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.

That is a Beautiful Sight

On the eve of March Madness, this seemed appropriate (even though *cough, cough* my Utes aren't in the tournament - but my Aggies are!)



The University of Utah in the PAC-12.

Be still my little Utah Man heart.

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!!)

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).

It's a Rivalry Thing. You Wouldn't Understand

It's Game Day - Utah State vs. byu. Oh boy, there is sooo much good material for this. And I'm a little loopy because of the magic marker smell. Yes folks, I made POSTERS for the game tonight!! I don't know if the game is televised, but I'll wave when I hold up my signs. Of course, pictures are a given and will be forthcoming (with game day shirt and everything. Actually, I thought last year's shirts were funnier, but I can't do anything about that. Maybe if they have one at DI...)

Some jokes that didn't make the cut, but should have:

- Beat byu so max hall can hate us too (if I have to explain this, you haven't been paying attention the last few days)

- Glad you could find your way here. Sorry it wasn't Vegas (referencing the fact that the Zoo had to play a "road game" against USU at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake last year because they couldn't handle coming all the way up to Logan - yet the football team can make it to the Vegas bowl every year)

- Win or lose, you still have to live in Provo (this was on the game day shirts last year, so the novelty has probably worn off)

Oh - for people preaching "tolerance" and "love" and "can't we all just get along and hug each other?", I have one thing to say: It's a rivalry thing. You wouldn't understand. Let us have this one time of the year where all our hate and animosity comes out against our arch-rivals and we'll leave you alone the other 50 weeks in the year. Fair enough.

After a Week of Neglect...

(Re-posted from LJ)

It's time for a blog dump! Oh, I went back and back to see how long I've been blogging (not on Blogspot, but other places) and my first blog was posted more than four years ago. Aw... the memories ^_^

Letssee... (ooh ooh - "New Moon" TV spot - pardon the ADD moment... okay, I'm back) ... the actual week was okay - nothing crazy to report. My second job asked if I could post my articles on his blogs, which amounts to some extra hours (yay!!) Then the weekend - I went home because our stake was having big devotional at the Manti Temple (like, in the upper priesthood room; like, a once-in-a-lifetime big deal thing). That was pretty sweet and I enjoyed it.

Also, we had our family Halloween party (apparently, this tradition started while I was on my mission - it's a tradition I can support, though). A few nights before, I decided I was going to go as one of the Twilight vampires (didn't have a particular one in mind, just whoever), so I had to scramble for what I needed. I had makeup (I'm fair-skinned as it is, so I just had to go a little paler) and some cool looking high heeled boots. I went online to see how to be a Twilight vampire and they all said you had to have colored contacts, which I can see. But I already wear prescription contacts and getting colored prescription contacts for one night is pretty stupid (I'm NOT going around with yellow eyes in real life). But - intelligent me, forgot the button-up shirt that I'd found to wear, so I had to turn my Gators shirt inside out (lucky it was black). But it was cool. When I go to the Scream on Friday, at least I won't be leaving parts of my costume other places.

(TV-ADD Moment: Oh jeez, these Redskins stink...)

The party was fun - got to see some cousins that I don't always get to see. Then Saturday, Mom and Dad went to the Utes game and I stayed in Delta with my sisters and the dog.

I have a beef, however - Why is it that Utah State's football team, who aren't exactly headed for any championships anytime soon, can get on ESPN, but the two teams in the state that are ranked in the BCS (Utah and BYU) have to cater to the small fish at Versus and Comcast? We have DirecTV at home and the idiots at Comcast has bought out Versus and said that no one else can carry that channel. Versus was the ONLY chance Mountain West fans had to watch the games on TV because we have to have that insanely retarded mtn. channel - it's not even big league enough to spell anything out, I'd like to point out (hate you, Dave Checketts, HATE YOU!!!) It sucks that I can watch every NFL game that I want, but I can't even get a simple local college team on TV. Sigh... an argument that's been levied for at least three years and probably will be revisited until the rest of forever. It's like universal health care - no one wants it, but they snuck it through and now that we have it, we can't get rid of it.

Oh well - the Utes won. BYU got spanked. Even though they beat BYU, TCU is fast becoming the Patriots of the Mountain West - where the crap did they come from, can we please shut up about them and will the Utes please beat the snot out of them? I just don't want them beating MY team, that's all.

(TV-ADD Moment - I usually love adaptations of "A Christmas Carol," but this Disney 3D version looks like a hack job just so they can have a kiddie 3D Christmas movie. Hm...)

And last night, I got back at 12:30 am - and I'm getting a cold (Zicam, NyQuil and orange juice are on hand), so I am wiped out.

PS - Amazon.com is selling Sarah Palin's new book for $9.oo for pre-order (plus shipping - amounts to about $13.00). Beats the nearly $30 that it will be once it's out. Just a little free promotion for Governor Palin (future President Palin ^_^)