Former roommates Parise and Greene go for the Stanley Cup
May 29, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Grand Forks Herald
Room 103B in Walsh Hall is just 11 feet wide and 18 feet long. The contents crammed in there include two single beds, two desks, two dressers and nine years ago two future NHL captains and Stanley Cup finals opponents. Continue Reading
I sat next to Zach Parise in math. I had no clue who he was or why young co-ed women kept stopping by & leaving their undergarments between our desks.
Mama did a good job with that boy. He was polite, humble, & had a very dry sense of humor.
I also went to my first hockey game during that semester & he was kind enough to explain some of the intricacies involved,
Some disparage him & the other players who never graduate, & they may have a point; but I don’t. Zach came to UND because it was the best route to the pros & he loved the Ralph.
If the USHL had been the best route to his goals, he would have went there. I do not fault him for that. He was never disingenuous; he was always honest about why he was there.
I wish him the best & look forward to cheering him on. Who knows, when he is finished playing he may return to finish his degree, or coach.
Either way UND touched him & he touched it. Win-Win.
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I have nothing against Parise nor any of the other numerous players who go to a university to play hockey, get recognized, and make it to the NHL. I just wish universities and the NCAA would admit they are not there to be students. Sure, they take classes, but simply because they have to. Change the rules, pay them since they apparently make so much money for their institutions, and let them major in the sport they play. The Olympics long ago abandoned Avery Brundige’s fairy tale about amateurs. Time for the NCAA to do the same.
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I do not agree with you out of hand. As I posted on another thread, the relationship between sport & academia is a uniquely American (or North American if you include our Canadian friends) phenomena. It is not this way in Europe.
Then again, the educational system in Europe is much different & national teams play a much bigger role.
If I were king for a day collegiate athletics would not be the funnel through which aspiring athletes must travel, but I am not & 95% of the American populace likes it just the way it is so there is not much chance of things changing.
As for the Olympics: allowing pros to compete came as a response to Soviet block & Chinese athletes who received state sponsored training since before they could walk.
In my mind that is where our colleges masquerading as sports teams with schools attached came from. It was our way of funding promising athletes in a way that allowed them to maintain their amateur status.
Since that is not needed anymore, all we need to do is convince 95% of the American public to give up their Bowl games & Frozen Four & allow schools to return to the business of education.
Not going to happen.
This should not be construed as a dig against athletics in school. WE ARE FAT. Healthy students are better students. Intramurals & sports classes are necessary. Just let the NHL, NFL, NBA, & baseball train their own players.
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***should read do not disagree with you out of hand***
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Baseball has its own minor league system. It’s the other three that use colleges as unpaid farm teams. The NHL is drafting kids still in high school for Pete’s sake. Universities have sold their souls to the NCAA. Coaches make big money, ignore the rules, and when caught, go on to the pros.
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