Rich's sometimes disjointed rambling

Could the infamous Tom Hudson buzz haircut be coming back in style? Possibly a mohawk? Hudson, the longtime swim coach for Laramie High School, has always made a bet with his team, whether it is the boys' or girls' squads, that he would let them shave his head if they win a state title. Get the clippers out. Hopefully, Hudson is going bald again as the Plainsmen captured the Class 4A State Swimming and Diving Championships Friday afternoon in Gillette. The Plainsmen finished with 245 points to edge out defending state champion Gillette, which had 234.5. Casper Kelly Walsh was third with 204.5 points. As expected, depth was the key for the Plainsmen, as they had just one individual champion -- junior Mike Hudson, who won the 100-backstroke in 54.53 seconds. The title was Tom Hudson's sixth and the first since 20o5, when Laramie had won its third of three straight. The Laramie program now has 17 state titles in swimming. The Camels had won the last three boys' titles. F...

It just breaks my heart to see the NFL in a recession, like the rest of the country. Commissioner Roger Goodell announced some league layoffs. He's even taking a 20 percent paycut. The league is doing their patriotic duty. After all, free agency has begun. Evidently, Albert Haynesworth is doing his patriotic duty as well to help reduce the national debt, by signing a seven-year, $100 million dollar contract with the Washington Redskins. The contract is expected to be worth $41 million in guaranteed money, as well as $32 million paid out over th e next 13 months. With incentives, he could earn as much as $115 million in his tenure. Treasury Secretary Tim Geitner, as soon as he figures out his own taxes, is drooling over the possibilities of Haynesworth's tax bill. Wait a minute, I have an idea. Take the tax revenue from all of the new NFL free agent contracts and bail out the less fortunate .... the NBA.

Jackie Gleason used to say, "How sweet it is!" Of course, if you are of the MTV/ VH -1 generation, just ask your parents who Jackie Gleason is. Maybe is should be, "How sweep it is." But sweetness sums up the feeling for Wyoming fans after a season sweep of Colorado State in basketball -- for the men and women. It is the Cowboys' second straight regular-season sweep of the Rams, and the first time a multi-year sweep has been done since the 2001-2003 seasons, when Wyoming swept them three straight years. It's also the fourth straight year that the Cowgirls have swept the Rams. Not only were the games for bragging rights between the Border War rivals, but they were also important for both the Cowboys and Cowgirls, as they close the final stretch run of the conference season. With the win, the Cowboys won't be in the play-in game at the league tournament, which they were last year and lost to the Rams. The worst Wyoming could do is finish seventh, with the ...

The Cowgirl basketball program is now reaching out via the worldwide web. I just stumbled across this on Tuesday and evidently it was just launched on Sunday. The Cowgirls have their own website, which is not connected to the athletics department. Check it out at www.cowgirlbasketball.com . The site features rosters of the players and coaches and their schedule and results, along with other activities in a very modern and professional way. My guess is that it was creates as another way to reach out to prospective recruits, as well as young fans. It will be interesting to see how the site progresses in the future. Regardless, it's a nice site that I'm sure all of the UW athletic programs might look at as well.

I don't have to worry about it because I'm not going to the MWC basketball tournament again this year, but if you are, behave yourself. Evidently, the MWC is cracking down on all of you hooligans. It's kind of funny, though, for all of the years that I attended the tournament, other than Lee Cummard's wife, I don't remember too many serious incidents. But here's a release from the league office that explains it all: "In a coordinated effort to ensure a secure environment for all participants and an improved overall fan experience, security at Thomas & Mack Center will be significantly heightened for the 2009 Conoco Mountain West Conference Basketball Championships, scheduled for March 10-14 in Las Vegas, Nev. Text-messaging, limitations on alcohol sales and revised plans for post-game celebrations are among the enhanced security measures that will be in place throughout the championships. Additional procedures will be administered behind the scene...

No, this is not a remake of Jimmy Stewart's 1939 classic movie, "Mr. Smith goes to Washington." Mr. Thompson is Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson, who spent Thursday and Friday pleading his case that the current BCS football playoff system ... well, kind of sucks. The only problem is Congress is not in session. Evidently, they are on the President Obama World Tour drumming up support for the porkulus bill ... uh, I mean stimulus bill that was signed earlier in the week. Thompson is spreading the word to people who will spread the word to Congress when their travel expenses run out and they have to return to Washington. You have to give Thompson an A for effort. At least he is trying to get something done. Unfortunately, he's probably barking up the wrong tree. Putting the BCS in the hands of Congress is like having your alcoholic friend watch a six-pack of Bud Lite for you that you are anxiously looking forward to at the end of the day. I'd...

I'm not sure if this A-Rod affair is more suited for a VH -1 reality show or a soap opera. I think reality shows are now the sign of the times, unfortunately. If this would have happened about 10 years ago, Alex Rodriguez is starring in "The Bold & The Beautiful." I was kind of on the fence earlier about the whole situation. I guess it was because I go back to my days working near Seattle and A-Rod was a young Mariner. Even after he left Seattle, in some way, I kind of liked A-Rod. Well, let's put it this way, I didn't hate him. The sad thing was that he never needed to use that crap. He was one of the best players in baseball. Now, I just don't know. First, he denies everything in an interview with Katie Couric (an interview with Katie Couric ? Red flags, red flags). Then comes the Sports Illustrated article. Then comes an interview with Peter Gammons . Then comes his spring training news conference on Tuesday in front of a zillion reporters. I'm b...

In the days before the internet , as a big baseball fan, the best source hands down for MLB news was the The Sporting News or TSN , as they liked to call it. What I liked about TSN was the team updates that say, as Twins fans, I wasn' t going to get on a national level in the newspaper . Of course, TSN covered all sports, but baseball was their baby, going back to the turn of the century (20 th , not 21st). I then graduated from the regular Sporting News to their baseball only version until the web came into play. Now you can get online and read about your team from the local paper. Very convenient . Just recently, I was turned on to Sporting News Today, an online pdf version of its daily newspaper. This is the place to be, my fiends, if you want an overall scope of the national sporting news (hey, what a great name for a sports publication). The great thing about reading the Sporting News Today is it is not just links of a particular story that you have to open one at a time....

Joe Legerski warned us all early on, saying his young Cowgirls' team would have its ups and downs; win some big games and lose some tough encounters. The Cowgirls were picked sixth in the preseason MWC standings and that's where they stand with less than a month to play. At 4-6 in league play and 12-11 overall, Legerski hit the nail on the head. There have certainly been some disappointing losses for a program that had been used to more big wins than tough defeats. In the last two home games, the Cowgirls have shown some spark that the faithful UW fans are used to seeing. After hitting a tough stretch in January, the Cowgirls are showing some signs of coming around, edging a good New Mexico team 52-50 and beating a very talented San Diego State squad on Sunday, 64-61. Even last Sunday's seven-point loss to MWC- leading Utah in Salt Lake City showed that Wyoming is bcoming more competitive with the elite in the league. The Cowgirls certainly go as they shoot the basket...

There will be a definite Cowboys connection on Sunday when the Wyoming wrestling team takes on No. 15 Oklahoma State and Binghamton (N.Y.) in dual matches in Stillwater , Okla. Of course, it will be Wyoming Cowboys versus Oklahoma State Cowboys. But UW is coached by former Oklahoma State All-American (1994-97) and assistant coach Mark Branch (11 years) and Binghamton is coached by former Oklahoma State wrestler Pat Popolizio (1998-2001). It's a little family reu nion for longtime Oklahoma State coach John Smith. Smith, however, told Christopher Shelton of the Stillwater Newspress, that he is treating the duals like any other competition. “I want to beat them as bad as I want to beat anyone,” Smith said. “When they’re not wrestling ( OSU ), I want them to win. It’s good to see that both programs have elevated up. In the short time that Mark Branch has been to Wyoming, just statistics and stats show that he’s already elevated that program to a new level of what expectations...

Don't look now, but the University of Wyoming has a nationally-ranked athletics team. In the College Swim Coaches Association of America ( CSCAA ) poll, the Cowboy swimming and diving team earned votes for the Top 25 poll, and are currently ranked 35 th . It is the first time the Pokes have received votes since 2004 when they were ranked as high as 25 th . "It is an honor to be recognized by the CSCAA ," UW head coach Tom Johnson said. "I think we have done a tremendous job to this point by beating Denver at home, who earned votes as well, and BYU on the road. We have worked hard and it's nice to be recognized for that." The Cowboys finished the regular season in second place in the Mountain West Conference dual standings. UNLV , currently ranked 24 th in the CSCAA poll, finished on top of the MWC men's standings. The Cowboys will compete in the MWC championships Feb. 25-28 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall at the Blake Street Tavern on Friday morning. Actually, that's probably not a good thing to have flies in a restaurant. Nevertheless, it might have been worth the $17 cover charge to have breakfast with Colorado men's basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik for the Denver Buff Club sponsored event. For a little refresher, CU basketball, under the former Air Force head coach (he's also assisted by former UW coach Steve McClain) is ... well, how do I put this ... struggling, to say the least. The Buffs, who host Texas on Saturday, are 1-8 in the Big 12 and 9-14 overall after an embarrassing 70-42 road loss to Iowa State on Wednesday. It gets worse. Iowa State scored 21 straight points in the first half and led 37-9 at halftime. Nine points in 20 minutes. CU is now in last place in the Big 12. Iowa State is now tied with Texas Tech for 10th place. It "was a blur, a bad dream. It was horrible," said CUs Dwight Thorne II, who scored all nine points in...

To borrow a line from Christopher Walken's character as music producer Bruce Dickinson in a Saturday Night Live sketch, "Guess what? I've got a fever, and the only prescription ... is more cowbell!" There was once the marketing chatchprase from Major League Baseball that said, "Baseball Fever, Catch it!" I don't think the two are connected, but for some reason, after interviewing Rockies radio announcer Jeff Kingery on Sportsline Live tonight, the MLB catchphrase got caught in my head. Of course, when that happened, I thought of more cowbell. I probably should see somebody about that, but that could only delve into something more serious and we don't want to do there. Regardless, its just a few more days until the Rockies pitchers and catchers, as well as most of the other MLB teams, report for spring training. I know there are a lot of you that aren' t quite over your football sugar high, so I suggest you just watch the NFL Network for ab...

Brett Favre has retired ... again. This time, he told the Jets that it is "for good." Well, at least until July comes around and he has the itch to play again. Actually, I believe him this time. Of course, I believed him the first time. I didn't want to believe him, but when most players s ay they are retiring, they retire ... unless you are Brett Favre and Michael Jordan. So what did we get out of Favre playing for the Jets? Flashes of the old Favre (miraculous TD passes and head-scratching interceptions). We also got the Jets fading down the stretch with an aging and beat-up quarterback. We also got that the Packers made the right decision in going with a much, much younger Aaron Rogers. Sure, the Packers stumbled , but it wasn't Rogers' fault. Could Favre have won a few of those close losses? Possibly. But any true Packers' fan knows that even in his heyday, Favre also lost some of those games (2008 NFC title game). Now, the Packers will get the Jets...

For a while, it was looking as if four or five losses could win the Mountain West Conference men's basketball race this year. It was just a couple of weeks ago that there was a logjam in first place with two losses. Since then, only Utah and San D iego State has maintained the winning pace, and the two teams remain tied for first at 7-2. That will all change on Wednesday, as the Aztecs travel to Utah with first place on the line. The winner of that game won't clinch the regular-season title, but it could get a little advantage down the stretch, especially if things fall in place. It also might just be a temporary lead, if things fall into place. If the Aztecs get a big road win, they'll return home to host a struggling Wyoming team Saturday night. Their remaining schedule won't be easy, but it might be a little better than Utah's final four games The Aztecs will have a tough game at New Mexico, before hosting BYU , traveling to to TCU and closing with Colorado Sta...

Heath Schroyer has said it on a couple of occasions this season and he emphasized it Saturday after the Cowboys fell to Utah 80-70 in the A-A. The Cowboys were "out-toughed." You won't find out-toughed in Webster's dictionary or on Wikipedia, but it certainly is in Schroyer's vocabulary. It also might be the best way to describe the Cowboys these days. Wyoming played fairly well at times on Saturday against one of the top teams in the conference. But leading by three with a couple of minutes to play, Utah's Luka Drca broke loose and hit a pair of late 3-pointers and the Utes led by one at halftime. Utah would go on to hit 11 3-pointers in the game and ma de the plays down the stretch. Wyoming was still in striking distance late in the game, trailing by six, but Utah's Shaun Green, who has struggled from long range for much of the game, hit a 3-pointer and added two free throws to put the Utes back up by double digits and effectively clinching t...

Alex Rodriguez on steroids? Say it ain't so. Unless you live in a cave, you've heard by now that Sports Illustrated outed A-Rod for steroid use in his playing days with the Texas Rangers. On Monday, Rodriguez came clean in an interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons . Rodriguez was one of 104 players that were said to have flunked the steroids test back in what was supposed to be an anonymous report. Of course, A-Rod was the biggest name, hence Sports Illustrated's lust spilling the beans. One can't help by get Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry" song stuck in your head when thinking about the SI article. Don't get me wrong. "With my best Mr. Macky (South Park), impersonation: "Steroids ... bad. Lying about taking steroids ... bad." A-Rod, however, misguided in thinking he needed to cheat (he was already arguably the most talented player in baseball even before 2001), needed to come clean and he did. For that, he must be commended. Rodriguez...

It's called The Pit, although it's official name is University Arena. The New Mexico sports information department calls it The Pit/Bob King Court. While I won't make it this year, it has always been one of my favorite trips in covering University of Wyoming athletics. Maybe a close second to Las Vegas, for obvious reasons. Some of my favorite Wyoming basketball (road) memories come in The Pit. I'll never forget the 2002 NCAA Tournament in which the Cowboys upset Gonzaga, before losing to Arizona in a close contest. It was a great experience as a sports writer and certainly was memorable for Wyoming fans. Last year, we made the drive to Albuquerque for the first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance for the Wyoming Cowgirls. This time I was able to take my family, and being married to a former Cowgirl, it was an experience we will never forget, even with Wyoming losing to Pittsburgh. For the Cowboys, who will look to rebound from Saturday's lop-sided loss to BYU in P...

I'm always a little hesitate on calling something the greatest ever and that includes Sunday's Super Bowl between the Steelers and the Cardinals. Yes, it was a great game. It was a fun game to watch and it went down to the final seconds. That makes it one of the best Super Bowl games in its 43-year history. Was it the greatest game ever? I'd say no. At times, both teams looked very good. At times, both teams looked as if they would self-destruct. It was a very exciting Super Bowl in Super Bowl standards. Let's just leave it at that. *** So, how about the rest of the Super Bowl hype? What did you think of the commercials? Bruce Springsteen's halftime show? The pregame singing from Faith Hill and Jennifer Hudson? The game announcing from John Madden and Al Michaels ? The pregame and postgame festivities? I'll be honest, I saw very little of the above mentioned. Working the radio broadcast on KOWB , I did have the TV on. But with a five-second difference from the...

To say the least, it was a tough day for the Cowboy and Cowgirl basketball teams against BYU on Saturday. Looking back at the last few games, there were some familiarities between the two programs. Against TCU , the Cowboys lose on a late 3-pointer in overtime; the Cowgirls had a chance to send the Lady Frogs in OT, but missed on a last-second 3. Against CSU , the Cowboys built a big first-half lead before holding on to beat the Rams; the Cowgirls built a big first-half lead before holding off the Rams. Against Air Force, the Cowboys led for much of the game and eventually pulled past the Falcons; the Cowgirls led for much of the game before eventually pulling away from the Falcons. Against BYU , both the Cowboys and Cowgirls did not play well. Granted, the last four games were not carbon copies of each other, but there were enough similarities to seem a little strange. If that scenario continues, UW fans would prefer to see both teams do the same on a positive note. With two young...