Montana Grizzlies Sports, Football and Basketball : Grizzoulian

Montana State University's football stadium is terrible. It has heinous fairground-like metal bleachers and an old looking grandstand. The worst part: it's probably one of the best in our conference and is second only to UM in conference attendance. The Big Sky Conference: where D-1 ball at high school football stadiums happens.

Anyway, they're looking to make some major improvements. I have to say... not too shabby.

Going off the video, it looks great. Their goal is to have 22,000 seats in eight years. Two major problems: the money and whether or not they can even put fans in that many seats. If I recall correctly, there were even a few empty seats for last year's Griz-Cat game. Not good.

However, this video and these plans would get me legitimately pumped to be a Cat fan. I almost want to donate money myself.

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It wasn't just the wins. It was the way the Lady Griz played the game that drew outstanding support from the community.

The way the Griz played and the atmosphere this past weekend made those two games some of the best Griz sporting events I've ever attended. Honestly, they're up there with the Stanford upset, "The Zoo" night and Bagley's catch against EWU. The actual number of people was great—4,265 for the Portland State game and 5,016 for MSU—but it doesn't do an ounce of justice to what it was like in the D on Friday and Saturday night.

The Lady Griz were having fun and so were the fans. There were times when the Lady Griz would make a series of hustle plays—someone would dig out a rebound then kick it out for a dagger three from Cote, Mandy would give a little shimmy and knock one down right in someone's grill, Ena would bang her way to the rim before getting the hoop and the harm—and the whole crowd would stand and cheer in agreement that what they were seeing was amazing. That's how they played: filled to the brim with confidence and completely devoid of all selfishness. They supported one another and wore the Lady Griz uniform with pride.

The Lady Griz put on a show and gave the fans a good deal of entertainment, but when Lady Griz needed something themselves, the fans provided it. The fans didn't only respond to great plays, they helped cause them. When the Griz needed a stop or a run, they were there. They were there because they knew the Lady Griz would respond. When the Lady Griz were down, there was no doubt they'd make a run; whenever there was an opening, they'd stomp their collective foot on the chest of the opponent as they buried any doubt over the final outcome.

But it wasn't all like this. It wasn't all smooth. No one knows if they needed it but Coach Selvig kept them grounded. I'm damn-near 100% convinced that the reason he walks with a small limp is because he stomps so much.

There was a time in the MSU game when the Lady Griz were up comfortably by somewhere around 15 and Sonya Rogers made an ill-advised pass into the post on a fast break. It was picked off and as Sonya hustled back on defense, Robin stared into her back and screamed "SONYA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!" It was terrifying. Sitting front row in the student section, his scream and stare were so intense I almost felt like I messed up. But these girls are tough. They don't get flustered, they don't think it's all a show. They know they screwed up and do not want to do it again.

There are so many things that went into this amazing season that's it's impossible to accurately describe even 1/8th of what it was like. For those of you who missed it, I'm sorry.

I'm also sorry for giving very little recognition to this great team here on The Grizzoulian. They should've gotten many more entries than the few written about them.

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Tonight, the Lady Griz face a dangerous Portland State team who beat them by 10 less than a week ago. Lady Griz will play the second game tonight at about 7:45 with Montana State and Northern Colorado playing in the first at 5:30.

Mandy Morales sprained an ankle in the last game so this should be interesting. I'll be there, hope everyone else can make it out.

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Up to this point, my coverage of the Griz-Cat basketball game has been nothing short of God-awfully wretched. One entry, that's it. It's been an interesting week and I hope to do as Lloyd did and TOTALLY redeem myself.

For those who get the reference, here's the 70 mpg moped that will be my Montana Grizzlies/Montana State Bobcats coverage: I will be providing live comments and images from the game.

Now, that won't be done right here on the Grizzoulian, but on other pages done by me. For live images taken from the student section go to flickr.com/grizzoulian. For my short comments on whatever's going on, go to twitter.com/colinokeefe.

Also, the game's on KPAX. Starts at seven.

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As I mentioned, there were two positives that emerged from last night, here's the other.

The Montana State Bobcats basketball team was livin' the good life. On top of already beating a WAC and Pac-10 team, they had recently outplayed and demoralized the rival Griz. With the worst team in the conference next on the schedule, it looked like the hot streak would run at least one more game. Nope.

The Sac State Hornets, who had not beat a Division I team all year, knocked off the Cats 78-77. The Cats battled back from being 9 down with less than six minutes to go and led with 1:15 left. Then Sac missed a shot, Cats got the ball and were fouled with 17.9 seconds left.  Phil Friesen missed both. Hornets got the ball and freshman guard Vinny McGhee Jr found senior forward Justin Williams for a 16-foot baseline winner with 4.7 seconds left.

Here are some quotes from the Bozeman Chronicle:

“Yeah, I'm frustrated,” MSU coach Brad Huse said, before quickly crediting Sacramento State with dictating the pace and flustering his team, which shot 38.0 percent an committed two technical fouls.

“We came back and had a chance to win it, and it would've been a good win on the road.”[...]

“We got beat up by a freshman guard tonight,” Huse said, adding: “We're not going to win a lot of games unless we get more balance in scoring.”

Agreed Taylor: “People who usually make shots didn't make shots.”

It's worth noting that Carlos Taylor scored 34. Again.

Now the Cats head to NAU, where'll they'll take a long bus ride up to 7000 feet and try to succeed where the Griz didn't. Needless to say, it wouldn't be surprising to see both the Griz and Cats sitting at 1-2 after Saturday. If the Griz are 0-3, I'm gonna lose it.

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I do not have a lot to say. This was the worst half of basketball the Griz have played all season.

Montana closed the first half and opened the second half with a flurry of made threes. It looked good at the time but couldn't have been more detrimental to the final outcome.

Throughout the entire second half, the Griz jacked up poor outside shot after poor outside shot. It was dreadful. Every time the Griz went inside, points were there for the taking. The inside-out game was there. The 25-foot treys and fadeaway jumpers were not.

When MSU made their run and grabbed the game, the Griz didn't put up an ounce of effort as they fell to the canvas. The Cats were the more disciplined and efficient team. Throughout the game, they stuck to their gameplan and ran a balanced offense. The Griz did not. They panicked, tried to be heroes, fell behind and tried to jack up threes.

The Griz have not won a D1 game in more than a month. It's been since the weekend following Thanksgiving. Depressing, huh? This 07-08 season doesn't feel like last year anymore. It's worse.

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Well, I'm sick of dealing with this TV stuff. I almost stroked out trying to explain my problem to a DirecTV automated receptionist. I've moved closer to the wireless router and am now going off of audio only,

I missed a lot of the first half trying ti figure the TV thing out so I don't have a ton to offer. It sounds like the Griz are running a solid, patient offense. There was at least one time where Rundles lofted up a trey early in the shot clock but that was all I heard. Once again, I didn't hear much.

Ceylong Elgin-Taylor made a positive impact in the first half. I like having him running the point. He did a great job in the Fulerton game and it sounds like he's doing the same here. If Rundles can regain last year's form these two should prove to be a very skilled tandem. We just need CET shooting thousands of FTs every day.

As for the bigs, I'm not really sure what's going on. I believe Jordo his being his usual self, just going off the few plays I've heard. Drew has six points at half. Not a ton for him, but it'll do right now. Hopefully he can get more in the next twenty minutes.

The Griz have led and trailed, had both positives and negatives on offense and defense. However, you'll always take a lead at half in a conference rivalry game on the road.

Well, there's some kind of biology or nature expert on at half. I'm getting a beer. Tonight's beverage: Newcastle.

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The live blog is off. It's blacked out or something. DirecTV offered zero help. Could not provide a reason for anything. Very very awful customer support. It included trying to explain my problem to an automated receptionist. Just really terrible.

For the Griz, this is the first step in erasing a disappointing non-conference season. It's also a chance to pick up an impressive road win and potentially re-establish themselves as the favorite to win the conference.

For the Cats, it's a chance to kick their rivals while they're down. They looked great in non-conference play and a win here establishes them as a Big Sky power.

For those still in Big Sky country, this game is on KPAX. For all of those wishing you were, it's on DirecTV channel 693. Just a reminder: it's free.

A live blog with complete with scores, analysis and rants is after the jump.

Pregame

I just want to make note of this: if we lose, I'm going to be really upset. Every other Griz fan should be as well. No matter what happens, there are no moral victories. This is a rivalry game, and a big one at that. We haven't beat a D-1 team in more than a month. We need a 'W' fellas.

Also want to note that I'm going to try and go with less updates. I want to enjoy this. The last couple have gotten a little out of hand.

It's 6:02 and no TV yet. Trying not to panic. Not only has the channel not switched over, but my satellite signal is going in and out. WONDERFUL.

1st Half

I'm switching to audio. Very upset.

I'm resetting my satellite receiver while listening to Mick. This blows.

17:00 6-3 Griz

We've supposedly been running the offense well. I wouldn't know because I can't see the damn game. Wow, this is wonderful. The Guide says it should be on. Right now I'm getting 'Searching for satellite signal.'

15:22 8-6 Griz

Well, it's good to see we're starting out in front. Something we really needed to do on the road. A 5-7 point lead would be nice coming out of this media timeout. I believe CET started over Martin but I could be wrong. I liked how that lineup worked against Fullerton. Only problem comes with CET's free-throw shooting down the stretch.

No Idea

DirecTV has terrible customer service. I cannot get ahold of them. My internet is going in and out so I can't listen. Great.

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For everyone who lives outside the 406, trying to follow your Montana Grizzlies can, well, blow. You can order all the DirecTV packages you want but you're still only going to get a few games a year. That is, unless you get your local bar to use some special satellite receiver to tune into the signal they're bouncing off Saturn or whatever.

Tonight though, is not one of those rough nights. The Montana/Montana State basketball game will be shown on ESPN FullCourt. Channel 693. It says the game starts at 8 ET on the guide but both team's web pages say 7:05 Mountain Time. Alright, now that everything's out of the way. Tonight's game will be on TV, for free. It's part of the package's free preview, which extends tonight through the twelfth. So, as long as you have DirecTV, you get the game. Enjoy.

Oh, and if you're really ADD and need multiple Griz things to look at, there'll be a live blog running here as well.

Also, all you lucky local people—well all of you not in Bozeman...any Bozone Griz fans should definitely be at the game—the game can be seen on KPAX at 7.

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The 2008 football schedule is out. As reported on here first, the Griz will open their season down San Luis Obispo against the Cal Poly Mustangs.

Here's the complete schedule:

Date ..... Opponent ..... Time
9.6 ..... at Cal Poly ..... TBA
9.13 ..... Southern Utah ..... 1:05 p.m.
9.20 ..... UC-Davis (Homecoming) ..... 1:05 p.m.
9.27 ..... Central Washington ..... 1:05 p.m.
10.4 ..... at Weber State * ..... TBA
10.11 ..... at Eastern Washington * ..... TBA
10.18 ..... Sacramento State * ..... 1:05 p.m.
10.25 ..... at Northern Colorado * ..... TBA
11.1 ..... Northern Arizona * ..... 12:05 p.m.
11.8 ..... at Portland State * ..... TBA
11.15 ..... Idaho State * ..... 12:05 p.m.
11.22 ..... Montana State * (108th meeting) ..... 12:05 p.m.

* Conference game

The OOC is alright. We probably shouldn't be playing a DII school but whatever. Here's O'Day's rationale on playing schools from a lower division. It's his response to playing Ft. Lewis last year but fits around the fact that we're playing Central Washington:

Last year, we played Fort Lewis (Don Read loved the Division II schools to let young kids get experience) and UM Athletics netted about $300,000 - not counting what the Adams Center received for ticket fees ($1 per ticket), or what dining services produced in sales, or the bookstore... not counting what the Missoula economy saw by another home game (estimated at between $5-$7 million per home weekend).  We admit that was a "money game," as do most teams at our level.   Still, it is no different than Oregon hosting Montana for $450,000 or Iowa hosting Montana for $650,000.  Their fans expected big wins at our expense, and they, too, need to produce funds to pay their bills.

After the non-conference slate, what should be two of our toughest BSC games are on the road: we have to go to Portland to play the Vikings and to the Cheney to play the Eagles. Those should be two very challenging games. Then we cap off the season with the Brawl in Missoula and hopefully another Big Sky Championship.

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In the video above, Lex scores his second of three touchdowns. At this point in the game, the Griz were only up 7 and needed another score to put the game out of reach. This was it.

After the jump are some pictures for the game. As usual, email me if you'd like some high resolution shots.

The field about a half hour before gametime.

The band getting ready before the game.


Griz take the field.

Cats run out.

Un-de-feated.

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The score, 41-20 Griz, doesn't reflect it but the game was close throughout. The two teams were separated by only one possession through most of the game.

In the fourth, the Griz were up 13 (after an EA catch 1:15 into the quarter) until the Cats scored with about ten minutes left. The Cats punched it in but the extra point was blocked and almost run back for two points. On an ensuing possession, the Griz drove down to the two. After a third down run from the two or three that got pretty much got stuffed, the scoreboard read 4th and 2. For some reason, a measurement was taken. Somehow, it led to a first down Montana. The Griz punched it in a play or two later on a leaping Lex Hilliard TD run. There'll be a video up tomorrow.

On the next Cat position, Rolovich was about to be sacked  then he hucked it up underhanded. It was picked off and Lex ran it in from 15-20 yards out on the ensuing possession. Twenty one point lead, back-to-back Brawl wins and an undefeated regular season.

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The Montana Grizzlies volleyball is currently on the outside looking in on the Big Sky playoff race. They're seventh. Six Teams make the playoffs. We need wins. And fans.

The volleyball team needs 2,085 to break the record so they're moving the game down to Dahlberg instead of playing up at the West Auxiliary Gym.

Here's some info and a quote from the coach from The Missoulian:

The Grizzlies are facing off against the last-place Bobcats (0-12, 1-23), while NAU hosts two of the top three teams in the league this weekend in Eastern Washington (9-3, 10-13) and Portland State (10-2, 17-6). Fifth-place Northern Colorado (6-5, 8-16) also hosts both EWU and PSU this weekend.

“We'll need the teams that are playing well at the top of the conference to continue to play well and help us get back into a position where we may have a chance at making the tournament,” second-year Griz coach Jerry Wagner said. “Certainly we need some help, but we also have a lot to play for in the upcoming three weeks.”

We better win. Not because we need it to make the playoffs, but because the Cats are 0-12 in conference and 1-23 overall. That's awful.

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This weekly feature is actually becoming weekly as it's back for consecutive weeks.

Griz get two game lead with victory over NAU. It's the Griz's most impressive win of the season and it almost guarantees them at least a share of the Big Sky championship. Lex carried for 130 yards in the second half and essentially carried the Griz to victory. Finally, we are starting to see the team everyone thought to compete for a National Championship.

Montana State embarrassed by Northern Colorado. Northern Colorado finally got its first win over a Big Sky team since joining the conference. It wasn't over a bottom-feeder like Sac State or Idaho State either. It was over 19th ranked Montana State. This will undoubtedly knock MSU out of the rankings, the BSC title chase and probably the playoffs.

Weber State 73, Portland State 68. Um, what the hell? It's the most points scored in an NCAA football game since these types of things were first recorded. Freshman quarterbacks—one a redshirt and one a true freshman—combined for 13 passing touchdowns. Portland State QB Drew Hubel, a true freshman making his first start, passed for nine touchdowns. I'm sure Mouse Davis likes to see that but I doubt this is what Glanville had in mind when he said PSU would have the hardest hitting defense on the West Coast.

Eastern Washington hands Sac State another close loss. Half the conference decided they weren't going to play defense this weekend. The Hornets and Eagles amassed more than 900 total yards in EWU's 31-24 win.

Idaho State thumped by Cal Poly, 48-28. Here's another team who felt defense really wasn't essential. Cal Poly quarterback Jonathan Dally threw for 453 yards and ran for 119 more. Idaho State is now 3-5 overall and 2-3 in conference.

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The Northern Colorado Bears finally have their first win over a Division I team since moving up. After losing 16 straight, the Bears beat the Bobcats 16-13.

For moments at the end of the game, it seemed as though the Bears were trying to lose. Well, the Bobcats tried to lose a little bit harder.

After a partially blocked Northern Colorado punt, MSU went down and scored with roughly 50 seconds on the clock. The Bears burned two timeouts trying to ice the kicker on the extra point. It didn't work. Neither did MSU's kickoff coverage. The Bears returned the ball to the MSU 40 and completed a long pass to the 20 on an ensuing play. They kicked a 37 yard field goal and with that, the Bears are on a winning streak for the first time in a season and half.

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Photo by Todd Goodrich for Montanagrizzlies.com

This weekly roundup on action in the Big Sky has been less than weekly but here it is for this weekend's games.

The Bears are who we thought they were, but are the Griz? The Griz racked up an impressive 627 yards and 52 points in their dominant win over Northern Colorado but who really knows what that means? Will the win set the Griz offense on a track that leads toward Chattanooga or is this simply a good win over a bad team? Griz fans can hope for the former but the next two games should be a better indicator than this win over a team that hasn't beat a Division I team since moving up.

Bobcats survive Sac State. As many Griz fans expected/hoped for, the MSU offense had a bit of trouble against the Hornet defense. The Cats were down 6-0 at the half but outscored the Hornets 20-3 in the final two quarters. They've now won eight straight in what has effectively been dubbed "The Ashtray."

Weber ends NAU's two game BSC win streak. Not a whole lot going on in this one. The Lumberjacks had a chance to tie it with about 9 minutes left in the game but a two point conversion was batted down. A few plays later, Weber scored and the game was out of reach.

Portland State falls to Idaho State, 38-20. Going into this season, Portland State had hopes for a Big Sky championship. It doesn't look like that's going to happen. Sorry Jer. The Viks were up 13-3 at halftime but the Bengals scored four third quarter touchdowns with two of them being on defense. The Vikings are 2-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big Sky. The only thing that may salvage their season: an upset over UM. I'm not too frightened but it is on my mind.

Eastern gets crushed by BYU. Fans of FCS, or at least Big Sky teams, hoped EWU's impressive offense would at least put a little fear into BYU, maybe make a game out of it. That did not happen. While the Eagles suffered a 42-7 defeat, they did get $325,000 for making the trip.

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I don't think so, but Greg Rachac of the Cat-Griz Insider does.

The Grizzlies? After they struggled in an 18-10 victory over winless Weber State, they have some questions to answer. Sure, they’re (still) the No. 1 ranked team in the nation, but UM has been bolstered by a weak schedule (their four opponents are a combined 2-14) and they still won’t play a road game until midway through October. Plus, who knows the status of Lex Hilliard’s shoulder injury? Bobby Hauck mentioned that he just hopes that Hilliard can come back at some point this season. That is certainly not good news for UM. The Griz will have to play much better this week against Eastern Washington.

The Bobcats, on the other hand, have been cruising thus far. A loss in their season opener at Texas A&M was expected, but since then they’ve been rolling. Granted, they, too, struggled against Weber State, but for the most part the Bobcats have been clicking on both offense and (especially) defense, making coach Rob Ash’s first tenure at the helm a success thus far.

All I’m saying is this: If Montana and Montana State were to play right now, the Bobcats would win. That may not be the case on Nov. 17, but it is certainly the case now.

Right now, we're going off the Weber games because the Griz and Cats don't have any other comparable opponents until the Cats play Southern Utah next week.

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It wasn't here last week, but this weekly recap of Big Sky games is back for week 5.

Montana very unimpressive against WSU. It was a lot like the USC-Washington game. Both the Trojans and Griz were ranked number one but put up less than inspiring performances against decent yet unranked teams who wore purple and had school names starting with a W. I don't think the Trojans committed nearly as many penalties though.

Portland State beats Eastern Washington, 28-21. The Viking offense looked very strong in the win as they racked up 520 yards of total offense. Even so, it was a close game. The game ended when Portland State picked off a desperation pass in the end zone.

Sac State rolls over Northern Arizona, 38-9. NAU head coach Jerome Souers didn't give the Hornets much credit, saying "it was one of those games that whatever could go wrong, did go wrong." You know what, you got stomped. It wasn't just things going wrong. Sac State obviously played well.

Montana State rallies from 10-0 deficit to beat Idaho State. The Bobcats had a strong third quarter and Demetrius Crawford ran for 173 yards on 23 carries as the Bobcats' 40-20 win put the Bengals 0-2 in the conference.

Northern Colorado loses to Cal Poly, 56-21. What can I say? They got this losing thing down.

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The Griz sit in their usual spot while Montana State moved from 20th to 18th. Eastern Washington debuts in the poll at #25 and Portland State is working on climbing its way back in.

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Portland State saves their season with a 35-24 win over Sac State. The Vikings probably went into this game the same way Michigan will go into their conference schedule. PSU will not get great playoff seeding but they can still win the conference and make the playoffs. Unlike the Wolverines, the Viks can still win a National Championship. It's not likely, but as a Cubs fan, I like to think anyone can win once they get in the playoffs.

Montana State kills Dixie State, 61-7. Nice job guys, nice job. Some people mark this as some sort of sign that MSU is fine and will be something of a contender. The win is what it is. If you're proud of a D-II shilacking, that's not good. I'm not saying the Cats will or will not be a factor in the 'Sky but the only message this sends is that they can blow out a team from a lower division. Good to know.

NAU falls to Appalachian State, 34-21. It would've been nice to see a Big Sky team get mentioned on SC for beating the giant-killers from Boone, but it didn't happen as the Mountaineers won their 17th straight game. It could've been worse. If NAU can keep it within two possessions, maybe the Griz can pull off a win.

Weber State blown out by Cal Poly, 47-19. The Weber State secondary allowed Mustangs quarterback Jonathan Dally to rack up Colt Brennan-esque numbers in the loss. The kid tossed 6 TDs on 328 yards.

Northern Colorado loses to San Diego, 49-13. This type of score was expected with the Bears coming off a huge loss to D-II Chadron State. On a positive note, they did find a running back. David Woods finished with 180 all-purpose yards.

Eastern beats UC Davis, 41-31. It wasn't Bengals-Browns but the Eagles and Aggies combined for almost 1,000 total yards. The Aggies had more yards and the Eagles had more points.

Idaho State trounced by Oregon State, 61-10. You know the deal. Big Sky team plays FBS opponent, Big Sky team loses by 30+ while the FBS team puts up huge numbers. Whatever pays the bills.

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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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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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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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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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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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As any baseball fans know, double-headers are tough. It's extremely difficult to go out and win two games in one day. Things are especially difficult when you try to pick up two on the road. Well, the Griz lacrosse team did just that with wins yesterday over #7 Northern Colorado and #11 Montana State.

I don't have many specifics and the only news I have on yesterday's games comes from a blip on Grizlax.com regarding the Northern Colorado game and an anonymous e-mail saying both games went well. The Griz beat Northern Colorado 15-10 and I do not have a score on the MSU game.

This makes the third Griz lacrosse victory in two days as the team also beat #19 Western Oregon on Saturday.

I believe this marks the end of the regular season for the UM lacrosse team. Please do let me know if there is some kind of a postseason.

Update: The score of the Griz-Cat lacrosse game was 17-10, Griz.

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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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The University of Montana has dominated Montana State so far this year as the Griz swept the Cats in men's hoops, women's hoops, volleyball and won the Griz-Cat football game. Well, the Griz lacrosse team — damn straight, we have lacrosse team — looks to notch another victory over MSWho.

The University of Montana lacrosse team faces off against the Cats on Saturday as part of a weekend of games in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Griz also face Utah Valley State College on Friday and Linfield on Sunday.

For tons of information, head to their website at GrizLAX.com. It is run by team photographer and webmaster, Will Moss.

Here are some basics on the team: they are a club team, meaning that they do not have scholarships and do not get much (any?) financial support from the University. I believe they get as much money as other clubs do, but not near what other actual university-sanctioned sports get.

As a club team, they play in the Men's Collegiate Larosse Association's (nationwide association of club college club teams) Division B. Sure, they're stuck in the lower division, but they do what most Griz teams do and stomp through that lower division. The Griz lacrosse team is ranked third in the latest MLCA Division B poll. I really hope end up topping St. Thomas (preppy MN private school), not a big fan of that place.

For anyone who isn't headed to places like Cabo and Cancun, you should definitely go and check out a couple of games.

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