Sports Talk Radio in Utah

First of all, let me say there is far too much of it. Go up and down the AM dial and you are bombarded with it. Is sports such an integral part of our lives that it should dominate the airwaves? Perhaps so.

As a general critique of Utah's sports radio broadcasting, I'm always amazed at how little actual sports talk takes place. It doesn't appear to me that the radio personalities actually research in great depth the subject matter. An occasional exception to that is Gordon Monson who writes a column so I suppose it makes him think about atleast some sports related issues.

What I tire of is the "manly man" talk of so many of these personalities. 1280 "the zone" actually has a show called "The Manly Morning Show" which I refer to "The Mainly Boring Show". Also on 1280, paired with Gordon Monson is a high-pitched, sniveling whiner named Kevin Graham (whom I've nicknamed "the soprano man, Kevin Graham"). For some reason, Kevin seems obsessed with trying to define and internalize that definition of "manhood". I don't know why he got dumped back in high school or got cut from the football team or whatever humiliating event happened in his life, but his obsession with trying to play up his pseudo-masculinity is funny in a rather perverse way. But after a while, it becomes grating and my CD collection is far too good to be spending alot of time listen to "Brunhilde" wail away about what a true fan is or isn't, or just how unsophisticated you have to be to have a Y chromosome.

What is really interesting to me is the contrast between some of the national radio shows and the local variety. The Jim Rome show is not only entertaining, but actually quite enlightening. Rome's ability to ask the right questions to get the most telling answers is quite impressive. Rome obviously does his homework and pays attention to detail, something sorely lacking in local broadcasts. The Dan Patrick show is another where the quality of the questioning is very good and the subject matter is generally entertaining. Though Patrick hasn't created his own sub-culture the way Jim Rome has, his wit and insights are far ahead of our local broadcasters.

So local guys, let's step it up. Same with local callers. I'm tired of every caller starting with, "hey, uh." Take a deep breath and address the personalities with "hello guys, I've got a take I'd like to discuss....." or something to that effect. Hayuh is feed for Maine cattle, not a word to start your take with.

Interesting Fantasy Comparison

Admittedly, I am a fantasy football junkie. I maintain two teams and do my best to put the best team possible on the field every week. I also keep tabs on how alumni of the various Utah schools are doing in the NFL. Even though I am a Ute, I generally hope the local kids succeed in the NFL and have good careers there. Combining my love for fantasy football, I am also tracking how players from the various schools are doing as far as fantasy stats. The results right now are a bit one-sided with Ute and Aggie graduates getting most of the playing time on offense, though I acknowledge that BYU has a lot of interior linemen and defensive players who are doing well in the NFL. However, check out the scores below:

Utah- 98
Utah State- 76
BYU- 1

Now, it is fair to say, that the only BYU alums who have had any play time on offense are Reno Mahe who because of a fumble provides a negative point, Fahu Tahi who hasn't yet garnered enough yards to qualify as a point, and Daniel Coates, who despite being BYU's back-up tight end last year, actually has 23 receiving yards.

As you can see, currently BYU is getting dwarfed in this fantasy analysis by Utah and Utah State. This despite the fact that BYU is clearly a much stronger program than Utah State. This success is really about two remarkable Aggies, namely Kevin Curtis and Chris Cooley. The Utes, much of these statistics are oweing to Steve Smith and Alex Smith, though John Madsen is making a surprisingly impressive showing. The injury to Alex Smith and the continued failure of Carolina's backup quarterbacks to get the ball to Steve Smith may make it possible for Utah State to take the lead in this fantasy comparison.

My next article will show BYU in a better light when I produce a fantasy analysis that looks at line and defensive play where BYU alums are running pretty much neck and neck with the Utes.

I will continue to track and report.

Note to Kyle Whittingham

Ludwig has to go. In 2004, no one could even remotely stop the U of U offense. Only three years later, the U of U is shut out by UNLV. UNLV!!!!! Let's look at the season in whole. Oregon St.- 7 pts. Air Force- 12 pts. UCLA- 44 pts. UNLV- 0. So which one is the abberation? Utah's defense was remarkably stout against UNLV given what the offense did. But today, I am embarrassed to be a Ute fan. When BYU blows out UNLV by four touchdowns, we'll understand just how lame Ludwig is.

My uncle, a devout Ducks fan, informed me that the best thing that ever happened to his team, was Kyle's ill-considered hiring of Ludwig as offensive coordinator. As a former collegiate athlete, I worried that he might be right, but still hoped for the best. I've concluded that the Utes have managed to hold their own, not based upon Ludwig's skill, but by their own juevos. The UNLV confirmed that.

To Andy Ludwig. It was a good run. However, offensive coordinator doesn't seem to be your thing. When you take a team from blowing away teams in BCS games to getting shut out by UNLV, perhaps it's time to reconsider your career choices. There are many career choices out there. I recommend you explore those options.

To Craig Thompson

First of all, let me say, I don't like anyone to lose their job. However, in your case, I think that the job you have is a rather poor fit. I'm not saying this because I know you or because you cut me off in traffic. I'm basing this on performance and decision-making.

Tonight, the Utah/UNLV game is about to begin, and I will be listening to it on the radio. I have DISH as do the majority of people in our neighborhood because, frankly, Comcast is unreliable and a poor value. The deal YOU made with CSTV means that games I used to be able to watch, I can no longer watch. Those were your decisions. For you to now ask us to plead with our dish supplier to take "the mountain" under the guise that this problem is in our hands, is a shirking of your responsibility to the Universities that hired you.

This blog is calling you out. We U of U alumni are fed up with you and your inability to get good TV deals and we're unimpressed with your understanding of how to get good bowl matchups that are appealling to our schools. If President Young of the University of Utah doesn't rally the other Presidents of the other schools to order a change of direction in the MTN West Conference, than all of our programs are truly screwed. Because if you are going to recruit good players, you must have visibility. Right now, we're playing in the dark. And that is your legacy.

Way to go Utes

Sitting in a Sports Bar in Cabo san Lucas, I was looking at the scores of the various college football games. As I watched the score for the Utah/UCLA game, my reaction was "not again- wait it was Utah that got 44 points." You have to give these young men alot of credit. They never doubted themselves and stepped onto the field and took it to a nationally ranked school.

Obviously, Grady has finally got his sea legs and is more comfortable executing the offense. Most importantly, the Utes had a 100 yard rusher for the first time in quite a while. When you can run the ball, you rest your defense and allow them to be in a better position late in the game. Of course, it was all over by that time, but I'm hopeful that this augers well for the Ute football team.

So continue to work hard Utes and continue to believe in yourselves. Football is a game of faith. If you believe you are going to win, you usually win. So let's take it to UNLV this weekend.

GO UTES!!

Concern About the Utes

Watching the game against Oregon St. has me worried about the Utah season. Generally, you know more after the second game rather than the first, but there were signs I saw on the field that made me pause and wonder about this Ute team. What it came down to was fundamentals. Offensive linemen unable to drive block or even stay on their blocks. Lunging arm tackling from a defense that gave up way too many yards after initial contact. And finally, a lack of any continuity in the play calling.

It is true, that the Utes lost two gifted skill players and that loss will have some short-term repurcussions. However, what I'm concerned about is the line of scrimmage and the fundamental blocking and tackling techniques coming from the Utes. If game 1 is representative of how the Utes play the game of football at a fundamental level, it will be a long season.

Introduction

I, Obi wan kolobi, having been born of goodly parents, was taught early on to test my meddle in the arena of sports. As a result, I have a love and passion for sports and find meaningful and interesting corollaries between the sports world and the lives we lead. Even so, this is a bit of a "devolution" from the things I discuss on my other blogs. To discuss the War in Iraq or the meaning of life, in the grand scheme of things, is of a higher order than sports. The Colts winning last year's Super Bowl did not do anything for the Aids epidemic in Africa. That being said, the return of the Saints to New Orleans did do something for those displaced by Katrina.

Even so, this blog will deal in the insignificant for the most part. But it is hoped that it will be fun to put in writing what I see on the football field or in the execution I see on the basketball court. Because this is a devolution from my other blogs, I have named this blog "Cynognathus" after a ferocious Triassic predator that just so happens to be sort of a cross between a mammal and a reptile. Cynognathus is classified by biologists as a "cynodont", part of a group of therapsids, or mammal-like reptiles, that dominated terrestial life in the early to mid Triassic periods. Ultimately diplaced and marginalized by their diapsid cousins the dinosaurs, some cynodonts survived scurrying in the undergrowth and ultimately would evolve into what biologists classify as mammals.

So I willingly devolve from other high-minded pursuits, to discuss sports. The future of the free world may not ride on the outcome of football games, but unfortunately, my morale sometimes does. So, let's play ball.