Golden State Warriors just got a whole lot cooler

Check out the new (or old) logo that the Golden State Warriors are going for. It hearkens back to the day of when sports uniforms weren't gawdy Star Trek uniforms.

Awesome. I'm so pumped about this. You can read the full story here.

Morning coffee... June 18, 2010

Down 2-0 at halftime to Slovenia in the World Cup, the US battled back to get a tie and keep its hopes to advance to the next round alive.

I also heard via text that the US scored another goal but it was called offsides, something the replays show wasn't the case. Is it me or are refs getting worse and worse? Or perhaps replays are getting better and better?

College News

Montana State head football coach Rob Ash expects a breakthrough this year
And having nearly bit my nails off watching EWU play MSU year after year, I fully expect this to happen. By the way, remember when MSU was screwed out of a playoff berth after beating the Griz, having the same record and yet EWU and UM got the bids to the playoffs?

National News

Missing North Korean players show up a practice
Is North Korea not one of the most entertaining countries in the World Cup? I think we need more communist countries in this international events.

LA bursts out into riots after Lakers win NBA Championship
Because what would a championship be without a good riot.

Ron Artest gives the best post-game interview ever
No really, watch this video and try not to laugh, I dare you.

Utah joins the Pac-10

It's official, Utah has joined the Pac-10. Or should we call it the Pac-12 now?

The rumors, projections, closed door meetings and dealings are over and the celebration has begun.

The University of Utah is officially part of the Pac-10. The move from the Mountain West Conference to the elite league was quickly approved Thursday by the unanimous vote of Utah's Board of Trustees in a public meeting at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

"This is an absolutely great day to be a Ute," said longtime Utah athletics director Chris Hill.

Even though the super conference idea with the Big 12 South is deader than Michael Jackson, the idea that the Pac-10 has added more schools makes me like the situation that the conference is in. It's at least good they were proactive with expansion instead of reactive like the Big-12 errrr.... Big 10 now.

They didn't get the prettiest girl at the prom, getting schools like Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State would have blown up the Pac-10 to epic proportions. It also wouldn't have made a whole lot of geographical sense but whatever. It would have been great to get those big schools and big money into the conference but WSU fans... you wouldn't have been competitive ever again.

Colorado and Utah make sense though. First you capture the Denver and Salt Lake City markets which gives you an even bigger stranglehold out west. You give the Arizona schools somebody closer to develop rilvaries with. You keep the "travel partner" system together and you can hope and pray that Colorado and Utah develop into bitter rivals.

(Can somebody go and defecate on a John Elway statue in Denver and then put a Utah Jazz jersey on it?)

This gives Utah a chance to show that they're a national program after getting snuffed by the BCS for years. It's a very underrated school and has both strong football and basketball programs. It's also not BYU... which is great.

Colorado was one of the weaker schools in the Big 12 but I think it will do better since the bottom half of the Pac-10 is a lot worse than the Big 12. 

Pac-10 fans might find the not becoming the Pac-16 might of been the best thing to happen to it.

Now if they could just fix those refs. Woof!

North Korea doesn't like to lose

So lets say that North Korea loses 2-1 to Brazil. Nothing really to fret about, Brazil is one of the world's best soccer countries ever. North Korea is North Korea. However, if you read the game recap from the Korean New Service, they don't even report the final score.

Pyongyang, June 16 (KCNA) -- The league match of the 2010 World Cup between the DPRK and Brazil took place at dawn (Pyongyang time) on Wednesday.

From the outset of the match the two teams fought a seesaw battle. The DPRK footballers created good shooting chances, not losing their confidence even after losing two goals.

At about the 88th minute of the match Jong Tae Se headed the ball before passing it to Ji Yun Nam who powerfully kicked it into the rival's goalmouth, scoring a goal.

The DPRK team will meet its Portuguese rival on June 21.

What would happen if they did this for Detroit Lions games or season recaps. "The team played with heart and tenacity and even though they dropped sixteen games, they finished the season on a high note."

Classy. Another reason not to live in North Korea... crappy SportsCenter segments.

Mission Valley Babe Ruth All-Star teams named

They just named the Mission Valley Babe Ruth All-Star teams, since they just wrapped up the regular season a week ago. Thanks for Senior Babe Ruth head coach Alan Anderson, here's the full list.

(Click on "Read More" to see the full list)

Morning coffee... June 17, 2010

Phil Jackson and the LA Lakers will take on the Boston Celtics tonight in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Some say this could be the last game for Jackson as head coach of the Lakers.

College News

Montana State football games will be broadcasted in high-def
I think I get my EWU Eagles broadcasts in You-Tube quality broadcasts.

Montana to the WAC? 
Otherwise known as the Big Sky Conference Apocalypse.

National News

Canceled training camps might mean bad things for the NFL
Otherwise known as the impending labor strike that will ruin professional football.

Local News

The Joe McDonald Retirement Scramble in Pablo has been re-scheduled for Friday June 25th with a shot gun start at 9:00 am. If there are enough teams there will be an afternoon session too. Entry fee is $250. To sign up a team call the Silver Fox Golf Course at 675-7888.

Golf Results for the week and last

Click on the "Read More" link to get full golf results from the area.

Montana State High School Rodeo Results

BOZEMAN - Several Lake County rodeo athletes competed at the Montana High School Rodeo Association State Finals last weekend and five of them will be moving on to nationals.

Emily Schall won a spot to nationals in Gukkette Wyo. after finishing the season with the highest scoring average in the barrels competition. She went into the competition ranked 10th but ended up winning a saddle, coat and buckle to go with the top average.

Cody Sheridan and Colt Nagy placed fourth overall in team roping and will also head to nationals.

Jessica Read ranked eighth overall in goat tying and she’ll go to Silver State in Fallon, Nev. for not only her event but also to serve as the first attendant in the Montana State High School Rodeo Queen Contest.

Becky Jo Dumont qualified to go to Silver State in Fallon, Nev. in the Barrels event after placing fifth.

Nichele Marmon won the Best Foot Forward Scholarship Award for $250

The Silver State International Rodeo will be on July 4-9 and the national finals will take place on July 17-24.
Click "read more" to see full rodeo results.

Babe Ruth Tournament Results

I have to pass these results along because the kids from Mission Valley Babe Ruth really deserve a lot of credit for playing some great baseball last weekend. It was the end-of-the-season tournament and probably the first weekend they haven't had to play in a mud puddle.

The Mission Valley Rockies finished with a perfect 15-0 record but had to fend off a very feisty Polson Pirates team.

Click "read more" to see the full results from the tournament.

Morning coffee... June 16, 2010

Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers tied up the NBA Finals 3-3 with a 89-67 victory over the Boston Celtics last night.

Is this series over? Do you realize that if Kobe wins this championship he'll have five rings, one short of Michael Jordan? Where does he rank among the greats in the game then?

College news

Former UM basketball player gets workout with Nets - MontanaGrizzlies.com
Word of advice for Anthony Johnson, don't make any jokes about Russia.

National News

Switzerland upsets Spain 1-0 in World Cup - The Daily Interlake
And those annoying horns are still blaring.

Izzo not headed to Cavs, stays with Michigan State
Lebron... why are you packing your bags....?

Don't wear orange dresses at the World Cup

Reasons to watch the World Cup? Weird stories like this...

Thirty-six female fans were ejected from Holland's World Cup match against Denmark and interrogated for hours for allegedly wearing orange dresses to illegally promote Bavaria beer, though there's no branding on the dress and the company denies hiring them.

Could they do this sort of thing during a NASCAR event if anyone is promoting beer? Is it possible to detain thousands of fans?

Canadian Football players are up to no good

Those dastardly Canadians are up to no good. The steroid problem has gotten so bad up there, they've had to suspend an entire football team.

The University of Waterloo Warriors football team will miss the entire 2010-2011 season over steroid violations.

As many as nine potential doping violations were discovered during a mass test of 62 football players from the University of Waterloo, resulting in suspension of the team’s activities for the upcoming season.

In addition, two players from the team received suspensions and a former player faces charges in a police probe into steroid trafficking.

The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport, Canadian Interuniversity Sport and the University of Waterloo held a news conference Monday to announce the findings of a sweeping probe of players in the university’s football program on March 31. More than 80 urine and blood samples were taken, resulting in nine infractions. The test was instituted by the school.

As for the NFL... move along.... nothing to see here. Go make fun of baseball...

Drew Bledsoe and Troy Aikman are here to save the earth

The two former pro-bowl quarterbacks have a plan to solve this whole mess in the Gulf of Mexico. Lets hope the oil spill doesn't bring a blindside linebacker up to blitz.

Troy Aikman and Drew Bledsoe, both former Pro Bowl quarterbacks, are part-owners of a new technology that they claim can help clean up the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Their company, Ecosphere, has had meetings with BP. Bledsoe talked about the technology at a recent press conference. From FS Southwest:

According to Bledsoe, Ecosphere would set its filtration systems on barges in the gulf and on beaches to clean the water.

"This is not technology sitting on the shelf waiting for a disaster," Bledsoe said. "This is technology out in the field satisfying contracts for well over a year, so it's proven. ... When you watch it, it is magic seeing dirty, nasty water go in one end and then crystal, clean water out the other end." 

So wait, they have a Brita filter?

New jerseys are marvels

Check out the new threads for Team USA. And as usual, Nike has gone scientific on us.

When the United States men's national basketball team heads to Turkey for the FIBA World Championships this summer, they're going to look pretty cool. It's hard to mess up red, white and blue, and the various manufacturers who have supplied their uniforms throughout the years haven't made very many missteps. But this year, they're also going to feel cool thanks to a couple tweaks by Nike.

Through some kind of clothing wizardry, Nike has eliminated more than 13 inches of fabric from a typical basketball jersey, and probably double that when compared to Allan Houston's tarp-like mid-90s shirt. The back of the jersey will once again feature "Aerographics," which you probably know as those intricately-designed perforations that make it look like everyone has a super sweaty back like Patrick Ewing. And yes, that's two zings on the New York Knicks, who have been the antithesis of on-court aesthetics for two decades running. Make that three.

Aside from the extra tailoring, the jerseys are about the same. The shorts are the big story, as far as international basketball clothing news goes. Thanks to Nike's new Hyperelite design, the shorts are about half as light as a normal basketball short when dry. Get them wet — like, you know, from sweating during a game — and they're even better, weighing less when soaked (10.1 oz.) than a normal pair does when dry (13.6).

Don't ask me how that's done, I think they're defying the laws of physics.

Photo: US vs England

Ha! We tied the Brits! And ESPN had this very cool ad. Epic eh?

Photo of a brawl from the 1986 World Cup

Sorry just had to post this because I find it so funny. Those two are "fighting." The guy on the right is British, the guy on the left is from Argentina. Wonders of wonders, the two teams were playing one another at Aztec Stadium in Mexico City.

I think the internet just got its new viral photo. Enjoy.

Nelson Mandela's great-granddaughter dies

It's only a day old, but the 2010 World Cup already has a downer story to talk about.

JOHANNESBURG (AP)—It should have been a moment of triumph—Nelson Mandela, basking in the cheers as Africa’s first World Cup opened. Nelson Mandela with his great-granddaughter Zenani, who was killed in a car accident following Thursday's kickoff concert. (AP Photo/Peter Morey)

Instead, South Africa’s beloved anti-apartheid icon stayed at home with his family Friday in northern Johannesburg during the opening ceremony and game, mourning his 13-year-old great-granddaughter Zenani, who died in a car crash on the way home from a tournament-eve concert in Soweto.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation said the tragedy “made it inappropriate” for the former president, who is 91, to attend the opening ceremony in Johannesburg.

That's a shame considering how much Nelson Mandela represents to South Africa and how this should be one of his finest moments. Prayers go out to him, and the good things that people say about this man are too hard to count. Sad day.

Shot Doctor

Wally West, left, works with Robert Faoa of Ronan during the Shot Docter basketball camp being held this Thursday and Friday at Ronan High School. West came from Georgia and was the fifth-round draft pick by the Utah Jazz in 1980. West played college ball at Boston College under Rick Pitino.

New Marlins stadium has weird feature

All these new Major League ballparks have gone retro, featuring unique quirks and aspects that make them stand out from the rest. It's certainly better than the cookie-cutter stadiums of the 60s and 70s, although it would be nice if they didn't cost tax-payers an arm and a leg.

The Marlins new stadium takes the cake for a unique quirk. They're installing an aquarium backstop. What?

The two giant aquariums will be located on either side of home plate, but not directly behind it. And no worries on a Faith No More-type situation with a fish flopping around on the ground and gasping for air because the aquariums will be constructed with shatterproof glass.
MLB.com has more details:

"Each aquarium will be constructed using a durable fiberglass structure, and white crystal-clear acrylic panels 1.5 inches thick will be used for the viewing windows. To safeguard it from impact, Lexan — the material used for bulletproof windows — will be installed in front and in back of the acrylic panels."

The aquariums will hold 600 and 450 gallons, but will sadly not be big enough for a real marlin.

This makes me think they should have Grizzly Bears at UM's home stadium.

Morning coffee... June 11, 2010

Boise State has left the WAC conference for the Mountain West Conference, leaving many wondering what other schools will make a move in the college football landscape.

Colorado and now Boise State have made changes, who is next? I can only expect the names of the schools to get bigger and more numerous. Ready for college football to change forever?

Montana college sports

Montana's Drennen finishes seventh in 1,500 meter event at Nationals - MontanaGrizzlies.com
The farthest I've ever ran is to the fridge. Seriously, distance running is the last thing you'll see a journalist doing. Buying a donut at the bakery across the street? Bingo.

Watch them set up the MSU basketball floor on YouTube
Sorry I don't have any Bobcat news at the moment. Forgive me.

Local-ish news

MMA bouts planned in Kalispel tonight - The Daily Interlake
Things you will not see me do... get in the octagon.

National news

South Africa ties Mexico 1-1 in the World Cup opener
For those of you that follow soccer, the WORLD CUP IS HERE!!!!