Miracle in Miami? Nah, just Milsap in Miami!

Down by as many as 22 at one point in the game the Jazz and their fans were sure a loss was in store to Lebron James and the Miami Heat on the first game of their Eastern Conference road trip. That was until Paul Millsap caught fire from three-point! A man who had only knocked down two triples in his entire NBA career, made THREE in less than 30 seconds! With only four seconds left in regulation and the Jazz down by two points, here is the live reaction from my house...

Who else but Paul Millsap would tip it in to send the game to OT?! Unbelievable performance by this man. He is turning into quite the leader. What a start to the road trip as the scrappy Jazz went on to win by two in overtime with Deron Willams fouled out on the bench. And then to come back from 18 down to Orlando and win tonight the road trip is already a success. I personally thought we would win one of the four games. Hopefully there are even more surprises from this unheralded 2010-2011 Jazz team as the season goes on.

One More Game in January

As I was watching Utah get dismantled by TCU yesterday, it hit me just how unfair the BCS system was! I have always been a proponent of a playoff system in college football, it's really the simplest thing to make the game better. It's the year 2010 people, we should have a playoff system by now! In my ideal world there would be an eight team playoff, each major conference champion getting a spot, plus two "wild-card/at-large" teams. Yesterday though, I realized that even a "plus one" playoff system would suffice.

Why? Because there is no doubt in my mind that we are going to need it this year more than ever! And who are we going to need it for? Boise State. Yes, I said it. I want to see Boise State, the same Boise State I despise, have a chance at a national championship.

Here is how I see it breaking down: Auburn will eventually lose to Alabama or in the SEC Championship. While Oregon, TCU and Boise State are all going to run the table, and finish undefeated for the regular season. And if the BCS doesn't change, as I believe it won't because Boise State doesn't have enough high quality opponents remaining to push them ahead, it will be TCU/Oregon in the national championship.

This bothers me for one big reason. Boise State beat both of those teams last year! Both TCU and Oregon! Sure it's a different season, but not really a different team for the Broncos. Nearly all of there key players from last year have returned and I definitely feel that they can beat either of those two teams again. So that's it, they need there chance and they aren't going to get it because of some computer system.

There was a Nike ad that called for a plus one game a couple of years back, having brackets of two winners from bowl games meeting against one another saying "Just do it." This year, throw out all the rules and regulations that the NCAA, BCS and those stingy college presidents impose. If you really want to call yourself a champion, Oregon/TCU/Boise State, you better be the last undeafeted team out there! Play that extra game. Pretty sure our friends at Nike and ESPN would be more than willing to foot the bill.

Then It Began to Rain

Saturday morning... no work, no school, just sports all day! The Aggie homecoming game at 3 followed by the Phillies in game six of the NLCS. The forecast had called for a storm, but as kick-off for the football game approached it was a mild 60 degrees outside, everything in my sports world seemed just fine.

Looking a little shaky on offense and defense the team allowed Hawaii the first touchdown. Soon though, the Aggies looked like they had settled into the game and after a big scamper by quarterback Diondre Borel to tie the ball game up. Utah State had a chance at knocking off the Rainbow Warriors. Then the wind picked up, the temperature dropped sharply, it began to rain. It was like a sign from nature officially ending summer and the Aggie football teams hopes at a decent season. I don't believe an endless summer is possible, that's illogical. I just like to hope that the weather will stay good for as long as possible and I'll be able to enjoy that summer state of mind a little more. Kind of the same way I hope that Utah State will have a good football team. Summer teases me with nice days through September, the Aggies tease me with a few early season wins. But as the fall progresses, I realize some things just aren't possible.

It kept raining for the rest of the day, literally and figuratively, as I watched Ryan Howard strike out and my boys of summer, the Philadelphia Phillies, be eliminated from the playoffs. Sure it was a long shot to come back from being down three games to one, but I had hope. I mean these guys are good! Appearing in the last two World Series, I thought they could find the fight in them to make it back. Half my apparel is now out of style until April. I had little feeling like the hype on the team was just a little too much entering the series, it seemed as if every analyst was choosing the Phils. It's definitely possible the team overlooked the streaking Giant's and Phillie killer Cody Ross. Sad to see a whole season completed without a championship, but in the end, only one team can win.

Today, it is still raining.... The end of the week is looking sunny though, just in time for tip-off of the Aggie and Jazz basketball seasons. Seasons that could end in the sun!

I need you...

... to check out this golf tournament! It will be a lot of fun and it is for a good cause. Here is the site with all the info http://usucharitygolftournament.weebly.com/. If you can't play, we'd still love donations! Thanks!

A Near Perfect Halladay

(October 5, 2010 - Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images North America)

Wow.

The Reds have waited 15 years to return to the playoffs, they will have to wait as least two more days to get a hit in them. I had faith the Phillies were going to win the game today, but I had no idea that in his playoff debut, Roy Halladay was going to pitch a near PERFECT GAME! Though missing the perfect game, he still became only the second pitcher to pitch a no-hitter in playoff history!

What a great way to start the playoffs Just sitting in my red, #34 Halladay shirt, watching intensly what would be the first no hitter I have witnessed. Oh, what I would have given to be in South Philly today!

I don't know if Fridays game can be as exciting as todays but hopefully the result, a win for Philadelphia, will be the same. Until then, goodnight and Go Phils!

It's Phillies Time!

Baseball gets almost completely forgotten about in the month of September with the majority of teams being out of contention and the pro and college football seasons starting up. But come October, the sport is back in full swing. Eight teams, one goal. And I couldn't be more excited because through the forgotten month of September, my Philadelphia Phillies were the hottest team.

It's also nice to see some different teams in the playoffs this year with Texas and Cincinnati. The Rangers are the only team in MLB to never win a playoff series, while the Reds haven't been in the playoffs since 1995! Here are my predictions for the first round of the playoffs:

Rays vs. Rangers
Rays in 4

Twins vs. Yankees
Yankees in 4

Phillies vs. Reds
Phillies in 4

Giants vs. Braves
Giants in 5

I'll be wearing my Phillies shirts all week and hopefully all month!

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 :)"

The Headwaters at Teton Springs

The last week in August, my summer golf league took a trip up to the Headwaters at Teton Springs, just outside Driggs, ID. We played 36 holes, a four ball match and an individual match play. It was an absolute blast! Such a beautiful and challenging course. If you are ever up that way, this is course you must check out. It was a great way to finish off the summer. Here are some pics from the day!

Also I just wanted to give a big thanks to Billy Satterfield for putting the trip and the whole league together. If you are a golf enthusiast in the Pocatello area, you definitly need to get in touch with Billy. Check out his awesome website, golfcoursegurus.com!

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.

Red Numbers

I'm not really into tooting my own horn but yesterday I had a pretty good day, no, a really good day on the golf course.

I've been playing golf seriously since I was 13 and had had some pretty good days out on the course. I probably was probably the most talented the summer after my senior year of high school. There are so many shots and rounds from that summer that I will always remember, a four-under-par 30 on the back nine at Twin Falls Muni, a 155 yard 7-iron over trees and within feet for a win at the Pressbox. But for as much skill as I thought I had, my mental game was not quite good enough to allow me to do what I did yesterday.

Yesterday, for the first time in my life I shot under par on 18 holes. It was a one-under 71 at my home course with nothing more than a few dollars and pride was on the line. Playing with a guy I had always looked up to on the golf course as he was an elite high school player and I lowly freshman, Mike, my best friend, Derek, and one of Pocatello's new up and coming high school golfers, Ryker, it was the perfect afternoon.

I had shot 74 a couple times this summer but it had been a couple weeks since I had played golf well. Now I can't wait to get back on the course! I have one more golf goal this summer and that is to shoot in the 60's. I think I'm close...

p.s. One of my best friends, Benji Bosen, a kid that has always had the upper hand on me on the golf course gets home from his mission in less than a week! Can't wait to play a round with this kid, its been over two years!