I'm not sure what all the fuss was about. The Wyoming men's basketball team hasn't lost a game that I have been at this season.
OK, Saturday was the first game that I watched in person this season.
Considering that I covered in the neighborhood of 500 Cowboys basketball games in the A-A in my previously illustrious or lackluster sportswriting career (depending on who you ask), I'm wondering what took me so long this season?
What did I miss? Evidently, I'm in that new Geico commercial where there's a guy living under a rock.
Actually, I know what I have not been there to witness. Hey, I got the Internet, you know.
If it's on the Internet, then it has to be true.
It's been a long, strange trip to my first Cowboys game this season, and I'm not talking a Jerry Garcia trip. Between working as a news copy editor at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and traveling back and forth to Denver to be with my wife who has been in various hospitals since October, I just haven't been able to make it.
In fact, I've been to just one Cowgirls game this season as well. Now that I think of it, the Cowgirls haven't lost a game that I sat courtside at this season. Maybe I should go to more, although the home schedule is down to just a couple of games remaining.
With that said, I probably got a few "didn't you used to be Richard Anderson" glances from formerly fellow media, sports information workers and maybe even a few fans in the stands. Not my fans mind you, but UW basketball fans.
No longer with the luxury of media parking, I had to walk a distance to my car and head over the hill to Cheyenne after the game. Instead of adjourning to the media room for the various interviews with players and coach, I had to settle for the tail-end of the Cowboys broadcast on the radio.
In doing that, I had my lead written, if I were to write.
Granted, the Cowboys' 77-67 win over TCU was nothing to write home about. And remember, Wyoming and TCU were playing to get out of last place, at least for a few days.
Wyoming can now proadly proclaim that it is No. 9 in the Mountain West Conference, which is way better than No. 10.
At the same time, it was nice to see the Cowboys make the plays down the stretch, something I have heard them not do on the radio this season and something I have not read them do in the various media reports.
I also saw a lot of smiles, on and off the court, which is a jolt of adrenalin that doesn't involve Red Bull. Maybe, just maybe, there is some optimism for the Cowboys in the future.
I remind you that TCU is 1-10 in league play, to 2-9 for Wyoming.
We'll see what happens down the stretch. The Cowboys were able to break an eight-game skid which transpired to over a month since their last victory. Now all they have to do is end a 19-game losing streak on the road when they travel to Salt Lake City Wednesday to face the Utah Utes.
What's this I hear that Utah and BYU won't be in the Mountain West Conference next season? That darn rock.
There, I made it through this whole blog without mentioning the Heath Schroyer firing.
Well, almost.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Why I'm a Packers fan
Growing up in South Dakota and living in Wyoming for over half of my adult life, I'm often asked why I'm a Green Bay Packers fan.
Most sports fans follow a team for a specific reason. I have a specific reason. I follow the Packers because of my dad.
My father, who passed away in 2002, was not a huge football fan. He loved to hunt and fish. He was more of a doer than a watcher. When he watched sports on TV, it was mostly boxing. Actually, he watched a lot of boxing on TV.
The problem with watching football on Sunday for my dad was that it interfered with deer hunting. That might have been my problem with deer hunting ... it interfered with football.
There was one game, in particular, that I do remember my dad watching. It was on Dec. 31, 1967.
If you're a real football fan or just a real Packers fan, you know what game I'm talking about - the "Ice Bowl" between the Packers and the Dallas Cowboys for the NFL Championship. The game proved to be one of the most famous games in NFL history.
What I remember the most about the game was not the minus 15 degree weather the game was played in, hence the name, the "Ice Bowl," or Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr's famous touchdown sneak off the block of Jerry Kramer to beat the Cowboys 21-17.
I watched the game, along with my family and others at a New Year's Eve (day) party at a neighbors cabin in the Black Hills. Many of the party-goers mentioned that they were rooting for the Cowboys. Someone asked my father who he was rooting for.
"I'm from Wisconsin, of course I'm rooting for the Packers," my dad responded.
That's all an 8-year-old needed to know. If the Packers were good enough for my dad, they were good enough for me.
I also remember that many of the party-goers went snowmobiling at halftime. What? Snowmobiling? The game's not over. Are you nuts?
When Green Bay beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday for its fourth Super Bowl title and 13th championship as a franchise, I naturally thought of all of the years of being a Packers fan.
I remember crying the night Vince Lombardi died, even though my then 11-year-old mind thought he was a traitor for leaving Green Bay for Washington. I remember some very bad Green Bay teams after that. Yet, I always believed the Packers would win no matter what.
I remember wearing out a green sweatshirt with the number 86 on it. It wasn't really that close to looking like a Packers jersey, but I pretended it was and I was wide receiver Boyd Dowler, who wore number 86 for the Packers in the Lombardi years. Dowler caught a lot of touchdown passes in my back yard from Bart Starr. I remember liking running back Donny Anderson because ... his last name was Anderson.
I remember being excited when a young quarterback by the name of Brett Favre started throwing touchdown passes to Sterling Sharpe in the early 90s. The Packers were finally winners again, culminating with bringing the Lombardi Trophy back home in 1997 by beating New England 35-21 in Super Bowl XXXI.
The Lombardi Trophy is back where it belongs and I'm reminded, 43 years later, why I'm a Packers fan.
My dad is from Wisconsin, of course I'm rooting for the Packers.
Most sports fans follow a team for a specific reason. I have a specific reason. I follow the Packers because of my dad.
My father, who passed away in 2002, was not a huge football fan. He loved to hunt and fish. He was more of a doer than a watcher. When he watched sports on TV, it was mostly boxing. Actually, he watched a lot of boxing on TV.
The problem with watching football on Sunday for my dad was that it interfered with deer hunting. That might have been my problem with deer hunting ... it interfered with football.
There was one game, in particular, that I do remember my dad watching. It was on Dec. 31, 1967.
If you're a real football fan or just a real Packers fan, you know what game I'm talking about - the "Ice Bowl" between the Packers and the Dallas Cowboys for the NFL Championship. The game proved to be one of the most famous games in NFL history.
What I remember the most about the game was not the minus 15 degree weather the game was played in, hence the name, the "Ice Bowl," or Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr's famous touchdown sneak off the block of Jerry Kramer to beat the Cowboys 21-17.
I watched the game, along with my family and others at a New Year's Eve (day) party at a neighbors cabin in the Black Hills. Many of the party-goers mentioned that they were rooting for the Cowboys. Someone asked my father who he was rooting for.
"I'm from Wisconsin, of course I'm rooting for the Packers," my dad responded.
That's all an 8-year-old needed to know. If the Packers were good enough for my dad, they were good enough for me.
I also remember that many of the party-goers went snowmobiling at halftime. What? Snowmobiling? The game's not over. Are you nuts?
When Green Bay beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday for its fourth Super Bowl title and 13th championship as a franchise, I naturally thought of all of the years of being a Packers fan.
I remember crying the night Vince Lombardi died, even though my then 11-year-old mind thought he was a traitor for leaving Green Bay for Washington. I remember some very bad Green Bay teams after that. Yet, I always believed the Packers would win no matter what.
I remember wearing out a green sweatshirt with the number 86 on it. It wasn't really that close to looking like a Packers jersey, but I pretended it was and I was wide receiver Boyd Dowler, who wore number 86 for the Packers in the Lombardi years. Dowler caught a lot of touchdown passes in my back yard from Bart Starr. I remember liking running back Donny Anderson because ... his last name was Anderson.
I remember being excited when a young quarterback by the name of Brett Favre started throwing touchdown passes to Sterling Sharpe in the early 90s. The Packers were finally winners again, culminating with bringing the Lombardi Trophy back home in 1997 by beating New England 35-21 in Super Bowl XXXI.
The Lombardi Trophy is back where it belongs and I'm reminded, 43 years later, why I'm a Packers fan.
My dad is from Wisconsin, of course I'm rooting for the Packers.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Thanks for the call; up next is Bill from Aurora
After spending much of the last two-plus weeks in Denver attending to my wife who has been hospitalized for various health problems, including an emergency surgery, I was able to take in my fair share of sports talk radio.
Early on I listened to Jim Rome, but then I realized I wasn't cool enough to understand what the hell he was talking about. I then concentrated on local sports talk radio. As a former sports talk radio guy myself, I listened to the three different sports talk radio outlets with interest.
As it turned out, it was a pretty good time to listen to Denver sports radio, with John Elway joining the Broncos front office, the hiring of John Fox as the team's new head coach and the never-ending Carmelo Anthony trade talks.
Early on in my stay, the talk was all about the candidates for the job. Of course, there were plenty of possibilities mentioned. Jim Harbaugh was one of the flavors of the day, then not a right fit. Of couse, there were the early calls that the Broncos should go after Bill Cowher or John Gruden. That idea in particular still makes me laugh.
Elway joined the Broncos front office just as I began my daily trek from the motel to the hospital, back to the motel, back to the hospital and then back to the motel, hence hearing to the same thing from different hosts from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 1-5 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.
The talk began with Elway being the Broncos savior, then a buffoon for not being able to get Harbaugh, to being brilliant again for hiring Fox.
Many of the same callers who scoffed at the idea of Fox becoming the head coach were suddenly praising him like he was their choice all along. My favorite caller is the guy who waits a half hour to get on the show and then repeats exactly what the host had just said, almost word for word
Thanks for the call.
It proved to be an interesting listen for a couple of reasons. It briefly got my mind off of problems with my wife's health, albeit briefly during the 10-minute drive. Walking back into the ICU, seeing your wife on a ventilator in critical condition quickly forces you to refocus.
Also, I'm not a Broncos' fan, so I really didn't have any stake in this issue, which is often like watching the Super Bowl when you really don't care who wins or loses because your team is not playing.
And before I forget, it's the Super Bowl, not the Superbowl. Sorry, I'm scratching a pet-peeve itch.
My wife is doing better, thank God, but she still is in the hospital in Denver and will likely be in one facility or another there for a long time, so I might as well keep those stations saved on my radio dial.
With that said, I'm likely to recognize some of the same callers who didn't want John Fox hired, then agreed that he was a great hire and now will criticize his every move and wonder why the Broncos didn't hire Cowher or Gruden.
And that's just Bill from Aurora's opinion ... today.
Oh yeah, and nobody really cares about Carmelo Anthony.
Early on I listened to Jim Rome, but then I realized I wasn't cool enough to understand what the hell he was talking about. I then concentrated on local sports talk radio. As a former sports talk radio guy myself, I listened to the three different sports talk radio outlets with interest.
As it turned out, it was a pretty good time to listen to Denver sports radio, with John Elway joining the Broncos front office, the hiring of John Fox as the team's new head coach and the never-ending Carmelo Anthony trade talks.
Early on in my stay, the talk was all about the candidates for the job. Of course, there were plenty of possibilities mentioned. Jim Harbaugh was one of the flavors of the day, then not a right fit. Of couse, there were the early calls that the Broncos should go after Bill Cowher or John Gruden. That idea in particular still makes me laugh.
Elway joined the Broncos front office just as I began my daily trek from the motel to the hospital, back to the motel, back to the hospital and then back to the motel, hence hearing to the same thing from different hosts from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 1-5 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.
The talk began with Elway being the Broncos savior, then a buffoon for not being able to get Harbaugh, to being brilliant again for hiring Fox.
Many of the same callers who scoffed at the idea of Fox becoming the head coach were suddenly praising him like he was their choice all along. My favorite caller is the guy who waits a half hour to get on the show and then repeats exactly what the host had just said, almost word for word
Thanks for the call.
It proved to be an interesting listen for a couple of reasons. It briefly got my mind off of problems with my wife's health, albeit briefly during the 10-minute drive. Walking back into the ICU, seeing your wife on a ventilator in critical condition quickly forces you to refocus.
Also, I'm not a Broncos' fan, so I really didn't have any stake in this issue, which is often like watching the Super Bowl when you really don't care who wins or loses because your team is not playing.
And before I forget, it's the Super Bowl, not the Superbowl. Sorry, I'm scratching a pet-peeve itch.
My wife is doing better, thank God, but she still is in the hospital in Denver and will likely be in one facility or another there for a long time, so I might as well keep those stations saved on my radio dial.
With that said, I'm likely to recognize some of the same callers who didn't want John Fox hired, then agreed that he was a great hire and now will criticize his every move and wonder why the Broncos didn't hire Cowher or Gruden.
And that's just Bill from Aurora's opinion ... today.
Oh yeah, and nobody really cares about Carmelo Anthony.
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