Dinwiddie takes over in Winnipeg

Out with Kevin Glenn; in with Ryan Dinwiddie.

Last year's East Division most oustanding player, Glenn has fallen from grace in Winnipeg rather swiftly, and Dinwiddie is in the right place at the right time. Dinwiddie will get the start on Thursday for the Blue Bombers, and even if it takes him awhile to get settled, it sounds like Winnipeg will not be going back to Glenn any time soon.

Head coach Doug Berry said Thursday's game isn't a one-game trial for Dinwiddie, either. He's the No. 1 quarterback until further notice.

Winnipeg is 0-4, and much of the blame is being placed on Glenn's shoulders.

  "I don't think I've played perfect football up until now," he said.

You think? To be specific, Glenn has played the worst football in the CFL. His efficiency rating is 65.9, which is worst in the league. He has thrown eight interceptions, which is worst in the league. Dinwiddie will be a revelation by comparison.

Reaction from Winnipeg fans has been highly encouraging. An OBNUG reader and Winnipeg resident, who alerted us to the story, is thrilled to have Dinwiddie starting, and judging by the Blue Bomber message boards, other fans are looking forward to a change under center, too.

listen to Ryan Dinwiddie. hes confident, he's a field general, his attitude seems to be contagious, heck just listening to RD there, makes me cant wait until thursday. God i hope its nice out

...and...

this might be the spark they need.

GO DINWIDDIE GO!

Now if we could only get Brock Forsey in the backfield.

Dinwiddie takes helm [Winnipeg Sun]
Bombers message board [BlueBombers.com]

Monday: Links with distractions

Story of the day: 

Brilliant Boise State football feature [Missoulian]

Can the Missoulian be Boise's newspaper? Please? The paper from Missoula, Montana, just finished up a series of fine journalism on the chances of U of M moving into Division 1-A. Saturday, they wrote a fascinating piece on how Boise State has fared since the Broncos' move to big-time college football.

The Boise State Broncos represent a best-case scenario for all Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams pondering a move up. An example of what is possible for those that risk stability for a spot in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).

Not only was the article a wonderful read, but there was some good BSU knowledge in there, too. Reporter Bill Speltz did his homework and then some. Witness this encouraging quote:

“We purchased East Junior High School, just a quarter of a mile from here, that will give us 15fi acres we can access next summer,” BSU AD Gene Bleymaier said. “We'll move the (running) track out of Bronco Stadium and our next expansion will be to horseshoe the south end of the stadium and add another 6,000 seats."

Thanks for the Bronco Stadium update, Missoula paper. Best of all, one of the endearing themes of the story was its focus on the importance of a great fan base. The Missoulian gave Bronco Nation a great big slap on the back.

The people of Boise are also a big part of the Broncos' success. When Boise State made its leap of faith into FBS football in 1996, Bleymaier knew he could depend on the community for support. That confidence made the transition about as smooth as can be expected.

And to think, we were joking when we took credit for BSU's success. 

We highly recommend you reading this story for yourself.  

Other links:

So long, Gary Craner [Scott Slant]
Turned ankles will never be the same.

List of Broncos in the CFL [Statesman]
Bronco Nation north of the border, eh?

Boise State offers Kellen's little bro [Tri-City Herald]
Bronco fans immediately pencil him in as starting wide receiver.

Are Boise State's home games for sale? [BNN]
Our Ian Johnson/Marty Tadman two-sided jersey sure hopes not.

Fresno's baseball success gives credibility to WAC [Shreveport Times]
Calling Fresno the "California Bulldogs" loses credibility for this story.

Brian Murphy to the Aaron Burks rescue [Murph's Turf]
We don't even want to touch this one.

"You have the lightest blue eyes": a Dinwiddie interview turns awkward

The Winnipeg Sun might very well be known for a lot of good things, but we doubt that interviews are one of them. A staff reporter sat down with former BSU standout and current Winnipeg Blue Bomber QB Ryan Dinwiddie to discuss, well, whatever popped into her head apparently. The interview included the following questions:

Q: Do you have any pets?
Q: What hobbies do you have?
Q: If people were to find you doing anything on an off day in Winnipeg, what would it be?

Ryan Dinwiddie, you are now off the Pabst Blue Ribbon Hot Seat.

Still, softball questions were far from the strangest part of the interview. That distinction falls to the awkward, uncomfortable topic of Dinwiddie's beautiful eyes.

Q: Have your eyes always been the focus of attention? Because you have the lightest blue eyes most people have ever seen. They're like Husky eyes.

Uh...next question please?

Our conclusion is that the Winnipeg Sun was not actually interviewing Dinwiddie, but rather helping him fill out his Match.com profile. Hard-hitting Canadian journalism at its finest, eh?

Ryan Dinwiddie Q & A [Winnipeg Sun]

Thursday: Links with Anger

Story of the day:

SEC talks about early recruiting season [Dave's Blog]

The SEC wants an early signing day, and what the SEC wants, the SEC gets. From ESPN.com:

The coaches voted by a 9-3 count Wednesday at the SEC spring meetings to add an early signing day in late November. This 24-hour period for prospects to sign early would fall on the Monday before the contact period begins, which during a normal year would come during the week of Thanksgiving.

The measure now moves on for approval by the conference's athletic directors and presidents before being sponsored on a national level. Why not fix the BCS while you're at it, SEC?

Other links:

Orlando Scandrick interview [Scout.com]
Fascinating read if you have a scout.com membership. We don't.

Quinton Jones roughriding it in the CFL [Leader-Post]
We hear that is the best place to roughride.

Hawkins' unique approach to recruiting [Daily Camera]
What doesn't Hawk have a unique approach to?

Fresno State wins Commissioner's Cup [Dailey's Bottom Line]
Is that similar to a WAC football championship? It isn't? Oh, that's what we thought.

Washington State releases top QB prospect [ESPN.com]
Steer clear of Moscow, young man!

Friday: Links with motivation

Story of the day:
Bold WAC predictions [CUSAbbs.com]

Yesterday, we linked to a site that predicted the Broncos would face Maryland in the Humanitarian Bowl this year. Today, the same site goes one step further in guessing Boise State's 2008 record.

WAC
1. Fresno State (7-1, 9-3)
T2. Boise State (6-2, 9-3)
T2. Hawaii (6-2, 8-5)
4. Nevada (5-3, 7-5)
T5. New Mexico State (4-4, 5-7)
T5. San Jose State (4-4, 5-7)
7. Louisiana Tech (3-5, 3-9)
8. Utah State (1-7, 1-11)
9. Idaho (0-8, 1-11)

Seriously? 9-3? This is the worst news we've heard all day. Plus, if the Broncos finish 6-2 in the WAC, we might go into severe depression.

At least he got Utah State and Idaho right.

Other Links:

Humanitarian Bowl set for Dec. 30th at 2:30pm [Idaho Press-Tribune]
Fortunately we always keep our Tuesday afternoons free just in case a bowl game should happen.

T.J. Acree switches CFL teams [Scott Slant via J Bates]
An Eskimo to an Argonaut. Sounds like a Guillermo Del Toro movie.

Fight Fight skewers Akey for his comments [Fight Fight BSU]
Also skewered: the mustache.

Women soccer stars to visit Eagle [Idaho Statesman]
Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain?! We haven't been this excited since the Humanitarian Bowl date and time were announced!

Rimington watch list [Rimington Trophy]
Idaho, Nevada, and Utah State made the list. Just another thing for them to lose.

June Jones update: still thinks the run 'n shoot works [ESPN.com]
Isn't that cute?

Dinwiddie re-signs with Blue Bombers

Former Boise State QB Ryan Dinwiddie has re-signed with the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“Ryan is already familiar with our personnel and our coaching staff, so it was important for us to ensure he remain part of this organization,” said Bomber G.M. Brendan Taman.

“I think he proved last season that he has the skills and the mindset to be a CFL quarterback. The hope now is that he will continue to build on the poise and leadership skills he displayed last season, especially in the Grey Cup.”

Dinwiddie, who started the last season's Grey Cup in place of injured starter Kevin Glenn, had been in contract negotiations with the team for quite some time. Turns out the final numbers came down to neck-beard compensation.

Dinwiddie Returns to Blue and Gold [bluebombers.com]

Dinwiddie haggling over the Canadian dollar

Former Boise State standout Ryan Dinwiddie had quite an exciting end to his 2007 CFL season, starting at quarterback in Canada's Super Bowl. Now, he wants to get paid. Relatively speaking.

Dinwiddie said the hold up is largely about incentive clauses. Canadian reports indicate the two sides are $15,000 to $20,000 apart, numbers Dinwiddie called “kind of right.”

A football league dealing in thousands rather than millions is sort of refreshing in a middle class kind of way.

Dinwiddie, CFL team haggling over contract [Idaho Statesman]

Quinton Jones to CFL

The Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL have signed former BSU defensive back Quinton Jones. Defending CFL champions and teammates with Yo Murphy? How much better does it get?

Riders add two in the secondary [Our Sports Central]