HAPPY HALLOWEEN.  TRULY BEAUTY AND THE BEAST! 

KID ROCK AND SPICOLLI MAKE AN APPEARANCE FOR HALLOWEEN!

KEYS FOR UTAH (8-0; 4-0) @ NM (4-5; 2-3):
-PROTECT BRIAN JOHNSON:  NM will come with the pressure.  Utah has to keep Johnson protected and in turn he has to know when to get rid of the ball.
-OFFENSIVE BALANCE:  Run the offense that worked against CSU.  Between the tackle running with Asiata/Mack…Option with Casteel/Wide…Wildcat with Asiata/Louks…Throw short passes to set up the big plays.
-STOP FERGUSON: He leads the MWC in rushing with 108.1ypg as NM has averaged 276.8ypg over past 4 gms.  The Utes rush def is 9th in the nation giving up 85.9ypg.  Live up to that stat win the game.
-PREDICTION: UTAH has struggled at NM in past years and this one may be the same.  The difference though from past years is that they’ll win…Utah 27-10.

KEYS FOR BYU (7-1; 3-1) @ CSU (2-2; 4-4):
-CONTROL TIME OF POSSESSION:  Best way to hide your defensive deficiencies is keep them off the field with your offense.
-STOP THE RUN:  Gartrell Johnson is a bruising back.  Control him, make the CSU offense one dimensional and you should win.
-CREATE PRESSURE/TURNOVERS:  To help the weak secondary, BYU needs to apply constant pressure to the QB and force a turnover or two.
-PREDICTION:  BYU has struggled on the road.  This one won’t be pretty either but they should have enough to post the win…BYU 35-24

D-WILL ANKLE UPDATE

When will #8 be back and check out the end of the viedo where Hans and Deron have a moment…...About Hans’ wife…....

SMART AND FUNNY MOVE

By Spurs HC Gregg Popovich who Shaq said was a coward for playing haq a Shaq during last year’s playoffs. So rather than let the feud fester and cause issues through the media, Pop had Michael Finley haq Shaq 3 seconds into the game Wednesday night.  PS-Nice uni-bomber beard Pop…......

THIS IS WHAT

National ESPN blogger Graham Watson predicts for Utah this weekend, she doesn’t mention BYU-CSU…..
Utah 30, New Mexico 10: This would be an excellent trap game except that New Mexico has a one-dimensional offense and Utah is pretty darn good against the run. After a week off, I’m expecting the Utes to come out focused and not looking ahead to next week’s game against TCU. I will warn that although Utah is good against the run, it did allow Oregon State’s Jacquizz Rodgers, the best running back the Utes have faced before this game, to rush for 101 yards.THOUGHTS: I agree with her reasoning….One thing she is forgetting is that Rodgers was a quick, darting back who hid behind blockers. He also had a long run in that game to give him a chunk of yards. In addition, Rodney Ferguson has been seen before by the Utes and he is a brusing inside runner who the Utes should control. Also, DT Kenape Eliapo and his 300-lb. frame return for this one which should help.

SPEAKING OF

Graham Watson’s ‘Others” blog on ESPN….Here are two good questions regarding the Utes for this year and next…..
Brian writes: This has been a great year for the non-BCS. While the Utah offense has been sporadic this year, the Defense has played very well. Did I see correctly that there are no Seniors starting for Utah defensively? If their entire D is coming back next year do you see Utah as a force again next year? Do you think the pollsters will see this next year and rank Utah high in preseason polling? Or do they only pay attention to who is returning from the Offense?
Graham Watson: Actually, there are two seniors who start on defense—tackle Greg Newman and corner Brice McCain—but many of the players on the unit are juniors. If Utah finishes strong, I think they’ll be rated highly when the preseason polls come out next year similar to BYU this year. And the Utes will keep that respect until they prove otherwise. THOUGHTS: Brian Johnson is gone and we don’t know if Corbin Louks can throw. The throw he made vs. CSU, David Reed made a great play.Losing Rockstar Louie Sakoda hurts, but Ben Vroman can kick it through a wall, so they should be okay. So here it is..the Utes for 2009 based on players most of us know who are coming and going. Utah will be very good again barring injury:
OFFENSIVE LOSSES: Casteel, Freddie Brown, Bradon Godfrey, TE Colt Sampson, Darrell Mack, Robert Conley, Dustin Hensel.
RETURNING ON OFFENSE: QB: Corbin Louks, Chad Manis (Could switch positions), DeVonte Christopher RB: Matt Asiata, Eddie Wide, Sausan Shakerin, WR Jereme Brooks, David Reed, Aiona Key, Ryan Lacey, Luke Matthews. OL: Zane Taylor, Zane Beadles, Caleb Schlauderaff, Tony Bergstrom, Walter Watts.
DEFENSIVE LOSSES: DT Greg Newman, CB Brice McCain
RETURNING ON DEFENSE: Everyone else…...D-Line: Paul Kruger, Koa Misi, Kenape Eliapo, Lei Talamaivao, Derrick Shelby, Sealver Siliga, Dave Kriuger.  LB: Stevenson Sylvester, Mike Wright, Nai Fotu, Kepa Gaison, Mo Neal. DB: Sean Smith, Joe Dale, Robert Johnson, RJ Stanford. 
————————————————————————————————————————
opperation war pig writes: So what happens if Tulsa, Boise State, Ball State and Utah all go undefeated along with Penn State, Texas and Alabama?

Graham Watson: Well, the two highest-ranked BCS teams would play in the national championship. The non-BCS teams would present a problem. The highest ranked of the four would get the automatic bid. Right now, that would be Utah. Maybe another non-BCS would get a BCS nod, but it’s never happened before. At least two of those four teams would be out of luck.

UTES ROCKSTAR KICKER

Louie “Hello Ladies” Sakoda was named one of 15 finalists for the Draddy Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation’s best scholar-athlete. It is often referred to as the “Academic Heisman.”

JOHN DALY LOVES HIM SOME HOOTERS

Actually the fat golfer likes Hooters too much, though not as much as Hans’ family. Didn’t you used to be John Daly was held overnight in a North Carolina jail after passing out at a Hooters restaurant, according to a statement released by Winston-Salem police.  

49ERS HC MIKE SINGLETARY IS MAKING A SPLASH

Singletary must have learned something from his coach with da Bears Mike Ditka because samari Mike is doing Ditka type things. Let’s review week 1: First he is interviewed by a sideline reporter who asks him if he has spoken with dead Bill Walsh, then he sends former 1st round flop Vernon Davis to the showers in the middle of the 49ers first game and now it’s been reported that Mike2 is dropping his drawers at the half to illustrate how bad his team is playing.  No, he didn’t Bobby Knight and wipe himself and show it to the players to show them how badly they were playing….But it’s a start. The 49ers need to keep this guy around for the stoires alone….This is week 1 people. 

FORMER MAJOR LEAGUER JEFF KENT

And his porno mustache hate gay marriage so much that they are donating $15,000 to backers of the California proposition that would ban it.

FIRST BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN NOW THIS

If you’re looking forward to seeing Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks in director Kevin Smith’s new R-rated comedy “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” this weekend and you live in Salt Lake City, you might be out of luck…..Larry Miller has refused to book the film.

THE BANDWAGON EFFECT?

I wonder is this not only applies to polictics but to sports as well…...

PHILLES FAN TAKES BOTTLE TO THE SKULL

A Phillies fan was celebrating the World Series title when a bottle came flying his way…...Hillarious!

WHO DOESN’T LIKE CHAMPIONSHIP RIOTING VIDEOS?

  Here are more idiots who don’t know what to do when their team wins…..A sports idiocy that is a worldwide phenomenon…...Enjoy!

Here is the Jazz “Lights Out” player intros from last night, 10/29/2008…..Welcome to the 90’s Jazz…........They did what every other NBA team has already done and on top of that the best song they could come up with was Hells Bells (in Utah… REALLY?) followed by a song stolen from the Bulls first introduced in a “Lights Out” player intro ceremony in 1991….....17 years late….NICE..fresh and original. When asked about the song Hells Bells by AC/DC Jazz guard Deron Williams said he had never heard of the band or the song…..You know it’s Utah fresh when your star 20-something player thinks it’s something Elvis sang…..

You see the Bulls were doing this bit in the 90’s complete with music that came out in the 80’s…The same music the Jazz thought was fresh last night….News must travel slow here….This video is from 1995!

The Pistons with Mason on the mic are still #1…........From last year’s playoffs but the Pistons do this every night….

JAZZ PREDICTION:
-Vegas puts the over/under on Jazz wins this season at 51.5.  I went through the schedule game by game to see what I’d come up with:
RECORD: 51-31 (Last yr: 54-28)
HOME:    36-5 (37-4)
ROAD:    15-26 (17-24)
-POSITIVES:  Another year together…DWill emergence…Brewer improvement…Depth
-CHALLENGES:  Schedule…Improvement of league (LA/Hou/Port/NO)…Can they stay infjury free…Defense
-PLAYOFF PREDICTION: 4th Seed but will not have home court which means it depends on the first round opponent whether they will get to the second round.  Good team, good season but just not enough to get to the Finals this year.  Then it’s on to the off-season to see who stays and who goes and whether they actually take a step back next year. 

MWC POWER POLL (Last Wk Ranking; Upcoming opp):
9) SDSU (#9; @WYO):  Found their offense and were respectable in 38-34 loss to CSU.
8) WYO (#8; vs. SDSU):  Blown out by TCU, dropped 5 straight and have lost all conf games by at least 20pts.  Not a good formula for success.  Saturday it’s a battle for the MWC basement.
7) UNLV (#7; vs. TCU):  Offense outstanding in loss to BYU.  Defense needs lots of work.
6) NM (#5; vs. UTAH):  Lobos going from scoring 70 to just 10 vs. AF.  At 4-5 must rally to become bowl eligible.
5) CSU (#6; vs. BYU):  Found themselves tied at 31 after 3qters with worst team in MWC before pulling out victory.
4) AF (#4; @Army):  Became bowl eligible with 23-10 victory over NM.  Troy Calhoun is now 15-6 in his two seasons with the Falcons.
3) BYU (#3; @CSU):  Further exposed in win over UNLV…good offense, horrible defense, a decent MWC team but not a national contender like many thought.
2) TCU (#2; @UNLV):  Pile up season high 444yds vs. Pokes. 
1) UTAH (#1; @NM):  Come off bye with a dangerous game Saturday at New Mexico.

POOR KID!
The Chronicle reports:

Edwards, running out of the end zone as he tried to track down a long pass from Blake Joseph, ran into a band equipment cart that for reasons that remain unclear were parked just beyond the out-of-bounds line. The impact, captured by ESPN’s cameras, caused a compound fracture of Edwards’ right leg.

Cougars’ coach Kevin Sumlin said that while he had “his opinions” on the subject, he would offer no comment on such a dangerous situation. University of Houston athletics director Dave Maggard said he will pursue the subject with Marshall officials.

“It was duly noted and I think we’ll save the conversation for another day,” Maggard said. “I don’t think there is any question that it is a problem. We all noticed it, and we want to find out why something like that would occur. It was a serious injury, no question about it.”

The injuries cast a pall over what had already been a gloomy evening.

THE DAILY MIX

GREG ODEN AT HOMECOMING

A friend of ours in Portland sent this photo of some high school kids who were out at dinner for a homecoming dance and they saw Blazers center Greg Oden who was cool enough to pose for a photo with the whole crew. Funny thing is, Oden is 20 or only a couple years older than some of the kids in the photo, of course he looks 45. Cool of Greg-O to stop for the photo op.

THE BOOZER FAMILY STORY

Even though people in the SLC know all about the story of Carlos Boozer’s son Carmani’s fight with sickle cell anemia, ESPN :60, a sports-news magazine style show on ESPN will profile the story, which you can read here and see in the video below. 

FAN FOLLOW UP

The story is sad, but hopefully will have a happy ending. The sad part from a sports perspective is how many fans still hold a grudge against Boozer the NBA player. The comments below represent the majority of posts about this story on an ESPN board you can link to from the story on the website. Unreal that people can’t put in perspective life vs. sports….....

MORE BILL WALSH IS NO LONGER WITH US FALL OUT

Fox crack (Or more likely on crack) sideline reporter Danyelle Sargent, who asked 49ers HC Mike Singletary if he had spoken to Bill Walsh by phone this week after he got the job, which is hard since he’s no longer with us, tried to explain herself on a national radio show. Then Sargent tried to explain what happened in a previous employment stop when she dropped on an F-bomb on ESPN News.  I’d say she needs to go away, but she’s good for sports radio. You keep being bad girl….It’s good for the biz…..

SO YOU THINK PLAYING

In the NFL is easy? Check out the pictures below of former USU Aggies TE Chris Cooley and his bruised leg. Cooley of course is now with the Redskins.

BETTIN’ MAN,

Here are the numbers for the week. BYU -14 @ CSU, Utah -7.5 @ New Mexico and USU is a 7.5 point dog at home to Hawaii.

TV TIME

Of course the Mtn West always gets hosed on the tube because of their awful TV deal, so here are some other games both good and bad you may want to check the dial for on Saturday:
THE MTN. WEST TOILET BOWL: Some has to win this thing and to top it off, it’s ion Laramie: San Diego State @  Wyoming (MTN, Noon)- Tim Neverett, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Anne Marie Anderson
HOW WILL THE AGGIES BOUNCE BACK? I think you actually have to pay extra to watch this…. Hawaii @ Utah State (ESPN Plus, 1pm)- Trey Bender, Doug Chapman
HOW BAD WILL BYU’S DEFENSE BE THIS WEEK? CSU has similar passing numbers than UNLV, but fortunately for the Cougars they don’t have the athletes…20 Brigham Young @ Colorado State (MTN, 4pm)- James Bates, Todd Christensen, Roger Bailey
REMEMBER WHEN THIS USED TO BE THE GAME? Nebraska @ 4 Oklahoma (ESPN, 5:45pm)- Mike Patrick, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe
THIS IS THE GAME NOW….Upset alert! Texas thought it made it through the tough games with OU, Mizzou and OK-State. Those games were at a neutral site and two at home. If tech can at least slow Texas down some, they’ll score enough to win…...1 Texas @ 7 Texas Tech (ABC, 6pm)- Brent “Old as dirt and looks like it” Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Lisa Salters
MTN. WEST DEFENSE VS. OFFENSE: TCU’s defense should win this battle, though Vegas could surprise the Frogs if they are looking ahead to Utah…..13 Texas Christian @ Nevada-Las Vegas (CBS College Sports, 6pm)- Carter Blackburn, Aaron Taylor
I SEEM TO BE THE ONLY ONE WHO SEES THIS TRAP GAME: I hope I’m wrong, but I remember the 1994 8-0 Utes going into to Albie and leaving with a loss. UNM is 13th running it, 113th passing it. if the Utes stack the box and keep the offense open ala CSU, they’ll win and cover. 10 Utah @ New Mexico (MTN, 7:30pm)- Rich Cellini, Jon Berger, Blaine Fowler, Toby Christensen

15 PLAYERS FROM A WINLESS D-1 SCHOOL

Tested positive for drugs. North Texas is one of only two D-1 schools, Washington being the other, that is 0-fer the season. how can 15 guys fail drug tests and you still have no wins? How bad would they be if they didn’t do drugs? 

MIZZOU QB CHASE DANIEL IS A BIG FAN

Of Texas QB Colt McCoy’s backside…......

 

THE TITAN CHEERLEADERS WERE IN COSTUME AGAIN LAST NIGHT FOR MNF.  THEY LOOKED GOOD AS DID THEIR TEAM!

NFL TOP 5…BOTTOM 5 (Record/Last wk’s ranking):
TOP 5:
5) PANTHERS (6-2; NR): Holds off Cardinals to bust back into Top 5.  Soft schedule ahead so could stay here.
4) PATRIOTS (5-2; NR): Winning and getting more comfortable with Cassel at QB.
3) STEELERS (5-2; #2):  Implodes in loss to Giants at home.
2) GIANTS (5-1: #3):  Defense smothers Big Ben resulting in 4int’s.
1) TITANS (7-0; #1):  Titans show they are for real in win over Colts. 
Dropped out: Bucs, Bills

BOTTOM 5:
5) RAIDERS (2-5; UR): Offense struggles in loss to Ravens.
4) 49ERS (2-6; #5): SF has better chance to win if Singletary decides to play instead of coaching. 
3) CHIEFS (1-6; #3): Got a look at this team first hand this week as they lost to Jets.  They’re awful.  Sad thing is the Jets didn’t appear to be much better.
2) BENGALS (0-7; #2): The Bungles Quest for 0-16 continued with loss to Texans.  This week it it’s another loss against the Jaguars
1) LIONS (0-7; #1):  The Lions Quest for 0-16 continued with loss to Skins.  This week I will actually root for them against the Bears.
Dropped out: Seahawks

FANTASY FOOTBALL THROWDOWN WINNER IS P1 GARY!  PLAY EVERY FRIDAY AT 2:30PM
-Gary selected Brian Westbrook with the 5th pick and he turned out to be the top scorer this week with 38.9pts.  Thank goodness he’s back since he’s on both my fantasy teams.  By the way when you get a chance ask, John, Hans, Jake, Dan Gore, or Alabama how their teams are doing compared to the mighty Golden Graham’s in our station league.  Let’s just say due to great coaching and ownership the mighty GG’s are a perfect 8-0 and that’s even losing players like Westbrook and Tony Romo to injury!  None of those mentioned even have a winning record.  I’m done bragging now. 

MAYBE THE BIGGEST

Sports reporting gaffe EVER! Danyelle Sargent, who couldn’t even hack it as an ESPN News anchor, is now on the sidelines for Fox and she asks new 49ers HC Mike Singletary if he talked to Bill Walsh this week. One thing would make that tough honey, Walsh is dead. Classic…..

THE FOX REPORTER WOULD KNOW THIS

If she had watched this clip of OJ taking calls. The Bill Walsh part is at about the :30 mark….....

TRASH TALKER

That’s what our next President Barack Obama is on the court accoriding to Knicks point guard Chris Duhon. Duhon said he played the Illinois senator in a pickup game in Chicago, where Duhon played for the Bulls. “What are some of the things he would say?”.... ‘You can’t guard me!’ Just random talk,” Duhon replied. “He knows the game. He’s like a point guard out there, and so he’s always telling guys where to go, what to do, very vocal.” Who won? “Oh, I won - he may be running for president, but I’m not going to let him win, not going to take it easy on him. I don’t take it easy on anyone.”

IN HANS’ HOME STATE

There was a bounty put out on the kicker, who happens to be the star QB, who happens to be headed for Stanford, if he survives his kicking duties playing vicious high school football on the mean streets of Pocatello.

TYRONE WILLINGHAM

Has resigned at the University of Washington and it’s funny what one-loss and a big challenege can do for the rumor mill on Bronco Mendenhall, where there is no mention of his name for the opening. Kyle Whittingham is mentioned but this rebuilding job is too big for Bronco or K-Whitt. UW is looking for a big name like Lane Kiffin, (Ex-Raiders, USC O-Coord), Gary Pinkel (Ex-UW assistant, current Mizzou HC), Former Chargers and current Oregon State HC Mike Riley, current cal coach Jeff Tedford and even former BYU QB and current USC O-Coord Steve Sarkisian. This is a HUGE rebuilding effort but the pay is good, reportedly 2M annually. 

RIVALS 1-120 RANKINGS

Strange this week that Rivals has BYU at #13 with one loss, despite the BCS poll having the Cougars at #20.  I wonder if Rivals saw the defense vs. UNLV, if they did please alert Provo police because they’re still looking for it. BYU is overrated at #20 let alone #13. Any team with a top 50 passing game is a threat to beat BYU. As we posted yesterday, the average offensive ranking for the teams BYU faced was 101st in the country.
 

MASTER OF THE OBVIOUS

Some guy from a Southern Utah paper says BYU isn’t BCS worthy…. REALLY? Did you watch the Mtn. Network and figure that out?

SUPER PERSONAL AD

Amy Borkowsky is trying to rasie 3 million dollars so she can spend it on a Super Bowl personal ad to find a husband . Why don’t you just advertise on a board in Times Square how desperate you are? A girl who lives in New York City can’t find a guy? I’m sure she’s a keeper…...

THE JOHN AND HANS

You Tube Sports Announcing Blooper of the Day….........

UFC PREZ DANA WHITE

Says that there is an offer on the table for Kimbo Slice to be on The Ultimate Fighter…......

HOW MUCH MONEY

Must The Guitar Hero franchise be making if they can afford to make Kobe, A-Rod, Tony Hawk and Michael Phelps re-inact the Tom Cruise Risky Business underwear singing scene?.....Answer: A ton o’ cash…...

PEYTON MANNING

May be having a bad year on the field but he hasn’t lost his commedic touch off of it. His new Visa commercial is funny…...

How many different types can you see in this picture.