Past, Present and Future...

...First the past...as many folks know, I am on facebook (my wife is baffled by the 747 friends, but I digress). I use that facebook tool to present ISU articles and things to different folks, and sometimes these things go viral. For instance I posted the softball poster last year...bam, it went everywhere. I also use facebook to post something kind of goofy every day or so (my links are seriously priceless sometimes...)

However, every now and then I hear from an old friend with some news...such was the case this morning where former KIDK sports anchor Nick Griffiths emailed me on facebook this morning. Nick is in the KC area, and sent over this piece he did on former Bengal Matt Gutierrez...check it out.

Now the present...it's a huge week for ISU soccer...sitting at 1-1 in the conference, they host Northern Arizona today at 4:00 pm (you can listen to it here). Sadly, Davis Field's press box isn't wired, and the university folks that do that want an outrageous sum of money, so no video or live stats. Still, listen in, and folks can email during the broadcast (mercfran@isu.edu), or facebook me...I get all that stuff on my phone. Soccer also hosts Northern Colorado at noon on Saturday in a big game. Of course, if Weber State would actually play on Sunday's like everyone else, we could play on Sunday and unclog that busy Saturday, but I digress.

Of course both football and soccer have free youth clinics today...football at 5:30 and soccer at 6:00 pm.

Also, my day got started today with the Idaho State Journal 10th Annual Business Awards, of which in a weird twist of fate, both Jeff Tingey and myself were finalists in the "Overachievers Under 40" category. While we both didn't win, it sounds cliche but it was truly an honor to be nominated. I sort of felt out of place there, I'm not gonna lie, but it pretty cool. I sat next to Stephanie Palagi of Old town Pocatello, who I've seen in pictures and in news reports, but I'd never seen her in person. So I'm sitting next to her and could never figure out who she was until she went up and presented an award, and I was like "duh....". I'm sure everyone has those moments...that was mine. Anyways, sorry I didn't recognize you Stephanie....

Now to what you guys wanted to read about...the future. Couple of things...yes, we are hosting a press conference today, and it's just for the media. Due to the soccer game I don't know when I can get it up on youtube, but I'll work on it. I might just get the audio out in a hurry to the media, and then figure that other stuff out later. The details of the press conference I can't really get into right now, but it does deal with football.

It has been interesting reading things in my inbox and in other places, and I'll mirror something Brad Bugger stated...I love the passion of ISU fans. They desperately want to win, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Anyways, that's at 3:00 pm, and the news will pop onto the webpage around 3:05 pm or so. Stay tuned for that. Come on out to any or all the events this week....should be something for everyone.

Tick Tock Tick Tock

So as many folks know, one of the things I do is scour the net with Google Alerts and things for stuff about Idaho State. Sometimes I find out things from the ISU message board, the Bengal Den (no big shocker there). It was there I was tipped off to this dumb editorial by the Twin Falls Times-News....here it is from Monday...

Please Make it Stop: Send Bengals to Division II

Idaho State University won't do it on its own, so maybe it's time the State Board of Education forcefully suggested that the Bengals aren't a NCAA Division I-caliber athletic program anymore.

The football team, which has lost 45 of its last 59 games, is 0-4 this season and has been outscored 195-42. The men's basketball team has had one winning season in the past 20.

Students - in the form of fees - pick up much of he cost, but the coaches are paid mostly by the taxpayers.

Which means Idahoans are subsidizing arguably the weakest Division I athletic program in the country.

What's the purpose of continuing this? ISU would save money by downsizing (NCAA Division II schools can award up to 36 football scholarships, as opposed to 63 in the Football Championship Subdivision in which the Bengals now compete.) ISU would fit comfortably in either the Colorado-Springs based Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference or the Spokane, Wash.-based Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

ISU has been through six football coaches since the last successful one - Dave Kragthorpe - and four since the school last won a Big Sky Conference men's basketball championship in 1987. None of them have been able to talk enough Division I-quality athletes into spending four years in Pocatello. And the fans have noticed: 6,200 of Holt Arena's 12,000 seats were empty for Idaho State's home opener against Division II Central Washington University. The Bengals lost 33-22.

This is a college sports program quite literally out of its league. It's time for ISU to become big fish in a much smaller pond.

I'm not against a newspaper having an opinion (I am all for free speech, even when it is truly bizarre, like this or this. However, if you are going to offer up an opinion, and print it in a newspaper...well, please, please, please....make it informed. Get ALL the facts straight, and best of all, print the Letter to the Editor that I sent over as well. That's right....three days, no letter printed. Did I call them out on their shoddy journalism and lack of factual information? Maybe. Did I prove the point that they are painting the entire athletic program because of football's recent struggles? Hellz yes I did. And since this is the blog of the department, and since apparently the Times-News isn't interested in running this in a timely manner, here is what I sent them. I kinda like it.

On Tuesday, September 29^th, the Twin Falls Times-News published an editorial calling Idaho State University “arguably the weakest Division I athletic program in the country.” The Times-News argued this based on very limited facts, mostly because of the poor record in recent years by the ISU football team, but the Times-News did a terrible job of fact checking, because it would have taken just a few minutes to realize that ISU competes very well in the Big Sky Conference and nationally.

Idaho State has been tremendously successful in many sports of the past few years. For example:

*ISU women’s basketball has won Big Sky Conference titles in 2006 and 2007, and they advanced to the NCAA Tournament or the NIT four times in the past six years , including three All-American and a finalist for the national player of the year in Natalie Doma.

*ISU women’s soccer has won four Big Sky titles in the last eight years, and advanced to the round of 32 in the 2006 NCAA College Cup

*Idaho State track and field won three Big Sky titles in the last five seasons, and they have had national qualifiers in indoor and outdoor track in nearly every season in the 2000s.

*Idaho State men’s basketball has won 25 conference games in the last three years, the best three-year stretch since 1976-78, and ISU has not finished below .500 in conference play under Joe O’Brien. Last year, ISU’s win 72-68 win over Utah came of the #3 ranked team in the RPI, ISU’s highest RPI ranked win ever. The basketball team has also been very competitive despite playing non-conference schedules ranked #7, #14, and #1 in the nation the last three years, taking two nationally ranked teams to overtime, and losing at nationally-ranked Wisconsin by two.

*ISU football has had just three winning seasons in the last 10 years, but the team has sent 14 players to NFL camps, and six of those players have seen action in a regular season NFL game. The last two Super Bowls had former ISU Bengals represented on the rosters (Matt Gutierrez with New England and Pago Togafau with Arizona). The Bengals also had 2003’s National Player of the Year in Jared Allen, who in 2008 became the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, and Jared has generously donated both his time and resources back to Idaho State.

*Over the last five years, Idaho State athletes have spent thousands of hours participating in community events through the P.A.W.S. program (Proud Athletes Working and Serving), including PaintFest, Sacking Hunger with the Idaho Food Bank, the Pocatello Marathon, Wal-Mart’s highway cleanup program, reading to elementary schools, and meeting with children in the Portneuf Diabetes Camp.

*Idaho State softball won 20 games in 2009 in just their third year, and will start play in the Pacific Coast Softball Conference in 2010.

Also, stating that ISU has not had a successful football coach since Dave Kragthorpe is not fair to Jim Koetter, who took ISU to the playoffs in 1983, and to Larry Lewis, who led ISU to a share of the 2002 Big Sky title and is the only coach in school history to lead ISU to back-to-back eight win seasons.

In recent months, private funding and donations have allowed for ISU football to refurbish the entire locker room, to add a high definition video board in Holt Arena, and an electronic display board outside of Holt Arena. Construction will start this winter on Miller Ranch Stadium for softball. Improvements to other ISU athletic facilities are due to be announced in the upcoming months, all through private donations.

While it is true that the Idaho State football team has struggled for the past four years in accurate, the football team has had to also deal with budget holdbacks and playing five guarantee games against FBS teams in the last three years, including games with Oregon State, Arizona State, Oklahoma, and Boise State, in order to help raise funds for the entire department. With just six wins over that time span, to state that the entire ISU athletic department is out of its league is just not accurate, especially when a full-time writer from the Times-News has performed one interview or covered one ISU home event in the last 10 years.

It works for me, and I probably left stuff out. Still it shows what a shallow argument they presented, and honestly, they should cover a game or interview someone here before presenting an opinion like that, but sadly, that's where journalism seems to be heading sometimes. We'll see if they ever print that.

Streaking Soccer!

No, not that type of streaking, but here's a little soccer trivia for you...when was the last time the soccer team lost? Would you believe September 6? ISU has won three straight after taking down rival Utah State 1-0 in Logan, with the Bengals scoring on a corner kick (and Annamarie Hofstetter tying the Big Sky career assist record in the process), and sophomore Bailey Williams getting her first shutout of the season as well. The Bengals also have won four of the last five on the road, which is impressive, especially in light of this stat. From November 5, 2006 to August 21, 2009, ISU went 2-16-4 on the road. Two wins on the road in 1,020 days. and now they have four in the last 37. Just goofy.

Volleyball on the road again...

...which might be good as the team went 0-2 last week in their first home matches, although they played the defending regular season champions and the defending tournament champions. Now they head to the Montanas looking to get back on track, with both matches on Big Sky TV.

Homecoming

No, not the football team playing Eastern....the football team going to Georgia. That's a Homecoming for me, as I lived in Augusta for four years prior to coming to ISU. Interesting side note to going there...when I applied for this job, I had never been to a college football game, so I went with my wife to the Georgia-Kentucky game in the rain in 1997 just so I could say I had at least been in a college stadium. And now I get to go back...sweet.

See you all from the press box this weekend!

Frank

And Away We Go....

Finally, after scrimmages, exhibitions, you name it, we officially, officially start the 2009-10 athletic year with the soccer team traveling to New Mexico to take on the Lobos. I personally have a soft spot for the Lobos as the first football game I ever worked was the ISU at New Mexico game in 1998. Ironically, my predecessor the esteemed Glenn Alford worked HIS first football game at New Mexico for a Bengal-Lobo encounter in 1967. If we ever schedule New Mexico in football for a season opener again I'm gonna start looking behind me though....

Soccer Stuff
Tim Flagstad previewed today's match in the Journal, and then he really goes in-depth on the blog about the freshmen and his thoughts on the season ahead...a must read for the soccer fanatics in all of BengalLand. Also, you can get ISU's match notes here, and New Mexico's here.

Volleyball Scrimmage Tonight at 6:30 pm
Pretty self explanatory headline...that scrimmage is taking place at Reed Gym. I have to score the thing....it could get ugly.

Scooter Hanging in There
Sometimes Kelvin Ang gets this odd rap for being a bad guy which is always funny to me, but he's been covering football now for a while, and for the most part, his stories, such as this fantastic piece on Tubotein Taylor's recovery that ran today, and how the team has come to his side, are just fantastic reads. Kelvin tries to look for stories, and maybe that's it, but he's proving to be a very good writer. That Taylor piece is a great read on a story many reporters might have just forgotten about and dismissed.

Football Scrimmage Inside Holt Arena on Saturday
Holt Arena is fairly busy today and tomorrow, with the old lockers getting torn out today, and then the scrimmage tomorrow. Bengal Foundation members should have received their invitation to the BF BBQ tomorrow at Holt, and all freshmen students will be at Holt Arena for Holt Hurrah, where the incoming freshmen will learn the fight song and get to meet the various teams, take part in drills and such, and generally speaking, have a good time before watching the scrimmage.

The SID and statguy in me prefers the scrimmages inside by the way, because I don't have to guess at the numbers, and I can see the stuff better then from the sidelines.

The New Kids In Town...
Not only are the student arriving, but all the department graduate students as well. Brandy Crum in the training room is already here, but Kristin Kehrer formerly with the University of Detroit is here as a G.A. in the strength and conditioning office with Mark Campbell (she and Joe Cullen can swap stories about moving from Detroit to Pocatello), and even the new G.A. in our office, Jaime Schroeder, straight from Washington State University, will get in town today. In a case of who you know, when I worked at the NCAA Tournament in Boise, Jaime was part of the Wazzu student crew assigned to me. When Mitch Worthington left the G.A. spot to head to air traffic controller school (way more money for equal stress LOL), we ended up getting Jaime, who was the star of the student staff at Wazzu and will handle track, cross country, golf, and assist with other stuff. Of course, Katie Zigars is still around, and it's funny, this is officially year two for her, but she also has a year as a G.A. here, and then the interned for three years, so it's more like six years (heck, this is just my 12th here).

I'm personally hoping Jaime ends my run of one-year G.A.s...and she has no relation, but her last name is pronounced just like David Schroeder.

Facebook Me
Funny that that is now a verb, but you can befriend Idaho State Athletics on Facebook, and there's photos and lots of news there. Good addition to the Blog and the website. I'm on there too, and I tend to post funny videos links there (because I'm a highly entertaining guy)

Speaking of Funny Videos
So the Marching Band has been practicing RIGHT OUTSIDE MY OFFICE DOOR for a week now, and without giving the whole thing away, they have been working on reproducing some classic video game themes, which is cool, but, and this is not a slight on the band in any way, but it will never top this. Have a great Friday!

Story Time

I'm gonna break away from the Idaho State stuff for a minute to delve into something else so bear with me...I'll get to some Idaho State links here in a minute. I have to tell you a story, so get comfortable.

Many of you folks know, or maybe you don't know, about my favorite band, which is Chicago. Now, there's a myriad of reasons I like that band, the horns, the vocals, whatever, and some folks around here know that I can play the drums (set taught) and percussion, but I have always wanted to play the piano. That statement is even funnier because my wife is a piano player and teacher. Anyways, with the advent of the internet, I was able to really learn more about Chicago, and what I learned was maybe the most talented musician on the planet was in the band, and he was the guy who I tended to gravitate to when listening to CDs and stuff, and that guy in Bill Champlin. Bill joined the band in late 1981 after Chicago was doing so horribly that they were dumped by Columbia records after two albums of a long multi-album deal. Chicago 13 missed the top 20 and had no hit singles, and Chicago XIV hit #71, and it looked like Chicago was done, but the band brought in Champlin, and a wave of hit singles followed, including songs like Look Away and You're Not Alone, in which Bill sang lead.

Now, 28 years after joining Chicago, giving up a promising solo career that came on the heels of eight albums with the great Marin County band Sons of Champlin (who played in Holt Arena in 1973 doncha know), Bill is no longer with Chicago, having been replaced for the remainder of the 2009 summer tour by Lou Pardini, who is now officially in the group.

If you are still reading this, you might be going....Bill Champlin? Who the hell is that? This is Bill Champlin at his best, reworking the power ballad Look Away (the Billboard #1 song of 1988) into an unreal acoustic piece. Well, in this overbloated age in which Lady GaGa is a star, and Britney Spears churns out horrendous garbage that qualifies as a hit song, Bill is a musician. Actually, a musician's musician.

Bill has a pair of Grammies to his credit for writing Turn Your Love Around, which was a monster smash for George Benson (here is George singing it live in Madrid, and here is Bill's take while performing live on German television) and After the Love is Gone, which was an even-bigger hit for Earth, Wind, and Fire (Here is Earth, Wind and Fire singing it live, here is Bill singing it with EWF on tour in 2004, and this is such a rare version from Thicke of the Night back in 1983 which is the only performance with all three writers, Champlin, Jay Graydon, and David Foster).

Bill got his start with his own band the Sons of Champlin (originally the Opposite Six), who had eight ridiculously fun and tight albums, and came out of Marin County and the great San Francisco scene, but somehow they never hit it big...perhaps SoC was a little too R&B with their upfront horns and musicianship. Still their songs are amazing, such as You, 1982-A from their debut album Loosen of Naturally, and even seeing video from a few years ago of the band performing at the Palms in Vegas is a treat.

From there, Bill ended up as the most in-demand guy in the music industry, performing on albums and CDs for Boz Skaggs, REO Speedwagon, Amy Grant ... anyone and everyone. Then he put out two solo CDs, Single and Runaway, which featured songs such as Fly with Me and Keys to the Kingdom. Runaway featured songs like Tonight, Tonight and Take It Uptown, which was from the movie Copper Mountain (Jim Carrey's first movie).

Bill then joined Chicago, and in recent years the band has featured him prominently in concert with a special medley of some of his vocals, including a great introduction where he got to showcase a little of his talents. Still, Bill put solo stuff out from time to time, such as No Wasted Moments (one of my favorite CDs ever). Even his unreleased Chicago stuff is better than most music out now or then.

How does any of this relate to me other than as a fan you ask? Well, way back when, after I had accumulated all the Chicago stuff I could, I decided to get the solo stuff from folks, and naturally, I was trying to figure out how to get Champlin stuff, as it's just not readily available at Wal-Mart. Well, Bill had a website to sell his CDs, and there was a link to "ask Bill". So I asked which one would he recommend...figuring he had like a flunky answering, but I actually got a nice note back, and just by reading it, you could tell it was from him. I ended up buying two, and over the course of the next year or so, I got pretty much everything, and he and I started emailing a bit. Eventually, he gave me his home address so I could send a CD cover for him to sign, and we finally met in 1999 in Boise after a show (he left my friend Doug and I a pass to wait afterwards and meet up).

Bill also offered my family and I tickets to the Stadium of Fire July 4 show in Salt Lake, and I passed because I wasn't going to be there due to that being my daughter's birthday. I then somehow not only ended up there, but in a meet and greet, where he was baffled to see me and gave me a bear hug, and then took time to talk to my kids and stuff, which was funny just to see their faces.

Cut to this week, and Bill's newest CD "No Place Left to Fall" hit stores on August 4 (it had been out on iTunes for a while and I've had it pretty much since it was available for download there) and it is getting rave reviews. From start to finish, it is an amazing CD...one of those CDs that you need to listen to over and over to catch the little musical nuances that let's face it, you don't get with Lady GaGa or Britney Spears or T-Pain. You can catch a little of the title track here with Bill talking about it, but right now my favorites are a funky little number called Tuggin' on Your Sleeve, the title track, and Stone Cold Hollywood.

It sucks that after 28 years, Bill is out, but he is going on a short little club tour of the West Coast from San Diego to Seattle. So here is my imploration to you guys, because I never try to steer anyone wrong, but check those dates out, and if you can make it to a show ... don't think about it, just go. You will never see a better musician surrounded by other unbelievable musicians as you will if you catch one of Bill's shows (I believe he has Jerry Lopez joining him on guitar, who is a monster on his own). Seriously, you will not be sorry, and knowing Bill, he will just hang after the show for a while and tell stories and make it a night to remember.

Anyways, I know plenty of famous people, mostly pro athletes, but this was weird to hear news like this about someone I know have great respect for. Sure, Matt Gutierrez got cut from the Patriots and I know him, but this is inherently different. Bill is a great guy who will always make the best of a situation, but if you want to treat yourself, pick up this CD, or see his show. You just won't be sorry about it.

OK, now back to ISU....thanks for hangin' in there...

How's the BBQ?
Matt Gutierrez did get cut by the Patriots, and then got promptly picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs, and guess who threw the only offensive touchdown in KC's intersquad scrimmage? That would be Matt.

Thumbs Up!
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gives out a thumbs up to our very own Evan Dietrich-Smith. When the paper calls you "almost impossible to beat" and says that you "dominated one-on-one pass rushing drills", well, that can only mean good things. By the way, this should surprise no one. Evan is a gamer.

Outjumping Steve Smith
Scroll down a little here to see D.J. Clark picking off a pass outleaping Steve Smith.

Getting His Big Chance
Did you know that New Orleans Saints defensive ends Charles Grant and Will Smith (not that Will Smith, this Will Smith) are out for the first four games? Jeff Charleston does, and the former Bengal is making big waves at Saints camp as he projects to be a starter.

Good Hands
Scroll down and get to picture number five to see Pago in action for the NFC champion Arizona Cardinals.

And last but not least, good ol' Jared
The media just loves Jared Allen...he's not a bad quote. He talked here about the end of Vikings camp, and pretty soon he will be featured on Cribs and in Maxim. Be warned. Of course, he is kid accessable, as this report from CBS/Fox 12 in Mankato shows.

Bengal Links
Boise State East....or so it seems, but Kelvin Ang had a nice story regarding ISU's four Broncos who have made a home here at ISU. Kelvin also notes that after a spring in which Benny Laporta was the only running back, there is a little more competition there in the fall, including this guy, but not this guy. Also, Tim Flagstad reported on the volleyball teams' return to practice, and yes, there are 18 of them. Go Bengals...and Bill!

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.

The Newest Bengal Legend from the ISU Upset of UCLA is......Jeff Balmer?

There are great names in Idaho State's athletic history ... Mike Machurek...Jared Allen....Steve Hayes....Les Roh....Natalie Doma...well, now the fans can add the name Jeff Balmer to the mix. Did he ever play at Idaho State? That would be no...and that's good, because Jeff's contribution to ISU athletics is greater than being a player.

About six months ago, Jeff got in contact with me, and sent me a DVD of the 1977 Idaho State/UCLA game. Now, it's pretty cool, but it was just the coach's film, so there was no audio or anything like that. Seemingly, the audio is lost. Should I put that as "was" lost? I should, because Sir Balmer (I would knight him if I could), has sent over the ISU audio of the game. I have not listened to it yet, but now the goal is to get everything merged together into one package. Could be a heck of a fundraiser, no?

Anyways, all the thanks on this go to Jeff Balmer. He got it done....big time.

Open Mic Night Tonight...
Tonight we are having an open mic night to find our new public address announcer for women's basketball. It's a paid gig, with tickets and gear (a nice Nike shirt....like $60) and I've had some interested parties contact me already. We are going start as soon as the women's basketball team ends practice at 8 pm, and no, I won't be like Simon Cowell making comments, but what an opportunity for someone to get involved...and get paid to boot. It's also open to the public, so come out and listen in. The official announcement was posted here.

Where Has Frank Been?
I've been finishing up the men's basketball media guide for the last few weeks, so I have not been posting as much here as I tend to normally, but big props to Brad Bugger for all of his posts, which are a highly entertaining read from someone really well versed in Bengal and Big Sky history.

Onto a major amount of links...

Basketball is practicing...yeah!
A lot of eyes are on both the men's basketball program, but the women's one as well. Kelvin Ang had an article in the Journal on the Natalie Doma replacement sweepstakes, and he also touched on some other things in his blog. Also, the men's basketball team was picked third by both the coaches and the media...how 'bout them apples?

Why Walk-Ons Shouldn't Work on the Weekends...
Jaclyn Hone was originally going to redshirt to keep a commitment to her employer as a restaurant, so give Chad Teichert credit for getting her on the court this year. Kelvin Ang, who I think did almost everything in the paper yesterday (including a horrifically easy Jumble), covered that story as well.

Football Saturday
Remember football? Well, It's been well documented that ISU's last win was against Portland State, and look who is on the schedule for this week....Portland State. However, Dan Thompson has his Big Sky Notebook today, and John Smithers (who?) of the Missoulian has his Big Sky Notebook up as well, and suffice to say, John isn't getting any Christmas cards from me. Charles Pulliam of the Montana student paper the Kaimin previews the upcoming week, and he proves that you can live in Missoula and not take potshots at ISU. Thank you Chuck!

Big Soccer Weekend
The online link isn't up, but the Bengals have a big game today against Portland State, the first place team in the Big Sky. The Bengals have not won a game since August, but they've been right there for most of the season, and they still can make the Big Sky Tournament, but it won't be easy. The game is at 4:00 pm at Davis Field, and it will be on the radio on KISU 91.1 FM.

If you need a Chuckle...
I was interviewed by Jason Marsteller for the SIDShow podcast ... my portion is a painfully long 31 minutes, so book some time out. The media relations folks have a message board (like the BengalDen, but we all use our own names), and the SIDShow is a part of that.

Ross Cunningham Will Just Die...
It's true, Idaho State is partnering with the Montana schools for an energy degree. But not those two Montana schools...it's Montana State - Billings, MSU-Great Falls College of Technology and MSU-Northern. And I might as well admit it here now...Ross's picture of him waving that big giant flag on the court after the Montana win in the tournament....yeah, that made the media guide.

If I can get it done, I plan on taking a lot of pictures from this road trip for you folks...while putting together the cover for the basketball guide. Stuff never ends sometimes....

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) ...

Credit Issues....

No, this won't be about the economy (although how long would that post be?). I would like that thank the government though, as I'll apparently be working at Idaho State for the next 45 years in order to retire, since you can't buy a house anymore or move, so I'm guessing I will see some more titles won LOL.

However, this is about credit. Credit as in thanks to the Journal for giving the players and the coaching staff some credit for this week. Boo however to Dave Coulson of the Sports Network. Dave's column contains this....

"Eastern Washington (3-2) struggled for three quarters against Idaho State before pulling away with a couple of fourth-quarter scores in a performance similar to its win against Western Washington the previous week." Yeah, that's it....Eastern STRUGGLED....it couldn't be that Idaho State isn't all that bad, could it? Nah....has to be that Eastern struggled. You know how folks always go on and say things like "they are the best 0-4 team in the country?" ... well, I think we actually fit that mold.

This week should be really interesting. Say this for last week's defense...they did make some plays. They gave some up, but for the first time this year, they made some...forced a fumble in the fourth quarter on a sure touchdown (and if you watch the replay, it kind of was actually a touchdown), and picked off a pass to set up a score. Also, the defensive backs knocked passes down, and generally made some pretty nice plays. That was a big, big positive.

Football love
Dan Thompson showed a little love to the defense in his postgame blog, although the comment #5 afterwards by "pokeyfan" might be the most ill-informed internet post I've seen in a while. Give someone access to a computer and an anonymous handle, and they can get pretty brave.

Yes Kellis, They Sure Do....
You know, Kellis put this really well. I haven't heard much of anything to this point about the last two men's basketball games being moved out of Holt Arena and into Reed Gym. Personally, I hate because my office is in Holt...if I forget a pencil, well, it's a pretty short walk. I also hate it for the fans because of the inconvenience, but here's hoping that this is what helps push Bengal Village into the forefront more, if that's even possible with Jay McMillin's promotion to Assistant A.D. for Major Gifts and working with the ISU Foundation to meet with prospective donors. O.K., it is possible, but hey, feet are moving.

But seriously, after the town said nope, we don't need Holt Arena (and I don't care how you interpreted the vote back when it happened, but that's what folks sort of said), I personally thought that kicking out the wrestling tournament would have basically proven the point. Instead, we are gonna have wrestling here (and my own personal loathing of the high school wrestling tournament will have to deal I guess), and basketball there, so the town will benefit at athletics' expense. Seriously, I hope the town sees the sacrifice.

If folks think I'm biased against wrestlers by the way, it has nothing more to do then the weigh-in area is always in front of my door, so I have to hear and see wrestlers in their jockstraps all day long fretting about losing a pound or two. Really, we should all be so lucky to have that at work.

Don't I Wish
This would really have been an upset, huh?

A Little Cross Country Love
What happens when you crash into a tripwire at Holt Arena? You get featured on the ISU website. Mitch Worthington's 10-minute chats with the athletes are quickly becoming must reads, and his interview with Ryan Davis of the cross country team is hilarious and brilliant...you have to read that if you do nothing else today.

Big Sky Thoughts From the Weekend
From soccer to volleyball to how the Players of the Week in football were picked, Jon Kasper of the Big Sky wrote it all down. Well, typed it anyways.

Pinch-Hitting for Pedro Borbon.....Manny Mota

Ah, one of the best parts of Airplane for those that didn't get it. Just a note to let you know when you tune into the broadcast on Saturday at 12:30 pm, it will not be Jerry Miller and Brad Bugger, but myself and Brad. As many of you guys know, Jerry worked at KLCE on the morning show with Wayne and Liza for over nine years, and sadly, Wayne passed away over the weekend while vacationing in Hawaii with his family. Wayne's funeral is on Saturday, and Jerry understandably wants to be there, and that is totally understandable. I'm proud to stand in for a week, and I hope to do him proud.

The irony of all of this is last year I filled in for Russ and got to announce Josh Barnett breaking the all-time rushing record, and now I will probably get to announce Eddie Thompson breaking the receptions record. Jerry may be "Voice of the Bengals", but I'm quickly becoming "The Voice of History"

Links, links, links
Dan Thompson is just chock full of links today, including links to his column on why the Big Sky should add ... North Dakota. Kellis Robinett also jumps in with some thoughts on ISU's four walk-ons in basketball (and since it has been asked about elsewhere, nothing official on Kelvin Krosch playing basketball at this point, and that was from the head coach). Kellis however is none-to-happy about the last two games being at Reed Gym, and in a perfect world, yeah, we don't want those games there, but like Jeff Tingey stated in the release, the economic impact to the area was too great...we have so many great sponors in the hotel and restaurant industry that need this tournament. This is why we have to have Bengal Village, and it's why on all these football road trips we've had our fundraisers glad-handing, driving to meet with boosters and potential boosters, and basically getting the processes started.

Eye on Sports Media
Eye on Sports Media apparently knows of this blog (at least someone does), and they a while back made mention of the fact I broke the two-deep here, and I sometimes get stuff here first for the die-hards before the offiical page. Well, they asked me to write a guest piece on why I credentialed the blog site www.idahosportszone.com (a must visit site by the way), and they posted it this morning. I swear I look like I'm 12 in that picture. Seriously...I shave like all the time.

Beer Pong Gone Wrong
Now while it is true that according to statistics that the alcohol-related citations have gone up at ISU to 70, when you figure that's less than six per month, or like just over one per weekend in a school of almost 14,000 .... well, that's not horrid, is it? However, I'm guessing that if beer pong is going to happen in the Gem State, it'll be a happy affair. Sadly, that's not the case at the University of Montana.

Volleyball Drops One in Four
Katie Zigars filed this story regarding ISU's loss at Boise State in volleyball last night.

The Greatest Catch You Will Ever See...
Seriously...catch out this catch by Morgan State's recevier....this is the greatest catch in college football history. Seriously...I defy you to show me a better one. If you think you have one, you know what to do.

....in other news.....

Conference play began last week for the volleyball team, and it started with a 3-0 sweep by Portland State. To the uninitiated, I'm sure folks probably went "same old, same old", but it was pretty obvious to those there that ISU was a much improved shell of their former selves. The Bengals gave the defending champion Vikings everything it could handle, and you just had the sense that something special could happen on Saturday against Eastern Washington, a team that was third last year and lost in five sets to #17 Colorado State about two weeks ago.

So congrats are now in order for Chad Teichert, who got his first conference win in convincing fashion 25-19, 25-19, 28-26. That final set showed something too, in that ISU was up 23-19, and allowed Eastern Washington to tie it at 23. ISU then had match points at 24-23, 25-24, 26-25, and 27-26 and finally got it, but I'm telling you, a lot of our past teams would have folded. It was ISU's first win over a conference team other than Montana State since Oct. 5, 2006.

That date was also the last time ISU lost at Davis Field in soccer until Friday, when the Bengals couldn't hold a 1-0 lead, allowing two goals in the second half. The team however bounced back and tied Wyoming after Lauren Hough got a red card for what sure looked like a pretty good slide tackle (it wasn't from behind or cleats up, and she knocked the ball away). Hough might have been the hard-luck recipient of a make-up call, as ISU goalkeeper Bailey Williams probably should have been red-carder for taking out a player for Wyoming on a breakaway. She was spared, and Hough sort of paid the price.

Volleyball hits the road twice this week....to Boise State and the Weber State, while soccer is at Pepperdine and #21 San Diego.

Seriously...They Were Complaining????
Remember how Idaho had to change their uniform pants because of the logo on their butts? Well, apparently some fans have decided to complain about Idaho's two-piece cheerleader outfits. No, even I'm gonna admit, that picture doesn't do those outfits justice...they were pretty revealing, so last week, the cheerleaders wore volleyball shorts and football jerseys, and they will get new outfits for next week. And why did they have those uniforms? Read on, McDuff, and blame the old coach too.

Linkage
Jon Kasper of the Big Sky posted some thoughts about the weekend, Big Sky TV, and what's on tap, football-wise. Dan Thompson also provided a host of links to most of the weekend's football activities. Dan also notes that Eddie Thompson and A.J. Storms will be back in action. He got that information from my very Piratey Game Notes...and just so folks know, i was issued a national challenge to work "Talk Like a Pirate Day" into Game Notes, hence the swashbuckling theme. Eastern Washington's Dave Cook does not nearly have my sense of humor, but he does have a font size of "6" and "7" for most of the Eastern Washington game notes. The full Big Sky notes with stats, compiled by Jon Kasper, is here.

So Close.....

Having left the office just before midnight, I can tell you that was slightly frustrating last night, wasn't it? Interestingly, Idaho State now has a seven-game losing streak, and that's the third longest in FCS play right now. Columbia has lost eight straight, and they host Fordham on Saturday, while Indiana State has dropped 16 in a row, and it'll probably be 17 when they travel to Mid-American Conference member Northern Illinois for an FBS game.

By the way, ISU's largest comeback was in 1996, winning over Cal Poly 35-32 in OT after being down 22 at 25-3. Almost got that one last night.

5,970 for the game....now, those that were there were great...really. It was 31-7, and you could tell the crowd WANTED to cheer, and finally the offense put some drives together, and the defense made a few stops, and the crowd ate it up. I hope we can get more folks to the Montana State game in two weeks. I would have hoped for more of a crowd though....seriously, that game was so worth the money for the sheer entertainment value.

Plenty of dissecting of the game by those who paid to do that sort of thing. Dan Thompson's unedited story is here, but for a giggle, check out the asinine comment by Louise in the comments section. I mean it's about as ill-informed a comment as you can get off of that particular game. She apparently didn't watch the game I watched. Dan also posted his joint notebook, with some other tidbits that didn't make the print edition. Ryan Collingwood also was there from the Blackfoot Morning News and filed this story as well. Also, Joe Kline's photography from the Journal has some shots of the game, and I even stayed late to post a photo gallery as well, with Julie Hillebrandt taking all of the photos. I did that for the fans baby! Wayne Nelson of the Grand Forks Herald also posted his gamer online, and finally, here is the AP story, filed by Andy Taylor of ISU's University Relations office.

By the way, as an aside, usually Montana wins the "largest football entourage" trophy, because they bring everyone, and I mean everyone....they usually have an AD, two Asst A.D., Griz Club guy, and a host of others...well, North Dakota pretty much took that trophy away. Seriously, I think one of their administrators might have had his pet iguana with him. They brought so many people, it bordered on bizarre. Wasn't a problem, but I thought it was really strange...they must have chartered. Later today or early next week, another photo gallery should pop up from the game at the Idaho Sports Zone's site.

Also, the Journal's volleyball story wasn't up yet, but the team lost to defending champion Portland State 3-0, and Katie Zigars had the official ISU report, but the team played pretty well. PSU is the best team in the Big Sky, and ISU was right there.

YouTube Proof Frank Mercogliano Knows What He Is Talking About
When Russel Hill got smashed by Jeron Johnson on a hard hit back in Boise on August 30, most of the folks in the press box thought it was dumb for Hill to not go out of bounds, but no one wanted to listen when I said that Johnson led with his helmet and should have been flagged. Not only does this youtube video prove I'm right, but what in heck is the official that is like 10 feet from the play watching. Sir, please re-read the rulebook...that's a penalty this year...thanks.

Remember, soccer today at 1:00 pm ... the game will be on KISU, with yours truly calling the game between ISU and UC Davis. ISU is undefeated in their last 13 games at Davis Field stretching back almost two full calendar years, so come out and catch what should be a great game. You won't regret it, and I can write you a note for work if you really need it. Also, as you might have seen, Brad Bugger posted yesterday, as he and Jerry Miller will chime in from time-to-time with their insights, which I think will add a lot to this little corner of the ISU world....welcome Brad and Jerry!

Game Day!!!!!!

Finally....home games. Man, it has been a long, weary road. But I will say this....if the teams play like I did yesterday in my hockey game? Oh, we'll be great...and we'll win, because I gotta admit...I was on. That was fun. Anyways...some important stuff.

Bring $1 bills please....the parking attendants will be able to make change, but not if every single car brings a $5 or a $10 bill....ones would be very, very, helpful.

Now, I'm just gonna recommend getting the Journal for today, because the sports section was USA Today-ish in length...I loved that. If you don't pick it up, here's some of what you missed....If you read my game notes (they are a MUST read by the way....trust me....my humor knows no boundaries), you noticed that I take umbrage at North Dakota hosting the Potato Bowl. Well, Dan Thompson had much more space to get his point across, and he does so swimmingly. Kellis Robinett feels that Idaho State is going to win the game fairly easily by the way, and I for one appreciate his confidence. Kellis and Dan also do an audio preview of the game tonight on the Bengal Minute, and it's pretty interesting. Also, here is the preview from the Grand Forks Herald, and seriously, that's twice now that they have screwed up our winning seasons.....it's three in the 2000s....6-5 in 2000, 8-3 in 2002, and 8-4 in 2003...sheesh.

Butter....Oh, We'll Give You Some Butter
OK, so the mayor of Pocatello, Roger Chase, and Grand Forks mayor Michael Brown, have a wager on the game tonight, with a sack of potatoes on the line....russets for Brown if ISU loses, and red potatoes for Chase if ISU wins. However, the entire state of Idaho should thank Mayor Brown for ripping ISU's top crop. So here's what we are going to do....he wants butter? Send him some. Look up the address and make sure he gets plenty of butter. That would be pretty funny actually.

I've Flipped for Alex Hansen and Jen Munro
Well, not really because that would be creepy, but everyone has to love the flip throw in. Tim Flagstad breaks that down with the two soccer players, and a wicked cool photo from Joe Kline.

And This is Why No One Watches Fox Sports.
Eddie Thompson....please repeat....T-H-O-M-P-S-O-N.....not W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S. And about that picture....um......our uniforms look nicer.

Volleyball at 3:00 pm
Don't forget volleyball opens against Portland State at 3:00 pm, and BengalFest is starting at 4:30 pm....Guitar Hero Tournament....nice.

Bring a Buck

Fans need to remember that tomorrow's game is the first event that they are charging for parking. The cost if you are not a Bengal Foundation member is $1, and if folks could actually bring dollar bills, that would be extremely helpful.

Now, since I've been here....oh, 11 years, fans would be interested to know that somewhere in one of my archive disks, I have a release typed up about Dr. Richard Bowen announcing that ISU would be charging $5 per car for parking. I had this release approved and everything, and 15 minutes before I was supposed to fax it out to the media, Dr. Bowen's office called and said to hold off on the release. We held off 11 years LOL. Just a little information for the faithful. Anyways, KIFI has a report on the parking fee here.

The Coolest Thing Ever
Every now and then I make a change to the Game Notes because I learn of something....well this is awesome. In talking about the game, and specifically things that have happened on September 18, I had this in the notes...

"Also, September 18 is the birthday of James Gandolfini, who played Tony Soprano. More importantly, September 18 is a major day in the history of football. On September 18, 1919, Fritz Pollard broke the color barrier, becoming the first African-American to play in professional football, playing for the Akron Zips. He also was the first African-American head coach in the NFL."

However, I have learned that Fritz' son, Fritz' junior, also played college football, becoming an All-American at....wait for it....NORTH DAKOTA. No freakin' way. Also, Branden Dungy, a junior running back for UND, is the nephew of Tony Dungy, who was the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl. UN-BEE-LEE-VA-BLE set of coincidences there.

Almost GameDay....and it is GameDay for me
North Dakota has their release online, and while informative, there are no pictures of the Gilmore Girls or Katherine Heigl in their release. Also, Wayne Nelson from the Grand Forks Herald, who knows John Zamberlin pretty well, speaks of the work Z is doing at ISU. Of course, the opening sentence is wrong....it's three winning seasons (2000, 2002, 2003). Also, if ISU fans (and players for the matter) don't think North Dakota is coming in fired up, well, think again.

If It's a Bad Weekend for ISU Athletics, We Got You Covered
Did you know the state of Idaho has a high suicide rate? Me neither, but just in case it's a bad week, ISU has got all the bases covered.

Oh Please, Let's Add It!
If Idaho State had to add a sport, we could add the festest growing sport in the Idaho elementary school system. I would totally be the Chess SID...Pawn-to-queen conversion rate ... left-castle to right castle conversions ... Queen's Gambit percentage ... my head is literally spinning. I just want to have one of these in my yard....that's all.

Lots of soccer and volleyball
The soccer team hosts three others (UC Davis, Wyoming, and Utah Valley) for the Idaho State Classic, and Katie Zigars compiled all of that information here, and since I'm a horrible guy, I make her handle volleyball too, and the information on their matches for Thursday and Saturday is here. Mitch Worthington our faithful graduate assistant, has all the information on the cross country team heading to Boise for the Bob Firman Invitaitonal.

Friday Night Lights

Actually, there are none for ISU....just a regular ol' practice before the high schoolers invade Holt Arena for a game tonight and then four tomorrow. Soccer picked up a 0-0 tie yesterday, and head coach Allison Gibson told Tim Flagstad at the Journal that it was a good result.

So anyways, today is fairly quiet with no games on the schedule. Soccer is at Brigham Young tomorrow night at 7:00 pm, and the game is on KBYU TV, whatever channel that is. Volleyball is also in Orem, taking on North Texas at 1:00 pm and Utah Valley at 7:00 pm

Enjoy your weekend!

Welcome to the FCS......Finally

Well, Idaho State is now 0-2 in the Western Athletic Conference. The beauty of that statement was that we don't compete in the WAC. Of course, counting soccer we are 1-4 in the WAC this season. But that will change.

Anyways, the Bengals get an extra few days to heal up a bit and ready themselves for North Dakota, who is 2-0, and will be 3-0 after playing a Division III team this week. Their first two games were against Division IIs at home as well, so while North Dakota is without a doubt a very, very good program, their record is slightly deceiving. I would imagine for the folks that were here a few years ago when we hosted Northern Colorado right after they made the jump (ISU won 42-33), I think that's the type of team you will see in Holt Arena on Friday night.

A quick congrats to ISU volleyball coach Chad Teichert on his first collegiate win against Lamar. All the talk has been on ISU's football schedule so far, but the volleyball team has played perhaps the most brutal schedule int he country in their two tournaments so far, considering we went 6-23 last year. Three NCAA teams already, another ranked, and I think all of them were above .500 last year (I haven't checked so don't quote me on that one).

Anyways, getting a win in the final game had to make the plane flight a little smoother, and congrats also to Paige Palmer who was named All-Tournament. For those of you that don't know Paige's story (it's been in the paper a bit, but she took last season off as he fiance' battled and ultimately lost a fight to cancer). Paige has come back to the team, wearing a new number as well, and has been an inspiration for the team for sure, and has been one of the leaders.

To the links, most of which are recapping the weekend's events:

Football
Dan Thompson was a game recap (which isn't online for some reason) and a notebook on the game in Moscow. Dan's Blog goes into more casual detail, and note the comments regarding the Altitude broadcast. Certainly Dan can improve that, since he is doing some sideline reporting for this weekend's big high school deal in Holt Arena. And you can always tell the week Boise State is off because the Statesman sends out their guys to cover the other Idaho State, like Nick Jezirny and Brian Murphy. Kellis Robinett is back (after the longest wedding ever) and talks about the many Big Sky near misses on Saturday.

Soccer
The Governor's Cup is not coming back to Pocatello after losing to Boise State 2-1 and Idaho 2-0.

Who's Up Next in Football?
Here is a Bismarck Tribune report about the Fighting Sioux getting the best of Division II St. Cloud State 31-17.

Not Who You Think
After breaking the ISU receptions in a game record, Eddie Thompson had a big day, and as expected, ISU got a Player of the Week in the deal. But not Thompson. JD Ponciano was selected for the Special Teams Player of the Week after returning from a sports hernia to return four kicks for 144 yards, a 36-yard average, including returns of 60 and 44, and a return that was just 18 yards due to a face mask penalty that would have gone on for a while.

Thompson lost out to senior running back Andrew Schmidt at Montana, who in his first start rushed for 145 yards (120-something in the second half) and the eventual winning touchdown. For those that remember, Aaron Boyce of Eastern Washington had 17 catches for 230-something yards last year and also was by-passed, and before folks go crazy on the Big Sky folks, I was informed of this before hand, and I'm OK with the decision. Montana beat #11 Cal Poly, and Schmidt was a major key in that, especially with his second half. I think if Eddie had more yards per catch, he would have fared better.

Dah-dah-dah-dahhhhh.....

It was cool out this morning, and there is a 10-hour bus ride mocking me at 3:00 pm. At least football is breaking the trip up...soccer left this morning at 7 am to get to Moscow, and they are actually stopping in Missoula to practice. Football is staying the night in Missoula.

Anyways, the NFL starts up tonight, but I'll miss most of it. Thankfully, for the first Sunday of the season, I'll actually get to watch my Miami Dolphins on TV in my house (no Sunday Ticket for me), so I'm kinda stoked. But maybe you aren't stoked about the NFL? Well, if you are like me without the NFL Sunday Ticket, and you are stuck with whatever game they show, just go check the NFL TV Distribution Map to see what is being shown where. I live for this map.

But do you want to REALLY get into a football mood? Really? I mean really? Then stop what you are doing and take yourself back to 1960, and listen to the Marching Band Fight Songs of the 13 NFL teams from before the merger. I'm seriously on Cloud 9 right now. An anvil falling on my head couldn't wipe away this smile...seriously...download the polka, you know you want to.

Also, just for grins and giggles to REALLY get you in the mood.

OK, ISU Linkage....
ISU was all over the Journal today. Dan Thompson has a pair of stories, one on Montana's task of stopping Cal Poly, and also a commentary on the in-state money games ISU is playing. Kelvin Ang also had a great article on two of ISU's freshmen that are roomies and teammates on the volleyball court.

There's no "I" in team, butt.....
Now, ISU is a Nike school, and our Nike unis are very, very spiffy (seriously, we are like the best dressed team in the league). Idaho is also now a Nike school, dropping Adidas, and they debuted there new uniforms last week, but there has been a big brouhaha over the placement of the Idaho Vandal logo ... yeah, I would probably complain too.

Speaking of Idaho, Robb Akey spoke with the media, and when your best positive about the last game is that plane didn't crash, let's just say that isn't great.

Get Your Own Foul Ball Day
School restarted yesterday in Broward County, Florida. Plus, it was 95 degrees. Plus, it was really humid. Plus, the Marlins have allen out of the race in the NL East. That, plus playing the Atlanta Braves equaled a game played in front of less than 600 fans. Relieve Joe Nelson's line was a classic. "We counted 584 in the bullpen, but the guys int he press box probably had a better view."

One Zamberlin Nation

To say I enjoyed my time away from the blog is an understatement, but with the hectic travel schedule of the week, plus me getting back from Boise fairly late and then taking care of house issues, well, Wednesday is the first blog entry of the week....sorry about that.

Quick thoughts on last week:

Football: We looked better than 49-7, that's for sure. Also, the new SkySuites at Bronco Stadium were pretty nice, but on par with Oregon State's facility as well. Also, ISU went for it on fourth-down three times and missed all three times, but that was good solid coaching by John Zamberlin...field goals wouldn't win that game...touchdowns were needed. Mark my words, the football gods will smile on the Bengals because of John's decisions in that game. The running game looked great, Russel Hill looked solid, no interceptions for him, which means in his first three games of his career he had eight picks, and in the last nine he has had seven ... hmmmmmmm ... I like that trend.

Defensively, Michael Wright looked like a great late add to the team, and it allows for a host of guys to become the nickelback, which should bode well. Also, what a job by Phillip Arias...first start, 10 tackles. Nice. Also, Jon Vanderwielen had a great game, as did Jarrett Huk. Sadly, Chris Kirkegaard will be out this week it looks like, but he might try to go against North Dakota.

Volleyball: While the ladies went 0-3, I chalk a lot of it to first tourney jitters....ISU was whistled for 16 ball handling errors ... 16?!?!?! ISU opponents got whistled just twice, and those 16 points really hurt as ISU played all three matches pretty close. Also, looking at the stats, only one hitter, Britta Bartschi, was in the negatives in hitting, and that normally doesn't happen for her, so there was a lot to like in that first tournament. Next up, five matches in three days in Wichita.

Soccer: That was a pretty solid road split, getting Air Force on their home field for the first time in our history. Also, freshman Bailey Williams picked up a shutout, and according to Allison Gibson she might have the upper hand on the goalkeeping battle, which will probably keep fluctuating this week as the team heads to the Governor's Cup in Moscow. (NOTE ADDED AT 3:13 pm --- just learned that Michelle Harrison is under the weather, and in fact played all weekend in that condition, so kudos for the efforts she gave as well...she had eight saves in a half of soccer against Colorado College)

Cross Country: The men's team, with seven newcomers, thought they would struggle a bit, and the first race of the season was a tough one, but coach Janssen felt there were some good times posted and some improvements. Things were batter on the women's side, where ISU fifnished second, including taking the top four spots in the race.

Onto the Links!!!!
Our good friend Kevan, who runs One Bronco Nation Under God, has nothing to do this week with BSU having a bye. So, inspired by ISU's gritty performance, he has pledged a week of fervor towards ISU in the quest to defeat Idaho, swapping One Bronco Nation Under God to One Zamberlin Nation Under Frank Mercogliano. Bless his sweet little heart. Seriously, Bronco fans couldn't have been nicer, and it was a fun game.

At Least We Know...
Ever wonder how Jon Kasper picks his Players of the Week? He explains all on the Big Sky's blog.

Planning Ahead
Dan Thompson went to school at Washington State, so he is more than at home in the Palouse. So it makes sense that Dan would be reporting from Moscow all week. Dan checks in with some ISU scheduling notes and some conference links on his blog. (And as for his Utah State thing he talks about....I won't say when, but I will say that it is highly likely we will play the Aggies in Chris Kirkegaard's ISU lifetime).

They Don't Even Have School There...
Still, a nice roundup of the Western Athletic Conference from last weekend.

The Press Box Was Wrong...
So Idaho State tried the Statue of Liberty Play against Boise State...and the fans booed. First of all, they are not the first team to run to play...heck, we did it in the street when I was like 10. It was first run in a college game by Michigan in the 1940s, and it was run in a high school game in California in November of 1916. However, the media and the BSU players said ISU didn't run it as well as they did...but they are wrong. ISU ran it almost exactly as they did. The ball was just inside the eight-yard line, and ended up barely touching the five, so although it was officially a two-yard gain, it really gained three. That's all BSU's gained too. ISU's only miscalculation was running it to the short side. Other than that, it looked pretty similar.

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