Parenting: You're Doing it Right (plus, the Zoobie Tweak of the Day)

Because the Utes have moved up to the Pac-12 and BYU has gone to the corner to cry like a bunch of whiny babies independent, the traditional rivalry game is now held in September.  Bear with me, this will take some getting used to.

In honor of this event, I bring you 2-year-old Mady whom I have never met personally but I want to give her parents an award for this:

In two years, this will be my niece.  Guarantee it.

And because I know it will tweak the BYU fans (and I delight in sending their little Zoobie heads a-spinning), here's is President Monson singing "Utah Man."



Yup, it's rivalry weekend.  Win or lose, you've gotta love it.

Holy. Crap.

I really have nothing to say about this - I just think it's unreal and deserves to be shared far and wide.



It's like The Greater Cosmos(tm) saying: "Just when you thought the NFL season couldn't get any weirder - here's a stadium roof collapsing!  And make sure you catch it on camera!"

(Just for the record - it was nice and sunny out here in Utah.  I didn't even need my coat today.  Neener, neener).

The weirdest thing is last night I had a dream I was on the Titanic while it was sinking (it's a dream - just go with me, here) and it was making that same noise (I also remember floating underwater and thinking that James Cameron's CGI work was a bunch of crap.  Oh, how I love my subconscious).

In Which I Make Humble Apologies

To my loyal readership who has come to expect I make NFL picks from week to week.  Yeah, well, I dropped the ball this week (very much like the Utes have done for the last two weeks.  Feh).  In my defense, I had my class weekend which included a huge presentation and much driving between home and Salt Lake.  Still not a good enough excuse, but I offer it to my followers (all four of you).

This might not make up for it, but this is my blog and I post what I like.  The following clip made me SQUEE nine ways to Sunday.  Even though I don't watch "Leverage," it makes my heart happy to see American shows do this sort of thing:



(Personally, I would have rather been Mrs. Peter Davison, but only because I skipped ahead and started watching episodes from the Fifth Doctor's tenure - to the joy of my fangirly senses.  Maybe once I go back and watch episodes with the Fourth Doctor, I will gladly jump on that Tom Baker bandwagon - but I do love Sarah Jane ^_^)

Oh, and this one made me giggle too. I have been known to catch NCIS from time to time:

Utah-byu - Analysis of a Rivalry

Just got my weekly issue of Sports Illustrated, which brings mucho happiness to a Friday so marked with miscues and pessimism (beginning with a power blip that rendered my alarm clock impotent and put me twenty minutes late for work).  The cover was all about San Francisco winning the World Series, which I don't care too much about that, but I flip through each issue anyway and this week, I was glad I did.

In the middle of World Series coverage and football analysts scratching their heads over the weirdness that is the 2010 NFL season, there was a very nice and very comprehensive (for being a filler) article about Kyle Whittingham and the #5 ranked Utes, who are set to take on the #3 ranked TCU this Saturday.  Now, for all the hoopla and attention Boise State and TCU have gathered, you'd think they were the only non-AQ teams with the BCS in their sights.  But Utah's right up there with 'em and it's fantastic.  I can even forgive the lack of attention the media has given Utah lately (Imma lookin' at you, ESPN BCS Countdown - every week I've watched them make predictions of who will be ranked, they give Boise and TCU spots, but never Utah).

(And Heaven Be Praised that this was not the cover story.  I've endured waaaay too many SI cover jinxes for my liking).

Here is a link to the article.   Read that first, then come back for my analysis.

First, it talks about how Coach Whittingham was offered head coaching jobs at both BYU and Utah and he chose Utah despite having played for BYU and having family in the Provo area.  Then, the article goes on to talk about Utah being ranked and the TCU matchup this weekend and Utah's been in bowl games before and we scraped by Air Force (but they've always been a pain to play)... and here's where it get interesting - quoting from the article now:

"The BYU-Utah rivalry... is often described as a clash between church and state: the devoutly Mormon Cougars versus the secular Utes. (Certainly there are plenty of BYU fans who choose to see it that way.)  The fact is, roughly half the players on Utah's roster are LDS." (emphasis added)

Wow.  Speaking from a standpoint of an LDS Ute fan, this is huge.  Speaking as an LDS Ute fan who went on a mission to the land of college football blue bloods (Florida), it's about stinking time that a proverbial outsider figured this out.  Just because you're LDS doesn't automatically mean you must attend and cheer for byu (my blog's style guide dictates that byu be put in lowercase unless it's being quoted because capital letters are reserved for classy people.  Like Jesus).

I get that, for LDS people outside of Utah, attending byu is a chance to go to college somewhere that you don't have to answer to every Baptist Bob and Pastor Pete that thinks you're on a one-way street to hell and your best buds with Beelzebub himself because you supposedly don't believe the "same Bible" and the "same Jesus" that they do (To be fair to my non-LDS Christian brothers and sisters - this doesn't happen that often, but it does happen - it is not my intent to stir whatever "Mormon vs. Non-Mormon" pot you may have here).  I can respect people going to byu for those reasons (after 18 months in the Bible Belt, heaven knows I respect that).  When you finally have the choice of which school to attend, you should be able to make that choice as you see fit.

However - that being said - I also like what Murphy says here (again, quoting from the article, which also quotes current Utah players):

"[T]his is the attitude that drives Utes (LDS Utes in particular) around the bend - is the belief that the Cougars and their fans are literally holier than thou...

"But wait a minute.  If Utah's coach is Mormon, if half his players are Mormon, doesn't that give them common cause with their rivals?  Wouldn't that turn down the heat on the rivalry?  'It cranks it up, actually,' says [Utah senior center Zane] Taylor, who isn't Mormon.  Speaking for his LDS teammates, he explains that 'it offends them that someone would think they're a better Mormon just because they go to a religious school.' "

When all is said and done, though, this is the best line out of all of it - by Shaky Smithson, who I've come to love after that initial scare during the Pitt game: "That's how you want a rivalry - you want it nasty."

And then there's my dad's take on it - "If the your rival is named after the same guy that founded your school and you were founded first - that's a rivalry!"

So, there you go - for all you people that complain how mean, nasty and un-Christlike we football fans are - the Utah-byu rivalry in a nutshell.

And it's not even Rivalry Week - that's what gets me here.  The Utes have to take care of TCU tomorrow.  And then Notre Dame, then San Diego and then we can get to the business of eating byu's lunch.

Anyway - here's to a Utah victory tomorrow!!

(pretty, pretty please with sugar on top?  I've been a good girl!!)

Second Term Kickoff

Have I mentioned I hate spam?  Both the mystery meat and the crap that floods my inbox.  Unfortunately, that seems to be the only kind of comments I get on this blog.  So, if you do read this blog, would it kill you to leave an insightful comment?  It would do wonders for my ego self-esteem.

Second term has begun and I love that my students are realizing that we only have a month in which to practice our play (a month, moreover, that loses half a week because of Thanksgiving break).  So, we've decided to take a half hour every day out of our third period class and quickly practice a scene or work out something with sets.

Also, in regards to Monday Night Football last night - I love how everyone's ready to bail off the Colts bandwagon at the first sign of "trouble" (like, losing to the Texans in week 1) and say how they're washed up and they have all these injuries and Peyton Manning isn't that great... and then the Colts still win in prime time.  Thus proving that all the analysts and pundits really have no idea what they're talking about.  The most entertaining thing to do: DVR any of the Sunday NFL pregame shows and watch their predictions and picks after the games have been played, just to see how totally off-base they were (and to further prove that nothing in professional football is ever settled - even when you know the Raiders and the Lions are going to lose... sometimes, they still win).  This could be an example of the pot calling the kettle black, of course, seeing as how I make my own picks every week on this very blog - but I can't resist a little ribbing of the guys in the studios (probably why I enjoy watching Frank Caliendo's picks on Fox every week).

Oh, and it's Election Day today.  Rather than launch into my own brand of punditry (which would take all day and just raise my blood pressure and I actually have a project due tonight that I need to work on), I'm going to just say this: payback's a bitch.

Now sit back and watch the drama unfold (pass the popcorn, please).

At Least Someone Named Francisco Does Something Good

Well, I guess the Niners won today.  So, Francisco is actually a very lucky name today.  Let's hear it for the one-handed catch!

I love my Colts.  To pieces.  But I am not loving this down-to-the-wire winning stuff.  Then again, I kind of grumble when the games are boring.  Upon further reflection, I don't know if I can handle this kind of nerve-wracking excitement.

When I first got home, the pre-SNF highlights showed all the games that my picks got wrong, so I thought that I had done terribly.  But I actually made a pretty decent 7-4 today (with the Titans-Jaguars game still to come).

I'm so glad that Johnny is NOT ribbing me about anything tonight. Whenever the Colts play in primetime, Johnny sits over here and makes his stupid little comments and snide little remarks (he doesn't like the Colts - he'd rather watch Backstreet Boy rejects masquerade as NFL quarterbacks). When the Colts lose, he is unbearable and I want to pop the little twerp. But when the Colts win, Johnny quietly takes his leave so I don't come down on him - I rarely do in these cases. It's like he thinks because he rags on me when the team I'm cheering for loses, that I will do the same to him. Granted, I sometimes do, but only if he's been overly obnoxious about it.

Bottom Line - Colts win! I can face the week *sigh in relief*



ETA:  My cousin had this little tidbit on her blog and I was on the floor.  I'm making it official - Tom Brady's new nickname is "Justin Bieber in a Helmet."   I seriously want someone from ESPN to pick this up - Boomer, Keyshawn, Frank Caliendo (even though he's with Fox Sports) - I don't care - just someone please make fun of this! (give it a spot on "C'mon Man!" - please!)

How Do You Interpret that Garglemesh?

I've been working on my 4-page website and this sucker is kicking my butt!  I have to do something whackadoodle with CSS (which I understand in theory - getting it to work is the tricky part) plus some other stuff that I don't even know what the heck I'm doing.  I understand basic HTML, but the basic stuff just looks like poop.  And I wanted this website to be my portfolio/resume so I could just send the link to potential employers, so I kind of want it to look semi-professional (and it's nice to not have to have all the layouts and presentations I've done stuffed into a binder somewhere).  Brain... hurt... muchly....  This is what I get for being an overachiever, I suppose *sigh*  I think I'm going to call it a night on that front - I got the online discussion post in that's due tomorrow, so I can breathe a little easier.

School was fun today.  We got new library books in, so I spent my free period cataloging and getting the books ready for circulation (taping the jacket covers down was murder, though - that tape is sticky).  The kids asked for "The Hunger Games" trilogy, which I think looks interesting.  That's next on my list of things to read (right after I finish the Percy Jackson series - I'm in the middle of the fourth book).  If there's anything I've learned from being the librarian at the high school, it's that there are some pretty good young adult books out there.  Of course, there's plenty of crap to be had, but these kids have good taste in books.

In football news - the Giants won, which made up for that soul-crushing loss Indy suffered at the hands of Jacksonville (what the crap is up with my Colts?  Honestly...)  Right now, I'm watching the Patriots-Dolphins game with my little cousin.  He like the Pats, but I'm more or less "meh..." because I don't really like either of them.  And since it's October and it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the NFL has pink accented on all the players' uniforms and sideline gear.  For most teams, the pink accenture works (they've got pink cleats, gloves, towels, etc.), but the Dolphins - whose regular colors are turquoise and orange - look even girlier than they usually do (I call them the 1970s Lisa Frank rejects).  I think the turquoise makes the pink pop out more, so it's more noticeable.  Maybe Miami should go with their orange uniforms during October... I dunno...

It is cool that the NFL supports breast cancer research, though.  We had a family friend who passed away from breast cancer in 2005 and she was an absolutely amazing woman.  She and my mom helped us in our 4-H clubs and we'd hang out with her girls all the time (my younger sister moreso than me because her oldest girl was my sister's age).  So, whenever I see anything to do with breast cancer awareness, I think of her.

Supporting Your Team: Priceless

In the midst of typing up my football rehash, I had the thought that I've never really said why I like the Colts so much.  This is actually kind of a neat story that I ought to chronicle:

I went years without an NFL team that I routinely cheered for (I wasn't terribly interested in football, to be honest.  Didn't see a need to have a team).  My dad has the Lions, the 49ers and the Redskins (yeah, his life stinks), Mom is a Rams fangirl, my brother pulls for the Lions and a couple other teams (he's more involved with certain players), and... well... baby sister liked the Steelers, but then she switched to the Saints when she found out there was a French Quarter in New Orleans (she's got a thing for France - it's quite cute).  Not-quite-baby sister used to like the Packers, but then she got girly and didn't like football anymore (maybe she's come back from the abyss?  Truly, I haven't got a clue).

Back to my point - I decided I wanted to have a team, but I didn't know who I wanted to be a fan of.  Not Dallas or New England - those are dirty words in our household.  Nor did I want to cheer for a team that someone in my family already supports (I didn't want to share).  I tried the Eagles for a while in high school, but I wasn't feeling it with them.  Don't know what "it" is, but the Eagles didn't have it.

Anyway, my mom liked Peyton Manning.  Even though she is a hardcore Rams fan, she thought Peyton was a funny guy with all the goofy commercials he did.  Myself personally, I think it's great when a football player is really good, yet he can still lighten up and not be all OMG - DIVA! all the time *insert Edward sparkle here*  (I still quote "Cut that meat!" at random times).  Anyway, Peyton Manning plays for the Colts, so I picked the Colts - and I still wasn't aware just how good they really were (at the time, the defense needed lots and lots of help - they weren't going to no Super Bowl any time soon.  Then they went to the Super Bowl and won and life was cherries).

Like I said in my previous post, I do like that the Colts are pretty classy.  There's very rarely any extra-curricular drama unless the media or what-have-you creates some.  Even then, the players don't get into it - there's not any press-conference rants or threats to get traded - no Playboy bunnies in the VIP box.  Sure, you've got Peyton in those DirecTV, MasterCard and Sony ads, but that just adds to his appeal.

(And when I say "drama," I mean the Lady Gaga crap that TO and Ochodorko pull.  I can't stand any team doing that - that's part of why I can't watch NBA games outside of the Jazz.  They freaking think they're auditioning for "The Young and the Restless."  But that's another topic for another day.)

Anyway, the Colts are great and wonderful.  They're my team and I like them. And now you know why.  Thank MasterCard.

Yeah, It's a Long Football Rehash. Bite Me.

This was my stream-of-consciousness blogging as I watched the Sunday Night game.  My blog, my rules.  Deal with it.

Watching the Colts-Giants game and comment-chatting with a friend on LiveJournal who is a big Giants fan.  I feel bad that her team is losing - and I like the Giants too - yet I am loathe to see my Colts go 0-2.  Maybe if they had won last week, it'd be a different story.

However - it was nice to see the Colts playing pissed after last week's performance.  As much as the mild-mannered Colts get pissed.  I think that's why I like the Colts - totally classy and businesslike.  There's no weekly drama unless the media or whoever manufactures it around them.  Even then, no one on the field gives a damn (but we fans will get indignant on the players' behalf).  That's why I've cheered for the Jazz for so many years - they're much the same.  I'm not a fan of the "Twitter, Playboy model, reality show, GQ cover drama-ramas that other teams conjure up.

All that being said - I do wish the Giants would come back and make a game of it.   For all that "Manning Bowl" hype, you'd think they'd make the actual game a bit more interesting.

(I cannot lie - the Peyton-and-Eli little kid montages were adorable.)

Dallas Clark is my homeboy.  The end.

I am happy that Collie learned to catch the ball in the off-season (it will take a lot for me to let the stinking Zoobie off the hook for that).

STUPID KSL NEWS INTERRUPTING MY GAME!!!  And none of the other local news networks are interrupting their broadcasts!  I don't care if there's some stupid fire going on in the south of Salt Lake Valley - they wouldn't give a crap if there was a big fire going on out here!  ARGH!!

(Here's the dumbest thing - Channels 2 and 4 kept their regular programming going without interruption.  Can't shove "Undercover Boss" off somewhere else, now can they?)

Brandon Jacobs' helmet going into the stands - I say they should promise the guys a game ball or something cool to give up the helmet.

I never thought I would agree with Chicken-Neck's analysis - but his take on the Giants' O-line is dead-on.  Eli oughta be asking for a little help on the Dwight Freeney front (on the other hand, the Giants' punter's having a great night).

Years ago, the Colts' defense sucked like nobody's business.  The offense was amazing, but the defense left much to be desired.  So, I have to say that Indy's defense has vastly improved over the years and I am happy about that.

Here's a thought - Peyton's probably used to creaming Eli, so when you bill the game as "Manning vs. Manning," it's not going to end well for little bro (we older siblings don't like the young kiddles getting the best of us.  Makes 'em too uppity, you know?)

However - that was a classy move by Peyton not to give a post-game on the field interview.  It's one thing to have the "brother-vs-brother" banter in the lead-up to the game, but it's nice that he didn't want to gloat (or appear to gloat - I don't think he actually ever gloats) on national TV.  Two thumbs up!

Other games -

Washington - WTF??  You stinking HAD that game won!  (I guess I shouldn't get too mad - can't expect a total renaissance just after a 4-12 season).

Maybe the Pick-Your-Super-Bowl-Heroes guys should have looks a little further south in Texas for potential championship contenders (not that I like that pick any better, mind you).

Speaking of drama - what the crap is going on in Minnesota?  If Favre is going to make a big stink about "To retire or not to retire," he oughta play a little bit better, don'cha think?

(Commercial amusement - the DirecTV Russian mob guy, just as he turns on his "premium television package," one of the "Twilight" movies comes on.  I will leave the decision of whether that qualifies as premium television up to my readership)

We had my 12-year-old cousin over - who is a disgustingly huge Patriots fan - and we were ribbing him non stop over the Pats loss to the Jets.  At one point, it looked like Belichick was using the phone at the bench to order a pizza (accord to my dad's MST3K-style commentary), so every pizza commercial after that warranted a laugh.  The pizza started as cheese, but we progressed to pepperoni, sausage and anchovies - however bad they were playing.

Which begs the question - how long before the Rams' postgame sympathy-pizza before got ridiculous?  They probably wound up with ice cream and marshmallows.

To say nothing of the Lions' pizza.

(I pick on the Rams and the Lions in good fun - they are my mom and my dad's teams, respectively - and because they accuse me of bandwagon jumping.  To which I reply - I went so long without an NFL team and who was I going to pick?  The Raiders?  The Can't-Let-Go-of-the-70s-Lisa-Frank-Orange-and-Aqua-Look Dolphins?  Puh-lease…)

See ya tomorrow for the Saints-Niners showdown (umm... maybe "showdown" is a expecting a little much...)

NFL Week 2 - My Picks

I've got stake conference today, so I can't pontificate too much about my picks this week, but here they are:

Pittsburgh at Tennessee - Pittsburgh
Miami at Minnesota - Minnesota
Arizona at Atlanta - Atlanta
Baltimore at Cincinnati - Baltimore
Kansas City at Cleveland - After last week's performance? KC, baby!
Chicago at Dallas - 'da Bears
Philadelphia at Detroit - Oh, Philly, no doubt
Buffalo at Green Bay - Green Bay
Tampa Bay at Carolina - Carolina
Seattle at Denver - lesser or of two evils.... Seattle
St. Louis at Oakland - St. Louis in the Super Stink Bowl
Houston at Washington - After last week's performance... Washington (there is no forgiveness for Houston)
New England at NY Jets - Jets
Jacksonville at San Diego - Jacksonville
NY Giants at Indianapolis - Ooh... the Manning Bowl (a fangirl's dream!) Well, Eli's already got a win and the Colts are pissed that they lost last week, so I'm going with Indy

Monday Night
New Orleans at San Francisco - Who dat? Go with the Saints

Monday Night Week 1 - Great Job. But who are the Chefs?

Even though it's really Tuesday.  Those Monday Night double-headers wear me out -_-'

- While the Jets-Ravens game was an exciting defensive matchup, the ending was quite anti-climatic.  Ending on a 4th down pass that you just barely didn't get the yardage for... I almost didn't realize the game was over.  There wasn't even anyone near him to keep him from getting that extra two inches (or whatever it was).

- Chargers-Chiefs - The Chiefs are always that team that I forget even exists.  When I try to name all the football teams by division (AFC South, NFC East, etc) I always forget that the Chiefs are in the AFC West.  I just keep thinking... Chargers, Raiders, Broncos... umm... let's see... *checks NFL.com*... oh yeah - the Chiefs!  Kansas City - right... they just kinda... stink...

Except apparently they don't anymore.  Going up 21-7 in the first half against the Chargers?  Freaking beating the Chargers?  Good grief - between them and the Texans, this may be the year for perennial losers to shine (ya hear that, Detroit?)

Monday night - I went 1 for 2, so my standing is 13 of... something.  Anyway, I gotta go.

Week 1 - And the Super Bowl Pick Is...

I had a busy church day today, so I the only game I saw today was Sunday Night Football (Cowboys-Redskins - wow, that was THE game to catch!)  I haven't even seen all the highlights yet, though I'm waiting for Chris Berman to make his appearance on ESPN so I can get the nitty-gritty (I can't figure out why the Blitz hasn't come up yet).  However, here are my thoughts on what I have seen so far:

• - The Colts lose to the Texans???  Don't tell me we have the Second Place Curse!!! D: D: D:  (often, when a team loses in the Super Bowl, their next year will stink - how I pray that hasn't happened here!)

• The Blitz is on - Basically, Houston played better.  And it's the Zoobie's fault.  Again.  How I hate Austin Collie (been making my life miserable since 2007 DX).

• Brother Eli - you know I love you, but Brother Peyton needs some love, so I'm preemptively picking the Colts in next week's Sunday Night game (was there any doubt of that?) It's nothing personal - I'll still be a loyal fangirl the week after. Al Michaels can't say M. Night Shymalan's name (that's okay - I can't spell it).
• Two things I'm sure of - Cris Collinsworth is still annoying and it is crappy horror movie season.
• What were y'all saying about the Cowboys being the first team to play a Super Bowl in their home stadium?  (People who make Super Bowl picks before and during Week 1 are morons.  The end.)
• It's no secret that beer commercials are among the funniest commercials out there.  But why, pray tell would I want to swim in an ocean of Bud Light?  That stuff stinks.
• What muskrat died and left it's pelt to Tom Brady's hair??  Holy crap...
• At the end of Sunday's action, this is where my picks stand - I got 12 right with two more tomorrow.

...

Not time for football recaps yet (I haven't caught all the highlights yet) - but the Colts lost to the Texans.

Truly, I have nothing to say. But the Doctor does:



*weeps*

(Looking for the bright side, as I try to do - at least I have proven I can fangirl football and still be a Doctor Who geek).

NFL Picks - Week 1

As promised, here are my picks for the first week of NFL action (this is a totally just-for-fun knee-jerk reaction with no analysis of weather, players or any of that other stuff the Vegas guys take into account).

Week 1
Thu. Sep. 09
Vikings at Saints, 8:30 PM - Already picked the Saints and they won
Sun. Sep. 12
Dolphins at Bills, 1:00 PM - Dolphins
Colts at Texans, 1:00 PM - Colts
Lions at Bears, 1:00 PM - Bears
Falcons at Steelers, 1:00 PM - Steelers
Browns at Buccaneers, 1:00 PM - Browns
Bengals at Patriots, 1:00 PM - *holds nose* Patriots
Broncos at Jaguars, 1:00 PM - Jaguars
Raiders at Titans, 1:00 PM - Titans
Panthers at Giants, 1:00 PM - Giants
49ers at Seahawks, 4:15 PM  - my heart says Niners, my head says Seahawks.  I'll go with Seahawks
Cardinals at Rams, 4:15 PM - Cardinals
Packers at Eagles, 4:15 PM - Packers
Cowboys at Redskins, 8:20 PM - Redskins for the Upset Special (what can I say? Hope springs eternal!)
Mon. Sep. 13
Ravens at Jets, 7:00 PM - Ravens
Chargers at Chiefs, 10:15 PM - Chargers

Check back later to see how I fared!

We've Been Waiting All Year

Sweet Mother of Lombardi - it's been a long summer.



(I prefer Hank Jr.'s "Are You Ready for Some Football?" but tonight's opener is on NBC and I actually didn't mind Pink's version - Faith Hill kinda bugs me, really.  Besides, this is actually for an opening night - and I miss John Madden's commentary.  It's just good to be talking football again ^_^).

Rejoice all ye nations of the (football) world - NFL action starts tonight!!  Saints vs. Vikings - should be a good one.  And for my pick... hm... I usually hate to see the defending Super Bowl champs to lose on Opening Night (even if they did beat my Colts for that ring), so I'm going to pick the Saints in this one.

Okay, okay - here's Hank Jr's Monday Night Football song from the actual ABC era (I still think it's stupid they moved it to ESPN.  But that's neither here nor there):



(I think it's funny this vid has Favre still as a Packer and now he's in Minnesota)

Show Me the Scotsman!

The fam's all here so before I forget, I'm giving my alma mater equal time in anticipation of their showdown against #7 Oklahoma tomorrow afternoon (I harbor no delusions as to the outcome, but if you're going to be a fan, be a fan all the way).



And because no rendition of the Aggie Fight Song is complete without this:



(They need some higher quality versions of this sucker on YouTube. I am disappointed... at least this one had the lyrics to it).

And this really doesn't have anything to do with anything - but any excuse for David Tennant in a kilt, right?



Let's go Aggies!!

Would You STOP Icing the Kicker?

The Utes beat Pitt 27-24 in overtime.  And they're darn lucky to get a win here - I guess the boys still had some summertime rust to shake out.  Not just the players - WTF was with the double-icing of the kicker there, Coach?

Some thoughts -

- Versus is definitely the best choice for Mountain West football viewing.  'Course when your only competition is The Mtn. (aka UVU's remedial broadcast journalism class), that's not saying much.  Happily, I only have one more year of this and then we're off to the Pac-10 and back on ESPN (no more sideline interviews with the defensive coordinator from Hayville High School that coached Wyoming's quarterback when he was in 8th grade - Hooray!)

- Addendum to above - I realize that Versus' emphasis is on college sports, but must we take constant breakaways to Pitt's glorified frat house party?  I mean, good grief - they're the visiting team.  Their fans don't get the privilege of showing off their stupidity.  Pan over the MUSS all you want (okay, fine - and the opposing team's fans that made the effort to travel to Salt Lake, if you must).

- I would also advise Pitt's cheerleaders - choose a more flattering color for your tops next time.  That gold blends into your skin too well.  I kept thinking the cheerleaders were topless - which I guess meshes well with the frat house theme.

- Three words - Too. Many. Penalties.  Three more words - Be. More. Awesome.

- I'm not overly opposed to the icing the kicker move.  While it's become an overused tactic in college and pro football, I like it when it works in my favor and I hate it when it works against me.  But for it to work - don't you want the second (hopefully missed) attempt to be the one that counts?  Coach - you know I love you, but.... why the second timeout?  WHYYYYYYYY????

- Most appropriate name - Shaky Smithson.  I haven't heard of him before today, but if that's his real name... wouldn't that have been an indication? (Probably worse if that's his nickname).

- Pitt's ranked #15?  Well, rankings this early in the season are like ice trays to Eskimos.  And the BCS and AP rankings typically fail at life anyway, so who's counting.

- And this may not be the venue for it, but I wasn't very attentive when this initially made news, so I'm going to bring it up here - BYU's going independent?  To what point and purpose?  The BCS has never even sneezed in your direction.  Oh, you may have been mentioned at the beginning of a few seasons, and perhaps a little in the middle, but you've always - ALWAYS taken yourself out of BCS contention by Thanksgiving (blame the fact that the only place programmed into your GPS - besides the two-for-one line at the St. George Chuck-a-Rama - is Las Vegas).  Whereas Utah, Boise State and TCU have all been courted and even had success in BCS bowl games (honestly, if anyone should go independent, it's TCU).  Yes, you're a private religious school, blahdy-blah - but quit trying to be Notre Dame.  You, my... friends... are no Notre Dame.

- Calling BYU "friends" - I threw up a little in my mouth.

- All that being said - Jordan Wynn is amazing.  If it didn't look like jail bait, I'd marry him.  And that other kid that caught the interception - Brian Blechen - the girls that live next door had better make him cookies.  Because I would.

Bottom Line - I'm glad we won.  I'm not happy about the way we won - but I take come comfort that this was early in the season and now we can iron out the wrinkles (Win pretty or win ugly - just win).

I am a Utah Man, Sir!

The University of Utah Utes kick off the football season tonight against Pittsburgh.

Heavens be praised! The summer sports drought ends tonight!

(Yes, I will post something for the Utah State game against Oklahoma on Saturday. But tonight - wear something red ^_^)

ETA: This one was too cute to pass up.

Movin' On and Movin' Up

Yay! Sports news that has nothing to do with South Africa!!! (a rarity this summer)



It's officially official!  The Utes are saying so long to the Mountain West Conference and saying hello to the PAC-10 (soon to be PAC-12, I'm sure).  This is exciting for a number of reasons, which I shall now enumerate:

1. The Utes can now be recognized as legitimate contenders in the BCS.  Not that they weren't legitimate contenders before, but since the "My crap don't stink" nitwits from the BCS refuse to let anyone get in the way of Ohio State or USC or Florida's red-carpeted road as perennial champions, this is the best for the Utes in terms of ever being able to pull off a national championship.  By way of the Boise State-TCU Fiesta/Baby-Sitters Bowl, the BCS has shown that they're never, ever, ever, ever, EVER going to let the "small fry" teams in, no matter how badly they beat Michigan State (and with USC out of contention in postseason play because of suspension from the NCAA, this is akin to the news of Michael Jordan's retirement after the second Bulls-Jazz NBA Finals.  But this time, there's not a lockout to screw with veteran players' health, thus thwarting any chance the Jazz had at the title).    Like they say, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

(By the way, I've been waiting my whole life for a Utah-based team to come away with a national title and so far, I've been given the finger by The Greater Cosmos(tm).  The Jazz had their shots in the '90s, as did the Utes basketball team, but we've always had to settle for second place and it gets pretty tiresome.  I do take great pride in the Fiesta and Sugar Bowl victories, but I want that darn national championship!!  Real Salt Lake's soccer title doesn't count because (a) the game ended in a tie and they won the shoot-out, which is like deciding a World War II on a game of horseshoes (b) if the whole of the European continent says I must love soccer simply because the rest of the world loves soccer, that is immediate grounds for me to hate soccer with a passion unbridled)

2. No more listening to The mtn!!! Or, as I like to call it - Sports Broadcast School Rejects.  It's like they got the UNLV student journalism class to run that stupid station (yes, Otis, I'm sure it looks good on your resume, but I want my football game, dammit!)  If have to listen to them sideline interview the football coach from Timpview High School while the Utes are running a pick-six on BYU one more time, I'm going to slit my wrists with a rusty spoon.

3. Speaking of the Zoo... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! You guys had this wonderful season, even beating the Utes in the grand finale (thank you Maxie-poo) - and YOU GOT SNUBBED!!  The BCS never even sneezed in your direction and the Utes got in twice!  And won - twice!!  And now the Utes are one step closer than you've ever dreamed of being! (your 1984 "title" doesn't count - that was pre-BCS.  In fact, I'm willing to bet it's your fault we have to deal with all this crap).  I think I speak for all Ute fans when I say - See what clean living does for ya?

Enjoy your continued success against UNLV and Wyoming.  No, really, I mean that with all sincerity (it's amazing I can say all that with a straight face ^_^)

Also - Brad Rock chimes in on the news.  I knew he would.  And he's almost as giddy as I am (with a touch more professionalism - eh, whatever).

Super Bowl Celebrations - Go Colts!!

Thus beginneth the weekend to end all weekends! Since I have class all weekend, I have to post this now. And I am quite pleased with the Super Bowl this year. As I've said before, I was pulling for a Saints-Colts Super Bowl when they were both going undefeated (and I spit in the general direction of the Cowboys for ruining that - oh well, they're all sitting at home with a bowl of Cheetos this weekend anyway). I have to say - it's much more fun to cheer for someone rather than cheering against a team you despise. In 2008, I was pulling for the Giants to win because I hate the Patriots - but that performance gained the Giants another big fan.

And I'm also happy that the Colts are playing the Saints. Honestly, I would not be too upset if the Saints did win, other than they would beat my team to do it. And I'm glad we don't have any big scandal or controversy to deal with either or no drama-queen thugs running their mouths off (Chad 85 from Cincinnati, Terrell Owens from Buffalo - those kinds of idiots. I guess that's why they had to drum up the Tim Tebow ad crap so the news media would have something to talk about). Both these teams are very classy and very disciplined, which will make for an exciting game, but it doesn't make TMZ or ET (they're mourning the fact that none of Tom Brady's model girlfriends had a baby this week). And it's going to be an offensive shoot-out and that's always fun :)

So, whether you're a Colts fan, Saints fan, football expert, football know-nothing, cheerleader or just like watching the commercials - everyone have a Happy Super Bowl Weekend and I'll see you at the after party.