A video to accompany one of my weekly radio commentaries!

WHAT A GAME!

I watched the Fiesta Bowl at a casino in Libby, Montana and could scarcely believe what I had witnessed. The next day pretty much everyone I encountered admitted they had turned off the game and gone to bed before the incredible and unlikely finale. I stayed tuned until the end and like most fans, I was wrung out when it was over, yet way too wound up to sleep. Northwest Cable News picked up the feed from KTVB in Boise as they covered a night of revelry. Fans flooded downtown streets, not sure of what to do, but certain they must do something. There was a lot of whooping and high-fiving and I'm pretty sure consumption of alcoholic beverages was involved as well. The crowd was remarkably well-behaved, but there were a lot of cops on the scene to make sure it didn't get out of hand. I suppose if we were a 'real' city there would have been vandalism and of course, cars would have been set on fire. Maybe next time. Until then, this area is justifiably proud of what was accomplished. BSU is on the national map and the university is bracing itself for a surge in enrollment next semester. In fact, the president of George Mason called BSU president Bob Kustra and filled him in on what was likely to occur following the Bronco's shot in the national spotlight. George Mason (the university, not just some guy) you recall, was an unlikely participant in the NCAA Final Four last year in Indianapolis where they lost to eventual champion Florida.
I remember about 20 years ago when BSU first started talking about getting a new, non-green astroturf surface to replace the worn out green turf at Bronco Stadium.
Some who favored the idea of a blue field thought that perhaps it would start a trend. Yeah, maybe someday Nebraska would go with red turf, Clemson would sport an orange field and perhaps Oklahoma would play on crimson with cream colored boundaries and yard lines. It seemed far-fetched then and I suppose it does now too, but I'm guessing that there are fewer blue-field detractors now than there were only last week.
What a team. What a game!

12-0: Are You Kidding?

The BSU Broncos wrapped up a perfect football season by beating Nevada today and while the rest of the country is saying "ho-hum", Bronco fans are going crazy!
Today's win assures a spot in a BCS Bowl game. They will probably wind up at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, AZ against the Big 12 champion, either Nebraska or Oklahoma. This is not for sure, they may yet go to another major bowl, but the Fiesta Bowl scenerio seems most likely.
I spent some time in Norman, Oklahoma last year (2005) and they are nuts about their Sooners. I made comments to some that Boise State would love to have a chance to play them and the response was pretty much no more than a blank stare. Most of the country did not see BSU's success coming, even though since 2002, only one team in the country has more wins than we do and that's USC....and only one more. Granted, our schedule is not one of the toughest out there, in fact, it's comparatively easy, but it's still pretty impressive to keep winning at the pace we have. Anyway, I wonder if those Normanites even remember me or what I said.
Some guys that did know all about our team were a bunch that I met in Boston They were workers for the MBTA for whom I did some work. Those guys knew a lot about sports as fans and as gamblers. One of them told me that betting on BSU's football team had won him a bunch of cash over the last few years. I met those guys last December and ironically, Boston College came to Boise last year to play BSU in the MPC Computers Bowl and they won. That was the Broncos last loss.
Enough about that. Tomorrow I return to Spokane where their basketball team (Gonzaga) has achieved similar success to BSU's. They have been on the national radar for some time now and as it turns out, sports fans in that area root for the BSU football team with pretty much the same ferver that fans in Boise root for Gonzaga basketball. I suppose it's a regional thing.

Home Again

After months on the road with my crazy job I am in Boise for the Thanksgiving holiday. This town is going crazy for the football team. Boise State is 11-0 and is one of only two Division 1 teams in the country that is unbeaten...the other one is Ohio State. BSU plays Nevada in Reno this Saturday. A win would guarantee a spot in a BCS Bowl, probably the Fiesta Bowl against a very high profile team. Nevada has been playing well and would love to knock the Broncos off of their lofty perch. They just might do it if BSU plays like they did two weeks ago when they barely got by San Jose State.
Most of my time away from home is spent in Spokane, WA. I also get to Whitefish, Montana and Libby, Montana as well as to Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint, Idaho. It is all very pretty country, but it would be nice to spend more time in one place.
It was great to see my favorite baseball team win the World Series. Pretty much all of the 'experts' were picking the Tigers whose pitching staff looked practically unbeatable. That's why they play the games. If their favorites always won, who would ever want to watch?

Stop Me or I'll Write Again!

I saw Dolly Parton on the Oscars show. She looks good for her age, but damn is she skinny!
George Clooney is cool. I don't care for his politics, but I do like him and he CAN act. I liked John Stewart's line after Clooney won. Something about how an Oscar can help you get chicks, as if Clooney needs any help.
Reese Witherspoon is cool too. I'm glad she won.

On To Other Things:
NBC's Ann Curry is creepy.
Stories about the NFL labor talks are boring.
I'm surprised the Geico gecco has a British accent.
David Gregory wasn't drunk, but he was on something.
Phil Michelson is definitely intimidated by Tiger.
Chris Webber is easy to dislike. Everyone should (dislike him).
The ACC is again the best basketball conference in the country.
The Kirby Puckett story gets more and more tragic and curious and bizarre.
Being out of work really sucks! I wish someone would hire me.

Stop The Nonsense

Last year at this time I was in Hollywood during the build up to the Oscars. This year I am home in Boise and like last year, I could give a rat. I'm not much on predictions about anything, but I am quite certain that Brokeback Mountain will be a big winner. I've not seen it, but I am sure it is a fine movie.

I don't think I am the lone ranger when I say that the so-called 'gay agenda' in this country has gotten totally out of hand. I would prefer that homosexuals and heteros too, just shut up about their sexuality. How anyone gets their jollies is of absolutely no concern to me, unless it involves innocents (kids) in which case it is wickedly wrong and professional help and/or incarceration is needed.

Memo to you gay people; stop spouting off about how difficult it is to be gay, quit with your 'celebrations' and close your door. The rest of us just don't care!
Oh yes, and to all the homophobes out there; stop being so mean and let those with sexual proclivities that differ from your own live their lives in peace and with all the rights that are guaranteed to everyone by the Constitution. Anyone who identifies themselves or others by their sexuality is just wrong and shallow and if I might sink to the level of name-calling; idiotic.

I have already begun a personal protest against all news items concerning gay marriage, gay parades, gay adoption, gays in the workplace and anything else that is similarly themed. That is, I just don't watch them or read them. I am tired of it, burned out if you will. If everyone would just drop the matter and move on to more important things, then people like me could spout off about those other things instead.

I understand that this subject is not as simple as I make it sound and to line up on the side of not talking about it would be to give tacit approval to the status quo which is undoubtedly tilted toward the anti gay camp. But hey, this is my treatise and I can be as limited or as broad in my arguments as I choose. Any and all critiques are welcome.

RANDOM STUFF..

Is it just me or does the Martha vs Donald feud seem to be contrived? I'm guessing that it's some marketing thing for a new show....Boise is excited about Jaret (Speedy) Peterson who is competing tomorrow in the Olympic Aerials event. He's got some funky trick called the Hurricane that he is supposed to unveil for the first time in competition...Spring training is getting underway in Florida and Arizona. call me square, but I still really really enjoy baseball. Speaking of which, I was in Boston last November and December during the whole Theo thing, Manny thing and Johnny Damon thing. The Red Sox did the right thing in not getting rid of Manny, he's probably already forgotten that he had asked to be traded. Theo is back where he belongs, he never really wanted out, it was just some kind of a family feud between Theo and Larry Lucchino. As for Johnny Damon. That city loved him and the Red Sox probably would have given him anything he wanted. For him to bolt the way he did, especially to the hated Yankees says a lot about him and his character and none of it is good. I used to be a fan of his, but not any more. He really stuck it to the fans in Boston and he is now in a situation where no matter what he does, he will look bad. Yankee fans will have little patience if he has anything less than a career year and his loyal fans in New England will say "good riddance"...as will I.

HOME IS GOOD?

While it is good to finally be off the road, I find that being home is not all that I thought it would be...especially since I have no job. For some reason, while I am out of town I always have the feeling that I'm missing something. Now that I am home I find that all I was missing was my empty house. All of my friends are busy with their lives and they had pretty much gotten used to me being gone all the time. I suppose that the grass IS always greener. Now I miss traveling.

FINALLY, A NEW POST!

I am shocked at the realization that it has been so long since I have updated my blog. I have been on the road quite a bit. My most recent trip was to Oregon (Klamath Falls, Bend, Redmond and The Dalles), California (Westwood, Bieber, Lake Almanor and Susanville) and also Washington (the Tri Cities, Wenatchee, Olympia, Tacoma and Everett). Prior to that 6-week excursion, I was in the northeast United States, mostly the Boston area, but also, Maine (Bangor, Bangor, I didn't even kiss her!, Greenville, Jackman and Portland) and an area south of Pittsburgh, a border town called Waynesburgh. I was also able to spend a week at Christmas in Chicago with my sister Jennifer and her family (my niece Natalee, nephew Alex and brother in law Steve). It now looks like I will be home in Boise for a while since I have been laid off and am once again in search of a decent job. I was hoping to at least stay on the road until spring, but here I am burning the last of my firewood in a cold snap. I just watched Slovakia defeat the U.S. in hockey at the Olympic games in Italy. Am I the only one watching? I haven't tuned in to American Idol even once this past week so I guess I'm the oddball. To the few of you who monitor this blog; thanks. I'll stay more up-to-date with my updates and keen observations on the issues of the day. In the meantime, I could really use a shot of Schnapps.....