Here's the thing about women ... (Oh, the dangerous possibilities that could follow that intro)

Women like to feel dainty. I'm generalizing. Perhaps female bodybuilders do not want to feel dainty, I don't know. You often see them dating even more gigantic, muscular male body builders, so probably even they want to feel some level of daintiness. This holds true for the majority of women I know, especially ones who consider themselves tall or big-boned. They do not want to date someone like me because I'm short and 150 pounds while holding a toddler, and that would make them, by comparison, feel big and bloated and awkwardly tall, not unlike the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man*. Even if they are in no way big or bloated or awkwardly tall, it's self-perception, usually the worst perception there is.

*One of my favorite movie lines is in that scene when the Mallow Man appears and there's just graveyard silence and "Dr." Peter Venkman says, "Well there's something you don't see every day." So many classic lines in "Ghostbusters." Another favorite: when Harold Ramis is explaining what will happen if they cross the streams, something about all life as they know it ending and every molecule in their bodies exploding, and Venkman goes, "Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon." Of the 100 funniest movie lines in history, Bill Murray has to have five.

The dainty factor is why THIS story about the Lopez twins at Stanford should come as no real threat to anyone's pacemaker. What we're referring to, is the fun little nugget halfway down about the fact that Robin (the one with big hair*) Lopez is dating professional golfer Michelle Wie. She's something like 6-foot-1, so it would take a pretty large person to dwarf her. But she found the guy, 7-foot-1 Robin, a man so large Batman would have to be HIS sidekick. (This is all pointless speculation, of course, Maybe she loves Robin's personality but wishes he was 5-7.)

Having interviewed both the Lopez twins when they were at Memorial High in Fresno, and then at Stanford, it's a little tough to imagine either of them dating. And I mean that as a compliment. They were not the kind of guys who chased the homecoming queen or the head cheerleader. They had tons of friends, which were more likely to be band geeks and chess club members as they were athletes. They're refreshing, just kinda big, goofy, naive, innocent, shy guys; into comics and cartoons and all that. Not the stuff chicks dig. Especially a chick whose public perception is pretty much the opposite of that. Wie, according to an estimate by Fortune Magazine* made $19.5 million in endorsements last year. She allegedly faked an injury in a tournament to avoid shooting a score that would have gotten her banned from the LPGA Tour. Her dad can be overbearing and overprotective. She's gone through nine caddies in the last few years. She plays on exemptions instead of actually having to qualify for the LPGA. Let's just say it. She seems a little high-maintainance. Not the girl I pictured Robin with, but considering his look and size, it's kinda hard to imagine him with anyone.

As I always say when love is in the air, good luck and get prenups.

Posted by Matt James at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here's the story of what happened to Fresno State linebacker Ryan Machado this offseason. In this blog headline I wrote "sources" because it makes it sound cooler, like maybe wire taps and C.I.A. spies were involved, but it was really just coaches and PR people and someone involved with medicine. How's that for vague?

Apparently, Machado slipped on a step at the Save Mart Center and -- these are the words of Steve Weakland, the Fresno State director of media relations -- "re-did some damage" to the ACL he tore last year at Nevada. I do not know when this occurred or what event he was attending at the Save Mart Center. Billy Joel concert? Women's basketball game? Tattoo exhibition? I have no idea. My sources aren't big on details. I'm trying to find new sources as we speak.

Wednesday was the first spring football practice and Fresno State coach Pat Hill wouldn't say that Machado is out for the season. Since the injury happened midway through last season, it was going to be tight for Machado to return anyway, so you'd have to assume he won't play in 2008. I could be wrong. He's a farm kid, and farm kids are tough. I'll ask again at practice today and see if I can get a dirty look, not that that will help us figure out who will be playing linebacker for the Bulldogs.

Right now the three starting linebackers will probably be Ben Jacobs in the middle, Quaadir Brown on the strong side and then a redshirt freshman on the weak side. I assume the better linebacker always plays on the strong side, but I honestly don't know that for sure. Here are the two leading contenders ...

Kyle Knox - 6-1, 215 pounds; Hometown - Los Angeles.
At one point Kyle was known as Kyle Smith, and I'm not sure why it was changed. Maybe because Kyle Knox sounds tougher. Absolutely everyone loves Kyle Knox, the player, not the name. He's the Jon Stewart of the 2008-2009 Bulldogs. No one is anti-Kyle Knox. I'm sure he's got a great "motor" or "upside" or whatever nonsense football coaches say when they're trying to compliment a player without sounding mushy. Just once I want to hear a coach say, "He hardly ever forgets to screw the gas cap back on after filling up. A lot of guys you'll see driving down the street with the flap closed and the gas cap just dangling in the wind. Not Kyle Knox. He's better than that. And that's why we love him."

Austin Raphael - 6-2, 225; Hometown - Jamestown, Calif.
Austin got hurt last summer in a high school all-star game of some sort. It was a shoulder, maybe an elbow. "Upper body" injury of some sort. (Again, sources are being flogged.) So he didn't play at all for the Bulldogs last fall. The media guide says Austin has great "explosiveness" and "playmaking ability" and "a 13-foot python that once got loose and ate 20 pounds of dogfood." OK, I made that last one up.

You might remember Brown had a run-in with the law last year, and some injuries, so he's perhaps not the most reliable. If Ben Jacobs gets hurt, the entire season is on the Titanic. Hill should put bodyguards around Jacobs at all times, even in practice. No one goes within a 10-foot halo of Jacobs, not even to hand him a water bottle. Not that you want to know this, but Jacobs back-up at this point is sophomore Nico Herron (6-3, 240), who missed half the season last year, and then played some special teams. He's probably a great player and even better guy, but no one on the coaching staff wants to see Nico starting at middle linebacker.

OK, off to practice where we will get some answers to these and other pressing matters concerning a season that is six months away.

Posted by Matt James at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Major League Baseball was plagued with allegations and controversy about performance-enhancing drugs last season. Do you think enough has been done to remove the unwanted dirt from MLB? Do you trust the integrity of the players, the union and league officials?

Posted by John Mincks at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm trying to understand why something happened the way it did. I've always been like that. It's hard for me to just accept that things are the way they are and move forward. "Just because!" is by far the meanest answer a parent can give. As a child, I needed to know why. The reason didn't entirely need to make sense, there just needed to be something, a string of somewhat-reasonable events that led to a result.

How, for instance, did Santa get down the chimney to deliver our presents, especially since we lived in a three-bedroom shack* in the middle of a Kansas wheat field? The house didn't even have a chimney. A chimney would have been too heavy, and our house would have fallen over like the Flintstones car when they delivered the rack of ribs.

(Promise if you stick this out we'll eventually get to Fresno State baseball.)

*There is no "I grew up poor" sob story here. It was definitely middle class. We had baseball mits. What else is there? I think all kids should spend at least part of their childhood growing up in a shack in a Kansas wheat field. It's good for the soul. Lots of soul in Kansas. Bob Dole did it and look how he turned out. War hero. Beautiful, charming wife. Extended professional career. In baseball terms, Bob was the Ted Williams of his era. Also, I think he would have been a first-rate president. My first ever presidential vote, in 1996, went to Mr. Dole. If he had won that election, I swear there would be world peace, zero hunger, and we'd have already inhabited neptune. (And you thought I couldn't avoid the obvious seventh-planet joke. Ha!) OK, where were we? Oh yeah, I also think everyone's first car* should be crappy enough that it needs some sort of regular repair that the father/son or father/daughter or mother/son (you get the idea) have to perform themselves. Oh, and oil changes. Kids should do their own oil changes. And blow out the air filter and check the tire pressure. I say "kids" because I was driving a tractor at age 12 and had a driver's license at 14, but I'm referring to pretty much any teenage year or younger.

But back to the shack in the field. This was a little white house built a long time ago, in the 1560s or something, with droopy tile ceilings, the kind you could throw sharp pencils at and they'd stick up there. Unfortunately, the roof leaked. Well this one winter, the snow on top of the roof piled up and as it melted, it leaked down through the roof and gathered above the tile ceiling. One night, my brother and I heard a crash and a scream I will never forget. The ceiling couldn't hold any more and my parents got a middle-of-the-night, no-warning ice bath from above. I cannot imagine how scary that must have been. They bulldozed that house a few years later. I still miss it a little.

Anyway, all I needed was a decent explanation for how Santa did it -- jets on his sleigh, moms and dads helping, a system of pullies and levers, whatever -- and I was fine with that. I didn't even mind being lied to, just as long as they kept it interesting. The single worst phrase of the 21st century is "It is what it is." Hate it. Who cares if it is what it is? How did it get that way? Why is it that way?

*My first car was a ... 1951 Chevrolet; tan, four-door, brakes usually worked, manufactured without seat belts or turn signals, gear shift on the steering column; "three on the tree," as they say. (You actually had to stick your arm out of the window and signal. It was awesome. And honestly, who needs seat belts when your car weighs 1,836,398,298,375,290,372 pounds?)

Fifth car ... 1997 Dodge Ram; easily my most beloved vehicle. We moved together from Kansas to Chicago, Chicago to Alabama, Alabama to Wisconsin, and then Wisconsin to California. They were all good times in the green machine. Will never forget driving down I-70, the tarp flapping and my possessions flying out into traffic. Mine was the short-bed and entirely dark green. Stereo system I put together myself, great tweeters that just blared the treble. I sold it when I moved to California and bought an engagement ring. Don't ever, ever do that. Somewhere, someone is rocking out in that truck and all I have is this blog. OK, that's not true. I have a car now, a fun car, but it just doesn't have character like these others Maybe someday.

The point of all of this is, I've been trying to figure out why the Fresno State baseball team has been so mediocre. It was supposed to be good. It had good returning pitching. It had good hitters. I swore in a column the Bulldogs were going to be good. Yet when the Bulldogs beat Cal-Poly Wednesday, 13-11, that was the first they've been at .500 since the first week of the season. They are 12-12 now. Let's try to figure out how this has happened.

It's especially remarkable when you consider how many quality starts the Bulldogs have gotten. As far as major league baseball is concerned, a quality start means going six innings and giving up three runs or less. In their 24 games, the Bulldogs have gotten 15 quality starts. If you were to adjust the quality-start standard for the college game -- which I think we should, to account for aluminum bats and shorter fences and just generally lesser defense -- by reducing the number of innings to five, then Fresno State would have two more. That's 17 quality starts of 24 total. If you look at the other seven, junior Justin Miller gave up just one run in 3 innings against UC-Davis, then he gave up two runs in 1 2/3 innings against Portland, then he gave up two runs in 4 1/3 against Hawaii (clearly, Justin Miller is built for the short, yet psuedo-quality, start), and finally, Holden Sprague gave up two runs in 4 innings against Cal-Poly.

What we're saying here, is that out of 24 starts, Fresno State starters have only really tanked three times. With as many home games as they've had (16), they should be 18-6-ish. AT LEAST. But they aren't. Obviously, something is going wrong. Let's start with relief pitching...

The Bulldogs have six pitchers who have strictly thrown in relief. Senior Brandon Burke has thrown most of the innings, 29 of them, with a 3.41 ERA, 16 K's and 9 walks. Not bad numbers. The other five -- junior Kris Tomlinson, freshman Jake Floethe, freshman Gene Escat, senior Jake Hower and senior Jason Breckley -- have together thrown 32 innings with an era of 10.125. Not sure why I needed to stretch it out to that third decimal point, it just seemed more dramatic. They have 23 walks in those 32 innings. Not quality relief work, by any stretch. There's a big part of the problem.

Before we forget, here are the starters' numbers ...

Tanner Scheppers - (Jr.; 6 starts, 6 appearances) - 1.89 ERA, 3-2 record, 55K, 9W
Justin Miller - (Jr.; 5 starts, 8 app.) - 2.05 ERA, 3-0 record, 20K, 16W
Holden Sprague - (Jr.; 3 starts, 10 app.) - 3.54 ERA, 0-2 record, 20K, 6W
Clayton Allison - (Sr.; 5 starts, 6 app.) - 3.82 ERA, 1-2 record, 16K, 6W
Justin Wilson - (Jr.; 5 starts, 6 app.) - 5.34 ERA, 2-3 record, 27K, 17W

Clearly, the starting pitchers are not the problem. Tanner Scheppers has been about as untouchable as your mom's good china. Secondly, I can't believe I have enough free time to calculate quality starts for all 24 of Fresno State's baseball games, but apparently I do. Just wait until tomorrow when we talk Bulldogs hitters. And, hopefully, we'll throw together some road/home and night/day statistical comparisons. One more time: tell your friends. More useless information, you will not find anywhere.

Posted by Matt James at 9:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The blog has received many, many upset emails concerning ESPN's or Comcast's or Dish Network's or whomever's snafu it was that led to Fresno State' first-round NCAA Tournament game not being televised in Fresno. Instead, everyone got to watch the George Washington women vs. the Auburn women, which in some countries is a punishment for moderate crimes, such as kidnapping or murder or conspiring to blow up the universe.

Not that the blog doesn't love George Washington ladies' hoops*.

*On the one-in-a-kabillion, Jim-Carrey-in-"Dumb-and-Dumber" chance that you didn't watch this one until the end, George Washington pulled it out, 66-56.

In a marketing/public-relations/just-generally-good-business sense sort of way, you'd think you'd want to televise the local team's game ... uh ... locally, but maybe that's why we're not in television. We just don't understand the technical subtleties of the industry. Here's the Fresno Bee story on what happened, not that it explains a lot. Shockingly, no executive was volunteering to run into the barbed wire fence for the good of the group. Doubtful that you'd want to read 2,000 words of sports fans complaining (not that it isn't justified), so we'll just post this one email ...

"Thanks so much ESPN2 and Comcast for bringing us a few seconds of the referees butts while they were looking at a replay of the Bulldogs first NCAA Game!

"Bob Francque
Clovis"

So there you have it. Even moms in Sacramento couldn't watch the game. And before we get too far away from this, can I just say that I'm going to start using the phrase "kick in the cup" on a regular basis? Kudos, Bob. Kudos.

He's right, though. Can you imagine if that game had gone to OT, or Fresno State had won, or there was a buzzerbeater? If you'd seen the game in person, as this blog did, you know how far that was from happening, but still, can you imagine? There would have been rioting* in the streets, I tell you. And so much for the national exposure this was supposed to give the program.

*Why is it that we feel the need to explain where rioting occurs? Like there are so many options than the streets for such ... [warning, warning, made-up word quickly approaching] ... shenanigannary, that we have to specify where it's taking place? Where else can you riot? Ice cream shops? Roller rinks? Back in the '60s, OK, people were rioting everywhere. Or at least protesting. These days, no one protests, and when we do, it isn't even creative. How about we just assume all rioting occurs on streets, unless otherwise designated.

If you were wondering, immediately after finishing a column, the blog was back on a plane from Albuquerque to Vegas, where the blog's sleep-deprived friends hardly noticed the return. I'm now back in Fresno, and can commence resting up for next year's Vegas trip.

Fresno State fans will be further frustrated to hear that all the blog's friends were able to watch the game in Las Vegas in the MGM sports book. There's one place it was actually shown. Not that the blog's friends were Fresno State fans, they just wanted to make sure there hadn't been an upset and I was actually coming back to Vegas. You may now begin hitting your head against the cold tile floor.

Posted by Matt James at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

DATE: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2008
WHERE: PARDINI’S, 2257 W. SHAW AVENUE, FRESNO
COST: $ 40 (TIME OUT CLUB MEMBERS)
$ 45 (ALL OTHER ATTENDEES)

THE SCHEDULE:
6 PM NO-HOST COCKTAILS
7 PM DINNER CATERED BY PARDINI’S
8 PM PROGRAM – GEORGE TAKATA, MC

QUESTIONS: CALL DONNA CALDWELL 559- 259-1767

Posted by Gary Estwick at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Looks like the blog is heading back to Vegas. Baylor advances, 88-67, against Fresno State. The Lady Bears were just bigger, better, taller, all that and a bag of chips. The Bulldogs needed to be near perfect, and they were closer to average. That would be my two-sentence column, if they would let me write two-sentence columns.

Final stats ...

Fresno State leaders: Tierre Wilson - 23 points, six rebounds. Emma Andrews - 15 points, three rebounds. Jaleesa Ross - 10 points, four rebounds. (Although Ross was just 4-of-18 from the field.)

Baylor leaders: Angela Tisdale - 26 points. Rachel Allison - 21 points. Melissa Jones - 14 points, 14 rebounds. Jessica Morrow - 11 points. Danielle Wilson - 10 points, 13 rebounds.

Rebounding totals: Fresno State 40, Baylor 49.

Shooting: Fresno State 35.5%, Baylor 44.4%.

Here's the stat of the game: 3-point shooting. Fresno State 3-of-17.

That's a wrap. Back to the column you can read in tomorrow's Bee. It will probably be the greatest thing you've ever read, and in no way affected by the fact that I have to be on a plane in three hours.

Posted by Matt James at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- For some reason, the New Mexico State fans have adopted the Wyoming women's basketball team. They just went nuts when the Cowgirls came in and sat in the stands. And then they cheered like crazy when they left. Maybe these dry, deserted states stick together. After being in Vegas, and now here, the blogs lips feel like they've been blow-dried for about 9 straight hours. Parched doesn't begin to explain it.

Baylor has started putting in the scrubs now. Probably not what you'd consider scrubs, but at least the players who sit the bench at Baylor. Probably all-state players at whatever state they're from.

Score update: Baylor 81, Fresno State 59. Those of you with bets have to be getting nervous.
There's 3:33 left in the game.

The Pitt band is sitting at one end, and for a while there they were heckling Baylor. They've stopped. It's not looking good.

Posted by Matt James at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Blog #1, second half

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- OK, I've attempted to talk to the local ESPN producer, a guy who is not interested in talking to a reporter during the game. Something about a job to do. Understandable.

Now I'm being told by folks back in Fresno that the game isn't being shown on satellite TV either. I'm getting mixed reports. Maybe Dish Network and DirecTV are showing different games. Who knows. It's definitely a programming error on someone's part. I'm told the decision was made in Bristol, Conn., though, so don't yell at anyone at the cable company. They want you watching their ESPN2 as much as you want it.

Fresno State athletic director Thomas Boeh says it's a matter of someone flipping a switch in Bristol. I cannot varify that, orThomas Boeh's technical knowlege of the television industry. If they ever do flip the switch, someone tell me so I can stop blogging about. Go figure, the first time the Fresno State women get on ESPN, they can't really get on ESPN.

Game update: Baylor 73, Fresno State 52. Time remaining: 8:35, second half.

Dogs still missing a lot of easy shots.

Posted by Matt James at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Since there are a lot of people trying to find out the score of this game, I'll keep updating it regularly.

Second half. 17:32 left.

Baylor 47, Fresno State 32

Posted by Matt James at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Blog No. 4, first half

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The Bulldogs look nervous. You had to expect that, but not to this degree. Tierre Wilson just shot a free throw that looked like Phil Neikro shot it. Emma Andrews is missing layups. Lots of stupid turnovers. It's the program's first NCAA appearance so I guess that comes along with it. As far as these young women know, everyone back in Fresno is watching. We now know they aren't. ESPN isn't showing it. Maybe I should go tell them. It might help. Nah, the blog will just stay here, slowly sipping my diet Coke from an NCAA cup, those giving the cameramen (and women) ample time to catch it for a national viewing audience. (You know, if there was one.)

On a bright note, Fresno State is hanging around. Sort of. It's 43-28. Halftime. I didn't quite make five blogs. Wonder if I can carry that extra one over to the second half, like unused vacation time.

There's a good crowd here, by the way, but it's almost impossible to figure out how many Fresno State fans there are because they're wearing red and so are the New Mexico fans, who are here early for their team's 6:30 p.m. game against the No. 5 seed, West Virginia. Not exactly sure how the No. 12 seed got to host a regional, but it did. There aren't nearly as many Baylor fans as I figured there would be. I realize it's about a 10-hour drive from Waco, Texas, to here, but it's gotta be a cheap flight from Dallas to Albuquerque, even on a few days notice. Maybe since the Baylor men finally made an NCAA Tournament, everyone went with them.

Here are your halftime leaders...

Fresno State: Tierre Wilson - 9 points, Jaleesa Ross - 7, LaShaunte Stephens - 4.
Baylor: Angela Tisdale - 16, Jessica Morrow - 7, Rachel Allison - 7.

First-half field goal percentage: Baylor - 37.5%, Fresno State - 36.7%.

You would think by those numbers that Fresno State would be in it, but Baylor is just too tall and getting to the free throw line a lot. Ten of 12 from the line. And outrebounding Fresno State 26-19. not good. The Bulldogs are 2-of-9 on 3-pointers. That will have to improve if the Bulldogs hope to get back in this.

Just got word that if you have one of the dish companies, you are able to watch the Fresno State game right now. If you have Comcast, you're not getting it. Don't call Comcast. Believe me, they know. People are calling. Apparently, all that has to happen is for someone to hit a button, but it just isn't happening. My suggestion is to just drive around until you see someone with a little dish on the roof of their house, walk up and hand them a $100 bill. Or, a 12-pack. Watch the game at a stranger's house. It'll feel like you're in a Vegas sports book. Except the cocktail waitresses won't be as scantily dressed. Or maybe they will. Depends on whose house you go to.

I'm told the line on this game was Baylor -22.5 last night, and moved down -20 this morning at the MGM. People must have been betting Fresno State. This blog wouldn't know anything about that.

Posted by Matt James at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Blog No. 3, first half

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Well, Fresno State fans. I have some bad news and some worse news. Worse news first: Baylor 27, Fresno State 14; 7:53 left, first half. And, word back from the home office is that they aren't showing this game on ESPN2. They're showing Auburn vs. George Washington, and based on the number of calls the Bee office is getting, there is relatively little interest in the Fresno area in either Auburn or George Washington women's basketball. Shocker.

You can call the Fresno Bee office to complain, but surprisingly, we have little control over which NCAA game ESPN decides to show. They don't even ask our opinion.

This blog might be your only means to updates, and I'm down to two blogs left this half. Yikes. See if you can find a radio.

The Pit is cool, by the way. I've always wanted to see a game here -- I didn't think it would be Fresno State women's basketball, but what can ya do? -- and it's excellent. The ends of the arena have bench seating, which I've always maintained is the best for college basketball. Allen Fieldhouse has bench seating, and it just makes everything better. You get to pack more people in, makes you bond with your neighbors, has cute co-eds sitting on your lap (Hey, it was college.)

I always wondered how The Pit felt any more like a pit than any other arena. I mean, you don't know you're underground when you're inside the building, right? But it does feel that way. It just seems kinda dark. The only light out in the crowd is up at the very top of the place. I can imagine how a packed Pit might be louder than Grand Funk Railroad. That's an old fogey reference. Kids, ask your parents. It was a three-man band from the '70s that was really loud. I'm told. I'm not old enough to remember either. They had that song, "We're an American Band," which was solid in a my-eardrums-just-exploded kind of way.

Fresno State has cut the lead to 33-21. Four minutes left in the first half.

Posted by Matt James at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Blog #2, first half (You'll understand in a second.)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The blog will probably get banned just for that headline alone. I honestly would not be surprised if someone from the NCAA is monitoring this right now. I had to sign a release form to be able to blog. No lie. It's a one-page agreement that I probably should have read better. There are rules about what I can write about, how many times I can blog per half (5), how many times I can blog at halftime (1), and probably a rule a rule about calling the NCAA obsessive and crazy in a blog headline. Of well. You gotta take risks in life.

I just paid for the internet connection with the company credit card (thank you, Bee) and of course the NCAA dishes those connections out for $16 and change per day. No other option unless you've got one of those handy Verizon cards, which I do not. Well then I tried to walk down to the court with a Coke in my hand and a security guard said I couldn't do that. Oh, I figured, there must be no drinks allowed down by the court. I've never been to The Pit before. No, that wasn't it. You're just not allowed to have anything courtside that doesn't have an NCAA logo on it. They handed me an NCAA cup, sponsored by Dasani, and I poured my Coke into it. I couldn't possibly me making that up. Wow.

I like the fact that the NCAA is keeping me from working too excessively. (Not that I've ever blogged five times in a half. What am I, a machine?) My editors will never believe me if I don't bring back a copy of the agreement. Maybe I should get the NCAA to negotiate my next contract. Mr. James and/or his blog agree to no more than five columns per month.

Posted by Matt James at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No. 14 Fresno State vs. No. 3 Baylor

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- The blog has landed in New Mexico, again, for hopefully the last time in the spring of 2008. I should seriously just get an apartment and a driver's license here. I'm sitting court side, Fresno State and Baylor are warming up, and I have an initial thought. Holy cow, Baylor is tall. That's the bad news. I'm not sure what the good news is, but I'll look for some. Baylor's players who are listed at 5-10 look taller than Erica Henry, who's listed at 6-2.

Here's the scoop on the blog. The blog was supposed to be in Vegas all week for the NCAA Tournament, pretty much the only vacation the blog takes on a yearly basis. But of course that was blown up when the Fresno State women won the WAC Tournament and are now in the NCAAs. Good for them. Bad for the blog. So instead of just cancelling the Vegas trip (there are too many old friends involved to really cancel the trip anyway), the blog drove to Vegas Wednesday, did the Vegas thing for three days, flew out of Vegas Friday night, landed at midnight, crashed in a hotel and I'm now courtside for a the noon Saturday game. Yeah, the blog burns it from all ends. I should really be wearing dogtags listing my bloodtype, just in case I pass out on press row from exhaustion.

Vegas is just not conducive to rest or relaxation, especially when you spend 99.6% of every day in the MGM sports book. It's like getting to watch every single game of the entire first two rounds with 3,000 of your best friends. There are no strangers in the sports book. The blog, literally, did not see the sun for almost three days. Not gambling excessively, of course. The blog would never do that. (The blog's mother sometimes reads here.) If Fresno State wins, pulls this miraculous upset, I'll be here until the bitter end. If the Bulldogs lose this one, I'm back on a plane to Vegas at 6:30 p.m. today. Gotta salvage the last day of the vacation.

Fresno State winning would be awesome, a great story, but it would seriously make life chaotic. I didn't even bring my suitcase. It's still in Vegas. I have one change of clothes. You should have seen the look on the security guard's face when he opened my backpack and the first thing he saw was a used pair of boxers. The pretty much ended the bag search. Move it along, sir.

Posted by Matt James at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's a good thing The Bee didn't make me drive to New Mexico for the Women's NCAA Tournament regional here. This state, from my view above in the jet, is pretty desolate. There's nothing but dry land, although it's been carved out in neat shapes by floods, until you make a big left turn then, BAM!, civilization in Albuquerque.
The Fresno State women's basketball team beat me here. I believe they came on a chartered plane.
Anyway, the 'Dogs practiced at a local high school tonight in preparation for Saturday's first-round game against No. 12 Baylor. The Pit, on the campus of New Mexico, was locked up tight awaiting tomorrow's media day with the teams and their practices.
Don't let anyone tell you there's no good places to eat here. Even though the city seems tucked in a remote region of the state, it has every kind of food to meet any nationality's needs.
A question keeps coming to mind: Fresno State's 11 a.m. game Saturday is on ESPN2, but I wonder how much of it people will see? That network has a habit of bouncing around from region to region. I'll know more tomorrow and will let you know.
Also, it will be interesting to see how the Albuquerque regional stacks up against what Fresno put on a few years ago at Save Mart Center. Baylor probably will bring a good contingent of fans because it's a lot closer to Albuquerque than Fresno. But these first- and second-round regionals aren't well attended unless a home school is in it. Fortunately that's the case here. New Mexico has the good luck of playing on its home floor. Good thing Fresno State won't have to face the Lobos.

Posted by Jeff Davis at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It's crunch time for Player of the Year and Coach of the Year considerations for The Bee's All-Star boys basketball team. What do you think?

PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Greg Smith, jr., Edison: Central Section's most powerful player put on a dunk-and-hook show in the post-season for Tigers team that won the section Division II title and advanced to the Southern California Regional D-II finals.

Elliott Berry, sr., Clovis West: Inside force as scorer, defender and rebounder, he was co-Player of the Year in the section's premier league, the Tri-River Athletic Conference. And that says plenty.

John Hedrington, jr., Clovis East: He was a Bee All-Star as a sophomore, this season's Bee preseason Player of the Year and shared the TRAC co-Player of the Year award with Berry. And he powered the Timberwolves to the section D-I title.

COACH OF THE YEAR
Arturo Ormond, Edison: Found a point guard, developed chemistry and, at the end of the day, delivered the section's most feared team in a 28-5 season that counted a 19-game winning streak.

Brad Felder, Hanford: Bullpups won 19 straight, section D-III championship and one SoCal Regional game in school-record 31-4 season. He's won 351 games in a 17-year career.

Pat Geil, Memorial: After losing to Garces for the section D-IV title, the Panthers -- as a No. 6 seed -- upset No. 3 Valley Christian-Cerritos and No. 2 Horizon-San Diego to remain the lowest seed standing of all five divisions in the SoCal Regional finals. The Panthers finished 26-9.

Posted by Andy Boogaard at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Power forward Joey Cameron will receive his release from a Fresno State scholarship in the coming days, coach Steve Cleveland told me earlier today. For those of you wondering how this affect next season's incoming class...

It's actually good news for the Dogs... Cameron was a good pickup, but Fresno State is now in a position to contend for several players that offer a bigger impact.

Among others, Fresno State is recruiting Paul George, a former Pepperdine signee, JeJuan Brown, a former Vanderbilt forward, and point guard Rob Lowery, who hails from the same junior college as Bulldogs senior Eddie Miller.

Cameron was a defense/rebound kinda player. He hails from the same junior college as Shawn Taylor. He may develop into a solid Division I player, but it wasn't worth the risk for him to move out West... He will likely settle at a school much closer to his home in Atlanta. He's married, and has a wife out there... Fresno is a long way from the life he has become accustomed to.

Posted by Gary Estwick at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

OK, so by now you know that the Fresno State women's basketball team won the WAC Tournament. Confetti flares went off, people hugged, trophies were passed out, and pretty much no one cheered because it was in New Mexico and everyone there was kinda hoping the New Mexico State Aggies would win. They pretty much had no shot. The Bulldogs played the worst half you can imagine and still beat them by 16 on their own court.

In my opinion, Erica Henry was the MVP of the final, as evidenced by my entire column about her in Sunday's paper. As if on cue, she wasn't named to the all-tournament team, illustrating my point that she is always underappreciated. She's not what you would call a great player, but at times she does exactly what the Bulldogs need, rebound, take charges, play pretty good defense. The Bulldogs who did make the all-tourney team were senior Tierre Wilson, freshman Emma Andrews and freshman Jaleesa Ross, the tournament MVP. All had good tournaments, obviously. (Not sure what made me type that last sentence.) Hayley Munro would have made it, probably in place of Andrews or Wilson, but she had a pretty blah final game.

Maybe it was the dominating way they won the final, or just the personality of the team, but it was probably the most subdued celebration you could imagine for a team that just became the first in the history of its school's program to make the NCAA Tournament. Forty-some years of Fresno State women's basketball without a tournament, and then they just kinda high-five and smile and hug and stuff. No one even jumped. Maybe it's the fact that they have so many low-key personalities. Players who live in their own little worlds. Tierre Wilson was the MVP of the WAC regular season and up until this year's tournament had no idea who Jaycee Carroll was. He would be the men's MVP of the same conference, the one they've both been playing in for four years.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's good to be insulated, a little understated, especially this time of year. When you want your team to avoid nervousness. Especially since Fresno State found out Monday they will be a huge underdog, No. 14 seed in the NCAAs, playing No. 3 Baylor in Albuquerque, N.M. A buddy of mine saw the brackets today and wrote me an email with the subject line: "have you gotten your New Mexico drivers license and voter ID yet?" Indeed, I'm spending so much time in New Mexico*, they should have let me vote in their primary. Not that you needed to know, but the blog voted for Barack Obama in the California primary. My voting location was barely a block away, a church in eastern Fresno, yet I still barely got there in time, pretty much the last person to vote in the state. If it weren't for the last minute, I'd get nothing done. Not sure what scares me about Hillary Clinton, but she ... oh, wait. Yes I do. Go to YouTube.com right now and search for "Hillary" and "cackles." I can't have my President laughing like that. Sorry, I just can't. Call me petty, but it's a crazy, fake laugh and I can't respect people who laugh insincerely**. Laughter is too important to be used as mockery. Also, I think typing LOL when you didn't actually Laugh Out Loud, should be a $500 fine.

*Ten points to anyone who can guess the state nickname of New Mexico. Not the state motto. That's different. For example, Kansas is "The Sunflower State," Florida is "The Sunshine State," etc. Kansas' state motto is "Ad astra per aspera," or "To the stars through difficulties." The state motto of Florida is, "Watch out for our elderly drivers." Maybe we should do the New Mexico state motto as well. Ten points for that, too. Don't just Google it. Take a wild guess! Entertain us a little here. Yes, you'll still get 10 points if you Google it, but you'll feel so much better if you tell us New Mexico is "The Moon-Boot State," and its motto is "You could easily bury a body here."

**One of this blog's favorite shows is "Scrubs," a show known for its cameos. One show had Mandy Moore, the singer/actress on it as the latest girlfriend of Zach Braff's character, "J.D." It seems Moore's character would always say, "That's so funny," to everything J.D. said, but she never actually laughed. This kinda drove J.D. crazy, and in the end, he had to dump her over it. Obviously reasonable. After the breakup, she is out in the yard at a party, being consoled by other females, and J.D. says to Turk -- at least I think it was Turk -- something like, "You'll notice she's not saying, 'That's so sad.' She's actually crying." Classic line. I think that's my problem with Hillary, besides the fact that she never dumped Bill for all his cheating. How am I supposed to know when she actually finds something funny if she's cackling at every question from a reporter? OK, no more politics.

I'm not actually in Las Cruces any more. Got back to Fresno late Sunday night because I took the later, "Look, it's cheaper!" flight out of El Paso, with a stop in Vegas, and so I was stuck in the hotel and airports for most of the day. It did lead to an exchange between an Idaho reporter and I, where we discussed Dr. Seuss and how that movie "Horton Hears a Who" is No. 1 at the box office, and the next thing I knew, I was writing a "Green Eggs and Ham" tribute column on how if I were a No. 3 seed in the Women's NCAA Tournament, I wouldn't want to play Fresno State in the first round. Not sure if it worked, but got some good compliments on it today, mostly from women over the age of 55, which I'll take any day of the week. Women over the age of 55 care about grammer, so I respect their comments. Here it is. (I'd have just put a link to it, but for whatever reason, italics don't show up when my columns are posted online.)

If I were a No. 3 seed in the Women's NCAA Tournament, with apologies to Dr. Seuss ...

I would not like them, in Round 1.
I would not like them, not for fun.
I would not like them, here or there.
I would not like them, anywhere.
---
Not with a lead.
Not with their speed.
Not in a race.
Not at THAT pace.
---
I'll watch today, the selection show.
Don't give me Fresno, I might not go.
I played so well, now what's my fate?
How 'bout a shot, at Jackson State?
---
They're winning now, I've seen their score.
I do not want them, on any floor.
Not at Stanford, or Baton Rouge.
They might not know, they're s'pose to lose.
---
That Emma, Hayley, and Miss Ross.
Too many threes, they stop to toss.
You say they're frosh, it isn't right.
Don't make me boycott, out of spite.
---
I would not like them, in Round 1.
Don't make me use an awful pun.
I do not like, that Bulldog red.
How about 'giving me Liberty' instead?
---
I would not like them, here at home.
I would not like them, up in Nome.
I would not like them, on the road.
I'm a No. 3, I've earned a toad.
---
Would you like them, shooting fast?
Would you like them, here at last?
I would not like, a tough first game.
If you were me, you'd say the same.
---
Not with their press.
No need for that stress.
Not in the Tourney.
At least not that early.
---
Would you, could you, play them first?
I would not, could not, think of worse.
Would you, could you, make them a 10?
I would not, could not, ask again.
---
Forgive me if, I'm being rude.
They played ranked teams, their record's skewed.
Would you like them, in your way?
At College Park, or the San Fran Bay?
---
Wilson's fast, there is no lack.
She's MVP, helped win the WAC.
I do not want, her flashy style.
I'd rather our starters, rested a while.
---
They have not been, this far before.
They're a winner, a part of lore.
They have it all, the vets and rooks.
Give me a team, that's good with books.
---
I would not like them, in Round 1.
I would not like them, on the run.
Would you, could you, keep them away?
I would not, could not, start this way.
---
Not in a gym! Not on a whim!
Not in the lane! Not in vane!
Not in a scrap! Not in a trap!
Not in gladness! Not in the Madness!
---
I do not like them, here or there.
I do not like them, anywhere.
I do not like, Bulldogs that can.
I do not like them, No. 3-I-am.

The men's final was much more exciting, and I'm so glad I stayed for the end of it. (Not sure what else I'd have done in Las Cruces on a Saturday night, but still, I'm glad.) Boise State beat New Mexico State in three overtimes. It was an absurd game, with so many big shots that it would take 1,000 words to explain it all. Boise's Reggie Larry was unstoppable. He's like a skinnier Charles Barkley. He shuts down players two, three, four inches taller than him on a regular basis. Can't believe how many shots he blocks. Their guards hit big 3-pointer after big 3-pointer. On a neutral court, the Broncos win that game easily, but in Las Cruces, New Mexico definitely had an advantage. As the game went on and the noise become nearly painful, the referees really let the rough play go. New Mexico State's full-court press was hands-on, let's just say that. The fight for rebounding position was a full-on shoving match. Loose balls would result in at least five people lying on the floor. New Mexico State got a lot of favorable calls, and at least two were plays where Broncos fouled out. I think I can say that guilt free, since I have no connection to Boise State or New Mexico State.

The blog spoke to Fresno State AD Thomas Boeh today at the made-for-TV, Selection-Show-watching-gathering today at the university. What an odd event that was, the media sitting around waiting for the team's reaction to the name of their school being flashed on a TV screen. Exciting stuff, let me tell you. There wasn't even the drama of whether they would make it or not, since they were an automatic berth and everybody pretty much knew they were going to be a No. 14 seed. And sure enough, Fresno State was one of the last schools named, so there was plenty of awkward silence and sitting through commercials. I guess there was a sort of tension-filled moment when they announced that Maryland was a No. 1 seed, which meant Stanford would be the No. 2 seed, which meant Fresno State might have been placed as the No. 15 seed, playing at Stanford, against Stanford. That would have been scary. Not that Baylor isn't good, and not that Waco, Texas, isn't close to Albuquerque*, N.M., so it will be a lot like a home game, but still, better than playing Stanford at its gym.

*Just looked it up. It's 700 miles from Waco to Albuquerque. Wow. How many times per day can this blog be amazed at the size of Texas? The answer is nearly 5. That's a lot of hours in the car. Still, you'd have to expect Baylor fans will make the trip more easily than Bulldogs fans.

Almost forgot about Thomas Boeh. He said he was glad neither New Mexico State team won the tournament, not because he has some personal vendetta against the Aggies, but because now he says when the athletic directors argue for a neutral site for the tournament for 2011 and 2012, "It won't seem like sour grapes." Good point. He was one of four ADs in the WAC who were willing to pay extra to have the tournament in Salt lake City instead of Reno for 2009 and 2010. Unfortunately, five wanted to pay less, so it's going to Reno. Having the tournament on someone's home court is too much of an advantage. Still can't believe Boise State won there. That team is tough. There's a good upset pick for NCAA Tournament. Boise State beats Louisville in Round 1. All my picks, coming soon.

Posted by Matt James at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The Fresno State women are heading to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, thanks to Saturday afternoon's victory over New Mexico State in the WAC finals at the Pan American Center... View video


1:48 - p.m. Tick, tick, tick on the clock... Less than two minutes left, and the Bulldogs can start celebrating...

1:38 p.m. Tierre Wilson just picked up her third foul... Might not matter, with time running out for the Aggies. Wilson has a game-high 17 points...

1:36 p.m. - Yesterday, the Aggies came back from a 19-point deficit against Boise State... The Aggies are trailing 55-37 right now... 6:06 left in the second half...

1:30 p.m. - FS 48, NMS 33... The Bulldogs are happy to trade baskets, now that they are ahead. The Aggies are missing all kinds of shots at the rim... Oh there goes Tierre WIlson on another layup. 50 points for the Bulldogs.

1:11 p.m. - Tierre Wilson's 3-pointer wit 16:12 left gave the Bulldogs their third 3-pointer of the second half. Wilson has scored five points, and Ross six - both of her shots from behind the arc. FS 39, NMS 27.

1:05 p.m. - During halftime, I ate perhaps the worst baked chicken ever in the media dining area... Chicken is supposed to tate like chicken, not air.

12:50 p.m. - It's halftime over here. Fresno State 28, New Mexico State 23... Erica Henry scored on a putback with four seconds left.

Henry has seven points. Tierre Wilson also has seven. Bailey Amundsen, the only Fresno State player to make a 3-pointer, leads the Bulldogs with eight points off the bench...

Anikia Jawara leads the aggies with 11 points... The good news if you're a Fresno State fan is: Figure out a way to stop Jawara and the game is yours. The bad news: You gotta stop her to do it.

Jawara is finishing at the rim over Erica Henry and Hayley Munro.

12:45 p.m. - Bailey Amundsen makes Fresno State's first 3-pointer. Guess the tenth shot was the charm.

12:39 p.m. - LaShaunte Stephens' layup with 3:42 left in the first half gives Fresno State its first lead... FS 19, NMS 17... The Aggies have 10 fouls.

12:30 p.m. - One day after setting a WAC tournament record for most 3-pointers in a game (13), the Bulldogs have gone more than half of the first half with making one. Missed all eight attempts...

12:25 p.m. - An Emma Stephens shoulder just sent NMS' Bribiescas to the locker room, only after laying on the Pan American Center court for a minute or so.

12:21 p.m. - Anikia Jawara has 10 points, and is dominating the Bulldogs on offense. They hare making it too easy for her to catch the ball in the post. NMS 13, FS, 5.

12:11 p.m. - Bulldogs have yet to score, and 15:55 remains in the first half... NMS's zone is really aggressive. A few possessions ago, Sherell Neal slapped the ball out of Tierre Wilson's hand as she stood on the perimeter. NMS 5, FS, 0.

12:05 p.m. - Senior guard Monique Bribiescas - inserted in the lineup because of Madison Spence's ankle injury Friday afternoon - drew first blood, draining a 3-pointer in the corner off an inbounds. NMS 3, FS, 0

11:58 a.m. - Win or lose, the Bulldogs will get back to Fresno in time to sleep in their beds tonight... The team will take a charter flight home immediately after today's noon game against NMS in the WAC finals.

I thought about standing on the runway with my thumb out, but that never seems to work for me...

NMS earned spots in both the women’s and men's finals... Some will argue that they paid their way into the games, it's state legislature throwing money around to outbid the rest of the conference... Maybe. And so what.

If another school wanted to host the games, all they had to do was outbid em... And the WAC tournament is moving to Reno next year anyway, so Nevada will enjoy a sizeable advantage...

Coaches want to move the WAC tournament to neutral sites, while athletic directors voted 5-4 for Reno over Salt Lake City for 2009 and 2010... It's a money thing.

Posted by Gary Estwick at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Western Athletic Conference commissioner Karl Benson held a press conference and answered reporters' questions. I have no idea which day that happened. I don't even know what day it is now, but fortunately, I took notes.

Here's how it went.

First, Benson talked about Las Cruces. (The tournament was held here last year, too.) "Thus far," Benson said, "I would say the review is just as positive as it was last year."

He talked about how cool it is to hold the tournament in a small city where it's the biggest event in town and most of the community gets behind it and takes pride in it. (The blog thinks it would be a lot cooler to hold it in a city with a building taller than 2 stories.)

There is a big push by the WAC coaches to move the tournament to a neutral site because it's such an advantage for the host school. The WAC has never had a neutral site, mostly because attendance is better at a conference school arena.

The No. 2-seeded New Mexico State men won last year and if they win again this year, some are saying the Aggies simply bought their way into the NCAA Tournament two years in a row by putting in the best bid for the tournament. If you'll recall, the New Mexico State women nearly won last year, too, even though they were the No. 7 seed. They lost 49-46 to Boise State in the final.

One of the biggest proponents of a neutral site is Utah State coach Stew Morrill. That should come as no surprise, since his team lost last year's tournament title game to the host school, New Mexico State, 72-70, and lost the 2006 tournament title game to that year's host school, Nevada, in overtime. On a neutral court, Utah State probably wins both of those games.

Here's a clip of last year's title game here in Las Cruces.

Quick aside ...
Yesterday, the blog tried to make small talk with Nevada coach Mark Fox, which did not go well. It never does. He ducked his head and walked off as if I were a homeless guy begging for change. I have a perfect starting point for conversation with him because we're both originally from southwest Kansas. That alone has to be worth 5 minutes of chatting. But I haven't even gotten far enough to work that in. He always walks off. In fairness, his team was playing the next game, so he probably had plenty on his mind. Can I just say that for 39 years old, the guy looks really fit? The reporters who cover his team regularly say he's actually a decent guy, but he's a dictator when it comes to his team. Getting interviews is nearly impossible. And who can forget last year when Fox was reprimanded for berating referees after a WAC tournament game here in Las Cruces. And of course there was THIS classic, when he bumped the referee at a Utah State game. There was really no reason for this quick aside. I just wanted to show that referee clip.

So anyway, Benson broke the news that the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas had tried to get the WAC Tournament for 2009 and 2010, and the coaches and athletic directors had been in support, but the WAC board of directors shot it down because of queaziness about the gambling aspect. Instead, the next two years went to Reno, whose bid was much lower than runner-up Salt Lake City. The decision between Salt Lake City, a neutral, but much more expensive site, and Reno, came down to a 5-4 vote by athletic directors. (Benson said the Save Mart Center in Fresno had also made a bid.) Reno is different than Vegas, apparently, as a gambling entity, because its an on-campus tournament there, not out in public where the gambling rage just takes hold of a man and turns him into a betting robot.

Benson said the neutral sites that will likely be considered for the 2010 and 2011 WAC Tournaments are Sacramento, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.

The next subject was television appearances. The WAC men's basketball coaches are not happy about how little the conference is on ESPN. The reasons are explained in this great story by Idaho Statesman reporter Nick Jezierny, who covers the Boise State men's basketball team. For those too busy to click the link, apparently a couple seasons ago ESPN wanted to put some of the WAC football games on ESPNU, instead of ESPN or ESPN2. The WAC, though, didn't like that, and held the network to a literal version of the contract. So ESPN said fine, we'll stick to a literal version of the basketball contract, too, which
states they only have put three WAC basketball games on TV per season. It's a tad petty, but it's what they're doing. The WAC is trying to renegotiate the current contract, but ESPN won't pay as much as the WAC wants, so they're at a stand-off.

Before the blog forgets, we should point out that Nick Jezierny is the only media member who preseason picked the Fresno State women's basketball team to win the WAC. I know, because he's sitting three seats away from me right now on press row. As I type this, Boise State and New Mexico State are going to overtime in the men's final. The Bulldogs won the women's final here this afternoon and are going to their first NCAA Tournament. ESPN currently has them projected as a No. 13 seed. More on that later. Poke around our web site and watch the video clips of today's celebration.

This is the part of the column where I roast the current tournament site. Benson said critics of Las Cruces said it was too expensive for travel, and too difficult to get to. He did not mention the wind or the smell, which I thought was kind of him. Las Cruces is about four decent restaurants away from being a low-end Peoria, Illinois. They should put all the prisons here. No one would ever try to escape. No event should be held here that isn't a rodeo or a monster truck rally. NASCAR is too high-brow for Las Cruces. Next year, it will be missed like a colon infection.

OK, I'm out of material. This men's final is going to triple-OT and my ears are bleeding.

Posted by Matt James at 9:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- During Thursday's Utah State game, the blog went up into the crowd and met the Aggies' new athletic director, Scott Barnes. (Thanks to KMJ's Bill Woodward, the voice of the Bulldogs, for pointing him out.)

Barnes played for Fresno State in '83-'84 and '84-'85, after transferring from Division II Eastern Montana. He was also a Bulldog for the '82-'83 season, but had to sit out that season because of transfer rules. He met Fresno State coach Boyd Grant at a basketball clinic.

Here's a quick Scott Barnes history, as best I could cobble it together while he and the other Aggies cheered for Utah State ...

(OK, Barnes isn't an Aggie quite yet. He starts the job March 28.)

- Barnes is born in Spokane, Wash.

- Barnes has a solid, fingers-in-the-mouth whistle, which he used towards the end of Thursday's Utah State game.

And I think that pretty much catches you up on the life of Scott Barnes, soon-to-be AD at Utah State. Even though I've only been there once, it's hard to argue that Logan, Utah, would be a beautiful place to live. If your goal is to see as many U2 concerts as possible, then it's probably not the place for you.

The cheerleading program alone would be reason enough to enroll there. (A sports information type person from Utah State says that contrary to popular belief, all the students there are not as pretty as the cheerleaders. The blog refuses to believe that.)

Posted by Matt James at 7:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Bulldogs women are one step away from unfamiliar territory, one victory away from their first NCAA Tournament berth.

No. 1 Fresno State beat No. 5 seed Louisiana Tech for the third time this season, but this 85-58 win in the WAC semiifinals was the most important.

Jaleesa Ross scored 21 points, and Hayley Munro had 19. Emma Andrews added 16. Tierre Wilson scored six points on 3-of-9 shooting.

Heading to the press conference. We'll have some video up later...

Posted by Gary Estwick at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

WAC Player of the Year Tierre Wilson played just 14 points, and was 2 of 7 from the field, but No. 1 seed Fresno State didn't need much of its senior during the first half of Friday's WAC tournament semifinals against No. 5 seed LaTech.

Jaleesa Ross picked up the slack, scoring 13 points, and Hayley Munro scored 10 points, most of her shots coming early in the half as Fresno State lead as much as 12.

Nastassi Levingston and Adrienne Johnson scored eight points apiece for LaTech.

Posted by Gary Estwick at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Louisiana Tech's zone is leaving Fresno State shooters open, and Hayley Munro and Company are making the La. Bulldogs pay for it... She has eight points, including two 3-pointers... Emma Andrews also has two 3-pointers. Fresno State is 5 of 10 on 3-pointers.

LaTech has since switched to man defense.

Posted by Gary Estwick at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

There's like 80,000 kids in the stands for this early game... And they're excited not to be in school, I'm guessing by their eagerness to cheer.

An earlier cheer didn't work, with fans on both sides cheering for The Bulldogs. Gotta narrow down the Dogs for this game...

Tierre Wilson looked OK in warmups... Wonder if she slept on an ice pack.

A few tidbits: Jaleesa Ross needs eight 3-pointers to set the single-season 3-point record... Fresno State is 18-3 when leading at halftime... LaTech is 16-2 all-time in the WAC tournament.

Posted by Gary Estwick at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

JOURNEY TO THE WAC TOURNEY

(Not as windy as the severe storm warnings make it seem.)

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- You must realize, by now, that I've fallen hopelessly behind on blogging, but alas, I have not given up. There is hope, and to prove that, I'm delivering on a promise from Wednesday. Here's the 1-to-10 pain rating for guard Tierre Wilson. You may remember she took a hard fall in the Bulldogs' first-round win against San Jose State. I thought it was just her hip and elbow, but turns out it was much more. The next day (Thursday) she was aching all over. Hip. Elbow. Arm. Shoulder. Back. It all hurt. She had what looked like an extra-thick shammy, wedged between her side and her chair here at the Pan Am Center. She winced often.

I found her across the gym during the men's Fresno State game, and when I posed the pain question, I was expecting her to say 1 or 2 or 3 at most. She said her shoulder was a 7. Her hip was a 4, and the other parts were somewhere between. If you were wondering, this blog just landed the flu last night and is currently about an 8 all over. Swollen throat. Already looking for somewhere to yack later on. But we push on.

The Fresno State women's game just started here at the Pan Am, the Friday noon game. Once again they've bused in school children who are now fillling at least half the arena. You've never heard anything as piercingly loud as this blog is currently experiencing. It's not helping the flu. For whatever reason, the kids have chosen to mostly cheer for the Fresno State Bulldogs instead of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, probably because Fresno State has cheerleaders and a band. They just announced there are $2 margaritas on the second floor, which is weird because of the few thousand people who are here, only about a dozen are old old enough to drink. Believe me, though, those dozen people need tequila.

These kids are absolutely on crack-cocaine. They just counted down the pregame clock in unison like it was the end of the game. This could be interesting. OK, blog has to pretend to be a columnist again.

Posted by Matt James at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Alex Blair scored a career-high 14 points and Kevin Bell became Fresno State's all-time assists leader, but neither could stop JaVale McGee from making his impact in the WAC quarterfinals.

The 7 foot forward from Nevada scored 22 points to lead No. 2 seed Nevada to a 64-57 win over No. 7 Fresno State at the Pan American Center.

Nevada advances to play No. 3 seed New Mexico State Friday in the WAC semifinals.

Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland ends his third season with a 13-19 record, his first losing mark in Fresno.

Posted by Gary Estwick at 2:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - While the Bulldogs held Marceleus Kemp scoreless in the first half, JaVale McGee scored 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting, and the Wolf Pack lead 31-19 at halftime of this quarterfinal game of the WAC tournament.

McGee seemed as if he didn't like Alex Blair dunking on him in the first half... So minutes later, he did the same to Nedeljko Golubovic. Reverse jam. Wow.

Blair leads Fresno State with six points. Kevin Bell is 1 of 7 from the field.

Posted by Gary Estwick at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well... they were. Couldn't write blog fast enough for the Dogs to keep 6-2 lead, or the one at 12-7.

Nevada now leads 15-12 after tossing the ball inside a few times. And just now, JaVale McGee made a 3-pointer - he's 7 feet tall; he's not supposed to shoot 3-pointers! - and the Wolf Pack now lead 20-12.

Posted by Gary Estwick at 5:14 PM | Per