2017 is just around the corner, so it must be time for what some consider to be the highlight of their year, naming of The Gopher Report 2017 Poster of the Year (POY)!

2017 has been an extraordinary year for Gopher Sports, starting with a new football head coach being hired, and including the signing of 2 football recruiting classes. Our basketball team completed a remarkable turn-around season, and The Athletes Village moved from structural framework to near completion. @Matt Jessen-Howard and his team did a wonderful job of covering it all, offering ELITE analysis, and every bit of inside information and insight that they could.

Throughout this eventful year, a wide-range of posters have diligently posted their own analysis, insights, opinions, and humor, dreaming of the possibility that they might one day be recognized with the ultimate TGR posting honor, Post of the Year.

Past winners will surely attest that while the to road to Poster of the Year is long and arduous, winning the acclaim and admiration of their peers, along with all the honors, rights, and privileges conferred upon the POY (no cash value,) during the year of their reign, made it all worthwhile!

The 2016 POY winner was @kcgorilla . He navigated a challenging 2016, including a turbulent conclusion, with thoughtfully balanced posts, and welcome dashes of humor. Can he pull off the incredibly difficult repeat win of this prestigious honor, as @foggieguy did in 2015? You will decide, through your nominations and voting.

To nominate a poster, post their alias (e.g., @Matt Jessen-Howard, @E.J. Stevens, etc.) in this thread by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 26th. You may nominate as many posters as you like in your post, just not any posters who has been TGR staff members during 2017. I'll compile a list of the 9 posters with the most nominations (the poll thread max,) and put them into a polling thread for final voting (yes, once again you will be able to see who votes for who, and change your vote in exchange for whatever seems fair,) with the winner to be announced within 24 hours (to allow for recounts and any other messy disputes) of the poll closing at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 31st.

Who is worthy of nomination? That's completely up to you! Here's a list of some frequent posters, to get your thoughts started:

@-TUNDRA-
@umfb27
@Nine
@dubwa
@Viperman69
@OPD77
@GopherJim
@stroke the post
@Slab Of Bacon
@AhliBobwa
@Vifan
@Gopher Rube
@chap99
@fencejumpers
@blackoliveguy7
@kcgorilla
@Tuchman Marsh

Your nominations ARE NOT limited to this list. Feel free to nominate any poster, as many posters as you like, and even campaign on their behalf in your post!

Let the fun begin, and may the best poster win!