Welcome to another edition of the mailbag. Keep your comments and questions coming! I try to answer all the mail that comes in, but you will have a better shot at getting a response if you leave the profanity out. One correction before I start. I referred incorrectly to the injury that forced Miami (Ohio) quarterback Zac Dysert out for the 2010 season in a blog post earlier this week. Then-coach Mike Haywood initially announced Dysert had a rib injury but further tests showed a lacerated spleen. I apologize for the error. Thanks to Robert Jones in Santa Fe, N.M., for pointing it out. Now on to some questions. Christian Morrison in Salt Lake City writes: I know BYU has a brutal 2011 football schedule, but which game stands out as the most difficult? It would have to be at Texas, right? You think an undefeated BYU gets a nod at the title game? Andrea Adelson: Great question, Christian. I would put that one at the top, because the Longhorns should be better this season. It is hard to see Mack Brown having two straight subpar years. TCU is going to be tough, too, because the defense should be just as strong as it always is, and the deep running game will help new starter Casey Pachall . I am torn on how difficult the Ole Miss game will be for the Cougars. The Rebels have all sorts of problems, especially at quarterback, and on paper BYU should be favored to win that game. It will be tough because openers are generally unpredictable, but I don’t think it will be impossible to win that game. Ben E. in Salt Lake City writes: In regards to Rocky Long’s comment about Boise State’s blue turf being an unfair advantage. This topic crops up every year or two. If the “advantage” is “blue uniforms on blue field”, then why not Oregon? Just because Oregon’s colors happen to be the same color of green as their field. Last time I checked, Oregon’s field is actually a slightly darker shade of green than normal fields. There are many teams that have green-on-green, and it’s not unfair. They just need to give opposing teams a couple of hours in their uniforms scrimmaging around before the game to get used to the field. Adelson writes: I understand why coaches and fans dislike the blue turf, but I am not buying it. If you are the better team, you are going to win regardless of the turf. Is it an unfair advantage for the home team when it has a 100,000-seat stadium? Isn’t there a reason it is called home-field advantage? Doug Kelly in Mesa, Ariz., writes: What are your thoughts on Hawaii football this year? Do they have a legitimate shot at taking the WAC title with the departure of Boise? Adelson writes: I do think the Warriors have a shot, mainly because Bryant Moniz and Corey Paredes return. Hawaii has to develop some receivers to replace Kealoha Pilares and Greg Salas , but Royce Pollard is back and some young guys showed flashes this spring. In this type of offense, I am more of the belief that the quarterback makes the receivers. Moniz is capable of doing that. Paredes developed into one of the best players in the WAC last season and could be the preseason pick for WAC defensive player of the year. There are plenty of holes to fill and questions to answer, but I am not downgrading Hawaii at this point. Brian in Raleigh, N.C., writes: Why are all your articles UCF related? I am so tired of your biased reporting. You are working for ESPN now and not just the Orlando Sentinel. Could you please make sure you “share the wealth” around the nation? You are such a UCF homer. Adelson writes: If by all you mean a small handful, then yes I am a blatant homer. Last I checked, UCF was a Top 25 team. That has nothing to do with where I live and where I previously worked. Covering 50-plus teams means that I am not going to hit on everybody every day or every week, and it also means that ranked and high-profile teams may get a little more coverage than somebody else. But I am doing my best to get everyone the information they want to read.
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BYU, Boise State in mailbag
Filed under Football by on Apr 20th, 2011. Comment. 
Josh Yocum hit two home runs, including a grand slam, in the Warriors’ 22-7 road victory over Clark. SOFTBALL Las Vegas High’s Jenice Gutierrez went 5-for-5 with a double in the Wildcats’ 16-2 win at Sunrise Mountain. Legacy’s Francis Hinojosa was… Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal | LVRJ.com
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Hale powers Cimarron to home baseball win
Filed under Baseball, News by on Mar 25th, 2011. Comment.
The Westmont boys volleyball team is off to a good start in the 2011 season, thanks in a big way to junior captain Andrew Barton. Barton, a talented outside hitter for the Warriors, led his team to a pair of wins last week with a Source: The San Jose Mercury News
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Barton leads Westmont to wins over Saratoga, Lynbrook in volleyball
Filed under News by on Mar 22nd, 2011. Comment.
There is no denying coach June Jones has already done wonders at SMU. In three short seasons, he has turned around a program left for dead, taking it to two straight bowl appearances and a first-ever Conference USA championship game appearance. But Jones, known as a master rebuilder, realizes there is plenty of room left to grow. This comment from national signing day really stuck out: With adding these kids, and when we add another class next year, I’ll be disappointed if we don’t make a run like we did in Hawaii or like TCU has done. We’ve built a really good foundation, and we’re in pretty good shape to do some neat things. The big question is whether SMU can become the next TCU. If so, then how long could that take? Jones has the experience of leading a BCS program. In his first season at Hawaii in 1999, he took a winless team to a 9-4 record and a bowl appearance. In the five years before his arrival, Hawaii combined for 12 wins, no players drafted and no bowl game appearances. That 1999 season started an upward trend that culminated with an appearance in the Sugar Bowl in 2007, his final season with the Warriors before leaving for SMU. It took nine seasons for Hawaii to get to a BCS game. I am betting Jones has a much shorter time frame with the Mustangs. For starters, he is in one of the most fertile recruiting areas in the nation. It is much easier to recruit to Dallas than to Honolulu. Indeed, he has pulled in back-to-back recruiting class with talent in spades, featuring players from Texas, California and Louisiana. Both featured 11 three-star recruits as rated by ESPN. This class has been touted as his best yet, because Jones was able to get some players away from automatic qualifying conference schools. Defensive end Davon Moreland chose SMU over what seems to be the entire Pac-12: USC, Oregon, California, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State, Washington and Texas. This class only helps add depth, something Jones has been eager to build and the one area he consistently has said is still missing from making this team a BCS contender. It was heavy on the offensive and defensive lines, at skill positions and in the defensive backfield, all areas of need. The skill players and defensive backs have the best chances at playing early, but there already is a solid group returning. Conference USA has never had a team make a BCS game. If any school has the potential to become that BCS buster, it is SMU, especially since Boise State will be the only year-in, year-out non-AQ contender left standing following 2011. Jones can coach. He can recruit. Conference USA is winnable. The nonconference schedule should do enough to get SMU notice, with games in the future against AQ teams TCU, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Baylor. With the expectations Jones has laid out, it is clear anything less than a BCS appearance would be a disappointment. Going 7-6 last season may have felt like a letdown, but remember Jones is very early in the rebuilding process. Making it to the C-USA title game was definite progress. Jones has his timetable. Now we have to wait and see if he gets to where he wants to go.
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SMU the next TCU?
Filed under Football by on Feb 8th, 2011. Comment.
After dropping two straight, the Warriors out-skated Parkway West Monday at Queeny Park. 5-1. Forward Nick Sabol continued his assault on Mid-States goalies as he netted four goals on the Longhorns. The Warriors improved to 5-2-1 and kept the within… Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Filed under News by on Dec 7th, 2010. Comment.
Willow Glen captured fourth in the team standings as Kylee Kiesow ran 20:50 for 19th and Nicole Rockwell 21:27 for 30th place. Led by second-place finisher Donald Plazola, Willow Glen captured the varsity boys cham Source: The San Jose Mercury News
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Plazola leads Rams, Blake paces Warriors in cross country action
Filed under News by on Oct 22nd, 2010. Comment.
What did we learn from the non-AQs in Week 7? Read on to find out. 1. And then there were three. Boise State, TCU and Utah are the only non-AQ teams that have a shot at a BCS bowl this season, now that Nevada has been knocked from the ranks of the undefeated. The Broncos took a hit to their strength of schedule after the Wolf Pack and Oregon State lost, and it appears they could be No. 3 when the BCS standings are released later today. What Boise State needs is for the major conference teams to continue to lose, which is exactly what happened on Saturday. Of course, it remains to be seen whether an undefeated Boise State or TCU/Utah would finish ahead of a one-loss power conference team at the end of the season for a spot in the BCS national title game. That has never happened. 2. Winless no more. Kudos to Eastern Michigan for getting its first win since November 2008. The Eagles beat Ball State 41-38 in overtime, after trailing 28-7 late in the second quarter. Quarterback Alex Gillett accounted for 414 yards of total offense and five touchdowns — he ran for 189 yards and two scores and threw for 225 yards and three scores in the win
Filed under Football by on Oct 17th, 2010. Comment.
With a home playoff game on the line, the Fairview and Scobey football teams will clash Friday at 7 p.m. If the Warriors are able to win the home game, they would finish in second-place in the Eastern C eight-man standings with a record of 6-1. “This is Source: Sidney Herald
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Warriors to face off against Spartans
Filed under Football, News by on Oct 14th, 2010. Comment.
14-0 lead, but the Warriors used big plays to roll to victory. “Give credit to Froid-Lake, they came in with a great game plan,” Clausen said. “They played really hard the whole way, but we were able to wear them down with some big offensive plays.” Now… Source: Sidney Herald
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Fairview prepares to face Wibaux
Filed under News by on Oct 7th, 2010. Comment.
Week 2 is almost here! With that, here are 10 storylines to watch among the non-AQ teams: 1. Can Air Force put pressure on BYU’s two quarterbacks ? Part of the reason Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps were so successful last week against Washington was because their offensive line protected them so well, giving up no sacks. Air Force has experience up front, led by defensive end Rick Ricketts. If they can get to the young quarterbacks, the Falcons have a shot of breaking their six-game losing streak to BYU. 2. How does Wyoming handle the tragedy of this week against Texas ? The Cowboys were facing a hard enough game as it was, but now they go into Austin after the tragic death of a teammate. Ruben Narcisse was killed in a car accident and three players were injured. The team has tried to maintain its normal routine, but coach Dave Christensen has no idea what to expect at kickoff. They will wear decals on their helmets with Narcisse’s initials. 3. Does Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn play against UNLV ? Wynn is listed as day to day with a sprained thumb on his throwing hand and could be a game-time decision for the Utes. He got hurt early in the opener last week against Pittsburgh but still threw for 283 yards. Backup Terrance Cain is capable, having started the first eight games of last season. Cain had a good day against UNLV last season, going 17-of-24 for 174 yards with two touchdown passes. 4. Can Tulane pull a Jacksonville State ? Ole Miss is going to go into its game against Tulane looking to make up for an embarrassing home loss to Jacksonville State last week. Tulane was one of the worst teams in Conference USA last season and was not overly impressive in its opener. Southeastern Louisiana had more total yards (266-252) and more first downs (17-15) and Tulane had three turnovers but still won. Chances for an upset are unlikely, but hey, there is always Jacksonville State for inspiration. 5.
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What to Watch among non-AQs: Week 2
Filed under Football by on Sep 9th, 2010. Comment.
