Idaho State installs new turf, not as cool

Oh look at what Idaho State's new turf looks like! It's not red, it's not orange, it's green. Lame.

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State Athletics Department has announced that Hellas Construction, Inc. will be the company that installs the new field turf at Holt Arena. Installation will begin July 1 and the process will take six weeks to complete.

“Hellas Construction, Inc. is excited to add Idaho State University's Holt Arena to its list of high profile installations,” Bruce Layman, Vice President of the Turf Division of Hellas Construction. “We are thrilled our Matrix removable system was selected for this project. We know this selection will add to Holt Arena's versatility and ability to increase utilization. Lastly, we are especially proud to be a part of this project as Holt Arena was the first removable synthetic turf system installed in the world in the 1970's. We know that we are dealing with a “savvy” customer when it comes to synthetic turf for its' sports facilities and the Matrix turf is unmatched in quality in today's sports facilities.”

Awesome, enjoy being plain jane Idaho State!

Chene Cooper named Big Sky Player of the Week

Eastern Washington's Chene Cooper has been named the Big Sky Player of the Week. This is the first time the junior has won the honor.

The Eagle women's basketball team pulled off two key conference wins last week with victories over Northern Arizona and Weber State. The wins improved the Eagles to 7-5 in Big Sky play and 11-14. This also has the Eagles sitting in sixth place in the Big Sky.

From the official Big Sky release:

Against the Lumberjacks, Cooper scored a game-high 23 points, one shy of her career high. She also had six rebounds, five assists and two steals. The junior hit two three-pointers in the contest, the second coming with under a minute left to put the Eagles up by one. Cooper went on to make 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

In Eastern’s win over Weber State, Cooper scored 18 points, another game high, and had four rebounds, seven assists and two steals. She hit 8-of-10 free throws, and had just two turnovers in 33 minutes on the court.

Amazing Idaho State free throw

With Big Sky play getting started soon it looks like Eastern Washington might have tough time with Idaho State. The reason being that it appears this off season the Bengals learned the ways of the Force.

Kamil Gawrzydek's free throw sits balanced on the front of the rim at the 2010 Gossner's Invitational vs. Utah State University.

The Big Sky just go a whole lot more interesting

The gauntlet has been thrown down by the Bengals!

Oh Idaho State, I watched them last Saturday and they were TERRIBLE. Conveniently, their head coach had already been fired and it was announced earlier this week that Mike Kramer will be their new coach.

(Mike Kramer is the guy on the right, in case you didn't know)

The Big Sky Conference better look over their shoulders because Kramer is one hell of a coach. He's won three conference championships with Montana State, who stupidly fired him for something he didn't even have control of, and one at Eastern Washington University.

In 1997, Kramer led the Eags to the semi-finals of the FCS Playoffs. The last Big Sky team to make it that far other than Montana.

He's a good coach, MSU was dumb in letting him go and I fully expect Idaho State to be a power in the next few years.

It's now just adding another storyline to the Big Sky Conference which is seeing the additions of more teams, the rise of Eastern Washington, parody abound in the league and the fall of Montana being the best team in the world.

Wow. Buckle up.

A look at the last week of Big Sky Conference football...

At the end of a crazy season, there's still no clear cut champion. Montana, Eastern Washington and Montana State could all be co-champs once things are all said and done. Let's take a gander...

Idaho State (0-7 conference, 1-9 overall) @ No. 3 Eastern Washington (6-1 conference, 8-2 overall)
Let me quote Admiral Ackbar...



ITS A TRAP (Game)! Eastern Washington has got to watch out in this game for several reasons. First, the way things have been kicking around in the media, it seems like everyone already assumes they'll beat Idaho State. Sure, they're the worst team in the Big Sky Conference but they gave Montana State all they could handle and remember, the Bobcats beat the Eags. Secondly, they just fired their coach for after the season and you could see that emotional "win one of the gipper" performances.

Weber State (6-4) @ Texas Tech (5-5)
Whats with all these late season games against Div. I-A opponents? When I saw Idaho State was playing Georgia, I nearly fell out of my chair.

Portland State (1-6 conference, 2-8 overall) vs. Northern Arizona (3-4 conference, 5-5 overall)
Northern Arizona has won three straight against Portland State and you know they'd like to finish the season above .500. I can't really come up with any motivation for the Vikings.

Sac State (6-4) @ UC Davis (5-5)

Sac State is the best team in the conference that isn't EWU, Montana and Montana State. I think they roll UC Davis in this one. Hey NCAA, you should take FOUR TEAMS from the Big Sky. Just saying.

Montana State (6-1 conference, 8-2 overall) @ Montana (5-2 conference, 7-3 overall)
Better known as ...



This game is going to be riveting. This is one of the best MSU teams to roll into Missoula and you know that even though the Griz are having a "down year" this is going to be one heck of a rivalry game. Better strap on your helmet, and get ready for WWIII.

Eastern Washington football number 3 in FCS

The Eastern Washington University Eagles football team are number three in the top 25 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision poll.

This is the highest the Eagles have ever been ranked.

Previously the 1997 team reached number six in the polls and finished number four at years end.

The 1997 team went on to win two playoff games before falling to eventual champion Youngstown State 25-14 in the semifinals. That EWU squad, coached by Mike Kramer and led by Big Sky Conference Players of the Year Harry Leons (offense) and Chris Scott (defense), finished the season 12-2 and ranked fourth in the final poll following the playoffs.

The Eagles finish the regular season this Saturday, November 20, at home vs. Idaho State. Idaho State is currently in the cellar of the Big Sky at 0-7 in conference play and 1-9 overall.

But the Eagles can not afford to overlook the Bengals.

The reason is that in Missoula the Bobcats and Griz will be battling the 110th Brawl of the Wild. And Eastern fans will have to hope that the Griz pull of the win.

The reason is simple. With an Eastern victory and a Montana State loss, the Eagles are the outright champs of the Big Sky.

And the FCS playoffs will be a bit different than previous years. Here's how they'll work:

This year's field for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs will include 20 teams for the first time. The Northeast and Big South Conferences will both send their regular-season champions to the postseason for the first time.

Those two leagues join the Big Sky, Colonial, Southern, Southland, Patriot, Ohio Valley, MEAC, and Missouri Valley as leagues with automatic bids to the playoffs. Two conferences choose not to participate in the football championship, the Ivy League and the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

The other 10 bids will go to at-large teams. Eight teams will play first-round games on Saturday, Nov. 27. Twelve teams will receive first-round byes, and play in the second round on Saturday, Dec. 4. The quarterfinals are Saturday, Dec. 11, with the semifinals the following week. Five teams are seeded, meaning they will play home games unless playing a higher-seeded team or if they did not meet the NCAA's minimum guarantee to host.

Montana makes the right choice

The University of Montana made the right choice, announcing today that they'll be staying in the Big Sky Conference. They flirted with the WAC and that was the big elephant in the room during this season, but it was promptly shoved out the door as the Grizzlies put them in a spot where it will be very difficult to win their 12th straight conference championship. It makes the most sense that they stay in the FCS as they'll continue to compete for national titles and always be in the playoffs.

Had they made the choice to move to the WAC, they would have relegated their program to obscurity. Even in the second-tier FCS, fans come to Washington-Grizzly Stadium knows that they're watching a team that has a very good shot at being the best in the nation for their class. If they went to FBS, even if their team was good they'd be reduced to hoping for a berth in the PapaJohn's Bowl against the eighth-best team from the Sun Belt Conference. Even if everything went well and they were the next Boise State... well look how the Broncos are dropping in the BCS rankings...

It's not likely they'd even be the next Boise State. While Boise actually has a rather large metro area of over a half million people, Missoula has a metro-area of 100,000. That's perfect for the FCS, and they get the job done with fan support. However, the corporate money would be significantly lower than most of their FBS counterparts. Heck, just look at the issues WSU is having and the Cougars have the Spokane metro area to draw from. You need corporate money to expand. You need rich alumni or boosters (read:Oregon) and you need fans to show up regardless.

Over half of Montana's season ticket base is outside of Missoula County, so that sold out stadium might dwindle if the team is no longer competing for national championships. In fact, you can count on it. Only the most delusional marketing rep would tell you otherwise. It's easy to sell out when you're winning, not so much when you're not.

Throw in the MSU rivalry and the Big Sky is just the right choice. Hands down.

This week in Big Sky Conference Football...

This week is actually pretty lame because some teams have decided to throw in some non-conference games at the end of the season. I'm not trying to be a debbie-downer, just getting revved up for the Griz-Cats game in two weeks.

North Dakota (3-6) at No. 13 Montana (6-3)
This is pretty smart scheduling for the Grizzlies. They should beat ND and that should allow them to have some momentum going into their game against MSU.

Southern Utah (6-4) at No. 5 Eastern Washington (7-2)
I wouldn't be surprised if EWU loses this game. The game is essentially meaningless. But it is as home and you know the school would like to remain undefeated on the red turf.

Northern Colorado (2-8) at Portland State (2-7)
Their records may not show it, but this may be quite the game. However, it's just for bragging rights.

Weber State (5-4) at Northern Arizona (5-4)
There is three tiers in the conference. The not-so-good-teams, the good teams and the elite teams. This is a battle of the two good teams in the Big Sky Conference. While a championship is out of the question, if Montana stumbles against MSU, one of these two teams could pick up that third playoffs spot.

Sac State (5-4) at Idaho State (1-8)
Sac State could be one of those playoff teams too but I'm hoping Idaho State gets an upset win out of their system so I don't have to worry about it happening against EWU next week.

There you go, big thanks go to the Daily Inter Lake for coming up with the matchups each week. It's great to live in a state that takes it Big Sky Conference football seriously.

Big Sky Commissioner about expansion

Video of Big Sky Commissioner speaking about Monday's expansion of the Conference with the addition of North Dakota and Southern Utah:

Big Sky Conference adds two members

Back in September the Big Sky Conference added two new schools to the conference to compete in football.

Today the Conference announced the addition of two new "core" member schools with adding North Dakota and Southern Utah.

The Big Sky Conference is privileged to announce that the University of North Dakota and Southern Utah University have accepted invitations to become core members of the Division I conference.

Both institutions received formal invitations from the league Friday, Oct. 29, advancing a process that began when the presidents of the nine current Big Sky Conference core universities approved expansion plans at their annual fall meeting on Oct. 20. Both institutions will officially join the Big Sky on July 1, 2012.

The addition of these teams puts the Big Sky at 11 core schools and 13 football schools. But that's not all the news the conference had.

The Big Sky Conference is also on the verge of announcing the addition of the University of South Dakota as a 12th core member.

The Conference will have 14 football members and be divided into two, seven team divisions.

Everyone has been talking about "power conferences" in the FBS, well the Big Sky is showing that they are quickly becoming the power conference of the FCS.

Breaking down the Big Sky Conference this week

Another week, another crazy slate of Big Sky Conference games. We'll break down what's happening this week...

No. 7 Montana (5-1 conference, 6-2 overall) @ Weber State (3-2 conference, 4-3 overall)
The Griz pulled out a dramatic win last week and they keep seeming to do just enough to win football games. This Weber State game has all the trappings of a danger game for Montana though. Eventually the luck is going to run out and Weber State is a tough team.

However, it's the Griz and you know they'll pull some miracle out of their back pocket like a sideline warning that costs the Wildcats the game or a freak tornado that injuries their quarterback. Seriously, it will happen. Trust me.


No. 13 Montana State (4-1 conference, 6-2 overall) @ Idaho State (0-5 conference, 1-6 overall)
Ah, the Idaho State Bengals. Not only do their uniforms remind me of 1986, but they are possibly the only Big Sky team that is terrible this year. However, that won't stop Montana State from falling behind by 30 points and posting a huge comeback. The Bobcats apparently don't need things like a "strong first quarter" or "dominant win."

They have won the last six against ISU and I would imagine every else has too.

Sac State (2-3 conference, 3-4 overall) @ No. 25 Northern Arizona (2-2 conference, 4-3 overall)
Sac State and NAU are the ultimate bad luck teams right now in the Big Sky. Nobody can deny their talent, no one is thrilled to be playing them. Now they're playing one another... there will be blood.

Northern Colorado (2-6) @ South Dakota (3-5)
Ugh... who cares?

No. 8 Eastern Washington (5-1 conference, 6-2 overall) @ Portland State (1-3 conference, 2-5 overall)
This game scares me. Portland State has always given Eastern Washington fits and despite their record, all their games have been close. The Eagles have been skating on thin ice in their games all season and this might finally be the time that the ice breaks.

This week in Big Sky football

It's going to be another interesting week in the Big Sky Conference as four teams are ranked and have just one loss in the conference. If you were looking for the definition of a quagmire, say hello to the BSC. I'll try and break down the matchups this week and make sense of everything...

Sacramento State (2-2 conf., 3-3 overall) @ No. 8 Eastern Washington (4-1 conf., 5-2 overall)
The Eagles will be their red turf, but they'll also have to contend with a Sac State team that isn't a pushover. Eastern can't overlook this Sac State team as they gave Montana a run for their money when these two teams played.

No. 22 Northern Arizona (2-1 conf., 4-2 overall) @ No. 7 Montana (4-1 conf., 5-2 overall)
NAU walloped MSU last week but they have to play the Grizzlies in their home stadium. This isn't an easy task by any stretch of the imagination although I don't think Montana is as strong this year as they've been in previous season. UM has won the previous 12 meetings though.

Northern Colorado (1-4 conf., 2-5 overall) @ No. 15 Montana State (3-1 conf., 5-2 overall)
This will be the a nice bounce-back for the Bobcats, they should be able to handle the Bears, no problem.

Portland State (1-2 conf., 2-4 overall) @ Weber State (2-2 conf., 3-3 overall) 
Weber State has won three straight against Portland State, but the Vikings gave Montana a scare last week. This game shows you how crazy this conference is, it could go either way.

There you have it, feel free to comment below!

Big Sky Standings

This brought a tear to my eye. The way the Big Sky should be.

Eastern Washington on the top.

And oh look. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down there at the bottom. Montana.

Respect the Red.

Big Sky Conference expands in football

The Big Sky Conference has continued the expansion of conferences in college sports.

Today the Conference announced the addition of UC Davis and Cal Poly in football only.

This will bring the conference to 11 teams in football.

Here's what Big Sky Conference Commissioner Doug Fullerton had to say about the addition of UC Davis and Cal Poly.

Pretty interesting when he talks about perhaps a 12 team, two 6 team divisions within the Big Sky in the future.



What do you think about the expansion of the Conference?

Boo Montana!

Can I relay to you the hatred I have for Montana? I'm not going to be classy. I'm not going to be professional. The state of the Montana sucks. It's basically a large truck stop in between Idaho and the Dakotas. Their fans are a very close cousin of New York Yankees fans, except with mullets.

And they'll celebrate being in the NCAA Tournament after defeating the Big Sky's No. 1 seed in the Conference Tournament Championship 66-65. The reason? Anthony Johnson isn't human.

The 6-3 senior from Tacoma, WA (Wonderful recruitment Eags) went off for the Grizzlies tonight for 42 points, obviously his highest total of the season and career. Montana trailed Weber State for most of the game and it appeared that the Wildcats were in control but Johnson kept going off, 34 of his points came in the second half. Weber State tensed up and did a perfect choke job.

And now I have to listen all about the Grizzlies before they get blown out in the first round. WONDERFUL. Can we just do away with conference tournaments?

Big Sky in the FCS Playoffs live updates

Today marks the start of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

Three teams representing the Big Sky Conference are in it. We'll keep you posted on how they do. And you can follow the Eastern game via Brandon's Twitter at this link.

Weber State

Final - William and Mary 38, Weber State 0

Montana

Final- Montana 61, South Dakota State 48 (Montana scored 41 unanswered to win)

Eastern Washington

Final -Stephen F. Austin 44, Eastern Washington 33

We'll have a complete FCS playoff picture results later today.

The Big Sky admits the refs did a bad job

The Big Sky Conference has admitted that... basically their refs f-ed up during the EWU-Montana game last weekend. Awesome, I'm sure that will be reflected in the win/loss column.

“The officiating in Saturday’s EWU-UM game was not up to the standards we expect and require,’’ said Big Sky Conference Commissioner Doug Fullerton. “Our officials are evaluated on every play of every game by observers in the stadium and by independent film evaluators - many with NFL experience - following the games. There are consequences for officials after they are examined.’’

Several plays were reviewed by the conference, its director of football officials Doug Toole, and independent observers. The league found two calls against Eastern Washington particularly troubling.

In the fourth quarter, an Eastern Washington player was called for a late hit out of bounds. The penalized player, however, was illegally blocked in the back by a Montana player, propelling him in to a Montana player out of bounds.

Late in the third quarter an Eastern Washington wide receiver was called for unsportsmanlike conduct as he slowed down on his way to the end zone. His actions, however, did not warrant the penalty.

“We continue to examine at least four more plays,’’ said Big Sky Conference Commissioner Doug Fullerton. “We don’t normally comment on officiating, nor do we plan to regularly do so in the future. However, there are cases where it is warranted, and this is one.’’

That really helps out Aaron Boyce, who had his collegiate career ended when he ruptured his Achilles Tendon in the Montana game. Thanks Big Sky! Now stop handing Montana the conference trophy under the table.

The Big Sky Conference is in Montana's jockstrap

I hate the Big Sky Conference. It might as well be called the "We love Montana" conference because I swear the Grizzlies run the league office. After having one of the best performances in the nation, EWU running back Taiwan Jones has to share honors with two other Big Sky Players...

In a rarity, the league has selected tri-Players of the Week on Offense with Montana quarterback Andrew Selle, Weber State QB Cameron Higgins and Eastern Washington running back Taiwan Jones all sharing the honor. For the second straight week, Eastern Washington linebacker J.C. Sherritt is the Defensive Player of the Week. Portland State’s Aaron Woods is the Special Teams Player of the Week.

Jones has 190 yard on just 15 carries and 4 touchdowns. That's Barry Sanders numbers right there. Meanwhile Selle and Higgins both had good performances under center but their numbers are something that happen every weekend by a QB in the Big Sky Conference. Jones' running numbers are something of a rarity.

He scored on nearly a THIRD of his carries.

Ridiculous Big Sky Conference, don't even try and pretend you're a real league office.

Best and Worst of Big Sky Helmets

I found this site while cruising around the Internet tonight. It showed all of the football helmets used in the Big Sky Confrence. But the coolest part was that it showed the past helmets as well.

For the link CLICK HERE.

But let me tell you about some of my favorites.

First off, I think the BEST helmet would go to the Idaho State Bengals of 1962.

I love the way the helmet logo is the state shape, and then it says STATE. I think that is crisp, clean and very original.

The SECOND BEST helmet would go to the Portland State Vikings of 1999-2001.

The white and green really flow together and the viking is futuristic and badass.

The THIRD BEST helmet has to go to (I can't believe I am going to write this) but the Montana Grizzlies of 1988-1995.Now stay with me for a moment. The graphic doesn't do the colors justice. The real colors of the helmet were gold paint, with a copper logo and a silver facemask. Here's why:

The University of Montana's official colors have for many years been silver, copper, and gold (in recognition of the state's mining industry), but a set of "spirit colors" which are used by the school's athletic teams was adopted in about 1996; these are maroon, silver, and gold.

Any school that uses copper in its scheme can't be that bad right? Right? Ok, I like their helmet, still not their school.

The U of M actually brought back the uniforms this season for their home game against Montana State. The uniforms are terribly ugly, but the helmets are cool.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love stuff from random schools. I own many random college t-shirts, sweatshirts and hats simply because they look original. That is why the Griz make the list. Based on appearance alone.

HONORABLE MENTION: The Eastern Washington Eagles of 2000-present.

The red is great, the logo is great, but just misses the top 3.


Which leads me to the top 3 WORST helmets in the history of the Big Sky teams.

The WORST helmet goes to the Idaho State Bengals of 1992-1996.

Yes, Idaho State had the coolest and the ugliest helmets over the years. They also have had 22 helmets since 1960. PICK ONE ALREADY!!!

But I don't like this helmet because they stole the University of Miami "U" and tried to jam it in there with the "IS". WAY too much going on.

The SECOND worst helmet goes to the Sacramento State Hornets of 2001.

Yeah. The helmet says SAC on it. Nice.

And finally, the THIRD worst helmet goes to the Montana State Bobcats of 1961.

Look closely at this helmet. It looks like a knock off of the University of Michigan. I see that the front lines make an "M", for Montana. But seriously? Who thought that was a good design?

Honorable mention: The Weber State Wildcats of 1980-1996.

Purple and white. Bad. Giant "W" with an arrow pointing forward. Bad. Used it for 16 years. Bad.

And that is my top 3 best and worst of football helmets of the teams in the Big Sky history.

What's going on in the world of Hoops

It feels like its 1984 again. Not only have I gained so much weight from blogging that my basketball shorts are now "short shorts" but the Lakers and Celtics are the two best teams in the NBA. And it's not even close, it's those two teams beating the brains out of everyone else and then there's Lebron moonlighting with the Cavaliers.

Sound familar? Sound like the exact same conditions that a certain Bulls dynasty came to be? Hmmmm.

And how are our newly beloved Portland Trailblazers doing? Well let's take a look.

They're 15-10 so far this season, coming off of a embarrassing loss to the lowly LA Clippers, who picked a perfect time to suck - with the Lakers being so dominant there's no way anyone will pay attention to the JV LA squad.

Washington product Brandon Roy is doing his thing, averaging 22 points per game and five rebounds. While the big guy that everyone expects to be the savior of the Rose City is averaging eight points and eight rebounds a game.

Then there's LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Fernandez - they've been having what you might call a pretty good season. Averaging 17 and 11 points respectively. It seems that the rise of the Portland Trailblazers might go a little quicker than expected.

In the world of college basketball, we've got a mixed bag.

Gonzaga gets its first defeat of the season and my prediction of a possible No. 1 ranking goes to hell.

Washington State defeats Montana State in Seattle after being blown out by Gonzaga last week. Good for them, nothing says NCAA Tournament like beating a Big Sky team.

At least they blew out the Big Sky team they were playing, Washington barely squeaked by Portland State. They seem to have trouble with teams for the Rose City as early in the year they lost to the University of Portland (of the WCC).

Now the Huskies will play Eastern Washington, who is coming off of a vacation in Hawaii where they lost by 20 points to the Warriors. No matter though as they're still one of the pleasant suprises in college basketball this year. This will be a good test against the Huskies, who could be either really good this year, or disappointing.

Should I talk about the Thunder? Nah, didn't think so.