Traveling Blues

I have to tell you, for those of you that think traveling is fun....this weekend wasn't. I probably need to do some sort of photo essay so folks can see exactly how ISU football travels, but there is only one 5 o'clock that I recognize, and it isn't the one at 5 am, which I saw Friday and Sunday. Yes, the team had to leave Holt Arena at 5:30 am to get to Salt Lake City to fly to Denver, and we had to leave Greeley at the same ungodly hour to get to Denver on Sunday to get home. That officially sucks, but you know what....you do what you gotta do.

I will say this...the team represents very well. I can't tell you how many compliments I get from random airport people and passengers about how courteous the players are, and how they look (all are in a tie and collared shirt). They might be struggling on the field right now, but they are doing the right things...

Also, basketball starts on Friday night at 7:00 pm at Reed Gym, as the men's team has a pair of open practices (they also have one on Saturday at 1:00 pm). Some folks might want to catch their first glimpse of a team that Street & Smith picked to finish second (that would be a first in my 11 years here....)

Also, undoubtedly, you saw the disciplinary action that coach Z took today with regards to Rashaad Richards and Demetrius Amos. What the fans should get out of that is is doesn't matter if you are a senior, freshman, starter, whatever ... there are certain ways you conduct yourself, and if you don't want to do things the right way, well...you see the answer. I can also use this as a cautionary tale about the Bengal Den Message Board. Someone yesterday mentioned this in their post around 3:30 .... "With the recent dismissal of Demi and Rashaad, this will again put pressure on other players to fill in." Obviously, Demitrius was not dismissed from the team. Just remember that is a fan board, and while many, many, many people post on there as if they truly know everything that is going on, they aren't always quite in the loop.

Onto the links....

HOMECOMING FOOTBALL
Idaho State's release is here, Northern Arizona's is here, and the Big Sky's is here. With the late kickoff, fans have TONS of time to tailgate after the parade, so make sure if you plan on tailgating that you sign up for the Terrific Tailgate IV contest (the form is with the link above).

Tim Flagstad came to the press conference, and covered it in his Monday notebook, and the extra stuff that didn't fit went into the blog. Jayson Bird by the way had his MRI this morning, but the results aren't in yet.

Also, Jon Kasper got stuck in Bozeman (talk about traveling nightmares), so he blogged from the Best Western.

GREEN DAY IS NOT OUR OFFICIAL BAND
The inter-office SID joke was that Green Day was going to be the official house band for ISU, and they could only sing "Wake Me Up When September Ends", as it just wasn't a good month. Soccer and football both went winless in the month (soccer went 0-6-2, football 0-3), and volleyball was just 3-8 in the month. However, things are looking up, at least for the cross country team, as the women snagged themselves a title down in Cedar City.

Remember, volleyball tonight against Utah Valley at 7:00 pm, and football Saturday at 6:35 pm (go hunting and then come to the game) ...