The Royce Files

The photo . For those who want to have Brett greet them with a large embrace or want to see Brett impersonate Notre Dame's touchdown Jesus .

Finally tracked down an article which took the angle I was expecting to be mined earlier this week- Bison Men's Basketball go from the tournament to the front lines of defending Fargo from the Red River. I spotted it on MSN today after a long sleep but it had been up since Wednesday. The article is here . For you Bret Winkelman fans there is even a quote from him. Compared to Kansas, the Red is a more formiable opponent- often unpredictiable and vastly larger than Cole Aldrich. The Bison men had their hands full...of sandbags. However, 2 different keys lead to the sustainment of Red's rise- bone chilling temperatures and a vastly larger bench. Right now it appears the Red has crested - 40.82. Now defense will be the key to keep the Red in check.

Yes the flood was forecasted pretty well in advance. The severity usually can be judged until the water begins its rise. The Go is awaiting a 41 foot crest this weekend. Rewind about a month and a half ago. The Mayor was in DC testifying concerning preparedness for a major flood in the region. He noted other cities in the Valley have received the aid to build adequate dikes (i.e. Grand Forks has one at around 61 feet I think.) since that last big one in 1997. I believe he was quoted as saying "It's our turn." Now the Go is up against a record swell. Coincidence? I'm just grasping at straws but certainly this should get DC's attention especially since its on the heels of NDSU's first NCAA appearance. I had to add that :) The dike in GO is something like 40 feet, having been raised a few feet in the last decade. Temporary dikes have been assembled when needed but with a 41 foot crest coming it is going to be taxing. The good part is the volunteers have come o...

In less than 12 hours North Dakota State will play Kansas in their first NCAA Tournament game ever. It's a steep task to face the defending champions Kansas Jayhawks. However, the NCAA has thrown them a bit of a golden parachute by placing the game in Minneapolis- a mere 240 miles from campus. Will Bison Nation be there? You bet they will be. Almost a half year removed from the Bison football victory over Minnesota, the men's basketball team is in the same venue looking for an upset. I wouldn't bet against it even if Kansas do look bigger and badder than anything the Summit League can throw at NDSU. But hey, they made the field of 64. Minnesota is out after a loss to Texas. Maybe the Gopher State will get behind ND State. Both Winkelman and Woodside are Minnesota natives plus there's a guy on the bench from Willmar- also in Minnesota. My guess is that it's going to be great fan support. I was pretty impressed with Minnesota early in the season but they just faded...

A s a blizzard ravaged the Bison homeland and I sat home wondering if there was cable television anywhere, NDSU overcomes the Oakland Grizzlies 66-64 in the final minutes for the Summit League Championship and a berth into the NCAA Tournanment. The history between these 2 teams certainly suggested an epic match-up but for the Bison it was mostly a catch up affair in Sioux Falls. They were down as many as 14 points at one point. The Herd only held the lead in the final minutes. I'm sure most Bison fans were biting their nails. Oakland kept Woodside and Winkelman mostly quiet. However, underclassman Michael Tveidt stepped up to aid his Bison brethern by scoring 21. Winkelman's double digit scoring streak ended, Brett finished with 9 points but he grabbed 8 rebounds to place himself as NDSU's #2 all time rebounder. When I looked at the stats to discern how this game was won- other than by sure determination of the upper classmen (i.e. Ben Woodside's jumper with 3 seconds ...

A Thundering Herd gained at place in the Summit League championship game. Read here . As a blizzard descended upon the Go, the Herd turned on the heat in Sioux Falls shooting 51% from the field. Mike Nelson (#31) deserves the game ball for 22 points and holding Southern Utah's Davis Baker to just 8 points. Davis had scored 17 in the previous meeting with the Bison.

I t's been a hectic month but I made time to attend the NDSU men's basketball game against SDSU . In fact I brought my entire homegroup to the game. The Captain was supposed to have come but he got caught up in something else. We, my homegroup and I got there late and as it would have it, our seats were occupied by older people ( we were late because we were just finishing a delicious meal at James '). I didn't want to make the confrontation ( guess the joke is on me if you read that previous post ) and so we stood along the balcony and then I got near courtside on the Northside. It was a full house at the Bison Sports Arena. Perhaps the largest crowd on hand to a game I've attended. NDSU did not disappoint with Ben Woodside and Brett Winkelman scoring in bulk. In fact Brett worked himself up to #2 highest all time scorer in NDSU history this evening. The #1 top scorer is Woodside. Along with Luke Moorman, Mike Nelson, and Lorenzo Riley, this was the Bison's f...