Montana Grizzlies Sports, Football and Basketball : Grizzoulian

Now that we're done talking about all that crime, it's time to get back to the other topic of conversation we're really sick of talking about: moving to the FCS! The following article is old, like two months old, but because it's the crummy offseason, nothing has changed since then and I can post this without looking too retarded. Here is a humorous look at moving to the FCS from a Georgia Southern fan. The article is beyond long, it's about two hundred words short of matching the Old Testament. Or a Bill Simmons chat transcript.

Here are the first couple paragraphs from the article on The Lanier Drive Insitute of Higher Thinking:

There are two types of debaters in the I-A/I-AA argument, and I don't mean those who are for moving up and those who are for staying put. I call them the "heads" and "hearts."

The first type is composed of people who make every one of their points based on facts and figures. I suspect a good number of them are lawyers and accountants, although I have no way of knowing for sure. What is obvious is that this demographic of message board advocate has access to every school's athletic budget from 1863 to the present, they know the exact cost to fly a women's volleyball team from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Lake Charles, Louisiana, and they actually read and understand the minutes from the Division I Management Council's June meeting as reported in the NCAA News. I admire these people because of their ability to track down real and verifiable information. They also scare me, because they are the types of folks who could get on Google and compile a list of every woman I've ever slept with, forward it to my fiancé and then post the resulting apocalypse on YouTube. Not good.

The second type of debater is less concerned with hard facts and figures. This type of GSU fan relies more on anecdotal evidence and believes in the power of persistence and the strength of human resolve. Among Eagle fans, this subculture has a devotion to the school's meteoric initial rise to football prominence that borders on belief in the mystical. Some, I think, keep Eagle Creek water handy the way Borat holds on to gypsy tears. This isn't to say that they are unaware of the facts and figures, just that they consciously believe that every else's situation is irrelevant (or at least inconsequential). If I admire the "heads" then I truly love the "hearts." These people were English majors, they drink to excess (or smoke pot) and they cried at the end of the Western Kentucky game in 2002.

I strongly suggest going to the site and continue reading the article. You don't have to read the whole thing. I didn't. It's too damn long. But there's still more than what's above and you should check it out.

He goes on to look at timing and the future atmosphere of college football. To be simple, it's the best article I've read on a move to the FBS.

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Found via the Fanhouse.

I'm sure Bobby Hauck was disappointed to hear that his star offensive lineman had shot his mouth off again after already placing a gag order on him earlier in the season. Well, when you watch the video above you'll see that he did try to give the 'no comment' response most fans and coaches wish he would use.

It's hilarious to hear him say "get a real job" as if pretending to work at a car dealership or playing football were "real jobs" but even so, he tried to say no and the reporter kept pestering like a salesman. No means no. It's a joke that reporters still try to grab a quote from anything. How about "JD Quinn didn't want to comment on the situation?"

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The ESPN story has been updated to include some great quotes from Quinn.

When reached on his cell phone, Quinn said he did not pay any attention to the infractions committee's ruling on Oklahoma, calling it "dumb" and referring to it with an expletive.

"I have no idea," Quinn said. "I don't care."

Sounds about right. From the stories I've heard and pictures I've seen, he's an O'Doyle. He's a big fat offensive lineman from Texas. He's a bully. He's a jock. It's great. I'm being completely honest when I say that I love having him here. He's beyond entertaining. He's a college kid who acts like one and lets everyone know he's doing so.

There's a rumor he was drinking one night when he heard what the columnist from the school paper had to say about about him then proceeded to ask everyone at the party if they knew the guy so he could go beat him up. Come on, who hasn't done that? He's like Ozzie Guillen, except not annoying.

J.D. RULES!

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Today, the NCAA announced penalties for the Oklahoma Sooners football program stemming from a scandal where current Griz JD Quinn and Sam Houston State QB Rhett Bomar were paid for work they did not perform during their time as Sooners.

The Oklahoma football program must forfeit all wins from the 2005 season and will lose scholarships as a result of players being paid for work they had not performed.

The penalties, announced Wednesday by the NCAA, stem from a case involving two players, including Sooners starting quarterback Rhett Bomar, who were kicked off the team for being paid for work they had not performed at a Norman car dealership.

So this is what the NCAA does during the summer. It seems so random that it comes out a year later in the middle of July. Are a couple guys sitting around saying "Hey, you think we should deal with that Oklahoma stuff today?" "Sure, how bout this: the season doesn't count and we'll figure out how many scholarships they lose later" "Sounds good."

UPDATE: Here's some details on the ruling.

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This fall, the Northern Illinois Huskies will play Iowa at storied Soldier Field. Tickets are already sold out. Yeah, Soldier Field sold out for a game hosted by a FBS team. This isn't just the lower bowl either. All 61,500 seats are sold out.

"This is a historic occasion for Northern Illinois University and for the Huskie football program," said NIU Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Jim Phillips. "When discussions about the opportunity for Northern Illinois and Iowa to play at Soldier Field began, this is the kind of response both schools envisioned. Chicago is a great sports town and the response of NIU fans, Iowa fans and college football fans in the city has been overwhelming. We are looking forward to a beautiful Labor Day Weekend in Chicago and a tremendous game at Soldier Field on Sept. 1."

Last year, NIU lost to the Hawkeyes 24-14 in Iowa City in a game that wasn't decided until the 4th quarter. Last year the Griz played Iowa, there's a video clip that's about as long as the Griz-Hawkeye game was interesting.

When I mentioned yesterday that if FBS teams want attention, they have to do it themselves and make people care. Even though half the fans may be from Iowa, a sold out Soldier Field on Labor Day should make people care.

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For all the Griz fans that already ordered their replica jerseys, it might be time to panic. University of Montana AD Jim O'Day says he's not sure the new replica posted last week is the exact same as the new official uniforms.

Don’t believe the uniforms have been sent yet. Equipment Manager Steve Hackney has also been on vacation – so they may be packed away at this time. However, they do not look exactly like the version I say (saw?) when ordering. For example, don’t know if the number has been put on the sleeves… although that could have been a late change. Lettering, etc., also look different… so no, I don’t think this is a replica of the exact jersey.

Now this may be a little fib to keep us on our toes and give the actual announcement a bit of excitement. Then again, it could be completely true and a bunch of people ordered jerseys that will never be worn by UM. If anyone did this and bought Orlando Magic tickets after Billy Donovan was hired, you win a prize.

UPDATE: The new uniforms have arrived but have not been unpacked yet. O'Day has not seen the pants yet but can confirm that the helmets are not changing.

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Yesterday I randomly ranted about the approach of football season and posted the great Griz Nation intro video. There's a similar post on the Bison Media Blog. The video is above and for comparison, here is the ad the Griz run. Of course I'm preferential to the Griz ad but I'm not sure how great it'll look once the uniforms are out of date.

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No it's not arena league, it's the third American Football World Cup. Here's some irony: it's not in the United States and America has never competed in the American Football World Cup. I'm trying to think of a comparison but there really isn't one. Maybe if the Red River Shootout were played between Oklahoma and Rutgers.

Well, America is here and we're not dicking around.

Special teams and defense accounted for 42 points as the United States rolled to a 77-0 victory over Korea in Team USA's opening game at the 2007 World Championship of American Football on Tuesday evening.
 
Team USA set seven single-game tournament records including total defense as Korea finished with a net loss of 31 yards offensively and did not record a first down. Team USA amassed a tournament record 289 return yards and nine different U.S. players found the end zone.

It's almost like when you've played a video game for a while, you know, you're playing at like 'All-Star Legend' difficulty or something then decide to turn it all the way down to rookie just to see if you could score on every single play of the game. "You think I could plug Gilbert Brown in at running back and still get 150 yards?" How bad is this Korean team? Who else in America could beat them? An NAIA team? The JV squad from a Wyoming high school? The WNBA All-Stars?

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According to the Antelope Valley Press, Jimmy Wilson's grandmother, Gloria Wilson, believes that Jimmy Wilson acted in self defense when he shot and killed Kevin Smoot.

The grandmother of a University of Montana football player accused of shooting a Lancaster man to death said her grandson acted in self-defense.

Gloria Wilson, the grandmother of James "Jimmy" Wilson, who is charged with the murder of Kevin Smoot, 29, said her grandson shot at Smoot after he came after Wilson with a gun.

"Kevin had a gun," she said. "James and Kevin tussled over the gun, then Kevin was shot."

The story also provides more details on the case and Jimmy's living situation.

She said her foster daughter had a tumultuous relationship with Smoot, in which they shared two children.

Wilson had gone over to his foster aunt's house about 10:30 p.m. June 2 after she called his grandmother several times about Smoot's abusive behavior, Gloria Wilson said.

Gloria's daughter told her that Smoot had urinated on her and was fighting her.

"They were two people that shouldn't have been together," she said.

Wilson planned to pick up his aunt at her residence in the 44900 block of 16th Street East in Lancaster and take her away from Smoot, she said. He told his grandmother, "Grandma, she don't have nobody but us."

"He didn't go over there to talk it over," Wilson's grandmother said.

Wilson told Smoot that "it's inhuman to urinate on a person."

Wilson was staying at his grandmother's house for the summer, she said. Wilson's grandmother paid for his housing costs while he majored in business at the University of Montana, where he was a Grizzlies cornerback and their seventh-leading returning tackler. He enrolled at the Missoula university after playing football at Point Loma High School in San Diego.

It's good to hear another side to this story. As I mentioned before, Qwenton Freeman's silence on this case only makes Wilson look more guilty. If Smoot did something as despicable as urinating on someone and he did have a gun, two witnesses could convince a jury this was self defense. It also makes me wonder if this case could possibly fall under "defense of another." Yeah... I heard that in an episode of The Practice.

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The AP is reporting that suspended Griz cornerback Jimmy Wilson plead not guilty at his arraignment in a Los Angeles County Courtroom on Monday. Wilson is being held on $2 million bail for allegedly shooting and killing Kevin Smoot, his aunt's boyfriend.

I'm not really sure how much rides on an arraignment hearing. I'm assuming not a whole lot based on the Wikipedia article.

Arraignment is a common law term for the formal reading of a criminal complaint, in the presence of the defendant, to inform him of the charges against him. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea.

After reading on a bit it looks like you have to plead no guilty if you want a trial. Otherwise it goes to an evidentiary hearing to determine the punishment.

If Jimmy Wilson really is not guilty, which could be the case, don't you think Qwenton Freeman would've given his side of the story? Freeman keeping lips pressed tight makes Wilson look just as guilty as if he'd cooperated with the police.

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In a post today, the author of the Paladin Walk wonders when everyone will start using Football Championship Subdivision instead of I-AA. I apologize for quoting the entire post but it's all relevant.

I just read this post form the Anderson Independent Online, that reviewed the upcoming season for Clemson. The post again shows the complete lack of knowledge by some sports journalist.

“Sept. 15 vs. Furman: The Paladins are a decent I-AA team, but that won’t get them much today. Clemson 42, Furman 3.”

First Furman is not a decent IAA team. Furman plays in Division 1 (FCS) Football Championship Subdivision.

Second I wouldn’t be surprised to see Furman be the Tigers toughest out of conference opponent.  Hopefully FCS teams such as APP, Furman, JMU, UMass, GSU, Montana, etc… will chalk up some wins in the early seasons of the FCS classification, and the IAA tag will start to disappear.

As far as comparisons go, I think the Los Angeles Angels are as close as I can come. Both the FCS and LAA name changes weren't needed and were only done to be associated with a more valuable entity when they actually weren't. The Angels didn't want that soft Anaheim look, they wanted the bright lights and LA attitude. The NCAA wanted I-AA football to be grouped with I-A as Division I football. Neither party had done anything to really earn the name.

I don't know if the name will ever really stick. By labeling both I-A and I-AA as 'subdivisions,' the NCAA is trying to tell us that they're the same. Yea, right. They're both equally talented, some teams would rather have playoffs. Mm hm.

For a this misnomer to disappear, it has to be talked about frequently. The Los Angeles Angels name stuck because it was used often. Major media outlets are going to discuss a Major League Baseball team a lot more than some bush league football teams. Currently, no one cares enough about the FCS to mention it by its proper name.

The solution: make people care. The blog I mentioned is correct. Some early season wins against FBS teams would go a long way towards getting rid of 'I-AA.' It's not going to happen but if the Mountaineers knocked off Michigan, that story would lead with "Back to back FCS National Champions Appalachian State upset Michigan." If it starts with "Michigan trounces I-AA Appalachian State," you'll know there's a long way to go.

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Every summer I work full-time in Seattle when I'd much rather be back in Missoula. This puts me in the awkward position of looking forward to the end of summer. Well, in my estimation, we're almost there. The end of summer not only means a return to the Zoo, but also the return of Griz football. July 4th is past and we're no longer getting into summer, but trotting towards the end. The preview magazines are starting to come out and NCAA Football '08 hits the stores next week. It's almost here. Now if only I had more to look forward to than Southern Utah.

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The Missoulian reports that former Griz defensive back Qwenton Freeman has been arrested again, this time for assaulting his girlfriend.

The former University of Montana cornerback was arrested by a campus police officer outside the University Village apartments around 3 a.m. on Saturday, allegedly after assaulting his girlfriend, Kayla Hunter, who was visiting from California.

According to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Municipal Court, Freeman choked the woman and hit her in the head. He also pulled her hair and threw her to the ground outside the apartment building.

The woman had evidence of physical injuries on her neck and hands, according to records.

Several of Freeman's neighbors told authorities they witnessed the assault. The three witnesses said they initially heard Freeman yelling at Hunter, who was also yelling and screaming for help. The woman eventually ran to one neighbor's house and pounded on the door for assistance.

Ship him out. The University of Montana has done all it can to separate itself from Freeman but the kid really should have never been here in the first place. As mentioned in a previous entry, Freeman had two previous warrants for his arrest when he was recruited and signed by UM.

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The above uniform is selling on these two sites. At $58.00 and a title of 'Montana Grizzlies #37 Maroon Replica Football Jersey' this is probably what the Griz will be wearing next year.

I'm not sure what to say. I guess old school is in and Nike bibs are out. The outlined numbers look pretty cheesy but it might be OK. The uniforms could've been better but they definitely could've been a whole lot worse.

It's a good move for Nike, who will sell a whole new batch of $60 uniforms only two years after producing some new ones. However, UM just spent money on commercials and an introduction video for the football team, which now may look a bit out of date.

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Besides more arrests, the last thing most Griz fans want is another dropdown quarterback. After the Josh Swogger experience, it looks like an incoming QB is more likely to figure out where the hell the bees went sooner than learn the Rob Phenicie offense. Don't worry, we're not getting another one -- but Weber State is. Alabama transfer Jimmy Barnes has decided to spend the next three years playing football at Weber State.

"Jimmy was a big time player on the high school level,” said McBride. "All the major schools in the country were after him. Not only does he have a strong arm, but he is a student of the game and makes intelligent decisions in the heat of battle...I have full confidence he will learn our system quickly and be ready to compete in Fall camp."

...

"I was really impressed with the campus and the school," said Barnes. "Coach McBride and Coach McGiven are both great football coaches and I look forward to learning a lot from them."

With Hauck's affinity for dropdown QBs and "win now so I can peace out ASAP" attitude, on first glance it seems like he would go after this kid. But then one has to think, who in their right mind would want to Ogden, Utah to play for a team coming of a 4-7 record? What was the appeal there? Maybe Hauck had enough confidence in his young quarterbacking core to restrain from attempting to chase down Jimmy.

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At this point in time, the Montana State Bobcats' most recent run-in with the law can almost be seen as positive press. In case you haven't heard, a couple incoming freshman were arrested for "breaking into" the mayor's house.

Two incoming freshman Montana State University football players and two other men burst into Bozeman Mayor Jeff Krauss' home early Monday morning in an attempt to escape police.

The men, who police believed had been egging houses, were running from police at about 3:45 a.m. when they crawled through a basement window into Krauss' southside Park Place home, Bozeman Police Sgt. Steve Crawford said Tuesday.

...

MSU freshman football players Clay Bignell, 19, of Avon, and Daniel Ogden, 18, of Kalispell, were charged with misdemeanors in connection with the incident, Bozeman Deputy Police Chief Mark Lachapelle said.

Come on, this is funny. I'm not just saying so because it's Bobcat players, I'd think the same thing if they played for the Griz. Sure, egging a house is a little immature but it's a lot better than other the stuff that's been going on. I'd rather have football players acting like 9th graders than Jimmy Wilson, Qwenton Freeman and Ricky Gatewood.

Sure, breaking into someone's house is wrong, but don't you think the negative press was worth the entertainment value? Come on, it was the mayor's house, that's hilarious. They weren't trying to scare him or steal some stuff, just trying to hide. It's like a cliche cartoon plot. Remember when the Doug cartoon series moved over from Nickelodeon to ABC Saturday mornings and the crew jumped to junior high? Well if the show moved to the WB or whatever it's called and Doug & Co. moved to Beebe Bluff High School, getting caught hiding in the mayor's basement would be one of the plots.

Here's one of the funnier parts:

On Monday a young man stopped at Krauss' house two times, asking if he could come inside to look for a cell phone that “his buddy” had lost, Krauss said.

The family turned him down the first time and called 911 the second time.

And that would be Skeeter.

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Cornerback Qwenton Freeman, who may have been there when Jimmy Wilson allegedly shot another man in the chest, has been kicked off the football team. No, it wasn't because he was being uncooperative with local authorities, but because of a separate incident that happened early Sunday morning.

According to police, the senior cornerback allegedly threw a beer bottle at a man standing outside Stockman's Bar on West Front Street early Sunday morning. It was the second alleged disturbance over the weekend involving Freeman, though UM officials were only aware of the disturbance Sunday morning.

“These are serious matters, and it is very disturbing,” UM Athletic Director Jim O'Day said in the statement. “At this point, we are following a zero-tolerance policy, and Qwenton made a bad error in judgment. To that end, he will no longer be a member of the Montana Grizzly football team.”

This comes from a Missoulian article by Triston Scott, which says that Freeman was kicked off the team for "not adhering to disciplinary guidelines." How dumb can you be? You'd think that if you were part of a murder investigation, you'd want to lay low for a bit. With all this stuff going on, you'd want to stay out of the bar scene for a bit, right? Or at least be calm if you did go down there? This offseason just keeps getting better.

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This keeps getting worse. I would say 'wow, this is what it must be like to be a Bengals fan' but none of them them were suspected of shooting someone in the chest -- or eye, depending on the story. Turns out fellow Griz cornerback Qwenton Freeman was there when Jimmy did what he did. The Missoulian reports that LAPD investigators have flown up from Los Angeles to follow up on some leads and talk to Griz football players. It hasn't gone so well.

“Basically, we were just looking for cooperation from the players, especially if someone witnessed the incident,” [Sgt. Steve Rubino] said. “It just appeared that the players didn't really want to comment too much.

“It left a bad taste in our mouth that the players wouldn't cooperate with us. If it was on the other foot and their teammate got killed, they would be really forthcoming,” said Rubino, who returned to Los Angeles on Wednesday night. “Someone got murdered here and we're just looking for some cooperation. If it was one of their players, my phone would be ringing off the hook.”

The players are now -- like just about always-- under a gag order forbidding them from speaking to the media. They must be so used to keeping their mouthes shut that they can't open them when they need to. No guys, this isn't Fritz Neighbor asking you whether or not Cole Bergquist has the number one spot on the QB depth chart locked up. It's the LAPD asking if you can help them figure out who killed someone's dad. Turns out Freeman could be taken into custody if he continues to be uncooperative. Good.

Freeman (right) is originally from Pasadena, but his mother lives in Lancaster, near where the murder took place. He first played ball at a community college, then was going to play at U-Dub but couldn't meet the academic requirements. Next was the University of Arizona, where he practiced but never made the squad. However, there is one interesting nugget of information from his tenure there I don't think many Griz fans knew.

In April 2006, Freeman was arrested for assault and criminal trespassing, both misdemeanors, by the University of Arizona Police Department.

Although details on the offenses were not available late Thursday, Freeman was convicted on the assault charge in Pima County Consolidated Justice Courts and was subsequently sentenced to a diversion program under the University of Arizona's supervision.

A diversion program is similar to community service. There was never any disposition in the trespassing case, according to records.

Because he did not complete the required community service, Freeman has two active warrants for his arrest out of Pima County, Ariz.

Isn't this fun? Us Griz fans were bickering over the move to I-A because there wasn't much to talk about besides all the Cat stuff. Well now we have something to call our own. Gee, this is swell.

Of course the administration is doing as their players have done and holding up in their office like they were hiding from a nuclear attack.

UM football coach Bobby Hauck and athletic director Jim O'Day did not return repeated phone calls from the newspaper Thursday. Hauck has declined all requests for interviews since the allegations against Wilson surfaced, directing media inquiries to UM executive vice president Jim Foley.

Foley said he would not comment on Freeman's status on the football team, or about UM football players' unwillingness to cooperate with the Los Angeles homicide investigators. Nor would he discuss the standards of conduct to which UM holds its student-athletes.

“Officially, we're not going to comment on an ongoing criminal matter that's in the California criminal courts. Period,” Foley said.

I don't know why but this conjures up images of George Costanza holding out in his extra large handicap bathroom. Someone needs to say something because if this type of information keeps filtering out through the press, it's only going to get worse. It appears as though the administration thinks they can keep the news from coming out through the media. Not going to happen. If Griz fans keep learning more discouraging news from strong reporting instead of honest coaches and administrators, this is going to leave a pretty nasty stain on the program. Plus, look at how it worked out for George.

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Sometimes the marketing at UM amazes me. You think once anything like this was available, they'd trumpet it from the top of Sentinel. Oh well. As you can see, the expansion is going to look amazing.

For more information, pictures and a 3-D fly-by (almost as cool as it sounds), go to this site.

UPDATE: The site has been taken down. Apparently, we weren't supposed to find out about it quite yet.

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When someone decides they're going to drive over to another guys house, shoot them, and then be on his way; it's likely said person has been a bit irrational before. It looks like this is the case with Griz cornerback Jimmy Wilson, who's reported to have partaken in quite a bit of violent shenanigans.

From The Missoulian:

James “Jimmy” Leon Wilson, 20, had numerous run-ins with police in Missoula through the years, though none of the incidents resulted in criminal charges, said Missoula Police Sgt. Travis Welsh, who assisted California authorities with the recent homicide investigation.

“He's no stranger to us,” Welsh said.

...

Welsh said Missoula police have fielded numerous complaints about Wilson's behavior in town through the years, while another detective acknowledged questioning Wilson in at least one assault case.

“There's been past contact,” said Missoula Police Detective Guy Baker.

Police would not elaborate on those instances because Wilson was never charged with a criminal offense in Missoula County.

Over the years, complaints of violence also were brought to officials in UM's athletic department by local residents who contacted the Missoulian in the wake of Wilson's arrest. All asked to remain anonymous in news stories, for fear of retribution.

Among the complainants is a Missoula man who says Wilson threatened him with a gun during an altercation in October 2005, and a Missoula woman who says her son was assaulted downtown in April 2006 by a group of men that included Wilson.

The man said he reported the incident to police and to UM football coach Bobby Hauck, but was told nothing could be done.

In that incident, Wilson allegedly chased the man onto the freeway after an altercation, then stood outside the car and threatened him. The man said Wilson lifted his T-shirt to reveal a pistol tucked into his pants.

Police investigated the downtown assault as a potential felony case, but in May 2006 the victim told authorities he didn't want the investigation to go any further, Welsh said.

According to family members of the victim, he called a halt to the investigation because he feared retribution.

On Tuesday, Bobby Hauck referred all questions to UM associate athletic director Dave Guffey, who directed inquiries to UM executive vice president Jim Foley.

In response to the Missoulian's questions about how the athletic department responded to local residents' complaints, Foley would only reference the murder charges filed in Los Angeles County.

Welsh went on to say he had no knowledge of calls being made by the police department to the UM athletic department. However, this doesn't mean calls weren't made my individual citizens. With the amount of rumors I've heard on Wilson's idiotic, violent and "thuggish" antics, it's extremely unlikely the athletic department had no knowledge of his poor character.

I'm not sure whether Guffey, Foley or O'Day would know but Hauck would have to. Why would this person lie and if Hauck honestly had no knowledge of Wilson's actions, why wouldn't he come out and say so? The wall around the garden of Griz football might save them in this situation because no one has any idea what anyone knew or when they knew it. However, maybe the lack of wall would've led to an investigation on previous incidents. Maybe Jimmy getting kicked out of school was what he needed to snap out of it. Maybe Kevin Smoot wouldn't have gotten shot. It's a lot of maybes but I'll take a few maybes over a couple kids without a dad.

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I don't know what to say. I'm sick of writing about this stuff. It gets real old trying to comment on drug charges and murder. It's too much. I don't know how to react to more stuff like this.

From the Great Falls Tribune:

A University of Montana football player is being held in a California jail facing murder charges and will be arraigned in court today, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff Department deputy.

University Executive Vice President Jim Foley confirmed that starting cornerback James "Jimmy" Leon Wilson, 20, is in the hands of the California court system and the school's athletic department and administrators were attempting to learn more about the case Wednesday night.
...

Wilson is accused of shooting and killing Kevin Smoot, 29, at Smoot's home on June 2, authorities said. Smoot was shot in the upper torso while he stood in the driveway of his house. He died at the scene, deputies said.

Wilson allegedly fled the scene after the shooting, deputies said.

Authorities said Wilson was involved in an altercation with Smoot and his girlfriend, who is related to Wilson, Los Angeles County authorities said. Wilson, accompanied by his attorney, turned himself in to authorities Tuesday in Lancaster, Calif., about an hour northeast of Los Angeles, deputies said.

The victim's mother, Leslie Smoot, told a Palmdale, Calif., newspaper that her son had two young children with his 27-year-old girlfriend. She did not know the relationship between Wilson and the woman. She learned of Wilson's arrest Wednesday after she buried her son, the newspaper said.

What is going on? We're Montana.  Is there anything else we can do to make the universities in this state look worse? Really. I don't think you could do much more damage in an offseason. This recent incident isn't as closely tied to the school and area as the MSU one but that doesn't make it better. I really can't land an opinion on this other than that it's horrible.

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Jason Washington has been kicked off the University of Montana football team and it's sound like fairness and reason weren't really an issue.

From the Missoulian:

“The only reason I was kicked off the team was - and I quote Bobby's word - I was ‘defiant,' ” Washington said. “I was like, ‘Defiant? What's your definition of defiant?'

“He said, ‘Not doing what I say.' ”

Washington said he had concerns about going beyond the NCAA limit of eight hours per week for offseason training, that the treatments were voluntary, that he did not in fact miss a treatment, and that his hamstring injury precluded him from the conditioning drills.

“He kicked me off the team for not showing up for a punishment workout on Saturday and Sunday at 6 a.m.,” Washington said. “I didn't agree with it, I had a pulled hamstring at the time. When am I supposed to do it? I can't practice, and you're going to make me run?”

Hauck refuses to comment on any disciplinary actions so that's all we have. The head coach denies going over that eight hour limit.

All of this sounds a bit like that fishy Craig Chambers suspension. From what I've seen, a Griz football player is required to abide by whatever a coach says, completely and silently, no matter how ridiculous or unfair the actions may be. If they don't, they're off the team.

I remember waiting for a spring semester Anthropology class in the Gallagher Business Building lobby when Hauck strutted into the building wearing some goofy looking cowboy boots and jeans that were just a bit too tight.

"Jason Washington, just the man I was looking for."

It's odd seeing this pan out in the news a couple months later. It just goes to show how high the barbed fence is around the Griz football program.

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Until some major news services, I'm going to try make this the last post on the Mike Kramer fiasco. In an article in today's article Bozeman Chronicle, Bozeman-area attorneys were painting Mike Kramer as the "fall guy" for all the problems at Montana State. It's hard to argue against the idea that someone had to take the fall for all of this. Things were just too bad to plod down the path without some serious changes. The question I have is, why shouldn't Kramer be the "fall guy?"

Take a look at three of the most prominent football-related arrests: Rick Gatewood, Andre Fuller and Eddie Sullivan. All three of these guys were brought in by Mike Kramer during as part of the '03 recruiting class. Here is a incredible quote from Mike Kramer on that '03 class.

"We added some big kids, we addressed some needs, but most importantly this is a very high-quality recruiting class," Kramer said of his fourth class as MSU’s head football coach. "There are no hidden hopefuls, no maybes, in this class. This isn’t the biggest class we’ve had in terms of numbers, but that allowed us to get strong reads on every single kid we signed in terms of character. There aren’t any partial scholarships or any reaches in this class. This is the kind of class, up and down the list, that I envisioned being able to attract to Montana State when I took this job."

Hah, really?

It is entirely possible that all of this crime -- the cocaine, the busts, the murder -- is connected to the cocaine-dealing ring Gatewood helped bring into Bozeman. Hell, I'd go far as to say it's probable. However, without Kramer bringing in a shady character like Rick Gatewood, who's to say none of this ever happens? Maybe Kramer was just giving a kid a chance, but even so. He brought Gatewood to Bozeman. Gatewood brought cocaine and a wave of crime to Bozeman. Someone at MSU had to take the fall for this. I'm not saying only Kramer should be blamed, but if anyone at MSU is going to take a fall, why wouldn't it be him? Once again, I do have sympathy for Kramer and his family but the more I like at the firing, the more it looks like it had to be done.

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I'm having a tough time trying to figure out what my opinion is on the whole Mike Kramer firing. Obviously, something had to be done to straighten out the program. Maybe Gatewoord & Co were no longer athletes when they were arrested, or maybe Kramer had no idea what was going on or maybe he was just trying to give a guy a break. Even so, something had to be done. But then, this whole thing could've been handled much better.

An article in today's Great Falls Tribune by Scott Mansch compares perception to reality. He says through all this MSU is still serving its function as an academic institution and the perception is not reality in Bozeman.

Certainly drug use and academic lapses are not confined to the campus in Bozeman. Anyone who thinks the problems occur only at MSU is kidding himself. But the headlines indicate otherwise these days.

So the administration at Montana State is in the process of hiring a football coach to replace Kramer and, by all accounts, has a list of fine finalists. The slate will be wiped clean and we can only hope that forevermore the problems are over.

A pipe dream, to be sure.
...
The perception? Montana State has turned into Animal House. Or worse.

The reality? An exceptional institution of higher learning.

However, does it really matter what's perception and what is reality? At this point in time, outsiders' perception must be horrible. When you're trying to bring in solid students and recruits, isn't how they perceive the school extremely important?

Unless you're at a phenomenally gifted school where science research is making all the big headlines, athletics are going to get the most exposure. In a way, they are the face of the school. When Montana State beat CU and made headlines, that was phenomenal. However, when news came out that MSU athletes brought cocaine into Bozeman, that didn't look so hot. How are parents going to justify sending there kids to MSU when the latest headlines out of Bozeman is that there is a major cocaine problem.

The reality, most likely, is that there are drug problems at many universities. The perception is that it's much worse at Montana State. If MSU continues on its way and didn't do anything in reaction to the problems, what would parents of recruits and prospective students think? With so much riding on the perception of the school, I don't have any qualms with a fix that changes the perception of the school even though it's not guaranteed to fix the reality. I understand one man's career is on the line, but the perception needed to be fixed and this termination had the best chance of doing so. More to come on that in a bit.

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It remains highly unlikely that the Montana Grizzlies, or any FBS team for that matter, will make an appearance in the next-gen version of EA Sport's NCAA Football 08 but some do still hold out hope. After all, the Griz do appear in the 06 and 07 versions for Xbox (not 360). The only downer was that you had to play in some big empty stadium instead of the crowded Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Well, for anyone hoping that the Griz would not only be in the 360 version, but also play in a fully rendered Wash-Griz, I'm sorry.

TeamXbox.com has screenshots from every stadium in the Xbox 360 version of the game and Washington Grizzly is not one of them. I really didn't think the stadium had any chance of making it in the game -- the team as a whole probably doesn't either -- but it sucks to know for sure. How sweet would this be in a video game?

After the jump are some of the small-ish stadiums that did make it into the game. None of them are from the FBS.

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As all things Grizzly seem to be at a stand still, one discussion continues to stagnate. The topic of that discussion is whether or not the University of Montana football team should make the jump to Football Bowl Subdivision (I-AA to I-A). Every eGrizzer has heard all the arguments and most are pretty sick of it, but they haven't heard Athletic Director Jim O'Day's take on the situation. For as much as the fans talk about it, you'd think the administration would discuss the matter once in a while. Nope.

"No, we really don’t spend much time discussing this issue. It, most likely, would have to be made by the university, then the Board of Regents, and possibly, the state legislature," said O'Day. "At this time, there does not seem much interest by any of the decision-makers to even look at a move – or even talk about it. I haven’t heard anything."

In an exchange of emails, O'Day pointed to some of the issues most eGrizzers have raised. Starting with, 'which conference would the Griz go to?'

"If you did move to the Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A), which conference affiliation would you be aligned with? That is a big question mark and would be critical in the decision-making process," said O'Day. "It’s hard enough to schedule now… let alone if you’re an independent."

O'Day also posed the question of whether or not this would mean less Montana kids making it on the team. He offered no answer because no one really can. He pointed to Robin Selvig's success building a competitive program with local kids but also stated "that would be hard to duplicate if you were starting from scratch today."

O'Day brought an issue I haven't heard much about: the fact that most I-A conferences require 16 varsity sports. We only have 14.

"Which sports would you add (the minimum is 16, and UM currently offers 14) – and where would the money come to pay for the needed facilities, scholarships, travel, coaches salaries, etc." asked O'Day.

"Right now, the UM Athletics budget is approximately $11.5 million. To move into I-A (we are in I-A in all sports except for football) would probably result in a budget of at least $16 million … to even be competitive. Would fans be willing to pay considerably more to watch these teams in football and men’s and women’s basketball. Hard to say. It is very doubtful taxpayers would be willing to make up the difference."

A solution I've proposed before was that the UM athletic program take something of a financial hit to play some lower I-A or WAC teams, just to see how we would stack up against potential competition. O'Day thoroughly explained why this may be very tough to do.

His exact response: "As for scheduling, it is becoming increasingly demanding – for all of our revenue-producing sports. Few want to play a top I-AA opponent in football, and others don’t want to travel to a Big Sky Conference school to play basketball unless they’re rewarded with healthy financial guarantees (say $50,000 for men’s basketball --- and right now we can only afford $15,000 ---- Wyoming paid us $55,000 last year). Many conferences are now establishing policy to not allow their schools to play football at the home sites of FCS schools --- especially ones like Montana, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, etc. They really have nothing to gain. As far as game guarantees are concerned, we’re already paying large sums to get other I-AA schools here. For example, we’re paying Albany $125,000 to come to Missoula… while Boise State is offering slightly more at $175,000 to Weber State (who can make some money by busing as opposed to flying). Appalachian State paid Northern Arizona $175,000 to travel to the east coast… The trip alone will cost NAU at least $100,000… resulting in a net $75,000 --- or about the same as one of their home games. Currently, UM home conference games “net” us about $350,000 --- with any non-league guarantee taken out of that figure… Thus, Albany will help our bottom line in our financial picture by about $225,000. It is a “must” that we do our best to meet our budgetary needs – and that becomes increasingly more challenging each day with mounting expenses for salaries, travel, utilities, etc."

O'Day went on to acknowledge that the FBS scene "is not a rosy one." O'Day said he is meeting with the FBS Athletic Directors in Florida this week and "we may know more after that."

"In the meantime, we will continue to improve facilities, build the program and do our best to make UM Athletics the special place it has become --- knowing that some day we might have to make a decision that will affect the future of our athletics program and its fans. Only time will tell. Stay tuned."

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After his recent firing from the Montana State head coaching position, Mike Kramer has decided  it really wasn't fair and hired Montana Attorney Cliff Edwards to represent him. Kramer and Edwards said they're not ready to sue Montana State but they do want some money.

From the Cat-Griz Insider:

Edwards said the following: “The way this was handled has indelibly stained Mike’s coaching career, and it may well have ruined it at 52-years-old. With no notice or no opportunity to do anything about this, when coach was working to correct problems, I think it’s absolutely intolerable. We will work with Montana State University, and they need to recognize they have substantial monetary and legal exposure, and that needs to be addressed. But this is the start of giving Mike a chance to redeem himself publicly.”

Kramer said: “It is with a very sad and heavy heart that we have to have this occurrence here today. What has happened is that our university has connected a legal transgression to the efforts of a very fine coaching staff, a very fine football team and an outstanding university. What the university, through its own comments to the media, has done is damage its own reputation, our athletic teams’ standing, and tarred and sullied the tremendous accomplishments of an outstanding football program.”To be fired on the 18th of May, after spring ball, at the end of the semester, beyond the scope of the guys in the program, that’s not right.”

I have no doubt Kramer will end up getting some money. But let's look at this, who is more at fault for tarnishing Mr. Kramer's reputation, MSU or Kramer himself? Let's say all this stuff came out in November and Kramer was fired in December, at the end of his contract, would he have a better chance at a future job? No. It's his former players who are making him look bad, not MSU. Kramer took a chance on questionable recruits and now it's coming back to bite him. Risks are not always rewarded.

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When all these shenanigans started, I predicted the Bobcat coaching would be filled by Mike Van Diest if he chose to take it. Well, turns out the job is not his for the taking as former Michigan State, Louisville and Idaho head coach John L. Smith is a fellow front-runner for the position.

From the Cat-Griz Insider:

Montana State’s search for a new football coach has been narrowed down to 11 candidates.

Whle no names have officially surfaced, a couple of the front-runners appear to be Carroll coach Mike Van Diest and former Louisville and Michigan State coach John L. Smith.

John L. Smith has proven he can coach in the Big Sky. He went 53-21 in his six seasons at Idaho in the early '90s. His 53 wins are the most by a coach at that school -- that's kind of like having the home run record for a minor league baseball team -- where he led the Vandals to the FBS playoffs in five of his six seasons.

After Idaho, he coached at Utah State and Louisville, where he took the Cardinals to five straight bowl appearances and back-to-back Conference USA titles in 2000 and 2001.

I'm not going to go out on a limb and say the job is his for the taking because I've made statements like that twice before, and been wrong both times but Smith is definitely an extremely qualified candidate. Yes, his tenure at Michigan State was rough but he's shown he can be a great coach in a non-major conference.

On a side not, Smith's interest makes me wonder if Jerry Glanville has brought some sense of legitimacy to the Big Sky Conference. You'd figure that with his track record he'd have a better job, assistant or head coach, available elsewhere.

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Grab your Carhardts and watch out for the cocaine dealers as this College Sporting News FCS Game of the Week and Game of the Year Surveys are in and this year's Griz-Cat matchup was voted the game of the year.

Yep, that's right, the very best regular season FCS game of the year will be played at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman. Man, we really need to get out of this division.

Yes, the results were generated from a user survey and Montana fans have shown they kick ass at these type of things but how seriously does the FCS expect to be taken when this is the game of the year? Imagine if ESPN televised this and touted it as the best FCS game of the year. People would come across it on ESPN 2 or ESPNU, take a look at the stadium -- "F-C-S...that's high school football, right?"

This is honestly not intended to bash this great rivalry but come on, game of the year? Really?

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I am not trying to say the Montana State football program is awful and hasn't experienced it's own run of success recently, what I meant in an earlier post is that it's almost as if this team sold its soul for wins. Mike Kramer and other coaches at MSU sacrificed the integrity of the program to win some ball-games and now it's catching up to them like steroids caught up to the great homerun hitters of the late 90s. They took a risky and easier rout to success and it ended coming back to punch them in the gut.

The Angry T makes an interesting and inevitable comparison to the Cincinnati Bengals:

The Bobcats don’t mess around with the petty stuff, like domestic violence, or giving alcohol to minors like those pussy Bengals.  The latest arrest of a Montata State player involves former wide receiver Rick Gatewood who is accused of using his athletic scholarship money to traffic cocaine from California in the Bozeman, Montana area.   That arrest makes A.J. Nicholson looks like a boy scout.  Gatewood was the sixth former Montana State athlete arrested or charged with crimes involving drugs or murder in the past year.  That’s right folks, the Bobcats don’t limit their aggression to the football field, just like any good band of criminals. 

Montana State Andre Fuller is being investigated because he allegedly sold cocaine to an informant last June.  Wide receivers Edward Sullivan and Derrick Davis, Jr. were just trying to fit in when they got busted for selling drugs last summer.  Also last June, former player John Lebrum and Bobcat basketball player Branden Miller were charged with murder and kidnapping in the death of another drug dealer.  I know Montana is boring, but do you really need this many drugs to make it fun.  The answer is probably yes, but that still seems like a lot of people selling drugs for a state with a population of 915 people. The icing on the felony cake is that assistant football coach Joe O’ Brien was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy.

You can't say this is all coincidence and could happen at any other school. You know why? Because it didn't. It happened at Montana State, where administrators -- athletic and otherwise -- did not have control of their program. Do people honestly think the firing of Mike Kramer completely eliminates the problem? As shown the humorous article, the problems have spread and simply chopping off the head of the football program will not cure the infection.

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If you pause the video, let it load all the way then click ahead to the one minute mark you'll get to see Portland State's new ad.

Well, it's not as good as the Griz football ad, but it is something. They don't have much to brag about so they put in what they could -- Jerry Glanville's swagger and the fact that season tickets are only $60. 

It will be very interesting to see just how much of an effect all this publicity will have on the Portland State Viking program. Glanville & Co have been getting exposure, but will it result in more fans and a better program? One could say that the Vikings are the only show in town that time of year, but that's not completely the case. Fans have the 'Blazers and minor league baseball overlapping either ends of the season.

Hell, Blazers hype alone should have a decent shot and completely overshadowing any mention of Portland State. Seriously, for the next few months, not a single sports fan in Portland is going to care about anything other than the Blazers.

On top of this, it's so hard to get fans of teams like Oregon and Oregon state to cheer on a I-AA team. When I first came to UM, it took a little while for me to believe that I-AA football wasn't a joke. However, it all starts with wins. Glanville will bring in some fans but he can only keep them if the team is doing well.

One more important question: what happens if the fans just don't come? From every story I've read on Glanville, his goal is to create an incredible gameday atmosphere like that of Green Bay. What if, despite Glanville winning a bunch of games, it just doesn't happen? Would he consider continuing his climb back towards mainstream ball? I'd say so.

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According to the Griz-Cat insider, Carroll College head coach Mike Van Diest is interested in coaching the Montana State Bobcats and will interview for the position vacated by Mike Kramer.

“I’d like to take a look at it,” Van Diest said. “I don’t know where it will go — I have no assurances on either end — but I certainly want to pursue it at this time.

“There’s a great tradition and history at Montana State University. And there’s always excitement in new challenges. I’m not unhappy (at Carroll), but this is an opportunity. I want to take a look at a new opportunity.”

He says he has no assurance of what will happen, but he has to be the favorite, doesn't he? He ran a clean, successful program at Carroll and has to be the only applicant out of the supposed 25 who would generate the most excitement. With the decision to fire Kramer already being called into question, would they dare not hire the guy most would prefer as his successor? This means the decision would likely be up to him.

If I'm Mike, I'd say no. As I mentioned in yesterday's post on the subject, if he's planning on leaving Carroll, he might as well wait for the UM job. Odds are the Griz job will open up sometime in the next two years and he would be a favorite in that race as well. If he went to the Griz, he'd have instant success at the state's premier school and one of the FCS's marquee programs. If he goes to MSU, he has to try and cure a cancerous program where no one really knows how deep the problem goes. The soonest he's going to have the successful, clean program he wants at MSU is a year, and probably later. He could wait the same amount of time — about a year or two — and be handed the reigns to the always successful Griz program. Mike probably aspires to coaching heights past both UM and MSU so which job is more likely to absolutely kill your coaching stock?

However, it's not like both jobs are open now. If he wants to leave now, he probably can. If it were up to me, I'd wait it out and probably try to sneak a phone call to Mr. O'Day.

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With the firing of Mike Kramer, Cat fans now have to wonder who will try to drag the MSU program out of the hole it's in. Most Cat fans pray it will be Carroll head coach Mike Van Diest. He's the hottest available commodity and there's no question he'd be a good fit -- similar to Lou Piniella with the Cubs during the '06 baseball season. It's very likely the job will be his if he wants it, but a couple questions have to be asked first.

The first major question is whether or not he wants to leave Carroll. He's experienced so much success with the Saints and probably does not want to put the program in a tough spot by leaving for MSU. He also may think the MSU program is just in too much turmoil.

If Van Diest does in fact want to leave, there is another important question -- when does he want to do it? Yes, the Bobcat job could very well be his if he wants it. However, the head coaching spot at the University of Montana could be his for the taking by the end of the '07-'08 season with Hauck likely getting out of Missoula as soon as he can find a sub-mediocre I-A team that's willing to take him. However, if he waits it out, he may not get the Griz  job. He'd probably be one of the favorites but I assume it'd be a bit tougher to land than the MSU gig.

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Any Given Saturday released its preseason poll and after the offseason, Appalachian State still sits at the #1 spot. They've lost a lot of starters but you're the best until somebody beats you. The Griz come in second having gathered 16 first-place votes.

Here is the complete poll:

Any Given Saturday Poll Preseason Top 25
(First place votes in parenthesis)
1. Appalachian State (97)
2. Montana (16)
3. North Dakota State
4. Youngstown State
5. Massachusetts (1)
6. Northern Iowa (1)
7. New Hampshire
8. James Madison
9. Furman
10. Cal Poly
11. Illinois State
12. McNeese State
13. Southern Illinois
14. Portland State
15. Hampton
16. Wofford
17. Tennessee-Martin
18. Delaware
19. Eastern Illinois
20. Sam Houston State
21. Montana State
22. South Dakota State
23. Lehigh
24. Coastal Carolina
25. Yale

Others receiving votes (minimum of 5 votes): Towson (61), UC Davis (59), Lafayette (40), Princeton (39), Maine (33), Harvard (26), San Diego (26), South Carolina State (22), Georgia Southern (17), Eastern Kentucky (14), Northern Arizona (14), Richmond (12), Central Arkansas (10), Liberty (10), Northwestern State (8), Western Illinois (8), Delaware State (7), Northeastern (7), Albany (6), Colgate (6), Texas State (6), The Citadel (6), Alabama A&M (5), Jacksonville State (5).

BIGGEST RISING TEAM FROM 2006: Northern Iowa, Wofford (tie)
BIGGEST FALLING TEAM FROM 2006: Montana State

It's really a shame that App. State/UM game never came together. An early season, 1 vs 2 Ohio State/Texas-esque game would've been great and who knows, maybe it would've gotten some TV exposure.

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So, something pretty cool happened here at the Grizzoulian on Saturday; this blog was mentioned on Deadspin.com, arguably the best sports blog on the web. Problem is, when they went to write up their entry on the whole MSU cocaine scandal, they typed it up saying it was UM athletes who were bringing a different kind of snow to the Big Sky area.

When a college football team and a drug cartel are linked, quick, what school might you suspect it would be? Correct, it is the U of M, but it's not that one.

It's the University of Montana, where the athletes are also entrepreneurs.

Ouch.

Well, the Grizzoulian hasn't faired so well with media exposure. The Kaimin story on the blog had some errors and was paired up with an excellent example of great investigative journalism -- a Valentine's Day centerpiece on vibrators. Deadspin has a bit more journalistic integrity than the Kaimin -- pretty sure a random Facebook note does as well -- so it was kind of funny to see this slip-up.

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Greg Rachac on the Billing Gazzette's Cat-Griz Insider is reporting that Montana State football coach Mike Kramer has been fired. This comes in the wake of arrests of former football players for dealing cocaine.

An e-mail from Montana State SID Bill Lamberty Friday afternoon announced that Bobcats coach Mike Kramer has been fired. The e-mail stated that, “Montana State University Athletic Director Peter Fields announced Friday that the University is exercising its option to terminate the contract of Mike Kramer, MSU’s head football coach for the past seven seasons.”

Fields was quoted in the e-mail, “Looking at the football program as a whole and in light of the recent criminal activities of former student-athletes connected to it, I believe there is something broken with our football program, and we need to take decisive steps to fix it.”

There is also information in a press release on MSU's athletic page:

[MSU Athletic Director Peter Fields] met with MSU President Geoff Gamble and Vice President for Student Affairs Allen Yarnell on Friday. He said Gamble and Yarnell concurred that the cumulative effects of the program's troubles pointed to a "crisis in leadership" in Bobcat football.

"It starts with leadership," Fields said. "When you look at our football program's recent history, it is apparent that its direction does not fit with what this University is all about.

It is very impressive to see the administration step up on this one and attempt to get rid of what has been on-going problem. They very easily could've passed it off by saying that these are former players who are no longer affiliated with the program but they didn't. It also makes me wonder just how deep this whole situation goes.

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Like a 6'2" slow lanky white receiver going over the middle for a poorly thrown and floating pass, this story is lined up just perfectly for the safeties that are all those Griz fans who think the Montana State football team is made up of a bunch of criminals. I want to say this story is more sad than it is comical, but that's just not true. They were MSU grads (well, one was, not sure about the other) selling coke. They couldn't be smart enough to get away with it for too long.

Out of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, here's the first few paragraphs:

A drug-dealing cartel consisting of former Montana State University athletes who were known as the main suppliers of cocaine in Bozeman was busted this week after the arrest of a former MSU football player and his brother.

Former wide receiver Richard Demond Gatewood, 23, and his brother, Randy Lamar Gatewood, 21, both of Bozeman, appeared in federal court in Missoula Wednesday on two federal complaints alleging they were selling cocaine and conspiring to sell cocaine in Bozeman from June 2005 to May 2007, according to court records.

Both men are being held in Missoula County's jail. Bail has not been set.

According to federal court records, another former MSU football player who goes by the street names of “Demetrius,” “D” or “DW” has been the leader of a drug-dealing gang with at least six drug “runners” in Bozeman for two years.

One of those runners, Rick Gatewood, allegedly used his athletic scholarship money to help bring cocaine to Bozeman from “DW's” supplier in Fairfield, Calif.

It's somewhat ironic that a major cocaine distributor shares the same name as a character from children's books and a PBS cartoon.

UPDATE
-Here's an article with the Cats' history of trouble with the law.
-Here's the AD's response.

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Every single Griz fan knows how frustrating it can be to have Josh Swogger at quarterback. Well, Dwayne Bowe and the Kansas City Chiefs are starting to understand now too.

At LSU, Bowe played with strong-armed quarterback JaMarcus Russell, chosen by Oakland as the first pick in the draft.

On Saturday, the passers were a couple of NFL wannabes, Jeff Terrell and Josh Swogger.

Both are undrafted rookies. Terrell, from Princeton, was signed by the Chiefs last week. Swogger, from Montana, was rented by the Chiefs just for the duration of the camp.

Their throws were frequently off target, frustrating Bowe. After one such pass, he shouted to Swogger, “Come on, get it to me.”

“All I can do is run routes and catch the ball,” Bowe explained later. “Quarterbacks are going to change. Different quarterbacks, some throw it this way and some throw it that way. All I’ve got to do is worry about catching the ball.”

Right now Swogger is an NFL quarterback. Savor it buddy, savor it. It's looking like it may be the only time he'll be able to call himself that. "Yeah, I played four years in NFL Europe" probably doesn't get you a drink or a girl at the local bar.

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I woke up this morning--my third after returning from Zootown--to find Portland State and Jerry Glanville splattered across the front of my sports section. It wasn't exactly what I wanted to find on this fine Mother's Day. The story is extremely well written and I have no doubt the increasing number of articles like this will only lead to further success of the Portland State program.

The man made famous during decades spent coaching in college and the NFL, for careers in broadcasting and car racing, for, above all, the character known as Jerry Glanville, is now the coach at Portland State.

And he wants you to be a Viking.

He wants to play you the music that will announce his team's entrance during home games, all war horns and tribal drums beating into crescendo — Star Trek meets Scandinavia. He wants you to see the Viking hull and Viking statues in his office. He wants to tell you the first city the Vikings conquered: Portland, England, in 789.

He's rolling now, ever the salesman, trying to bring Vikings into vogue. He grabs a vintage Viking helmet, made of steel, bought on eBay, from behind his desk.

"You're going to love this," he says, invoking his favorite phrase. "Everybody has worn that thing. The president. The players. Me. Put that bad boy on."

Further proof that Glanville can sell blind men glasses rests awkwardly atop your head. You wear the helmet. You met Glanville 45 minutes earlier.

You want to be a Viking.

One can only hope that his personality brings more success and attention to the Big Sky and I-AA football. One can also hope that after bringing in said attention, he pulls a Bob Huggins and peaces out before kicking the pedestal out from under the Griz.

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Last season, the Griz were very over-matched in their semifinal loss to UMass. From what I saw, the score was much closer than what was happening on the field. Coming off that loss, the Griz go into an extremely weak non-conference schedule. I don't think our AD schedules this far in advance but take a look at some of the team coming down the pipe for the Minutemen.

Courtesy of the UMass Football Blog, here's a look at some of the BCS opponents the Minutemen will be playing in the future:

• 2007 --Boston College (09/29/07)
• 2008 --Texas Tech (09/20/08)
• 2009--Kansas State (09/05/09)
• 2010--Open
• 2011--Boston College(10/01/10)
• 2012--UConn (08/30/12)

It's also interesting that while our opponents are playing teams like Michigan and BC, we play Ft. Lewis and Southern Utah. I understand we played Iowa last year and got paid well to do so, but that doesn't mean we should get a year off from decent competition.

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It is now official: Northern Arizona will play defending FCS National Champion Appalachian State on September 15. It was rumored that the Griz were interested in such a match-up but it never really panned out as the logistics didn't work for either school.

For those of you wondering why the Griz has such an awful schedule this year and why UM is not playing the Mountaineers, I point to a previous entry containing an email with UM AD Jim O'Day.

Here's a brief excerpt with O'Day's words on Appalachian State. For other information, read the complete email.

Would love to play App State, but the cost may be too high for both schools. Trouble flying in and out of Boone and Missoula. We both estimate about $125,000… which most likely won’t be doable for either this year as we try to pay our bills. The cost of travel to some of these “remote” places is making scheduling more and more challenging and difficult. Everyone has to pay their bills, and wants some money in return for making the trip. Boise is paying in the neighborhood of $185,000 for a guarantee game, and we’re already at $125,000 being offered… with few takers. They say it would cost almost that much just to fly into Missoula and pay accompanying bills.

It's really disappointing that even though we have some of the best attendance in all of the FCS, money was a deciding factor in whether or not this match-up occurred. It's kind of frustrating when you remember that—I believe this is true, comment if I'm wrong— the trip to Flagstaff is about as difficult as it gets.

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A Bozeman area sponsor has decided to pick up the tab on the hideous monstrosity pictured above. Yep, that's right, the 2007 Montana State Bobcats will be vomited from a giant inflatable cat. Get excited.

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Forget the Bergquist/Selle quarterback race, the biggest debate surrounding the Griz football program is always whether or not we should jump to I-A and play with the big guys. At this point, it's pretty hard to figure out what this would take and just whether or not it would be a good thing. Well, Texas State University has laid out what we should do.

Texas State University-San Marcos President Denise M. Trauth said she will ask the President's Athletics Task Force to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study on moving the university's football program to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level of competition in the future.

"There appears to be a groundswell of enthusiasm surrounding our football program right now," University President Denise Trauth said in a news release Sunday. "If we can carry that momentum forward and build on it, then the feasibility of moving the program to the FBS competition is something we need to examine."

If a team that got beat by Northern Colorado can examine the possibility of going to I-A, why can't we? Seriously, these guys are willing to take the risk because they know the support they have right now may later fade. Griz football fading isn't completely impossible. If it did, don't you think we'd regret never even looking at the possibility of moving up?

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As it turns out, some NFL GMs were in the market for a scaled back version of JaMarcus Russell. While Russell was probably recovering from a night out spending his Under Armor endorsement money and making it rain, Swogger spent the day sitting and staring at that ESPN draft frame before signing as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs.

It was a tough draft for quarterbacks as even the one who led his team to a National Championship didn't hear his name called so it was somewhat expected that we weren't going to hear the Griz QB mentioned in the later rounds. This may turn out alright for him as he's going to a pretty good situation; well, at least it's a good situation for  a backup quarterback who's trying to secure a job

Griz defensive back and returnman extraordinaire — hey, he just signed with an NFL team, ridiculous cliche superlatives are fine  — Tuff Harris signed with the Miami Dolphins.

“They'd seen film, and they came and visited last spring,” Harris said. “They have good corners, but they're all young - nobody over two years, I guess. He (Miami secondary coach Mel Phillips) said it's a good opportunity, a good chance to compete.”

The kicking game could be a factor for Harris. Miami's first-round pick, receiver and return man extraordinaire Ted Ginn, Jr., out of Ohio State, is nursing a sprained foot.

“He has an injury and probably won't be doing anything until two months from now,” said Harris, who averaged 14.5 yards per punt return with two touchdowns last fall. “They also mentioned (returning) which is good. I kind of like doing that.”

The only question is, which one of these guys is going to really get lit up first? We all saw what happened to Trent Green last year and God only knows what a training camp punt coverage team — filled with guys trying to earn a job too — will be thinking when they see the undrafted 6' sub 200 lb kid from the boonies head back to field a kick.

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With the coming and going of the Spring Game, it will be quite some time before we see the Griz football team on the field again. When we do see them in actual competition again, it will be against Southern Utah University. I don't know much about them other than that they want to join us in the Big Sky Conference. To find out a bit more I checked on Youtube to see if I could find any informative embarrassing video.

Here's the result:

Wow, where have I heard that song before? Oh, yeah. Let's hope it produces similar results.

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Well I just logged on to TVguide.com to see if for some odd, convenient reason the Griz's spring football game would be televised. Of course, it's not. Interestingly, the Altitude TV network will be showing Montana State's Triangle Classic from Great Falls.

Montana State may be playing its final spring football scrimmage in Great Falls on April 28, but Bobcat fans in Bozeman won't have trouble watching.

In fact, Bobcat fans spread far and wide will be able to catch the action thanks to Altitude Sports and Entertainment. The regional cable television network will carry the Triangle Classic, beginning at 2 pm, a contest that caps an event that has become a north-central Montana tradition.

I guess that's fair. I mean we get a FCS Semifinal on the deuce and they get their spring game on Altitude. I think I'll take that trade every year... which is about how frequently it'll occur. Well, unless the Colorado Avalanche make the playoffs.

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Just about every Griz hoops fan is disappointed to see Stuart Mayes go. He will leave a void at the guard and forward positions that will be very hard to fill. This doesn't meet Stu is done trying to help out UM athletics. This week Stu began trying out for the Griz football team.

The Griz found another receiver this week in former Grizzly basketball player Stuart Mayes. The 6-foot-7 senior just completed his basketball eligibility at UM. “He wanted to come out and try it,” Montana football coach Bobby Hauck said. “We'll see.”

Other UM non-football players have ventured onto the gridiron. After Scott Zanon hung up his basketball shoes for UM, he joined the football team and returned a punt for a touchdown in 1987. Cornerback Tuff Harris, a senior in 2006, was originally a track and field recruit. Of course he became a football recruit as soon as he played a game, which could be a rub for Mayes and the Griz.

“He's got a fifth year, and we get into an issue with him where we have to makes some decisions, because he'll count against our (scholarship) numbers if he competes,” Hauck said. “We'll have to see how things go.”

I don't know what to say other than I really really hope this works out. Our wide receiver position is already pretty stacked but any fan of Griz hoops can tell you that Stu is extremely athletic. It would not surprise me if he found a way onto the team.

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Bobby Hauck is a state employee and a public official. Because he holds these titles, all his phone records — amongst other things — are open to the public if one wishes to file a request through the state's Freedom of Information Act. Well, one fan did this with Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt (great name) and there were some interesting results.

I'm sure many fans would be curious to see just what's inside Bobby Haucks text message inbox.  Would this be a possibility?

Rob Phenicie: Why do our players refuse to respect my genius?

Bobby Hauck: No comment. That is a personnel issue and I refuse to answer such questions at this time. Who is this anyway?

Rob Phenicie: It's the Phenster, man; who else besides one of the greatest young offensive minds in college football?

Bobby Hauck: How do I know?

Rob Phenicie: My number is programmed in your phone. I've seen it.

Bobby Hauck: I know that, but how do I know that a member of the press hasn't stolen your phone in a desperate attempt to get behind the maroon curtain and find out who our quarterback is?

Rob Phenicie: Come on man. You have an embarrassing birth-mark on your right thigh in the shape of a bobcat.

Bobby Hauck: Fine, what's up?

Rob Phenicie: I really think we should have a rule that says a player can't be at a restaurant or bar when a coach is there.

Bobby Hauck: Why?

Rob Phenicie: Because no one should cramp or draw attention away from my incredible offensive intellect. Plus I already kicked a player off the team for violating it.

Bobby Hauck: Jesus Phen, remember the last time you made up a rule before telling me about it? Swogger went the whole season under the impression that he had to count to five-Mississippi before passing and was under no circumstances allowed to throw the ball away.

Rob Phenicie: Throwing the ball away makes us look weak! Plus sacks create third-and-longs that open things up and allow our tight ends to get down the field.

Bobby Hauck: We don't pass to our tight ends.

Rob Phenicie: That's not the point, Craig shouldn't of been there. I retroactively created this rule and he violated it.

Bobby Hauck: You kicked Craig off the team?! He's a U-Dub kid! First you hardly pass to him now you kick him off the team?!

Rob Phenicie: No one is above me, er, the team. No one is above the team... or its rules.

Bobby Hauck: It's not even a rule!

Rob Phenicie: It is now.

Bobby Hauck: No, no it's not. Alright, I've got to go call Craig and get this sorted out. I'll talk to you at practice.

Rob Phenicie: Fine, I'll go draw up some more variations on the shuffle pass; just as you asked for.

Bobby Hauck: I didn't.

Rob Phenicie: I know, I'm so smart I thought one step ahead and figured you would.

Please do not take this too seriously. It's the offseason and there's not much news. Stifle.

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I'm sure many of you are aware that Josh Swogger has garnered some attention from folks up in the No Fun League. There's an interesting story in this morning's Kaimin with Swogger's reaction to the attention and press he's been getting.

“It’s tough to say what’s going to happen in the draft, because you just never know,” Swogger said. “You can run yourself in circles trying to figure out who likes you and who doesn’t, so I’m just going to wait and see what happens.”

“It’s nice to have articles that give you that recognition,” Swogger said. “But in the end, the only thing that matters is what the teams think."

The article says that the Packers have been coming after him a bit. As a Green Bay fan, I like hearing this because I am just scared to death of the weak-armed Aaron Rodgers lining up under center in Lambeau. Yes, Swogger lining up at QB on the Tundra is slightly more terrifying but at least it would be fun to watch. Swogger said he has also spoken several times with the Cleveland Browns — Brady Quinn's sloppy seconds, holla — and the Vikings, Steelers, Colts and Eagles have also shown interest.

While there has been a fair amount of positive press on Swogs, some media members — myself sort of included — have pointed out his flaws.

But not all teams at the Combine were impressed. In an online scouting report, the Miami Dolphins wrote that he did not have an NFL arm. On nfldraftcountdown.com, analyst Scott Wright wrote that despite Swogger’s strong arm and good size, he couldn’t cut it against top competition. He said he has limited mobility, and “makes a lot of bad decisions … he’s still just a developmental guy.”

I really disagree with the first statement as Swogger could probably have his own Powerade commercial if he could manage to hit a single section of bleachers. I think Wright is pretty dead-on in his assessment, based on what I've seen at Montana. Hopefully, once Swogger gets settled into an offense he can reduce these bad decisions.

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Remember when Vince Young supposedly scored a six on the Wunderlic test and we all thought he was completely incompetent before that was corrected to a 16? Well, someone has done worse and they're from right here in the Big Sky Conference.

Every Day Should Be Saturday is reporting that Weber State safety Bo Reed has scored an abysmal four on the test. This comes within just one point of that all-time low, a three held by Ravens' linebacker Roderick Green.

He really should've just gone for the outright record of two seeing as he really won't gain any recognition otherwise.

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It's really hard for me to give you any good impressions from Friday's Griz football scrimmage because I really didn't walk away feeling very impressed. It wasn't that we played bad, it's just that nothing really stood out.

I went into the scrimmage not expecting much with the two guys I would most like to see, Craig Chambers and JD Quinn, were out with shoulder and "undisclosed" injuries respectively. Even so, I was interested to see the quarterback race and how our running backs were doing.

Here are some pretty basic observations:

• The quarterback race seems pretty hope but I believe the job will be Bergquists almost by default as none of them really stood out. I think I may have developed some bias against Bergquist after seeing him next to Swogger. He just seems so small and weak-armed after watching Swogger play. It's like watching Brett Favre and being afraid of when Aaron Rodgers time eventually comes. However, Bergquist has the mobility inside the pocket that Swogger just didn't have.
  
  • They really did not pass the ball much during the scrimmage, at least not with the first team. It was really kind of discouraging. With there being something of a quarterback controversy, I figured they would want to air it out more.
  • The only real good pass of the day was about a 35 yarder from Bergquist to Allen. Seemed like it may have been due to strong pass protection as Cole had a lot of time to go through his progressions before coming back to hit a wide open Eric Allen.
• The backs played well, just about all of them making strong moves in the open field. It was good to see Lex out there. Not sure if he played much or at all in the 11 on 11 scrimmage. This is one of our deepest positions with TBF, Lex, and Coleman all being great players.
  • We ran the swing play a ton. The type of thing Baylark of UMass killed us with. However, the play was rarely run smoothly. Quarterbacks were consistently tossing bad passes out in the flats that were either incomplete, too high or behind the receiver.
  • The offensive line was not opening up holes and often letting guys into the backfield. Our backs were forced to make a move or break a tackle before they even got to the line of scrimmage.
• I almost felt robbed. The whole thing lasted about 90 minutes, maybe a bit less. They spent probably 70 minutes running a normal practice and 20 minutes scrimmaging. I mean watching practice is worthwhile but I wasn't interested in watching the QBs hit wide open receivers and having no idea where they were actually trying to throw it.
  

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University of Montana offensive lineman JD Quinn has finally voiced how he feels about being kicked off the Oklahoma football team. It sounds a bit like what Maurice Clarrett said following his departure from from Columbus. One of those "you don't know half of what's going on" stories.

"All I did was take cash," Quinn said. "I didn't break any laws and I get kicked off the team, but there's people on the team that are breaking laws and failing drug tests and stuff like that, and there's nobody getting kicked off the team for that type of stuff."

Quinn declined to provide details of his allegations about other players, but said it was not necessarily about players on the OU team.

"I was just saying around the country. I wasn't saying it in the context of Oklahoma. There's just people I've heard of doing things."

"I didn't hurt anybody," he said during a 23-minute telephone interview Monday, during which he expressed both remorse and bitterness. "I don't understand why the punishment was so harsh."

In a second interview Tuesday, Quinn said "All I did was take money from somebody that wanted to give it, but I didn't hurt anybody or anything like that. People have gotten second chances for worse things."

With all the stories like this, you really have to wonder if a good portion of it is true. Even so, getting 8k for doing nothing should have some negative impact your eligibility. The punishment may be a little harsh but I, for one, believe that it wasn't excessive. On the other hand, I think him losing a year of eligibility and being allowed to stay on OU would've sufficed as well.

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There's an interesting editorial/complaint in the Montana Kaimin today about how the football team and their media relation skills kind of, well, blow. The article compares Kaimin reporters' efforts to get in contact with Bobby Hauck (as well as Cole Bergquist) and Larry Krystkowiak.

This week, one Kaimin sports reporter encountered people eager to provide information and quick to return calls, while another experienced gag orders, stonewalls and canned answers.

The ironic part of this scenario is that the former situation was dealing with an NBA team under much greater public and media scrutiny than the team that caused the difficulties: the University of Montana’s own Grizzly football team.
Access this week to the Milwaukee Bucks’ new head coach, former Griz basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak, and NBA player Lynn Greer was easy and straightforward.

But, when asked who was leading the Grizzly quarterback race, head coach Bobby Hauck responded that it’s way too early to tell and that it’s a wide-open race between four players. Quarterback Cole Bergquist couldn’t talk about his chances since the Athletic Department has made him unavailable to the media.

This just seems to me like an example of the Griz football team knowing that they are the kings of the state, or at least Missoula, and thinking they don't have to give anything back. It's really kind of upsetting. One thing that kind of irked me, and no one else seemed to notice, was that after the loss to UMass, they did nothing to acknowledge the crowd's support throughout the year. After the last home game, I've seen many college teams make they way over to the student section and show some form of gratitude to the students that have invested so much in them.

Another reason for the snubbing of reporters is that I don't think that they realize that we, the media, are actually out to help them. I recently tried to get in contact with a couple basketball players and never heard back. You do realize that Dahlberg was pretty empty this year and that media coverage only means more attention. More often than not, the media helps, not hurts, teams.

RELATED:
Krystkowiak adjusts to life as NBA head coach                     
Griz QB position still undecided

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As many of you have probably heard, former NFL head coach and Hawaii defensive coordinator Jerry Glanville has decided to become the head football coach of the Portland State Vikings. Jerry seems pumped going into this thing, probably too pumped for coaching I-AA football, and has said some interesting things. One thing he mentioned is that he would like to turn Portland into the Green Bay, WI of I-AA football (sorry Jer, that's already taken). This really isn't the funniest analogy in this whole fiasco; that would come from Will Leitch over at Deadspin.

The Green Bay for I-AA football. Now there's a goal! Actually, we think Portland State is to college football what Jerry Glanville's Pigskin Footbrawl is to legitimate football video games.

Needless to say, it's going to be fun having this nut in the Big Sky Conference.

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Thought I'd point out this blip from Danny Davis' recent column:

Clarification Note: After last week’s column regarding nicknames, the Montana Kaimin was informed that Matt Dlouhy’s “Doc” nickname originates from his initials, not from comparisons to NBA Hall-of-Famer Julius Erving as was previously assumed. The Kaimin somewhat regrets the error.

"The Kaimin somewhat regrets the error." Keep it up guys, keep it up. Not gonna lie, I sent in this correction in after hearing about it from a commenter(UMTBuds). Danny Davis once asked me at a basketball game why I kept calling Dlouhy "Doc" and at the time I didn't have an answer; it was just what I wrote on his little blue cup when I volunteered for a brief stint handing out water at practices. DD didn't know so he kind of based an entire column on an assumption.

Oh well. I'm not gonna go on too much about this, I just wish DD or someone would write some more columns about Griz sports. You know, ones that get the fans interested in athletics right here on campus, come around more than once a week and, you know, aren't based entirely in fiction.

RELATED: Foresters take ax to Kaimin coverage of Ball [Montana Kaimin]

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As many of you have probably heard, Montana Grizzlies quarterback Josh Swogger is headed to the NFL Combine, where he will do everything he can to prove himself. JaMarcus Russell will be doing the opposite as he'll probably be walking around  just trying not to slip on any laminated Wonderlic exam booklets and go out George Costanza style. Sure, a guy who's going to be drafted first and one who will be lucky to sign as a free agent are going to have some big differences, but they also have some key similarities.

So if you're an NFL GM who's looking for a guy like Russell but don't have the #1 spot and already used up all your draft picks on players who are actually worth a damn, Josh Swogger is your quarterback of the future.

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The last spot to be filled has finally been announced. The Griz will be playing USC Appalachian State the University of Albany Great Danes. Yes, they are FCS.

Here's the complete schedule:

2007 Montana football schedule
9/1...Southern Utah...1:05 p.m.
9/9...Fort Lewis...1:05 p.m.
9/15...Open...----
9/22...Albany...1:05 p.m.
9/29...Weber State (homecoming)...1:05 p.m.
10/6...Eastern Washington...1:05 p.m.
10/13...at Sacramento State...3:05 p.m.
10/20...Northern Colorado...1:05 p.m.
10/27...at Northern Arizona...3:05 p.m.
11/3...Portland State...12:05 p.m.
11/10...at Idaho State...TBA
11/17...at Montana State...12:05 p.m.

Yep, seven home games and five to start the season. Gotta pay for that expansion.

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So this is a video of the opening game from last year...before things really started to go downhill. So yeah, it pretty much just includes the players coming out and the kickoff. It would've been pretty tight had we hung in there or maybe even upset the Hawkeyes but as it stands it's a video of us about to stomped set to an awful System of a Down song. Understandable why the video doesn't continue. As Dave Chapelle put it: nobody wanna get their ass beat to a soundtrack and shit.

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Just like Larry Krystkowiak at the end of last basketball season, it feels like (not just feels like, it is) Hauck's departure from Zootown is inevitable. However, I believe their own aspirations for taking their coaching to careers to the next level are a bit different.

When LK was about to leave, he didn't seem quite as desperate to get out. He did put his name in for the job at Pepperdine before seeing all the good that he had right in UM and getting out. He saw that UM had a great program on the rise. They just beat Nevada to get to the second round of the NCAA tourney and, before he was mentioned as a candidate, I didn't even know Pepperdine had a basketball program.

So he got out of it. He told his players he would not take any other college job. He wanted to build the Griz program into one it had the potential to be. He wanted to make this school love its hoops program again and he was well on his way.

What would be said if Hauck had a similar chat about his aspirations with the Griz football team?

"Listen guys, I know when I recruited you I asked that you dedicate the next four to five years of your life to this football program but... I'm not gonna lie, as soon as something decent opens up at the next level and they're willing to hire a I-AA coach to run their program, I'm taking the next overpriced non-direct flight out of here."

I'm not blaming him or calling him a bad guy, it's just kind of disappointing that he's such a lame duck. He needs to go elsewhere to take his game to the next level and wants to do so as soon as humanly possible.

The question I have for you is this: who do you think is the better coaching prospect, Bobby Hauck or Larry Krystkowiak?

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Bobby Hauck has signed a one year deal to continue coaching the Griz, just prolonging his inevitable departure from Zootown.

Hauck chose to sign the one-year deal after the he and the University of Montana could not come to terms on a three-year deal. Sounds like it's not his fault.

However, it wasn't the signed deal that prolonged his inevitable departure; it was his inability to get a decent job at the next level.

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One of the very best parts about being a college student, and cheering for your school's team's has to be how often you get to see the athletes in situations you don't expect to see them in. My personal favorite has to be seeing Griz offensive lineman JD Quinn at the Foresters Ball (if you went to UM you know what it is) on Saturday night. A close second was seeing Mike Chavez at The Queen the night before the Griz beat Weber State.

Back to Saturday night, I was walking back from the Port-O-Potties in a somewhat altered state and couldn't help but yell out "Hey, it's JD Quinn" while walking up the stairs. I wasn't really expecting a response so when he said "yes?" and looked at me I think I almost turned to stone. I uttered a "good luck next season" and continued on my way.

If you look up above you can see him off to the left. When the picture was taken, the girl front and center wasn't supposed to be included. Turns out it's UM cheerleader Kelsey Poore. Odd seeing them out of their natural environment.

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The Montana Kaimin reports that Griz head coach Bobby Hauck is going to sign a one-year contract instead of the three-year one that was on the table.

Athletic Director Jim O’Day said he would prefer to sign Hauck to a long-term contract because that would provide more stability to the program.

“If that’s what he’s going to do we’ll respect his wishes,” O’Day said.

O’Day said he would like to know if Hauck is going to stay with Montana by the end of January or the recruiting period, which ends on Feb. 7.

“It’s time to get moving one way or another,” O’Day said. “I can understand his concerns and I’m sure he can understand ours.”

On how the shortened deal will affect recruiting:

One of the major drawbacks to not signing a long-term deal will be recruiting. Hauck realizes that this will weigh heavily on some recruits’ minds, wondering if he will be there to see them play out their collegiate careers.

“I know it does have an effect on it for sure,” Hauck said. “It’s just something I need to address with the kids we’re recruiting. It’ll be a huge negative for us in recruiting.”

However, the last time the Kaimin reported that UM and someone were close to a deal was in Tuesday's paper, when they said UM was very close to acquiring Highlands Golf Course. In Wednesday's paper, they confirmed that the deal is off.

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I mentioned earlier in the week that there was a strong possibility that Appalachian State, back-to back FCS National Champions, would be coming to Missoula during the 2007 season. I exchanged emails with AD Jim O'Day earlier today and it looks like the matchup is unlikely for a wide variety of reasons.

I have only skimmed his response and wanted to get it up as soon as possible before doing any real analysis or stating my opinion.

His email, in its entirety, is after the jump.

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Once again, I don't have a link to the article because their site isn't updated, but the Kaimin is reporting the potential for a matchup in Missoula against Appalachian State.

According to the paper, the reigning I-AA National Champions are really pushing to be the ones who get to fill the void on UM's schedule.

"Appalachian State is pushing harder than anyone," O'Day said. "They're even willing to come here and play."

"They're not afraid to play anybody," O'Day said. "But you also look at it and say, are we ready to play them? I know the fans would love it, but I'm not so sure the coaches would."

As a fan, I would love it but I am afraid of what could happen if things did go wrong. This game, I believe, would be early in the season and a poor showing could hurt their confidence going into conference play. A bad loss against one of I-AA elite could also serve as a measuring stick once it came time for seeding the playoffs.

Even so, you need to have faith in your program and your fans. Trust that WaGriz will be louder than ever and the players will probably be as up for this game as they would be for Griz-Cat. A win over the back to back national champions would give the players and fans a huge boost.

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This may come as old news to most Griz fans but the Montana Board of Regents approved a 2,000 seat expansion to Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

The expansion will be completed by the 2008 season and was designed with the intention of allowing for futher expansions.

It will be very interesting to see how Wash-Griz will look a quarter-century from now. Also, if this expansion continues, it'll be more interesting to see if the Griz are still romping through I-AA or taking their shot with the big guys.

The image above was posted by ronbo on eGriz. The expansion is not exactly what the final product will look like seeing as the seats will stretch farther, but it gives a general idea.

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ESPN.com is reporting that Denver Broncos' tight ends coach Tim Brewster will be taking over as the head coach of the Minnesota Gophers.

This comes as good news for Griz fans as head coach Bobby Hauck was considered a candidate for the position.

I don't really know how they could've gone with this guy when there were so many other candidates that seemed superior. I said before that if USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin wanted the job he would probably get it, I guess I was wrong. Either he didn't want it or the folks at the University Minnesota aren't too bright. I'm not going to say which I think it was because I didn't get in there.

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There have been rumors floating around that our Montana Grizzlies will be flying down to LA on the opening week of the season to play the USC Trojans for more money than what is normally offered on Deal or No Deal. Turns out there's probably no truth to that rumor.

This Fritz Neighbor article in the Missoulian says that AD Jim O'day hasn't heard anything from the land of Troy.

“You would always listen,” he said of playing the Trojans, who finished No. 4 in the final Associated Press poll. “But I haven't heard from anybody. I don't know where they would've come from.”

Not sure whether or not the falsehood of this rumor is a good or bad thing. I mean I did manage to beat USC in the Fiesta Bowl while playing as UM in NCAA '06 on XBox but I'm guessing the outcome wouldn't be quite the same in real life.

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The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting that Bobby Hauck may be a candidate to coach the Minnesota Gophers.

Rumors are rampant at the national coaches convention in San Antonio. Two names that have surfaced are Montana coach Bobby Hauck and TCU coach Gary Patterson. It's unclear whether either coach has been contacted.

It is important to note that this information is in the last paragraph of an article on the possibility of USC offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin taking over.

"It's an extremely attractive job," Kiffin said. "It's a place that's close to my heart. I've always wanted to move back someday and raise my family there. It's a great university, and the program is going in the right direction."

Kiffin went to high school in the area and one has to figure that if he wants this job, he is probably going to get it. This man directed and recruited some of the greatest offenses in college football history.

Kiffin isn't the only high profile name ahead of Bobby, other candidates include: longtime NFL and college assistant Marc Trestman, former Miami coach Larry Coker, former Iowa State coach Dan McCarney and LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini.

The school has said their dream candidate is Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, but that is probably not going to happen.

It's only a matter of time before Hauck leaves Missoula but I think the odds that he will be coaching the Gophers in the homerdome next year are about the same as those on Tony Dungy.

Thanks to Charlie for the tip, I haven't heard anything on the Missoula end of things. There is nothing in the Missoulian today and this appears to be the only reference to him being a candidate.

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This is the argument Great Falls Tribune columnist George Geise makes in today's paper. I'm not saying I disagree, I'm just wondering if the reasons are right.

In the article Geise's basic argument is the fact that UM is good, was good and inevitably will be in the future. It's not like there is a great assistant waiting in the wings, just a long line of coaches who want to join such a great program. He points to the past coaching exchanges and this year's young Grizzly team.

[Mike] Dennehy's last team went 9-3, and [Joe] Glenn's first team went 13-2, losing in the I-AA championship game to Georgia Southern.

Glenn's final team went 11-3, and Hauck's inititial squad went 9-4 in 2003. But Bobby had the Griz back in the national-championship game the very next season, falling to James Madison.

Hauck's team was 12-2 this past season, with a squad dominated by underclassmen. Now that it appears likely Hauck will be back in Missoula in 2007 (although it's possible a job like Air Force might have some lure), Griz fans will expect at least 13 victories next season.

I'm not at all saying Geise is wrong, I mean he's the sports editor of the paper and covered BSC sports for almost three decades, but this notion that Griz fans have, which he mentions, that we will always be good is kind of scary.

The reason the Griz are so good is because they draw in great talent (coaches and players) and the reason they draw in talent is because they're so good. I understand this is the paradox presented to every college sports program but the undying expectations aren't so high at most schools. If you expect to be great, no matter what happens, eventually you won't be.

Don't you think Miami of a few years ago or Notre Dame, well, always, believed they couldn't do anything but be great?

As a Notre Dame and Griz fan, I have high expectations that will not be lowered, but at the same time it does cause some concern.

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This article in the Boston Globe does a good job of talking up the Montana defense. Well, it's a good job when they don't use poor analogies and run-on sentences.

UMass fans who have visions of star running back Steve Baylark running wild over the Grizzlies could be in for a rude awakening. The only thing that runs through Missoula when the Montana defense is on the field is the Clark Fork River (the book "A River Runs Through It," which was adapted into a movie in 1992, was set in Missoula).

The article goes on to explain that the Griz defense plays like the Patriots, something Boston natives can understand without seeing a movie or reading a book.

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For the UMass Minutemen, this really isn't a good time for a short week.

According to this Daily Hampshire Gazette article, several players are trying to heal before Friday night's game with the Griz.

University of Massachusetts football coach Don Brown said his team was a collection of casts, ice and braces on Sunday as the players battled injuries of varying degrees while they prepared for Friday night's Division I Football Championship semifinal game at Montana.

'We looked like a MASH unit on Sunday, but I told the kids by Tuesday make sure that we're unmashed,' Brown said. 'The old adrenaline gets running as the week goes along and I'm sure we'll be ready to go Friday night' at 7:30 p.m

The article also offers some insight from the Sports Network's Matt Dougherty. He says that the offense has definitely improved in these playoffs. I don't think any Griz fan could disagree when he says the play of Josh Swogger has improved and frosh Thomas Brooks-Fletcher has emerged as the Griz's #1 back.

It may have been immediately following a Jamarcus Russel or vintage Daunte Culpepper-esque run but at one point the student section was definitely chanting "Swogger, Swogger, Swogger."

He also talks about what weekends are like in Wash-Griz:

'It's a feeling unlike any other I-AA venue,' he said. 'When I was there they came in with parachuters before the game, stuff you'll usually only see at NFL stadiums. When the teams are in the north end zone inside the 20, it's unbelievably loud. The seats are very close to the field. People come from all over the state. It's a very lightly populated, but huge state, a lot of people make long drives every week. It's a pretty unbelievable atmosphere.'

If anyone wants a to feel a little of the Wash-Griz atmosphere from the comfort of their laptop, check out the YouTube clip after the jump.

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This photo is courtesy of the UMass Football Fanzone, a blog operated by UMass fan Frank Smith. Check out his blog for more information and images on the Minutemen.

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With their victory over the Southern Illinois Salukis, the Griz have moved within one win of a trip to Chattanooga Tennessee for the I-AA National Championship Game. This kind of blows my mind: the Superbowl is in Miami, the BCS title game is in Glendale, Arizona and the I-AA National Championship Game is somewhere in Tennessee. That seems unfair.

This game will be played Friday night at  5:30 against the University of Massachusetts Minutemen. The game will be telecast live on ESPN as they'll bring in portable lights for the game. This comes after Appalachian State, who stomped Ms. U, chose to play their game Saturday afternoon. Sure it may feel like Lambeau, in January, on Pluto, but I'll take the atmosphere a night in the Zoo brings.

Time for another "maroon-out?"

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Griz football Head Coach Bobby Hauck seems to be a moderately warm commodity when it comes to I-A head coach openings. He was reportedly already a candidate for the Iowa State head coaching job. That job is likely headed to San Diego Coach Jim Harbaugh, but it doesn't mean Hauck won't be mentioned for other head coaching positions.

Hauck has I-A experience as he was an assistan at both the University of Washington and the University of Colorado. Along with that, he is considered to be an excellent recruiter. He was the recruiting director for each of these schools for at least part of each tenure.

This recent ESPN article lists him one of the coaches in a non-BCS conference most deserving of a job in one of the six BCS conferencecs. Check the article out soon, it's part of ESPN's Insider free preview. I really hate this whole Insider thing.

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As long as the Griz keep winning, they will be at home all the way until they travel to Chattanooga for the I-AA National Championship.

The Griz earned the #2 seed and will face McNeese State University, who earned the automatic bid from the from the Southland Conference.

Next Saturday's Griz/Cowboys game won't be the only one played in Montana. The Bobcats will be playing host to the Furman Paladins. That is one of the weirdest sports names I've ever heard. After doing a Google image search I think a Paladin is a World of Warcraft character. Nice.

The #1 seed is first-ranked and defending champion Appalachian State.

Check out the press release on nccasports.com for more information on the playoffs; I'll try to get a bracket up once I figure out the complete seedings

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As most Montanans already know, the Griz were victorious in this year's Brawl. The AP article on the game leads with Josh Swogger's statistics but everyone who watched the game, including the Cat-Griz Insider, knows he wasn't the reason our Griz won this game.

It's pretty easy to see the QB wasn't the deciding factor; just look at Swogger's complete stat-line or the final score. They are 17/41 241 yds 1 TD 2 INT and 13-7 respectively. Swogger did have his one moment with the spectacular TD pass to Eric Allen right in front of the student section. This made me (sitting in the front row) react during the play the same way someone would act if Ken Griffey Jr (10 years ago) were jumping up and robbing a homerun that would've otherwise nicked off their knee. I was really in awe and kind of stood back as it happened but once EA dove past the pylon I erupted along with everyone else around me. After this grab, all the momentum shifted and defense decided the Cats were not going to win this game.

From this point on, the Griz defense stepped up every time they needed to. Whether it was stopping them about a Pabst can short of the first down with 5 minutes left or sacking the Cats on the crucial 4th down to [pretty much] end the game, the Cats' resiliency just wasn't working out.

I really could not have enjoyed my first Griz-Cat game any more than I did.

I will try to put more photos up in another entry and also toss up anymore reaction pieces I come across

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I'm pretty sure that just about every Montana citizen thinks that this weekend's Griz-Cat game is the grandest thing this side of the globe. It's important for Montanans to know that there are not just bigger college football games, but more importantly, bigger college football people. One of these people was Bo Schembechler.

Bo Schembechler, the best coach in Michigan history and one of the best  in all of college football, passed away today at age 77. This is a day before the biggest "Big Game" of the all as his old Wolverines, ranked #2, take on the #1 Buckeyes.

My dad put it plain and simple: "college football would not be where it is without people like him."

This from Michigan Fanhouse:

He retired when I was ten, but by the time he left he had imbued the program with the direction and personality it maintains to this day: stodgy, cantankerous, fiercely loyal, kind, and honest. Do I love Michigan so because I am or aspire to those things? Or am I the person I am because of Michigan? Because of Bo? Today I think the latter. Goodbye, Bo. Thank you.

From a really incredible entry on Michigan Against the World:

The irony of Bo's death is not lost on me. Bo blew off an appointment with his doctor last night to speak to the Michigan team. Bo was always talking about his heart, joking that it was going to get the best of him sooner or later, so he might as well live life the way he wanted. Believe me, that he did. I think that while Bo wouldn't be able to watch the game in Columbus, he's now going to be doing one better. Bo will fittingly get to watch the biggest game ever with a birds-eye view, with his old pal Woody.

Thank you, Bo. For the memories you gave me.

Go Blue, Win for Bo.

Here's a quote from Bo out of an ESPN article from today:

"If you think my career has been a failure because I have never won a national title, you have another thing coming," Schembechler said a few weeks before coaching his final game. "I have never played a game for the national title. Our goals always have been to win the Big Ten title and the Rose Bowl. If we do that, then we consider it a successful season."

It'd be great if college football were still this simple. No BCS, no National Championship Game; you just try to win your conference so you can go and face the best of the Pac-10 in Pasadena. If the press thinks you're the best team in the land, so be it. You did all you could.

Bo's foe and friend, Ohio State coaching great Woody Hayes, once said "There are three things that can happen when you throw a pass, and two of them are bad." Bo and Woody coached in a different Big 10; after the jump is a video of what the "Big Game" was like when Bo was at the helm.

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Since I saw the Griz's  new opening video on Griz Vision a few weeks ago I've been dying to find it on the internet. Finally, it's turned up. It's not the complete version, but here is a similar ad the University of Montana has been running on TV. I absolutely loved when I was surprised by this treat during SportsCenter.

Just in case you're not as pumped as you should be or are still reeling from camping out for tickets, I suggest you watch this ad repeatedly. I know I've probably seen it about 25 times and  could not be any more ready for this game.

Also, if you're looking for the full game-opener version it's available on YouTube. It's a poor angle but it gives Griz fans the same type of experience this David Ortiz clip gives to people like Bill Simmons.

Also, here's a more dramatic and emotional ad. It's  good, but I'm just not feeling a softer  side during Griz-Cat week.

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University of Montana alumni are spread out all over the country and I've received a couple of emails from individuals asking where they can watch the game somewhere the game isn't normally broadcast. The best option is probably to find a sports bar somewhere near you showing the game. However, it's usually hard to find if you live, say, 500 miles away.

If you don't mind possibly being huddled in a corner while everyone else watches Ohio State-Michigan, this map on the University of Montana Alumni site gives locations for individuals living in just about every state. If you don't want to miss the game, check the site out.

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In my opinion, being part of the student section is the single greatest experience in sports. Right now I have two extra tickets for  the student section to the biggest event in Montana. Please leave a comment with an offer if you are interested in attending the 106th Brawl of the Wild and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

I was planning on giving them to family but they can't make it out this weekend. Just scroll down or click on the "Griz-Cat" tag to see what a friend and I had to go through to get these tickets.

UPDATE: The tickets are sold. Hope anyone interested finds their way to the game.

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The Montana Grizzlies remain in the second slot on this week's Sports Network I-AA college football poll after they used the University of Northern Colorado as a practice squad to get their offense rolling. It was pretty much the same scenario as the Ohio State's rout of Northwestern, except with less defense.

It kind of worries me that the Bears managed to toss up 21 points on our stingy D. Even so, at least we didn't have to sneak by them for a shot at the BSC crown.

Next week's Brawl of the Wild will be a showdown between the #2 and #15 I-AA teams as Montana State jumped up three spots during their idle week; this is probably something a team full of George Costanzas would aspire to do as often as possible.

One reason for the bizarre jump is NDSU's absolute demolition of Cal Poly. The Bison romped the Mustangs by a score of 51-14. This is the same Mustang team the Griz needed a last second field goal to beat.  The Bison sit at #4 and received eight first-place votes. Yeah, it really is a shame they're postseason ineligible. Not.

About that field goal: I just saw the replay of that this week and that kick barely made it inside the left upright. Because I watched the game from the student section I really had no idea it was that close. After the kick Dan Carpenter was jubilant. I think in that scenario I probably would've just passed out from relief if I was that close to greatly disappointing so many intoxicated Montanans.

Anyway, complete rankings -- as usual -- after the jump.

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It took a grand total of 13 hours inside the stuffy, loud and stiff UC before I finally got those tickets. I was there at two and, thank God, they started handing tickets out a little early -- around 4:30 or so.

I was surprised to see how many people showed up. More specifically, I was even more surprised to see how many really odd/nerdy(ish) people showed up. Of all the sweaty people that seemed to be pushing on me from all sides as we waited for tickets, I really couldn't picture many of them at some cold intense college football clash of rivals.

Just one little anecdotal piece of evidence: I overheard one guy's scheme to buy seven PlayStation 3's and then sell them to desperate Christmas shoppers to make a profit. Aren't there better things to invest in than an overpriced toy? And does this man really belong at Saturday's game? This was one of the many bizarre things I overheard-- you tend to overhear a lot while waiting in line. With the extreme proximity to one another and the overwhelming boredom it's really the only form of entertainment available.

Also, props to the wristband cutter/staff who said he enjoyed reading my blog. It's really good to hear from someone; honestly, thanks. Oh, and sorry I didn't do more than just utter an elongated "yeah" and keep on walking. I was a little worn out from the night and focused on not knocking over those metal bars.

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I've officially gotten my wristband that says when the time comes I am allowed to purchase a ticket along with an additional ticket for a guest of my choosing. It doesn't actually say that on the neon yellow paper band but that's what it means.

I'm kind of missing the point on why we have almost 90 minutes for wristbands then go through the line again for tickets. I guess it prevents us lining up at 10 last night but it's still pretty frustrating.

On top of these two waits tonight I plan on getting into Saturday's game as early as possible to snatch a seat along the rail. We'll see.

Above is an image of the last room before getting tickets. A friend compared it to waiting at Ellis Island; Griz fans young and old gathering all their worldly possessions -- blankets, iPods, sleeping bags, laptops, pizza boxes -- and travelling through some hot muggy room just for the chance to enter the stadium next Saturday.

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It's 7:30 pm and the line has grown to the point that it has extended all the way downstairs. Ten hours until tickets and the Justin Timberlake is blaring; this is what college football is all about.

The entire third floor of the the UM University Center is filled with students waiting for tickets to the next best thing to Ohio State - Michigan. At least that's what I think, it may be entirely untrue. Here's another image from the night. Time to watch Fargo to pass the time.

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The line for tickets continue to grow. It's probably closing in on 500 people. The girlfriend says "close to a thousand" but I highly doubt it. I wonder what it's like getting Ohio State - Michigan tickets. I also wonder if ND can make it to the national championship.

Well, here's another image from the wait, this from the UC ballroom. It's much more full than that and people keep on coming. Rumor is all line-goers will be greeted by a Bobby Hauck wake-up call. Gee, I can't wait to hear that voice at four in the morning.

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It's close to 4:30 and the line has probably grown to about 350 people. Once people realized they weren't going to get guess passes they decided they were going to come back later instead of waiting through the line.

The recent update is that the staff realized they were going to number everyone's hand to prevent cutting and such. My number: 196. The ticket is either going to one of my brother's, a friend's brother or the highest bidder. We'll see.

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It's about two o'clock and I've officially entered the line for Brawl of the Wild tickets. Personally, I think this name is a on better than Griz-Cat. I know the latter gets to the point but the first name sounds so much better. Not gonna lie, I first heard the name and story while playing NCAA Football 2006 and thought it was pretty damn great.

Wristbands are handed out at 10 tonight; once you have a wristband, you're getting a ticket. The tickets don't actually go on sale until 5 tomorrow morning.

So right now I've been told I'm about 180 back. From what I heard before, the first 300 students who want one get a guest pass. It's looking pretty good.

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Here's the Sports Nework's preview of the the UNC game this weekend. Matt Dougherty says the Bears will not make even close to the showing they did against the Cats. He also says, essentially, that the Griz will basically use the Bears as a practice squad to get the offense rolling.

While Montana State gets to sit and wait for the Nov. 18 showdown with the Grizzlies in Missoula, Montana gets a chance to go on the road and clinch at least a share of the Big Sky title for the ninth year in a row by winning at Northern Colorado. That should be a pretty easy task, though the Bears were in the game until the end in a 13-10 loss against the Bobcats last week. Still, this should provide a good opportunity for Montana to get the offense going after a few so-so performances. Quarterback Josh Swogger (1,618 yards, 9 TD/7 INT) came through with a gamewinning drive in the final minutes of Montana’s 10-9 victory over Cal Poly last week, but he’ll try for a better overall performance after completing 12-of-30 passes last week and less than 50 percent over the past two weeks. Northern Colorado should provide that opportunity with a pass defense that allows 63 percent of passes to be completed and 222 yards per game. The Montana running game can get going as well against a porous run defense, and the Grizzlies should just keep dominating on the other side of the ball. Montana’s defense only gives up 100 yards per game on the ground and has 13 interceptions, and should just boost those numbers against a team with 16 interceptions and only four touchdown passes. Montana might look past this game a bit with Cal Poly in the rear view mirror and the Bobcats coming up next week, but that wouldn’t really matter anyway against a team that is struggling so much. Northern Colorado offered a good performance last week, and isn’t likely to do it two weeks in a row in a game that should end up in a Grizzly blowout. Prediction: Montana 35, Northern Colorado 10

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On tap this week is Northern Colorado, and the only thing that makes them slightly similar to UM is their name. The Griz are a Big Sky power with a history of dominance in the conference and the Bears are stumbling through their first season in I-AA. UNC really couldn't be any different -- or any worse.

This Great Falls Tribune article points to the many "contrasts" between the Griz and Bears:

• The Grizzlies are 8-1 overall; the Bears are 1-8.
• Montana is 6-0 in Big Sky play; UNC is 0-6.
• UM leads the league in turnover margin (+9); UNC is second to last (-7).
• Montana is second in scoring offense (27.9) and is tops in scoring defense (18.8).
• Northern Colorado is last in scoring (11.7) and next-to-last in defensive yield (29.6).

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Saturday's Griz-Cal Poly game lived up to all expectations. It was a defensive battle between #2 and #6 and had the game been I-A, Corso and the gang would've been there and it would've been an Instant Classic.

The best Griz game of the year ended on a Favre-like drive -- one of the the vintage ones where he doesn't throw a pick halfway through -- by Josh Swogger to set up 21 yard game winning kick by Dan Carpenter. This means the Griz hang in at #2 in the latest Sports Network I-AA Football Poll and this game goes down as another one Skip Bayless would've hated.

The win also means everything is in order for a Brawl of the Wild with BSC title implications. It's just like the Michigan-Ohio State game, except with the S and the C switched. The Griz have Northern Colorado coming up and the Cats just beat them, barely. Can you say settling for a moral victory?

Ms. U moved up on spot to #18 after their sixth straight win.

Complete rankings after the jump.

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Oklahoma dropdown JD Quinn returned to practice today. Too bad it doesn't matter because the NCAA ruled today that he and former Oklahoma teammate Rhett Bomar are ineligible for the 2006 season.

Offensive lineman J.D. Quinn, who transferred to Division I-AA Montana, must pay $8,137 to the charity of his choice. Quarterback Rhett Bomar, who transferred to Sam Houston State, must pay $7,407.

"The NCAA reinstatement staff has assessed the facts presented by Oklahoma and agrees with its contention that both Mr. Bomar and Mr. Quinn willfully violated NCAA rules regarding preferential treatment and benefits," said Jennifer Strawley, NCAA director of membership services and student-athlete reinstatement.

Both players lose a year of eligibility and will only have two more at the college level.

They were kicked off the Oklahoma team before the season after getting a lot of money from a Chevrolet dealership while doing very little work.

This is a big blow to the Griz as their offensive line has done about as good of job at preventing opposing teams from getting to Swogger as event security has done at keeping peppermint schnapps out of the student section. Yeah, that schnapps led to a certain fan close to me showing everyone what he ate for breakfast.

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The Montana Grizzlies football team has it pretty good. They've been in the playoffs pretty much every year since the beginning of time and average more than 20,000 fans a game. What's not to hate for anyone who's a fan from another conference team? It's really not even fair.

This from a EWU fan's blog:

Most people who move here want to be native Montanans right away. The most prevalent way of accomplishing this, or so they think, is to go buy University of Montana license plates. If every car with a UM license plate had a kid attending UM, the school would be as big as The Ohio State University. I think it is ridiculous. The funny thing, after you have lived here for over 10 years you can tell the difference between a Montanan and a transplant with ease. But the license plate thing with the Montana Grizzlies is just way overdone. My wife bought me a “Montana Grizzlies pull over. And I don't wear it. And so I have developed resentment for all the Grizzly bullshit. What about MSU? You never see any MSU Bobcat stuff. So screw the Grizzlies.

Here's part of an article he mentions. It's by Easterner  senior writer Brandon Hansen:

Forget the Yankees as the evil empire, a bastion that stands for everything that is wrong in sports. All you have to do is get on I-90 and head down to the biggest snobville in the western United States: Missoula, Montana. The Smugness levels from that place rival that of San Francisco.

Not sure what else to say other than wondering what it would be like to be in the Big Sky Conference and not go to UM. I mean I was pretty disappointed when I didn't get into a I-A school like Notre Dame and Wisconsin, but coming here has been a pleasant surprise as the football team romps through the conference and the hoops team made it to the second round of the dance. Really, could any Griz so much as tolerate being stuck in Cheney, Washington? Being from Seattle, I saw everything east of the Cascades (besides the Gorge) a big, dry, boring nothing. I didn't even know Eastern Washington University existed, let alone consider applying. Tack on the fact that their teams aren't that great and they don't have too much to cheer for besides Rodney Stuckey and it's easy to see why these two individuals aren't happy.

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The Montana Grizzlies continued undefeated run through Big Sky play with an excellent defensive display against Idaho State. This kept the Griz at #2 in the Sports Network I-AA Football Poll.

From the stands, the game looked very sloppy but the stats showed otherwise for the defense as they held the Bengals, who are averaging a league-best 404 yards per game, to only 92. The defense needed to bail out the defense and the special teams as they prevented another team from getting past the end of the student section when they needed to drive the length of the field for the win.

In other Big Sky news: Montana State needed a late interception return for a touchdown to rally past Weber State. With the win, the Cats jumped up five spots to #19 in the poll. Portland State dropped four spots to #25.

Next weeks opponent, Cal Poly, moved up three spots to #6 after beating San Diego State. Appalachian remained at #1, receiving 96 first-place votes after beating #8 Paladins 40-7.

Complete rankings after the jump.

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After their win over Weber State, the Griz earned two more first place votes for a total of four and stayed at #2 in the Sports Network I-AA College Football Poll.

Upcoming Griz opponent Cal Poly fell four spots to #9 after their 29-28 loss to South Dakota State. #1 Appalachian State needed two OTs to beat Georgia Southern.

Montana State re-entered the poll at #24 coming off their 42-35 win over Idaho State. Arizona transfer Michael Jefferson was very impressive in the win.

Here's a well-done recap of this weeks I-AA happenings.

Complete rankings after the jump.

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So I'm going to try and live blog this game to keep everyone updated and myself further entertained. I'm working hard on making it the whole game but if I don't I'm sorry. This is the first time I've done this so be easy. Take a look after the jump.

Griz hold on to win 33-30. The running game got all the TDs but the passing game got the yards. Brady Green ran for two touchdowns and Greg Coleman ran for another. Swogger finished 21/39 for 356 yards and 1 TD. Eric Allen had 132 yards  and Ryan Bagley had 98. Here's the AP article. For more in depth, check out the live blog.

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The Great Falls Tribune points out that this will be the second week in a row that the Griz will face a Big Sky foe coming off a bye week. It isn't the last either as the Griz will face a Montana State team with an extra week of rest and preparation in their final game of the regular season.

This year's Griz/Cat game could very well (once again) determine the BSC champ; it's a shame both teams aren't coming off a bye. It'd be great to see both teams fully healthy and completely prepared for one another.

However, it's not like the Griz have a tough game before facing the Cats. They have 1-6 (0-4) Northern Colorado the week before; it'll be hard not too look past that game.

Here are some quotes from the article:

"I assume it's an accident," Hauck said Tuesday. "But is sure is an advantage, especially late in the year, giving a team a chance to heal up."

"The week off was a good thing," said WSU coach Ron McBride, in his second year at the helm of the Cats after many years at I-A Utah. "At this point, it's good for us because we're still trying to find our way as a football team. We haven't reached near our capabilities yet."

The second quote kind of sounds more like a U-12 youth soccer coach than someone who use to coach at the I-A level. Weber State is coming off a loss to Sac State.

Interesting tidbit on coach Ron McBride: Vikings Blog says he sleeps in student housing with his players during the football season. No biggie, pretty sure Hauck lived down the hall from me on the third floor of the Aberhood last semester.

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Twenty years ago today, the University of Montana beat Idaho State 38-31in the first game played at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Since then, their dominance in this den has been overwhelming. There is a very well-done article in today's Great Falls Tribune on the stadium and how the Griz have excelled there.

People can try and say the stadium isn't why the Griz are who they are but one can just look at the records. In the 10 seasons before Wash-Griz opened, the Griz were a mediocre 28-25. Since then they've been a dominant 128-18. That's a .87 winning percentage; better than the Michigan Wolverines in "The Big House" and the Denver Broncos at Mile High.

This stat is included with many other interesting ones in the article. I strongly suggest any Griz fan should take a look.

Also, if you want to compare the Griz and their support, take a look at what's going on at Sacramento State University. These two entries on Thee Green Hornet show an editorial in the paper and an image of just how bad it is there.

Asking which comes first between success and support maybe be a chicken and the egg type thing but it is really great when your team has both.

UPDATE: The Kaimin said UM is considering expanding by 4,000 to 6,000 seats with an upper deck added to the east side of the stadium being the most likely option.

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After their very dicey 24-21 victory over NAU, the Griz moved up one spot to #2 in the I-AA Sports Network Division I-AA football poll. This comes after previously 13th ranked James Madison upset former #1 New Hampshire 42-23.

The Griz received two first place votes, fewer than #11 Hampton who received three. In all, eight different schools got at least one first place vote with #3 receiving the most (11) without actually being ranked #1. That title goes to Appalachian State.

Big Sky notables: Portland State moved up two spots to #23 and Montana State is still unranked but they received the second most votes of those not in the rankings. It's looking more and more like this year's Cat/Griz game could have major BSC implications(more on this in Cat-Griz's week 6 rundown). Complete rankings after the jump.

Here are the recaps from Saturday's games:

• Cat-Griz Insider:
  
  • A great escape
  • Week 6 rundown
• ESPN (AP)
• CSTV.com : #3 Montana holds on for win.
• The Missoulian: That's a sack, Jack: Montana defense holds NAU at bay
• Montana Kaimin: Griz defense tackles Lumberjacks with help of home fans.

The 23,626 fans in attendance was the sixth-largest crowd in Washington-Grizzly Stadium’s history. NAU senior quarterback Jason Murrietta said playing in Missoula is never easy and it was particularly hard on that last drive.

“I think it was really difficult especially in that drive to get things going at a faster pace,” Murrietta said. “The crowd is a huge factor.”

When I was walking out of Wash-Griz after the game I heard not only that extremely loud bell, but a lot of people griping about Hauck going for it on the NAU 11 with 1:13 left to play instead of kicking a field goal that would've put the Griz up 6.

I totally agree with Hauck on this call, you go for the win right there and then. If you kick a field goal, there isn't that much of a difference between 3 and 6 points; a touchdown wins it and with that little time left a big TD play was all that was going to save them anyway. You take the three point lead and the crowd. After the turnover on downs the student section didn't let NAU get past the 30. Even if the Griz D had allowed a field goal, there is no way they would have beat us in OT, not at home.

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With the Griz's victory over the Eagle's and Furman's loss to Coastal Carolina, UM moved up one spot to #3 in this week's I-AA poll. The Griz still did not receive a single first place vote, which kind of surprises me. Portland State, the only other Big Sky school in the rankings dropped to #25 after the loss to Montana State.

Here are the rankings in their entirety:

Team (First-place votes)	Record	Points	LW
1. New Hampshire (88)	5-0	2,704	1
2. Appalachian State (21)	5-1	2,622	2
3. Montana	4-1	2,401	4
4. Cal Poly	5-1	2,325	5
5. Illinois State	4-1	2,226	6
6. Youngstown State	5-1	2,076	8
7. Southern Illinois	5-0	2,022	9
8. Massachusetts	4-1	1,893	10
9. North Dakota State	5-0	1,859	11
10. Richmond	4-1	1,703	7
11. Furman	4-2	1,663	3
12. Hampton	6-0	1,642	12
13. James Madison	4-1	1,466	13
14. Northern Iowa	3-2	1,362	14
15. Harvard	4-0	1,011	19
16. Eastern Illinois	3-3	851	20
17. Tennessee-Martin	5-1	819	22
18. UC Davis	3-2	583	16
19. Central Connecticut	5-1	555	23
20. Alabama A&M	4-1	548	24
21. San Diego	5-0	457	25
22. Towson	4-1	417	17
23. Maine	3-2	400	NR
24. Princeton	4-0	382	NR
25. Portland State	3-3	340	15

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The Griz travel to to Cheney this weekend and I have to say I am more afraid of the television coverage than anything. I'm not going to lie, last week was the first time I had watched a Griz game on TV and I think a high school AV club could have done a better job with the camera work. If the main cameraman was a safety he would get lit up more than the "Fresh Donuts" sign at Krispy Kreme because he bit on the play fake every single time. I can live without the yellow first-down line but the camera work has got to improve.

Anyway, here are the previews for this week's game.

• The Missoulian:
  •  Griz ground Game gets going. Bradshaw, the junior transfer from Louisville, has 209 yards. His per-game average of 52.2 yards ranks sixth in the league, but he does have a Big Sky-best five rushing touchdowns. Meanwhile, senior Brady Green continues to bounce out of tackles and produce big plays. His 34-yard run against Portland State last week, in and out of the tackle of safety Charles Manigo, was nearly the stuff of legend.
  • Swogger brings a cannon, and can dish a little pain.
  • Eagles still waiting to fly.
• Big Sky Football Blog: "After last week's victory over Portland State, Montana has proven they are currently cream of the crop in the Big Sky."
• CSTV.com: Eastern Washington is 0-2 at home this season, while Montana is 1-1 on the road. EWU has not lost three straight home games since the 1995 season. The Grizzlies are 8-4 in road conference games under Hauck. Montana leads in the Big Sky in rushing offense (141.5 ypg.) and scoring offense (32.0 ppg). Eastern Washington is allowing 32.0 points per game and is allowing a league-worst 202 rushing yards per game. Montana ranks second in the Big Sky in rushing defense (199.5 ypg) and total defense (277 ypg). Eastern Washington ranks fifth in the league in passing offense (193.4 ypg) and fifth in total offense (279 ypg). Montana ranks first in the nation in net punting. UM QB Josh Swogger is completing 61.3 percent of his passes with five touchdowns and four interceptions. EWU QB Matt Nichols is completing 52.2 percent of his passes for 925 yards with two touchdowns and eight interceptions. Montana committed four turnovers against Portland State. EWU had three turnovers last week against Sacramento State. UM and EWU ranked first and second, respectively, in the Big Sky in punt return average.
• The Kaimin:
  • Griz get a spike in play from strong defensive ends.
  • Griz Football travels to Cheney in hopes of revenge against Eagles.

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The Griz continue their swing on the road with a matchup in Cheney against the Eagles of Eastern Washington where UM looks to extend its win streak to 4 and remain undefeated in conference play.

EWU is coming off of a Big Sky Championship and  7-6 season. Even though the Eagles are reigning conference champions (as are the Griz) and did win by 14 the last time the two teams met, I don't think the Griz will be too intimidated.

The Eagles lost quarterback and Walter Payton Award (best player in I-AA) winner Erik Meyer and come boasting a not very impressive 1-4 record. Yes, their first two losses were against Oregon State and #6 West Virginia (cha-ching), but they also have two losses against Division II Central Washington and lowly Sac State, who Montana beat by 45.

EWU is 1-1 in the Big Sky Conference so a win over first place UM would put them right back into contention and, at  worst, a half game back of PSU (assuming they win over MSU).

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The Griz stay at #4, still not receiving any first place votes. PSU dropped one spot to #15 after the loss.

Team (first-place votes)	Record	Points	LW
1. New Hampshire (81)	4-0	2,552	1
2. Appalachian State (21)	4-1	2,457	2
3. Furman	4-1	2,252	3
4. Montana	3-1	2,195	4
5. Cal Poly	4-1	2,065	5
6. Illinois State	3-1	1,996	6
7. Richmond	4-0	1,939	7
8. Youngstown State	4-1	1,831	8
9. Southern Illinois (1)	4-0	1,730	10
10. Massachusetts	3-1	1,711	9
11. North Dakota State	4-0	1,576	11
12. Hampton	5-0	1,476	12
13. James Madison	3-1	1,296	15
14. Northern Iowa	2-2	1,229	13
15. Portland State	3-2	1,007	14
16. UC Davis	2-2	957	18
17. Towson	4-0	931	19
18. Delaware	2-2	723	17
19. Harvard	3-2	695	22
20. Eastern Illinois	2-3	405	20
21. Georgia Southern	2-2	389	NR
22. Tennessee-Martin	4-1	251	NR
23. Central Connecticut	4-1	250	NR
24. Alabama A&M	3-1	248	NR
25. San Diego	4-0	198	NR

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So Brian White wasn't as bad as I thought. The PSU Vikings also scored 10 points as fast as I've seen any team do so but the Griz still managed to hold on for the win.

I have to admit that White's second quarter TD pass scared the bajeesus out of me. I was loving the game when Rob Freeman had more interceptions than completions; after White came in, not so much.

The Vikings had very little life before White entered the game but when he came him everything swung quite a bit. I wasn't comfortable again until the ball popped out of Kelena Ho'okano's (how fun was that to hear all game?) hands at the goal line. I was scared again when we caught it and decided to bring it out of the endzone.

Everyone knows what happened after that. The Griz did not lose their composure even though they did lose their two posession lead after a safety and a TD return. Dan Carpenter nailed a 43-yarder and the defense picked off White to end the game.

The recaps:

• CSTV.com: Close Shaves For Top-Ranked I-AA Teams
• Missoulian: Homewreckers: Griz hold on to snap Portland State's nine-game home winning streak
• Yahoo Sports (AP)
  

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Grab the chips, bean dip and beverages because the Griz are going primetime. Everyone should throw on their Griz garb (hoops jerseys are $20 at TJ's) and get the guys together to watch the matchup that many are labeling as one that could decide the Big Sky Championship.

The game is on KPAX (channel 10) at 7 PM. I know none of you have anything better to do on a Saturday night. I'm serious, keg cups and creepers at some house party or your friends and watching a good game? The answer is easy.

This weeks' previews:

• From the Kaimin
  “It’s way too early,” said UM defensive end Dustin Dlouhy. “We’ve only played one conference game so all we can worry about is going week by week and hopefully eliminating contenders as they come.”
  
  
• CSTV.com
Portland State has beaten UM twice since joining the Big Sky (`99, and 2004). Both of those games were at PGE Park. PSU won the 2004 meeting 35-32. The last three times UM and PSU have played in PGE Park (1999, 2002 and 2004), the game has been decided by three points. UM leads the Big Sky in scoring offense (34.0 ppg). PSU is first in scoring defense (15.2 ppg). UM is second in total defense, while Portland State is third. Portland State has a turnover margin of +9, tops in the Big Sky. Portland State has not allowed a second-half touchdown this season. UM's Josh Swogger completed 14-of-18 passes for 221 yards with three touchdowns and one interception against Sacramento State. PSU starting QB Sawyer Smith sat out last week's game against Weber State with a hip injury. He is doubtful for Saturday's game. Rob Freeman got his first start, and threw for just 50 yards, but tossed one touchdown.

• The Daily Vanguard
“Tradition; they have tradition. When they walk onto the field they expect to win because of the past. And until someone beats them that's going to be their attitude,” [PSU Head Coach Tim] Walsh said.

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The Dropdown Duo, that's what I'm calling them. I've mentioned it before, but I think the nickname fits  the Swogger to Chambers connection pretty well. The headline for the print version of the Kaimin article on Chambers said he added depth to the Griz receiving corps when the truth is he provides so much more.

Craig Chambers is not the type of receiver that simply adds depth or another weapon; he changes the shape and complexion of an offense. Chambers led a I-A offense in touchdown receptions and seems to run straight through I-AA coverages to get open at will.

This is comparable to the Seahawks adding Deion Branch, not Joe Jurevicius. He even showed shades of Branch with the playmaking ability after the catch on his lone touchdown grab. Maybe just a hint of TO as well with his power to get to the pylon. It's a shame he also had a little Koren Robinson going on or he would of finished with a pair of TD receptions.

Chambers finished with five catches and 82 yards in the Sac State game. Had he caught the ball in the endzone and another longball that slipped through his grasp along the sideline, he would have finished with over a 100 yards receiving.

Chambers' numbers also came in three quarters of play as he failed to make an appearance until the second quarter. Coincidentally, Cole Berquist entered the game at the same time so the Dropdown Duo didn't rear its offensively dangerous head until the second half.

Swogger made an appearance at the very end of the half in a 4 receiver set and Chambers for some reason was held out. Does anyone have any idea what was going on here? It seemed like Hauck did not want Swogger and Chambers on the field at once.

Oh, and he did catch the pass in the image above (against then #1 USC). I don't know how, but he did.

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For anyone who hasn't heard: Portland State University signed Brian White, a former Colorado University quarterback who dropped out of the school earlier this month after failing to move up the depth chart.

PSU lost the #1 and #2 QBs on the depth chart during a loss to Cal (can whoever scheduled this game look any worse?). The injuries mean White will be backing up third stringer Rob Freeman in the Vikings' matchup this Saturday with the Griz.

When I first read this story I thought it was extremely unfair that this team could sign a 1-A transfer and have him playing before he was even caught up on classes, but then after really looking at it I realized how awful it must feel for this to be an option.

The Missoulian compared PSU's signing to Montana grabbing Josh Swogger. No, not even close.

Swogger started as a sophomore at Washington State and lost his place due to injury while White is transferring to PSU because he failed to move up the depth chart of an offense that only managed 10 points against Montana State. I-AA UC Davis put up 45 while tossing a shutout and Division II Chadron State scored 35 in their win over the poooor Cats.

White was a bad quarterback on an awful team. The Vikings should be very worried if this is who they are relying on to carry them if starter Sawyer Smith can't play.

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The Griz move up one spot in this weeks poll to #4 after 45 point drubbing of Sac State and Cal Poly's loss to San Jose State. UM and Cal Poly will meet November 4th in the Zoo. The Griz did not receive any first place votes; I find this a little odd considering they put up 59 points and their QB looked phenomenal. It was against a team they've never lost to but that offense is still scary.

Here's the poll in its entirety:

Team (first-place votes)	Record	Points	LW
1. New Hampshire (80)	3-0	2,574	1
2. Appalachian State (22)	3-1	2,493	2
3. Furman	3-1	2,271	4
4. Montana	2-1	2,145	5
5. Cal Poly	3-1	2,069	3
6. Illinois State	3-1	2,046	6
7. Richmond	3-0	2,006	7
8. Youngstown State	3-1	1,866	8
9. Massachusetts	3-1	1,740	9
10. Southern Illinois (1)	3-0	1,704	10
11. North Dakota State	3-0	1,514	14
12. Hampton (1)	4-0	1,510	11
13. Northern Iowa	2-1	1,310	12
14. Portland State	3-1	1,302	15
15. James Madison	2-1	1,137	17
16. McNeese State	1-2	830	13
17. Delaware	2-1	796	18
18. UC Davis	2-2	788	16
19. Towson	4-0	766	21
20. Eastern Illinois	2-2	671	20
21. Western Illinois	3-1	445	NR
22. Harvard	2-0	432	NR
23. Albany	3-1	236	NR
24. Western Carolina	2-1	197	22
25. Northern Arizona	2-1	135	NR

Big Sky notables: Portland State moves up one spot to #15 and NAU pops its head in at #25.

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• This week's rankings: The Griz come in at #5 but talk about all things evening out; after their upset at Colorado MSU has plummeted out of the rankings faster than Brett Boone left the majors.
• Not going to be a blowout?  The Griz have won all 11 meetings by a combined score of 419-174 but apparently the Hornets' defense has improved.
• Interview with the Moose: Your schedule is always going to be hard if you're not very good.
• Swogger will probably play. Hauck wouldn't admit it but he'll be in there. He practiced with the first team and I think all of us want to see regular TD hookups from the WSU-UW dropdown duo of Swogger and Chambers.
• What Bobby did with his off week; and other questions.
• Griz can't get to the QB. One sack in 8 quarters, ouch... or not.
• GrizTracks Preview. It's not gonna be pretty. Their prediction: 31-3 Griz.

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The  fifth-ranked Griz face the Sacramento State Hornets this weekend and it's unknown whether or not we will see any of E'lon Paige.

Over the summer, Paige made a half serious challenge to the Griz secondary saying he really couldn't be stopped. The fact is, he can be stopped, by the Sac State coaching staff.

He has yet to take the field this year as he did not see any action against in losses to Boise State and Cal Poly

The Hornets are coming off a 2-9 (1-6 conference) record so... if we don't win we better just call it a season.

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41-7 or $650,000, which matters more? I'm not going to make the call but the fact that the Griz made about $200,000 an hour to get trounced as if they were the Sisters of the Poor football team is almost impressive. Spread that out  over60 guys and it's $3,300.33 an hour. That's A-Rod bank. Nooo, college football isn't about the money at all.

Josh Swogger was not only running around the backfield as if he were carrying his life instead of a pigskin in his hands, he was also working on getting rid of a seven figure deficit in the athletic department and pumping some money into the football program.

While the Griz football team was serving as a prostitute to Drew Tate's stats, other teams in the Big Sky Conference were making decent showings against I-A foes.

Going into the weekend, I thought Thursday night would be the best showing by a BSC team when Northern Arizona hung with Arizona State for three quarters. No, it gets better (worse).

Ms. University earned 275 g's for their win over one time Big 12 power Colorado. Apparently Dan Hawkins can't ball on a field that ducks don't accidentally crash into.

On top of that, Portland State pulled off the "upset" of "I-A" New Mexico.

I'm just happy the weekend of torment is over. Even my I-A love ND had a sub-holy showing against Georgia Tech. The important thing is that there is a ticket in my (Coach) wallet (thank you girlfriend) for a 1:05 game against South Dakota State.

Everyone needs a game against Cupcake University.

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The big Double-D pointed out in his recent Kaimin column that I-AA screw-ups and backups sure do love the University of Montana and the U loves them right back.

The University of Montana football team loves transfers like a fat kid loves cake.
Or like the elderly love Buicks.
Or like myself and NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg love Shakira.

So what if I-AA transfers swarm to Missoula like deadbeat dads and retirees to Florida; would the Griz be anywhere without them?

A recent ESPN (AP) article points to how I-AA second teamers and those who Bomar'd their teammates are the prosthetic legs that will carry the Griz through this season.

Just as the Montana Grizzlies were looking to shore up their quarterback spot, which struggled during the 2005 campaign, Washington State's Josh Swogger was looking to play for a team that had a chance of winning a national championship.

Others are former Louisville running back Reggie Bradshaw and Iowa State running back Greg Coleman, along with former Washington receiver Craig Chambers. However, Chambers is expected to miss the season opener Saturday against No. 16 Iowa.

"Chambers isn't cleared yet to play," Hauck said. "We're not sure how long that will linger -- maybe soon, maybe longer. He has issues with me and eligibility."

Come on, ALL the skill positions have been sured up by I-AA dropdowns. Quarterback, running back, and wide receiver all have transfers at #1 on the depth chart. This won't exactly be the case against Iowa as Chambers will not make the trip. (What are these issues with Hauck?)

Yes, these transfers do, in a way, make the Griz and all of I-AA look like 'Plan B' to anyone that messes up or just can't cut it in big time college ball, but we have to take what we can get. If we're going to to complain about this making us look bad, then why not get upset about selling our team out as a practice squad for six figures?

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Here's what Hauck and Quinn had to say on the hogmolly's (no, I do not like Corso) transfer from Oklahoma:

"J.D. has paid a heavy price for a mistake that he made at the University of Oklahoma," said Griz coach Bobby Hauck. "He lost his academic aid and opportunity to play football there and will walk on to our team and try to earn a scholarship."

"I would like to thank coach Hauck and his staff, and the people of Montana, for giving me a second chance to fix a bad situation that I created at Oklahoma," Quinn said. "I am looking forward to playing football for the Grizzlies and I hope that happens soon."

"This situation gives us all an opportunity to reflect on how damaging rule infractions can be to a program and a student athlete," O'Day said.

This was from the AP article on ESPN.com. The article also pointed out that Quinn will start practice on Monday.

Lets all hope that Karl Tyler isn't too huge of a Griz fan; at least not big enough to employ J.D.

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I've been gone for some time and coming back here is probably like that awkward acquaintance you run into after a long summer. You didn't see this person all summer becuase they're not really your friend, so all you can ask when you see them in their brand new khaki shorts and that Polo shirt from TJ Maxx is "How was your summer?" You don't care how the summer was but it's the best club in the bag so you ask anyway.

Well, I've finished up work and made the move from Bainbridge Island, WA back to the Zoo. After an entire summer of fulltime work I tried to squeeze an entire summer into a week. It didn't happen.

The point is, all that's over. I've assembled a futon, finished training lawyers on how to blog and had the sprinkler go off in my dorm but we've got Iowa in less than 72 hours and it's time to roll.

A lot of things have happened since Lex went down. ex.) We got Quinn, the fraud not the god, or at least that's the way the majority of the media makes him out to be. OK, myself as well; my first son will be named Brady with the strong possibility that another will be named Quinn. Third: Favre. Fourth: Seven, or Soda if it's a girl.

I've pulled a TO, I admit it. From this point on I'm here, and I will do my best to keep readers informed on all that is going on with our Montana Grizzlies. That and providing the random Seinfeld, ND, Cubs, Packers analogy.

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• Hilliard's injury was to his achilles tendon and came during a non-contact drill.
  • “It's the old-man, noon-hoop, tennis injury. We've all seen it with the guys our age,” said Hauck, who is 42. “In fact, I've never seen it on a football field before. So that would lead you to ask, ‘Why now?' There was not even a hit on the play.
• Hilliard had already undergone surgery as of Tuesday evening
• What the backups had to say:
  • “It was hard, because Lex is my friend,” said senior running back Brady Green. “I don't even think about it from a football aspect. You think of it as he's a friend...I went to meetings this morning, and I haven't been to a meeting without Lex in four years, you know? It was kind of a sobering thing, but like coach said, you have to go on. Stuff happens....
    Everybody kind of got it out of their system yesterday.  It was somber for a little while here. But it's a new day, a new chapter. It is somebody else's turn to step up, just like Lex did a couple years ago. You just pray for his full recovery.”
    
  • “Coach just told us we've got to keep going and try to win the national championship, still,” said junior running back Reggie Bradshaw, who transferred to UM from Louisville this spring.
• Who they are: "The fall depth chart listed Bradshaw and Iowa State transfer Greg Coleman as co-backups to Hilliard. Bradshaw is 6-foot and 212 pounds; Coleman is 6-1 and 240.
  
  Beyond those two is Green, 5-9 and 192. The senior out of Brighton, Utah, has been a special teams standout and carried the ball 98 times in three seasons with the Griz, for 396 yards."

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There is no dispute. Going into this season, Lex Hilliard was the best football player in Montana and probably the entire Big Sky Conference. Now, he's done for the season after suffering a serious foot injury that will require surgery.

We’re very disappointed for Lex Hilliard,” said fourth-year Griz head coach Bobby Hauck. “For him to lose his senior season, especially one that he has prepared so hard for, is a hard pill to swallow. It’s difficult to put into words just how bad that myself, our coaches and our players feel for Lex.

“Obviously it is a tremendous loss to our football team and certainly puts a damper on our championship aspirations since we lost our best player for the season,” Hauck said.

Looks like Swogger will have to carry the offense as the injury leaves a crater where a great running game once was.

In a way, Lex is to Hauck as Terrell Davis and John Elway were to Mike Shanahan of the Denver Broncos. Hauck has proven that he can win with Lex, lets see if he can do so without.

I do acknowledge the fact that Hauck did lead the Griz to a 9-3 record in his initial season in 2003 without much help from Hilliard. Sorry for another NFL reference, but  Bill Callahan led to the 2002 Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl because of the system put in place by Jon Gruden. Callahan was fired only a [4-12] season later.

During the 2004 run to the National Championship game Lex failed to break the 1000 yard (950 yards) mark but he did rumble into the endzone 17 times.

In 2005, Hilliard ran for 1,332 yards and the Griz were BSC co-champions before losing their opening round playoff game.

Lex will return in 2007 after redshirting for the 2006 season.

From: The Missoulian

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• The Griz come into this season ranked third on The Sports Network's preseason I-AA poll. The Griz received five first place votes and are looking to make their 14th consecutive playoff appearance. Good thing there is no Omar Minaya AD in the Big Sky Conference to end their Atlanta Brave-esque run.
• Fall football camp opens August 9 (tomorrow). Two-a-days start August 14 and the "Great Griz Encounter" is slated for August 24th.
  • Bobby Hauck after cliche tutelage from Crash Davis: “We are excited about our off-season conditioning and the the strides that we made in spring drills,” said fourth-year Griz Head Coach Bobby Hauck. “Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves, get to work, and get ready for Iowa. We expect our players to report in great condition, to hit the ground running and be ready to play.”
• Ron Kowalski, football assistant, retires: "It was a tremendous experience for both our players and coaches to have the opportunity to work with a veteran coach like Ron Kowalski," said UM head coach Bobby Hauck. "Ron brought a lot to our program. He had a wealth of coaching experience, but most importantly he was a great person to be around on a daily basis."
  
• Update: Steve Axman Steps in

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No, it's not as bad (maybe good) as it sounds. The Grizzlies will still be romping through college football purgatory, it just has a new name now:

During its summer meetings on Thursday, the NCAA Division I of Directors approved new labels for Division I football. The presidents approved a change in terminology to "Football Bowl Subdivision" for the former I-A classification and "NCAA Football Championship Subdivision" for the former I-AA group. The Collegiate Commissioners Association helped develop the new labels.

"All Division I institutions, regardless of whether they sponsor football, are in fact and should be referred to as Division I members," said Board Chair and University of Connecticut President Philip Austin. "The only reasons for labeling are the need to distinguish the two football subdivisions for the purpose of governing the sport and to maintain separate statistics. The Board is stressing that the nomenclature reflect the totality of the Division I membership whenever possible and that the subdivision labels be used sparingly. Still, there are instances in which we need to use them, and we feel the new labels are more accurate."

Does it really matter that much?

From: CSTV.com

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The Cat-Griz Insider notes that Lex is a average (for him) year away from breaking the career rushing record at UM.

Senior running back Lex Hilliard needs 1,186 yards to become the Montana Grizzlies’
all-time leading rusher. Yohance Humphery (1998-2001) currently holds that title with 4,070 yards.

Lex ran for 1,322 yards last year so the record is definitely within reach. I'm sure he'll be as motivated as ever enteting his senior year and looking to re-establish the Griz as the I-AA powerhouse they are. However, it'll be interesting to see if the Griz return to their airborn ways with the talented senior transfer Josh Swogger at quarterback.

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The Wiz estimates that almost 20 plays could be chopped off of NCAA football games this year as a result of the new 3-2-5-e rule.

Count Scott Wolf, USC beat reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News, among the sharp-eyed reporters on top of the disastrous 3-2-5-e rule, which we have been harping about for the past few days. Wolf, in his blog, says the new rule is expected to shorten games by 10-12 minutes and knock 10-12 plays out of the game. The Wiz won't guesstimate how much time will be shaved from the length of a game, but he will challenge only 10-12 plays being lost. The argument we presented Saturday was actually a conservative estimate of 20 lost plays.

Under the new rule, the game clock will start after a change of possession as soon as the referees spot the ball ready for play. If they wanted to shorten college football games, why not just have the clock run after a first down unless the player is tackled out of bounds as it does in the NFL? Personally, I like the difference between NFL and NCAA first downs, but if we had to shift to NFL rules instead of this new ridiculous one, that would've been fine.

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God bless YouTube. Honestly, since Napster, I cannot think of a better invention. Not only can you watch a replay of game 6 of the 1986 Word Series played on RBI Baseball of NES, but you can also take a look at some great Montana TV history; this may be a bear on a trampoline or the 1995 National Championship Game.

Here's part one of four of a preview of the '95 National Championship game done by a news team in Huntington. It's a shame the 4th graders in the vid were probably traumatized when the Griz came into Huntington and beat the Herd 22-20.

Read on for the final three parts.

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Articles in the Salt Lake Tribune and the Idaho Statesman detail the state of the Western Athletic Conference, which according commissioner Karl Benson, is just fine the way it is.

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson said the league "is finally entering a period of stability," although he did not rule out the possibility of future expansion.

"We're not in any type of expansion mode," Benson said. "But we are aware of our surroundings."

"People ask me, 'Which Big Sky team is next,?' " Benson said, smiling.

 Perennial Division I-AA power Montana is a possibility, although schools like Portland State and Sacramento State might be attractive eventually because of the TV markets that would come with them.

From the Idaho Statesman:

"People out there are asking 'What's the next Big Sky school capable of moving?' " Benson said. "It's very speculative and we all want to talk. Do I expect that somewhere down the road there is a next Big Sky member who is ready to make the move? I think the answer is probably yes."

I know just about every Griz fan is as tired of hearing this story as I am of seeing Jamie Moyer take the hump every fifth day for the M's but I can't help but look at Marshall, who the Griz beat in the I-AA National Championship game and lost to in '96. Since Marshall moved to the MAC of I-A they've seen the likes of Randy Moss, Byron Leftwich, and Chad Pennington (sure he's bad now, but he's a starting QB in the NFL) pass through Huntington, WV.

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According to MontanaGrizzlies.com, there will be a rooter bus for anyone interested in attending the game against the Eastern Washington Eagles.

The Montana Grizzly Scholarship Association will be taking a booster bus to Cheney, WA for the Montana-EWU State game on Oct. 7th. There will be one bus, leaving from the Adams Center on Saturday morning Oct. 7th at 8:00 a.m. The buses will return to Missoula following the game.

Cost of the Eastern Washington trip is $100 per person, which covers transportation, snacks and beverages on bus, a barbeque ticket at the UM tailgate, and a premium seat in the Grizzly Section.

The Eagles are defending co-Big Sky champs, but I don't think I'm going to plunk down the $100 to take this bus. It is possible I'll try and get the the game via other means.

I am interested in going to some away games this year, whether football or otherwise. I'm saying right now that when the Grizzlies basketball team makes the NCAA tournament I am taking that bus.

Anyone have any experience with Griz rooter buses? Thoughts?

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Last season the Montana Grizzlies football rode Lex Hilliard to a Mountain West Conference Championship and an 11-0 record. Lex Hilliard won the Heisman after breaking Barry Sander's single season record of 2,628 yards and scoring more than 50 touchdowns.

Despite their record, the Griz were shutout of a BCS National Championship game berth and were forced to settle for playing USC in the Fiesta Bowl. USC shut down the Griz rushing attack but Jason Washington launched an airborn assault that led to an upset and a BCS victory in the Grizzlies' very first season in I-A ball. Or so it played out on my Xbox.

This season, I don't have that option as I recently purchased an Xbox 360 and the 360 version of the game only contains Division I-A teams. Blowing up the USC defense is great with the likes of Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija, but it doesn't quite compare to bumblin' and stumblin' with our own Lex Hilliard. I'm not the only one that's a little disappointed their team didn't make the game.

The Xbox version of this year's game does include UM and almost all of the Big Sky Conference. The only exception being the Bears of Northern Colorado. EA Sports, the game's publisher, had no idea that UNC made the move to the Big Sky Conference. Here's a story out of the Greeley Tribune on their disappointment.

The school's absence occurred because EA Sports did not include UNC with the Big Sky Conference, which the Bears officially joined June 30. When asked about UNC's absence from the game, Nick Straw, the public relations coordinator at EA Tiburon, said none of the Great West Conference is included. Straw said he and the programmers were unaware of UNC's move from the Great West to the Big Sky.

Straw said the Bears could appear in the 2008 version.

"Ultimately it's our goal to have all the college teams," Straw said.

So, no repeat Heisman for Hilliard. I guess I could settle for a I-AA National Championship.

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I recently exchanged a few emails with E'lon Paige of Sacramento State regarding a post a week or so ago. Instead of copying and pasting out a few quotes, here they are in their entirety.

Mr. O'Keefe,

    On behalf of myself, I would like to apologize to the University of Montana football, especially the secondary, for my actions committed through the use of the myspace blog recently posted. I did not realize the extent of the consequences which would result from a light hearted joke on the internet. As you say, yes I am a young athlete with confidence, but arrogance (which I excersised) is not in my plan. I have not proven myself on the field and therefore have no room to make guarantees or threats. I am not Fred Amey or Chad Johnson. I am my own person,a  young player trying to make his name for himself in a positive way, not as portrayed recently. I have learned a huge lesson in this situation. I take full responsibility for my actions. The blog was in no way a challenge to the University of Montana football team. Good luck in their upcoming season.

                                                                      E'lon Paige

E'lon is not nearly as brash as he was made out to believe. If he has the talent to match the confidence and intelligence, he will be an excellent player in the Big Sky Conference.

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"Who will cover 85 in 2005?" That was the title of a checklist created by Chad Johnson, wide reciever for the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL. Elon Paige did the same.

Paige, a second year 6'4" 190 lb receiver for Sacramento State, posted his list on the mass media pulpit that is his own Myspace Blog (link is down, Elon decided to make his blog private, guess it was too much attention) Here is an excerpt and his list of "future victims" for the Griz:

Therr are three things in life that are certain: death, taxes, and that 19 will always be open.

This is the exclusive list of future victims for 2006 (playmakers in bold):
...
University of Montana
S ..17 Van Cooper Jr. 6-2 215 Sr.
S ..27 Matt Lesbock 5-11 190 Sr.
CB ..18 Jimmy Wilson 6-0 180 Jr.
CB ..13 Tuff Harris 6-0 195 Sr.

I did my best to find numbers on this guy but I really don't think there are any. From what I found, he got in two games last year and didn't do a thing. He may or may not have returned a kickoff for 10 yards while getting blown out by Cal, but that information varies between two sites.  In high school, Paige was named All Delta League after catching 17 passes for 301 yards for Laguna Creek High School of Clovis, California.

Paige does come from a great pedigree as his father Stephone Paige played nine seasons with Kansas City Chiefs and brother, Stephone II, played two seasons for Hornets.

I'll give Paige the benefit of the doubt, maybe he is always open but never gets thrown to. Confidence (see his post about it) is great for a young receiver, but this may be a step too far. Even so, he's a player I'll keep my eye on.

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AnyGivenSaturday.com announced it's preseason poll today and the Griz are fourth on the list, receiving two first place votes.

Montana State at #19 and Eastern Washington at #23 are the only other Big Sky teams ranked. Appalachian State, reigning national champions hold the #1 spot. Here are the complete rankings courtesy CSTV.com:

Any Given Saturday Poll Preseason Top 25
(First place votes in parenthesis)
1. Appalachian State (45)
2. New Hampshire (31)
3. Northern Iowa (7)
4. Montana (2)
5. Furman (2)
6. Cal Poly
7. Youngstown State
8. James Madison (2)
9. Illinois State
10. Delaware
11. McNeese State
12. North Dakota State (1)
13. Georgia Southern
14. Massachusetts
15. Eastern Illinois
16. Hampton
17. Southern Illinois
18. Coastal Carolina
19. Montana State
20. UC Davis
21. Texas State
22. Nicholls State
23. Eastern Washington
24. Eastern Kentucky
25. Richmond

Others receiving votes (minimum of 5 votes): Lafayette (56), Western Kentucky (47), Colgate (46), Lehigh (45), Grambling (44), Idaho State (43), South Carolina State (43), Harvard (29), Portland State (24), Northwestern State (22), William & Mary (21), Hofstra (17), Jacksonville State (17), Weber State (17), Western Carolina (14), Maine (10), Sam Houston State (10), Brown (9), Southern University (9), South Dakota State (8), Wofford (7), Penn (6), Missouri State (5), Towson (5), Villanova (5)

The Griz are ranked the same as the were in last season's AGS Preseason Poll. They finished last season ranked #10 in the AGS poll and this is their third straight year in the top 5.

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The Carroll College Fighting Saints always seem to be playing second string to the Montana Grizzlies when it comes to football. Even though the Fighting Saints football team doesn't get the recognition the Griz do, they still make the most of their role (winning four consecutive NAIA National Championships).

This concept holds true as Tyler Emmert, who led Carroll College to those four national championships, reports to rookie camp for the B.C. Lions of the CFL, said SLAM!sports:

He'll be competing with returnees Jarious Jackson and Buck Pierce to back-up Dave Dickenson when B.C. kicks off the Canadian Football League season June 16 against the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Emmert said he's "honoured" to be alongside Dickenson, a legend back home because he quarterbacked the University of Montana Grizzlies to 1995's NCAA division I-AA championship.

On his chances of making the team:

"My dad called me up and said 'hey can you make it?'" Emmert told 24 hours yesterday.

"I said if they're going to keep four quarterbacks, I've got a pretty good shot. If they're keeping three quarterbacks, it's going to be extremely hard."

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The cover page for the season, first game out of the blocks, the one that sets the tone, and the Griz will be about as overmatched as the Washington Generals.

The Grizzlies' very first game, in case you've been in a coma, is against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa city. Junior linebacker Tyler Joyce says the game is "a great opportunity for us to play a very prestigious program" in his online journal, but one has to wonder how he and the rest of the team feels about essentially being a practice squad regularly auctioned off to Division I-A teams.

The Idaho State Journal points out that this is a regular occurrence in the Big Sky Conference:

Idaho State and other teams in the Big Sky Conference are operating far from football nirvana. A quick glance at this year's Big Sky master football schedule will show that every team, with the exception of newcomer Northern Colorado, is playing at least one I-A team on the road for a guaranteed cash payout.
In athletic department jargon, they are called “guaranteed games.” No matter what the score, or how many people show up, the dollar amount the Division I-A team pays to the Division I-AA team is guaranteed.

In all, Big Sky teams will square off against their bigger brethren 12 times this season for a total of $3.45 million in payouts. Basically, it boils down to big bucks for big games against bigger teams. And for the foreseeable future, it isn't going to change. Welcome to the new Big Sky."

The article also points out that even the Grizzlies, who generate more revenue per game than any other Big Sky team need the payouts these games provide:

Thanks to budgetary mistakes under former Athletics Director Wayne Hogan, Montana's athletic department was saddled with more than $1 million of debt. It forced the Griz to play a guaranteed game against Oregon last season, and open this season against Iowa for a $650,000 sum.

The fee compensation for the game is so great because the Griz would make so much just by playing within the confines of Washington-Grizzly Stadium, around $300,000 said AD Jim O'Day. The Griz learned from their mistakes last year where the Oregon:

The Griz got $450,000 for playing the Ducks. But, to play the game, they needed to buy out their originally scheduled game with Central Washington for $50,000. Then the cost of chartering a plane and providing lodging for the players, coaches and staff and was right around $100,000.

Montana's reward for a physical beating and 47-14 loss at the hands of Oregon? Yep, $300,000 - the same amount generated by playing Central Washington all along.

Collegiate athletes may not be in it for the money, but those in charge of them sure are.

Tags: Football

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MontanaGrizzlies.com :: Griz conclude 2006 spring football drills with scrimmage

Griz conclude 2006 spring football drills with scrimmage by: Dave Guffey of the UM Sports Information Department Friday, 04/14/2006

‘We’re just 115 days away,’ University of Montana head football coach Bobby Hauck told his team following its third and final scrimmage of 2006 spring drills held in Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Friday afternoon.

Hauck was referring to the start of fall camp which is a mere 115 days away, beginning on Monday, August 7.

‘I told the guys that this group accomplished as much in five days as some teams do in an entire, 15-day spring practice session,’ Hauck said. ‘I thought that this team had an exemplary spring and they they worked extremely hard every day. I also told them to keep up that work ethic and continue to work hard this summer, and be ready to give a 110% effort when we start fall camp.’

The 6'5", 250 lb Swogger, who did not take any reps in the final scrimmage, comes to the Griz courtesy of Washington State University, where he was the starter as a sophomore in 2004 before breaking a bone in is right foot during a loss to Stanford.

Before that injury, Swogger started six games at quarterback during the 2004 campaign going 3-3 and passing for 1,283 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. He completed 47.2% of his passes with a quarterback rating of 118.0.

Swogger was one of the last links to the Mike Price era. Price spent 14 seasons at WSU from 1989-2002. Price is now at University of Texas-El Paso after his short scandalous stint at Alabama.

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