Reason 184 to love BYU football

How many other teams use the pride cycle to motivate themselves each week?

Listen to Bronco Mendenhall talk about it with Jim Rome in a great interview here.

That's what I'm talking about!

59-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BYU Football

First of all, what is with the FUMBLITIS. Hold on to the ball Cougars!! We have turnovers like our last two games next week against UCLA and we will get blown out.

Second, Pitta is the man.

Third, I really, really, really don't like excessive celebration penalties. I mean, if you go TO on somebody and dance on their star, fine. But to expect teenage or just barely past teenage boys to not get excited when they do something great is ridiculous. That being said, he threw the ball sky high and that's clearly a violation of the rules, be they bad rules or not. And kudos to Jorgensen for saving everyone else's bacon!

GO COUGS! BRING ON UCLA!

Some Sports Notes

Let me just be the first person to thank Brett Favre for the first TMQ column in almost a year not centered around the "evil" Patriots.

If Team USA Basketball doesn't bring home the gold this year, I'm taking it personally.

Speaking of which, after watching the playoffs this year and following the basketball team the last month or so, I've decided that if the game is on the line, I want either Lebron or D Wade to have the ball. Not Kobe.

Was that 4 X 100 relay incredible or what? That's exactly what I love about the Olympics!

Speaking of the Patriots, I'm still not over the Superbowl In fact, I still haven't watched even one minute of that game. If you see me during football season, don't talk to me about it.

Anyone else excited for BYU football!!!???!!!

Update

Just thought I would give you a quick update. Deanna is doing very well, though I think we pushed her too hard today. It's amazing how quickly she is recovering, so thank you for all of the well wishes.

I have really, really enjoyed being home. I think I could be quite happy as a stay-at-home dad. Yes, it takes lots of effort. Yes, it can be frustrating. But I really doing derive deep joy and satisfaction from being with my kids and my wife. Is it too early to be looking ahead towards retirement?

I was also very productive at home this week, getting taxes done, cleaning up some projects around the house, etc. It was kind of nice not to focus so much on work.

And for those of you who are worried, we did let some people take care of us...just a little. That is one of my favorite things about the church. You have a built in family almost anywhere you go.

I am currently on Neuro MRI this month and that is easing the thought of going back to work tomorrow because I really enjoy it. MRI uses extremely powerful magnets (more powerful than the magnetic pull of the earth) and electric currents to take pictures of the body. This month I am specifically reading MRI's of the brain and spine. The nervous system is incredibly fascinating and the pathology of the nervous system is also very interesting, so I am really enjoying my time on this rotation.

WARNING, SPORTS RELATED MATERIAL AHEAD:

And last, but not least, let me just say something about sports. First, the good. I am totally surprised how many people are putting the Jazz in the hunt for the title. I think they are good, but their margin for error is just a lot smaller than the other teams. I would be very pleased if they make it to the finals, but I really think at this point it would be a big surprise to me.

Next, the bad and the ugly together. This is completely pathetic, but I really haven't recovered from the Patriots season yet. To go along so well and to end so horribly, in the final minute, to ELI MANNING of all people and after having the SpyGate would reopened, I just couldn't take it. After the game I placed an immediate ban for myself on all sports related websites, radio shows or TV for about a week and so I have not read or listened to anything about the SB except for two Bill Simmons columns because I knew he would be more depressed than me. And really they weren't even my original team, but after living in CT and then defending them all year long from people who hated them I really, really wanted them to win. I know it's only sports, but I have now associated myself with a team that will come up in every single conversation for the rest of my life when someone talks about going undefeated wire to wire and failing. And now it looks like there is potential for SpyGate to NEVER go away and completely ruin everything the Pats have done prior to this. Anyways, I know I'm a loser, but it really has just tainted the entire 2007-8 football season for me. It's almost like the Pats have to win the SB next year to redeem themselves. And I know at least Steve-o is backing me up right now.

PS. If anyone wants to plant a virus in Gregg Easterbrook's computer, let me know. I will pay good money for that. :)

END SPORTS RELATED MATERIAL

Anyway, hope everyone out there is doing well. If you made it to this point in the post, congratulations, you must really love us. Or you have too much time on your hands.

Excitement in the air

My favorite time of year is just around the corner!! I'm talking about fall, of course, and with fall comes...

FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This weekend we have the first BYU game and soon thereafter the NFL is going into full swing. (Bah to the preseason I say.) I don't think I'm going to have a great year in fantasy football, but at least my man Steve is going to win another trophy.

Anyway, after football starts, then we have a slow change in weather, a change in leaves (um, do they have leaves in Iowa?), more football, holidays, jackets, more football, more holidays, hot chocolate, etc.

I can't wait! SO, with that, here is one of the greatest non-BYU football plays of all time.

Basketball

Probably only two people that read this blog care about basketball, so if you're not one of those two people, don't bother reading this post.

One of the things that has always bothered me about the media in general is their obvious biases. I think that this has been clearly and annoyingly evident in this playoffs.

Almost everyone in the media complained about the Suns suspensions, but it quickly became evident that they only reason they were complaining was because they wanted to see the Suns win. These people didn't complain about Horry's suspension even though Richardson committed a much harder foul on Okur and nothing happened to him. (It helps that Nash gave an incredibly dramatic flop down to the floor like he had just been shot instead of hip checked). No one seemed bothered by Baron Davis' awful elbow to Derek Fisher either. It's clear that none of them were really concerned about the consistent application of the rules, they just wanted to watch the Suns and Warriors play because they have fun-to-watch styles.

And how in the world could anyone think that this is a conspiracy to get the Spurs into the conference finals? The Suns are far more popular and fun to watch. Nash is much more popular than boring ol' Tim Duncan. For money making potential, the Suns would clearly be a better choice than San Antonio.

Lastly, where are all the articles about the Jazz people!! Everyone said that Houston could win a championship with Yao and McGrady healthy and yet Utah did the nearly impossible task of winning a game seven on their home court!! Then they showed incredible versatility by out-running Golden State when they needed to and playing slow down ball when they needed to. And how about beating Golden State at home at what was supposedly the most difficult arena to play in this playoffs? And what about Boozer? He has clearly shown this playoffs that he is the second best forward in the league and has gotten absolutely no love from the media. He has power, strength, speed, passing, a soft touch, a great mid-range J and has been incredibly clutch during the playoffs. And best of all, he knows how and when to use all of those skills, over-powering GS and using his speed against the much bigger Yao.

Unfortunately, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan match up very well against Deron and Boozer, so I think the Jazz' run might be at an end. But, it was fun to watch and I have really enjoyed the playoffs so far this year.

Conference, Lawson, Pulm, BBall

Well, conference weekend is over. It is always difficult to see or hear all of the sessions I want to see or hear, but the ones I did see were very good. My favorite talk was Elder Holland's talk on Saturday morning. I have always loved his talks and as you know we feel a special connection to him.

Just a quick question. I am not criticizing in any way, but I am curious why people always grip the sides of the pulpit when they say prayers in conference? I know it's not a big deal, but it's so uniformly true that I wonder if I'm missing something here.

I also have a quick update on Lawson for you. When he was little and he spoke in grunt language, D and I were worried that it would take forever for him to communicate well. That did not come true as he started talking up a storm right before he turned two. But I have just noticed lately how much more he is talking even now. It seems that he almost always speaks in full sentences even if his grammar isn't always right. He is very articulate and besides the recent stuttering seems to be able to express himself very well.

He is also doing very well on the sleep front, which of course makes us incredibly happy. He is not perfect, but he only gets up at night once or twice a week now. He generally goes down well even if he's not incredibly tired. And by well I mean we only have to go in there once or twice to give him a toy or answer a question for him. He is waking up between 6 and 6:30 no matter what time he goes to bed, which normally is fine, but with the time change he has been going to bed later. But, all in all, we are pleased with how he is doing and never thought things would be this way with him.

And speaking of sleep, I have finished my slacker month where I actually get to come home and night and on the weekends and it's back to a call month for me tomorrow. Not just call, but Pulmonary ICU call, which means that I have to be at work by 5AM every morning. Yikes! Supposedly the call itself is not that bad, it's just the getting up early, but we'll see how that pans out.

And last but not least, while I am happy for my friends who are UF grads, I have to say that Noah is the most annoying college basketball player to watch in the country. He drives me insane. I can only imagine that this is what people used to feel like watching the great white hope, Christian Leattner (sp?) who provided me with one of my fondest childhood sports memories.

Sacrifice

Now this is a devoted wife.

Boise St.

I was up late last night working on some paperwork stuff when I flipped on the Fiesta Bowl intending to catch the last four minutes of the game to see if the team from the little WAC conference could beat the big, bad Oklahoma team. What I ended up seeing was some of the greatest, most entertaining college football I've ever seen. I don't know if anything will ever beat The Play (or the way The Play was called by the announcer), but the hook and ladder + Statue of Liberty combo was so gutsy, so unexpected, so perfectly run that it was pure college football joy to watch. And the context of the underdog who was killing the big dog, then faltered at the end, looking like they were going to prove all the doubters right made, then coming back so unexpectedly made it that much more interesting. And to top it off, the guy who wins the game for them proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend right after the winning play!

I will post it below, but let me just tell you what I was thinking as this happened. When it was 4th and 18 and the first guy caught the pass, I thought the game was over as there was no way the guy could break through all of those OK guys to get the first. The lateral caught me completely off guard, as it did the defense too. Check out the guy on defense who could've taken the second ball carrier down but is running completely the wrong way at full speed because he just didn't expect it.

The two point conversion made me think the game was over as well. Never throw the ball behind the line in a must win situation. The guy who caught it still had five yards to go and plenty of defenders ahead of him. Woops! Where's the ball? Where's the ball!? It's in the end zone, Boise wins!! Unbelievable. You really had to be watching to appreciate the drama, but take a look below and see if you can relive the game.

BYU vs. Utah again

It's worth reliving this game one more time, so enjoy the clip below.




A couple thoughts. First, Lawson was dancing around the living room throughout this entire thing. I'm glad he is already happy about this win. Second, Beck and Harline have secured their place in BYU history. Macmahon to Clay Brown is going to be replaced by Beck to Harline. Third, I love Greg Wrubell. What a call.

Fourth, if you are football enthusiast, just watch what good football BYU plays on that last drive and what bad football the U plays. All of the receivers were running crisp routes and finding perfect holes in the U zone. Beck's timing was fantastic. On one catch, there were FOUR U defenders around the receiver and yet none of them came close to breaking up the catch.

And on the last play, you first see some defenders manning up on the receivers, but if you watch Harline on the far right his man drops off of him when he cuts inside. Now, if the U is in man, he just made a huge mistake. If they are in some kind of prevent zone, the guy who runs out of the end zone after Beck makes a huge mistake because he leaves his spot to try and make the huge play and that's exactly where Harline finds himself a few second later, completely alone despite the fact that the U had most of their defenders in the end zone. If they are in some combo of the two defenses, then you have two huge mistakes.

BYU, on the other hand, had multiple receivers who kept moving, kept trying to find a hole when the play was clearly broken. The O line kept looking for new blocks even after their initial blocks and gave Beck all kinds of time. And Beck had incredible vision to spot Harline on the left when he was running to the right and to make that throw requires all kinds of arm strength.

And to the non-football enthusiast but the BYU fan, who cares! BYU WINS!!

YEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!