EXCEL-lent

So one of the unexpected perks of not having a men's basketball team playing anymore is I got to really look at the women's basketball standings....and boy are they a mess. It reminded me of a few years ago when entering the final weekend of the regular season, Eastern Washington was in first place, and then there were six teams at 6-7, with Portland State at 5-8 ... crazy, crazy stuff. Well, everyone is asking poor Katie Zigars what the scenarios are...can ISU finish second? Can they get a bye? Who will they play? Where will they play?

Well, that's where my morning went....back to high school math. I'm guessing a lot of folks don't remember much of their high school math stuff, but I was fairly proficient at it (obviously based on what I do for a living), so I busted out the tried and true EXCEL spreadsheet and went to work.

Basically, the standings are as such...

EWU 11-4
SAC 9-5
ISU 9-6
PSU 9-6
UM 8-6
MSU 8-6
UNC 5-9
NAU 3-11
WSU 3-12

and basically, there are seven games left

UM @ NAU (Thursday)
MSU @ UNC (Thursday)
SAC @ ISU (Friday)
PSU @ EWU (Saturday)
MSU @ NAU (Saturday)
UM @ UNC (Saturday)
SAC @ WSU (Saturday)

Now, there are 128 different possible outcomes of those seven games...so what I did was map out all 128 (once you know the number it's easy...for the UM/NAU game, I listed UM as a winner the first 64 slots, and then NAU as the winner the last 64, then on the next ro, MSU as the winner the first 32, then UNC the next 32, and then repeat. I did that all the way to the last game, SAC at WSU, which just alternated SAC and WSU on the line, giving me 128 different seven-game outcomes.

Now, no matter what happens in those seven games, someone somewhere will be tied (my favorite was the EWU winning the title at 11-5 and then SAC, PSU, ISU, UM, and MSU all finishing 10-6), and there is one scenario where there is a tie for 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th...crazy stuff.

This much is known. EWU will host with a win over PSU or a SAC loss to either ISU or WSU. If SAC sweeps and PSU beats EWU, than SAC is 1st, EWU is 2nd, and PSU is 3rd. EWU has clinched a bye.

SAC can finish from first through sixth, PSU, MSU, ISU, UM all can finish anywhere from second to sixth.

If ISU is the 3 seed, they can play PSU, UM, MSU, or SAC
If ISU is the 4 seed, they can play PSU, UM, MSU, or SAC
If ISU is the 5 seed, they can play PSU, UM, MSU, or SAC
If ISU is the 6 seed, they can play PSU, UM, MSU, or SAC

To get the #2 seed, ISU must have at a minimum a win over SAC and an EWU win over PSU...then it's various combinations of other things. The good thing is after the two games on Thursday, ISU will have a shot at second, no matter what.

Anyways, the spreadsheet is in two places...one is hanging in Seton's office, and the other is spanning the length of Katie's shelf above her desk, along with the tiebreaker key. If the Big Sky agrees with everything I'll post that sucker here, because it's kind of awesome in it's own demented sad (but social) way...Here is what it looks like (sorry these are a little craptastic...took them on my phone)





that's all of it taped together









a blurry closeup of the names









five feet worth of scenario goodness


Senior Night
Brad Bugger touched on it, but a great chance to see a game on Friday night at Reed and honor Oana Iocavita, Devin Diehl, and Andrea Vidabeck, who have all been great to have around.

I'm gonna get to finally see a women's game, and I'm excited to see the league's biggest surprise in Sacramento State, who were 0-4 and are now 9-5, and just putting up points like crazy. They came back from an 18-point deficit at Northern Colorado by putting up 63 ... 63(!!?!?!?!) points in the second half against the Bears. Geez.

Softball Up to 3-4
ISU's softball team rock and rolled over the weekend against the College of Idaho, winning 10-1 and 11-3, with Brittany Olsin going nuts, going 5-for-7 in two games with three doubles, a home run, and 6 RBI, including five in game two.

Idaho State's 3-4 record is the best in the PCSC Mountain Division...

Idaho State	0-0	0.000	3-4	0.429	W2
Utah Valley	0-0	0.000	3-5	0.375	L3
Portland State	0-0	0.000	4-8	0.333	L1
Northern Colo.	0-0	0.000	3-9	0.250	W1
Seattle	0-0	0.000	1-8	0.111	L1
Weber State	0-0	0.000	0-10	0.000	L10

...so that's always good.

Also, I want to touch on something, and I'm only doing this because I'm gonna guess the same pinhead who posted some serious misinformation on the Bengal Den message board contacted Kelvin at the Idaho State Journal trying to stir up some controversy. This past weekend assistant coach Shelly Prochaska handled the team, and she will do the same for the Arizona State tournament this weekend, because we granted head coach Andrea Wilson some time off to tend to a personal family matter.

Of course, the phone call I got from Kelvin was that he got a tip that we placed Andrea on administrative leave. I can confirm and end all those rumors right here....Andrea Wilson is dealing with a personal issue and will be back with the team shortly. What sucks is I even had to put that out there, but I know how rumors get started...

Good Hearts...
One last thing....having traveled with the men's basketball team all year, I can tell you that it was fun to see the team busting their butts all the way through the final whistle on Saturday with nothing to play for. I credit that to the kinds of people that Joe O'Brien has recruited, and all six guys should get their degrees either this year or next, which is really what it is all about for those guys.

The Zombies Are Still Alive

Have you ever watched a really good zombie movie? I'll admit that I'm not a biggie for the scary movie genre, but I can respect the zombie movie. Shaun of the Dead is one of the better ones out there among the more recent zombie movies (the cell phone thing is hilarious), and it's really hard to top the original Night of the Living Dead (first part of 17 is here ... seriously, the opening credits just creeps me out to this day), except if you believe the internet hype on the Peter Jackson directed Dead Alive, which is supposed to be pretty funny).

Well, I feel, much like our fans, like we have been watching a zombie movie masked as Idaho State's men's basketball season, because they Bengals, er, the Zombies can't be killed (apparently our opponents aren't going for the head or taking out our brains). Seriously, have you ever seen a team that constantly looks dead in the water, only to be given renewed hope later in the day or week? To recap...Idaho State could afford to lose to Weber State if Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona swept their weekend series' with Portland State and Eastern Washington, and the two Montana schools sweep Sacramento State. So what happens? Northern Arizona down two in overtime with 5.0 left sends Julian Olubuyi on a Tyus Edney-esque length of the court dash to tie the game, and then survive a point blank miss in the second OT to win by one, and then NAU bests Eastern Washington in OT on Saturday. Northern Colorado meanwhile survived the loss of Devon Beitzel and swept, and Sacramento State came up empty in the Big Sky state, leaving the zombies breathing once more.

So what's left for the Zombies? Well, Idaho State gets into the conference tournament as the #6 seed in one of two ways...ISU is in automatically with two wins OR they get in with this scanario...ISU defeats Portland State, Weber State defeats Eastern Washington on Friday and Portland State on Sunday, and Sacramento State loses once to either Northern Arizona or Northern Colorado. That second deal works because ISU wins a 5-11 tiebreaker with Portland State, or with Portland State and Eastern Washington, but not with Portland State, Eastern Washington AND Sacramento State.

It's funny, talking shop with Geoff Alexander, he and I picked out after the NAU game that even though they were the closest team to us, because of the schedules and the fact we still had one game with Portland State left, that PSU would be the team we would have to catch...and he was dead-on accurate.

Anyways, watch the Zombies and the Vikings on Big Sky TV Friday night, because the season is coming down to that one right now.

Women's Basketball Scenarios...
Still a little to early to tell, but two wins clinches a spot, or a win and a Northern Colorado loss, or two UNC losses. TUESDAY EDIT: After finally getting to the bottom of a bizarre 8-8 tie between Idaho State, Portland State, Montana and Sacramento State, and going down several tiebreakers, ISU would still be 6th in that scenario, so yes, one win and they are in, one one loss by UNC.

Oh My Word....
Some of you might have forgotten we had a tennis team, but the women's broke a 25-match losing streak that dated back to March of 2008 with a 4-3 win over North Dakota on Saturday.

The Lipper Speaks

For those of you that listen to ISU women's basketball, you have gotten to know the styling of Mark Liptak. Suffice to say that it's not all basketball in those broadcasts...you will get some arcane references (and that is saying something since my football notes are regarded as the king of arcane references). Still, the Lipper is known here in Southeast Idaho as the Voice of ISU women's basketball. However, did you know that he is known nationally for his work with White Sox Interactive (www.whitesoxinteractive.com)? Mark, a die hard Sox fan (I raced to his house and doused him with champagne after they won it all in 2005), lives out a fantasy of sorts, talking with old White Sox players and personalities for interviews, which have become a regular and popular feature of the site, and almost all of his interviews are found here. (Seriously...he interviewed Wilbur Wood, Milo Hamilton, Mike Veeck, Jim Kaat....I mean wow....)

Anyways, Mark submitted a blog post for me, and as opposed to trying to explain how to post here (which is easy, but I digress), I told him I'd post it here, so without any further ado...here's the Lipper.

Notes From The Season:

By Mark Liptak

Frank was kind enough to allow me some of his blog time to talk a little about the season and things around the Big Sky Conference from a women’s basketball standpoint.

First off, I echo his comments regarding head coach Seton Sobolewski. The job that he (and by proxy) his staff did was pretty amazing. With everything that happened, starting almost as soon as he took over, with two players transferring, he has had to fight and scrap to keep his program competitive. Needless to say that was accomplished.

Next year with the way things are shaping up, he’s probably going to have a “full boat” of players.

As it stands right now, he’ll have five returning scholarship players who were healthy (Adams, Iacovita, Diehl, Guertin and Peets), four incoming freshman signees (including a tall post player and the player of the year from Arizona), two returning scholarship players who were injured (Pickering, Videbeck), two players returning from academic issues (Blodgett, Lambert), the transfers who will become eligible (Natalie and Nicole Hawkins) and the walk-on (Kari Green).

That’s 16 players right there if (granted that’s a big if) everyone returns. Plus I strongly suspect Seton and his staff is not done recruiting for this year. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see where two more players, probably of a junior college variety are added before the end of May.

That pushes the number to 18 possibilities. After this season that is surely refreshing and welcome by all.

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I don’t get a vote in the season ending conference honors but if I did, here is how my ballot would look:

Coach of the Year: Seton Sobolewski – Idaho State

Freshman of the Year: Katie Bussey – Montana State

Most Valuable Player: Kelsey Kahle – Portland State

Offensive Player Of The Year: Kelsey Kahle – Portland State

Defensive Player Of The Year: Michelle Grohs – Idaho State

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As far as my “conference All-Stars” (you can debate first team, second team and so on) in no particular order:

Jenna Brown – Idaho State

Michelle Grohs – Idaho State

Oana Iacovita – Idaho State

Courtney Stoermer – Northern Colorado

Julie Piper – Eastern Washington

Claire Faucher – Portland State

Kelsey Kahle – Portland State

Kelli Valentine – Portland State

Britney Lohman – Montana

Mandy Morales – Montana

Sonya Rogers – Montana

Nubia Garcia – Montana State

Erica Perry – Montana State

Sade Cunningham – Northern Arizona

Charday Hunt – Sacramento State

Caitlin Anderson – Weber State

Tonya Schnibbe – Weber State

Sarah Connor – Weber State

As you can tell, the Big Sky was a “guard heavy” league this year but that’s O.K. Give me any five of the players I listed above and I’ll win a lot of games.

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Finally my thoughts on the Big Sky venues I saw this season, many for the first time. This is in order of preference if I was a player:

1. Weber State – The best in the league. It’s interesting that every major college in the state of Utah has a first class facility. (BYU, Utah, Weber State, Utah State, Southern Utah and Utah Valley State.)

2. Eastern Washington – A very nice facility. Well lit, good floor, lots of room along the baselines. The only thing they need to do to upgrade is to get rid of the upper level older wooden bench seats.

3. Montana – Surprised? Me too. I expected something akin to a Big Sky version of Rupp Arena with everything I had heard about this facility. I frankly was disappointed…oh it’s nice don’t get me wrong (if you don’t count the unfinished ceiling…I love looking at duct work, electrical cables and insulation!) but it just didn’t match the hype in my mind.

4. Idaho State – The Bengals spent a lot of money upgrading Reed Gym and it shows. It’s a good facility. The only issues are the bench seats and the lack of room along the baselines.

5. Northern Colorado – An older facility on the outside that was upgraded internally. Nice lighting but the overall look is that it’s a little too big for basketball, maybe if more fans were in the building from when I saw it; it would have a better feel.

6. Sacramento State – Like with Montana, reality disproved perception. Yes it’s small… very, very small… but the floor is well kept, the facility is clean. Now all they need are some real live people in the seats.

7. Portland State – Another Sacramento State in my mind. Small…few fans. The facility just didn’t look as good to me as Sac State’s did. Maybe it’s the color scheme?

8. Montana State – As Brad Bugger told me, ‘this is an old rodeo arena.’ Brad had it pegged right. It’s too big for basketball, and can’t work for football. They try to cut the size down somewhat with curtains but the room along the baselines extends to forever. Most of the facility floor is covered with the old tartan surface from back in the early 80’s that is ripped up, torn and dirty. MSU has good teams and good fans…they can do better then Worthington Arena.

Northern Arizona gets an incomplete grade because the Big Sky track championships pushed ISU-NAU to the Rolle Athletic Center. If for some reason, NAU permanently played their games there, this facility would rank dead last to me. No room along the baselines, the lighting is odd (shooting the ball from the baseline results in you looking almost directly into the ceiling lights) and as for fans. Well during the National Anthem, I counted 125 people, with about 25 of them ISU supporters.

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It’s been an interesting and fascinating year for me as the new play by play voice of the program. I didn’t realize how hard the coaches and players have to work until I spent a lot of time with them. If there are two things I can stress to you, loyal reader, about the program it’s these.

1. These are dedicated individuals doing what they love to do under sometimes very hard and difficult circumstances. Road trips are very tough because you can’t leave from Pocatello and remember these players have to study as well. I can personally testify that they seem to do this all the time…on the bus, on the plane, after practice.

2. This program is headed for very good days ahead under Seton and his staff. It won’t happen overnight, and I’m not saying they are going to become the next Montana, but to me the groundwork has been laid this season for a team that will play hard and be a genuine contender on a yearly basis in the Big Sky Conference and perhaps in the post season at various levels.

Mark Liptak

I Spell Coach of the Year with a Couple of Ss....

So as we get ready for the men's basketball All-Big Sky team to get announced, it occurs to me that ISU probably won't have an individual winner on the men's side. However, I'm starting to think there will be one on the women's side, because I can't stop thinking that Seton Sobolewski is the Big Sky Coach of the Year. How can he not be? The award will be voted on by the coaches, and here is their preseason poll....

Coaches Poll
Team, (1st place votes)  Total Points
1. Montana (8)                 64
2. Portland State (1)          56
3. Montana State               50
4. Northern Colorado           41
5. Northern Arizona            35
6. Weber State                 30
7. Idaho State                 19
8. Sacramento State            18
9. Eastern Washington          11

First of all, there was a clear break between the six teams that folks thought would make it, and the three that wouldn't, and obviously, ISU fell into the "wouldn't make the tournament" category. Montana and Portland State are playing for first place on Saturday, and with it being Senior Day in Missoula, well, you would think Montana will win that one, but either way, those two teams are where they are. Right now MSU is third, but they are just 7-7, and probably will finish 8-8 since they play PSU, and yes, they beat PSU earlier this year, but still, MSU is right where they should be.

The one team that isn't is Idaho State. A win over Weber State and the women's team will be 8-8 this season. The last two years with Natalie Doma and Andrea Lightfoot, the team went 11-5 in 2007 and 12-4 in 2008. I don't see Nat or Lightfoot out there this year. Seton basically lost those two starters, and then lost Andrea Videbeck, Cara Lambert, Chelsea Pickering, Kayla Gromme, and Andrea Blodgett. The roster is currently seven scholarship players....three guards, four forwards/centers. The only backup guard is walk-on Kari Green, who has been great in filling in for a few minutes here and there.

Show me a better job in the conference? Eastern looked like a lock to make the tournament, but they have to win a game this weekend at the Montana schools, and that is a tough task. Maybe Sacramento State, but ISU swept them and will finish ahead of them in the standings.

I can see a vote for the league champion coach, who will almost assuredly go 15-1, but my argument is they were supposed to do that. It's not a shock....ISU in fourth, maybe at 8-8? Four conference road wins? ISU might get as many wins as players on the team, which is one thing when you have 15, but with eight? Case closed me thinks....

Sad Days in the Football Office
If you get the chance to meet ISU's new defensive line assistant coach Joe Cullen, welcome him to Pocatello, and then give the guy a hug. I'm sure most of you are aware that the Coast Guard has called off the search for the two missing NFL players. What most folks don't realize is Cullen spent the last three years coaching one of the missing men, Corey Smith, for the last three years with Detroit, and is pretty distraught. Our thoughts and prayers from ISU go out to all those affected by this terrible accident.

Clark Impresses at Pro Day
Of all the guys to do workouts at ISU's Pro Day on Monday (including Eddie Thompson, Evan Dietrich-Smith, and Trevor Messersmith, among others), the most impressive was D.J. Clark, at least according to Gil Brandt's official NFL blog, which has all the pertinent numbers.

Who is Matt Dunsmoor?
He apparently plays for Northern Colorado, and he started the last two games. If Will Figures and Devon Bietzel are both out, he might start again.

Yeah Pat Forde
ESPN's Pat Forde thinks ISU could be a sleeper. Yeah Pat!

Game Day!!!!

Ahhhhh....nothing gets me more excited than a home game. And then a home game against Montana. Even better. What a series these two teams have put on over the last two years...let me count the ways. Six meetings, including conference tournament quarterfinal appearances, one in each others' home court. Three overtime games, two in Holt Arena, including the controversial ending last year when Jordan Hasquet called a timeout, and the officials decided to ignore it, and the instant replay that was available. Three wins for Montana, three wins for Idaho State, and of the three non-OT games, two were by two points.

Should be a good game, no? Montana has won three straight, and ISU has lost three straight, and neither of those stats matter. See you all at 7:05 pm ... actually ... let's get there a little early tonight.

And now onto the links.

Men's Action
Kellis Robinett talked with Kal Bay about his broken hand, and filed this preview. Bob Meseroll of the Missoulian apparently has learned that Montana is in the right frame of mind at least, because they got on the bus to come down here. Scott Mansch of the Great Falls Tribune also feels it will be another wild game, and he also previews the Montana State-Weber State game tonight as well.

Women's Action
The ladies are on the road, heading to the biggest quicksand pit they ever play in, Dahlberg Arena. ISU has only won once there. Once......yikes. Kelvin Ang welcomes back a familiar face, although she won't play this year, while Bill Speltz at the Missoulian reports that UM coach Robin Selvig is impressed with the Bengals so far.

When Does 10% Equal %12?
Apparently when it comes to our Governor and the state appropriated funds, and the need for reserves, 10% equals 12%. Of course, while that isn't the greatest news ever, but hey, ISU has a new Provost...Dr. Gary Olson.

Holt's Legacy Continues
How about the new sign? Dubby's generosity knew, and knows, no bounds...

Take Me Home.....

Hey...it's me! I'm alive...travel weary, exhausted, but alive. The Joe O'Brien/Men's Basketball Fund-raising Tour 2008-09 has finished, just in time to return to ISU's home base....Big Sky Conference play. I can't tell you how many time I listened to Marc Broussard's "Home" on the way back from Kansas State, just giddy about being done with all the crazy non-conference travel...now we just have crazy conference travel, but at least the guys are used to that. (Editor's note: Marc Broussard is the best singer no one has heard about...Bil Champlin in Chicago basically told me to drop everything and pick up Marc's stuff...I did and have NOT been disappointed, back to the blog)

The fundraising tour had some benefits ($325,000 being the obvious one) and some drawbacks (a 3-11 non-conference record), but hey, ISU gets to boast playing a top three non-conference schedule at least. I know sports information doesn't see much of that money though ... quick note about the Kansas State road trip...we should have known what kind of trip it was going to be when we stopped to eat at a steakhouse only to find out they had no beef, just pork chops, chicken and pasta. Shoulda known right there I suppose. Of course, I had a lovely dinner on my anniversary with Joe O'Brien, while my wife had pizza with our daughter. Gotta love having a New Year's Day anniversary, huh?

Highlights...
I still haven't found jayjay057 to figure out how the heck he sliced all this together, but if you missed Amorrow's shot, or Busma's tip at the buzzer, they are both here....pretty cool stuff.

I'm on TV all the time, but I found this hilarious anyways....
Seriously, I sorta don't care to be on TV, but I do see myself on all the time (I got about 3,352 texts within five minutes of saving Wisconsin's Joe Krabbenhoft from crashing into the stands on the Big Ten Network), but my younger bother the cop in Florida, he's NEVER on TV....until now. He apparently is one of the cops features in the Tru TV network (formerly Court TV) show, Speeders, and also Speeders Fight Back. Well, here is a clip of on of the segments (it's the very first one....entitled Duh!)...I'm proud to say his snarkiness comes from me.

The men have company in the undefeated category...
And that would be the women's team, which, just like the men, came back from a halftime deficit to defeat Northern Colorado, picking up a big road win on Friday night, even bigger because UNC defeated Weber State on Sunday. Of course, Idaho State beat UNC in overtime, and then UNC lost on Saturday to Weber State in overtime after leading by 16 in the second half, by 11 with 3:30 left, and by seven with 40 seconds left. Of course, those overtimes are nothing compared to what Northern Arizona and Portland State went through on the Big Sky Game of the Week on Altitude yesterday afternoon...

We're Number Six! We're Number Six...and Utah can Say They are #1 in Something...
Idaho is the sixth-fastest growing state in the union, and Utah is actually first, according to the United States Census.

Make sure you come out and support the women on Thursday and Saturday, and go BENGALS!

How never won at Cops and Robbers as a Kid Though....

Before I get to that headline, another big day in Bengal athletics tomorrow, with the women and the men hosting two very good teams in the former WNIT champion Wyoming and the men hosting 5-1 Utah, who just rolled past Oregon 95-81 and have won five straight. They just might be better than BYU, and ISU apparently held up pretty well to the Cougars after they just crushed Weber State the other day in Ogden 92-62.

Fans can get buy-one-get-one-free tickets for either game by bringing a canned food item to the ticket office to help the Idaho Food Bank, which is just a tremendous deal for the fans...

In doing a little research for the Utah game (the game notes are here), ISU's non-conference opponents are a ridiculous 59-20, and none of them are under .500 right now (Nevada, who tied for the WAC title last year, is the worst at 3-3). That's just insane, and ISU is in a four-game stretch of games in which the four opponents are 24-3.

Basically, folks have to chill lout when the doom and ggloom speak comes around about this basketball team...they really aren't on a level playing field (I mean Boise State is 5-1 and we took them to two overtimes, Long Beach has won four straight, including a win over an NCAA Tournament team, and Hawai'i has beated a Big 10 team too). ISU will be just fine in conference play...coach O'Brien has certainly proved that over the past two seasons.

My Brother the Hero
OK, just a little family bragging...while I have this extremely important job (tongue firmly in cheek) I know where our bread is buttered. If you notice, I avoid using words like courageous, heroic, and things like that, because it doesn't sit well with me....people put their lives on the line every day...they are heroic and courageous. Well, I got this link from my little brother this morning (you have to go there, and hit the "click here for more info" link under News and Accomplishments). I always knew he was a little different (I'm a goalie...we are all different in my family), but the dude single-handedly stopped an armed robbery...not to shabby. Here is the text for those who can't figure it out...

"On 11/30/08 at approximately 11:20 am, while on his way to investigate a car horn sounding on the west side of JC Penney, Officer J. Mercogliano heard a woman screaming for help. He contacted the woman and her 12 year old daughter and was told that two male suspects had just attempted to rob them at gunpoint. Officer Mercogliano then saw a tan Ford SUV fleeing the area. Officer Mercogliano alerted other units and he then stopped the vehicle and detained the suspects until other officers could arrive. The suspects were taken into custody and a .40 caliber Glock handgun was recovered from the waistband of one of the suspects. Also recovered were masks, burglary tools and items of property that are believed to be stolen. The suspects were charged with armed robbery and several other charges and transported to BSO Jail for detention."

That's the kid we used to tease as a kid, and make fun of all the time. Nice job there Joseph (I just can't call him Joe....)

Told you she would win....
Matt and Chelsey apparently were down to two names for their new baby....Matt had a name he wanted, Chelsey had one she wanted. The baby is named Colton, which was Chelsey's pick, making Matt a very smart man in my book.

Shouldn't It Be DiPesto Court?

The Bengals have hit the court here in Pullman, Washington, after another small airline delay (smog in San Diego, where our flight originated from), so the Bengals arrived in Pullman and instead of going to the hotel, they hit the court at 7:05 pm for their 7:00 pm practice, so it was about 20 minutes of getting loose with the basketball, and stretching with Lucas Steijn leading the way.

And yes, if Lucas is leading the stretches, that means ISU is down one senior as Matt Stucki stayed back to just in case his wife Chelsea goes into labor. If she doesn't, the plan is to induce labor on Thursday, so Matt will be back this Saturday against Utah and then make the Wisconsin trip. By the way, Wisconsin just about blew it tonight, but they held on with a basket with 0.9 left. Seriously, Virginia Tech scored 12 points in 50 seconds at the end to tie it before the final shot....yikes.

Back to BYU
Now, the Cougars coming to Holt was a big deal, but I didn't think anything I wrote would make the Salt Lake Tribune, but there it was on Saturday. Perhaps it wouldn't be a big deal if they drove 3 1/2 hours north for a game more than twice every 56 years, but hey, what do I know.

Kellis Robinett liked ISU's fight against the Cougars (can anyone else but me believe there were ZERO technicals in that game? Really? The whole ripping hte ball out of Steijn's arms? That was OK? I must have missed a meeting, because I'd have teched everybody in that one, both ways...), and even Tim Flagstad was on board with it as well, and seriously, the comments folks left under the article are pretty amusing. Also, Jason Franchuk of the Provo Daily Herald has a pretty good take on the whole thing as well.

And Howie Stallick is Not on the ISU Christmas Card List Either
Idaho State basketball has been called many things....run and gun is not one of them.

Former Bengal Assistant to Lead the Cowboys...
The Wyoming Cowboys that is, as Dave Christiansen, who was an offensive assistant for the Bengals in 1990 and 1991 and has been Missouri's Offensive Coordinator was named the head coach by A.D. Tom Burman.

For Those That say Boise State Gets Everything....
Apparently their new Sprinkler System Project has been cancelled...

Another First for Jesse Smith
Former Bengal Jesse Smith scored the first points in the history of the new NBDL franchise the Reno Bighorns.

They're Back....
That would be the women's team, which, after SEVEN STRAIGHT ROAD GAMES to start the season, finally see the light of Reed Gym on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm against Montana-Western. The ladies lost in their last outing to North Dakota State, with Oana Iacovita earning all-tournament honors.

One last football thingy....
Mark Liptak talked with John Zamberlin for a season recap for the Twin Falls Paper...

That's all for now....bonus points for those of you that get the headline and picture and the site of where this blog originated at....

No way to re-LAX

For those of you uninitiated in traveling with a team, let me tell you, it's sort of like watching an amoeba....the gang mostly stays in a circle, and every now and then a smaller group moves away from the group like a cell trying to reproduce, and eventually, most of the rest of the group follows suit and moves to them, keeping the amoeba intact. It's just sort of funny.

So, after a whirlwind bit of travel, going from ISU men's basketball Friday night to driving to Missoula to the football game to driving back right afterward just so I can get up at 5:15 (what is the deal with the 5:15s I've been awake for this year?) to go to the Salt Lake Airport for a near 7 hour flight to Hawaii, we missed our connection in LAX, so we have a three-hour wait, meaning we'll get back to Holt at 4:30 pm instead of 2:00 pm...oh well, at least they have free internet.

The one thing you cannot possibly do well on a plane is sleep...it's just not possible. I had two seats, and I'm not the biggest character in the world, but I couldn't get comfy. Mark Campbell had THREE seats and laid out across them like a bed and didn't get much sleep at all either. Traveling is hard, and there is a reason it's hard to win non-conference games on the road....recovery is just hard.

For those that missed it....
Idaho State just did get nipped by Hawai'i, 67-64 in overtime, and while ISU had PLENTY of chances, the fact that ISU played 45 minutes of zone defense and got whistled for 29 fouls is comical, especially when Hawai'i played man-to-man all game, and a full court trap for 15 minutes, and got whistled for just 21. Also, the same three officials that worked the four-game Hawai'i tournament the previous two days worked the game ... it's just interesting. Anyway, here is the Honolulu Advertisers's perspective, and here is ISU's take as well, plus Kellis's running blog of the event, and this as well...we missed ya' buddy.

Doing the Charleston
Jeff Charleston is doing pretty well for the Saints after getting picked up at midseason, as this attests. The article doesn't mention that Jeff also worked for a bit on his dad's ranch to help stay in shape, and I know that because Jeff's dad told me that after the Portland State game.

Not an earthquake....just the bandwagon jumper-offers...
Kelvin Ang posted a few thoughts about ISU's opening weekend, and his comments are pretty good. Nice of some of the "fans" to practice jumpship in the comments section after the first three games of the season, back-to-back-to-back with a new coaching staff and offensive scheme in the first games after two of the program's greatest players have left. Seriously....it's game three....the fact that Sobolewski picked up a win in that third game is great, especially after opening with two probably NCAA Tournament teams to start.

One Last Game...
Football is heading into their final game (bring a can of food for buy-1-get-1-free....) and the Olympian in Washington has a great profile on Jaron Taylor. The Montana student newspaper has a conference final weekend outlook going, but I haven't heard too many folks bring up this point...Weber State is in, but if Montana State wins the Brawl of the Wild this week, they are 6-2. Montana would be 6-2, so Montana State would be in second place, and they would be playoff eligible to get in with their 8-4 record and seven Division I wins...do they get in? If the west gets four...well, Cal Poly is a shoe-in, right? Weber State is in....if they consider the Southland a west school, there might be a debate about Montana State. I have a feeling they would get left out due to the perceived East Coast bias, but I could see a case where they get in too. I can't imagine Montana getting left out, but it would be odd to see the second place Big Sky team left out for the third place, no? Could happen though...that'll be an interesting game to see on Big Sky TV...

From the Los Angeles International airport....that's about it. Cody VanFleet looks exhausted by the way...also, congrats to Mark Liptak, who made his re-debut on the air for Bengal women's basketball...heard nothing but good things about the broadcasts...

Just One Big Crazy Weekend Coming Up

I'm continually impressed with the posts that Brad Bugger has been enlightening us with...I hope you all are enjoying. Oh, that crazy weekend? Men's basketball game on Friday at 7, get done at 10, drive to Missoula, get in a 3:30 am or so, sleep for four hours, handle all the pregame stuff, radio show at 10:45 am in Missoula, football at noon, drive back at 4 or so, back in Pocatello at 10 or so, repack, sleep, get up at 5:15 am, catch the Salt Lake Shuttle to the airport, and fly to catch up with men's basketball at noon. The saving grace, when all that ends....I'll be in Hawaii...I hope I'm awake to enjoy it. Back to one of the 100 or so Division I blogs on the internet (and about 80 or so popped up after this one).

Men's Basketball Opener on Friday night
Just a reminder that the team is doing a Meet & Greet at Wingers (all you can eat Sticky Fingers for $9.99 ... I mean are you serious?) where fans can get promotional materials and get pictures and autographs. Just don't take Busma's wings. Also, nothing too new on Felix's deal, but Felix has personally been in contact with the people in Brazil the NCAA is trying to reach for their International Clearinghouse, so I'm thinking good happy, positive thoughts right now. Let's keep our hopes up on this one.

However, Friday is the big day as the Joe O'Brien era, year three, officially opens against a ridiculously good NAIA opponent in Eastern Oregon. For those that think this is a pushover so there isn't a need of showing up, just read Kellis Robinett's blog post on that one. Hey, you can even ask the newlywed a question too! Also, Ryan Collingwood (an Eastern Oregon grad doncha know...) has his season preview of the Bengals up as well.

One question that wasn't asked was about parking for the game on Friday at Reed. There were still good spots near the facility last Friday, and the crowd was really not bad for an exhibition game. While Reed did lose parking spots, folks can park at the Vocational Tech building across from Reed, or at Turner-Garrison, catty-corner from Reed. It might involve a one block walk, but it's not further than parking near Bonneville Park and walking to the Holt front doors.

Lots of Women's Debuts this Week
The Seton Sobolewski era officially starts on Saturday when ISU takes on a very, very, very good DePaul team down in Albuquerque for the first of three games in that tournament (they also have Alcorn State and New Mexico). Along with the debut of Seton Sobolewski and his staff (actually, Jordan Green and Angela Munger have both coaches here before, so only Seton and Holly Robertson debut) Mark Liptak will be going at it solo on the radio call, so make sure you tune in for Mark's broadcasts. Also, Kelvin Ang talks about ISU's first recruiting class for Sobolewski, who stole one recruit out from under the University of Idaho for good measure. Idaho did announce former Bengal Bianca Cheever has signed with Jon Newlee and the Vandals.

Volleyball's Late Run
I joked at the press conference this week that very quietly, the volleyball team has won six of their last nine, making a late playoff push. The great thing is while we are all pretty happy with the team's resurgence, Chad is disappointed they haven't won more, and he isn't satisfied that the team is playing up to their potential, and wants them to do even better. Gotta like that, but credit to him and his team...it's ISU's first four-match win streak since 2003. It's a tough road this week at Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona.

Super Secret Press Conferences?
I was asked recently why ISU's Monday press conferences are not available video-wise or audio-wise, and the answer is the video thing is an equipment issue. The digital camera int he office doesn't have any sound for video, so that's not helpful, and the audio files can only be stored for a short period due to the amount of server space we get as an athletic department, which would eventually lead to major linkrot. Eventually I'd love to have a nicer digital camera that records video just for that purpose. I know Tim Flagstad videos the press conference with his camera (My wife's camera can do the video, but she uses it during the day because...well, it's hers...), but I can't find it on the Journal's site. If anyone would like to donate a good digital camera..... :) (EDIT 10:48 am ... Tim Flagstad sent me the link to his video of the press conference here. Yeah to Tim!!!!)

Three-point line stuff
The Journal has some good stuff on the new three-point line, as Kellis talked at length with some of ISU's long-range threats. When at Holt, there is no confusion because there is only the men's line, but at Reed, as you can see by the photo, there are two. Kelvin Ang took a closer look at how the two lines will effect the women's game.

In the Interest of Presenting All Sides
While I don't necessarily agree with all of Dan Thompson's points in his column, he does make some valid ones as well on the subject of marketing.

Quick Football Hitters
Since I'm gonna be rolling into Missoula around 3:30 am on Saturday morning, catching about four hours of sleep and getting up at 7:30 to start getting ready for the game, it'll be a quick hitter for me, so here are some quick hitters for you...Roman Stubbs of the Kaimin, Montana's student newspaper, has two pretty good pieces, on John Zamberlin, and on how Montana is approaching this game, knowing the Brawl of the Wild is next up for them. Dan Thompson has his weekly power poll as well as his notebook (note McBride's comments...a tremendously classy individual to note that while recovering from his ailment). I like Mac even more now. Fritz Neighbor of the Missoulian has his look at Idaho State, but I'm not sure who Mike Phipps is.

Things I Think I Know

Thoughts, musings, reflections and inferences from watching the Idaho State men's and women's basketball exhibition games on Friday:

--This ain't your father's -- or Jon Newlee's -- women's basketball team. Seton Sobolewski has definitely put a stamp on the Bengals in just one exhibition game. Gone is the fun-and-gun offense of his predecessor, replaced by the "patience squared" attack. (That's as in, "Patience, patience," Coach S's frequent admonition as the Bengals walk the ball into the front court). The Bengals will certainly take some time in adjusting to Sobolewski's motion O -- there were times Friday when it seemed like there were three ISU players all bunched in the same passing lane -- but it looks like everyone is going to get their chance to score. The Bengals are going to make other teams work hard on defense, and that's not a bad thing.

--Freshman Sheila Adams (pictured above) can play a little hoop, no? As Frank Mercogliano noted to me as we watched the Utah freshman put up 16 points in her debut, "You can certainly see how Jon (Newlee) thought she might eventually replace Andrea Lightfoot." Yes, I can. In fact, I think we'll be talking about who is going to replace Sheila Adams in four years.

--The Bengal ladies may be a touch thin this year, it doesn't look like they are going to go much more than 7 or 8 deep when the games start counting. They certainly could have used Ally Sissel and Bianca Cheever, two players who chose to follow Newlee to northern Idaho. But help appears to be on the way. The early signing period for basketball begins Wednesday and runs through Nov. 19. The Journal has already reported on two players expected to sign with the Bengals, and I'm told a true post player may also be on the way.

--On to the men. You know what I love about Joe O'Brien? Picking up a technical foul in an exhibition game. The man competes. Now, after exhibition wins over Montana Tech and Rocky Mountain College, things get serious, and Coach OB is all about wins. He knows that if the Bengals play as sloppy against Eastern Oregon this Friday as they did in the first half against Rocky Mountain College, they are setting themselves up for an L. O'Brien started "coaching to win" in the second half Friday night, when you started to see a real core lineup emerge. This week against EOU, I would expect a further refining of the troops.

--Will Austin Kilpatrick and Felix Caspari be part of the "game day" rotation? We shall see. O'Brien said A-K has served sufficient time in the doghouse, but how will he fit into the rotation? I haven't heard as of Monday afternoon whether Caspari has passed the NCAA Clearinghouse yet. One thing is clear -- if both are able to play, whether it's this week or sometime soon, minutes are going to become a precious commodity on this team. Particularly at the wing positions. By my count, you have six guys who are serious contenders for playing time on the wings--Kal Bay, Kilpatrick, Matt Stucki, Amorrow Morgan, Donnie Carson and Phyllip Taylor. (And Mike Lacey was pondering whether to redshirt????) Now, somebody is going to have to play the nominal "point guard," and if Sherrod Baldwin is not the immediate answer, that will open up minutes for one of the wings. Still, that's a lot of talent to share a maximum of 120 minutes a game.

--I think it's safe to say the Sherrod Baldwin experiment is over, at least for now. Oh, I certainly am not about to write off the young freshman from Memphis -- he will be a contributor, hopefully before the end of this season. But you can't play two games without an assist and call yourself a serious candidate for the starting point guard position. Bay, playing with an ab injury and flack jacket, certainly demonstrated what he can mean to this Bengal team against Rocky Mountain. I expect to see he, Morgan and Stucki taking turns initiating the ISU offense for much of this year.

--Okay, I now know how to spell his first name -- Deividas Busma. Thanks, Frank. I still can't pronounce it, but he'll be Big D before you know it, anyway. Eleven blocks in the first two exhibition games makes me think that someone other than guard Austin Kilpatrick will lead ISU in that statistical category this year. Still, Big D is going to have to learn to play better fundamental defense as the season progresses. The "big boys" like BYU, Utah, Wisconsin and Washington State have plenty of skilled players upfront who will go right at Big D, and he won't be on the floor more than 10 minutes against any of those guys if he doesn't use his feet more. Repeat after me: big men take more time to develop than guards. By the time the Big Sky season rolls around, though, it will be awful comforting seeing Big D playing deep safety back there.

--Every year around this time, you will hear D-1 coaches talking up the various NAIA and D-II schools they are bringing in for exhibition games. Sometimes, believe it or not, this is not just BS. (See Northwestern's loss to Robert Morris, for example -- ouch!). O'Brien is not just blowing smoke when he talks about Eastern Oregon, either. The Mountaineers come into Reed on Friday with four starters back from a 26-win team, as well as newcomers Kris Groce (who averaged almost 11 points a game for Sac State two years ago), and 6-7 Jordan Gregg of Lewiston, who scored 16 points a game in EOU's first three games this year. The Mountaineers are 4-0 and coming off an overtime win over No. 22-rated Lewis-Clark State, so they will be battle tested. Don't believe anyone who tells you ISU has to win this game by double-digits in order to impress. Especially at this stage in the season, any old win will be sufficient.

--Brad B.

And thanks for being Bengal fans. It ain't always easy, but it's always fun.