Here are a few e-mails I've gotten so far this morning. I'm not screening them, not putting only the ones that agreed with me, just dumping all of them on here. If you missed the column, it concerned Fresno State misusing donations. I swear, it's not as boring as that description sounds.

Plenty of response, including my voice mail being so jammed that I had to erase some of my old classic messages, the guy who always apologizes for leaving a message (usually at 3 a.m.) then talks for 10 minutes and calls back three times, and the guy who calls every day just to chat -- with the machine.

A slow start Saturday night wasn't enough to stop Fresno State from beating Louisiana Tech 70-64 at the Save Mart Center.

Quinton Hosley scored a game-high 19 points. Eddie Miller scored 17 points. Dominic McGuire added 13.

Forward Chad McKenzie scored 13 points in the first half Saturday night to give Louisiana Tech a 35-33 halftime lead over Fresno State at the Save Mart Center.

Quinton Hosley scored 13 points for Fresno State.

The Fresno State women's basketball team lost to host Louisiana Tech 78-40 Saturday despite the return of Tierre Wilson (injury) and Jenny Thigpin (academics).

Paige Diggs led the Bulldogs, who shot 13 of 50 from the floor, with 10 points.

This was supposed to be a banner season for the Bulldogs and a down year for Louisiana Tech. Their records have proved otherwise.

Fresno State lost last night at Boise State http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070126/SPORTS/701260362/1029/SPORTS0203, and is now 3-4 in the Western Athletic Conference. Tech fell 84-67 at No. 18 Nevada, but still holds an impressive 4-3 conference record.

The Fresno State women's basketball team lost to Nevada 68-61 Thursday in a Western Athletic Conference game at the Save Mart Center.

Chantella Perera led the Bulldogs with 33 points.

Fresno State (11-8 overall, 4-2 WAC) visits Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

BOISE, Idaho -- Fresno State fell to 3-4 in the Western Athletic Conference on Thursday night after losing 65-61 to Boise State at Taco Bell Arena.

BOISE, Idaho -- The Fresno State Bulldogs, playing without senior guard Ja'Vance Coleman, trail Boise State 32-29 at halftime Thursday night at Taco Bell Arena.

Fresno State senior center Jenny Thigpin sat out Thursday's women's basketball game against Nevada as penalty for briefly not being officially enrolled for the spring semester.

Thigpin played against San Jose State last Thursday when she was in the process of changing her class schedule. She had dropped a class and had not yet added another, and was under the 12 units needed for eligibility.

The former Hanford High star since has completed enrollment and will rejoin the Bulldogs on Saturday for their game at Louisiana Tech. She recently had worked her way back into the starting lineup and was averaging 7.2 points and 5.5 rebounds.

"This was an unfortunate circumstance and does not reflect the quality of student Jenny is," said Bulldogs coach Adrian Wiggins in a news release before Thursday's game at the Save Mart Center. "Jenny is a very good student, on track to graduate in May, and we are looking forward to getting her back on the court for Saturday's game."

Fresno State reported the situation to the Western Athletic Conference and the NCAA, which made the determination to sit Thigpin one game.

Here's a story from the Idaho Statesman, the newspaper that covers Boise State men's basketball.

Beat writer Nick Jezierny writes about the 3-point shot and its impact on both teams: http://www.idahostatesman.com/104/story/68763.html

Now I know what it feels like to run through the airport like you're nuts ...

It all started this morning. The alarm on my cell phone woke me up at 5:45 a.m. I was out the door 10 minutes later, in good shape to catch a 7 a.m. flight to Seattle, en route to Boise, Idaho.

How long did you expect it to take pro scouts to notice Dominic McGuire?

Not too long. Here's a story from a pro basketball scouting Web site:
http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=1523

The stage is set, Bears vs. Colts. Will this be a good Super Bowl?

During Monday night's game, Bee columnist Matt James asked me what was stopping Fresno State from reaching the Top 25.

I pointed to San Jose State's Menelik Barbary.

At 6-foot-10, Barbary can score inside and alter shots. If he spent the season in a Bulldogs jersey, Fresno State would be at the top of the Western Athletic Conference and on the cusp of an NCAA Tournament run.

Eddie Miller blocked Menelik Barbary's dunk with 25 seconds left to seal a 67-64 win Monday night at the Save Mart Center.

Miller finished with 12 points, all 3-pointers. Quinton Hosley led all scorers with 17 points. Dominic McGuire scored 15 points with 13 rebounds.

San Jose State had its best first-half shooting performance of the season and Fresno State had one of its worst Monday night as the Bulldogs trail 34-30 at halftime.

The Spartans converted 48.3% of their shots. Fresno State, in danger of losing its fourth consecutive game, shot 32.4%.

Here's some more facts about senior guard Ajay Riding. I wrote a story about him in Sunday's Fresno Bee:

The Fresno State women's basketball team defeated host San Jose State 70-63 Thursday in a Western Athletic Conference game.

Tierre Wilson led the Bulldogs with 17 points and Chantella Perera added 15 as Fresno State improved to 4-1 in the WAC and 11-7 overall. Paige Diggs added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Jenny Thigpin had a team-high 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Next up for the Bulldogs is a home game against Nevada next Thursday.

Nick Fazekas scored 20 points during Thursday night's return to action, and the No. 15 Nevada Wolf Pack remained undefeated in the WAC with an 85-75 win against Fresno State.

Nevada improved to 17-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play.

Nevada's Marcelus Kemp led all scorers with 22 points.
The Bulldogs shot 37.7% from the field. Dominic McGuire led Fresno State (13-5, 2-3) with 19 points.

How talented is the Nevada men's basketball team Fresno State plays tonight?

If the college basketball season ended today, senior forward Nick Fazekas would finish in the top five -- if not second or third -- in Player of the Year honors. His teammate, Marcelus Kemp, would be named Western Athletic Conference MVP.

That's why earlier this week, Bulldogs coach Steve Cleveland said Fresno State could play its best game of the season at Lawlor Events Center, and still lose. That's not a slight to the Bulldogs; it just so happens that Nevada is one of the best teams in the nation.

SAN JOSE -- San Jose State upset Fresno State 64-61 on Saturday evening at The Event Center to end a 15-game losing streak against the Bulldogs. Guard Carlton Spencer led the Spartans with 20 points. He also had eight rebounds and five assists.

SAN JOSE -- Ja'Vance Coleman scored 10 first-half points against San Jose State, and Fresno State leads 31-29 at halftime Saturday afternoon.

Quinton Hosley also scored seven points in the first half. Julian Richardson leads San Jose State with eight points.

The Fresno State women's basketball team nearly blew an 11-point halftime lead, but used the overtime period to defeat visiting Hawaii 75-69 Saturday.

Senior guard Chantella Perera scored a career-high 28 points for the Bulldogs (10-7 overall, 3-1 Western Athletic Conference). Junior guard Tierre Wilson added 20 points, including 13 in the first half when Fresno State built a 34-23 lead.

Fresno State travels to San Jose State next Thursday for an 8 p.m. game. The Bulldogs defeated the Spartans at the Save Mart Center earlier this week 61-36.

I'm sitting in the Honolulu Airport this afternoon, waiting for my flight to San Jose. I discovered the flight will be delayed at least one hour. I'd rather be surfing than sitting here, but this is a good time to update the blog.

The Fresno State men's basketball team was blown out in its trip to Hawaii on Thursday, losing to the Rainbow Warriors 83-66.

The loss dropped the Bulldogs to 2-1 in the Western Athletic Conference and 13-3 overall. Hawaii improved to 1-2 and 10-6.

The Bulldogs, who have lost five of their past six games in Honolulu, dug an 8-0 deficit to start the game and never recovered. They shot 30% in the first half and trailed 44-24 at halftime. In the second half, they trailed by as many as 28 points.

"Everything they shot went in early on," Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland said. "They just manhandled us."

Eddie Miller led Fresno State, which visits San Jose State at 3 p.m. Saturday, with 13 points.

Dominic Waters led Hawaii with 15 points, while Bobby Nash added 14.

The Fresno State men's basketball team got off to a slow start at Hawaii, trailing 44-24 at halftime.

The Fresno State women's basketball team had an easy time with San Jose State on Thursday at the Save Mart Center, defeating the Spartans 61-36 in a Western Athletic Conference game.

Tierre Wilson scored 15 of her game-high 17 points during a first half in which Frenso State built a 31-18 halftime lead. Wilson also had team-highs in rebounds (8), assists (6) and steals (5). Chantella Perera added 12 points.

The victory improved the Bulldogs to 2-1 in the WAC and 9-7 overall. San Jose State fell to 0-3, 1-16.

The Bulldogs' homestand continues Saturday, when they host Hawaii at 1 p.m.

Was it everything it was cracked up to be? Do we need a playoff now? Does Boise State deserve a share of the championship? And, most importantly, how did two of our Bowl-o-Rama leaders do with their pre-game analysis?

Please, comment away.

So I was doing a winter cleaning of my desk at The Bee and came across a promotional DVD for Ian Johnson's Heisman candidacy. (Also, got a new portable DVD player for Christmas, so wanted to take that for a test-drive.)

Probably should have watched it before the voting actually occurred, but I don't get a vote anyway, so I guess my copy was not Boise State booster money well spent.

Since Fresno State didn't play its best game against Idaho, perhaps Idaho coach George Pfiefer's opinion could be a little skewed. But after Nevada's Saturday evening dismantling of the Vandals, Pfiefer told the AP, "This is far and away the best team we've played ... They are solid. They do everything well."

Fresno State will get a chance to prove him wrong Jan. 18.

Ja'Vance Coleman scored 16 points in his return to the starting lineup Saturday night and Fresno State held on late as the Bulldogs improved to 2-0 in conference play with a 79-70 win against Utah State.

Dominic McGuire led Fresno State in scoring with 19 points. Kevin Bell and Quinton Hosley added 15.

The Fresno State women's basketball team lost at Utah State 81-75 in overtime Saturday to drop to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in the Western Athletic Conference.

Fresno State rallied from a 36-30 halftime deficit to force overtime. But the Aggies (5-9, 1-1) outscored the Bulldogs 15-10 in the overtime.

Fresno State next hosts San Jose State at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Dominic McGuire scored 13 points and Ja'Vance Coleman added eight points in his return to the starting lineup as Fresno State leads Utah State 46-29 at halftime Saturday night.

Coleman helped the Bulldogs hold Utah State's Jaycee Carroll to seven points on 1 of 5 shooting from the field. Carroll entered the WAC game averaging 20.9 points.

By Daniel Lyght
The Fresno Bee

Matt James wrote about the lack of fire from Bulldogs players in Friday's paper. And he's right. They do lack visible passion.

But I'd also like to see a little more "swag." Swagger like that of Washington Wizard and former Golden State Warrior Gilbert Arenas -- if only for entertainment's sake.

In case you missed today's Fresno Bee, coach Steve Cleveland wasn't pleased with his team's lack of effort early against Idaho. Here's more from the postgame press conference:

"From players to coaches to media, we tend to have a lack of respect for people. I see that everywhere. That's why there's upsets every night in college basketball. We talk about that. I think you must respect every opponent. It doesn't matter what you've seen on the television, heard on the radio or read in the newspaper. The bottom line is that you have to go out and compete for the full 40 minutes, no matter who you're playing, or what the circumstances are.

"Whether you're playing Nevada or San Jose (State) or Boise (State) or Idaho, it does not make a difference. It doesn't matter your talent level if you're not mentally and emotionally prepared to play."

Fresno State needed a halftime speech and a second-half surge last night to put away Idaho. The Vandals entered the Save Mart Center with just two wins this season, both against the same team (South Dakota State).

After watching the Bulldogs in their WAC opener, are they good enough to win a home-and-away series with Nevada, Hawaii or New Mexico?

Four Western Athletic Conference games were held Thursday night, and in all four cases, the home team won.
This is called home-field advantage:

Fresno State 60, Idaho 41
Louisiana Tech 92, San Jose State 56
Boise State 77, Utah State 66
New Mexico State 92, Hawai'i 86

That's why the team that wins six to seven WAC home games and about four (out of eight) road games will find itself competing for the WAC's regular-season title in late February.

Forward Quinton Hosley missed a Save Mart Center single-game rebounding record by one Thursday night as the Bulldogs cruised 60-41 against Idaho at the Save Mart Center.

Hosley finished with 10 points and 16 rebounds. Kevin Bell led Fresno State in scoring with 14 points. Hector Hernandez added 11.

Hector Hernandez scored 11 points Thursday night as the Bulldogs lead Idaho at halftime, 29-21.

Quinton Hosley scored just two points (0 of 4 shooting from the field) but already has 11 rebounds. Fresno State shot 37.5% from the field.

Keoni Watson leads Idaho with 10 points. Idaho shot 32% from the field.

Fresno State center James Tchana, who has spent the last eight days at Saint Agnes Medical Center, checked out Thursday morning.

When the season started, I was most excited to see what senior forward Quinton Hosley could do.

Now, I'm just as excited to see junior forward Dominic McGuire throw a dunk down or throw an opponent's shot back into his face.

McGuire -- who may be stealing some of Hosley's shine in his final season -- doesn't need to be looking ahead to post-collegiate opportunities, but this season has me wondering if NBA scouts are pleased with some of the things McGuire's done thus far:

Playoff scenarios are set and it's time for some predictions. So, which teams get to the Super Bowl, the winner and why?