Monday: Links with officiating

We'll have some exciting Ryan Dinwiddie news later today. What other kind is there, right?

Story of the day:

Idaho fan resents ESPN's "winless" remark [ESPN.com]

ESPN's newest non-BCS blogger, Graham Watson, suggested last week that the Vandals would go winless this season. Sounds like he knows his non-BCS football.

Watson made his prediction fully expecting the wrath of Vandal fans to rain down upon him. Instead, he got propositioned from a guy in Seattle.

Dan in Seattle writes: Hey Graham Watson, You challenged us Vandals fans to "let the emails fly." In light of your unfounded prediction that the 2008 Vandals will NOT WIN A GAME (and keeping with the relatively non-inciting tone in which it was registered), I propose a little more. How about a straightforward, even odds bet to back up that fearless prediction? Up to $500.

Watson didn't bite, but we imagine that Robb Akey would. Five hundred bucks could buy a lot of Just for Men mustache coloring.

The only way we see Idaho not going winless is beating Idaho State in Moscow. However, Seattle Dan seems to think there are other wins on the schedule, too.

Come on. WINLESS?? Multiple win-able conference games aside...

We'll stop you there. Apart from maybe Utah State (who, if you'll remember right, beat the Vandals last year), there are pretty much no games that Idaho is expected to win in the WAC. Maybe things will be different come midseason, or maybe pigs will fly through frozen hell. We're not holding our breath for either.

Other links:

The south end zone will be closed someday [Statesman]
What's another 20 million dollars?

$2500 per person for seats in the Mothership [Statesman]
Has BSU gone corporate?

Boise State preview [FOXSports.com]
Yes, 10-3 is a disappointment.

Scanned version of Boise State's Phil Steele preview [Boise state football news]
Now if we could just get the other 150 pages scanned, we'd be in business.

Only a month and a half left to bet [Wizard of Odds]
Week One lines from around college football

Reggie Larry update [Warriors.com]

Four minutes, zero points in finale of summer league

Interesting picks from Las Cruces newspaper [Daily Herald]

NMSU ahead of Hawaii? Favoritism!

Karl Benson interview [Statesman]
Brian Murphy is the new Larry King.

Baseball not in BSU's future [Press-Tribune]
Stupid Title IX.

Reggie Larry riding the pine in NBA summer league

Reggie Larry's NBA career has gotten off to a rather tepid start.

The former Boise State standout is playing in Las Vegas with the Golden State Warriors' summer league team. Well, "playing" might be too strong of a word. The Warriors have played two games already, and Larry has seen exactly six minutes of court time in that span. His stats are understandably meager.

Reggie Larry: 1-2, 2 points, 0 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot

All of those numbers came in Golden State's first game Friday nightsecond game Sunday against the Mavericks. Larry did not play SundayFriday against the Sixers.

There is still plenty of time for Larry to make an impact on the team, and with the Bobcats (tonight, 7:30pm), King, and Raptors still on the schedule, the competition certainly lends itself toward that end. However, getting an opportunity seems to be Larry's biggest obstacle.

Come on, Golden State. He's shooting 50% from the floor, and he's capable of doing this:

Friday: Links with possiblities

Story of the day:

Phil Dailey on the Fresno bandwagon? [Dailey's Bottom Line]

The local media is starting to turn in their preseason WAC ballots, and the transparency of the Idaho Press-Tribune affords us the luxury of peering into Phil Dailey's thought process. Playing a prominent role in Dailey's thoughts: the Hawaii Bowl.

I think you have to give Fresno State the nod, after all, the Bulldogs won their bowl game over Georgia Tech, while Boise State blew it against a not-very-good East Carolina team in the Hawaii Bowl.

Dailey has Fresno State at the top of the WAC, with Boise State at number two. Right behind them? Louisiana Tech. A gutsy call, but we like our local media members to think outside the box.

I’m a big Derek Dooley fan and I think he’ll have his team ready for the WAC after non-conference tilts against Mississippi State, Kansas and SE Louisiana.

We'll give you two guess who the teams at the bottom are.

Other links:

Reggie Larry does not hear his name called [Yahoo!]
He may still have a chance to catch on with a team this summer

BYU snags two recruits that had BSU's interest [Daily Herald]
When you factor in Mormon missions, the Cougars can have 'em.

IPT recaps preview mags [Press-Tribune]
And in the process, saves us $14.95.

Tom Scott weighs in on stadium expansion [Scott Slant]
Scott: The south end zone will be a horseshoe by 2013.

J Bates snidely rips Brian Murphy's blog [J's Blog]Nice to know we're not the only ones who notice these things.

Weekend series on Montana's D-1 hopes [Missoulian]

Idaho gets the spotlight today. Enjoy it while it lasts, Vandals.

South American vacay for Dan Hawkins [Longmont Times]
"It's Rio De Janeiro! It's the Amazon River! It ain't intramurals!"

San Jose State preview [Saturday Soundoffs]
If anyone cares.

Thursday: Links with losing

Story of the day:

Fresno State: national champion [Sports Network]

The Fresno State baseball team completed a surprising run to the finals of the College World Series by defeating Georgia and winning the whole thing. How refreshing that a collegiate sport have a tournament to decide the national championship regardless of school size or conference affiliation.

The school became the lowest seeded team to win an NCAA championship in any sport. It was a fourth seed at the Long Beach Regional, and began its unlikely run there, knocking off 11th-seeded Long Beach State and sixth-ranked San Diego. In the Super Regional, Fresno State won two of three against third- ranked Arizona State to reach the College World Series.

Fresno State went on to beat fifth-ranked Rice, eliminate second-ranked North Carolina and staved off elimination three times in the same tournament, ending with a 47-31 record.

We've joked that Boise State could replicate Fresno's success if they had a baseball team of their own, but after reading the unlikely and amazing road they took to the championship, we're not so sure that the Broncos could do that. (Just kidding; the Broncos could do anything!)

Congratulations, Fresno State.

Other links:

The Statesman joins the Peak radio curiosity [Murph's Turf]
Better late than never, we guess.

The Big Lead's take on superconferences [The Big Lead]

OBNUG's take on superconferences: yes.

With the 49th pick in the NBA Draft, the Warriors take... [Press-Tribune]
Reggie Larry? One can certainly hope so.

Revised ESPN Top 25 [ESPN.com]
Still no Boise State. Send it back for more revisions!