Rich's sometimes disjointed rambling

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Dan Hammerschmidt is heading back south of the border. The long-time Colorado State assistant coach is returning to CSU after a year with the Wyoming Cowboys. “Dan and I talked leading up to his decision to return to Fort Collins and coach at Colorado State,” Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen said. “I realize that his decision to return to Colorado State was made based on what he felt was best for his family. He has his two young children, Holly and Michael, to think about. “Dan did a great job in the 12 months he has been at Wyoming. He made our program better, he helped us get back to and win a bowl game and he was a positive influence on the young men in our football program. We thank him for his contribution to Wyoming football this past year.” Hammerschmidt joined Christensen’s original coaching staff at Wyoming in December of 2008. He was the assistant head coach and coached the Cowboy receivers and tight ends in his one season at Wyoming in 2009.

New Mexico Bowl game stats The Wyoming Cowboys overcome low expectations -- even going into the bowl season -- but come out a winner, beating highly favored Fresno State 35-28 in two overtimes Saturday in the New Mexico Bowl. The game-winner came on a 13-yard pass from true freshman quarterback Austyn Carta - Samuels to junior wide receiver David Leonard. The Wyoming defense then stopped Fresno State on downs to secure the victory. Under first-year head coach Dave Christensen, the Cowboys finished the season at 7-6. More on the game later on Wyoming sports.org.

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University of Wyoming head basketball coach Heath Schroyer announced on Thursday that Thomas Manzano has decided to leave the Cowboy basketball program for personal reasons. “We wish Thomas nothing but the best in his future endeavors,” Schroyer said. Manzano , a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. who transferred to Wyoming from Garden City Community College, played in all eight games this season. The sophomore was averaging 7.0 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Schroyer will have not have any further comment.

Not that I really care about what an ESPN writer has to say, but I did find Mark Schlabach's ranking of the bowl games interesting. Schlabach ranked the 34 bowls from 1-34, and surprise, surprise, he rated the Citi BCS National Championship Game between Texas and Alabama as No. 1. I guess that is a gimme . A national writer on ESPN.com writer has to rank the title game as the top game, whether it is or not. He did rank Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, that features No. 4 TCU and No. 6 Boise State, as the second best bowl. I've give Schlabach credit for that. Here's what he said of that game: "Yes, it's a rematch of last season's Poinsettia Bowl, in which the Horned Frogs defeated the Broncos 17-16 in Boise's only loss of the season. But it's a heck of a lot better than trying to watch Iowa's offense score against TCU or Georgia Tech's defense trying to stop Boise State. It's a matchup of two unbeaten teams, and one of them could finish No. 2

Wyoming athletics director Tom Burman must have felt like he was presenting himself an award on Monday. It turned out to be a day of acceptance speeches. New Mexico Bowl Executive Director Jeff Siembieda was to be in Laramie to officially extend an invitation to the Wyoming football team to play in the bowl game. He only got to Denver, though, and decided to head back to Albuquerque because of the Rocky Mountain winter. So Burman was left to extend the invitation in place of Siembieda . If Burman was in Hollywood, he probably would have said: “The Academy Award goes to ….. me.” Well, maybe not quite. Wyoming coach Dave Christensen and the Cowboys were the recipient of the bowl invitation. Burman would be the producer of the movie that won the Academy Award. “We are here to finally accept the invitation to play in the New Mexico Bowl,” Burman told the gathering at the Rochelle Athletics Center, just a few minutes past 1 p.m. “We are so very, very proud to accept

I've come to the conclusion that I am not very good at waiting. As I write, I'm waiting for the official announcement of the bowl game scenario for the Wyoming Cowboys, although it is probably a foregone conclusion that they will compete in the New Mexico Bowl. I'm waiting for the Broncos-Chiefs game to get over as I do the (radio) production board in a studio that has topped out at 56 degrees. I guess it is better than being outside at about 8 degrees. I'm waiting for my wife to get out of the hospital as she recovers from her back/spine fusion surgery. I can't wait until she improves so she can begin leading a normal life again. She has gone through a lot recently and deserves something positive to happen. I'm waiting to hear about a job that I applied and interviewed for. This job would take me out of Laramie, but after two years of only part-time employment, I need this not only mentally but financially. Of course, I've been waiting for something posi

As I sit in my parents basement waiting for my mother to call me for dinner, I ponder my next sports message board post. It's hard to come up with something original, because I have already written about every problem the Wyoming men's basketball and football teams have had in the last five years, as well as the administration. I have solved all of those problems with my posts, and if you don't agree with me, you're an idiot. Although I was never an athlete and I have never attended a practice or talked with anyone ever associated with the teams, no one knows more about the Cowboys than me. O course, if I was in charge of Wyoming athletics, there would be no problems. If I could coach the Cowboys -- football or basketball, if doesn't matter -- I would never lose. Signed, The GreatestPokesFanEver Yeah Mom, I heard you. I'll be up in a minute. Jeeeeez , give me a break, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm 43.

With one boot, the Wyoming Cowboys got the Bronze Boot back. And they're going bowling. Walk-on true freshman placekicker Ian Watts kicked a late 33-yard field to to live the Cowboys to a thrilling 17-16 win over the Colorado State Rams Saturday at Hughes Stadium in fort Collins. With the win, the Cowboys, 6-6, are bowl eligible, and with their fifth-place finish in the Mountain West Conference (five MWC teams earning bowl bids), Wyoming will now wait to see which bowl it is going to. Dave Christensen became the first first-year Wyoming head coach to take his team to a bowl game since Paul Roach did it in the 1987 season. It was another typical Border War, as the two teams traded leads throughout. The Cowboys led 7-6 at halftime (thanks to a blocked extra point kick by senior John Fletcher), only to see the Rams regain the lead at 13-7 with a touchdown to begin the second half. Wyoming went up 14-13 in a 49-yard TD run by true freshman quarterback Austyn Carta - Samuels , who

As a Packers fan, as well as an Onion reader, I got a kick out of this post. Besides, I haven't had an Onion post lately, so enjoy: Packers afraid to tell Aaron Rodgers he has turf in his teeth

I was one of the 30 or 40 fans to watch the Black Hills State women's basketball games back in the day as a student in Spearfish. I'm sure, just like at UW , attendance has picked up considerably, with the Yellow Jackets recent success on the national NAIA level. Seeing BHSU on the Cowgirl basketball schedule certainly caught my eye and I'll be an interested party while covering the game Tuesday night for The Associated Press, Wyomingsports .org and even the Rapid City Journal. The game will be an exhibition for Black Hills State, but will count for the Cowgirls. The Yellow Jackets are 4-2 on the season, with the surging Cowgirls 4-0. Here's a little different look on the game from the Rapid City Journal. There are some interesting quotes from BH coach Mark Nore . Link: Yellow Jackets face tall task . In case you're wondering, here's a couple of famous Black Hills State graduates: Paul Roach and former Laramie Lady Plainsmen girls' basketball coach Bruce

It's all about beating the sheep this week for the Wyoming Cowboys. Sorry, it's all about beat the Colorado State University Rams for the Wyoming Cowboys. For you actual sheep that surf the web, I apologize . Wyoming turned its attention to Colorado State for Friday's game about the time that Cowboys head coach Dave Christensen walked out of the locker room Saturday after the 45-10 loss to TCU . With the way things went in the second half for Wyoming, maybe sooner than that. While the UW coaches and players didn't say it publicly , the CSU game has at least been what most UW fans have been pointing to since the Cowboys knocked off San Diego State the previous week. One more win and the Cowboys are in a bowl game. Yes, six wins just make them bowl eligible, but with the Mountain West Conference affiliated with five bowls, a win over the Rams would give Wyoming fifth place outright in the league. Of course, a win over TCU last Saturday would have given the Cowboys

I know what you're thinking: Rich's Daily Blog? What the heck? There hasn't been a post in a week. How's that a daily blog? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Kind of like for several years when the Laramie Boomerang was the Laramie Daily Boomerang and didn't publish on Monday. I'll try to keep up a little better. Then again, you're probably thinking, don't hurry back. For those who know me personally, though, you know that it has been a difficult last couple of weeks for me and my family. My wife, Teresa, was in a pretty serious car accident and her recovery has been slow. There's been a lot of driving back and forth to Fort Collins, so I have been a little distracted. I even got a speeding ticket on Friday about 5 miles from Laramie trying to get back in time for Sportsline Live. Oh well, let's just call it a $60 donation to the State of Wyoming. Can I write it off on my taxes? Teresa has been getting better every day, so the news has been positive. She has a

From the San Diego State media relations department after Wyoming's 30-27 come-from-behind win over the Aztecs. Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen On the Cowboys' 24-point fourth quarter: "We started making plays. It wasn't like (the Aztecs) were shutting us down all game, but we had some opportunities where we didn't get 6's a couple of times and we had a fumble. When it came time for the fourth quarter, we played extremely well. At halftime we talked and said that a time was going to come when we were going to need guys to start making plays, and in the fourth quarter, we had a lot of guys making plays." On kicker Ian Watts before his last-minute field-goal attempt to win the game: "I told Ian, if you miss it, it's no big deal; we're going into overtime. You need to treat this as a PAT and relax. And he sure did." On his decision to use bloop kicks against the Aztec special teams : "We were having problems placing the ball and t

It's been an eventful time in the Anderson household in the last couple of weeks, but not a time we want to go through again anytime soon. It has especially been a tough last couple of weeks for my better half, Teresa. Last week she went through a pretty serious surgery. On Tuesday, she was involved a very serious automobile accident. She had to be taken by ambulance to the Medical Center of the Rockies trauma ward in Loveland , Colo. For those who know my wife, you know what she has been going through health-wise the last few years. Teresa is a fighter and battles each and every day with pain I can't even begin to describe, nor would anybody truly understand. A long-time nurse herself, Teresa has spent much of her adult life trying to make others feel better. She's also spent a lot of time in the hospital this year as a patient at Ivinson Memorial, Poudre Valley Hospital and now at the Medical Center of the Rockies. Nurses share a common bond, which has been the case

It was a busy week for the University of Wyoming wo men's basketball and volleyball squads, as both programs announced the addition of new Cowgirls. Signing to play basketball next year for Joe Legerski was Hays, Kan ., guard Kayle Hoffman, while head volleyball coach Carrie Yerty announced that Lakewood, Colo., setter/libero Rachel Keyes will come on board next fall. Hoffman,at 5-foot-10, is a three -time first team all-league selection while attending Thomas More Prep-Marian High School. She was also selected first team all-area by the Hutchinson News and Hays Daily News. As a junior, Hoffman was a first team all-state selection while helping her team to a 21-1 record overall and the runner-up spot in the 3A State Championship. She averaged 16.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists during that time. She was selected to several All-Tournament teams during the past couple of years. Besides lettering in basketball, she also earned letters in softball and volleyball. In softbal

The Wyoming Cowboy basketball program has dipped into the Chicago and Midwest area once again, as guard Cameron Harvey announced that he will join the Cowboys in 2012. Yes, 2012. Harvey, at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, averaged 15 points, six assists and five rebounds a game last year as a freshman at St. Joseph High, gave a verbal committment over the weekend, according to several media sources. He and his family made an unofficial visit to Wyoming over the weekend. He plans to major in engineering at UW . Harvey will be a freshman in the fall of 2012, and in the spring of that year UW could have to replace as many as seven players who are sophomores this season. Many recruiting services rank Harvey in the top five in terms of prep sophomore basketball players in Illinois. Reports have Marquette, Baylor, Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame and Xavier also having shown interest in Harvey. If he plays for the Cowboys, Harvey will join fellow former Chicago prep stars Justin Williams, Ja

The Wyoming men's basketball opponent Friday in this season opener -- South Dakota State -- played its lone exhibition of the season on Monday night and beat Dakota State 72-58. The Cowboys downed Regis University 78-60 in its exhibition on Saturday. Comparisons between Regis and Dakota State -- Regis is D-2 and Dakota State is NAIA . Other than that, who knows? For more on the Jackrabbits game with Dakota State -- click here

Hopefully this goes a little better than football tweets. Check out UW-Regis men's basketball tweets on www.twitter.com/wyomingsports

Semifinals Friday's Games Class 4A Cheyenne Central 27, Gillette 10 Sheridan 9, Kelly Walsh 7 Class 3A Douglas 56, Worland 14 Cody 32, Buffalo 14 Class 2A Glenrock 28, Greybull 7 Thermopolis 33, Kemmerer 13 Class 1A Southeast 42, Wind river 12 Saturday's Game 1 p.m. -- Lingle-Ft. laramie at Cokeville 6-Man Guernsey 46, Hanna-elk Mountain 34 Kaycee 58, Midwest 56 --- State Title Games In Laramie All game played at War Memorial Stadium. Friday, Nov. 13 11:30am - 1A Championship: Southeast vs. Lingle-Ft.Laramie/Cokeville winner 2pm - 2A Championship: Thermopolis vs. Glenrock Saturday, Nov. 14th 10:30am - 3A Championship: Cody vs. Douglas 1pm - 6-Man Championship: Kaycee vs. Guernsey 3:30pm - 4A Championship: Central vs. Sheridan

Caught this on ESPN, then on YouTube. It's the highlights of BYU -New Mexico women's soccer MWC semifinals. I guess if you want some national recognition without winning, this is the way to do it. BYU beat New Mexico 1-0 in the match, but check out the dirty play of the Lobos Elizabeth Lambert. In case you are wondering, New M exico beat Wyoming 1-0 to earn a spot in the semifinals. New Mexico dirty play On Friday Nw Mexico head cpoach Kit Vela announcd that Lambert is prohibited from taking part in practices, games and conditioning, coach Kit Vela announced Friday. "Liz is a quality student-athlete, but in this instance her actions clearly crossed the line of fair play and good sportsmanship," Vela said. Also on Friday, Lambert apologized for her actions. "I let my emotions get the best of me in a heated situation. I take full responsibility for my actions and accept any punishment felt necessary," Lambert said. "This is in no way indicative of

UPDATE: The official statistics of Saturday's Wyoming-Utah game were changed with the correct players after the writing of this blog. I don't think there were too many fingers flashed Saturday night, at least by the Wyoming coaching staff. But evidently, the Cowboys are the Rodney Dangerfield of Mountain West Conference football to Utah officials. The don't get any respect. At least, according to the official game statistics when they were first released Saturday night into Sunday afternoon. If you saw the stats when they first came out, you would have noticed that Devin Moore was back with the Cowboys. In fact, Moore not only caught a 30-yard touchdown pass, but he also completed 19 of 30 passes for 121 yards. Maybe the NCAA needs to investigate this as Moore graduated last spring. Also, the touchdown Moore caught came from Eric Benson. Uh ... say what? Well, Moore didn't sneak into his own Wyoming uniform and fool the Utes. His old number, evidently , fooled the game

Cheyenne Central scored the game's final 30 points to thump the Plainsmen 44-14 Saturday in the first round of the Class 4A football playoffs in Cheyenne. Seventh-seed Laramie, 3-7, and the second-seed Indians were deadlocked at 14-14 at the end of the first quarter, but Central scored three times in the second quarter and never looked back. The game was postponed from Friday night due to weather conditions. Central will face Gillette in the semifinals .

Class 4A Friday's Games #1 Sheridan 41, #8 Natrona 17 #5 Kelly Walsh 38, #4 Green River 20 #3 Gillette 27, #6 Rock Springs 20 Saturday's Game #2 Central 44, #7 Laramie 14 Class 3A: Friday's Games #1E Douglas 40, #4W Lander 6 #2W Worland 38, #3E Riverton 37 2 OT's #2E Buffalo 21, #3W Star Valley 0 #1W Cody 19, #4E Torrington 6 Class 2A Friday's Games #1E Glenrock 38, #4W Lovell 7 #2W Greybull 42, #3E Big Horn 20 #2E Thermopolis 25, #3W Big Piney 0 #1W Kemmerer 27, #4E Wright 9 Class 1A Saturday's Games #1E Southeast 42, #4W Riverside 0 #2W Wind River 14, #3E Lusk 2 #2E Lingle-Ft. Laramie 49, #3W Rocky Mountain 13 Monday's Game 1 p.m. -- #4E Pine Bluffs at #1W Cokeville 6-Man Friday's Games #3E Hanna-Elk Mountain 41, #2W Little Snake River 20 #2E Midwest 72, #3W Meeteetse 32 #4E Kaycee 48, #1W Ten Sleep 43 Saturday's Game #1E Guernsey 73, #4W Farson-Eden 6

Cowboys basketball coach Heath Schroyer announced on Thursday that sophomore center Adam Waddell had successful arthroscopic surgery on Wednesday to repair cartilage damage in his right knee. The Cody native is expected to miss only two to three weeks of practice. Waddell started 24 of 33 games as a redshirt freshman last season. He averaged 5.1 points per game, 3.9 rebounds and blocked 21 shots. Schroyer said that he would have no further comment on Waddell ’s injury.

For those old enough, you might remember the old 1960s TV show, Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. If not, then ask your parents. Regardless, there was a skit on the show called, "The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award." Wyoming’s version of that award came two years ago when then head football coach Joe Glenn, not happy with what he perceived as Utah coach Kyle Whittingham running up the score when the Utes tried an on-side kick with a big, big lead in the game, gave Whittingham the finger. As one would expect, the middle finger salute was the talk of the town … Salt Lake City, Laramie … any college football town actually. Oh yeah, the Utes blasted the Cowboys 50-0 in the game. In fact, Utah has outscored Wyoming 175-30 in the last four games in Salt Lake City. Utah also belted the Cowboys 40-7 last year in Laramie. The Cowboys – not Glenn, but new head coach Dave Christensen – are going back to scene of the finger this week to take on another good Utah team. On Monday, Christ

What a gutsy effort by the Laramie Plainsmen, as they rallied to beat Cheyenne East 35-28 Friday night in the regular-season finale at Deti Stadium. For both teams, it was win or likely stay home for the playoffs. Late in the third quarter, it looked as if the Plainsmen would be on the wrong end of the final score once again against the T-Birds. East had won 11 straight against Laramie , and in fact, the Plainsmen had dropped 21 straight games to the Cheyenne schools (East and Central). Those losing skids, however, are in the rear view mirror. Laramie rallied from 11 points down to score the game's final 18 points, including the game-winner on a 2-yard run by Jon Sorenson with just under a minute to play. Unlike last week when the Plainsmen defense couldn't stop Green River in the final seconds in a tough 42-35 loss, Laramie came through in crunch time when Nathan Cowper intercepted an East pass to clinch the win. The Plainsmen, the seventh seed, will face No. 2 Cheyenn

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It was a tough night for the Laramie Plainsmen in snowy Casper, as fourth-ranked Kelly Walsh rolled to a 46-6 victory Friday night. Kelly Walsh, 5-2, took advantage of several Laramie fumbles and good field position to dominate from the start. KW led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter and 32-0 at halftime. The only core for the Plainsmen came in the fourth quarter on a 20-yard pass from quar terback Billy Hysong to wide receiver Kelby Wilkison . Laramie, 2-5 on the season, will return home next Friday to host Green River.

This is a guest blog by Teresa and Cassie Clift One thing I must say about New Mexico Lobos fans is that they are extremely supportive, not only of their own team, but also of the rest of the Mountain West Conference. Back in 2008, our family traveled down to New Mexico in order for Rich to be able to cover the first and second rounds of the NCAA Women's Basketball championships, in which both the New Mexico Lobos and our very own Wyoming Cowgirls were taking part. To make a long story short, when UW was playing Pittsburgh in The Pit, the Lobos fans cheered just as much for our girls as would be expected of them to cheer for their own team. It was almost like if the Red Sox and Yankees fans coming together. Not only were they supportive in the stadium, they were also extremely receptive and hospitable to the Wyoming fans and are surely some of the most welcoming people it has ever been our pleasure to meet. Even after the game in the parking lot, we met up with some fellow Wyo

It's been a while since I posted a story by The Onion. This one was too good to pass up. Remember, for those not familar with The Onion, this is not a real story. ESPN-Brett Favre And while we're at it, here's a parody on the Rockies. Adorable Rockies

Whether it is New Mexico’s ineptness or Wyoming’s improved play, the Cowboys are favored by 10 points Saturday in their homecoming contest. Yes, I said that Wyoming is favored by 10. What exactly does that mean? I’d say it is a little of the Lobos struggling big-time at 0-5 and the Cowboys, winners of two straight, beginning to put things together and are at home again. It’s somewhat of an unfairly position for the Cowboys lately. When was the last time Wyoming was a 10-point favorite against a 1A team? It’s been a while and those times have been few and far between. So, 10-point favorites and a chance for three straight wins. The last time Wyoming won three straight was in the 2006 season with wins over New Mexico, Utah and Colorado State, coming off a four-game losing streak. Just what does Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen think about being a favorite or the importance of winning streaks for his team? If you guessed not much, then you are correct. “Beating New Mexico is important

The picture sometimes says it all. Carlos Gomez scores the winning run in Minnesota's wild 6-5 win over Detroit (12 innings) in the AL Central tiebreaker game. Great picture by Brian Peterson of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The Twins trailed the Tigers by seven games on Sept. 7 and by two games with three to play before forcing the tiebreaker game on Tuesday. Minnesota will now face the New York Yankees Wednesday afternoon in New York in the American League Division Series. Nerve-racking for Twins fans (myself, since the late 1960s), but when this happens, it's all worth it. Now, if the Twins could just beat the Yankees. You're never too old to dream.

At first glance, it looks a little surprising that Wyoming freshman quarterback Austyn Carta - Samuels was named Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the year. I say that because Carta - Samuels didn't throw a touchdown pass. First glances can be deceiving, and in this case, it was. Carta- Samuels was 29 of 38 (76.3 percent) passing for 223 yards and had a quarterback rating of 120.35. He added 69 yards on the ground. He would have had nearly 100 yards if not for some QB sacks. He finished with 292 yards of offense. Maybe the most impressive stat, though, was the fact that he led the Wyoming offense once again to a come-from-behind win with a gutsy 12-play, 91-yard scoring drive. On that winning drive with just under five minutes to play, the true freshman rushed for 28 yards and passed for 18 yards, accounting for half (46 yards) of Wyoming's 91 yards on the scoring drive. He was clutch in a tough situation. On the first possession, Carta - Samuels had his block k

Game statistics The Wyoming Cowboys moved to 3-2 on the season with a come-from-behind 30-28 win over Florida Atlantic University Saturday in Fort L auderdale , Fla. The Cowboys fell behind early, but led 17-14 at halftime and wer e up by 10 in the third quarter before the Owls battled back to regain the lead at 28-24. Wyoming freshman Austyn Carta - Samuels , however, engineered a 12-play, 91-yard drive in the fourth quarter to put the Cowboys on top. freshman running back A lvester A lexander scored from 15 yards out for the game-winner. A lexander had three touchdown runs in the game.

Ed, you should have been here. It was a beautiful day in Laramie on Saturday; sunny skies with temperatures in the 70s. There was also a beauty of a football game going on at War Memorial Stadium between your UNLV Rebels and those “stinky” Wyoming Cowboys. I really am surprised you weren ’t here. Well, maybe not. After all, you don’t like Wyoming. It’s not your style. Vegas, baby, that’s where it is at. But then again, who doesn ’t like Vegas. I like Vegas. But I also like Laramie. I’ ve lived here for over 20 years. I must like Laramie. Sure, I complain about the weather on occasion. You know, 70 one day and snowing the next day. We live here, though, so we have the right to complain. You don’t live here, but you still do. Earlier in the week, as a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, you described our home like this: “Bland and bleak environment that is Laramie, where you might swear the world comes to an end at nearly 7,500 feet.” Personally, I think you

Check out updates of Wyoming-UNLV on www.twitter.com/wyomingsports or open this link and follow on the right side of the page.

To no one's real surprise, Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen will go with true freshman Austyn Carta - Samuels as his starting q uarterback Saturday against UNLV . Carta - Samuels played most of the game against Colorado, coming in for starter Robert Benjamin. He also played more snaps against Weber State than Benjamin. Christensen said that he wouldn't be rotating quarterbacks against UNLV and barring injury, Carta - Samuels will play the entire game. Christensen also said that freshman walk-on Ian Watts would take over the place-kicking duties for field goals and extra points. Austin McCoy would continue to punt and Jake Scott would kick off. Look for more on Wyoming Sports.org on Carta -S amuels later tonight and Watts on Tuesday. Also look for a feature on freshman receiver Chris McNeill later in the week.

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I guess I don't normally publish letters to the editor, but this letter was submitted to the Boomerang on Aug. 4 and was not published. The fact that I was mentioned has everything to do with me putting it on Wyoming Sports.org. When I try to pat myself on the back these days, all I do is pull something. This is a little easier. "Thanks for the great coverage. We would like to thank the Laramie Boomerang, Wyomingsports.org, and KOWB radio for their continued outstanding coverage of the Laramie Rangers Legion baseball. Reporter Ryan Lucas and the Laramie Boomerang have provided another season of great coverage with articles and photos that not only give a recap of the previous game, but provide an inside look at the players and the team overall. Time is taken to interview coaches and players to give a complete look at our local team. Out of town fans can go online for the same great coverage. Rich Anderson of WyomingSports.org also has provided great coverage and it is very evi

I've always got a little kick out of this statement: "I love my job so much, I would do it for nothing." Every once in a while you hear this from a professional athlete ... you know, for the love of the game. Then, next season, he holds out for more money. When you look at it, the concept of loving your job so much that you would do it for nothing is ideal. If your job is your profession, then you should love what you are doing. But what happens when your job, your profession, what you love to do the most is taken away from you? Would you do it for nothing? Suddenly, you realize that when you hear that, whether those words come from a professional athlete, an entertainer or even a sportswriter, it's all a bunch of crock. For the most part in the last two years, I've been doing what I love, for nothing. The previous 25 years or so, I was a sportswriter who went to work five days a week, if not more, loving what I did but doing so with the idea that I would be compe

Although basketball season is still down the road a bit, it's never too early to think basketball. UW finalized the men's basketball schedule on Wednesday, while the Mountain West Conference released the television schedule on Tuesday. The Cowboys will be on the tube 16 times this season -- 15 in MWC play. The long non-conference viewing is Dec. 15 when the 'Pokes travel to Tennessee. The game tips off at 5 p.m. (MDT) on ESPN U. The Wyoming men are scheduled to be televised in all but one league game -- the Jan. 27 home matchup with Utah. Here's the UW men's basketball television schedule: Dec. 15 -- Wyoming at Tennessee, 5 p.m. (ESPN U) Jan. 6 -- CSU at Wyoming, 6 p.m. (The Mtn .) Jan. 9 -- SDSU at Wyoming, 4 p.m. (The Mtn .) Jan. 12 -- Wyoming at TCU , 5:30 p.m. (The Mtn .) Jan. 16 -- New Mexico at Wyoming, 1:30 p.m. (The Mtn .) Jan. 20 -- Wyoming at BYU , 6 p.m. (The Mtn .) Jan. 30 --Wyoming at Air Force, 1:30 p.m. (The Mtn .) Feb. 3 -- UNLV at Wyoming, 8

I think all of those who experienced the Wyoming-Texas football game Saturday at War Memorial Stadium, whether you were a player, coach, fan, media person, UW employee, or whatever else you are out there, came away with a little extra adrenaline in your veins, regardless of the outcome. Without trying to be in awe, it was hard not to feel that way. After all, the Cowboys were playing one of the top college football programs in college football history, the Texas Longhorns ... in Laramie. Sure, the Cowboys have played the likes of Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, Ohio State throughout the years -- and played them pretty well for the most part -- but they had to play those powers away from home. They wanted no part of 7,220. Heck, even Nebraska and Colorado have avoided Laramie. The Cornhuskers are coming to Wyoming in the future, but CU ... well, that's another story. But Texas said, "Go to Wyoming? Why not." Of course, UW will have to go to Austin twice in the dea

For the first 29 minutes, Wyoming fans were in seventh heaven and Texas fans were in somewhat of a daze. The Cowboys were up 10-6 with a little over a minute to play until halftime. Could the Cowboys actually have a shot at beating No. 2 Texas? As it turned out, no. The Longhorns put together a late second- quarter drive and led by three at halftime and then put the game away with 28 unanswered points in the second half. As it turned out, the Longhorns 41-10 win was about what most had predicted. The Cowboys, showed the ability to play with one of the top college football programs in the country, if not in talent but with determination. Talent, however, won out like it usually does. Here's a look at Saturday's game at War Memorial Stadium , going back to the beginning: Eight minutes before kickoff, the stands are almost full. Still some late arrivals, but it is an awesome site to see the stands full. Cloudy and cool at kickoff, 53 degrees. Quite a difference from last we

Former Wyoming Cowboys defensive back Derrick Martin is looking forward to somewhat of a "fresh start," with the Green Bay Packers these days. Martin became a Packer on Saturday when he was traded by the Baltimore Ravens for offensive lineman Tony Moll, who was likely going to get cut by the Pack. Martin, who played in just four games last season with a torn labrum that required surgery, went untendered as a restricted free agent before re-signing with Baltimore for the veteran minimum. He was having a good camp and is expected to be the Packers No. 3 safety. Here's a writeup in the Green Bay Press Gazette . Here's another writeup in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Final game statistics The Wyoming offense looked good early, scoring on its first possession, highlighted by a 44-yard touchdown run by true freshman Alevester Alexander -- on his first carry as a Cowboy. Weber State then countered on a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cameron Higgins to Tim Toone , who got behind the Wyoming secondary in the right corner of the end zone. While junior quarterback Robert Benjamin showed the ability to move the ball (6 of 8 passing for 66 yards, 3 rushes 19 yards), Wyoming coach Dave Christensen went with true freshman Austyn Carta - Samuels in the second quarter. Mistakes have hurt both teams in the first half and the Cowboys are taking advantage of the Weber State miscues. Early on, the Cowboys lost a chance to maintain a nice drive with a holding penalty, then lost the ball on a fumble after a nice drive. The Cowboys then missed out on a chance for a touchdown after being forced to a field goal after first and goal on the 3-yard line. A proc