Catching up with Chris Herren

Were you one of those kids -- like me -- who instantly became Chris Herren's biggest fan as soon as he hit the Selland Arena court in a Fresno State jersey? We saw how he constantly played his guts out. How he looked at every Fresno State fan in the arena as close family. How he looked at Jerry Tarkanian as a father figure. And how he was flat-out one of the best Bulldogs of all-time.

Then we saw that November 1997 press conference, when a teary-eyed and vulnerable Herren sat next to a choked-up Tark with video cameras rolling and newspapers photographers clicking away. Herren admitted he had a substance-abuse problem and was going to a rehab facility in the middle of the season.

But, for Fresno State fans at the time, it wasn't like the normal hoops-player-does-bad-things-off-the-court story. People felt for Herren -- he was just so darn likeable. He was an underdog with the potential to be a millionaire NBA star, but also the potential to lose to his addictions.

And now, while all that NBA potential is gone, I have a feeling there are a whole lot of 'Dogs fans still rooting for Herren. And despite what this Boston Globe story says about Herren not having many friends left, my guess is he's underestimating the Red Wave.

Who do you want in the starting lineup?

Now that Fresno State's "UnderDOGS to WonderDOGS Part 2" came to an abrupt end after two straight losses to open the NCAA regionals in Irvine, this much we know:

• Tommy Mendonca and Holden Sprague are true 'Dogs at heart. Both were choked up and nearly moved to tears knowing their Bulldogs careers were coming to an end (Mendonca as an early-round draft pick and the school's all-time home run king).
• Dusty Robinson is good, as in Freshman All-America good. The left fielder bashed 15 taters and his batting average skyrocketed the last month of the season.
• Derek Benny is gonna be good, as in Matt Garza/Tanner Scheppers good. Maybe even Jeff Weaver/Bobby Jones good. Benny is a power pitcher, like Garza and Scheppers, but had far more control of his stuff than either of those two did as freshmen.
• There are five really, and I stress really, annoying kids who are UC Irvine fans. I know because they sat right behind us at the regionals and mocked every traditional Diamond 'Dogs chant. And the three adults with 'em just encouraged the foolishness.

What we don't know, however, is what next year's starting lineup will look like. There's a lot of turnover, a nice group of signees and lots of returning talent. So sound off. Who do you want in the 2010 Fresno State baseball starting lineup? Here's my take:

1. Danny Muno, 2B
2. Nick Hom, 3B
3. Dusty Robinson, LF
4. Jake Johnson, DH
5. Steve Detwiler, RF
6. Clay Cederquist, 1B
7. Brennan Gowens, CF
8. Garrett Weber, SS
9. Trent Garrison, C

Pitching Rotation
Derek Benny
Jake Floethe
Josh Poytress
Matt Morse

Road trip to Irvine anyone?

After a whirlwind Sunday that rekindled those magical 2008 Fresno State baseball feelings, the NCAA regional brackets were announced this morning on ESPN.

Once again, Fresno State drew a fourth seed -- and rightfully so with a record just a smidgen above .500. The Diamond 'Dogs open with host, and No. 1 ranked, UC Irvine. The Anteaters will likely trot out ace Daniel Bibona (11-1, 2.65 ERA, 95 strikeouts in 98.1 innings). But last season, on its way to the national championship, Fresno State essentially knocked off most of the top 10 teams in the country.

The Bulldogs will be far from intimidated. UC Irvine has a plethora of guys hitting more than .300, but its home run leader, Francis Larson, has just 9. Comparatively, Fresno State's home run leader is All-America third baseman Tommy Mendonca, with 27. Bulldogs freshman Dusty Robinson has 14.

As far as comparisons to last season go, UC Irvine might be most similar to Rice. Very good pitching and guys who get hits and can play a bit of small ball. The biggest question for the Bulldogs is how good the pitching staff can be? One thing's for sure, the starters will have to work deep to make sure someone has gas left in the tank in case of a decisive Game 4 on Sunday.

1. UC Irvine
2. Virginia
3. San Diego State
4. Fresno State

Let's hear it Red Wave...what are your predictions for the regional?

These are a few of my favorite things...

If Fresno State started every game down five runs, the team might be undefeated.

Incredible. Granted the WAC overall is a sub-par baseball conference. But Fresno State's Diamond 'Dogs did it again. A fourth straight WAC tournament title (the tourney just started back up in 2006, and Fresno State's won it every time since). The 'Dogs were headed for possibly their worst record in about 30 years, and now have not only clinched a winning record, but also a chance to truly defend their national championship.

And who's the hero this time? If Lord almighty himself told us beforehand Fresno State would sweep two from New Mexico State today and one guy would be the hero in both games, it would take us about 20 guesses to choose who. Jordan Ribera. The sophomore first baseman from Clovis West who didn't play first base all year. He DH'd early in the season, only to sit the past couple months barely batting over .100 and with strikeouts galore.

Then Ribs hits a two-run homer in the eighth inning of Game 1 to put Fresno State up 9-7 after the team battled back from a 7-2 deficit. Later in Game 2, locked in a 3-3 tie, Ribs crushes another two-run shot to give the 'Dogs a 5-3 win. His third and fourth homers of the year. And he's named WAC tournament MVP after collecting more hits in the tourney than he had all season long to that point. And then real gut-buster is Ribera was only playing because preseason All-American Alan Ahmady was suspended earlier in the week and left at home.

This team is relentless. Full of heart. Full of fight. Fun. Inspirational. Anyone get a chance to see Holden Sprague react after a double play sealed the Game 1 win for the Bulldogs? Spraguer walked off the mound yelling and pumping his arms so hard he could have dislocated both shoulders. Then he delivered a breath-stealing chest bump to Ribera and continued fist pumping. That one visual is Fresno State baseball in a nutshell.

Top 10 ways to look at the bright side with Fresno State baseball

10. The annual Mike Batesole-era regular season Diamond 'Dogs disappointment is over, and the postseason has always been kinder.

9. With WAC hitter of the week Isaac Vivas and senior Gavin Hedstrom finally doing a little something at the plate Baseball America might think twice about saying certain guys shouldn't even be on the field for a program of Fresno State's caliber.

8. Dusty Robinson's one of the best power hitting freshman in Fresno State lore.

7. There's a chance Danny Muno will either walk or get a hit in every single postseason at-bat. Don't laugh.

6. With the Bulldogs not playing anymore home games this year, it'll give the university a chance to come up with a better national championship display at Beiden Field than the tiny sign under all the ads on the scoreboard and the not-so-eye-catching flag that should be 10 times bigger.

5. Hey Boise State, how's your baseball season going?

4. The Diamond 'Dogs have a chance to win their fourth straight WAC tournament championship.

3. With star first baseman Alan Ahmady suspended, superfan Sugar Bear can debut his newest hit chant: "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie...that's Jaaake Johnsooonnn!"

2. Tommy Mendonca just might be the best all-around player in Fresno State history. And as long as he's on the field there's a chance.

1. Fresno State is still the reigning national champions, and controls its own destiny from here on out.

Hardwood "glory days"

There's been lots of chatter on the streets (and airwaves) today about Matt James' column in this morning's Fresno Bee. Most seemed to have loved the column -- which is odd in itself because fans never like newspaper reporters.

Makes sense why people liked the column. It was well-written. It was an interesting topic. 'Dogs hoops news is long overdue. And it argued why the Steve Cleveland regime is a success, despite coming off the Fresno State program's worst record in more than two decades. I liked the column too.

But there were two nuggets in there -- two nuggets -- that nearly ruined it for me. Here's one:

"Selland Arena was a better venue for college basketball. Still is. No doubt about it."

Not true. Selland was a great college basketball atmosphere, but it was also home to the Bulldogs during their glory days (more on this later). If Save Mart Center was filled to capacity with fans practically begging to see super-talented teams and had students entering a lottery just to buy season tickets, it would be significantly louder and tougher for visitors to win in than Selland (think about it, 16,000 people vs. 10,000). Essentially, we're talking about taking most of the same Selland fans who earned a reputation for being the Red Wave and adding 6,000 people to it. Louder. More imposing. When Fresno State has its next serious threat on the hardwood, and fans fill the stands, the Save Mart Center will be an unreal venue.

Now on to this "glory days" issue. The column says there never were any:

"Let's be perfectly clear. There were no glory days. They never happened. Since 1982, the Bulldogs have two conference titles. Since 1984, they've been to one NCAA Tournament. One."

James explained that he didn't count one of Jerry Tarkanian's NCAA appearances because it was given an asterisk in the record books due to NCAA violations. But saying there were no glory days is wild. What do you call Fresno State basketball being a national story all season long during the Tark era? A good column would be comparing how many regional and national TV appearances the 'Dogs had under Tark and how many they have had under Cleveland. Another good column idea would be to research all the ranked and traditionally strong teams Tark scheduled and won against. To me -- when a program is mentioned in all the preseason mags and on TV by prognosticators as a threat to go to the Final Four, when guys are going to the NBA (some as lottery picks), when high school All-Americans are anxious to visit Fresno State, when the Bulldogs have a legit shot to win against ANY team in the nation -- those are glory days. In a way, that's what Fresno State's football program is right now -- one that can beat any other team on a given day and has proven it.

Wow, this blog's getting long enough, so I'll spare the fact that the Boyd Grant era could be defined as another set of "glory days." A NCAA tournament final 16 appearance, and a 1983 NIT championship in Madison Square Garden (when the NCAA tourney was smaller and the NIT was much tougher) that led to a parade rivaled only by last year's national championship in baseball.

Dream Weaver returns to Blue Crew

After a 2008 season with the Mariners that made Fresno State fans (also known as Jeff Weaver fans) cringe, Weaver is back in Dodger blue. He debuted with four scoreless innings of relief last week, and is now being pushed into the starting rotation for the team with the best record in the Majors.

Weaver has taken his share of criticism during his career, putting up inconsistent numbers since a promising start with the Tigers, to see-saw showings with the Yankees, to great success with the Dodgers and a World Series win with the Cardinals, and then the disappointment with the Angels and Mariners. Though his ERA has only been below 4.00 once, Weaver was tops in the National League in quality starts during his time with the Dodgers.

That's why heading back to the Dodgers was the best decision the former Fresno State walk-on turned college All-American could make.

On a side note, when Weaver threw four innings of shutout ball this past Thursday, one couldn't help but notice the oversight of ESPN's SportsCenter crew. They showed the Weaver highlights immediately following their coverage of Matt Garza's near perfect game for the Rays in a shutout of the Red Sox. Yet not one mention that both are former Diamond 'Dogs.

Swimming through some thoughts

If you woke up like me this morning, opened your front door, and walked barefoot across cold, wet (recently sprinklered) cement to get to your newspaper -- which for some reason is always left as far as humanly possible from my front door -- then you may have noticed this story.

Work is set to start later this year on Fresno State's new, $7.5 million aquatics center. We've known for a while this was in the campus master plan, but the fact that it's happening this soon, one year after women's swimming & diving was reinstated at Fresno State, is somewhat of a surprise...albeit a pleasant one. The North Gym pool is greatly outdated, and not wow-factor enough or large enough for a university like Fresno State.

Problem is, this announcement is coming just one year after women's lacrosse was born at the university, and ground also broke on a new women's soccer/lacrosse stadium smack dab in the middle of the greatest tailgate spot in the West -- the Red Lot on Cedar & Barstow. When announcement came that lacrosse was the school's newest sport, many were scratching heads as to why. Some even argued the school should have started a women's water polo program instead with hordes of local talent available and absolutely zero local talent in lacrosse.

The biggest argument against that was that Fresno State would then have to build a new aquatics center. Well, here it is. So is Fresno State planning to add another women's sport to maximize use of what will be a sparkling new facility? Or maybe even (do I dare think it?) a men's team?

Make Your Argument on QBs

So, now that Fresno State football spring camp has come to a close, we want to hear your arguments on who should start at quarterback when the season begins.

Should it be veteran junior Ryan Colburn, the only candidate with any game experience? Speedy redshirt freshman Ebahn Feathers who can add a new chapter to the playbook? Blue-chip true freshman Derek Carr with all the pedigree, confidence and lifelong love for the Bulldogs? Or is it still too close to call?

I'll start this off with my view -- it's still too early to decide, but Carr has me sold on his ability as it translates to the next level and the No. 1 thing to love about him is the way he thinks like any other lifelong fan. He just has a whole lot more football talent than most of us. After an 11 for 13 showing with 3 TDs and 140-plus yards in the Spring Game, Carr has to be the leader. Colburn isn't far behind though, and Feathers just can't pass accurately enough to win the job but offers enough versatility to play a huge part in every game coming in and out in special packages.

What do you say?

Couldn't have scripted it better

"Tommy drafted by broncos," read the text message I received en route to a wedding on Sunday afternoon. "First pick in 6th round."

Before I could even react that oh-so-familiar beeping alert of another text message popped up. "49ers select bear!" Yep, it came from a happy Niners fan.

My reaction -- wow, what a perfect situation for both these guys. Jay Cutler leaves the Denver Broncos, and Fresno State Tom Brandstater, a guy who's been considered a marginal prospect by many goes to the team with the least quarterback depth in the NFL. No one, not even Tommy B. himself, expected he'd get a starting job right away. And there's a heck of a chance he still won't. But the good thing for him is he's got a solid chance to make a roster and he doesn't have a steep hill to climb with the guys in front of him (Kyle Orton and Chris Simms) looking more like foothills than mountains.

Bear Pascoe, Fresno State's lovable calf-roping champion of a tight end, gets to be a San Francisco 49er. Another sixth-round pick, it's pretty much certain Pascoe will see the field right away, probably as the 49ers No. 1 blocking tight end in short-yardage situations. The good thing is -- no matter how slow his 40-time was perceived to be at the combine -- Pascoe's got great hands and good game speed. He'll make plays at the next level and become a fixture. Just a hunch, but don't be surprised if Mike Singletary falls in love with Pascoe's style of play.

Is the Swamp Thing an animal?

I've been tossing this question around for a few minutes tonight, wondering whether the Swamp Thing is an animal? If not, then what is he/it? And if so, then I'm shocked the animal rights activists aren't all over this story...

Apparently, San Jose State's Spartan Stadium -- so lovingly called swamp by the friendly Red Wavers -- is getting field turf. Our assumption here at The Bulldog Bounce is this will yank Swamp Thing's habitat right out from under him/it, displacing him/it from his/its home. Click here for photos of this bittersweet news.

All joking aside, the new turf looks, well, a little too new for the rest of Spartan Stadium and its faded bleachers and chair-backs. But it's likely a positive long-term step for San Jose State's bottom line, the way it would be for Fresno State's. Still, count me as one 'Dog fan who hopes to see real grass in Bulldog Stadium for years to come -- there's just something special about the real thing. Outdoor sports were meant to be played on natural surfaces.

It's been a while

Sure has been a while since the last blog posting -- but not nearly as long as we've been missing the ol' Sporting News Radio format hosted by Tony D'Addato. Don't give me wrong, I've really been enjoying the Guy Haberman Show lately with its emphasis on Fresno State talk, but the more 'Dog radio the merrier.

And Tony D. did a great job of focusing on the local scene, which is all that needs to be heard. I mean, seriously, why would I want to turn my radio dial on in the car and hear local hosts talking about the Niners or Raiders or free agency or Monday Night Football? I can get that stuff the other 20 hours a day when the national sports talk shows are on. I expect something different, something better and more interesting from the local shows.

Props to all the local hosts who work toward that, and here's to hoping there's plenty of it to go around with the return of Tony D. soon. This article, though, sheds some light on the recent hiatus of Sporting News Radio.

Saturday Night Wise

You know how sometimes you just get to thinking about Fresno State, and a plethora of ideas hit you all at once? Well, for me, that's right now.

Read this story from the Visalia Times-Delta. Bryce Harris may very well earn the starting left tackle job this year (although it was interesting Devan Cunningham got work there on Friday). That's not my issue with this story though. The issue is at the very end of the write-up, where the 'Dogs are predicted to go 5-7 in 2009. Maybe...but I'd just like to know what research this writer did to be able to say expect most preseason publications to predict the 'Dogs to finish 1-3 in non-conference and 4-4 in the WAC?

Derek Benny is going to be good. At this point in his career, the freshman pitcher is ahead of recent 'Dogs Tanner Scheppers, Doug Fister and Matt Garza in his development. All he did today was throw a complete-game, two-hit shutout in a 10-0 win over Lipscomb while facing the minimum 27 batters -- the first time that's happened at Fresno State since 1967.

Tommy Mendonca is surely going to break the school's all-time home run record. The most fascinating question now is whether he can top Lance Shebulut's single-season mark of 32 homers? With 10 jacks in 22 games, Mendonca is sure on pace to give it a run.

Today's doubleheader sweep by the Diamond 'Dogs has them two games over .500 at 12-10. But yesterday, sitting at 10-10, the annual Mike Batesole regular-season frustration set in. Why do Batesole's teams always get off to less-than-impressive starts?

And a predition of my own -- Ebahn Feathers will not start at QB. Feathers' lack of throwing ability in spring camp is quickly knocking him out of contention, especially when Derek Carr and Matt Faulkner are looking so good. Not that Faulkner will win it either, but Carr's just too talented to ignore right now and will likely battle Ryan Colburn for the nod. Count on this though, Feathers will have packages that allow him to contribute every game.

Show 'n' tell

If you're enough of a diehard to search out and find a Fresno State blog, then hopefully this will be a fairly entertaining and unique post for you.

This is one of those can't-find-anywhere-else blog posts that I thought ahead of time would be fun to share. It happened rather quickly and spontaneously, but the end of it resulted in the video below. This past Thursday I had lunch with a friend of mine, Derek Carr, a freshman quarterback for Fresno State. The one sentence version is that I told him I wanted to play some catch, so he got on the horn and rounded up some guys for an afternoon workout.

Guys like Rashad Evans, Vince Pascoe and Desia Dunn (for those that don't know, it's pronounced Deezs-uh) came out. All the video I took was of their play, so I won't go into detail about them (unless you want my opinion on something I might have seen, in which case just leave a comment). I will say that Evans is really quick and AJ Johnson (Fr. Wr) is fast.

Instead, I want to share my experience of catching a ball from Derek. First things first, it's pretty dang cool to play catch with an official game ball with the FS logo burned on the ball. The Bulldog Shop would make some serious money selling those things. Second, he throws really hard. He says Dave has him beat by a hair right now, but by the end of his career, that might change. But luckily for me, I grew up playing baseball, mostly as a catcher, so I have good hands and have caught baseballs coming really fast at me.

The most deceiving thing was how hard the ball came with such little effort. Derek is 6'3" with decent sized hands, and the footballs are surprisingly light, so it comes at you quickly. You have to have strong but soft hands at the same time. Not that you care, but I'm happy to report that he was pretty dang impressed with the stickiness of my hands.

The other thing I have a new perspective on is catches made by receivers that are not on the money. This ball comes at you with some oomph on it and feels almost like one of the lighter medicine balls hitting you in the hands. It takes real focus to pull one of those things in. So the shoe-string catches you see on TV, or the ones where they have to turn back the other way they are running to grab it, those are really good catches.

As you can imagine, it was fun as heck to go out there and feel like part of the team.

Next time I go out there with Derek and play I'm going to try and get a first-person video of the ball coming at me. Hopefully that will put some pictures to my words.

For the time being, the video below is most of what went on at the workout. I uploaded it to youtube through imovie hd, and I'm not really a tech guy, so if you have any suggestions on how to clean up some of the frame rate stuff, I'm all ears.

Be sure to click on the HD button though:

Women's basketball vs. softball?

Listening to the final seconds tick down as the Fresno State women's b-ball team beat Nevada for the WAC tourney championship on Saturday, I couldn't help but let out a "WOO!"

This is an exciting bunch of Lady Bulldogs, and coach Adrian Wiggins is a genuine guy -- the type of guy who's easy to root for because he seems to be rooting for everyone else around town just as much. And hey, the 'Dogs are going dancing for the second straight year -- after never having gone to an NCAA Tournament in school history before. Take that Stacy Johnson-Klein...

Now to the whole point. A friend of mine brought up an interesting question this week when he said he never thought he'd see the day Fresno State's women's hoops team was better than its softball team. My reply: "Is it better?"

While Margie Wright's softball team has been a big disappointment so far in this young season, many Red Wavers are shaking in their cleats hoping the team's nation-best consecutive NCAA Regionals streak continues this year (Fresno State is the only school in the country to make every NCAA tournament -- ever)! But, superhero pitcher Morgan Melloh is battling a sophomore slump of inconsistency and the team's offense is, well, pathetic. We here at The Bulldog Bounce knew losing Jenna Cervantez and Aja Schuber would hurt -- but we didn't realize it would be this bad.

Last year, Fresno State finished 54-13. So far this year, the Bulldogs are 14-12.

But if you're thinking it's obvious the women's basketball team is more successful right now, not so fast. Let's consider the softball team plays a juggernaut of a schedule, with top 25 teams in at least 50% of its games so far. The women's hoops squad plays a decent non-conference slate, but then strolled through the dreadful WAC, which isn't much of a conference since Louisiana Tech's fall from grace.

Consider this, if winning the WAC was all that on a national scale, why has Fresno State been seeded 13th and 14th in the past two NCAA tourneys?

So Red Wave, you tell us. Which program is more successful today -- women's basketball or softball? And why?

In memory of Dan Brown

It was a tough weekend to be a Bulldog. For lots of people. And that's because, seemingly, Dan Brown touched so very many in his 12 years in Fresno, and one can only assume everywhere he's been before.

The Fresno State defensive coordinator, at 50 years old, died on Friday. And to hear former players such as Marcus Riley today on ESPN 1430 and Jason Shirley, Alan Goodwin and Ahijah Lane in The Fresno Bee talk of Brown, one really gets a sense of what kind of guy he was. What kind of mentor he was. The type of coach he was.

Brown leaves behind his wife and six children, including Fresno State linebacker Eric Brown, who saw extensive special teams action in 2007, and incoming high-profile linebacker Travis Brown. The Fresno community will miss Dan Brown a great deal. And I think the Bulldog Bounce speaks for all Red Wavers by wishing the Brown family all our best. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

We leave you with the words of Jack Fertig, the former Fresno State director of basketball operations under Jerry Tarkanian. A recent Fertig blog captured a bit more of Brown's personality from one master of whit to another.

Can you point me to a guard, please?

So is this who Steve Cleveland's Fresno State squad will turn to at point guard next season? Fresno City College's Sultan Toles-Bey?

If you've watched Toles-Bey play this year, we'd love to hear your opinion...is he the right guy to bring in?

Interesting thought, and one that hadn't occurred to me before (mainly because all we ever hear about Ed Madec's FCC teams are that they dominate the state miraculously without any Division 1 talent. Well, maybe that's not the case this year?

Toles-Bey was the Central Valley Conference MVP and knocked down 113 3-pointers. And goodness knows Fresno State needs more out of the position than what freshman Bryce Cartwright offered down the stretch.

Cartwright still has plenty of tools and potential, but the mental mistakes and crucial turnovers late in tight games are pretty much the worst thing a point guard can do. He's supposed to be the least mistake-prone guy on the floor. Brandon Sperling isn't a starting option unless he shows improvement ball-handling and passing.

Either way, getting some new blood at the position is a must if the 'Dogs are going to win the WAC in 2009. And don't laugh, that's a legit possibility with Sylvester Seay, Paul George and incoming center Greg Smith as arguably the conference's most talented trio.

I, too, am so sick of Boise

Gotta love Derek Carr's confidence and aspirations:

“I know in time if I’m named the starter we can beat Boise. I’m so sick of those guys, and I know we can win conference championships with the talent we have. I came here to give the fans what they truly want: a national championship,” Carr said.

Here's the whole story, with nice quotes from Ebahn Feathers and Ryan Colburn, the other two Fresno State QBs in the running to start also.

They are merely freshmen

That's been quite the theme around Pete Beiden Field lately with the '09 Fresno State baseball team. Heck, it's been the theme all year with the men's basketball team too. The difference, though, is the baseball team is winning -- and winning big -- albeit against weak competition like Buffalo (22-4), Portland (7-0) and Cal State-Bakersfield (16-1).

Let's break down the young 'uns on the Diamond 'Dogs:

• Kenny Wise, can't say enough about the way this kid's been taking at-bats. 2 for 2 with 2 RBIs and a walk yesterday at the DH spot. Now batting .389 on the year, the lefty Wise is making it tough for Jordan Ribera to see the field against right-handed pitching (although Ribs did hit a jack after striking out looking yesterday). For the record, Ribera is now hitting .077 on the young season with 10 strikeouts in 13 at-bats.
• Josh Poytress, the highly-touted Fowler High grad was brilliant in his first start on Monday, shutting down Portland in five innings (they're brininging him along slowly). No complaints about a lefty with a 0.00 ERA in 7 2/3 innings who's throwing 92-93 mph gas.
• Derek Benny, while the 6-foot-5 flamethrower has been touched up sporadically, the potential he offers is exciting fans at Beiden Field. Think Matt Garza/Tanner Scheppers but taller if he develops. He's already better than those two were as freshmen.
• Brennan Gowens, fans have to like his play running down flyballs in center field lately. Plus, his balanced plate approach from the left side allows him to grip and rip. He gets after it hard, the way Mike Batesole loves for his guys to approach the game. A .350 average, 1 HR and 4 RBI -- not too shabby.
• Dusty Robinson, the much ballyhooed high school power phenom unleashed on one and took it over the left field wall and out of the park last night (his first homer since the season opener against Washington). He's batting .333 and seems to be the guy in left field for now.
• Taylor Garrison, the pitcher has turned in 7 1/3 innings of relief and given up just one earned run. It's hard to remember a time when any freshmen have made a big impact on the mound, let alone three of them. Even sophomore Jake Floethe, who's been nothing short of dominant in his three starts, had an 8.64 ERA as a freshman, compared to 0.95 so far this year.

Curious poll results...

So, looking at our current poll on the right, lots of people have said they don't plan to attend any games at Beiden Field this season. This is quite the head-scratcher for me unless these are non-'Dogs fans voting.

I'm curious, and would like to hear from those of you who won't be attending games this year -- how come?

Thanks for coming out Red Wave!

It's rare for a Bulldog Bounce blog headline to get an exclamation point, but this one deserves it. Fans flocked out to Pete Beiden Field at Fresno State this weekend for the season-opening series. It started with a sellout Friday, about 2,900 on Saturday and more than 2,100 in wet weather Sunday -- and the Diamond 'Dogs didn't disappoint despite their youth taking the series two games to one.

It was great seeing all those new fans out there. And contrary to what you might have seen on the front page of The Fresno Bee Saturday morning, it's not important whether you were there every game last year or no games at all. What's important is growing the fan base and getting any fans who used to come out and don't as often anymore to return.

A young lady was pictured holding up a sign at the opener reading, "Where were all of you when we were 8-12?" Well, I'll tell you what (and this comes from someone who was indeed there when we were 8-12)...everyone becomes a fan at some point. The only thing that matters is keeping them coming. That's how this whole thing works. The team wins, attracts more fans and new fans, you get 'em out to the ballpark, you make the experience enjoyable for them and you hope they want to keep coming back.

I mean, I don't get the "where were you" attitude? Do you not want more fans to come? What if someone asked you where were you in 1991? Or 1988? Maybe you were there then too? But maybe you weren't.

The important thing is you were there on Friday evening. Or Saturday or Sunday afternoon. And that you plan to keep coming.

Put a little extra pep in your step Feb. 20

Live it up Red Wave, because tomorrow is the last day for us to wallow in the glory of Fresno State's 2008 College World Series championship. As of 6:05 p.m. a new season is under way, and the Diamond 'Dogs go from reigning national champs to defending national champs.

So let's all take an extra minute to reflect on that accomplishment...

In other Fresno State news, after another stick-your-hand-in-my-chest-and-tug-on-my-heart loss on the hardwood, my only question is whether this year's men's basketball team is the most talented and best last-place WAC team ever? From what I can remember, all signs point to yes.

Zero interest in Fresno State baseball?

This from a recent story in the Marin Independent Journal:

Suddenly, Detwiler and pals had the "It" factor. Prior to their NCAA championship run last year, there was little, if any, interest in Bulldogs baseball.
"Zero," Billingsley said.
"People didn't really know any baseball players unless they wore baseball uniforms," Detwiler said.

I can't be the only one who is offended by the comments above. We've all heard a lot of bandwagon fan jokes and remarks since Fresno State pulled off its amazing College World Series title run, but let's not blow it out of proportion. Yes, crowds have been less than ideal in the Mike Batesole era. Regularly packing Beiden Field was something not seen since the late 1980s and early '90s. And, yes, that's going to change on Friday when Fresno State opens the '09 season against Washington.

But trust me, there are lots of Red Wavers who had great interest in Fresno State baseball in all those years in between, a decent number who went to almost every home game last season and many who have had season tickets year after year. (See my comment at the bottom of the story link)

Mr. Billingsley, the GM of the great restaurant Dog House Grill, who was quoted by the Marin paper, does not speak for all of us.

We're the ones who were there to regularly answer Sugar Bear at Beiden Field when he yelled, "Is there a 'Dog in the house!?"

Woof!

Turlock Tommy goes Baseball America

Something tells me this won't be the first time we see Tommy Mendonca in Baseball America this year. With that defense and power, his stardom might just be beginning.

Do you have your tickets for the season opener Feb. 20...?

'Dogs hoops just can't finish it

If the Fresno State men's basketball team had a lead in the final moments of a game and the opponents all walked off the court, the Bulldogs might still find a way to lose. For some reason, this team just cannot finish -- which has led to quite a bit of reflection on my part.

Let's pretend for a moment that I have multiple personalities (but that both were rational, of course). Now, if I were to have a conversation with myself about the topic, it would go a little something like this:

Me: Why does this team keep making so many mistakes in crunch time?
Me: Well, the youth excuse can only take you so far. The 'Dogs are full of inexperienced players in key roles in Paul George, Bryce Cartwright and Mychal Ladd, but they've all logged crazy minutes this season and can't claim to be strangers to the college game anymore. They should have adjusted enough by now to know how to handle pressure situations down the stretch. Didn't they learn by example from blowing what should have been an easy win at home over San Jose State, losing nail-biters against Utah State twice and at Nevada and blowing a huge opportunity hosting UNLV?

Me: Why is Cartwright so impressive at times and so mitake-prone in crucial times?
Me: He's young, but making mistakes such as throwing the ball away after an in-bound pass when intead of dribbling the ball upcourt like a point guard is supposed to, he tried to toss it 20 feet to a forward...is exactly the type of thing that has fans wondering if he's going to keep improving and be a fixture at point for the next three years, or if the 'Dogs need to recruit someone to start in front of him? And get this, after the errant turnover, Cartwright fouls the shooter down low and let's him make the basket -- one or the other please!

Me: Are you serious with all those 3s dwon the stretch Seay?
Me: Tell me about it. Instead of running the clock down and taking their time on each possession, the 'Dogs took quick shots (including multiple 3s by Seay) and missed pretty much all of them. When you're up by 6 points with less than 2 minutes left, and you've been controlling the game, there is no excuse not to win.

Me: So who's to blame? The youth?
Me: That's the go-to excuse these days, but at some point you've got to wonder if the coaches are doing their jobs? I don't mean to suggest Steve Cleveland isn't a good coach, but we're seeing the same mental mistakes and carelessness over and over now. Maybe the coaching staff needs to take a more proactive approach next time Fresno State has a late lead? You can't tell me a timeout up by 6 to tell the guys to stay calm, don't rush it and make every possession count wouldn't have been beneficial. Maybe the coaches did do this? If that's the case, then you've got to discipline the players who ignored that advice.

OK, I feel a little bit better now after talking myself through this Valentine's heartbreaker, well, except for the fact that the 'Dogs might be on their way to their worst record since the Ron Adams era in 1989-90. But let's hope that blog never has to be written...

Rain, rain, go away!

If anyone has any idea how to do a non-rain dance, please, I beg of you, do it on Friday, Feb. 20.

You see, that's the day the Fresno State baseball team takes the field for the 2009 opener as reigning College World Series champions. The game's sold out, the infamous voice of Sugar Bear hopefully rested, the bright red shoes of Inman Perkins laced and those of us who spend dozens of hours at Beiden Field every year are just hoping we get the chance to experience this day with good weather.

Last season started cold with gloomy clouds in a Friday night loss to UC-Davis. It was miserable baseball weather, and we just don't deserve that two years in a row. So let's hope the weather prognostications are wrong, and that this coming Friday is a day forever remembered in Fresno.

Preseaon All-Whack team

OK, so maybe the preseason All-WAC baseball team isn't all whack, but it sure is at first base, where Fresno State's Alan Ahmady got the shaft. Pssshhh, and you thought Tatiana making the final 36 of American Idol was as bad as it gets...

Somebody has an explanation to make, because surely there has to be some sort of technicality or unthinkable mishap that led to the WAC's seven skippers not voting Ahmady a unanimous first-team selection. After all, the guy was first-team last year. As a sophomore.

Maybe all the nominations were put into a shoebox and there was a tiny hole in the bottom where Ahmady's name slipped out before the nominees were revealed to WAC coaches? Or maybe it's a prank, and Ahmady met Ashton Kutcher during the offseason, struck a friendship and is now being Punk'd? Better yet, maybe the WAC agreed to some sort of behind-the-scenes, unwritten rule that All-Americans aren't allowed to be on the preseason All-WAC team?

No, you say? It can't be? Well why then? Why is Ahmady, who led the WAC and tied the all-time Diamond 'Dogs record with 92 RBIs last year, led the national championship Fresno State team with a .382 average, and hit 13 homers not preseason All-WAC? Instead, it was Nevada's Shaun Kort, who had 60 RBIs, a .324 average and 6 homers. Yet, despite the gross advantages Ahmady held in all three statistical categories, and the idea that Ahmady is also the best defensive first baseman in the conference, he didn't even make the All-WAC team as a utility player.

Excuse me while I scratch my head.

Hardwood news & notes

I don't know about you, but I feel refreshed. After the debacle that was this past Thursday's 34-10 halftime deficit at Hawaii, Fresno State came out and straight manhandled the evil boise state broncos (sorry, but I've decided to no longer capitalize that school name).

The strange thing about this young Bulldogs squad is they crate athletic mismatch havoc for most WAC opponents -- save for New Mexico State and maybe Nevada. boise state was one of those obviously at a disadvantage from the get-go. (Just wait 'til next year's recruiting class doubles Fresno State's athleticism)

And now for the long-awaited news & notes from tonight's Fresno State win:
Paul George: A career-high 29 points...that's what happens when he plays aggressive offense.

Sylvester Seay: If 'Dogs had a winning record, George and Seay would both deserve first-team All-WAC.

Bryce Cartwright & Mychal Ladd: Fresno State hasn't had two leapers like this who can flatout hang in the air since Damon Jackson and Noel Felix circa 2002. Great to see Ladd doing a little more ball-handling tonight and the 'Dogs getting him more touches on offense.

Brandon Webster: Decent effort, please B-Web, if you're reading this, go all out all the time the rest of the year, I promise it'll pay off.

Brandon Sperling: Sperl, please stop taking bad shots. Be an in-your-face defender and stick to that role unless you're too open not to shoot (which you weren't tonight, especially behind the backboard).

Refs: Stop sucking. Good first half, but you really did let boise state back in the game down the stretch with bad calls and no calls. Full-court press doesn't mean fouls are allowed. And when the ball goes out of bounds off a boise state player on the baseline, that means Fresno State should get it out of bounds. Please keep this in mind in future Save Mart Center games.

High praise for incoming hoops recruits

Ran across some nice nuggets of info on the Parsing the WAC blog, which I must say is a very active and informative one. Kevin McCarthy talks Fresno State quite a bit in it, which is cool with me.

So let's get to the point...McCarthy talked 'Dogs recruiting with Carl Foster, who's been around a few of the soon-to-be Fresno State players, and he had some pretty impressive things to say.

Should be encouraging to Fresno State fans who witnessed one of the program's all-time most embarrassing losses last night at Hawaii, a game in which Fresno State had just 10 points at halftime. Bryce Cartwright had one of his most error-prone games, Ned Golubovic (despite being named Academic All-America for his region) was never in the right place at the right time, Sylvester Seay reverted to his old attitude problem and drew a technical foul before fouling out with 12 minutes left and Brandon Sperling got absolutely overpowered by bigger, stronger Rainbows.

But rest assured, help is on the way in the form of Greg Smith (as long as this suspension doesn't mean any bad news), Jerry Brown, Garrett Johnson and Chris Jones.

Ely Elaborates...and so does a 'Dog fan

Talking with Melvin Ely over his college years, I never got the sense he'd be on the cutting edge of the blogosphere. But after reading his first two attempts on the New Orleans Hornet's site, I sent an e-mail to some pals calling it "the greatest blog of all-time."

OK, OK, I might have used a smidgen of hyperbole there, but there is no doubt the Ely Elaborates blog is filled with greatness. For any of you who grew up admiring Ely on the court for Jerry Tarkanian and Fresno State, took your own children or grandchildren to see Big Mel or have ever spoken with the guy, you'll understand why Ely doing anything is great.

To this day I remember what I consider the greatest single game in Fresno State hoops history -- Ely's 32 points, 16 rebounds and 9 blocks against Tulsa. This from the same dude who won two straight WAC Player of the Year honors while riding a bicycle around campus because he didn't have a car. Travel the nation and find another future NBA lottery pick who does that...I won't hold my breath.

Fresno State hoops faithful Brian Archer commented on the latest Ely blog, and he couldn't be more right when he said:

"I am a big fan of yours, all the way back to your playing days at Fresno State.
You are my all-time favorite b-ball player, college and pro. Still waiting for
them to retire your number!!! I don't know what is taking them so long. That
will be a great day. You represented us so well and we really appreciate that. I
know the rest of the Bulldog fans feel the same way."

Fun fact: Big Mel wrote that he named two of his five pet snakes Mel and Lil' Mel...well tack one more on the list my friend, my cat Melvin says hello.

Pritchett a feel-good story

We've all heard the too-good-to-be-true-but-really-is-true tales of Kurt Warner working at the grocery store before deciding he should go win a Super Bowl for the St. Louis Rams.

Well how about a defensive lineman who didn't even play football his final two years of high school in Santa Rosa, worked at Office Depot and as a shuttle driver at a car rental place for a couple years, then went to Santa Rosa Junior College and started playing football again while still working as a bouncer at all odd hours of the morning and losing 50 pounds in the midst of it? That guy is Donnie Pritchett, who's expected to sign a national letter of intent Wednesday to play football for Pat Hill and Fresno State.

D-line was a gigantic weakness for the 'Dogs last season, and Hill has pulled out all stops to address it. Pritchett, a JC player who's been out of high school four years, might offer the most immediate solution. Hill sometimes gets criticized by local armchair quarterbacks for not going after enough JC guys, so you know he's serious about a guy when he does go after one. And -- hopefully -- this'll shush those fans who want all JUCOs all the time.

Here's hoping for the future retirement of jersey number ...

It's not breaking news or anything (well, actually I guess technically it is), but for no particular reason, I've decided to make today the day for announcing Derek Carr's jersey number. A week in the vault was long enough, so for those of you Bulldog football diehards tired of Just-for-Men-ning your graying hair over the suspense of what number Carr will wear (because he wants No. 4 but Ebahn Feathers wears 4, oh my goodness they both can't wear 4 ...), wait no more.

Starting this spring, Derek Carr's jersey number will be ................ announced after the break.



OK, so what, I made you wait another 30 seconds after telling you you wouldn't have to wait any longer (I guess even more now that I'm typing still). Two can play at that game ryan seacrest. At least I kept it in the family.

Derek Carr will wear number 4,  presumably for the duration of his Bulldog career, and he didn't even have to negotiate with Feathers to make it happen. Before Carr could even make his pitch for the number, Feathers went to whomever you go to for a number change and requested jersey No. 3 (a bonus breaking news tidbit—freeeeeee). That left the door open for jersey No. 4, which was swiftly picked up by Carr.

For those of you keeping score, that means the first part of the 2009 numerical roster will look like this:

3. Ebahn Feathers QB
3. Moses Harris S
4. Derek Carr QB
4. Damion Owens CB

For many of us, knowing who is who isn't a problem. But the overabundance of duplicate jersey numbers only adds to the desire for names on the back of the jerseys. Although for road games, you have to love the fact that it causes utter chaos for this guy.

In my defense (random, I know), I just learned how to hyperlink, so the Christmas morning excitement of using it hasn't worn off yet. I say this because by now, I know you're thinking (that's right, I have espn) something along the lines of "freaking shut the hell up already you unfunny, adhd-hyperlinking moron. But thanks for the naked gun scenes."

You got it dude.

Hill offers Pitman High kid

After a recent Bark Board posting that said Fresno State coach Pat Hill was spotted having breakfast in Modesto earlier this week, the Turlock Journal broke this story, saying Hill offered lineman Andy Jennings of Pitman High in Turlock.

Pitman High is a familiar school for 'Dogs fans...it's the same place running back Anthony Harding came from, as well as Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Good news is Hill and his staff really seem to be focused on shoring up the defense with this year's class. The question is, will the impact be felt quickly enough to make next season a good one?

Luckily, a few returnees, such as Porter Hill, Anthony Williams and Kenny Borg (injured all last season), should be ready to breakout.

UNLV student reporter mistaking

College newspaper reporters are allowed the benefit of the doubt when making mistakes, and that's what we'll give to this story from the UNLV student paper arguing that the Mountain West Conference should become a BCS conference.

Most of the story was fine, until I came across this line in support of the writer's argument that the WAC has struggled to score any major victories:
"Fresno State has been a threat but has never been able to finish a game against a major ranked team outside their own field."

Excuse me? Besides Utah, no non-BCS-conference team in the country has as many wins as Fresno State against BCS-conference opponents in recent years. Under Pat Hill, since 2000, the 'Dogs have won against Cal, at Wisconsin, Oregon State twice, home and road against Kansas State, at Colorado (preventing the Buffs from playing for a national title), at Washington, at Rutgers, at UCLA, bowl against UCLA, bowl against Virginia, two bowls against Georgia Tech.

So I ask the reporter, are none of these considered "major" wins? Because if not, no Mountain West team besides Utah has ever had a major win.

On a sidenote, here's a story idea -- By adding Fresno State and Boise State, the Mountain West would have a legit BCS-conference argument. But not without.

Speaking of least favorite players ever...

Who are your least favorites? Which college basketball players who you've seen play against the 'Dogs have stuck out as guys you love to root against?

I know I have some personal ideas, and Carl English (for looking like Ellen Degeneres) comes to mind right away, as do Michael Ruffin, Greg Harrington, Anthony Carter (for his confrontation with Chris Herren way back when), Predrag Savovic (just for annoying me by being hard to stop), Robbie Reid, Keith Van Horn, Michael Doleac, Andre Miller (for getting every call) and now certainly Adrian Oliver is up there for all the mouth running he does.

But who are some more?

From upbeat to letdown

Upon arriving at San Jose State's campus Saturday -- after a not-so-short trek around dowtown San Jose trying to find where the heck it was (GPS couldn't even get it right) -- we spent two hours hanging around campus.

A few observations:

• Lots of students were wandering around campus at 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon (kinda strange considering every single restaurant and the bowling alley was closed).
• A whole lot of people where random college sweatshirts (we saw Virginia, Kansas, USC, Wyoming, Oregon, etc.)
• A Spartans football player, after seeing the four of us decked out in Bulldog Red, could only smile and say, "Fresno State, huh?"
• While the upstairs doors to The Event Center (yes, it's literally called The Event Center) remained locked until exactly one hour before game time.
• Luckily, the doors downstairs near the "Sport Club" remain unlocked. So we walked right in with no other fans in sight and stood on the arena floor as a trickling of Spartans warmed up. The only comments we heard were from an assistant coach (who saw our clothes and said, "That's some cold s&*$," and a trainer who after seeing four people said, "Looks like we're gonna have a big crowd tonight."

The big crowd comment made us laugh, since he was seemingly poking fun at the sad state of affairs that is San Jose State sports. That had us somewhat upbeat, despite the Fresno State hoopsters' poor start to the WAC season. The big letdown came after Adrian Oliver scored 29 points and San Jose State completed a sweep of the 'Dogs for the first time since 1991.

For you Red Wavers who haven't yet seen Oliver play, think offensive talent comparable to Jaycee Carroll (only not as good from the perimeter). A comparison to Courtney Alexander might even be appropriate in that Oliver can also excel creating his own shots. But, the biggest thing that stood out, is what a trash talker Oliver is. It's hard to even respect a guy who looks his opponent in the face and runs his mouth after literally every basket. Red Wave, get ready to add Oliver (who is a Valley traitor from Modesto) to your least favorite players ever list that probably already includes guys like Carl English, Michael Ruffin, Anthony Carter, Greg Harrington, Coby Karl, Darius Songalia (just because he got away with a game-winning goaltend) and others.

One last takeaway, the "Spartan Thunder" students committed a fan blunder with the weak, no-creativity chant of "O'Neil sucks" every time Dwight O'Neil touched the ball. (He finished with a game-high 21 points, 19 in the second half). And the Spartan band is foolish with its repetitive chant of "Fresno inmates." Quick, someone ask the Spartan band what it's favorite chant for the football team's Coye Francies was...?

Best part of the West-East Shrine Game

That's right West-East (West comes first)!

The best part of seeing some of yesterday's game was two of the helmets. Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater's helmet, and Fresno State TE Bear Pascoe's. While many of their West teammates' helmets were littered with the shared logos of other schools represented in the game, Brandstater and Pascoe both kept their helmets clear of any other logos.

That, my friends, is the Bulldog Football mentality. We're Bulldogs, and ONLY Bulldogs. No other logo is deserving of going on those beautiful Bulldog Red helmets.

This is getting absurd

This whole changing offensive coordinators every year habit -- it's a bad one. When Fresno State hires its next O.C., the one who will replace now-departed Doug Nussmeier, it might be wise to get a true 'Dog to come back home and stay a while. But who are the candidates?

Trent Dilfer? Sure would be a huge get on the recruiting and QB tutelage end, but the former Fresno State QB is probably a longshot with his new TV gig and the rave reviews he's been getting. Plus, when he spoke at an Easter service in Fresno last year, he talked about the likelihood he'll spend a few years on TV before considering a coaching job.

Mike Martz? How exciting would that be to get a guy just a handful of years removed for the Super Bowl with the Rams? Is an assistant's job at Fresno State too much of a drop in stature (and pay) for the former 'Dog to consider it?

Kelly Skipper? The 'Dog from the '80s might jump at the chance to join younger brother Tim on the Fresno State coaching staff. But is he the best candidate?

Jeff Grady? Long assumed to be in the grooming stages for eventually landing this job, Grady has just two years coaching experience and only started a few games for Fresno State in his career as QB. But not all great coaches were great players. Grady is definitely a loyal guy with solid character. Would other coaches on staff resent it if he got the promotion?

As one final note, good riddance to Nussmeier. Speaking from a fan's point of view, I'm offended that he came in here, didn't do anything extraordinary, and then took a giant demotion in title and stature to be QB coach at Washington, a program with all of zero wins last season. Maybe it's time to talk to Jim McElwain about signing back on as the Fresno State "coach-in-waiting" since that seems to be the popular trend...?

Looking ahead to '09 'Dogs offense

Let's talk about what to expect from the young up-and-comers in the program who saw little to no playing time this past season but will figure in to the 2009 campaign...

QB: Ebahn Feathers redshirted this season but is already a fan favorite because his speed is so unique to the position it makes fans gawk. Problem is, he came in as a raw thrower with a ton of refining to do. But he's also the type of youngster who is coachable, modest and willing to work at it. Will it be good enough to beat out the elder statesman Ryan Colburn and an even newer young stud, Derek Carr?

RB: A.J. Ellis and Michael Harris both redshirted. Ellis might have been able to help out in 2008, but came out of high school super skinny and would have been knocked around a little at the running back position. But Rashad Evans was much undersized and did a fine job as a true freshman at receiver. While Harris might be more likely to develop into a "featured back" so to speak, Ellis has the potential to develop into a multi-threat lining up in the backfield, the slot and as a return man.

WR: Jamel Hamler was the offensive scout player of the year after academic issues caused him to redshirt this season after playing as a true freshman in '07. Though many don't realize it yet, Hamler has the ability to be the best wideout on the team, and is set to make the type of impact next season that Seyi Ajirotutu did this season. Matt Lindsey, with his height, hands and ability to go up and get the ball in traffic, will be plenty capable too, but this unit might just be too deep and talented for Lindsey to get on the field much before 2010.

TE: We saw what Ryan Skidmore is capable of late this year, and he'll be the main receiving threat, along with Issac Kinter, next year. But more unknown are Tapa Taumopeau and David Gory. Taumopeau started on special teams as a true freshman before an injury led to him redshirting. When Gory steps on the field, many fans will think Bear Pascoe is back until they notice he's wearing No. 88 instead of 85. Gory has a very similar body type and came in listed at 6-4, 235 pounds but looks to be more like 250 now.

OL: There will definitely be an adjustment period here with 2-3 new starters, but it might be a short one considering big talents like Kenny Wiggins and Bryce Harris have been around a while. Wiggins has had the best size and footwork of the unit for two years now and will finally get his shot to start with Kenny Avon and Bobby Lepori gone. And Harris is an athlete who adapted quickly to the switch from defensive to offensive line. The guard spot will be more interesting with Charley Robbins, Devan Cunningham and Richard Pacheco all vying. Pacheco is a senior spot starter, Cunningham could dominate if he dedicated himself to getting in better football shape and Robbins practices and plays well enough to deserve the job. But watch out, highly-touted prospect Douglas Spacht, who redshirted this year and is a true center, has looked good enough to make a run at a starting spot at guard if others don't step it up.

And the next Cal Poly head coach is...

...not John Baxter.

According to this breaking story from the SLO Tribune, it's Tim Walsh, the former Army offensive coordinator. You can also see more info on the annoucnement on the Cal Poly blog.

So what do you think Bulldog Bouncers? Good news for the 'Dogs that Baxter is remaining special teams coach? Or bad news considering the sub-par year and lack of adjustments fans saw from the special teams unit last season?

Is John Baxter for real?

Amid rumors Fresno State special teams coach John Baxter (the mastermind behind the Academic Gameplan that has helped Fresno State's football program become one of the nation's most sound academically) is a finalist for the Cal Poly job, Baxter told the SLO Tribune he's not interested.

True? Hopefully, for honesty's sake, but it's a bit of an uneasy feeling for Red Wavers who heard Pat Hill deny that Washington had contacted him about its vacancy after the Boise State game, only to be interviewing in Seattle the next day.

A gross exclusion from the Hall of Fame...

Perusing The Bulldog Shop today and taking a look at its new throwback Fresno State football jerseys got me thinking again about former wide receiver Henry Ellard. More specifically, it got me thinking about how Ellard is not yet in the NFL's Hall of Fame.

How can that be?

Someone more in the NFL know, please explain this to me. Ellard, the longtime L.A. Rams star who also spent time with the Redskins and Patriots, retired as the NFL's fourth leading receiver of all-time. I don't know what he ranks as now, and I don't need to know. It's somewhere in the top eight I'm guessing. That's plenty good enough.

The 17 finalists for this year's induction class were announced, and Ellard's name is nowhere in print. Cris Carter is a finalist this year, and he has only been retired a handful of years. Is anyone else in the top 10 who's not active not in the Hall of Fame? Jerry Rice, Steve Largeant, Art Monk, etc.

Ellard's NFL career:

• 17 years (11 Rams, 5 Redskins, 1 Patriots)
• 13,777 yards receiving (7 season over 1,000 yards)
• 814 receptions
• 65 touchdown catches
• 16.9 yards per catch
• 135 punt returns, 1,527 yards, 4 touchdowns
• 19 kick returns, 364 yards
• 2 fumbles lost (1 catch, 1 rush)

Bad news for the soccer 'Dogs

Apparently Fresno State women's soccer coach Steve Springthorpe is headed off to coach at NC State, a team that finished 11th in the ACC last season.

Springthorpe led Fresno State to each of the past four WAC tournament championship games, as well as two NCAA tournaments (2005, 2008). Considering the short time Fresno State has had a women's soccer program, they've experienced a solid amount of success.

It's a tough pill to swallow for Springthorpe to leave now, when the school has already started construction on a new women's soccer and lacrosse stadium that will take up a huge chunk of the Red Lot on Cedar and Barstow avenues, one of the premier tailgating areas in all of college football (at least from my personal experience).

WAC Hoops Predictions

It's the first Saturday of 2009 -- and for Fresno State that means the start of the conference basketball season. It'll be a pivotal stretch of games for a young team looking more toward its future potential than immediate postseason hopes. Here's how I see the WAC shaking out this year, in one of the most unpredictable seasons in memory.

Utah State: The Aggies can no longer rely on the awe-inspiring shooting and quickness of Jaycee Carroll, but 6-foot-9, 240-pound Gary Wilkinson (17.1 points per game, 8.2 rebounds) has inherited the go-to role for a Utah State team that started the season 12-1 with its only loss a close neutral site one to BYU. Tai Wesley (6-7) is the invaluable type of guy who will do the dirty work and get second-chance points. Wilkinson is a double-double threat every night.

Nevada: The Wolf Pack is a young squad, but maybe the most talented in the WAC. Gone are stars Marcellus Kemp and Javale McGee, both now in the NBA, but Armon Johnson is the WAC's best point guard. Freshman Luke Babbitt (6-9, 225) showed flashes of why he was so highly touted out of high school, hitting a couple jumpers in the face of North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough earlier in the week. Babbitt already leads the team with 15.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Johnson has 56 assists and 30 turnovers in 13 games. Despite a 7-6 start, watch for Nevada to mesh just in time for conference play.

Boise State: Even with a 9-3 start, it’s hard to get a good gauge on the Broncos. They’ve been stomped by 38 at BYU and 30 at Siena, and five of their wins were by four points or less against sub-par competition. Boise State did pick up a solid road win at San Diego. Led by Mark Sanchez’s 15.8 points and 7.1 rebounds, the Broncos also boast one of the WAC’s better point men in Anthony Thomas (60-31 assist-turnover) who is selectively efficient from long range (14 for 34).

New Mexico State: Despite having four players averaging double figures in points, and an efficient young point guard in Hernst Laroche (58 assists, 20 turnovers), the Aggies are off to a 6-7 start. Jahmar Young leads the team with 17.2 points and joins Jonathan Gibson and Wendell McKines in shooting better than 42% from 3-point range. McKines leads the team with 8.9 rebounds. Credit the Aggies for a challenging non-conference slate that included road games at USC and Kansas and a home-and-home with UTEP and New Mexico. But they won just one of those six contests, at home against UTEP.

Fresno State: The WAC better get used to dealing with the dynamic freshmen tandem of Paul George and Mychal Ladd. George leads the Bulldogs with 15.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 30 3-pointers (50% from the perimeter). Both are athletic leapers and dunkers. The team’s lone senior, Dwight O’Neil is second in the WAC with 74 assists and is third on the ‘Dogs with 12.9 points, but has a ridiculous 56 turnovers. Freshman point guard Bryce Cartwright has a 44-25 assist-turnover ratio. Arizona State transfer Sylvester Seay is second on the team with 13.1 points, and leads the WAC with 22 blocks. Out to a 7-7 start, this team figures to be around .500 in WAC play, but has the potential to get hot and pull off some decent wins as the youth matures.

Hawaii: Junior college transfer Roderick Flemings (6-7, 210) has led the Bows to an 8-4 start with a team-high 17.9 points and 6.8 rebounds. The downside is Hawaii hasn't beaten any team worth a darn, with Iowa State being the only name win, and that was a one-point victory. The Bows are tough to predict with so many key new faces.

San Jose State: Could this be San Jose State’s best team under George Nessman? Heck, it could be its best in modern memory – which isn’t necessarily saying much. The Spartans are led by Washington transfer Adrian Oliver, who averages 20 points in his four games this season. Three other Spartans – Tim Pierce, C.J. Webster (6-9, 255) and Chris Oakes (6-10, 235) – also average in double figures. Oakes leads the WAC with 9.3 rebounds per game. Point guard Justin Graham, who was hyped last year as an up-and-comer, has a glaring 42 turnovers to go with his 56 assists. That’s way too many in just 10 games.

Louisiana Tech: It looks like a long year for La Tech (6-7) after non-conference losses to Seattle, Western Carolina, Alaska-Anchorage, McNeese State and Samford. That said, the big thing La Tech has going for it is size in 6-11 Magnum Rolle (11.5 points, 6.8 rebounds), 6-10 Kenneth Cooper (11.9, 6.9) and 6-8 David Jackson all in the starting lineup. The shortest starter is 6-3. Kyle Gibson leads the team with 16.1 points and shoots 42% on 3s. But the point guard also has more turnovers (48) than assists (37).

Idaho: Credit the Vandals (6-7) for challenging themselves with non-conference games at Michigan State, Gonzaga and Washington State, but those were all pretty telling losses. Strangely, Idaho also laid a beatdown on UC-Irvine by 101-47. But that might say more about how bad the Anteaters are. Washington State transfer Mac Hopson leads the Vandals with 16.3 points and has a WAC-high 77 assists compared with 41 turnovers.

Do you know...

...the story behind the first Mercy Bowl, in which Fresno State beat Bowling Green in the 1960s? If you don't, this saddening Sports Illustrated story will fill you in.

Merry Christmas Bulldog Bouncers!

First, let me start off by wishing all the readers a very Merry Christmas. Hope you all had a fantastic holiday with your loved ones. In addition, hope Santa was very kind to you. Here's a list of a sleigh full of gifts I'd like to see some of those in Fresno State athletics receive:

To: Tom Brandstater
We, the Red Wave, hereby revoke all boos you ever encountered. We had some good times and tough times together, but you're still a Bulldog QB, and that should forever entrench you into our hearts for being the team's leader and one tough son-of-a-gun. And please know this Tommy B., many of us never, ever booed you, and in fact got quite upset when we heard the minority of fans who did. So Merry Christmas Turlock Tom. Your Bulldog Born, Bulldog Bred card lasts forever!

To: Pat Hill
A time machine and a reminder. The time machine would allow our great coach to travel back to 1997, his first year, through 2005. All during those years Hill couldn't stand excuses. He was no-nonsense and never made them. He was all about proving it on the field and answering to the critics if his team fell short of those goals. We, the Red Wave, want that attitude back Coach Hill. And the reminder we'd like to give you, there are plenty of us out here who are standing true to you and arguing tooth and nail with anyone who says you can't get the job done. Some of us are the ones who have gotten a close look at the inner-workings of the program and have built up some insight. And we continue to believe in and support you Coach. Pat Hill is Fresno State!

To: 2008 Diamond 'Dogs
A big, giant hug. All the great words in Paul Loeffler's book, the great sounds on the DVD set, the T-shirt and hat sales at the Bulldog Shop, the parade and the ceremony at Beiden Field cannot even begin to explain just how special the 2008 season was to those of us who've followed and attended Fresno State baseball our entire lives. Or even those who have had season tickets for a decade or more. Your Bulldog spirit, fight, fun charisma and effort are what makes being a Fresno State student, alum or fan so unique to the college sports landscape. Justin Wilson said it best. No, we are not Cinderella. We are Bulldogs.

To: Steve Cleveland
All our support and some Bulldogs history lessons. We know you're fighting an uphill battle Coach Cleve. But many of us are confident you're winning that battle. Many of us are stoked about the young kids you've brought in like Paul George, Mychal Ladd, Bryce Cartwright and Ned Golubovich. And many of us are so glad you were able to convey the meaningful difference a hometown guy like Greg Smith can make by choosing the Valley's university. We'll be at the Save Mart Center night in and night out yelling as long as the lights are on. And we'll get anyone we can to join us. In the meantime coach, please accept our advice to make darn sure every young man who puts on that Bulldog Red uniform understands the history and tradition of Fresno State basketball. Make sure they know Boyd Grant, Rod Higgins, Ron Anderson, Tyrone Bradley, the Bookend Forwards, Grant's Tomb, Tark, Melvin Ely, Chris Herren, Rafer Alston, Meechie, T-Robe, Courtney Alexander, etc. Make sure they understand where Fresno State basketball has been on the national scene, so they are confident they can get back there and give it a cleaner image this time. Make sure it means something to be a 'Dog!

Clif is a Pro Bowlin' rookie

Gotta love Clifton Smith being named to the Pro Bowl as an NFL rookie undrafted free agent. It's still just short of mind boggling how he went undrafted -- you'd think some team out there would want a surefire return specialist at least on Day 2 of the draft...?

Clif said on KSEE 24 tonight when he got a call of congratulations he thought he was being Punk'd at first and was waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out of the bushes. He's one of the truly special players in Fresno State history -- the type of guy who probably would have been in the stands yelling and cheering with us if he wasn't on the team.

Sadly, a few other 'Dogs were snubbed from the Pro Bowl, namely Logan Mankins, Bernard Berrian and Lorenzo Neal.

Not to rain on the Clif parade, but Berrian has as many TDs as Roddy White on about half the number of catches and also averages about 4 yards more per reception. Oh, and Berrian is the sole bright spot of the Vikings' passing game. Not to mention he's one of the NFL's top return men.

Then you have Mankins, who should be a shoe-in for the next 12 years or so. Last year talk was Mankins was the best guard in the NFL. He still is -- but why the snub?

And the AFC's starting fullback? Leron McClain? Excuse me, but if I'm not mistaking McClain is on the Baltimore Ravens. He's their leading rusher at tailback. The fullback...that would be Lorenzo Neal, the greatest in NFL history.

A proud day to be Marvin Meyers!

Marvin Meyers $2 million gift toward a new sports medicine center near the Duncan Building and the Ricchiuti Academic Center should make Pat Hill's heart all warm and fuzzy.

It truly is touching for all of us to see alumni or friends of the university giving so graciously. All of us can make an impact either through giving our time to help the Bulldog Foundation fundraise and/or sharing our wealth. Let's continue to build onto the greatest group of volunteers of any university nationwide...

I find it odd...

that Chris Dufresne of the LA Times pokes fun at Rutgers coach Greg Schiano and Fresno State coach Pat Hill for being the only two coaches to vote for Rutgers in the top 25 poll. Really Chris? With a straight face, are you suggesting Rutgers isn't a top 25 team? Rutgers who started a horrific 1-5, but then rattled off six straight wins to close out the season.

The Scarlet Knights' only two Big East losses were West Virginia by 7 and Cinicinnati by 3. Thing is, what would happen if these teams met now? Outside of Oklahoma and Florida, there might not be a hotter team in the country right now than Rutgers. And QB Mike Teel is putting up video game numbers after being shut down by Fresno State in a 24-7 season-opening loss. Even that game, though, was closer than the final score.

Why did Hill vote Rutgers in the top 25? Because he's been paying attention. It's not like Hill's pushing Rutgers to try and increase Fresno State's BCS ranking. Come on man...

Now that that's settled...

So now that Pat Hill has announced his intention to remain at Fresno State, as we all know I've been hoping like crazy for, let's hope he puts some of that stubborness behind him.

While it's definitely a great quality of his to be so no-nonsense and preach physical, punch-'em-in-the-mouth football, he also must step back and see that his biggest shortcoming as a coach is sometimes refusing to adjust proactively.

Don't be afraid to be unpredictable Pat. It doesn't mean we're not tougher or more physical than the other guys. It just means we're multi-dimensional. And, yeah, some of those fans who whine and complain all the time and think they know enough to tell you how to coach are irritating, but forget all that. Pay them no attention. You're the 'Dogs coach, we've all bought in to your vision. Let's make it happen. Just let us know how to help you along the way.

If I know Pat Hill as well as I think I do...

He won't be going to Washington, despite all the recent reports out of Seattle media that he might be the Huskies top choice. And now this report from The Fresno Bee saying that Hill flew to Seattle, presumably to interview with Washington folks about the job.

Now here's the thing -- the University of Washington is located in Seattle. It rains a lot there, people never hit the streets without a mocha choco latte in their hands, they roam around the city looking for wi-fi hot spots, they listen to eclectic music and drive around in hybrids. It's a cleaner, less annoying version of San Francisco. And it's definitely not Fresno.

Pat Hill is Fresno. He spent part of his early years sleeping in his car because that's what he could afford. Hard work got him to where he is now. He hardly knows what a computer is, and doesn't like polite chats at the coffee house. He's a no-nonsense, meet me in the parking lot when it gets dark and we'll settle this type of guy. If Pat Hill coached the SuperSonics, they would have bolted for Oklahoma years ago.

Once an assistant at Fresno State, Pat Hill returned to his roots to take over as Jim Sweeney's successor in 1995. He came in talking about building the program from the ground up, with high school players. Bringing in kids who would excel academically and making that a priority. Scheduling big-time teams and eventually beating them consistently so that Fresno State too would be a big-time program. Hill did it all.

"Why not us?" Hill proclaimed to anyone and everyone in the nation who would listen. "Shutup & Hit Somebody," he shouted in 2001. "Anyone, anywhere, any time," he added.

Soon the Pac-10 teams, especially those residing as Fresno State's neighbors in California, scattered like the broken glass of a dropped mirror if Pat Hill came asking them for a game. Cal has played the 'Dogs twice ever, losing both times. USC is 1-1 against the 'Dogs, including the '05 game everyone remembers at the LA Coliseum when Fresno State almost knocked off "the best team in college history." UCLA has never been brave enough to play at Bulldog Stadium, yet has still lost its past two meetings with Fresno State. And Stanford, well they haven't played the 'Dogs since the 1920s (Fresno State didn't even join Division I-A until 1980).

Between the disappointments fans have felt as Hill and his chip-on-the-shoulder Bulldogs failed to go undefeated in 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2007, and going without a WAC title since 1999, Hill has established the second most feared football program in the state, behind USC's quasi-professional franchise.

There's something to be said for that. He's doing it with half the budget of most Pac-10 teams, yet still outrecruiting several of them. But best of all, most fitting of all, is Hill and Fresno State have identities that go hand in hand. Hill doesn't drive a hybrid, he drives a ghastly beast of a Bulldog Red Hummer. He does talk politically correct, he tells you what he thinks. He doesn't hide from the BCS chatter the way other coaches might, he welcomes it. He turned Bulldog Football into an adjective. He had former MLB slugger Larry Walker wearing a Fresno State cap to practice with the Rockies. He opened up a line of compliments for any Fresnan on vacation in any spot in the country from fellow vacationers who admire what he's done at Fresno State.

Pat Hill has our vision. If you're a Red Waver who truly believes Fresno State will one day win a national title in football, you love Pat Hill. If you don't have that confidence, you criticize him. But Hill has worked tirelessly for this program and this vision, and that's what we should do too -- yell as loud as you can every game, gift as much as you can to the university, invite others to attend games with you and gift whatever they can too. That's the difference of college sports and pro -- in college sports you really are allowed to say "we" when referring to your team. Because you're really part of the team.

And I want my team to include Pat Hill for years and years to come.

NObama, NOregon State!

Talk about an idea for an instant classic sign to hold up at this afternoon's 2 p.m. tipoff between Fresno State and Oregon State at the Save Mart Center.

I mean, regardless of your personal political views, that's just funny.

If you don't know by now, Oregon State's first-year head coach, Craig Robinson, is Barack Obama's brother-in-law.

Grading the 'Dogs (7-5, 4-4) at No. 9 Boise State (12-0, 8-0)

Quarterbacks: D
Credit Brandstater for being a tough son-of-a-gun, but he's just an average QB at best right now. He doesn't do anything to win ballgames, including when he spiked the ball with 1 second remaining in the first half.

Running Backs: D
2.4 yards per carry will never, ever cut it at Fresno State. Harding stopped moving his feet too often in the backfield. Hard to believe not having Mathews makes that much of a difference with this offense.

Receivers: D+
What a terrible time to start dropping passes. Bear Pascoe and Ajirotutu had costly drops on a key drive that led to a punt, then West drops one (that was thrown behind him) and it gets picked off.

Offensive Line: D
See above 2.4 yards per carry is absurd. The 'Dogs never seem to be able to run on Boise State, and until that is fixed they will struggle against the Broncos.

Defensive Line: C
Applied some of their best pressure of the year in the first half, but Broncos QB Kellen Moore didn't panic and got rid of the ball every time. He made plays when necessary.

Linebackers: D
Reverted to more poor tackling and struggled to get off blocks in the second half.

Defensive Backs: C
Great pick-6 by Owens in the first quarter, but 'Dogs confusion in the third quarter more than negated it.

Special Teams: F
Here we go again. Two blocked kicks for the 'Dogs and then what do they do? Allow a 90-yard punt return for a TD (yes, Malone was held by a Bronco, but the team shouldn't have had to rely on its punter anyway). For a special teams guru such as coach Baxter, he sure doesn't seem to be doing much coachinig this year. Where are the adjustments in personnel? The 'Dogs don't have enough speed on the coverage unit, especially with Wylie out. Dunn defended the punt return horribly and it cost them.

I have a hard time with Bozo State fans...

They're just so cocky. And I don't respect cocky. In fact, I dislike cocky.

Now granted, Boise State has accomplished an amazing thing -- going through its first seven-plus seasons in the WAC undefeated at home on the Smurf turf. That's impressive. Heck, it's almost unbelievable. And they've beaten Fresno State a handful of times while they were winning a handful of WAC titles. So head to head, there's no room for Fresno State to talk. As a college student back in 2001 I didn't have a lot of money, but I would have gone all in betting Boise State would never accomplish anything close to that record. I mean, it's Boise State -- the team we were all so angry was being added to the WAC, a patsy like Utah State, Idaho and New Mexico State.

Only Boise State turned out not to be such a patsy (although it consistently schedules like one). The Broncos enter Friday's 3 p.m. game against visiting Fresno State undefeated at 11-0 and ranked ninth in the nation. That was supposed to be Fresno State's record right now.

The strange thing about Boise State, the conundrum, that I just can't quite figure out, is how it is so darn successful against the WAC but just barely won on the road against a BCS-conference school (Oregon) for the first time in history this year...?

Even more annoying, is when we have to sit back leading up to this week's game and listen to such garbage bravado from Boiseans about how Fresno State hasn't beat anyone good all year. Hello -- Oregon is no better than Rutgers. Rutgers is one game in the loss column from heading to a BCS bowl. Oregon is nowhere near that. And the Pac-10 is down, perhaps, more than ever before.

In actuality, Fresno State has won TWO BCS-conference road games THIS SEASON -- twice as many as Boise State has won in its history. How's that for a fact? Heck, even La Tech matched Boise State's success this year against BCS-conference opponents. I mean, welcome back to planet Earth Boise State. Stop whining about getting shafted from a BCS bowl game.

If you want in, play a respectable schedule, beat highly regarded programs outside of conference, and earn the right. Stop trying to backdoor your way in to the limelight.

Heck, I know your university spawned from what started as a women's college, but it's time to man up.

I'm just gonna come out and say it...

Clifton Smith is the greatest return man in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history.

There. Simple. One sentence. And I believe every word of it. After a horrifying injury at Oregon in 2005 during Smith's first real action, in his first big road game, in the first quarter, as a Fresno State up-and-comer, he suffered a horrible knee injury. It basically killed his sophomore and junior seasons -- the stuff medical redshirts should be granted for.

After a breakout senior season in '08, Smith was an undrafted free agent (mostly 'cause he's only 5-foot-8) who everyone the 'Dogs ever played knew was one of the NCAA's great return men of all time. Not because he's astonishingly fast. But because he's Batmobile quick and makes cuts that are too impressive for analogies.

The Bucs had gone more than 30 years as an NFL franchise with just one -- ONE -- kick return for a touchdown. Clifton Smith has returned a kick and a punt for TDs in his first four games as a Buc. And a smart person would not bet against him doing it another time or two before the season is over.

You know the way people say someone is almost as fast as Devin Hester? Well, get ready to hear, "almost as elusive as Clifton Smith." Just take a looksie for yourself...

Grading the 'Dogs (7-4, 4-3) at San Jose St. (6-6, 4-4)

Quarterbacks: F
Brandstater's worst showing in since the '06 season finale at San Jose State (if not worst ever) amounts to 5 of 18 for 71 yards, an pick and a fumbled snap. Made bad decisions and consistently missed open receivers.

Running Backs: B
Would be a D if not for an eye-popping fourth quarter capped by a 22-yard Harding dip and dodge TD run and Rashad's breakout game of 41 yards (8.2 per carry). Harding led with 99 yards and Miller added 62.

Receivers: D+
Five guys had one catch each -- two receivers, a tight end, an H-back and a running back. Ajirotutu went without a reception for the first time all year and Moore was a non-factor in his first game back from injury. Bear Pascoe was robbed of a beautiful diving catch by a poor call by an official. Blame can't lay solely with Brandstater, but he missed several big plays while failing to make his reads.

Offensive Line: A-
Fourth quarter was so physically overpowering that any shortcomings from the first half take the back seat. Robbins proved why he should have been starting over Cunningham and Pacheco all year long when Popovich went down with injury. And Lepori and Bernardi possess unparalleled Bulldog Spirit. Solid game by Avon as well.

Defensive Line: A-
Banks had perhaps his finest game stuffing the middle and being imposing while doing it. Ike continues his late-season blossom, and Carter has taken over as by far the team's most dangerous D-linemen and should permanently move from linebacker. Team held Spartans to minus-5 yards rushing -- the second straight game holding a team to negative yards.

Linebackers: B+
Poor first quarter tackling, but credit the defense for staying strong despite being on the field the whole half as the offense struggled. Herron showed improvement in sticking to his assignment as he forced San Jose State QB Sean Flynn to fumble on an option pitch. Knox continues to impress.

Defensive Backs: B
San Jose State went deep many times and didn't complete anything besides the first quarter halfback pass for a TD. That said, Owens has been getting beat constantly, and Dunn did against the Spartans. Makes one wonder why the team's best cover corner, Jefferson, has been MIA at corner for weeks? Great, aggressive effort by Davis didn't go unnoticed.

Special Teams: B+
A strong effort besides West's botch fielding the opening kickoff, but he made up for it returning a punt for the 'Dogs first TD in the third quarter. Malone might end up one of best in school history averaging 43 yards per punt, including booming a 74-yarder out of the end zone in a critical field possession battle. Goessling nailed his only field goal attempt, and Spartans missed 2 of 3 field goals.

Do you know the way to San Jose?

If you need any more of a push to get in the car and drive to smelly San Jose today -- other than just plain being Bulldog Born and Bulldog Bred -- look no further than this video posted on YouTube after the 2006 game at Spartan Stadium.

San Jose State beat Fresno State for the first (and only) time since 1990 on that day. And after this guy talked so much trash to Pat Hill and the 'Dogs about it being a new day, Fresno State hammered San Jo 30-0 in 2007.

This time, a bowl berth could be on the line...IS THERE A 'DOG IN THE HOUSE!?

He's rated P.G.!

Check out P.G., Paul George, in only his second collegiate game throwing down on two St. Mary's players for SportsCenter's No. 1 play of the day. Crazy thing is, he had a dunk almost as good in his first game against Sac State.

Shut Up & Hit Somebody

I've been thinking a lot about this ol' Pat Hill/Bulldog Football mantra lately. Problem is, have the Bulldogs been thinking about it?

Maybe it's time Hill return to his roots so to speak, and bring this saying out of the archives. I know he tries to come up with a different motto every season and all, but never before has "Shut Up & Hit Somebody" been so meaningful.

Enough with the weekly press conferences talking about how the days of 35-point wins are over. Enough with ranting at fans each week on the Pat Hill Show on KMJ. No excuses. This team is talented. It's deep. It might be missing the proper scheme. It might be missing an impact player or three on defense. But make due. Coach around the shortcomings. This defense hasn't stepped up and hit anyone in the mouth consistently in weeks.

Note: To those of you who have been disappointed to see fewer blogs as of late, we apologize. Some of you have made good points. Maybe the blogs shouldn't slow down just because the team isn't playing well. But we don't plan to be quiet for much longer. Against New Mexico State this week, we want to see a fanatical effort from the 'Dogs that results in a statement win and brings all the momentum heading into a game at evil san jose state (that school doesn't deserve to have its name capitalized). So here's to a full Bulldog Stadium on Saturday at 2 p.m., many packed tailgating lots starting at 10 a.m. and a 'Dog beatdown!