Alleged Unauthorized Workout by Utah FB Coaches

Don’t know if this is old news or not but allegations have come forth that members of the University of Utah’s current and previous coaching staffs were involved in holding unauthorized workouts above and beyond those allowed under NCAA guidelines. Seems kind of sketchy to me but the video evidence is pretty solid…

Unauthorized Workout

THE THREE AMIGOS…

I took the kids and went down to the spring practice last Saturday with Brad and his boys.  It was a good opportunity for Carson to finally meet his BYU Football hero, Harvey Unga.  It was good to see the veterans (McKay, Harvey, JJ, Hague, etc.) and the newcomers (Q, Heaps, Ross, Van Noy, etc.).

Pictures from the event can be seen at my Flickr page here in gallery form http://www.flickr.com/photos/phred84044/sets/72157623834913078/ or in slideshow form here http://www.flickr.com/photos/phred84044/sets/72157623834913078/show/

As always, please enjoy, and provide comments as your feel necessary.

DAGUMMIT…What was That?

My pictures from the throttling that BYU took at the hands of Florida State are now up on my Flickr account HERE.

AN UPSET FROM THE CHEAP SEATS: My Trip to JerryWorld

Did I want to go to the game?  Yes, I did. 

Did I go to the game?  Yes, I did. 

Did I honestly think BYU had a chance to win the game?  Absolutely not.

Believe me…I’m as big a BYU fan as there is but I was being REALISTIC.  Oklahoma has a bigger, stronger, faster team than BYU.  All I was hoping for was for the Cougars to keep it within 2 touchdowns.  Plus, an opportunity to watch the game in the new $1.2 Billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium was too much to pass up.

We left Salt Lake City on Friday morning.  No other BYU fans were in sight at the airport.  We had a layover in Minneapolis/St. Paul and picked up a few Oklahoma fans.  One actually sat next to us.  She didn’t talk to us…but I know what she was thinking.  “Stupid BYU fans…we’re going to crush them.” 

We were greeted at the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport terminal by the “Kissing Grandmas.”  After a few hugs and kisses from them we headed outside where our ride, Patrick, was there waiting to pick us up (you’ll have to ask me later about the “Kissing Grandmas”).  Our first stop would be to the Denton Stake Center where the team was doing their pre-game fireside.  Patrick lives in the area and was able to secure tickets to the event.  We made it to the church about 1-1/2 hours early and the doors were still locked and a line was forming.  Brad and I needed to change into dress clothes and I scoped out our available dressing options.  At the back of the parking lot was a small enclosure where the large satellite dish is located.  I checked it out and told Brad that it would work.  We grabbed our suitcases and headed to the make-shift changing room.  Like Superman exiting from a telephone booth, we walked out in different clothes than what we had entered in. 

This was the first pre-game fireside that we had made it to; our previous road trips had not afforded us the opportunity.  The fireside was amazing with talks by players Landon Jaussi and Spencer Hafoka and Holli and Bronco Mendenhall.  I have listened to Coach Mendenhall talk on radio during interviews and post-game shows and I really like his messages.  When you add a spiritual level to it–his message is even greater.

I believed that Brandon Bradley’s Mother was accompanying him at the fireside and at the conclusion I wanted to talk to her for a minute.  She and Brandon are from the same ward in Tallahasssee, Florida as my two brothers.  Both of my brothers had talked about her but I had never had the opportunity to meet her.  Once I told her my name she knew exactly who I was and was glad that she could finally meet me and I told her likewise for me.  She will be in Provo when Florida State visits and I told her I would keep my eyes open for her then.

We went to dinner and had good Texas BBQ that was served to us on a large metal garbage can lid.  The smell of the place was amazing and the food was even better.  Then it was off to Patrick’s house where we would be staying the next two nights. 

Saturday morning had a distinct smell to it and it had nothing to do with the wonderful waffle breakfast that Patrick’s wife prepared for us.  It was the smell of football in the air.  Around 2:00 PM we headed out to grab some food prior to heading to the stadium.  I had requested that we stop at Buffalo Wild Wings as I had gotten hooked on the place when I visited Orlando in July and there are none in Utah.  The boneless wings were good and that was where we saw the first of our fellow Cougar fans who were sitting with some Oklahoma fans.  I told them that they couldn’t be very good friends each rooting for the other team.

Patrick had a friend who said she lived 1/2 mile from the stadium and allowed us to park at her place.  Boy, she could make some serious money if she charged for parking.  A small strip mall just down the street from her place was charging $50 per car.  We started walking to the stadium and as we merged in with all the other people heading to the game it was more obvious that there were 60,000+ OU fans and only 15,000 BYU fans.  We made it to the stadium and Brad and I had our regular photo taken outside of the playing venue.

The stadium is as impressive on the outside as what I had seen on various TV shows leading up to the opening of the stadium last month.  The giant video screens on the outside of the stadium were not on, however.  We made our way into the stadium and as we passed through security the gentlemen screening us told us that they had the air conditioning on for us.  This would be the most enjoyable game I have ever attended in 90 degree heat!!!

Once inside we began walking up the endless ramp towards our seats.  It seemed like we walked for a mile traversing our way up towards our seats.  We had purchased the $50 seats and ended up being on the third row from the top (but at least we were in the building) and we were in friendly confines with a large contigent of Cougar fans.

Well, by now you all know how the game ended up.  BYU, ranked #20, upset #3 ranked Oklahoma by a score of 14-13.  The jubilation from our corner of the stadium at the end of the game was electric.  We stuck around for a little while just enjoying the momend and pondering which of the games, Miami 1990 or this one, was the best one we had been to.  It’s a day later and I still haven’t decided.  All of the BYU games that I go to are magical memories!!!

2009 BYU FOOTBALL WALLPAPER: Better Late Than Never…

Finally, a mere 18 days before kickoff of the first 2009 football game and nearly two months later than 2008, the 2009 BYU Football Wallpaper is out.

The wallpaper can be located at:  http://www.byucougars.com/wallpaper.jsp?SP=130.  Just in case, I am posting copies of the wallpaper here also because in 2007 a day after the wallpaper was released they dissapeared from the official BYU site for nearly one month.  I have selected the one with the football helmet on the ground to go with for this year.

 

               1280 x 1024                             1280 x 800                              1024 x 768

2009 FOOTBALL COMMERCIAL

I created a commercial to enter into the second year of the Fan’s commercial contest but wasn’t able to get it submitted prior to the deadline.  Here it is for your viewing pleasure and as usual, I recommend watch the HQ version.

2009 CALENDAR PHOTOS–UCLA

Please vote for which photo(s) should be included in my 2009 BYU Football calendar:

Picture #1--Vai Sikahema Carries the Alumni Flag

Picture #2--BYU Offense

Picture #3--Colby Clawson

Picture #4--Austin Collie

Picture #5--Matt Bauman and Colby Clawson

Picture #6--Jan Jorgensen with a sack

Picture #7--Dennis Pitta #1

Picture #8--Harvey Unga

Picture #9--Dennis Pitta #2

HITLER’S TAKE ON BYU’S LOSS TO UTAH

2009 CALENDAR PHOTOS–Northern Iowa

I will be creating, for my own personal enjoyment, a 2009 BYU FOOTBALL calendar using photos that I have taken at games throughout the 2008 football season. The problem is, I am having difficulty deciding which pictures to use.  I will, therefore, put the decision into your hands. 

Pleae review the pictures below and then vote (in the poll below the pictures) for the picture from the Northern Iowa game that I should use: 

Picture #1: Coach Bronco Mendenhall

Picture #2: Dennis Pitta

Picture #3: Shawn Doman, Brett Denney, Matt Bauman

Picture #4: Harvey Unga

Picture #5: Austin Collie

Picture #6: BYU Offense

Picture #7: O’Neil Chambers

Picture #8: Dennis Pitta #2

Picture #9: Jan Jorgensen

Picture #10: Harvey Unga #2

SAN DIEGO STATE VIDEO SLIDESHOW

Here is my video from the San Diego State game.  I believe that the pictures that I got from this game are the best of the season.  As always, I have all of the touchdowns, but I was most impressed with the number of “catches” that I was able to get.  For best results, I suggest you select the high quality version from HERE.  Or as usual, select the low quality version below.

UNLV VIDEO SLIDESHOW

I have completed my video slideshow from the UNLV game. If you would rather view the high-resolution version of this, you’ll need to go HERE and then select the high quality version.  If you want the cheap and dirty version, you can watch it below.

UTAH STATE VIDEO SLIDESHOW

Here is the video slideshow from my Utah State pictures.  The lighting at Romney Stadium was poor, at best, and can be seen in the quality of the pictures.

I HAVE BYU vs. UTAH STATE TICKETS AVAILABLE

I have eight (8) General Admission tickets to Friday night’s game in Logan available at face value, $30 each.  Let me know if you need tickets so I can get these off my hands.  Thanks.

DODDS AND ENDS

Dennis Dodds of CBS Sportline discusses BYU’s chances at a BCS bowl this year:

http://www.sportsline.com/video/player/play/collegefootball/DajsWx67C7woFzHEDEEpsRVUGTP77qcf

Also, ESPN has Max Hall currently in 3rd place for the Heisman Trophy:

 http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/heisman/index

Non-BCS teams making their mark:

http://www.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/5814809/10671506

NO WYOMING PICTURES

Sorry, but the weather forecast for yesterday’s game called for inclement weather so I left the camera at home. Other than a pretty good downpour about two hours before kickoff, there was no other rain. I was able to watch the game other than through the lens of the camera which was nice.