U could not survive without BYU

I woke up feeling a little bitter at the U. this morning. I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm gonna roll with it.

I would like to ask Utah fans one question: How does it feel knowing your entire athletic program was built, and now thrives thanks entirely to BYU's good graces?

It may be offensive to my friends on the hill, but I am completely convinced that BYU has kept Utah alive and kicking lo these many years, and now has the power to give Utah's athletic program the death blow. How? By simply never playing them again.

Now that Utah is a lame duck in the MWC, this is the last year we'll really have to play them. After that we'll work out a schedule like we would with any other non-conference team. Therefore, we can choose not to schedule them at all. Ever again.

Can you imagine what that would be like? First of all, BYU would be fine. BYU fans love BYU, no matter who they play.

Utah fans however, would dwindle as each year passes. The Utes would ride the wave of their new-found Pac-10 stardom for the first few years, but soon they'd realize that football just isn't much fun without BYU.

The losses will pile up, the Bowl games will be less frequent, the undefeated seasons are a thing of the past, and suddenly the SLC hipsters will realize they'd rather be skiing and writing letters to Rocky Anderson than watching a mediocre Utah team. And with no BYU to fan the flames of their hate-dom, what's there to keep them interested in sports?

If BYU gave Utah the proverbial bird, and never played them again, within five years Utah's program would be at an all time low. Take it to the bank.

But fortunately for the Utes, BYU will never cut you off completely. We're just too darn benevolent.

The white lurp visits the Green Monster

I need to share something with my tight-knit family of blog readers: I fulfilled a lifelong dream a few days ago.

I saw the Red Sox play in Fenway.



I've always wanted to see a game in Fenway. I don't know why... I guess I've always been enchanted by the Park since I had that dream where I attended a BoSox game with Terrance Mann, and we both saw Archibald "Moonlight" Graham's name flash on the scoreboard...

Anyway, I digress.

The Sox got rocked that night (Tim Wakefield's knuckle ball just wasn't working), but being in Boston with my wife and cheering for the Sawx was definitely something I'll always remember. Please enjoy this small collection of pictures from my trip (click to enlarge).

Just what did Tom Holmoe mean?

Tom Holmoe, BYU Athletic Director, caused quite a stir when he broke BYU's vow of silence and spoke with Deseret News columnist Brad Rock.

I read the story when it was published in the paper on Saturday, June 26. When I checked Cougarboard on Monday it was as if I was inspecting the rubble after an atomic bomb blast.

BYU nation exploded with excitement, and now the Monday clean up crews were busy at work trying to pick up the pieces.

The biggest mystery, though, was this quote by Holmoe:

"It's a good check for us right now," Holmoe continued. "There's a lot of work for us to do. ... In this time frame, we have our allegiances. BYU has certain allegiances, and BYU has lived up to them, and now we have opportunities that didn't exist in the past."

(Emphasis added)

What did Holmoe mean? What are these mysterious allegiances? What opportunities exist now that didn't exist before?

It's all very curious...

I'd love to hear your interpretations. We already know what my dad thinks.

BREAKING NEWS: BYU to the Big XII

…at least that's what my dad thinks.

Whether you know me personally or just follow this blog, you know that my dad, the Big KO, is my brother-in-arms when it comes to BYU sports.

We have daily BYU pow-wows where we discuss the latest and greatest from our Alma Mater.

So I wasn't surprised when Tom Holmoe's recent comments to the press came up in our conversation. Both of us were intrigued by Holmoe's statements, but my dad has adopted an especially extreme interpretation. He explained his feelings to me just tonight.

"You just wait," he said. "BYU is going to make a big announcement by August 15."

I inquired, "What's that?"

His response: BYU will be invited to the Big XII. He said it with such unflinching conviction that I had to ask who gave him his information.

He told me he didn't have a source. It was a gut feeling.

Now, it's no secret that I don't believe any of this Big XII hoo-ha. BYU just has too much baggage. Nevertheless, KO was unshaken in his confidence.

He was so confident, in fact, that we made a bet. I bet that come August 15 BYU would be where it is right now: Languishing away as a mid-major in the BCS. My dad bet that by August 15 we would have an invitation in-hand to join the Big XII. Winner gets a nice dinner at Mendy's… or another restaurant of his choice.

So what do you guys think? Who's going to win the bet?

The World Cup made a soccer fan out of me

Man, I am all kinds of confused right now.

I come before you today a conflicted man. For 26 years I've been a true-blooded American soccer hater, but now I can't get enough of it.

I blame Landon Donovan.

That dude's goal in the 91st minute of the World Cup match pitting the United States against Algeria is what won me over. In fact, that whole game was a masterpiece. It had me on the edge of my seat, jumping up and down, crying and laughing at the same time.

I've never liked soccer. Even when I played the game as a 4-year-old I didn't like it. But man, I am in to this whole World Cup thing.

At first I didn't like that soccer games were so low-scoring. But now each minute that passes without a goal fills the air with more and more tension. It gets to a point that when a team finally does score all of your emotion explodes into a frenzied cheer. Such was the case when the US beat Algeria.

I also didn't like how games can end in ties. But I didn't understand the scoring system. Ties award teams points, and a tie game could be the difference between first place or last place in a team's group (kind of like the United States in Group C).

It's still not totally satisfying to we Yanks who are used to high-scoring sports with clear winners after every game, but what can I say? I'm growing up.

Now I am full steam ahead for the United States. I'll be watching every game from here on out, and if I could find a zuzuvela horn somewhere in Provo I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

Go USA!

By the way, if you haven't seen this video yet, consider today your lucky day:

United by the World Cup

Okay, enough talk about BYU and Utah. Now is the time when BYU fans, Utah fans and all true blooded Americans unite...

...in their hatred of soccer.

Actually, I'm lying. I am surprised by how much I'm enjoying the 2010 World Cup. I'm quickly finding that soccer, like high fructose corn syrup, is great in moderation.

Go USA!

Utah Utes leave BYU behind

Hard to imagine a day any worse than this one.

I'm going to attempt to summarize simply how I feel tonight, but don't misunderstand: The ride I've been on, along with every other college football fan in this great country, has been a wild one.

Suffice it to say, my roller-coaster ride ended today when the Pac-10 announced it would add the Utah Utes to its numbers. Little did I know that after the ride I would be deposited into a swirling cesspool of cotton candy vomit depression.

I sailed through denial. Anger and bargaining were a breeze. But the depression stage is one tough nut to crack.

Here's why I'm down in the dumps:

The Utes and the Cougars have a symbiotic relationship. At least they did, anyway. We depended on each other.

We both hated each other, but we were partners. We built up the WAC together, we formed the MWC together, we fought against the BCS together. There were even positive signs that we would take the MWC to automatic-qualifier status. Together.

Now? not.

Utah jumped ship. I can't say I blame them. I would hope BYU would have done the same thing. I guess... it's just a shock to the system. I mean, Utah is a BCS-caliber team. They deserve to be in a BCS conference. I just find it so amazing that they would so willingly and quickly leave BYU behind given the chance. Where's the loyalty?

What's done is done I guess, but the unfortunate result is one of the greatest rivalries in college sports is flatlining. Don't kid yourself: Taking the conference implications away from our beloved rivalry game is like removing the teeth from an alligator. It's still big... but who cares?

Now we'll likely play each other in September, maybe even the first game of the season. No more will we fight for the conference championship, in any sport. Scheduling is optional now. Maybe we won't even play each other every year.

In other words... we have a new Utah State.

And what about Deseret First Credit Union?! Did anyone even consider their beloved Duel???

Now BYU fans like myself are asking themselves that old familiar question: "Will anything good happen to BYU ever again?" I mean what's the deal here... are we being punished? It sure feels like we're being punished.

Imagine watching your arch-nemesis fulfill your wildest dreams not once, not twice, but THRICE. Is there anything worse than that?

So now we sit. The news has broken, Utah's departure is imminent. There's just not much left for BYU fans to cling to. Some naive Cougars are still holding on to hope that the Big 12 will save us, but I know better. The MWC is our home. Now and forever.

Write it down everyone. June 16, 2010: The suckiest day in Utah sports history.

Guest Post: An arranged marriage in the Pac-12

Editor's Note: Wow... it's been a while, hasn't it? Well the Pac-10 expansion has shocked me back into activity. Read this guest post now, and check back soon for my thoughts.

By: KO

What an odd choice for the Pac 10: Colorado and Utah. Absolutely no history, no tradition, no rivalry, no brand and no fan following. It's like an arranged marriage. Think of the current Pac 10:

Arizona/Arizona ST.
UCLA/USC
Stanford/Cal
Oregon/Oregon St.
Washington/Washington St.

And add to it (drum roll please. . . )

Colorado/Utah

A manufactured rivalry? A manufactured association? This is clearly a deal for television sets, not classy institutions.

Here's the real question, though, do the TV sets in Denver flicker on whenever Colorado hits the field?

The CU Football field holds 53,000 and they average 46,000. They average 6,700 at B-ball games. It's hard to believe life stops in Denver during a Buffs game.

Likewise, Utah has a stadium that holds 45,000 and they struggle to have one or two sell-outs per year. Are the TV ratings for Ute games that impressive?

Fast forward 5 or so years when the Utes are laboring every year for 4th or 5th place in the Pac-12. No ranking. No prestige. A lot to sell for a few coins.

Meanwhile, BYU just has to keep doing what it has been doing... winning games. Whether the MWC achieves AQ status or not, or if BYU gets an invite to the Big 12 or not, in the end winning is still everything.

As for the BYU/Utah rivalry? It just took a big hit. Frankly, my energy on it just lowered by 90%. It is going to be just a game, like USU. Nothing on it, nothing to gain or lose really. Another non-conference game. I hate the school, but now my hatred is turning to indifference. A great rivalry will be destroyed this week and it is a real shame.

What a weekend!

This was one of those great sports weekends you're always hearing about in the movies.

It started on Friday night when the Jazz completely blew up the Nuggets in game three of their first-round Playoff series. Paul Millsap was close to perfect (9-9 from the field at one point), and picked up 19 rebounds. I couldn't even get ten in my finest BYU intramural game!

Saturday was a tour of the forgotten sports at BYU. I went to the BYU vs. Utah baseball game in the afternoon, and then the MPSF tournament-opening volleyball match in the evening.

If you haven't been to a Cougar baseball game at Miller Park, I highly recommend it. A prettier setting for a baseball game you simply will not find. A snow-capped Y Mountain in the background, a freshly groomed field in the foreground and a soul-satisfying time all-around.

This particular game was classic. It was knotted pretty much the whole way when the Utes took a late lead. Utah was up 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth, then Bryce Ayoso knocked in the tying run and Alex Wolfe hit a walk-off two-run shot with Ayoso on base to seal the deal. It was awesome. The team celebrated with Wolfe at home plate, and the record crowd rejoiced.

The volleyball match was just as exciting. The Cougars pounded the UCLA Bruins three sets to one. They hammered the ball with precision, and the California pretty boys were overpowered.

The game was played in another one of BYU's all-time great sports venues: The Smith Fieldhouse. That place is just nasty. It's old, there are exposed nails around every corner, and I'm sure it's in violation of all kinds of fire codes. You could hear the rafters shaking with every cheer of the crowd.

I still say we should play one basketball game a year in that old mess of a gym.

And now it's Sunday night and the Jazz are about to beat the Nuggets again to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Game 4 was all about my blossoming love of Wesley Mathews. In fact, I feel like Game 4 was just a long submission from a video dating service. Mathews has turned into our best defender, a legitimate scoring threat and an all-around hustle player... and he was an UNDRAFTED FREE AGENT!

Get prepared for a fat raise when your current contract is up, boy. I've got a feeling you're going to be the new Paul Millsap.

Man, I feel good. This weekend couldn't have gone any better.

BYU lands JuCo hoops star

Steven Rogers, a Junior College All-American basketball player from Mesa Community College, committed to BYU Hoops and coach Dave Rose today.

Rogers is a 6'8" wing who is reportedly one heck of a shooter. From all indications, he'll fit in well with the Cougars. He's got good length for a wing, so he'll probably create a lot of mismatches, he'll be good on the boards, and he'll be one more scoring threat in addition to Jimmer Fredette, Jackson Emery, Brandon Davies and the other Cougar superstars.

Rogers was a nice get for the Cougs. He chose BYU over Utah State in a recruiting battle that went right down to the wire. I'm happy for our newest Cougar, but at this moment I'm also in awe of Coach Dave Rose.

Rose has dazzled me with his recruiting acumen. When Rose wants somebody, he gets him. He's batting near a thousand when it comes to landing big-name recruits.

Welcome aboard, Steve! May your years at BYU be plenteous and bountiful.