Benedict Arnold Schmenedict Scharnold ... Bengals for Life

One of the interesting things that's been going on this week (aside from having the Boise media fawn over me since I'll let our players talk to them, a practice that Boise State and many Bronco opponents do not follow) is the propensity of interviews with Mitch Rudder, formerly of Boise State, and Jayson Bird, formerly of Idaho. Now, those two guys keep getting questions about why they left where they were, and why go to Idaho State, and all of that, and it's been interesting to hear the response from those two guys.

Mitch enjoyed Boise State, and the Treasure Valley, but as a married guy, having a scholarship was important, and when he couldn't get one at BSU in a timely fashion, he transferred. Jayson had a graduate school opportunity at ISU, plus he is also married and now closer to his and his wife's family. What was interesting was a question posed to Jayson, and I'm sure during the next few days you can catch this on KTIK's website during an archive or live listening of the Caves and Prater show, but Jayson was asked if he considers himself a Vandal or a Bengal? Actually a good question, and Jayson's answer made me think. He said he's both. He's a Bengal now, and proud to be playing football at Idaho State (and he's all smiles around practice...it's fun to see), but he is a Vandal alum, and wants to see his alma mater do well. Sorta makes sense to me.

Anyways, this got me thinking about people like Ally Sisel, who transferred to Idaho from Idaho State, or a Luke Butler (now at Augustana, and boy they are happy about having him around), or a Codi Boek, who was moved to fullback and is on the two-deep for Boston College's season opener against Georgia Tech. People come, people go, but they were all Bengals, and you know, if they are happy, I'm happy, and the fans should be too.

Side note, Luke is the starting quarterback for Augustana, and Codi, who originally left ISU because of some health issues with his dad, told me his dad is doing well and will be in Boston for his son's first game at BC, which is pretty cool.

Onto the links....enough rambling from me...

Bronco Bustin'
One of my all-time favorite non-ISU coverage beat writers is Brian Murphy of the Statesman, and he checks in with the five biggest questions for Bronco football. Brian's compadre Chadd Cripe talks to Rudder and company about returning home. Dipping out of the mainstream, Kevan Lee has a decidely slanted view of this Saturday's proceedings. I should mention that Kevan offered a wager to me on the game, with the winner getting a free post on the other person's blog. Due to NCAA regulations, the fact I like my job, and the fact that this isn't a fan blog (It's Official!), I passed...cute idea though.

Bengal Links
The College Zone returned to the Idaho State Journal (YEAH!), and Dan Thompson has his conference notebook detailing the fact that off the seven Big Sky games this week, all are up or downs (four teams play down, three play up). Dan also is not a fan of drop-down quarterbacks, although life might be pretty good for former ISU drop-down Matt Gutierrez. On the soccer front, as ISU has a challenging road trip ahead (seriously, I had no clue Colorado College was as good as they are), Lauren Ryan talked to Tim Flagstad about her midwestern roots. Also, ISU's extremely young cross country teams open at home this weekend at the Centennial Cross Country Course.

One other thing...on the right side of the blog is a Bengal newsreader that will showcase the five latest stories on the official site. Cool huh?

We weren't the only ones?
My good pal Paul Lukas checks in with his annual College FBS uniform change column....a must read. Also Kyle Whelliston has a Big Sky preview ... for basketball. Kyle is a great writer, and a big supporter of mid-major basketball, with his midmajority site, and of course, Kyle is the smartest writer on the planet, and just go to the Rescheduling section of this link to see why.

Podcast Interview online
My podcast interview with JT Ray of Bronco Nation NOW is online here, and if you want to skip ahead, it starts somewhere around the 38 minute mark. I was cooking my daughter's lunch while doing the interview, but I don't think you can tell. Also, if you go to the forums of Bronco Country (you need a login, but I think it's free) and find the thread for ISU Look Alikes....just hilarious. The Bengal Den needs to get on that pronto....

He's Back
Mitch Worthington, formerly of the Post Register, is now a graduate assistant in the sports information office, but he has his own blog where he can drop in some thoughts on things (and now, I haven't censored him). Make sure you check it out.

Totally Unsolicited
These were responses to my first set of football game notes...."Your football game notes is [sic] great. Informative without being boring like so many others I've read." (and that was from a Bronco fan!) .... "Those are awesome, I think somehow we need to work a rhombicosidodecahedron into sports" ... "Wow, one of the most random things on the face of this earth" ... "The most entertaining football game notes I have EVER read!!! Kudos for reminding us all that this job is supposed to be fun!!!!" .... nice to get a pat on the head, eh? See I got through the whole blog without mentioning that my hockey team won 6-4 last night, or that I had 26 saves, or that I picked up my third assist as a goalie, extending my league record. Well...almost got through it...onto Boise!!!!

Getting Into the Swing of Things...

Quarterbacks coach Brian Jensen can give me all the grief he wants, but I'm still psyched over a 9-0 shutout last night. Only the second shutout in the past five seasons....yeah, my team is pretty good for once. Anyways, not to much for a blog entry today, other than some links.

Dust Up
This is where I'll do some commenting. First, read the blog post by Dan Thompson regarding yesterday's practice and his take on the little flare up that happened. Now, we can all agree that these things happen in practice right? (OK, maybe not the helmet throwing). Well, I've NEVER seen Z that charged up before, and man, it was great. Last season, there was a definite difference between the discipline styles and practice demeanor between Zamberlin and Larry Lewis, but this year, there is a difference between 2007 Zamberlin and 2008 Zamberlin. It's hard to describe, but he is way more intense, and more into it, if that makes any sense. I mean the team looks better (deeper, more playmakers and better athleticism), but the coaching staff has really turned the dial up to 11 so to speak.

And what's great is they do all of this while remaining positive with the players. It's never a "you did this wrong", it's a "here's what you can do better" ... it "can" instead of "can't" ... it's "this is right" instead of "this is wrong" ... just fun stuff to watch...it's really as good a staff as I've seen here.

Soccer Starts
For all the soccer fanatics out there (or the one guy on the internet who goes by "soccerfanatic"...), Tim Flagstad covered both practices for the Journal, and Dan Thompson actually broke away from football for a column on the 2008 prospects of the team.

One Smart Bronco
Chadd Cripe of the Statesman has an article on Richie Brockel, who is definitely a guy who takes the "dumb Jock" stereotype and Chuck Norris's it into oblivion.

I Love Manhattan.....Kansas?
While the men's basketball team is headed to Manhattan, Kansas for a January 3 game against the Wildcats, they can get hotel information from assistant track coach Jackie Poulson, who was just there.

Football and Soccer Aren't the Only Ones in Camp
Someone posted some clips of the Bengal Dancers on Youtube during their camp in Twin Falls. This dance is a little calmer, but I believe this would fall under the "Hip-Hop" category. And yes, this dance is called "The Mating Game". In fact, just go here to see all 13 videos, including actual performances.