The Games of 2013

What another great year of sports! I was able to check some major things off my "Sports Bucket List." I got to see the Jazz beat LeBron and the Heat for the second straight year in Salt Lake. In March I was able to attend the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, even though Gonzaga lost to Cinderella story Witchita State, it was a lot of fun to go with my mom and dad. The next week Major Leagues Baseball's Rockies and Mariners faced off for a final exhibition game at Spring Mobile Ballpark! You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. The summer brought a lot more Bee's game and also allowed me to develop my fan-hood for soccer and Real Salt Lake. What a great year as they nearly won the MLS Cup in December. Aggie and Ute football filled my fall. Though there were some definite ups and downs (such as the Aggies narrowly losing to the Utes on opening night, which cost me a bet that has made me grow out my hair until the end of college football season) it turned out to be a great year for Aggies in their first season in the Mountain West Conference. The highlight of my year came when I was able to attend my first NFL game in Baltimore. It was also the coldest I've been this year! There were a combined five touchdowns by the Ravens and Vikings in the last two minutes with the Ravens eventually prevailing. The teams I rooted for ended up 12-12-1 (.500) record in games I attended this year. My worst record since I have been keeping track but the memories surely won't be forgotten.

For the previous "Years in Review" click here.

Men’s College Basketball 

Record in Games I Attended:  3-4

01/09/13 Utah vs. UCLA L, 53-57 Huntsman Center, SLC, UT
01/27/13 Utah vs. Stanford L, 56-87 Huntsman Center, SLC, UT
02/02/13 Utah vs. Colorado W, 58-55 Huntsman Center, SLC, UT
02/28/13 Gonzaga at BYU W, 70-65 Marriott Center, Provo, UT
03/23/13 Gonzaga vs. Wichita St. L, 70-76 NCAA Tournament 3rd Round 
03/23/13 Arizona vs. Harvard W, 74-51 NCAA Tournament 3rd Round 
11/30/13 Utah St. vs. BYU L, 74-85 Energy Solutions Arena, SLC

College Football 

(all Utah State games at Romney Stadium, all Utah Games at Rice Eccles Stadium)

Record in Games I Attended:  4-4

08/29/13 Utah St. at Utah L, 26-30 
09/07/13 Utah vs. Weber St. W, 70-7
09/14/13 Utah St. vs. Weber St.W, 70-6
10/04/13 Utah St. vs. BYU L, 14-31
10/12/13 Utah St. vs. Boise St. L, 23-34
11/02/13 Utah St. vs. Hawaii W, 47-10
11/09/13 Utah vs. Arizona St. L, 19-20
11/30/13 Utah St. vs. Wyoming W, 35-7

Utah Jazz

(all games attended at Energy Solutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT)

Record in Games I Attended:  1-4

01/14/13 vs. Miami W, 104-97
02/08/13 vs. Chicago L, 89-93
02/27/13 vs. Atlanta L, 91-102
10/30/13 vs. Oklahoma City L, 98-101
11/11/13 vs. Denver L, 81-100

Real Salt Lake 

(all games at Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, UT)

Record in Games I Attended 3-0-1

07/03/13 vs. Philadelphia T, 2-2
08/24/13 vs. Columbus W, 4-0
10/23/13 vs. Chivas USA W, 2-1
11/10/13 vs. Portland W, 4-2 Second Round MLS Playoffs

Other Events 

Record in Games I Attended 1-0

03/30/13 MLB-Colorado Rockies vs. Seattle Mariners- MLB in SLC  
                        Spring Mobile Ballpark, Salt Lake City, UT
12/08/13 NFL-Baltimore Ravens vs. Minnesota Vikings W, 29-26
                        M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD

Year of Games - 2012

I wasn't very good at keeping up with my blogging this past year but it is never too late reminisce on the games I attended. I had a blast having half season Jazz tickets with Hillary during the beginning part of the year. While in Boise I was able to attend a number of minor league baseball and hockey games. In accord with tradition I don't record minor league sports so those contests are not reflected in this years 10-5 (.667) record, but none the less I am really falling in love with hockey! And how about that Aggie Football?! A perfect 2-0 in the games I attended on their way to an awesome 11-2 bowl championship and conference championship season! What a turn around. Sadly, this was the first year I was unable to attend a Major League Baseball game since 2007, in 2013 I hope to make up for that!

Men's College Basketball

Record in Games I Attended:  0-1

02/02/12              Gonzaga at BYU                L, 73-83 Marriott Center, Provo, UT

College Football

Record in Games I Attended:  4-0                                                                 

09/27/12              Utah St. vs. Utah             W, 27-20 (OT) Romney Stadium Logan, UT

09/20/12              Boise St. vs. BYU            W, 7-6 Bronco Stadium, Boise, ID

10/13/12              Boise St. vs. Fresno St.    W, 20-10 Bronco Stadium, Boise, ID

12/15/12              Utah St. vs. Toledo          W, 41-15 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Bronco Stadium, Boise, ID

Utah Jazz 

Record in Games I Attended:  6-4

01/06/12              vs. Memphis                   W, 93-86

01/11/12              vs. L.A. Lakers                L, 87-90

01/21/12              vs. Minnesota                  W, 108-98

01/28/12              vs. Sacramento                W, 96-93

02/01/12              vs. L.A. Clippers              L, 105-107

02/10/12              vs. Oklahoma City            L, 87-101

02/17/12              vs. Washington                W, 114-100

02/20/12              vs. San Antonio                L, 102-106

03/02/12              vs. Miami                        W, 99-98

03/17/12              vs. Golden State               W, 99-92

Heartbroken x 3

This is definitely not the blog I wanted to be writing today after attending last night's Utah State/BYU football game in Provo, UT. But lets face it, bad things happen. And if you are a Utah State fan, alumni, support, player, etc. bad things seem to happen just about every time the Aggies take the field.

The Aggies blew a 10-point lead with 3 minutes left to Auburn in the first week of the season, that hurt, but a loss to Auburn was expected. In week 3, the offense and defense played well enough to win but because of two muffed punt returns, Colorado State was able to score in the last minutes to tie the game and win in double overtime. And to cap it all off, last night, with a lead in final minutes once again, that hated team from down south was able to put together a 96 yard touchdown drive against the Ags to win the game with 11 seconds remaining.

What can be done! I can't take anymore heartbreak, this team has the talent and skills to win, they just somehow seem to miraculously lose each and every game! One thing that I think would help would be for Coach Anderson to take given points or at least shots at given points i.e. the extra point in the second overtime of the CSU game and the field goal late in fourth quarter against BYU. When the team wasn't as talented as opponents, trick plays and going for it was fine, but now, I believe we have a good team, we need to take points!

I'll always support the Aggies but its going to take a couple of wins before I make the trek back up to Logan to watch another game. I hope the team has some moral left and can still rally to make a bowl game.

Oh and p.s.- BYU don't say its not a rivalry game anymore. You stormed the field. A win over the Aggies must now mean something!

Conference Shuffle

I have been opposed to conference realignment in college football for quite some time, with the loss of rivalries and historic match-ups, but at this time it seems like it is unavoidable. So if things must change and it appears like they must, this is what I would like to see happen based on current moves and other rumors.

Most analysts believe there are going to be four power conferences with 16 teams a piece. Those conferences being the Pac-12, ACC, SEC, and Big 10.

The Pac-12 is likely to add Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma St.

The ACC has already added Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Connecticut has been rumored to want in to stay with long time rival Syracuse, leaving the ACC with 15 teams. And breaking news today is that if forced to give up independence Notre Dame would like to be the 16th in the ACC.

The most elite football conference the SEC has added Texas A&M and is now at an odd 13 teams. I see the SEC either adding West Virginia from the Big East or Missouri from the Big 12 or both! If both teams go, a 16th would most likely be added.

The Big 10 has been relatively quiet in this new wave of rumors but it is unlikely that they wouldn't make a move to pick up some pieces of the disparaged Big 12 and Big East. The four candidates I see most likely moving to the Big 10 (assuming Notre Dame goes to the ACC) would be Rutgers, Iowa St., Cincinnati, and Louisville.

So there we have it, four big 16 team conferences. Something similar to this will most likely happen. My opinion differs on what will happen, and what I hope happens to some of the remaining schools though. A fifth super conference composed of Big 12 teams and other powers under the name of the Big 12 so that the automatic BCS bid still applies. Here is my list of the those teams and where they would be coming from. From the Big 12- Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State; BYU (Independent); and from the current and future Mountain West- Boise St., TCU, Air Force, Colorado St., New Mexico, SDSU, UNLV, Wyoming, Hawaii, Fresno St. and Nevada. A 16th team would of course be added at a future time. This could definitely be a power conference with TCU, Boise St., Baylor and BYU. Hawaii, Fresno St., SDSU, and Nevada have all been known to have good seasons too.

Is this a solution to the problems in college football? Most definitely not. Believe it or not there was a 16 team conference in college football once before. The WAC from 1996-1998. Why did it fail? Elite teams felt that the super conference compromised academic and athletic integrity. Travel costs were also cited as a reason of league failure. The conference stretched from Hawaii to California to Oklahoma.

As far as the new super conferences go they probably will be around for a while, this isn't the 90's anymore. Rivalries, traditions, academics, and athletic excellence don't really matter. The only thing that matters is money and the money could be big in big conferences.

Teach Me How To Jimmer

Not usually one to pass on BYU propaganda but this is a pretty decent wrap and Jimmer is a pretty decent player!

Provo Preview

The Aggie men travel to that school down south tonight. You know the one we beat in basketball last year, the one we beat in football this year, the one that still doesn't think we are a rival. A win tonight will solidify the fact that we are indeed a rival. In what could be the last game in the series for some time the Utah State Aggies (1-0) take on the #23 Brigham Young Cougars (1-0).

It's a huge early season match up, especially for the Aggies as they only play one more quality opponent out of. A win will go a long way come tournament time in March. Here is what happened up in Logan last year when the two teams met up. Hopefully there will be more of that tonight and my road spectating record will improve to 2-3. It will be a tough game for the Aggies, who are already missing starting forward Nate Bendall, as defensive specialist Pooh Williams may be unable to go after straining his groin in the opener vs. Weber State. He is listed as a game time decision but I expect him to play in a game as big as this.

Some quick facts about the game via the USU Media Guide:

• Utah State and Brigham Young will be playing for the 227th time this week in what is the oldest rivalry in school history. USU's first game against BYU was during the 1905-06 season. The Aggies trail in the all-time series 135-91. The first game played in the series was on Feb. 23, 1906 with BYU winning 21-14. The last time the two teams played was on Dec. 2, 2009 in Logan with USU winning, 71-61. The last time the two teams played in Provo was Dec. 16, 2006 with BYU winning, 75-62, and the last time Utah State won at BYU was on Dec. 18, 2004, 84-62. Overall, USU has won six of the last nine games played in the series.
• Utah State has won 16 straight regular season games dating back to the 2009-10 season with its last regular season loss coming at Louisiana Tech, 82-60, on Jan. 4, 2010.
• Utah State has won 24 of its last 30 games versus in-state opponents and is 31-10 (.756) against the state of Utah during the last 11 years. During that time period, USU is 6-4 versus Brigham Young, 6-4 versus Utah, 11-2 versus Weber State, 5-0 against Utah Valley and 3-0 against Southern Utah. Overall, USU is 32-15 (.681) versus teams from the state of Utah under Morrill.
• Utah State is 11-56 (.164) all-time against ranked opponents, which includes a 5-13 (.278) record under Morrill. The last time USU played a ranked opponent was in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament when it lost to No. 23 Texas A&M, 69-53. The last time USU defeated a ranked team was on March 9, 2007 when it beat then No. 9 Nevada, 79-77, in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament.
• Utah State is starting the 2010-11 season with four-straight in-state games as it defeated Weber State (77-65) at home, plays at Brigham Young (11/17) and Southern Utah (11/20) and hosts Utah (11/24). Those four in-state games to start the year are the most for USU since the 1991-92 team began its season by playing five-straight in-state opponents.
• Utah State's four returning starters have a combined 353 games played while at USU including 288 starts.
• Only one player on the Aggie roster has ever played a game at BYU, Morgan Grimm a U of U transfer.

Seventeen Years

Seventeen years ago I had not started kindergarten, this spring I will graduate from college. Seventeen years ago the internet was a novelty, now its rare to go more than a few hours without being online in some form. And until last night, seventeen years ago was the last time the Utah State Aggies had beat the BYU Cougars!

Last night was a great experience, maybe even better than beating BYU in basketball last December. Right now America is a football country and when you beat your rival that you haven't beat in almost two decades on national TV, it is kinda big deal! So yea, both the teams were 1-3 going into the game, but the Aggies aren't the team that is now 1-4 and that sure does feel good!

Aggie pride is everywhere right now. The restaurants were packed until the wee hours of the morning last night and the internet is abuzzing. Here is a little sampling of the mood in Logan and the rest of the west from some of my friends Facebook status's:

"And today was the day that the Aggies beat the YBU's in a little game we call football :)"

"BELIEVED. We did it. Finally. GO AGGIES!"

"AMAZING game...17 years in the making and we finally beat BYU. That's right...WE WON!!! Go Aggies!"

My buddy at the U, "PS, Utah State better storm the field!" oh we did!

"... I believe that WE JUST WON!!!!"

From a Boise State fan "Go Utah St. way to hand it to those cougars!!!!!"

"It seems like every frustration I have had in the last 6 months went away when I watched Utah State smash the Cougars, GO AGGIES!"

A friend at the Y, "I think my roommate and I cursed BYU Football with our non-LDS sins."

"YEAH!! GO AGGIES!! Put BYU in their place tonight!! :D"

From my anti-football sister who goes to Gonzaga: "AGGGIEEEESSS! heck yes. Go UTAH STATE FOOTBALL!!!!"

and finally one that sums it all up,

"It's a good day to be an Aggie :)"

I'm Back!!

Wow, it has been a long time since I've blogged! A lot has been happening lately, school is in session, moved into a new place with my best buds, and I started a new job at the golf course. The course is located about 15 minutes outside of Logan, in the canyon on your way to Salt Lake. It is absolutely place, I'll be getting some pictures up soon. Overall, life is good.

Even though I haven't blogged for a bit, the world of sports hasn't slowed down a bit.

• The Phillies are back in first place and looking strong as they move towards the MLB Playoffs.
  
• Football season is full swing, the Aggies have a great chance to win one a big game as they take on Fresno State this Saturday in Logan.
  
• Oh Boise State! They beat Virginia Tech but then Virginia Tech lost to a FCS school. I wonder how much the BCS payed Virginia to lose that game and hurt Boises chances of playing in the National Championship game. Even though I hate Boise State, I want to see them do well until Dec. 4 when the Aggies roll onto the blue turf and take them out. I'm already dreaming of it.
  
• Another reason to hate BYU, Utah State was offered a spot in the Mountain West Conference but didn't take it because they believed the Y would join the WAC for everything but football, it didn't happen and now the WAC looks to be going defunct.
  
• Reggie Bush forfeited his Heisman. I don't think he should have. Sure what he did off the field was shady, but on the field he was simply amazing. The best college player I have ever watched.
  
• And then there is flag football, I'm already frustrated with a first week loss! It's typical though, my all time record in intramural sports is now 7-37.

Well that's all for now, hopefully I'll keep more up to date from now on!

State of WAC

States of the former WAC

I woke up yesterday morning and like usual turned on ESPN while eating breakfast. Low and behold, some of the best sports news I had seen all summer, BYU was to join the Western Athletic Conference for all sports but football. The Cougars would have to come to Logan every year and play basketball against the Aggies in the Spectrum. It seemed as if this summers conference shake-up was going to be a good thing for everyone including, a Boise State-less, Western Athletic Conference.

That was until the Mountain West poached Fresno State and Nevada, two of the premier WAC football teams, yesterday afternoon! Leaving the WAC with the following six schools, Utah State, Idaho, San Jose State, Hawaii, Louisiana Tech, and New Mexico State. Six teams spread across six states, with no natural rivalries and limited historic rivalries. This is a very bad situation. Only two of the state are even neighbors!

I was opposed to the idea of super conferences (Texas & Oklahoma going to the PAC-10) this summer because of the ruining of rivalries and the large geographic distances that would separate the institutions, but in reality those conferences could survive that. The WAC with six teams, can not. And I am not willing to pay another increase in student fees so that Utah State's athletic teams can travel to Ruston, LA and Honolulu, HI because ESPN and its TV money do not want to support a conference with just six teams.

Honestly, I don't know what can be done and I have absolutely no power to do anything about it. So in theory, this blog is more of a rant than a solution, but if I were in charge of the WAC, this is what I would try and do; entice Montana to move up from the Big Sky and Wyoming to move back from the Mountain West, all the while still getting BYU's sports for everything besides football.

Montana could be looking to make the jump from the FCS Division and into the Bowl Divison. They have done just about everything in the FCS and they could see this move as their chance to make it on the national scene. Boise State made the jump less than 20 years ago and look where they are now! The WAC is a depleted conference football wise and the Grizzlies could quite possibly have a winning record in their first season. They would restore a rivalry with University of Idaho by doing this too. Wyoming would make the move for similar reasons; a chance to play in an easier conference, keep its long standing ties with BYU for all other sports, and create new rivalries with schools such as Montana and Utah State.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the WAC, the 6th oldest conference in the Bowl Division, hopefully it will still be around by the year 2011.

Beating BYU!

Simply amazing! The crowd, the game, the 71-61 win over our rival BYU! The whole atmosphere was so cool. I have never seen the line to get into a game be so long, the student section was filled to capacity within minutes. The signs and The Refraction were so rude, hilariously rude. For a while there it was scary as BYU jumped out to an early lead and was even winning at half-time. But the Aggies battled back, making it a night that will not be soon forgotten by all in attendance. The article below and the video above sums it all up! Go Ags!

Brad Rock, Deseret News
Hate not limited to 1 in-state rivalry against BYU

Wild. Woolly. Noisy. Intense.

And all those rude, overbearing fans.

But we're not talking about Max Hall and the Utes.

That's so November.

Wednesday night at the Spectrum, Utah State and BYU resumed their long basketball rivalry with a 71-61 Aggie victory. No, it wasn't particularly friendly. That happens when you start playing one another 104 years ago. A century is a long time to build up a dislike. USU and BYU didn't even play one another in 2007-08 thanks to a scheduling disagreement. So they're not bosom friends.

No real trouble actually occurred, unless you count the fat lip BYU's Jackson Emery got for getting too close to Tai Wesley's elbow. The hate was limited to the ever present Aggie crowd, which included a hefty, bare-chested guy who did an outstanding Chris Farley imitation.

...

Thus the Aggies pulled off another win in Logan, their 37th straight, where the crowd brings its "A" material for games against BYU.

"The signs come out, the craziness comes out," said Morrill. "Guy takes off his shirt. Hell, it all happens."

Added Morrill, "They might go over the edge a little, but that's OK with me. That might not be OK with everyone, but it's OK with me. They might have gone over the edge, so what?"

The fat guy had sung, having shown once again that when it comes to rivalries in Utah,there's plenty of hate to go around.

Ready to be "Classless"

Max Hall, BYU's starting quarterback, called the whole University of Utah "classless." After tomorrow night, it is my hope that BYU's basketball team is saying the same thing about Utah State.

The Cougars haven't visited the Spectrum since they lost here on December 22, 2005.. Nearly four years ago! And since then, the Aggies haven't beat the Cougars in major collegiate sports(men's basketball and football). A lot of Y fans don't even consider the two in-state schools a rivalry.

Tomorrow night that comes to an end. No more will we be the little farm school, forgotten about way up north in Cache Valley. The players and fans will show what it means to be an Aggie, and that Utah State isn't just "the second choice for kid's who couldn't get into BYU." We have the best basketball atmosphere this side of the Mississippi, it is about time we got some respect from that school down south.

The 'Re'Spectrum is already heating up. It's time to restore the rivalry and show BYU just how "classless" we can be!

Prediction: A thrilling game on my 21st birthday, Aggies win 64-57