True Cougars

BYU Broncos?

2010-04-16T08:26:00.001-06:00

It appears that ESPN is reporting that we in CougarTown love Bronco enough that we’ve changed our mascot… or have swapped with Boise State. How appropriate is it that a blub about how the Cougars are “overlooked” get the mascot wrong!

At least the text of the article gets it right!

Also there’s an article on the QB competition.

BYU vs Utah Slideshow

2009-12-01T23:36:00.001-07:00

Found a nice slideshow of some of the highlights of the BYU/Utah game…

http://utahphotojournalism.com/2009/11/byu-vs-utah/

http://photo.byu.edu/video.php?cat1=Slide%20Shows&cat2=Sports&cat3=2009&cat4=09FTB%20vs%20Utah

Enjoy!

Stupid

2009-12-01T07:52:00.001-07:00

It’s too bad that a fun exciting game and thrilling victory ends up being marred by isolated bad behavior by some fans :(

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Wow

2009-09-06T01:33:00.001-06:00

I’m still stunned, not quite believing it… I honestly thought that there was little to no chance that BYU would win tonight (also figured the score would be higher). Glad to be wrong. Way to go Cougars! More later on the game…

Some initial thoughts:

hoping the byu win doesn't get overshadowed by the bradford injury...still a little bit in shock#byufootball
http://twitter.com/mdclement/status/3793605845

now on to tulane. wonder how long bronco will let them celebrate :)#byufootball
http://twitter.com/mdclement/status/3795040934

Fall Camp for the rest of us

2009-08-20T08:36:00.001-06:00

If you’re like most of us, then you either aren’t allowed into practice or, even for the few open to the public, can’t take off work to go to go or are not even in the area. The way I’ve found to keep in the loop with what’s going on is to use Greg Wrubell as my “eyes and ears” as fall camp progresses. If you haven’t already, go check out his Cougar Tracks blog on KSL’s website!

We are BYU

2009-08-11T17:04:00.001-06:00

September 5th can’t get here fast enough…

I once again hope to post more this season… we’ll see if that happens!

Hype and Hope

2008-09-24T00:34:00.001-06:00

Image by Getty Images
via Daylife

I started to write this post back in July but I think a lot still applies. BYU was receiving a lot of attention and hype (and some nay-saying which, to me still counts as hype... any talk about BYU in the preseason is good). I had hope that they would live up to that hype, but had serious concerns that all the hype would go to their heads. Bronco is a great leader and coach, but he can't be with the players every hour of every day to help them stay grounded, especially during the off season.

As much as Bryan Kehl was a great player and team leader, the chant "January start today" that I believe he originated at the beginning of last season bugged me a little bit as, to me, it violated some of the key components of Bronco's philosophy (like win the games, let the rest take care of itself). And I don't know if that particular phrase specifically caused them to lose focus early in the season, but I do know that you're not likely to win games today if you're focused on the post-season already.

Which brings us to this season. Say what you want, but getting a lot of national media attention and especially getting put on Heisman watch lists after a blow out of a PAC-10 team has got to mess with your head a little bit. And I think that's what we saw during the first quarter of Wyoming, whether Max will admit it or not. It took a score by the defense to ignite the team. Hopefully the memory of his performance will scare him back to earth for future games (it certainly seemed to get him back in a "win this game" frame of reference in the second quarter). TCU, Utah and others aren't going to give Max the chance to easily recover from early miscues like Wyoming did. Hopefully he can remain grounded so that the Cougars can live up to the hype. And while I'm very optimistic about this season, I've been burned before so I'm going to take it "one game at a time".

Summer Shutdown

2008-06-06T03:00:00.001-06:00

It seems that most Cougar sports blogs tend to shutdown during the summer. After the Blue and White game (which I skipped this year) and before Fall Camp, there's not a whole lot to talk about. Not to say that there aren't other sports, but the Deseret News, KSL and BYUCougars.com cover those fine.

In any case, I meant to blog better last fall, but for a variety of reasons didn't take the time to do so. So now I'm thinking forward to next fall. What I'd really like to do is provide decent quality photos from the homes games. I fancy myself an amateur photographer but sports photography is both tricky and expensive... and especially so from the stands. In any case, I'd like to try to do a better job with the blog. I'll probably rework the look of the site too...

So look for better coverage in the fall, but probably nothing major until then...

I Still Believe in Bronco

2008-01-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

After the Tulsa game, I wrote a post entitled My 2007 Motto: Believe in Bronco. I clung to this motto fiercely during the waning moments of the Las Vegas Bowl this year. Unfortunately, may others did not. The people behind us constantly questioned the play calling throughout the game and then LEFT as UCLA was setting up for their field goal attempt in the final seconds. Definitely goes in the "Cougars Behaving Badly" group.

As we go into the off season, I hope that fans can stay "Fully Invested". It's easy to cheer for a winning team. I'm glad that we were given a few opportunities to weed on the True Cougars from the pretenders.

And I still believe in Bronco!

Going Bowling

2007-12-21T00:16:00.000-07:00

I'm meeting my family in Las Vegas to go to the bowl game together this weekend. I also have my TiVo set so I can replay the game later as necessary :) I'm really excited since we went two years ago (mental note: post photos from that game) and it was a little disappointing to lose even though it was still a good game and fun to watch. Unfortunately we weren't able to go last year which would have been fun even though it was a blowout.

Watch for photos in the days after the game. If you have photos posted somewhere, leave a note in the comments as I'd love to see them and share them with others!

And as much as I hate to say it, I was happy to see the Utes win tonight and help represent the conference with a bowl victory. It would be awesome if the MWC could go 5-o in their bowl games which, given the match ups, is very doable. So Go Falcons, Horned Frogs and Lobos!

But more than that, GO COUGARS!!!

Broncoism: If you're not writing about him

2007-10-30T00:36:00.001-06:00

"What I think is a tribute to him [Corby Hodgkiss] is, no one has noticed. Not to take anything away from Dustin Gabriel or David Tafuna, but if he wasn't playing well, everyone would know," Mendenhall said. "Because he is playing well, no one has made a point of it. It's just simply him doing what he's supposed to do and helping our football team. Maybe the highest compliment that can be paid to him is that you're not writing about him. In the secondary, if you're not writing about him, it's usually a good thing."

from BYU's Hodgkiss stepping out of shadows

"Corby has played solid the entire year," Mendenhall said. "I haven't heard one word that our secondary suffered because Corby is playing. He's simply been inserted and we've moved right along."

from Cougars know there is room for improvement

I thought it was hilarious that as soon as Bronco says that they aren't writing about Corby Hodgkiss, there are suddenly mentions about him in both the Deseret News and the Daily Herald. Of course the interception returned for a touchdown probably had something to do with it, but I still found it funny.

Broncoism: She made some popcorn

2007-10-10T09:20:00.000-06:00

"This weekend was the first time I have watched a Mountain West Conference game. My wife wanted to watch it," he said. "It was Air Force vs. UNLV and I would have never done so unless Holly was up for it. She made some popcorn."

from BYU hopes to avoid recent upset bug

Photos from Tulsa

2007-09-21T23:40:00.000-06:00

My brother recently moved to Dallas and traveled with his ward up to Tulsa for the game last Saturday. He took some photos and videos of the campus and the game and gives a little commentary about the game and the fans on his blog. They aren't professional by any means, but they give a "raw" view of the game.

Trip for BYU at Tulsa (photos and videos)

My 2007 Motto: Believe in Bronco

2007-09-21T23:15:00.000-06:00

I listened to part of the radio broadcast of the Tulsa game earlier this week to see what KSL's bunch had to say. I only listened to the first quarter of the game though as it was too painful knowing what was going to happen. I did listen to all of the pre-game and post-game coverage though. I wanted to hear 1) what Greg and Mark thought of the game and 2) what the fans that called in thought of the game.

I've considered starting a series called "Cougars Behaving Badly." I'm always befuddled by the actions of some BYU fans. I don't think it's all of them, or even the majority, but the "vocal minority" is often hard to ignore. Sometimes it's just silly, but potentially dangerous, things like throwing posterboard airplanes in the stands (this happened during the second half of the Arizona game in the south end zone where the 14 was displayed at half time). But other times it's all but thirsting after blood after a tough Tulsa loss. "When are we going to see Bronco punish the players that are getting penalized?", "Why didn't he bench those guys?" was an oft heard refrain on the post-game show. My question is who do these people think they are? Do they think that Bronco is just letting these things go? Do they not believe that Bronco is agonizing over everything that went wrong?

I'm going to guess that those missed opportunities (penalties, turnovers) keep Bronco working overtime. The concentration penalties that were committed are the antithesis of everything that he believes about winning football games and everything that he is building as the core of the BYU football program. I'm confident that he is doing, behind the scenes, what he feels is appropriate. Bronco is not going to bad mouth his players in public. A good leader does not do that. And Bronco is a good leader.

In "The Bronco Way", the following was said about Bronco. "He’s a master learner. He reads, he underlines, he ponders, he prays about it." Here it is referring to the Harvard Business Review, but I'm sure it applies to everything the man does. He reads, he ponders, he prays. And he acts.

I started writing this post before I listened the The Bronco Mendenhall Radio Show broadcast on Wednesday night and was pleased that a lot of the sentiments of the fans that asked questions of Bronco were similar to my own. I was happy to hear from more upbeat fans. And I heard the same topic addressed in a different way. The question was "There is obviously a problem with penalties. How do you plan to address it?" I've given form to this attitude and have adopted it as my motto for the season: "Believe in Bronco". Win or lose, Believe in Bronco, believe in the program.

How quickly we, as fans, forget what we love about this man that is our head coach. And I say our head coach because I feel like the fans really are the "12th man" on the field. He has taught us how to be better fans through his words and his example. "Raise the Bar" applies just as much to the fans as to the play on the field.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't critique the play of the team or game time coaching decisions. But as fans we have an incomplete view into what is going on and so as right as we feel, we're usually going to be wrong. I know that Bronco's not always going to get it right either. We don't have to go any further than the last two weeks to see that. But in his weekly press conference on Monday he mentioned that they would be switching up the practice routine this week to emphasize different aspects of the game. Will these changes show immediate results this week against Air Force? I hope so.

But even if they don't, I still Believe in Bronco. I believe in the program that he is building. And I believe carrying that belief inside you is what it means to be a True Cougar. It's what it means to be Fully Invested.

Speaking of Mark Philbrick...

2007-09-08T23:28:00.000-06:00

I found this photo slideshow of the BYU/Arizona game with Mark Philbrick photos (and others) and KSL's audio (featuring Greg Wrubell and Mark Lyons). Enjoy!

BYU/Arizona Recap Photo Slideshow

Who paid off the AP photographer? BYU at UCLA

2007-09-08T22:37:00.000-06:00

ESPN's coverage of the BYU/UCLA game has a "photo gallery" that I assumed would capture the highlights of the game, or at least give a somewhat valid representation of how the game was played. Maybe I could even find a photo that I could use in a desktop wallpaper. Instead we get photos with the following captions. (I was going to select some, but instead present all of them (abbreviated, but quoted exactly) to illustrate how lopsided it is and that I didn't just "cherry pick" the "bad" ones.)

UCLA's Nathaniel Skaggs, left, tackles BYU quarterback Max Hall while he attempts a pass (see right)
UCLA running back Kahlil Bell, right, breaks the tackle of BYU's Quinn Gooch
UCLA quarterback Ben Olson, left, and head coach Karl Dorrell, right, celebrate their 27-17 victory over BYU
UCLA running back Chris Markey, center, runs for yardage as BYU's Kayle Buchanan (34), and Corby Hodgkiss (14) tries to stop him
BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall watches the field
BYU wide receiver Michael Reed, right, can't hold on to a pass
BYU wide receiver Austin Collie, center, tries to catch a pass
UCLA running back Chris Markey holds up the ball while scoring a touchdown
BYU tight end Vic So'oto, right, fumbles the ball
UCLA quarterback Ben Olson, right, drops back to pass with protection
UCLA's Trey Brown, left, runs an interception back for a touchdown past BYU's Harvey Unga
BYU quarterback Max Hall, right, is sacked

This is journalism? From these photos it looks like UCLA dominated ("tackles", "breaks the tackle", "scoring a touchdown", "with protection", "interception for a touchdown") and BYU was a pathetic bunch of losers that couldn't catch, tackle or hold onto the ball ("tries to stop him", "can't hold on to a pass", "tries to catch a pass", "fumbles the ball", "is sacked").

The only photo even remotely "neutral" is the one of Bronco but even that was is framed as him being mad about losing in the fourth quarter. Presumably the AP photographer got some good shots of the Cougars in action, but either didn't hand them over or ESPN decided they weren't worthy of their site. I would expect such one sided coverage from a local newspaper, but not from a national network such as ESPN.

While I don't think any of these photos and captions are wrong per se (they accurately represent the moments that were captured), it is disturbing that there is an obvious lack of photos with captions such as

BYU quarterback Max Hall completes a pass to Michael Reed as he's being tackled
BYU's Austin Collie catches a touchdown pass from Max Hall
BYU's Kayle Buchanan picks off UCLA's Ben Olson

or the one found on the photo (see right) with the BYU press release:

Linebacker Bryan Kehl sacks former roommate Ben Olson. The defense held Olson to just 126 yards passing.

While UCLA did win and is higher ranked, it would have been nice to see at least a token effort at balance. To be fair to ESPN overall, the written coverage of the game states:

Much of the game he was outplayed by BYU quarterback Max Hall
Hall was leading the Cougars on what looked like their third straight scoring drive when he fumbled after a Bruce Davis sack.
BYU had not lost since a 23-20 overtime defeat to Boston College nearly a year ago.

The writeup is not very flattering to UCLA. Unfortunately the photos didn't match the copy. Thankfully we have Mark Philbrick :)

Broncoism: I like our heart

2007-09-08T22:30:00.000-06:00

"I like our heart. I like our willingness and our fight, but our execution in making the critical plays and doing what we're supposed to do wasn't good enough to win today."

From Comeback Falls Short

Broncoism: I didn't appreciate that

2007-09-04T01:08:00.000-06:00

"C.J. had some kicks that I'm sure he'd like back," Mendenhall said. "It's interesting to me even with the relative success the past two years that the fans would be that harsh that early. I didn't appreciate that. But at the end, I think he redeemed himself. It will take time. I think we knew that."

From Cougars' special teams still have some work left to do

A "Fan's Guide" is preaching to the choir

2007-08-23T23:48:00.000-06:00

Fall Camp is done and Opening Day is getting closer and closer. So what to do in the interim?

Last month a Fan’s Guide to Preparing for BYU football 2007 was posted on Shirts’ Cougar Legion (the posts on that blog have been migrated to Cougar Legion). While I think the points are relevant (wear blue at sporting events, make sure you can go to the games, learn about the players), it's mostly preaching to the choir (like me). Those that are looking for posts like this are probably doing the stuff that is being advised in the post anyway.

That said, I can't help but comment on these and continue the preaching...

1) Wear Blue - This one is a no brainer. True Cougars Bleed Blue and Wear Blue. It drives me crazy to look around LaVell Edwards Stadium at the patchwork of colors. Even many so called "die hard" fans don't wear blue to the games which perplexes me. The "All Out White Out"s last year were okay for unifying the fans in the stadium with one color but a "blue out" every game would be awesome. Hopefully we see better blue wearing habits this year. A new website, Cougars Wear Blue (and the billboard on I-15 in Utah County) has been set up with the express intent to get more people to wear blue to the football games. I hope the effort pays off.

One of my brothers (who admittedly are not "die hards") showed up to his first home game in orange. I made him trot over to the Cougar Den and buy a blue shirt. He's worn blue ever since :)

2) Make sure you can go to the games - Again, a no brainer. Fall Saturdays (and Thursday nights occationally) are college football. It's important to check for conflicts early and often throughout the season.

3) Get rid of Craig Thompson - Many, many people are almost rabid about this. I suppose that I should have a strong opinion on this, but I really don't know enough about what has happened, what Mr. Thompson has or has not done and what he should or should not have done. I've read and heard a lot about not liking him without any real specifics.

My one opinion is that I was disappointed when the BYU fans booed him when he took the stage to award the Cougars the 2006 Season Championship. No matter how you feel about the man, that is not the time or the place to express your displeasure. BYU fans should be classier than that.

4) Know the team - My memory is not the best so it usually takes me a few games to get the names with the numbers beyond the obvious ones (15 = Max Hall, 1 = Fui). It's good to have a cheat sheet the first few games... hmm perhaps I'll prepare one and post it here before the Arizona game... but would anybody that is reading this need such a sheet? Maybe... or you could give it to your less "fully invested" friends!

I hope you are excited as I am for the College Football season to start. We finally get to find out if the Cougars have truly "Reloaded".

KSL Coverage of Fall Camp

2007-08-07T23:48:00.001-06:00

In addition to the regular stuff on the radio and TV, KSL.com has launched two excellent online resources to help fans stay involved.

First is the Cougar Tracks Blog by Greg Wrubell. I trust that Greg's commentary will prove insightful and informative. I hope that Greg continues to blog throughout the season and during the offseason as well.

Second is the Cougar Daily Download. This is a podcast specifically to talk about Fall Camp and interview coaches and players. It unfortunately expires at the end of Fall Camp.

Enjoy!

Broncoism: Distinct and Different

2007-08-06T13:08:00.000-06:00

"It became clear to me that I was to make the football program as distinct and different as possible because this institution and its purpose are distinct and different and unique. BYU isn’t like anywhere else. It wasn’t designed to be."

From The Bronco Way in BYU Magazine

Broncoisms highlight new and classic quotes from Bronco Mendenhall.

Preseason Burnout

2007-08-04T09:05:00.000-06:00

Is anybody else really ready for the football season to start? Fall Camp is just starting today and I'm already getting burned out by preseason coverage. I want to make sure that the team is ready and had the right players in the right positions, but I'm getting tired of the preseason predictions and offseason player "scandals".

Is TCU better than the Y this year? Will Max Hall be able to step up and deliver the ball? Will J.J. DiLuigi find the position that will allow us to see his talent shine? Will Fui be in shape for the season opener? Who will replace Cam Jenson on defense as an on field leader? It's fun to talk about for a while, but the truth is that I don't know, and in reality, neither does anybody else. Until the opening kickoff we really don't know anything so while Fall Camp will be fun to watch...

Bring on the football!

For those of you that aren't burned out (or if you're like me and burned out but aren't going to stop reading it), here's some coverage by the Deseret News and the Daily Herald (Utah County):

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,695197745,00.html
http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/231621/

Cougar Legion: New BYU Blog

2007-08-03T07:54:00.000-06:00

Two BYU bloggers have joined forces and have created Cougar Legion, from Shirts' Cougar Legion and My 3 Cents. I can very much understand the desire to consolidate, even in a market as small as BYU sports bloggers. Hopefully the new blog can produce some quality compelling content. I wish these guys the best of luck!

I've included a link to the new site in my blogroll for future reference.

If you had three wishes...

2007-07-12T20:58:00.001-06:00

Most of you that are reading this probably got this email from BYU, but I thought there was one specific part that was awesome. They asked Brian Kehl (LB) and Paul Tidwell (LB Coach) some questions including "Are you married?" and "If you could be any superhero...?"

Paul Tidwell got asked "If you found a magic genie in a lamp who would give you three wishes, what would you wish for?".

Paul answered, "Bring all our troops home safe, BYU defeats Utah in every sporting contest forever, healthy family and life."

Awesome. Go Cougars!

Raise the Bar: 2007 BYU Football

2007-07-12T20:50:00.000-06:00

If you weren't pumped up enough about the coming football season, BYU has released this flash movie to promote the 2007 Football season.