Optimistic but realistic

I don't know if there is any real significance to the words, "optimistic but realistic."

Optimistic but realistic, however, is how my wife, Teresa, and I go into each day. Many of you know that Teresa is battling serious health issues that have basically left her a paraplegic. You can read further posts in this blog to get the details if you are unaware of her plight.

When I say optimistic but realistic, I mean exactly that. We're optimistic that Teresa will get better. At the same time, we're realistic knowing that the best that she could do is just get around in a wheelchair. Reality could likely keep her in a paraplegic state the rest of the her life. Her health issues are that serious.

With that said, lately Teresa has tried to stay optimistic even though she has had days that have set her back, both physically and mentally.

I guess you could say that Monday was one of those days. A rheumatoid arthritis specialist came in to see her at the hospital in Denver, and after a complete examination, he basically told her that she probably won't walk again.

Talk about a hard dose of reality that feels like a punch to the jaw. While we have known for a long time that that is a possibility, it is still hard to hear those words spoken from another, especially a doctor.

It didn't help that I was at work in Cheyenne. From what I could tell, Teresa took the news about how you would expect. She was upset, sad and probably a little mad.

Yet, she is still optimistic that she will get better, even if she is a realist knowing that she may never walk again. She is preparing physically and mentally for both situations, at least as much as a person can prepare.

Later on Monday, Teresa texted me and said she was watching a cooking show, Master Chef  (over the Bachelorette ), to try to lift her spirits. I texted back, "good choice."

When Teresa was home, she watched The Food Network like I watched ESPN. Believe me, I never complained about her cooking experimentation from watching various shows.

As it turned out, the show got her fired up. "I can't wait to cook for you again," she texted.

"I can't wait either," I answered.

Will our lives ever be the same? Probably not. That doesn't mean we can't live them to our fullest and that is why Teresa is optimistic but realistic for her future. We're both excited and scared at the same time.

Teresa may never walk again and we know it. Tuesday could be a good day or it could be a bad day. We know that too. We take it one-day-at-a time; that's all we can do.

If she doesn't walk again, however, it won't be from a lack of effort. It may be realistic, but Teresa is why I am optimistic.

Bold, feisty and highly competitive

Officially, the Mountain West Conference calls it the new brand direction and conference identity.

It looks to me like it is just a silly logo.

I do get it. The conference is changing. Out with BYU and Utah this year and out with TCU next year. In with Boise State in less than a month (July 1) and in with Fresno State and Nevada, along with Hawaii (football only) in a couple of years.

So yes, there are changes to the conference. I'm just not sure why the logo had to be changed. Bear with me. There apparentlty is perfect logic to this madness.

First, lets start with the new logo. The logo is nicknamed "The Rock" and a new tagline is "This is our time."

I'm wondering, though, how the new logo came about. According to a news release, the conference "solicited the opinions of more than 8,000 constituents including members of the Mountain West Board of Directors, athletic administrators, coaches, fans and members of the media."

And this is what they came up with from 8,000 constituents.

"This initiative is emblematic of the evolution of our league," MWC commissioner Craig Thompson said in a news conference televised by The Mtn. Monday from La Jolla, Calif. "The overwhelming majority of the people we spoke to said the Mountain West is bold, feisty and highly competitive, and we strongly believe these qualities are reflected in our new brand identity and our new logo."

I'm still looking at the new logo. Bold, feisty and highly competitive he says. Then again, I'm not sure how you turn a logo into highly competitive. There must be a way.

The conference, however, is not just about that bold, feisty and highly competitive new logo and tagline. Of course it's not. According to the news release, the changes in the Mountain West extend "far beyond the logo that will adorn uniforms and playing surfaces throughout the league."

 Beginning in July, an expanding fan base will also be able to experience new digital initiatives, including more original content on a re-designed Mountain West web site (www.TheMWC.com) and on social media platforms. The league has also tapped Loma Media, a nationwide creative services entity, to upgrade its advertising and outreach strategies. Loma Media will employ an NFL Films-style look and feel to the Conference's television, radio and print campaigns and will produce motion media content for all platforms on a monthly basis.

Ok, I can dig that. Keep going.

The unique logo itself is a strong symbol of a league on the rise, invoking comparisons to stately campus buildings and the Rock of Gibraltar. It is unlike any other conference mark. Reflecting the expanded membership from the mountains to the ocean and addressing the previous prevalence of mountain imagery and word marks, the letters representing 'Mountain' and 'West' are given equal weight and dimension.

"Our fans were right in noting that our evolving membership and geography reflect both 'Mountain' and 'West' equally," Thompson said. "The logo is bold, strong and balanced just like our league. We like the fact that it's instantly recognizable to fans on either side of the playing field."

I think that says it all. It's the recipe of new success in the Mountain West Conference.

Just the right amount of mountain and just the right amount of west.

Local sports guy not contacted about Jim Tressel

In what has been billed as an obvious oversight, several national media outlets, including ESPN, Fox Sports and Sports Illustrated, have failed to contact former Laramie, Wyo., sportswriter and current part-time blogger Richard Anderson on the Ohio State scandal and resignation of ex coach Jim Tressel.

Anderson, who is currently a news copy editor for the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in Cheyenne, Wyo., has remained relatively quiet on the scandal, but has been overheard talking about the situation in the newsroom of the Tribune Eagle and to the physical therapist for his wife, Teresa, who is currently in the hospital in Denver.

Anderson admits he is a little perplexed about not being contacted by national media on the situation, but understands that almost every expert in the sports field has to give his/her opinion nationally before they get to him.

"I understand how the game is played," Anderson said in a news release on Sunday. "I've heard my exact opinion several times on the radio, on television and in the print media. It does bother me a little that no one has contacted me about Jim Tressel, but Laramie isn't Columbus (Ohio), so it is understandable."

When asked about his views on Tressel, Anderson only shrugged his shoulders and said he has to prepare for work and putting together the obituary page for the Tribune Eagle.

Anderson indicated that he would comment no further on the situation ... "unless Scott Van Pelt calls me about it."