Rich's sometimes disjointed rambling

Ah, the beauty of blogging. Sometimes you're right, sometimes you're wrong. In my case, it's more like, sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. Last week I blogged that the Cowboy basketball team was scrimmaging Washington Saturday in Seattle. Well, I was kind of right. The Cowboys are scrimmaging the Huskies in Seattle -- this Saturday, not last Saturday. I got the info from reading a blog by Dan Raley of the Seattle Post- Intelligencer . Evidently, he thought it was last Saturday as well, or just forgot to the put the actual date down. Regardless, the Cowboys will leave Friday for Seattle. I guess it kind of makes sense, with just one exhibition game scheduled. As mentioned before, the scrimmage is closed to the public and media and likely the coaches and players will give their best Sgt. Schultz impersonation . For you youngsters , Sgt. Schultz was on the old sitcom Hogan's Heroes, where he was a dimwitted Nazi guard. One of his catch phrases was...

Don’t look now, but the Wyoming Cowboys are in the Top 10. Actually, they're in The Bottom 10. The Cowboys are ranked 10 th in ESPN.com’s The Bottom 10 for the first time this season other than the university’s band uniforms. The Bottom 10 author David Duffey is using an AC/DC theme in honor of the band’s new album “Black Ice,” in describing the 10 worst programs in college football. For Wyoming, Duffey said, “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)”: The Bottom 10 is firing off its cannon at the return of the Cowboys to our band.” Duffey also has San Diego State -- Saturday’s Cowboys’ opponent -- ranked sixth. He describes the Aztecs as, "Hells Bells": Playing “Hells Bells” as entrance music for closer Trevor Hoffman seemed to work for the Padres. Maybe they can loan the sheet music to the Aztecs.” In honor of the Wyoming-San Diego State matchup , Duffey has named it the “National Pillow Fight of the Week.” The Cowboys are 0-5 in Mountain West Conference play and 2-...

There's no doubt that Bob Knapton still has his work cut out for him in rebuilding the Plainsmen football program. At times this season, there were signs that the Plainsmen were on their way. Despite early losses, 21-14 to Steamboat Springs and 19-6 to Cheyenne East, Laramie looked competitive. There were other positive signs -- a 24-16 win over Casper K elly Walsh midway through the season. But that was followed with a 23-0 loss to Scottsbluff the next week. One step forward and one step back. The only real consistency for LHS was inconsistency. Laramie then had some up and down losses -- 51-23 to a mediocre Evanston team and 33-0 to a good Green River team. Possibly the biggest killer was the 35-28 overtime loss to Rock Springs in a game that the Plainsmen led 28-7 a minute into the fourth quarter. Tough calls, followed by unruly behavior did in Laramie down the stretch. The Plainsmen then closed the season last Friday with a tough 42-6 loss to Cheyenne Central in a game ...

Just as Laramie head cross country coach Greg Schabron had hoped, his Plainsmen made a nice run (pun intended) at the state title Saturday in Sheridan. When the dust settled, the Plainsmen came up a little short in their quest for the title, finishing third, but just five points from the top spot. Gillette won the title with 80 points, followed by Rock Springs at 83 and Laramie at 85. Individually, sophomore Austin Reitsma earned all-state honors with his fifth place finish in 17 minutes, 6:49 seconds. The Laramie girls also moved up one spot from last year’s finish when they finished in eighth place. Maddie Byra was the top runner for the Lady Plainsmen in 25 th place. It proved to be a good and encouraging start for Schabron , who took over for Emily Williams this season. Like any first-year head coach, it takes some time for a program to build the way a coach envisions. Last week the Plainsmen won their first regional title in about 14 years. Schabron , a former Plainsmen and UW...

Here's from the super secret , don't ask, don't tell department: Evidently, the Wyoming men's basketball team is playing the University of Washington Saturday in Seattle. Say what? How can that be, you ask? I'm looking at the Cowboy schedule and there is no mention of this organized team-oriented physical assertion. Well, actually, it's not a game. It's more like a scrimmage, according to Dan Raley of the Seattle Post- Intelligencer, in his blog. According to Raley, "Fans and reporters can't watch it, no one keeps score and Washington basketball coaches can't talk about it later, but the Huskies will get their first taste of competition with a closed-door scrimmage against Wyoming Saturday at Edmundson Pavilion. "Previously, the Huskies have used this unofficial game opportunity to play St. Mary's." So, there you go. Wyoming coach Heath Schroyer and his team is off to the Pacific Northwest. I'm sure you are wondering, 'Hey...

A few pics from Wednesday's UW basketball media day, the 20th attended by yours truly.

There's no doubt that the Mountain West conference is in somewhat of a quandary with the conference basketball tournaments. On one hand, Vegas is where the fans and yes, the media want to go. Who wouldn' t. It's Vegas. On the other hand, whether UNLV has a good team or not, the Rebels have a homecourt advantage. There can be no argument about that. It is real. So what does the league do? Talk can be cheap, but it appears the conference is actually looking into the situation. The league office on Wednesday sent a release, naming five cities that are in the mix to host the tournament. Evidently, Laramie didn' t make the cut. Yes, that's sarcasm . According to the release, the Mountain West Conference future basketball championships site subcommittee has announced finalist cities to host the 2011-13 tournaments. The five finalists are Albuquerque, Denver, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and San Diego. These cities will be moved forward in the Request for Proposal ( RFP ...

The bye week is by the wayside, so to speak, as the Cowboy football team is now back at it, working towards Saturday's matchup with No. 15 TCU in Fort Worth. Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn said it was a good break for the team, as they got in some early work last week and then some rest -- exactly what the bye week is made for. "We used the week to practice and I felt like we got a lot out of it," G lenn said Tuesday on the weekly MWC media teleconference. "We got some rest and we got some guys healed up who were beat up a little bit. We were able to polish some fundamentals that you usually don't get a chance to work on during the season when you are scheming for a team for five straight weeks." The mental break for the struggling Cowboys might have been just as important as the time spent working on different aspects of their game. Glenn gave the players off last Thursday through Sunday. "Hopefully they got a home cooked meal and they went hom...

I've been holding off on this picture for a couple of weeks, partially because I did kind of forget about it, but also because I've been trying to come up with a funny catch-phrase. This was taken a couple of weeks back at Deti Stadium for a Plainsmen football game. I'm sorry, I don't mean to make fun of whoever did this. In fact, when I was in college, I had a part-time job of chalking the foul lines for the city softball league. I heard about it every night. But I'll steal a line from Larry the Cable Guy: "I don't care who you are, that's funny right there." Being the smart ass that I can be, I want to come up with something funny like - work, happy hour, work. Like I said, I can be somewhat of a smart ass (sorry about the language). When I was a kid, my dad once said to me, "quit being a smart ass." Of course, my response was, "better being a smart ass than a dumb ass." That probably wasn't the smart thing to say, but ...

With the crispness in the air that has us all shivering a bit (especially when your furnace doesn't kick on), it must be about time for basketball season. The season officially begins Friday with the first practices for the Cowboys and Cowgirls. Of course, official is the key word as both squads have been allowed various workouts together since the beginning of classes. Both Wyoming teams were picked sixth in Tuesday's MWC media/coaches poll that was released during the MWC Preseason Media Days in Las Vegas. For the most part, that was about where both head coaches -- Heath Schroyer for the Cowboys and Joe Legerski for the Cowgirls -- figured. For the Wyoming men, this season is a chance for Schroyer to have a little better handle on his team (not that he didn't have a handle last year), but in the sense that he has more of his recruits on the floor. I think you're going to see a m uch improved squad that is far superior athletically and should have a better cha...

I can see the message boards lighting up now after Clemson fired head coach Tommy Bowden Monday morning. The basis of those posts will likely include, "If Clemson can do it, why can't Wyoming?" I can't help but go back to the old saying that I heard as a youngster and likely you have to, "If your friends jump off a bridge, does that mean you have to?" Basically, if it is good for one school, will it work for another? Wyoming Athletics Director Tom Burman went on record a couple of weeks ago saying that there would be no decision on Glenn's status until after the season. Of course, that was two weeks ago and the Cowboys have since been outscored 64-7. A member of the Wyoming media, Wyoming Tribune-Eagle Sports Editor Robert Gagliardi said in a column in Sunday's edition that it was time for Glenn to go ... at least by the end of the season. That's Gagliardi's opinion and he is more than entitled to his opinion. I won't pretend to know ...

Rah, rah, rah ... sis, boom, bah! I actually don' know what that means. My guess is something to do with cheerleading . So, with that said, The Mtn .’s Friday Nite Pep Rally will be televised live from War Memorial Stadium on Friday. The show is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. and run until 8 p.m. The event, which is free to the public, will be in the southwest corner of War Memorial Stadium. In case of inclement weather, the event will move to War Memorial Fieldhouse . Qdoba Mexican Grill will be serving free food to the first 400 Wyoming fans in attendance, beginning at 7 p.m, and the The Mtn . will be giving away promotional items throughout the telecast. Wyoming head coach football Joe Glenn and Wyoming seniors Ward Dobbs , Devin Moore and Quincy Rogers will be taking part in the pep rally. The Homecoming Sing winners will also participate in the program. The show will be hosted by The Mtn .’s Rich Cellini, Jon Berger and Andrea Lloyd, who will also be the announcers for Sat...

In many ways, it was hard to tell the difference between the two local football teams last weekend -- Laramie High School and the University of Wyoming. Compare the results: The Plainsmen muff the opening onside kick at Evanston and two plays later, the Red Devils score. An average Evanston team can do no wrong and rolls to a 51-23 win in its Homecoming game. Up next for Laramie: No. 2 Green River at home. The Cowboys have their first pass tipped at the line of scrimmage, intercepted and returned for a touchdown. One play and they're down, 7-0. Wyoming would go on to lose to a very average New Mexico team 24-0 in its Homecoming game. Up next for Wyoming: No. 14 Utah at home. The only real difference last weekend was that the Plainsmen were able to move the football this time and score. The Cowboys weren't. Two weeks ago, Laramie fell to Scottsbluff , Neb., at home 23-0 and couldn't move the football and the Cowboys moved the football at times but fell to Bowling Green at...

Fall back I guess fall is coming this weekend. The weather has been great, so there is no complaining here. I am a little anxious for some cooler weather, just so I can wear my new KOWB / KCGY jacket. That's pretty sad, isn't it? MLB surprises? What's your thoughts of the MLB playoffs so far? Let's see, Red Sox sweep Angels in LA and Dodgers sweep Cubs in Chicago. Some things never change. Also, Rays up 2-0 and Phillies up 2-0. I'd have to say that there isn't a whole lot of drama yet. I think the White Sox can make a run at the series, as they return home, but I'm not sure the other three will be more than a four-game set. Plainsmen continue to struggle For some reason the Laramie Plainsmen have forgotten how to tackle. It sure seems that way as teams, specifically Evanston and Scottsbluff , have run roughshod on them in the last two weeks. Last week Scottsbluff's Tyler Geary ran for 272 yards against Laramie in the 23-0 Bearcats ' win and...

The end result wasn't what I was looking for Tuesday night, but I still felt pretty good about the Twins' season. The White Sox will be the team moving on to the playoffs, after nipping the Twins 1-0 on Jim Thome's home run in the bottom of the seventh . Both teams finished the regular season tied for first place in the AL Central Division, resulting in the one-game playoff. When you consider the fact that no on e gave Minnesota a chance to even contend for the title after trading Johan Santana to the Mets and losing Torri Hunter via free agency, it just goes to show that playing the game means more than looking good on paper. All season long the Twins plugged away and stuck around. Credit should go to manager Ron Gardenhire and the type of players the organization develops (not buys). You might call it overachieving, but it's just the Twins way. I've been a Twins fans since the late 1960s, after my oldest brother brought back a program when his Legion tea...