Average Joe's Sports Podcast

Ute's move to the PAC-10

rjweller@hotmail.com (Rhett) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:17:00 +0000

Ok so this isn't a podcast, but I had to put this somewhere. A ute friend of mine on facebook was upset by this article: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=11760763.

Here was his facebook post:

"This POSSIBLE argument keeps being brought up? Why? Has or did the PAC 10 ever come out with a statement or was their a report of some-sort that they supposedly did not choose BYU because they are a faith based school? Someone please reference me ONE article that is not written by Dick Harmon, commented on by Mendenhall or some journalist speculating that the PAC 10 did infact turn their heads from BYU because of their faith.

BYU wants to steal the limelight and focus on themselves while denying the fact that in the most recent years (e.g. not 1984) that Utah has had more historic season's then they have (e.g. Quest for Perfection x 2). The University of Utah has proved to the nation they are worthy of this invitation or maybe it just the word WORTHY that really upsets BYU fans, I don't know.

In my opinion this is all speculation, always coming from BYU commentators and fans. BYU has talked about their national championship ever since 1984, it wouldn't surprise me if they will STILL talk about this football/religious persecution till the year 2036. Or maybe, just maybe there will finally be a playoff system developed in the NCAA by then. Pray to GOD that there is because I know he doesn't believe in the BCS and that BYU is his school."

Of course I had to offer a rebuttal. :)
My points to him:

- There have been many reports/articles written that the PAC-10 doesn't want BYU because of their LDS affiliation. I enjoyed this article: http://tinyurl.com/39f9l3s because it cuts through the religion argument and specific mentions the Mormon factor.

- The Y has a bigger fan base than the U. Their stadium is bigger, more people watch them on TV, and they have a longer and bigger tradition of winning (and not just in football). If you wanted a competitive more lucrative conference, the Y and not the U makes more sense.

- By asking Colorado to join the PAC-10, the conf pretty much was saying "we want a school from a BCS conference, but we don't want a threat to our current schools". Colorado is 16-33 over the last 4 years. That's a whopping 33% winning percentage. On the other hand, BYU is 43-9 with a 83% winning percentage. The only thing Colorado brings to the conference is the fact that they were in a BCS conference already. Colorado is a whipping boy here.

What did the PAC-10 actually want? They didn't want to bring in excellent football programs. The key to building a money making conference (and really isn't money the whole motivation of these conferences?) is to have 1 or 2 really good schools every year that can compete for a national title. If you have parity and 5-6 schools that can compete every year, then they will just beat each other up and knock each other out of national title contention. By adding Colorado (a crappy BCS school) and the U (granted they have recent success, but historically they can't compete in recruiting with the PAC-10), the PAC 10 is trying to add just enough legitimacy to get 1 or 2 teams to BCS games and a national title shot. Good move by the PAC-10.

This all being said, the U accepting the invite to the PAC-10 was the right thing for them to do. As a Y fan I had hoped that the U and the Y would have been invited as that would have been awesome, but the PAC-10 was obviously afraid of that happening and decided to take the less threatening school.

No matter what conference the U and the Y are in, there will still be a great rivalry and my hatred for the classless Ute fans will continue.

Go Cougars!

- Rhett

Episode 12/30/09: Airing of Grievances - NFL vs NBA Contracts, Baseball stadiums, DH, World Series

rjweller@hotmail.com (Rhett) — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:09:00 +0000

Joe and Rhett air their grievances with sports. Includes:

- NFL vs NBA contracts. Are guaranteed contracts bad?

- NFL retirement plan: Needs to happen!

- Major League Baseball problems: Stadium size - why aren't they similar?, designated hitter... really??, 162 games is too much of a crap shoot.

Episode 8 MP3 Link

iTunes Link

Episode 12/9/09: Utah Flash Fiasco, Jordan, Ute fans my have class

rjweller@hotmail.com (Rhett) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:39:00 +0000

Joe, Rhett, Scott, and jon recap the Utah Flash fiasco. The boys recap why they went to the game, why they felt lied to (and more importantly when), how the whole thing should have gone down, Brandt Andersen's "apology", and more thoughts on the impostor Michael Jordan. Bryon Russell is a good guy.

Are there classy fans at the U? Apparently yes! Joe and Rhett recap the Utah vs Michigan basketball game. Jon shares his "F off" story from the 2004 season. Holy war discussion. Female Ute fans vs female BYU fans.

Madsen movie minute: Surrogates, MJ: This is it.

Episode 7 MP3

iTunes Link

Utah Flash - Dumb Marketing to the Extreme

rjweller@hotmail.com (Rhett) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:17:00 +0000

Tonight the Utah Flash proved how NOT to bring in new fans and did the exact opposite of good marketing.

Quick back story: Michael Jordan mentioned in his hall of fame speech how he owned Bryon Russell in his game winner in the '97 finals. The owner of the Utah Flash, Brandt Andersen, offered $100,000 charity donation to the winner of a Russell-Jordan 1-on-1 halftime challenge at a Flash game. Jordan typically doesn't do stuff like this, but you never know. The Flash marketing team hyped it up, but never actually promised Jordan. The Flash realized that Jordan wasn't going to show, so they cooked up a Jordan impersonator and did a huge halftime intro and made it seem like the real Jordan was there. The fans felt betrayed and the Flash experienced backlash. Here is the explanation from the owner: http://dleagueutah.blogspot.com/2009/12/mj-vs-b-russ-challenge-didnt-go-like.html

My response to Brandt is here:

"I was there tonight. It was a really REALLY dumb marketing move. Here is why.

I had never been to a Flash game before tonight. I bought my tickets for 2 reasons: to maybe see MJ and to see a Flash game. I knew there was only a chance of MJ showing up. I figured that at the very least I might see a good basketball game. Something above college ball but not quite NBA level. I wanted to see a Flash game last year and never had the opportunity and I thought this was it.

As for the stunt, why lie to us? You can lead me on and tease me a bit, but you outright lied. I'm not talking about before the game, I'm talking about halftime. There was another way to handle this and still get the hype, but the halftime intro video montage, the announcer saying "his airness is in the building" and "a man who needs no introduction", and having the stupid impostor was just dumb. You alienated any potential fans, including myself.

The first half was fun and there was some decent ball. It has potential. But there is no way I'm going back. Why do you think fans threw the t-shirts back on the court and there was a mad dash for the exits? I honestly think that had this been handled properly the fans would have stayed after halftime and enjoyed the game. Instead there was a mass feeling of betrayal.

I feel bad for the players and B-Russ, but I'm not going back."

Episode 12/1/09: BYU wins in OT! Joe, Jon, and Rhett's reaction

rjweller@hotmail.com (Rhett) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:08:00 +0000

BYU wins in overtime! The boys breakdown the game, Max Hall's comments, the Ute's reactions and what to make of it all. Includes first hand stories of: Andrew George in the end zone, Hall and Dennis Pitta at dinner after the game, Pitta's helmet, and an Apostle makes a cameo.

Game breakdown: Refs and too many flags?, playing not to lose, helmets coming off now-a-days.

Hall breakdown: BYU fans reaction, Utah fans reaction, facebook... the new watercooler.

Joe and Rhett both recommend "The Blindside" for the Madsen movie minute.

Click to listen!

Episode 6 MP3 Download

iTunes Link

Episode 11/26/09: More BYU vs Utah football analysis - with Scott Steele

rjweller@hotmail.com (Rhett) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:52:00 +0000

Scott Steele joins Rhett for more analysis on the BYU vs Utah game. Keys to the game are Harvey Unga and the QBs. They also reminisce about favorite memories in the rivalry.

Episode 5 MP3 Download

iTunes Link

Episode 11/25/09: BYU vs Utah Football Game - A Fan's Defense

rjweller@hotmail.com (Rhett) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:19:00 +0000

The Holy War. The Rivalry. Rhett is joined by Brandon Woolsey of thehomestarmy.com to discuss the big BYU/Utah game this Saturday. The breakdown comparison of the Utes vs the Cougars includes:

Statistics and Schedule
Max Hall vs Jordan Wynn
The front line
Unga vs Wide
Jacobsen vs Reed
Dennis Pitta - key to the game
Matt Bauman vs Robert Johnson
Kyle Whittingham vs Bronco Mendenhall
Best college football rivalry in the nation?

The guys also take jabs at each other's least favorite memories of the BYU & Utah football history.

For Brandon's complete breakdown go to thehomestarmy.com.

Episode 4 MP3 Download

iTunes Link

Episode 11/24/09: BYU vs Utah Season Breakdown

rjweller@hotmail.com (Rhett) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:18:00 +0000

Joe and Rhett discuss the big game this weekend and breakdown why the Cougars should beat the nasty Utes. Holywarfootball.com contributed to this discussion. Thanks JR!

Madsen Movie Minute

Twilight New Moon -Did we actually enjoy it?
A Serious Man - Too serious?

Episode 3 MP3 Download

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Episode 11/12/09: Utah Jazz, MWC Football, NFL Talk

rjweller@hotmail.com (Rhett) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:20:00 +0000

Joe and Rhett discuss the abysmal start to the Utah Jazz season. Also: Utah vs TCU, BYU football, the NFL.

Episode 2 MP3 Download

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Episode 7/29/09: NBA summer talk, BYU season tickets, NFL Preseason

rjweller@hotmail.com (Rhett) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:25:00 +0000

First Podcast.

Highlights:

NBA summer talk
NFL pre-season
BYU/Utah Season tickets?
Madsen movie minute

Episode 1 MP3 Download

Subscribe via iTunes