Red vs. White Game

On a perfect weather day, the Utes didn't look very perfect. Jordan Wynn left the game on the second play of the game with a separated left shoulder. Terrence Cain threw a pick six on his first pass of the game. Eventually though both sides of the ball settled down and started playing football. There was a huge crowd, estimated at 10,000, and they got their moneys worth (since it was free) if they watched as much football as I did. While the MUSS game was fairly boring, it was still fun to see how competitive students are, especially when they're being coached by Brian Johnson and Morgan Scalley.

The Alumni game was even better thanks to Scott Mitchell and Louie Sakoda. Mitchell threw some amazing passes and King Louie proved that he could have been more than just a kicker/punter at the college level. He sacked Mitchell, caught a touchdown, and also threw a touchdown. The most entertaining part is that Ben Moa and Lewis Powell, arguably the most out of shape players on the field, were the best athletes. Both players had big plays and long touchdown romps. The biggest star that competed in the Alumni game, other than Brian Johnson, was Oakland Raider Johnny Madsen. That guy is an absolute monster than towered over all the other players at 6'5".

The best part of the entire day, better than the smell of hot dogs and beer, better than the beautiful weather, better than 10,000 fans that came to show their support, was the presence of Eric Weddle. That's right, the starting safety of the San Diego Chargers was back in Utah to watch the spring game just like he does every year. Last year he snuck out before I could get his autograph, so this year I was determined! As soon at the game started I basically stalked Weddle's every move. He had 4 security guards around him to prevent me from getting to him. Luckily a friend of his called him off the field to sign some jerseys and I was right there to ask him to sign my helmet! I finally got it! And now the helmet is proudly displayed on my entertainment center at home. My life is now complete. Eric Weddle is looking as good as ever, as I was like a giddy school girl that stumbled over her words when talking to their dream boy. Today was one of the best days I have had in a long time and I will always remember it.

FML

There was a baseball player on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Tiger Woods is the first person they talk about on ESPN every morning. 4 underclassmen have left my basketball team. The NBA playoffs start soon. This means the Jazz will be disappointing me in a few days. They will probably lose tonight in fact. Better to get the misery over with I guess. A homerun is a homerun is a homerun. I don't need to see it over and over again on SportsCenter. Roethlisberger is a scumbag. Who knew? The Jets should be stacked this year. Dammit. Sloan is gonna win Coach of the Year. Not. At least the NHL playoffs are here. Oh wait, I don't even know what channel its on. If a hockey game is on TV but nobody knows where to watch it was it every really played? Welcome to No Sports Season. Excuse me while I go watch tennis.

What's going on with my teams???

As of today, 4 Utah men's basketball players have been asked to be released from the program. While 3 of the players, Jordan Cyphers, Matt Read and Chris Hines, didn't have much playing time, leading scorer Carlon Brown is also leaving. While the departure of most of these players will have little to no impact on the success of the team next year, the two players with the most experience going into next season are a sophomore and a junior with only one year of actual playing experience under their belt. I know Boylen is a tough guy, and players have been known to leave the program under tough coaches (see Rick Majerus) but don't we want players to actually enjoy playing for the U? What's going on in the locker room that makes so many players want to leave? And why are we recruiting quitters?

On the football side of things, the spring game is rapidly approaching and so is the Ultimate Tailgate Challenge! This is a new event for Ute tailgaters and should be a great addition to the program. I will be there bright and early on April 17th to enjoy all the football smells and tastes before checking out my team. Hopefully my boy Eric Weddle will show up again. And Paul Kruger too. Another thing to look forward to is Martavius Lee, a receiver out of a California junior college who originally committed to LSU, joining the Utes. He should compete against Luke Matthews and DeVonte Christopher for the starting job at a position where the Utes are weak from losing standout receiver David Reed

Go Utes!

Oh the Madness!

My bracket is busted. Demolished. Destroyed. I've ripped it up and lit it on fire. Technically it doesn't exist anymore. Do I care? NO! March Madness is the best postseason in sports and it's all because of the upsets!

The Sweet 16 has 9, 10, 11 and 12 seeds!
Best matchups for the coming weekend:
Michigan State v. Northern Iowa
Woah this game scares me! Obviously I want my Spartans to win but at the same time I've fallen in love with Ali Farokhmanesh. I just love saying his name. Farokhmanesh. Farokhmanesh. Farokhmanesh.

Kentucky v. Cornell
I hate Kentucky. I've hated them since 1998 when they beat my Utes in the championship game. I will forever hate them. HOWEVER, I can't cheer for Cornell. It's a team of goober white kids that will make more money in their lifetime than the entire country of uganda has combined. Go Kentucky! (I can't believe I just said that).

Washington v. West Virginia
I wait, I'm not excited for this matchup. Neither of these teams really belong here. Washington was disappointing during the regular season and WV is an upstart team that won't be talked about again after they lost this weekend.

And Duke v. Purdue
Oh my Dukies. Arguably the most dominant team thus far in the tournament. I don't know how Kryzewski does it every year but somehow he puts together the dorkiest looking white guys in the country and makes them winners. Duke wins in a landslide.

I'm hoping for a Michigan State v. Duke final. Of course, since this is what I want it is very doubtful it will actually happen. Just look at my pathetic bracket.

Today is the Day!

It's finally here. The best postseason in all of sports. Games start in just over an hour and of course I have to sit in class until noon. Not to worry though because I have TiVo!

The first game of the day is BYU v. Florida. This is great because it will mean that BYU is the first team out of the NCAA Tournament. They can hop on their plane promptly at 1 o'clock and head back to Provo where they belong. The Cougars have had their best season ever and yet they did not win the Mountain West Title in the regular season, they did not win the Mountain West Tournament and they will not win a first round game in the NCAA Tournament. Again. For the 9th time in a row.

Other matchups I'm excited about in the first round are :
UNLV v. Northern Iowa, mostly for the MWC implications.
Michigan State v. New Mexico State because you gotta love those Spartys
Tennessee v. San Diego State again because of the MWC implications
Gonzaga v. Florida State because I hate Gonzaga
Texas A&M v. Utah State because you need to cheer for the local teams (BYU does NOT count as a local team. Provo is a whole other world).
New Mexico v. Montana because I have New Mexico advancing to the Sweet 16 but Montana has some great athletic players.
And last but not least, Texas v. Wake Forest. Texas is going to be my sleeper team. They play TOUGH defense and I love that!

Unfortunately, I'm conforming with the Nation by picking Kansas to win it all. Obviously I would prefer my Dukies to pull it out and surprise everyone but it just won't happen this year.

One hour left!

Sadness

The sports world is making me really sad right now. LT is a Jet, Cromartie is a Jet, Delhomme is a Brown, Peppers is a Bear and Kemoeatu is a freakin Redskin. Not only that, but my boy Nai Fotu is out for the season after tearing his ACL in spring ball. My issue of Sports Illustrated from last week had a baseball player on it. My Utes aren't in the NCAA Tournament. Not even close. And BYU is. Not that it matters, they'll just lose in the first round anyway.

There are only two bright spots in the world right now:
March Madness
Spring Ball

March Madness is amazing no matter what, even if your team isn't in it. I'm lucky enough that I am on Spring Break for a lot of the games so I will be able to watch more games than I ever have in the past.

Ahhh Spring Ball. What would I do without it? If not for Spring Ball I would have to wait a solid 8 months before seeing any football action. I would never make it. I'm pretty damn stoked for the Red White game on April 17th. Here's to hoping my husband Eric Weddle will be there :)

On to College Hoops

Now that the Olympics are over I suppose I better start getting into hoops, especially since March Madness is right around the corner. I'm pretty stoked for the Utah-BYU game tomorrow even though BYU is favored and there will probably be just as many Cougar fans as Ute fans. If we can't beat them, we can always beat them up. Just ask Jackson Emery. Welcome to the Huntsman Center Cougars.

Big news concerning college basketball is the possible expansion of the men's NCAA Basketball Tournament to 96 teams. According to SportsIllustrated.com, the NCAA is in the eighth year of an 11-year contract with CBS worth $6 billion, 90% of the NCAA's annual revenue. Obviously a 96 team tournament would result in even more money for the NCAA which is why the NCAA is investigating this possibility even though 80% of fans don't want the tournament expanded.

Whether or not this expansion will happen, the biggest question is why is the NCAA considering changing one of the most profitable sporting events while the BCS refuses to even consider implementing a playoff? Because the NCAA is concerned with two things: making money and doing what is best for the sport. The BCS only cares about making money. The BCS needs to pull their heads out of their asses and realize that a playoff system would generate more revenue while simultaneously crowning the one true National Champion!