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Game start time
by hb arnett 19 Mar '10

19 Mar '10

The BYU-Kansas State basketball game is set to tipoff at 6;10 pm Mountain Time tomorrow. It could be later, however, if the first game goes longer than planned. hb

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BYU, Brackets and Blogging on the other side of the tracks
by hb arnett 16 Mar '10

16 Mar '10

I already posted this morning about BYU basketball and brackets, but here's what I found on the other side of the tracks today. www.HouseBrokenHusband.blogspot.com <http://www.housebrokenhusband.blogspot.com/> hb

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 30, Issue 32
by hb arnett 15 Mar '10

15 Mar '10

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 30, Issue 32 - March 15, 2010 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions FREDETTE, FLORIDA AND FLYING IN THE FACE OF FIRST ROUND LOSSES Despite Jimmer Fredette scoring 75 points in two games, a 95-85 win over TCU and a 70-66 loss to UNLV, it wasn't enough for BYU to take home the hardware of the MWC Tournament. Fredette and BYU will get another chance this week against Florida, BYU's first round NCAA tournament opponent. The game is set for Thursday, March 18 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Tip off is set for 10:20 am Mountain Time. The game will be televised by CBS and is also available on line for free. See Television Timetable below for details. The Cougars (29-5) are the No. 7 seed. Florida is a No. 10 seed. The winner of this game will advance to the second round to face the winner of No. 2 seed Kansas State and No. 15 seed North Texas on Saturday. Florida finished the season 21-12 and placed fourth in the East Division of the SEC with a 9-7 record. The Gators defeated Auburn in the first round of the SEC Tournament before falling to Mississippi State. Five Florida players average double figures, including super freshman Kenny Boynton (13.6), Erving Walker (12.6), Chandler Parsons (12.1), Alex Tyus (12.0) and Vernon Macklin, a Georgetown transfer (10.4). For BYU, the Cougars will be hoping for the return of Tyler Haws, who missed the UNLV game with an eye injury. If the swelling diminishes, he will be cleared to play against the Gators. For BYU, the formula for winning remains the same. They are only as good as their outside shooting. Of secondary concern is BYU's suspect rebounding. They will need to be good in both areas to defeat Florida. As far as BYU's dismal record of losing first round NCAA games, they will again be facing a very athletic team. Another first round loss is not out of the question with Florida. We are counting on the Oklahoma karma to get the Cougars over the hump. BYU's big football win over the Sooners of Oklahoma happened in Dallas, but maybe that Sooner karma can carry over to the Cougars in Oklahoma City. If BYU does get by Florida, they will be playing Kansas State. The karma isn't as good in this game. K-State dominated UNLV in a lopsided loss in Las Vegas this season. For years, the cry has been one-and-done. We now call it one-and-one with a win over Florida and a loss to Kansas State. UNLV LOSS TO SDSU DOESN'T RESOLVE THE PROBLEM Las Vegas is a great site for a conference post-season tournament. That is why the WCAC played theirs in Las Vegas this year and why the WAC is also heading to Vegas next year to play their tourney. Both will use the Orleans venue. It just isn't so great when one team has a home court advantage. Those who love Las Vegas as the site of the MWC post season basketball tournament will point to San Diego State's win over UNLV and say that the Rebels don't have an unfair advantage. We still don't think that result will change any minds of BYU basketball fans, however. Here is one of many emails we received that pretty well sums up those Cougar opinions. We're stuck playing at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas through 2013. The irony is that the MWC is very vocal about the BCS using money to legitimize the unfair BCS post-season football system. Yet the MWC does the very same thing in continuing to allow UNLV to host the tournament championship year after year. UNLV has won 10 of 13 games on their home court in post season play. Make that 10 of 14 now. The MWC's complaints sound pretty hollow when you consider their own actions. By "MWC", we're talking about all the decision makers from all the schools who vote to hold the post-season tournament in Las Vegas. Shame on them. It's not right and it's not in the spirit of fair competition in college athletics. They seek mammon first, justice and fairness second, just like the BCS. HERE'S OUR ALTERNATIVES TO THE MWC TOURNEY PROBLEM It is obvious that it is all about making money. The fact that the Thomas and Mack was sold out this year, says the MWC had its best revenue year yet from the tourney. It is undisputable that Las Vegas, minus the UNLV advantage, is the best place to hold the tourney. Here are two options for solving the problem. We would do what the WAC and WCAC are doing and hold the tournament at the Orleans. Instead of 18,000 seats, the Orleans only holds 6,000. No problem. Simply price the tickets three times higher and divide them up among all 9 MWC teams. That means that the tournament would be a battle of big time boosters from the respective schools. It also means that the overall revenue would remain the same and still be divided evenly between the schools. There would be no problem at all for each school to sell their allotment of 666 tickets at the much higher prices. They could sell the limited tickets to the highest bidders from among their biggest boosters. Here is where the bonus kicks in. There would be a secondary market among athletic departments. A team still gets its equal and annual cut of the revenue, but if they wanted, they even sell a portion of their allotment of tickets to another school at premium prices. If UNLV needs more tickets to take care of their biggest boosters, they can try and buy those extra tickets from Air Force, CSU or even Utah. A team like Air Force, would not only get their 1/9 allotment of money from the conference for overall ticket sales, but could likely reap another big bunch of cash from sister schools trying to outbid each other for a few extra Air Force tickets to meet their booster needs. Talk about the ultimate derivative market, this is it. Talk about competition among athletic departments in the league, this would be more competitive than any real basketball game. It would also determine who has the best athletic department and booster club staffs based on who can soothe and solve all the inherent ego problems among boosters. It also puts all schools on equal footing and instead of the MWC making the decisions on how fair a site Las Vegas is, each school gets to decide for themselves if they are for fairness on the court or big money in their athletic coffers. Sure there will be some irate fans, but that is what television is for. Think of the extra television episodes that the Mtn could produce and the articles written about the back room deals being cut between schools just to get a few extra tickets from each other. Think of the egos that will be stroked or shredded among each school's boosters, each of whom think they are the biggest and best. It is perfect for coaches and administrators. If it is about fairness on the court, the Orleans would be the perfect venue. If it is about money, then let's go big time and let the competing league schools cut their own deals with their allotted ticket assets, according to their needs and financial resources. The tournament would take on a Super Bowl aura, with only high rollers in attendance. For us plebian patrons of basketball, who will be priced out of a ticket, welcome to politics and the real world. If you want fairness, somebody has to pony up the cash. Maybe BYU would reserve a major hotel for its fans that can't get tickets, but still want the Las Vegas experience. Make it like a land locked cruise. They could wine and dine those fans with events, golf tournaments, speakers and all things BYU. They could set up nice convention type room for fans to watch the games, surrounded by friendly Cougar fans and avoid the Thomas and Mack grief of anti-Mormon slander and beer sloshing down their backs. Think of it as a hospitality hotel similar to a corporate hospitality tent at the Super Bowl. Come to think of it, there will be plenty of takers for those tickets also. It's time to put the monkey back on the backs of each MWC school that signed on for the current Las Vegas deal. Each school will have to make a decision on whether they want fair or fortune. Money, or equal opportunity. Let the schools finally show their true colors. For the basketball purists who still want the regular season league games to mean something, give the MWC winner 2000 of the 6000 Orleans tickets. The regular season runner up would get 1500 tickets and third place 1000 tickets. The remaining 1500 tickets would be divided by the league also rans. It is the ultimate win, place and show. It also rewards the winner of league in seats and seeding. How intense to you think a late season matchup between BYU and New Mexico or UNLV would be if an extra 1000 tournament tickets went to the winner? You could even make this work at the Thomas and Mack. Simply do away with all public ticket sales. All sales would be made by individual schools. This is our second option. The winner of the MWC regular season gets 6000 tickets to sell. Second place gets 4000 tickets. Third place gets 2000 seats to sell. Fourth gets 1000 seats. The league gets 1000 tickets to accommodate teams, their families and school and league officials. The remaining tickets would be prorated to the remaining teams depending on their final regular season standing. You would still have equal revenue sharing based on the total ticket sales, but you could also still have a secondary market in ticket sales between sister schools of the league. There would be some logistical problems to be worked out and the ticket staffs and athletic administrators will have to work harder, but it could be done. By January, fans of each school would have a pretty could idea of where their team will be come tourney time and what the ticket situation will be. They would still have time to book rooms and golf in Vegas and still have a very good chance to get tickets from their favorite school because of the secondary market between the schools. It would make the regular season mean something and take away the UNLV built in advantage. If the Rebels want the home court cooking, they will have to earn it like any other school by doing something special during the regular season. In an aberration year of Air Force winning the regular season title, the Falcons would then get to make a choice. They likely don't have a basketball fan base that could sell more than 2000 tickets to the MWC tourney. They could choose to sit on those extra 4000 extra tickets they earned and maintain a home court advantage in Las Vegas, or they can sell that home court advantage and 4000 tickets to a school like UNLV or New Mexico who are willing to pay for it. It's the American way of politics and business. This plan would make MWC basketball a three season sport. You have the regular season, the competition in the secondary market for tickets among the schools and then the MWC tourney. All in favor say aye. SORTING THROUGH THE SCHOLARSHIPS In the last issue, we listed all of the BYU basketball players that would be on scholarship for the coming season. We had several subscribers and observers reply that we had omitted Brock Zylstra from that list. Zylstra was on scholarship this season. If he is on scholarship this coming year, it means that BYU is out of grant in aids and done recruiting. Only Dave Rose knows what the scholarship status of Zylstra will be for the fall, but he has mentioned before that Zylstra could end up being a starter for the Cougars before his career is over in Provo. That said, there have been others who had a scholarship for a season when one was not being used and was available, but it was a one and done deal. The most recent case was Matt Pinegar. Here is what we do know. We don't know if it is related, but the fact that Rose mentioned last week at a Cougar Club luncheon that James Anderson's status was up in the air, just happens to coincide with news coming out of Iowa State this past weekend. Justin Hamilton, a 6-11 post player for the Cyclones, who started 31 games this season for ISU, has asked for and received his release from ISU's program so he can transfer to a school closer to his home in Alpine, Utah. He played at Lone Peak HS, but is not LDS. His father and mother both played football and volleyball for the Cougars. Again, we aren't drawing any conclusions, but will leave that up to you. If Hamilton transfers to a Division I school, he will have to redshirt a year. While it looks logical that BYU might be in the mix here, if they are, it would leave BYU with four post players on the roster when Hamilton is again eligible. It is highly unlikely, in our opinion, that Brandon Davies will serve an LDS mission. That would make Hamilton and Davies both juniors in 2011-2012. Throw in two other post players returning from missions that same year in Nate Austin of Lone Peak and Ian Harward of Orem HS, and we don't see Rose carrying four scholarship centers on his roster. We will see. This much we do know, whether or not BYU has any more scholarships to give in April, they are still out there recruiting. Dave Rose and Dave Rice made a stop at Salt Lake Community College last Tuesday to take in the Mesa Community College vs. College of Eastern Utah game. It wasn't a courtesy call. BYU has already made trips to MCC to watch Stephen Rogers play. That was done in February. If it looks like recruiting, smells like recruiting and walks like recruiting, you can bet it is. If BYU and Dave Rose think that adding another player like Rogers would make BYU a better team next season and he can convince a recruit to come on board, Rose will find a scholarship to give. It has happened before and it will continue to happen. That is how they do it in good Division I programs. In case you missed it on our blog, you can see video of Rogers that we posted there, by clicking here: http://cougarsportsline.blogspot.com/2010/03/hes-been-toro-torero-missionary -sun.html SPEAKING OF VIDEOS Bronco Mendenhall and his Cougars kick off spring football practice today, March 15. The Cougars will be looking to find players for several different spots, but BYU fans will only have tunnel vision and be looking at the quarterback competition between Riley Nelson, Jake Heaps and James Lark. The last thing Mendenhall wants is for fans to start picking sides in this battle. That is why all of the practices are closed to the public. If you still want to pick a favorite, check out these videos: http://cougarsportsline.blogspot.com/2010/03/byu-footballamerican-idol-style you-be.html It is still to be decided if there will actually be a spring game. Mendenhall says it is because of the shortage of healthy offensive linemen. That is certainly true, but you can bet that that quarterback competition and fans oohing and aahing over their personal favorite at a spring game, is something that he wants to avoid. If there isn't an actual spring game, there will be a final practice open to the public, but again, in our opinion, it will be tailored not to show any head-to-head quarterback competition. There are several of players that will not participate or see very limited action this spring because of injuries and or surgeries to correct those injuries. They include, Andrew Rich, safety; Jordan Pendleton, linebacker, Houston Reynolds, offensive lineman; Ross Apo, wide receiver; Jordan Richardson, defensive lineman; Brandon Ogletree, linebacker; Shane Hunter, linebacker, Jason Speredon, offensive lineman, Ryan Freeman, offensive lineman and Mike Hague, running back. TELEVISION TIMETBALE BYU vs. Florida Thursday, March 18 at Oklahoma City Tipoff: 10:20 am Mountain Time TV: CBS and online at http://mmod.ncaa.com <http://mmod.ncaa.com/>

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Copernicus and Galileo Were Wrong, UNLV Was Right
by hb arnett 13 Mar '10

13 Mar '10

Copernicus and Galileo weren't part of last night's officiating crew, but they didn't get it right either. www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com <http://www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com/>

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BYU a 1-point favorite and hitch hiking
by hb arnett 12 Mar '10

12 Mar '10

Friday, March 12, 2010 BYU is a 1-point favorite in tonight's BYU-UNLV game. Jimmer Fredette felt it against the Frogs last night. Here's hoping he's feeling it again against the Rebels. www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com <http://www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com/> Hitch Hiking says a lot about the man. www.housebrokenhusband.blogspot.com <http://www.housebrokenhusband.blogspot.com/> hb

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol.30, Issue 31
by hb arnett 08 Mar '10

08 Mar '10

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 30, Issue 31
by hb arnett 08 Mar '10

08 Mar '10

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 30, Issue 31 - March 8, 2010 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions BOZOS, BENCH, BRACKETS AND BUSTING THROUGH Let's start with bozos. BYU made Utah and TCU look like basketball bozos last week with total beat downs of the two conference teams. Utah had a little bozo boost of their own with the post game rants and antics of their coach Jim Boylen, but BYU certainly gave him plenty to bozo and boohoo about. The final score, BYU 71 Utah 51, didn't accurately reflect how the Cougars totally dominated this game. We might as well throw in berserk into this story. With TCU leading BYU 18-4 after the first four minutes of the season finale in Fort Worth for both teams, Dave Rose demonstrated the BYU version of berserk. Berserk is five steps below bozo on the basketball coaching spectrum, but Rose, was to say the least, very animated in two consecutive timeouts called to restore order to BYU's dismal game-opening play. It worked. From that point on, it was BYU who worked the Horned Frogs en route to a 107-77 win. Both wins were the result of BYU's deep bench. Michael Loyd Jr, Charles Abouo and Brandon Davies all had big games and performances in the final week of the regular season. Bad Rap One of the raps on Rose and his teams is that they aren't athletic enough. That is no longer true when Rose can look to his bench and find all the athletes he needs. It is probably a week to early to really get serious about NCAA tournament brackets, but we expect BYU to have a 5 seed at worst and a 4 seed at best. A 4 seed will require a semi-final win over UNLV in the MWC tourney. As any BYU basketball fan worth his salt and seeding can tell you, beating UNLV on their home floor is something that Dave Rose has yet to do as a BYU head coach. This could be the year. We have no evidence to back up that statement, but we know special when we see it and this is a special season for BYU basketball. For the Cougars to win when it comes to matchups with the other three good teams in the league, San Diego State, New Mexico and UNLV, it is always the same. BYU has to shoot the ball well from the outside and they have to rebound. In the three league losses this year, BYU didn't do that. We have a busting through feeling that this will be the year that BYU gets UNLV on their home floor. Better than a feeling, BYU has a Fredette. A big game by the junior guard is more important than any feelings. If Fredette is back from his sub par performances of the last three games, BYU will win. Even with the rare win over the Rebels that we are predicting, it won't produce the showdown Cougar fans are hoping for in a rematch against New Mexico. We don't see the Lobos getting by their likely semi-final game against San Diego State. Regardless of what happens in the MWC tournament, we still see plenty of special in this season with BYU in NCAA tourney play. It is all about guard play and BYU should have enough of it to finally get beyond a first round game. THE FUTURES MARKET Listed below are how BYU's most recent signees and future prospects fared during the last week. All except recent signee Anson Winder, are LDS. Kyle Collinsworth, 6-6 guard/wing, senior, Provo HS...The season came to an end for Collinsworth last week as his team lost in the state championship semi-finals 57-50 to Mountain Crest. He did go out with a bang, however. Collinsworth scored 30 points, had 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. He was the focus of the Mountain Crest defense and was double and tripled teamed almost every time he touched the ball in the paint. Collinsworth finished the year with a 23.7 points per game scoring average. Nick Emery, 6-0 freshman guard, Lone Peak HS...The talented frosh scored 22 points, but it wasn't enough as Lone Peak lost to Bingham HS 64-53 in the opening round of state playoff action. Emery finished the year with an 18.5 points per game scoring average. Anson Winder, 6-3, guard, Senior, Bishop Gorman HS...Bishop Gorman captured their second consecutive state championship last week in Reno. Going into the playoffs, Winder was averaging 16.7 points per game. Dave Rose mentioned last week in an address to the Cougar Club that he expects Winder to be a contributor next season because he can provide defense. More specifically, he said Winder is capable of stopping penetration by opposing guards. Jabari Parker, 6-5, wing, Freshman, Simeon HS, Chicago...Parker scored just seven points for Simeon last Friday night, but most came at a crucial time, according to a report from the Chicago Sun Times. According to the ST's story, The freshman's clutch scoring at the end of the third period helped stem an Argo HS wave of scoring and propel the Wolverines to a 61-39 victory over the host Argonauts in a Class 4A regional final. "He made big baskets in the second half for us," Simeon coach Robert Smith said. "He's very mature for a 14-year-old." DeMarcus Harrison, 6-4, guard, Junior, Christ School, Arden, NC...The season is over for Harrison after his team captured the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 3A state title. Harrison was also selected to the 3A all state first team. Christ Church still has at least one more game to play. They have been invited to ESPN RISE's national season-ending tournament which will start in April and be played in Maryland. Teams and brackets will be announced in mid March. Jordan Chatman, 6-3, guard, Sophomore, Skyview HS, Ridgefield, WA...Season concluded last week for Skyview. His team lost at home 65-64 to Mountain View. That means their season is over. Chatman scored 14 points in his final outing of the year. Jordan Smoot, 6-10, center, Junior, Crown Point HS, Crown Point, IN...Smoot had 10 points and 13 rebounds in a 56-46 loss to LaPorte last week. Stephen Rogers...6-8, 190, forward, Freshman, Mesa Community College, AZ...Rogers, the ACCAC player of the year, was named MVP of the recently completed league tournament. He scored 24 points, had 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots in MCC's championship win over Cochise College. The game was on the road in the home gym of Cochise. Rogers and his team will now play College of Eastern Utah Tuesday night in Salt Lake City in a battle of champions from NJCAA Division I and 18 to determine which team moves on the the National Tournament in Kansas. The game is set to be played at Salt Lake Community College. BASKETBALL BRIEFS Cougar Club Snippets...Dave Rose said last week at the local Cougar Club function that he needs a center that can run the floor in order for his offense to be effective and good. He also said he wasn't sure yet if James Anderson, the redshirt sophomore reserve post player for the Cougars, would be back next season. Don't know why he mentioned that. It could be that Anderson is looking for more playing time. If that is the case, since he already has redshirted, he would have to move down a level to be eligible to play immediately next season. If Rose is looking for a post player that can run, he already has one in the pipeline. That would be 6-11 Ian Harward. He signed last season out of Orem HS and is currently on a mission. He is the most athletic big man BYU has signed in years. You notice we didn't say he is the strongest big man BYU has signed in years. Harward is very raw and missed a year of high school action as a junior with a broken leg, but if he can somehow bulk up and get stronger, he will fit Rose's description of what he is looking for. Speaking of stronger and playing the post, you can bet that BYU will have Brandon Davies in the weight room during the off season. He has a nice offensive game that should continue to get better, but he needs work on his defense and rebounding. He also needs to get stronger to keep opposing post players from being able to back him down at will in the low block. Scholarship Count...BYU, according to our count, still has one scholarship to give this spring. We expect any scholarships that are to be given by BYU in April to come from the juco ranks. Quality big men from junior college are rare and when they do show up, the are snapped up by the big name programs. We still expect the Cougars, however, to try and find some sort of suitable big man to add muscle to the roster for next season. If they can't find one, we expect to see a juco forward to sign in an effort to replace Tyler Haws and give more competition at the three spot. Here are the scholarship players and their eligibility status for next season. You are allowed by the NCAA to have 13 players on scholarship. As you can see, BYU only has one scholarship to give this spring unless Anderson's spot does become available. Charles Abouo, 6-5, 210, Jr. James Anderson, 6-10, 230, Jr. Brandon Davies, 6-9, 230, So. Jackson Emery, 6-3, 185, Sr. Jimmer Fredette, 6-2, 200, Sr. Noah Hartsock, 6-8, 215, Jr. Michael Loyd, Jr., 6-1, 170, Jr. Logan Magnusson, 6-6, 210, Sr. Chris Collinsworth, 6-9, 225, So. Kyle Collinsworth, 6-6, 200, Fr. Anson Winder, 6-3, 200, Fr. Nick Martineau, 6-0, 180, So. Fredette Back...We included Jimmer Fredette coming back for next season, despite rumblings that he may be NBA bound after this season. We expect him to submit his name for early entry into the NBA draft. That will allow him to work out for teams and get a feel for how the pros evaluate him. But, just like Jonathan Tavernari and Lee Cummard, we also expect Fredette to remove his name from the early entry list and return to BYU for his senior season. BYU expects him back. They are still working on finding an opponent for a possible game next season in Fredette's home town or close by. That is all you need to know about Fredette's NBA draft status for this year. Okay, here is something else you need to know. Chad Ford, of ESPN, said this recently about Fredette in one of his columns on the ESPN website. "Don't sleep on BYU's Jimmer Fredette as a potential draft candidate this year. If he were playing at Duke, he'd be mentioned as a potential player of the year candidate. Much like Duke's own Jon Scheyer, he's not the greatest athlete in the world, but he's tough, can really see the floor and he shoots the lights out." "He's really tough and he's a fearless kid," one NBA GM said. "He's going to lead a team. I wish he was a little bit better athlete, but I can't name five better point guards in this draft. He'll find a way to do it at the next level." FULL CIRCLE...Roger Reid was an outstanding coach at BYU. His record verifies that assessment. What got Reid in trouble and out the door were his perceived lack of skills when it came to public relations and recruiting. Utah fans reveled in BYU's quandary with Reid. Now it's their turn. The Utes now have their own basketball coach who has a public relations and press problem. He may be a great coach, but his on-the-court and post-game-press conference tirades paint him more as a bozo than a bonanza for Ute supporters. It may be early, but his recruiting, in our opinion, also looks a little suspect to us. Only time will tell, but as they say, what goes around comes around and in our opinion, now it's Utah's turn. TELEVISION TIMETABLE MWC Post-Season Tournament BYU vs. TCU Thursday, March 11 at Las Vegas Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time TV: The Mtn If BYU wins: BYU vs. UNLV or Utah Friday, March 12 at Las Vegas Tipoff: 9:30 pm Mountain Time TV: CBS C If BYU wins: BYU vs. New Mexico, SDSU or CSU Saturday, March 13 at Las Vegas Tipoff: 5:00 pm Mountain Time TV: Versus

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Two New Posts Are Up On Being Fast and Hooking
by hb arnett 04 Mar '10

04 Mar '10

Thursday, March 04, 2010 You may think you can run faster than almost all of BYU's big and heavy offensive and defensive linemen, but we will give you a free lifetime subscription if you really are. See for yourself. www.CougarSportsline.blogspot.com <http://www.cougarsportsline.blogspot.com/> You may be saying to others that you're a hooker and not be aware of it. www.HouseBrokenhusband.blogspot.com <http://www.housebrokenhusband.blogspot.com/> hbr

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 30, Issue 30
by hb arnett 01 Mar '10

01 Mar '10

HB Arnett's COUGAR SPORTSLINE 801 372 0819 hbarnett(a)fiber.net and hbarnett@xmission <mailto:hbarnett@xmission.com> .com 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 30, Issue 30 - March 1, 2010 Click <http://www.cougarstreet.com/products/index.php?type-450&PCID=450:0:0:0:0> Here To Order Or Renew Your Subscriptions NEW MEXICO BEATS BYU 83-81 There wasn't enough Pepto Bismol to go around in BYU's 83-81 loss to New Mexico last Saturday afternoon in Provo. Jimmer Fredette could have used some. He played just 16 minutes, only one of which came in the second half after suffering some sort of upset stomach. He left the game with only six points scored against the Lobos. BYU coaches and fans could have used some of the pink sauce as they saw the Cougar's chances of a fourth straight MWC title go away. We are not sure how Pepto Bismol works. Does it cure the upset stomach problems or just mask them? Either way, it couldn't hide or cure BYU's inside game problems. BYU has an inside problem with their basketball team that has been exposed by New Mexico and will likely be exposed again in post season play against good teams. BYU has no consistent inside scoring game. Worse, they are not a consistently good rebounding team. You can blame the loss to New Mexico on Fredette's illness or on BYU's 6-21 shooting stats from beyond the arc, but the bottom line, in our opinion, is that the Cougars couldn't keep New Mexico off the boards. Rebounding Advantage The Lobos outrebounded BYU 43-32 overall and had a 13-8 advantage in offensive rebounds. Some of those numbers were because BYU played most of the game with a small lineup. Regardless, lack of rebounding cost BYU this game. It also took away what should have been a focus on the fantastic game turned in by Michael Loyd Jr. He scored 19 points after replacing Fredette. He led he Cougars in scoring and was joined by Tyler Haws, who added 18 points to the Cougar cause. BYU has been able to win a lot of games this year without a solid inside game. But because they are a perimeter oriented team, they can't win against quality teams with shoddy shooting performances from beyond the three-point line. In BYU's four losses, here is how they have shot from outside the arc. Against USU, the Cougars were 6-of-18 from three-land. In the first loss to New Mexico, BYU was respectable, hitting 8-of-18. In the loss to UNLV in Las Vegas, the Cougars made just 7 of 27 three point attempts. In the latest loss to the Lobos, BYU was just 6-of-21. That won't cut it against good teams like New Mexico. It won't cut it either on Wednesday when BYU travels to Salt Lake City for the game against Utah. We can almost guarantee that the Utes will be hot from beyond the arc on their home floor. Marshall Henderson, the freshman who was involved in the altercation with Jackson Emery earlier in the year, will be more than motivated to show his shooting wares against the Cougars. We expect a big scoring game from him. That means BYU will have to be able to match it with some steady scoring from beyond the arc. Utah has taken every top team in the MWC to the wire in Salt Lake City. We expect the same against BYU. This will be a dogfight that will be decided on which pooch can put in free throws. It is our view that the team that gets to the line more will win. NEW MEXICO IS NO 5-0 ON THE SEASON AGAINST BYU Empirically and subjectively, New Mexico is better than BYU Based on the evidence as recorded in the league standings and in the scorebook of both games played by New Mexico and BYU this season, the Lobos are clearly the superior team. New Mexico has beaten BYU both times they played this year. In Albuquerque the score was 76-72. The rematch in Provo was UNM 83 BYU 81. That folks is called history and there is no way you can rewrite it. Where the debate heats up is in the subjective part of the two contests. BYU fans will say they were homered in Albuquerque and hammered in Provo, but never got the calls by the officials. Lobo fans will say that the calls went both ways and New Mexico made more plays than BYU. Dave Rose says that both UNM and BYU are good teams. His post-game comments are not memorable. Steve Alford also had some things to say after the game. His comments will live on YouTube for many more years after he called Jonathan Tavernari an unflattering name in the post-game meet and greet. Unfortunately for Alford, it was caught on tape and just like the scorebook, can't be re-written or re-phrased, but will be re-viewed by league official this week and BYU fans for years to come. You can see the video by clicking here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1GexPBeT4Y. Just like the games themselves from the viewpoint of fans, Alford's poor choice of a word is strictly subjective. From the New Mexico side, Tavernari deserved it and it is just part of the competitive nature of the game. >From BYU's fans side, it is a call to arms against New Mexico and Alford. The fact that BYU athletic officials marched Tavernari over to the Lobo locker room to apologize, however, subjectively says Tavernari deserved what he got. That makes the subjectivity score of the post game activities 2-1 in favor of New Mexico. Chalk it up as another win on the season for the Lobos who are now 3-0 against BYU. The fact that nobody from either side will get more than a public reprimand from conference officials will be another win for New Mexico. That makes it 4-0 for the Lobos against the Cougars. In the officiating department of the game, empirically speaking, the history books will show that the game was the most impartially and fairly called game of the decade. You can't get fairer than both teams being called with 18 fouls apiece. It is in the subjectivity department of officiating where some will differ. Noah Hartsock's layup attempt in the final seconds would have tied the game. Unfortunately, it was blocked by a Lobo player. Watching the replay, it was a play that could have also been called a foul because of the body contact on the play. New Mexico's fans, players and coaches thought it was a clean block. BYU fans, players and coaches didn't. The deciding vote went to the official who let play continue. The final score on that one play was 2-1 in favor of New Mexico. The Lobos are on a winning streak. Call it 5-0 against the Cougars. As we stated last week, officiating is a thankless job. That said, it is also extremely subjective. In our opinion, just the nature of the game means that at least half of the calls in any given game could go either way. That is why fans' opinions on officiating are also very subjective. Depending on who wins and the team you root for, officiating is either horrible or okay, but never great. That is also why when fans arrive early at games and see who is manning the officiating crew, they either moan or nod their head in a gesture of tolerance. We have never seen any fan get excited and cheer for any one official or crew. Empirically speaking and for the record, when we saw the crew assigned to the BYU-UNM game last Saturday, we subjectively moaned. The good news is that our moaning assessment of this particular crew will never be seen on YouTube. On the YouTube scoreboard, the Lobos are leading the Cougars 2-0. The first score was made by Elizabeth Lambert. You may remember her hair pulling tantrum in women's soccer. And now we have the Steve Alford sequel. Subjectively speaking via YouTube videos, would you rather be a BYU or UNM fan this season? For subjective purposes only, it would be nice to see another BYU-New Mexico matchup in the MWC tournament in two weeks. Empirically speaking, we don't see that happening because it appears that UNLV and BYU will be in the same bracket. The record books show that BYU doesn't beat UNLV in Las Vegas. If, by chance, there was another rematch of BYV-UNM, here are some subjective officiating suggestions. Do away with officials and have MWC commissioner Craig Thompson sit in an elevated chair at half court like a tennis official. He would call the game by himself from that vantage point. He would be totally unbiased because he would be referring all calls to the presidents of the league's universities and waiting for them to get back to him. The next best option would be to use a ten-man officiating crew comprised of the Congressional delegations from both states. Except for a little name calling and temper tantrums among the officials themselves, nothing would ever be called, decided or done. How's that for our subjective opinion on college basketball and Congress? THE FUTURES MARKET Listed below are how BYU's most recent signees and future prospects fared during the last week. All except recent signee Anson Winder, are LDS. Kyle Collinsworth, 6-6 guard/wing, senior, Provo HS...He had 26 points in a 61-47 win over Timpanogas HS last week to conclude the regular season. Provo takes on Woods Cross in the opening round of state playoffs on Tuesday. The game will be at Provo. Nick Emery, 6-0 freshman guard, Lone Peak HS...The talented frosh scored 8 and 10 points in wins over Jordan and Cyprus High Schools last week. Now Lone Peak will advance to play No. 1 rated Bingham in the Utah 5A state playoffs. That game will be hosted by Bingham on Tuesday. Anson Winder, 6-3, guard, Senior, Bishop Gorman HS...In the state championship semi-final game against Bishop Monague, Winder led his team with 15 points in a 65-52 win. Bishop Gorman captured the title game, a 69-48 win over Canyon Springs, but no word on how many points Winder scored. Jabari Parker, 6-5, wing, Freshman, Simeon HS, Chicago...No scores to report this week. DeMarcus Harrison, 6-4, guard, Junior, Christ School, Arden, NC...BYU sent a coach last Thursday to watch Harrison play in the North Carolina ISAA 3-A state championships. We know that he opened the game against Greensboro Day School with two consecutive three pointers, but after that the game was a 81-40 rout. The following night he scored 10 points in a much closer game, a 67-64 win over Forsyth Country Day. In the state title game against Charlotte Christian School he had 11 points in the 78-59 win. Harrison was selected to the all-state first team. Jordan Chatman, 6-3, guard, Sophomore, Skyview HS, Ridgefield, WA...Skyview lost at home 65-64 to Mountain View. That means their season is over. Chatman scored 14 points in his final outing of the year. Jordan Smoot, 6-10, center, Junior, Crown Point HS, Crown Point, IN...Smoot had 14 points and 13 rebounds in a 53-41 win over Chesterton last week. Stephen Rogers...6-8, 190, forward, Freshman, Mesa Community College, AZ...In a win over Yavapai, Rogers scored 23 and had 4 rebounds. The will start ACCAC championship tournament play later this week. NFL COMBINE Here are some results of BYU's three participants of this year's NFL Combine. Max Hall...He ran a 4.87 forty. Tim Tebow ran 4.72 forty and Colt McCoy ran a 4.79. Hall registered a 32 inch vertical jump. Tebow led all qb's with a leap of 38.5 inches. In the 3-Cone drill, Hall did it in 7.07 seconds. Again Tebow led all quarterbacks with a time of 6.66 seconds. In the 20-Yard Shuttle, Hall posted a 4.35 time. Tebow was in at 4.17. Hall had the sixth best time. Dennis Pitta...He was second among tight ends with 27 reps in the bench press. He turned in a 4.63 forty time, but it was scrubbed and deemed unofficial. Had it been official, it would have been the third fastest time by a tight end. The fact that Pitta did turn in the fastest times for tight ends the 3-Cone drill, the 20-yard shuttle and the 60-yard shuttle, would indicate that his speed and quickness is good enough. One draft pundit said after watching Pitta perform that he had him going from a projected second-round pick to a top twenty pick. Manase Tonga...As expected, Tonga didn't show well in the drills that showcase speed and quickness. He did turn in the sixth best effort in the bench press with 19 reps. Here are the current MWC Basketball Standings as of Monday, March 1 New Mexico.....13-2.....27-3 BYU.......................10-3.....26-3 UNLV....................10-5.....22-7 SDSU.......................9-5.....20-8 Utah.........................7-7.....14-14 CSU.........................6-8.....15-13 TCU.........................5-9.....13-16 Wyoming........2-12.....9-19 Air Force........1-13.....9-18 TELEVISION TIMETABLE BYU vs. Utah Wednesday, Mar 3 at Salt Lake Tipoff: 7:00 pm Mountain Time TV: CBS C BYU vs. TCU Saturday, Mar 6 at Fort Worth Tipoff: 4:00 pm Mountain Time TV: The Mtn MWC Post Season Tournament March 11-13 at Las Vegas Tipoff: TBA TV: Mtn/CBS C/Versus

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Cougar Sportsline, Vol. 30, Issue 30
by hb arnett 01 Mar '10

01 Mar '10

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