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.

It's Always Fun During Weber Week...

Well gang, it truly is always fun during Weber State week, and with the women's team in Ogden on Friday night and then the men hosting the Wildcats on Saturday, well...it's just a fun week for everyone involved.

Anyways, lots of little things going on, so here's a little rundown of the little things.

The Little Things...
Dan Angell has a nice story about the trails and tribulations of Rolando Little, who had to really work to get eligible, and then work hard to stay eligible, and then ended up having a major medical setback. Also, Tim Flagstad, who sadly is leaving town shortly for a new gig outside of the sports world in his home state, wrote a great piece on the Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center.

But Their Stories on the Official Site are Awesome
Well, the men's and women's tennis teams have not been overly successful in the past few years, much to the chagrin of Katie Zigars, our Asst. SID and tennis contact, who was a former player on the team (and she was pretty good...I watched her play like twice). Anyways, it must be getting old for her to see this come over the wire, but if you read the tennis stories...they are pretty in-depth, because of her knowledge of the sport.

Morgan to Be Honored
Prior to the starters on Saturday night, Amorrow Morgan will be presented with a commemorative ball for his breaking the 1,000-point barrier when he scored in the first half against Montana State. He is the third player in four years to break the 1,000-point mark with Matt Stucki last year and David Schroeder in 2006-07.

Diversity is synonymous with Nicholson....duh...
Idaho State University is celebrating Martin Luther King Day with 10 days worth of activities for ISU's Civil Rights Celebration. While the requisite marches are going on, along with various guest speakers...but apparently nothing says Civil Rights more than the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, where Jack Nicholson plays a statutory rapist who fakes being mentally ill in order to get transferred to an institution so he can have an easier time over the last few months of his sentence. Makes perfect sense to me.

Monday Morning Press Conference Notes
Alyssa Chin of Channel 8 did a nice job of summarizing Idaho State's Monday afternoon press conference with Joe O'Brien and Seton Sobolewski.

Blum Done
Kyle Blum, who was ISU's starting quarterback last year at the beginning of the season, will not be back in the fall for ISU football, as he is 13 credits from graduating, and he does not plan to attend graduate school at ISU. That leaves ISU in the spring with incumbent starter Russel Hill along with three freshmen in Kyle Morris, Jake Lammers, and Justin Level, a grayshirt who is now enrolled.

I Hope this Helps
This can't be bad news, although the number that really matter is full-time students, and we won't know that for a few weeks. Still...it sounds good, no?

Funny...Doesn't Look a Day Over 76...
The Idaho State school newspaper The Bengal turned 100 this week. I remember for a brief time when I got here that the paper changed their name to the eXtra, but by the time the paper snapped a shot of this adorable little kid, it was back to the Bengal.

Thoughts on the Hawk, McGwire, and Moronic Hall of Fame Voters (AKA, Seriously not ISU Related, but Just a Little Topic Near to Me):
I'm going to delve on this for a minute because since I'm actively involved with a very political group1, that being the ISU Sports Hall of Fame, I feel I can interject on a couple of things with the Baseball Hall of Fame, since I'm a pretty big baseball fan.

1If you don't think there is politics and stuff with the ISU Hall of Fame, talk to me whenever I'm officially not getting a paycheck from Idaho State. That being said it shouldn't be a surprise, as I'm sure all college hall of fames have some sort of politics behind them.

Point number one is personal...I'm happy to see Andre Dawson make it in...I remember him playing, and he was a feared hitter and fielder...one of the best of his era. You can't put his numbers into the steroid era and compare. Did I say steroid era? wait...I'll get to that.

Point number two is the voting. Did you know that no one has ever been elected unanimously into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Tom Seaver got left off of five ballots when he got in...Nolan Ryan six, heck..Ty Cobb...TY FREAKIN' COBB wasn't unanimous...getting 222 of226 votes? Babe Ruth? Only 215 out of 226...thank you very much. Now, the reason for this is so moronic, but there are voters who feel that no one should ever get into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Really? Are sports writers THAT holier than thou? There isn't an argument on the planet that can back this up, but somehow, these writers insist that as the keeper of the keys to the Hall, they have that right to do that. However, this past year, do you know who got votes? Kevin Appier, Pat Hentgen, and David Segui each got one, and Ellis Burks and Eric Karros each got two!!! The full 2010 class vote is here.

But here's a good one for you...no one could have gotten all the votes this year because Jay Marriotti, formerly of the Chicago Sun-Times and a panelist on Around the Horn on ESPN, turned in a blank ballot as he felt there was no one deserving. This is after he voted for Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven the year before, and Jim Rice on his 15th and final chance. Mariotti said that he voted for now one this year because "I didn’t vote for anybody in the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. You know why? To me, the first ballot is sacred. I think Roberto Alomar is an eventual Hall of Famer, not the first time. Edgar Martinez, designated hitter, eventually, but not the first time. And same goes for maybe Fred McGriff. As far as Blyleven and Dawson, if they haven’t gotten in for years and years I cannot vote them in now." This is pompous arrogance at it's best. He won't be on the ISU Sports Hall of Fame voting list, I can tell you that...of course, he wouldn't care anyways.

Lastly comes the steroid issue. How do you differentiate folks out of this era? Mark McGwire has gotten 128 votes in three of the four years he was eligible. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will have their moments on the ballot in a few years. Will they get in? Should they get in? Bonds was a sure fire Hall of Famer before he got ... well, it hasn't been proven for him officially, correct? OK...before he got so big his head didn't fit inside his helmet anymore. That works. McGwire might or might not have gotten the home runs needed and he was very injury prone for a while, so he's a maybe. However, the issue I have again is the voters passing judgment for a player using performance enhancing drugs. Honestly, I sort of feel like this...I'm guessing that most sports writers have been inundated when watching sports programming with ads for Cialis2, (Viva) Viagra, and eXtenze ... who hasn't? So, have those reporters wondered about trying them? I mean I'm sure they don't need them...but hey, if it works, and no one has to know, would they try it? If they could get some (Viva) viagra, would they try it? My guess is yes, because I know this topic has come up before when watching games, and I'm saying right now, 90% of my friends and people who I have been around when this comes up have said they would try it ... and yes, I'm in the 90%. So, if a reporter would try a PED for that, can they really pass judgment on a baseball player for a PED to help him out on the field? Sadly, I don't have an answer to it, but I think it's a legitimate question.

I do realize that this has almost nothing to do with ISU athletics, but I thought it was interesting, and the topic has come up in my traveling circles...

Bengal Vlog: Mark Campbell Discusses the Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center

Katie Zigars got a new toy for Christmas (A flip video camera), and graciously tried it out with an interview with ISU strength and conditioning coach Mark Campbell, who is anxiously awaiting the rest of his new equipment for the remodeled Jared Allen Strength and Conditioning Center.

Bengals, Aggies, Soccer, Oh My!

Another day, another contest for Idaho State, and this time it counts. The ISU soccer team will take on Utah State at 4:00 pm today at Davis Field in what should be a pretty good game. Last year ISU went 7-5-6, and Utah State was 10-11-0, tying a school record for wins. The Aggies were 5-2 in the WAC last year thought, and interestingly enough, ISU head coach Allison Gibson has not beaten the Aggies, losing 1-0 in the 2006 opener, and 1-0 last year in overtime with Gibson in stands (she was red carded after the Utah game last year).

Anyways, the game kicks off at 4:00 pm, and the radio broadcast is at 3:55 pm or so....I'll try not to stink up the joint like I did last Wednesday...I'll be better...promise. Also, Utah State's take on today's match is here. In a "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon", USU's soccer SID is Kara Irving, who just joined that staff after working at the Western Athletic Conference as an Information Director, meaning that Jason Erickson, formerly the Assistant SID here, was promoted at the WAC to Director of Men's Sports Information. Jason and his wife Marisa are also expecting a boy in early January! Yea Jason!

Over Hill, Over Dale....
Russel Hill had been fairly vanilla in the first two scrimmages, but for the final one, he was near letter perfect, yet everyone, including Dan Thompson, wanted to talk to backup quarterback Kyle Blum, who had the play of the day on a blocked extra point. His extra stuff made it to the blog on the Journal site as well. Tony at Channel 3 filed a scrimmage report, as did Paul Shahen of Channel 6.

Thoughts on the Big Sky state
The folks over at MaxMedia in Montana have been blogging on the state of Montana and Montana State practices....and honestly, and I've said this before, but sometimes practice is just practice...guys are gonna throw interceptions in practice, guys are gonna catch passes...it's the little things that you look for in a practice. How a kid blocks away from the play when the coaches aren't watching...things like that. Still, you can see tons of practice video there, which is a little goofy, but oh well.

Look Who is Here....
Freshmen have arrived! Thankfully, no one has come to the office looking for the Holt Arena elevator just yet. Apparently, one senior isn't thrilled about things though, but hey, I took 21 hours and then 20 my final year to graduate...anything can be done.

A Bronco Perspective on Things
JT Ray, who writes for the very informative BroncoNationNOW blog, will be interviewing me about the game sometime Saturday for the blog. He posted his take on the game (mentioning the 2003 game as ammo of course), including some links, even linking to the Globe of Death that I posted on the site a while back. Even if you aren't a Bronco fan, JT's writing style is pretty good, and he's well informed. I'm curious to what type of access he gets from the BSU media relations folks, and I'll find that out on Saturday, but it should be a fun interview.

Also, have you heard that BSU is opening the season with a freshman quarterback for the first time in school history? Because it's been plastered everywhere, but here are the other freshmen who have started games for BSU.

Looking Ahead
Here is a report on the Vandals fall camp from the Argonaut. Cause, you know, we play them right after BSU...it'll be the first game of the season on a green field, so that should count for something.

I Got Email!
I just got the official release from the Sports Network that Eddie Thompson was named Preseason Second Team All-America at receiver...very cool.

Office Exploits
While I get grief for mentioning my hockey exploits (I neglected to mention the 195 foot goal I gave up last week from behind the other teams net....stupid bouncing pucks...), but this summer, Assistant SID Katie Zigars won a pair of tournaments, defending her title in the Chubbuck Days tournament and winning the Juniper Hills Open, which is a fairly big one as a USTA Sanctioned Adult Tournament (winning the women's singles open and doubles open). Of course, there are no online links to that, because as I've told Katie, my hockey is way more important than her tennis ... lack of online data supports my conclusion!

As always....
Questions, concerns, blog thoughts? Leave a comment, or email me at mercfran@isu.edu.