(25 December 2008)
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! A movie about this last week of snow has been uploaded to the movies page. We have a white Christmas!
I got some Wall-e toys, just like the comic in the paper today!
(20 December 2008)
There is still snow around here. There are several inches of the fluffy white stuff in our yard. It's so pretty. Overnight, we're supposed to get freezing rain, so our branch president took the initiative and has already cancelled church for tomorrow.
Most of the public schools in the area were closed all week. The private school where Fox works, however, did open on Friday so he had one day of work. Oh well.
BYU's Cougars, sadly, lost in the Las Vegas Bowl tonight with a score of 31-21. Neither team seemed to be very good at holding on to the ball and the Cougars were penalized heavily. Guess there's always next year...
(14 December 2008)
SNOW!!!! We woke up this morning to snow gently falling outside. In my hometown, this wouldn't be worth much attention at all, but here it's a pretty big deal. The branch president cancelled our church meetings for today, mostly because of the distance most of us have to travel and the road conditions likely to deteriorate during the meetings. The funny part about that is that our branch doesn't have geographical boundaries. Some were expecting the closure while others (mostly in the Vancouver area) have no snow yet.
(7 December 2008)
The Bowl Selection Committee released their picks today. BYU will face Arizona in the Las Vegas Bowl on December 20th.
(28 November 2008)
The long Thanksgiving weekend is giving me the chance to finally get caught up on a few projects that have been sitting on the back burner for a while - including finishing up the short movie of my husband's graduation from PSU earlier this year. It is posted under the "movies" link.
There are some fun speculations going around the college football community. The Las Vegas Bowl, which typically gets the Mountain West Conference champion, will release Utah so they can play in a BCS bowl game. I had assumed that they would then take the 2nd place team in the Mountain West, TCU. But, that doesn't appear to be the case. It appears they will opt for #3, the BYU Cougars. If they do, the Poinsetta Bowl would likely take TCU. So, the Cougars may be making their 4th consecutive trip to the Las Vegas Bowl. We'll know in about a week for sure.
(23 November 2008)
The BYU-University of Utah rivalry lived up to its pre-game billing -- for the first three quarters of the game. Utah led 17-3 but BYU rallied to tie the score early in the 3rd quarter. The two teams hung in there together, each one with some amazing plays. I would have loved to see how the game would have ended had the Cougars not self-destructed. The Cougars' quarterback threw 5 interceptions, most of them directly into the arms of a Ute player. On 5 consecutive BYU possessions. Utah made BYU pay by turning several of those interceptions into touchdowns, resulting in a final score of 48-24. While that seems like a huge spread, the game felt much closer than that except at the end with all the interceptions.
With the loss, BYU moves to 10-2 for the season which is very respectable. Had they won against the Utes, there would have been a three-way tie for the Conference Championship between BYU, Utah and TCU. However, with the loss, Utah claims the championship outright and waits to go to a BCS game. BYU will likely still have a Bowl game, but we'll have to wait and see which one. My predictions are that Utah will play in the Sugar Bowl, TCU will play in the Las Vegas Bowl and BYU will play in the Poinsetta Bowl.
(20 November 2008)
Whoa! I forgot to put the results of last week's game against Air Force on here. The Cougars won, 38-24, in spite of trailing 14-10 at halftime. With the win, the Cougars moved up to #14 in the BCS rankings.
This sets up the rivalry game with the Utes. Utah is undefeated so far this season, have clinched at least a share of the Mountain West Conference championship and are currently ranked #7 in the BCS polls. If they beat the Cougars, they will almost certainly go to a BCS bowl game. If the Cougars come out on top, they will share the Conference championship with Utah and perhaps TCU (depending on the outcome of TCU's game).
I think this is a good time to remember what is printed on one of my sweatshirts:
GO COUGARS!!!!!
(9 November 2008)
BYU had the expected blowout against San Diego State last Saturday. There were some good plays, particularly on the defense as they recovered several fumbles from the Aztecs.
The Cougars are #17 in the BCS poll, #16 in the AP poll, #14 in the USA Today poll and #16 in the fan poll. For the first time in a few weeks, it looked to me that they played like a team with those rankings.
In church today, the kids did their Primary program. It was very good.
(1 November 2008)
The Cougars gave me a darn good scare in their game against Colorado State today. Neither team could really break away, so it stayed a very close game... especially in the 4th quarter when the lead changed back and forth several times, the last one with 22 seconds remaining in the game, giving the Cougars the 45-42 win.
Halloween pictures are posted. It was a fairly low-key celebration as I was too busy recovering from a cold/ear infection to do much else.
(27 October 2008)
BYU played UNLV this last Saturday, winning 42-35. While it is a win we desperately needed after the loss to TCU, the defense looked amazingly sluggish. For most of the game, the teams just swapped touchdowns. The offense looked better than they did the previous week - but still not up to the standard they set earlier in the year.
Halloween is just around the corner. We'll be carving our jack-o-lanterns soon and getting ready to hand out copious amounts of candy to eager kids. Mikey's biggest frustration about Halloween is that he's not allowed anywhere near the door. His bark is loud and would scare the kids, even though he's very friendly, so we barricade the door so he can't get to it. He watches through the window at the approaching visitors and gets so frustrated when we don't let him say 'hello' to them. Oh well.
After work today, my husband suggested we go out to eat. Since the Rays had just tied the Phillies in the 6th inning of the 5th game of the World Series, I wanted to watch a little more of the game and then go out to eat. Wouldn't you know that a few minutes later, the game was suspended on account of rain??? We had a lovely dinner at IHOP.
(19 October 2008)
The new polls are out. BYU took the expected tumble, from #8 to #18 in the national polls. The BCS poll, which only first came out this week, has the Cougars at #21. It would have been nice to know what they would have been ranked, had they not lost, since it's the BCS poll that is used to determine many of the bowl games. I assume they would have been in the top 10.
Utah has moved up a few spots - which will make it all the sweeter when we take them down in November. TCU jumped from #24 to #15 because they beat the Cougars. So, all three of the top contenders for the Mountain West conference championship are nationally ranked. This could be really interesting in a month or so to see how it all plays out.
In seeking solace from the horrible loss, I turned to major league baseball. I correctly predicted (and my husband can testify to this) that the Phillies would beat the Dodgers. I was happy to see that since I think Manny Ramirez, while he can hit the ball a mile, is too egotistical. I wanted to see him fail after sabotaging his former team because that's just not a nice thing to do. I also correctly predicted that the Tampa Bay Rays would beat the defending champion Boston Red Sox. I got to know the Red Sox last year and have nothing really against them, but I was hoping that the Rays' Cinderella-like story would continue. Their team has been amazingly good this year, coming out of nowhere - the kind of feel-good story that I like. So, I was hoping they'd win and they did. So, now the Phillies and Rays will battle it out. It's game time.
(16 October 2008)
The BYU Cougars have fallen from the ranks of the undefeated teams with a 32-7 loss to TCU. :-( Part of it is due to TCU's stellar defense and part of it was due to the Cougars' own issues. They gave up the ball four times, including an interception in the end zone.
The last few weeks, the offense has been rather sluggish. I was hoping those would serve as a wakeup call, which it may have done, but it didn't make the offense any better. The Cougar defense gave up way too many yards and missed too many tackles but they did have a few good plays.
This was the most painful game to watch that I can recall since the rout by Hawaii in 2001. The Cougars did not play, in any way, like a top 10 team. When the new rankings come out on Sunday, I don't think they'll even be in the top 20. What a way for our many winning streaks to end. I would much have preferred to lose in a close game than in a blowout.
(12 October 2008)
The BYU Cougars took on New Mexico yesterday, winning the game 21-3. The defense was playing pretty well but the offense failed to score points or make the needed play a few times. The Cougars didn't score in the first quarter (though the Lobos didn't either). New Mexico scored first with a field goal, the first time this year that the Cougars haven't put the first points on the scoreboard. As a result, even though the teams ranked #1, #3 and #4 all lost, BYU held the #9 ranking rather than moving up this week. Still, being in the Top 10 for three weeks straight is nothing to sneer at.
The Cougars will next face TCU on Thursday, a game that, in many respects, will have a big impact on the rest of the season and the rankings. TCU is a very good team who will make us play well if we want to beat them.
(8 October 2008)
Fall is officially here. The air is getting cooler, the nights are colder and I have a strange hankering for some apple pie. My in-laws dropped off some apples which are perfect for putting into a pie - maybe that's where I got the idea from? My husband even helped peel the apples, probably because he knew it would result in the pie being finished sooner. How I love the sweet cinnamon-y smell that a freshly baked apple pie brings to my kitchen.
(5 October 2008)
The Cougars went down one spot in the AP poll, switching with USC. Not unexpected given how USC took care of the Oregon Ducks and the Cougars struggled against Utah State.
Utah played Oregon State last Thursday, in a rather thrilling game that came down to a last-second field goal made by the Utes for a 31-28 win. This enabled them to move up one spot in the polls, to #14.
Currently, the top potential BCS busters look to be BYU, Utah and Boise State. That explains why, when I turned on the end of the Boise State game on Wednesday, the commentators were busy talking about BYU and Utah. Obviously since BYU and Utah play each other later in the season, at least one of them will have a loss. In my view, it would be fantastic if BYU and Utah both came into that game undefeated and then BYU gives Utah a good thrashing. I don't think Boise State would be able to get the BCS bid at that point as it would likely be handed to the Cougars instead.
(3 October 2008)
BYU took on Utah State today. Coming off of back-to-back shutouts, they kept the Aggies scoreless until the 4th quarter - and then the defense completely fell apart. In spite of the 34-14 win, the Cougars playing was rather sloppy. Maybe my expectations are a tad high but they didn't look like the #8 ranked team in the country. They gave up too many plays, especially near the end zone when they just couldn't get the touchdowns. Two missed field goals didn't help either. A number of infractions resulted in flags and penalties. Obviously it wasn't all bad, as the Cougars did intercept the ball several times. It'll be interesting to see what the rankings look like on Monday. All in all, I think this is a good reality check for the Cougars who easily marched to two lopsided victories in their last few games. I have confidence that lessons learned today will be emphasized this week and the Cougars will be in top form against New Mexico.
(28 September 2008)
It seems all the upsets from yesterday helped the Cougars! We are now #8!!!!!! The best part about that? Currently we outrank USC!! OK, so that may change in future weeks as USC is a very good team - but at least this week, we got 'em beat. :-)
Our rivals, the Utes, are also climbing the Top 25. If the season keeps going as it has so far, the rivalry game could be HUGE.
(27 September 2008)
BYU is off today - so I'm busy watching all the other good games. I loved watching Oregon State take down #1 ranked USC! #4 Florida lost today. Michigan came from behind to take down #9 Wisconsin, so I expect some movement in the top 10 when the new polls come out tomorrow... hopefully with the Cougars moving into the top 10!
(22 September 2008)
Back-to-back shutouts! On Saturday, the mighty Cougars held Wyoming scoreless in a 44-0 victory! The week after blanking UCLA! The defense was particularly excellent for the Cougars during the game. The Cougars are now ranked #11 in both the AP and ESPN Coaches' polls and have extended their winning streak to 14! Go Cougs!
Incidentally - the last time BYU had back-to-back shutouts was in 1985. First was 59-0, followed by 44-0. Sound familiar?
(14 September 2008)
The BYU Cougars played a phenomenal game yesterday. Their opponent was UCLA, for the third time in a year. Last year playing at UCLA, the Cougars were handed a loss. In the Las Vegas Bowl, the Cougars won by blocking a last-second field goal attempt. Now came the tie-breaker as it were.
It started off well, with the score 7-0 at the end of the first quarter in favor of the Cougars. Then, our defense really stepped up and forced several fumbles, all of which were recovered by the Boys in Blue and turned into touchdowns. I've never seen so many touchdowns scored in such a short time. By halftime, the score was 42-0, and the Cougars never looked back.
UCLA had the opportunity to kick a field goal which BYU did not block, but it failed to go through the uprights. Final score was 59-0, a shutout. With the win, the Cougars move up to #14 in the national rankings.
This week, we had to go shopping for a new car. It turns out that the husband apparently loves my new RAV4 more than even I thought he did -- as he ended up buying one for himself! So, now we have two. Aren't they cute? ;-)
(7 September 2008)
Yesterday was AMAZING!! I attended the BYU-University of Washington football game in person ! Mikey and I drove up Friday afternoon to stay with some friends. Mikey and Huck (their dog) had lots of fun together while the humans spent Saturday at the game. The game was awesome! There is something to be said for watching a football game on tv but once in a while, it's fun to go experience the atmosphere with 60,000+ other screaming fans.
For the last 3 1/2 minutes of the game, I was sure I wasn't going to survive, probably die of a heart attack or something. BYU had just gotten a touchdown to make the score 28-21, but Washington has a good quarterback and I knew he'd try his hardest to get a score for his team. Our defense did some good stops and we were aided by some missed catches by Washington, but with two seconds remaining, they did get a touchdown. Their quarterback jubilantly chucked the ball into the air which brought a 15 yard "unsportsmanlike conduct" penalty - an object of controversy ever since. The rules clearly state a player may not throw the ball in the air so the call was made. The only point of discussion I see is whether or not that is a good rule. Whether it is or not, it is the rule, it was called and Washington was moved backwards. Still, the odds of them making the point-after kick were very high. But, somehow, BYU blocked the kick (see picture). As the Husky fans quickly left the stadium in disgust, the Cougar fans celebrated - including me. Pictures are posted.
That's all folks!
