New additions

As you can see, we now have some links to other pertinent blogs on the right side over there ----> and they even tell you when they've been updated...how cool is that? Also, I put some links up for some of the various media outlets and such for Bengal Athletics. I'm such a sport on a Friday morning, huh? Three days until practice for football starts...

It is at this point that I feel like a fan for a little bit, anxious for official stuff to happen, and as the calendar turns to August, it's time to think of things like making media passes, and making sure the copier is not on the fritz, and making sure the stat computer will work this year, but I'm gonna be honest...I'm not a big fan of practice. I would much rather deal with games and game week and stuff like that. I can't tell you how many practices I've seen, but I prefer games...the atmosphere, the uniforms, all that stuff that makes college athletics great. So I'm looking forward to practice starting, but I'm really looking forward to August 20 (first official event...soccer hosting Northwest Nazarene).

More Jayson Bird Links
The Idaho Statesman had a small little three graph blurb about Bird's transfer to Idaho State, but Dan Thompson at the Journal gave it a much more thorough working.

New Kicker
One of the things people are going to notice in camp is another kicker. Along with punter Jon Vanderweilen and kicker Mike Ramos, kicker Jarret Huk of Chabot College is in camp. He attended the Kohl's Specialty Camp and earned high marks, and he was Chabot's Male Athlete of the Year, and even played tennis there.

Maybe This Will Help
Idaho State has never beaten the University of Montana in Washington-Grizzly Stadium (a fact I unfortunately have to mention every time we go up there). Well, maybe getting rid of the old field and putting in a new one will help, but I can tell you I am not bidding on this or this or even this. This auction however, makes me smile, because it reminds me of getting the job here at ISU and learning I had about 18 days to do an entire guide from scratch.

The Bird Man of Alcatraz

Well, it's finally official...the long national nightmare is now over....Jayson Bird is officially a Bengal...officially. This is great for him, and honestly, it was a slam dunk, but the NCAA sure did make Jayson and the coaches sweat it out. Care to see the official email we were waiting for? Here is the text of it...

"This message will confirm that the waiver request for Jayson Bird has been granted. Official notice of the approval will arrive at your institution via mail. Please contact me if you have additional questions.

--Kristin"

Honestly, it was almost a letdown LOL. Anyways, I'm finishing the fall camp release which will be posted online in a little bit, but since Jayson is finally here and able to do stuff, I thought I'd link to Alyssa Chin's piece on Jayson for Local News 8.

Tom Scott of KTIK in Boise blogged about Jayson way back on July 16th.

That's all for now....more to come tomorrow and next week as camps start opening up around the league (woo-hoo!!!)

Bengal Blog ... Hockey Night in Pocatello, and NFL News from around the USA...

Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Posted by Frank Mercogliano, Asst. A.D. for Media Relations

As you can see...trying a different blogstyle here, as I quickly discovered that the other blog is going to get very cumbersome once the school year starts and Katie starts posting once in a while and Russ as well, so I've noticed many blogs with the blogspot address and thought hey, that would work for this, right? So, let me know your thoughts...you all know where to reach me.
Hopefully, you guys are getting as excited as I am about the upcoming season. I can't believe we open football camp on Monday, August 4 at 4:00 pm...nuts, right? Of course, soccer opens camp Aug. 6, and volleyball Aug. 12. Heck, soccer has a game on August 20...that's just three weeks away.

Wednesday nights mean hockey nights in my life, and low and behold, look who leads the league in wins and goal against average. If you went to page two, you'd also see that same guy is tied for 23rd in scoring...nice. Skillz....yeah, I got' em. To the links!

What channel is it in Pocatello
This will get onto the website in a real story later, but the Idaho State soccer game on September 13 at Brigham Young will be broadcast live on BYU-TV. This will be the first televised ISU soccer game (other than the two tournament games in 2006 on Big Sky TV.

One Matt Will Stick for Sure
Lots of talk in New England about who Tom Brady's backup quarterback will be, and some folks think it will be Idaho State's own Matt Gutierrez, who played more last year than #2 QB Matt Cassel. Most pundits feel that Mr. Belichick will be keeping third-round draft pick Kevin O'Connell from San Diego State (who played against ISU in 2004 in a 38-21 SDSU season opening win). This should be the battle of Patriots camp.

Pago Picks a Pass...
Pago Togafau, who didn't see a ton of time last year with Philadelphia, might be in line for more, after being called out by the Courier Post on South Jersey in Eagles camp for the pick of the day, intercepting QB Kevin Kolb

Underdog
If there ever was an underdog to make an NFL roster from Idaho State this season, it would be Clyde Logan, who signed a free agent deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. Somehow, much to the chagrin of writer Chris Maier, Clyde made it through the 80-man roster cut, while second round draft choice Kenny Irons did not. Maier might not understand Clyde's military background, or the fact that his caoch played at Idaho State, but good for Clyde....he can do it....he's an ex-Marine.

Finally the Perfect Gift for Florida Gator fans who migrated to the Treasure Valley
While we here at Idaho State sometimes hear folks complain because of the scarceness of ISU gear in town (although I see it everywhere), at least when hats are made for us, these types of screw-ups don't happen. Having lived in Idaho and Florida during my lifetime...that's pretty funny.

Getting the Lead Out
While I'm sure everyone here is grateful to learn that the lead in artificial turf playing fields is not a threat to the health of the players, check out the picture attached to the article on CNN.com ... talk about free advertising...

First Up for Kellis...Northern Colorado
Kellis Robinett of the Journal is going to breakdown each team in the Big Sky in his order of finish from last to first...first up, Northern Colorado at #9.

Look....Blackfoot Covers Idaho State again!
One of the things that has always seemed weird to me is why doesn't the Blackfoot Morning-News cover Idaho State athletics? We're like 20 away, or 12 if you are my daughter Jessica, but seriously, I've seen tons of old articles...they used to always be out here. Well, I'm happy to report, there's a new sheriff in Blackfoot, and his name is sports editor Ryan Collingwood. Not only is he an excellent writer, but his blog, Collingwood's Corner, is mandatory reading. It'll be great having Ryan at the games...check it out.