Rich's sometimes disjointed rambling

Another day, a few more names mentioned as possible head football coaches for the University of Wyoming. If I had a dollar for very time I have been asked in the last couple of days, “Who do you think will be the next football coach,” … well, let’s just say I’d have a few bucks to spare. Then, it is “Who do you want to be the next coach?” Maybe I should ask for $2 per question. My honest answer is always, “I don’t know.” It’s actually a pretty easy response. When you think about it, you can say “I don’t know” and lie. You can say “I don’t know” and actually not know.” I actually don’t know. What I can tell you and this is no lie, whoever Tom Burman selects as the next Cowboy football coach, there will be people out there who will not be happy. Actually, there’s people out there who are already not happy. Some thought Glenn should have been fired earlier, some believe Glenn should have been give another chance. There are probably some in a cave who don’t even know who Joe Glenn is. A ca...

First of all, Tom Burman said he didn ’t give a "bowl game or you're out" ultimatum to former Wyoming head coach Joe Glenn to begin the season. “Misinformation,” Burman said. “If you look back on the record, you will see that I stated that I expected us to have a winning record (at least seven wins),” Burman said Monday during a news conference, discussing Glenn’s dismissal. “I think the issue was that this year we finished with one win in the league and last year we finished with two wins in the league. We needed better than that after six seasons.” Let’s face it, in this day and age of collegiate athletics, winning is at the top of the list. That’s not to say that there are other factors in a successful program -- academics is the big key, as well as behavior. Yes, Glenn did about everything right except for winning conference games. The Cowboys this season weren ’t even close to being competitive with the league’s top four teams -- Utah, TCU , BYU and Air Force -- ...

It certainly was no surprise on Sunday with the announcement that Joe Glenn would not be back as head football coach of the Wyoming Cowboys. I wasn't sure if the announcement would be on S unday or Monday, but I had a feeling it would be soon. One way or the other, the announcement had to be made as soon as possible after the end of the season. Those in the media had an inkling that Saturday was Glenn's final game as Cowboy coach. Although he didn't say it in the postgame interviews, you could hear it in his voice. Various media outlets had reported that some assistant coaches had told some players earlier in the week that this would be their final game. Although Glenn said he didn 't want to get into the speculation after the game, he did talk about his job status. When asked if he thought he deserved to be back, G lenn's response was, "In some ways." Glenn knew that he didn ' t win enough games and he told the media so. To me, that probably sa...

It's Friday. The calm before the storm. TGIF. The band Loverboy belted out "Working for the Weekend." For me, it's "Working on the Weekend." When I was in the newspaper business, my "weekend off" was Sunday and Monday. Now, there's really no such thing as having a weekend off. The fun all begins Saturday at 9 a.m. with the Cowboys pregame show on KOWB . Then it's the game -- Wyoming vs. Colorado State in the 100 th meeting of The Border War. The battle for the Bronze Boot. The end of Sheep Week. Then at 6 p.m., it's the Wyoming men's basketball team hosting Johnson & Wales. I know what you're saying ... Johnson & Wales? No, it's not a show on the Food Network. It's basketball. We'll do double duty here -- first with the Associated Press and then with Wyoming Sports.org. I'm looking at wrapping it up about 11 p.m. On Sunday, we have the Cowgirls hosting Gonzaga at 2 p.m. Again, double dipping here with ...

There seems to be a little irony in the air. Just as the winter sports seasons begin for Laramie High School, it's gorgeous outside. I'd be willing to bet that some of the fall sports teams, such as football, cross country and even golf, would like to have been practicing in days such as Monday and today. It's been a good month since the state golf tournament. Nevertheless, the basketball has been bouncing at will in Plainsman Gym as Jason Mountain gets his boys' team ready and Rod T yson begins his first season as Lady Plainsmen head coach. After all, it is basketball season. It just doesn't feel like it -- yet. In a couple of days, though, we'll be glad that the winter sports (minus Nordic and alpine skiing) are inside. Also hard at work now is Brad Edmunds and his wrestling crew, with Tom Hudson still on a little fiesta (for Hudson) before he begins his boys' swim practices. And yes, pray for snow for the LHS ski teams. Of all of the sports that do...

Here's a little bit of a shocker: Rocky Long has resigned after 11 years as head football coach at New Mexico. The former Wyoming assistant coach saw his team slump at the end of this season, losing their final four games of the season to finish 2-6 in Mountain West Conference play and 4-8 overall. Despite a 65-69 overall record, Long led the Lobos to five bowl games. Here's more on his resignation from the official New Mexico athletics Web site: http://golobos.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/111708aae.html

It was good to get out of town on Saturday and see another part of the state. I made my first-ever trip to Burns to cover the Burns-Big Horn Class 2A state title football game for the Casper Star-Tribune. Well, I can't say I got a tour of the town, as the football stadium was on the southern end. I guess I'll have to go back to see the rest of the community, population 200-some and change. It had been a while since I had covered small-school football. When I say a while, how about 22 years. As sports editor of the Northern Wyoming Daily News in Worland , schools like Ten Sleep, Basin, Greybull and Burlington were part of my beat. I always enjoyed those small schools, as when the game was in process, the rest of town was deserted. There is something to be said about community pride and it often begins with rural America. Sometimes I wish Laramie and its high school sports fans would take a look at communities such as Burns and Big Horn. I'm wondering how many people were l...

Wyoming athletics director Tom Burman presents former UW All-American basketball player Kenny Sailors with a plaque as his bigger than life jersey was raised to the rafters with a dedication Friday during halftime of the Wyoming-Cal State Bakersfield.

Need a lift? Or are you tired of looking for a parking spot? Here's you're chance. A free shuttle will be available for persons attending University of Wyoming athletics or fine arts events Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 19 and 20, and Saturday, Nov. 22. The shuttle will run approximately every 10-15 minutes from the South Express lot located at 15th Street and Spring Creek Drive. Riders will be dropped off and picked up in front of the College of Law Building, providing close access to the men's and women's basketball games in the Arena-Auditorium and to the Theatre and Dance Department performances of the "A Midsummer Night's Dream" ballet and the UW Symphony Orchestra concert in the Fine Arts building. The shuttle will run from 6-10 p.m. Nov. 19 and 20, and from 5-10 p.m. Nov. 22. Visit www.uwyo.edu/finearts for details. This free service is available only for these three days.

It was an eventual day Wednesday for Wyoming basketball. Mostly good news, some not so good news. The only bummer for the Cowboys today was the announcement that junior wing Ryan Dermody is out for an unspecified time with a dislocated left elbow. Dermody , who averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds a game last season, suffered the injury Wednesday in practice. “Ryan will meet with the doctors and undergo further test next week,” said UW head coach Heath Schroyer . “Until then, we will not know the extent of his injury.” Schroyer , however, did have some good news with the letter-of-intent signings of Casper Natrona's Michael Dietz and Thomas Manzano . The two big and athletic guards should fit in in well with the future of Cowboy basketball. Dietz will be a senior at Natrona , while Manzano will play one year at Garden City Community College in Kansas. For the Cowgirls, Joe Legerski also signed two impressive athletes, 6-foot-1 forward Chaundra Sewell of Broomfield , Col...

Got my first 14 ers press release today. I opened the file just to see what it was. I knew it wasn't a virus-infected file because it was forwarded by UW media relations. I guess I have been out of the loop. I didn' t know what it was. Well, as it turns out, the 14 ers are a Denver-area NBA Developmental League team. I guess I did hear at one time that Denver was getting a Development League team. As it turns out, Wyoming's own Josh Davis is part of the roster, hence the e-mail. So here's the press release for all of you 14 ers fans. The Colorado 14 ers basketball club announced on Wednesday that seven players that will be invited to training camp beginning Saturday, Nov. 15. Returning players Damien Lolar and Eric Osmundson will be joined on the training camp roster by Davis, Jamar Brown, Joe Dabbert , Lamar Butler, and Keith Salscheider . This will be the first training camp for new 14 ers head coach Bob MacKinnon . “I’m happy to start my first season with...

Welcome back Cowboy fans. It has been interesting to hear what Wyoming football fans have had to say the past couple of weeks, with the Cowboys on the winning side of things. Two weeks ago, the Cowboys were thought of as one of the worst teams in the country, highlighted by its insertion into ESPN. com's Bottom 10. The Wyoming-San Diego State game was named the Pillow Fight of the Week. UW fans laughed and vented, and continued to cry in their beer (or whatever they were drinking). Armageddon was just around the corner. But suddenly, attitudes began to change. Wyoming rolls past hapless San Diego State 35-10 and the offense showed some signs of life. Of course, it was just San Diego State and that was that. But, as they say, a win is a win. Wyoming still had to follow that game with a matchup that agreed upon several years ago in Knoxville, Tenn., against big, bad Tennessee. The Cowboys went in as 26-point underdogs. Well, as it was turned out, Tennessee was bad, but not in a g...

Saturday's game at Tennessee proved to be one of the hindsight games for fans. Looking back, you're thinking, "Why didn't I just buy some plane tickets and make the trip?" The voice of reason in your head told you, "It's going to be a blowout, don't do it. Save your money." Now you're thinking, " Shut up , voice of reason. I hate you. Never again." But that comes with the territory of not making a long trip because of common sense, and the game not only turns out to be a dandy, but a win for the Cowboys. There were an estimated 700 Cowboy fans at Neyland Stadium on Saturday who are glad they didn't listen to the voice of reason. By the end of the game, they might have been the only fans in the stadium. For many, it was just an opportunity to make a trip to one of the most prestigious college football programs and stadiums in the country. In the last few years, Wyoming has played at Florida, Georgia, Auburn and Ohio State. If...

This sounds like something out of a television drama, like Law and Order. The victim is blamed for the crime and the perpetrator is set scott free. The Mountain West Conference has reprimanded Wyoming head football coach Joe Glenn and Cowboy junior quarterback Karsten Sween for their comments after Sween was the victim of a vicious hit by TCU linebacker Robert Henson on Oct. 25 in Fort Worth. Sween had a concussion from the hit by Henson, who was flagged for a personal foul penalty. After the game, Glenn said he thought the hit was a "cheap shot," and Sween said it was a "dirty hit." Sween did not play last weekend because of the injury, but was cleared to play for Saturday's game at Tennessee. Freshman quarterback Chris Stutzriem , however, will start at quarterback against the Volunteers. The conference issued a statement saying the comments violated the conference's sportsmanship rules. "The remarks appeared in the Laramie Boomerang and Casp...

You know what would be kind of cool? All Wyoming yellow vs. all Tennessee orange. Laramie's resident Tennessee fan, KOWB sports director David Settle, quickly rejected my suggestion. "Not going to happen," Settle said. Settle's guess is that Tennessee would go with their white pants. My guess is that the Cowboys will go with their white tops. At any rate, how did you like the all yellow for Saturday's game against San Diego State? I thought they were kind of sharp, but I also think they should be worn just a once or twice a year. Several of the Cowboys were asked about them after the win over the Aztecs. No tax money was spent on this study, but research indicated that some players liked them, some didn't and others didn't care. Freshman quarterback Chris Stutzriem and junior defensive tackle John Fletcher liked them because the Cowboys won. “We’re wearing them next week, that’s all I got to say,” Stutzriem said with a laugh. “I do like them.” Added F...

I would have to think that every coach in major college and professional sports knows one thing when they are named to a position: It's not going to last forever. We're not just talking about life. Obviously, you can't live forever. The lifespan of a coach for one team is rare. It happens, but not a lot. It was interesting to hear that Tennessee head football coach Phillip Fulmer will step down after the season. All F ulmer has done is spend th e last 35 years at Tennessee as a player, a graduate assistant, offensive line coach, offensive coordinator and the past 17 years as head coach. Thanks for all that you have done, now hit the road. I know the feeling. Fulmer is currently 150-51 in his career at Tennessee . He won a national title in 1998, two SEC titles (lost three other times in the SEC title game) and has led the Vols to 15 bowl games (only 8-7). Evidently Fulmer didn't do enough for the Volunteers. According to ESPN.com, Fulmer said in a press conference...