Welcome to CrashUtah – Where BYU fans Talk Sports

What a great day for BYU football fans. BYU played TCU on a nationally televised station (Versus) and routed #17 TCU at TCU. That’s what I’m talking about baby!!

Sure, I wouldn’t have been too disappointed with BYU losing TCU as long as TCU went on to go undefeated and was able to play in a BCS bowl game and bring home $14 million dollars for the MWC.

However, I called my brother today and he made a fine point. Maybe beating a ranked opponent will give BYU some confidence to win some close games and recruit some great players to BYU again. BYU’s offense is great. You just can’t stop it. If you are on defense then just know that it can’t be stopped. It can be slowed, but it can’t and won’t be stopped. That’s the way it is written up. Arizona even admitted this point before playing them earlier this year.

BYU improved to 3-2, 1-0 in the conference which sets them up to have a nice year. The MWC is tough because each team could win on any given day. However, it looks like BYU will be bowling again this year. Assuming all goes well, they’ll be here in Las Vegas again. This time my wife’s pregnant and so I can’t be out of town.

TCU honestly didn’t look very good to me. I don’t think we’re as good as we looked today. I think we really just wanted to get revenge on TCU for last years joke of a loss.

Here’s another piece of news I missed and I absolutely shouldn’t have missed it. At some point in the BYU game they brought five people onto the field who they inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame. It was very unceremonious and I barely even realized what they were doing. Here’s a list of the people that were inducted: Olympians Charlene Johnson (women’s volleyball), Ethan Watts (men’s volleyball) and Jason Pyrah (men’s track and field/cross country) as well as U.S. National Team member Darren Elg (men’s gymnastics) and then LaVell Edwards.

Is it just me or shouldn’t something more have been done for LaVell Edwards? I’m sure he probably wouldn’t have wanted anything more, but it seems like this whole BYU Hall of Fame is somewhat of a joke. It reminds me of the show Clean Sweep where they clean out people’s messy houses. They make an interesting point on the show that if it is something that is important to you then you need to treat it that way. I think the same applies to BYU’s Hall of Fame. If it is important then why don’t you do something a little nicer. Sorry LaVell, maybe BYU will learn to show you a little more class in the future.

I will admit that they did to a ceremony before when they named the stadium. That was a pretty big deal.

Here’s the full bios of the new members of BYU’s Hall of Fame:
LaVell Edwards, Football
In 1972 LaVell Edwards assumed command of a mediocre college football program. Many thought Edwards had been hired to run the team until someone more qualified for the job could be hired. The move to promote the Cougars’ defensive coordinator to head coach turned out to be the beginning of one of college football’s most successful coaching tenures.

At the time Edwards was hired, the Cougars had posted just 173 victories over the previous 49 seasons, winning just one conference championships and no bowl games to the team’s credit.

Undaunted by the formidable rebuilding task that lay ahead, Edwards wasted little time in transforming BYU into a national power. In his first season as the head coach, he gave BYU fans a glimpse of the future. Edwards led the Cougars to a 7-4 overall record, including a 16-7 win over in-state rival Utah. Just two seasons later, Edwards had the team rolling. The Cougars won the WAC Championship after a 48-20 victory over the Utes and accepted an invitation to the Fiesta Bowl — the team’s first-ever bowl appearance. The 1974 season turned out to be the first of 27 straight non-losing seasons. The 1974 Fiesta Bowl was the first of 22 bowl appearances. The conference championship was also the first of 20 league titles. And the victories, they just kept coming.

After recording an 11-1 record in 1979, a 12-1 record in 1980 another 11-win season in 1981, eight more wins in ’82, and 11 additional wins in 1983, Edwards led BYU to a perfect 13-0 season in 1984. Following a 24-17 win over Michigan in the Holiday Bowl, the Cougars were crowned National Champions. Not surprisingly, Edwards was named the National Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.

Over his 29 seasons as the head coach at BYU, Edwards recorded 257 victories, ranking as the sixth all-time winningest coach in college football history. Under his direction, BYU recorded 10 straight WAC championships from 1976 through 1985. The Cougars also played in 17 straight bowl games from 1978 until 1994.

Labeled by USAToday as a “national coaching treasure,” his teams passed for over 57 miles during his 29-year career. He coached four College Football Hall-of-Fame inductees, a Heisman Trophy winner, seven Sammy Baugh Trophy winners, two Outland Trophy winners, five Davey O’Brien Trophy winners, 34 All-Americans, including 10 consensus All-American performers, 11 conference player-of-the-year recipients and 24 Academic All-America player citations.

In 2004, Edwards’ tremendous career was immortalized as he was inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

The eighth of 14 children, Edwards graduated from Lincoln High School in Orem. He attended Utah State University, where he was an all-conference lineman before serving a two-year commitment in the Army. He and his wife Patti recently celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. The Edwards have three children, Ann [Cannon], John and Jim.

Darren Elg, Men’s Gymnastics
Many people think they know what the word “comeback” means. Darren Elg actually does. Twice in his incredible BYU men’s gymnastics career, the seven-time All-American and Nissen Award winner had to travel the long road back to competition, not sure if he would make it. But make it he did, becoming one of the top gymnasts in BYU history along the way.

Elg’s prolific college career began in 1990 when, as a freshman, he won the Western Athletic Conference title on the floor exercise and placed fifth on the high bar at the NCAA Championships, earning his first All-America award. Less than six months later, he gave up the sport completely to serve a two-year mission in Los Angeles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Despite trading in floor routines for Spanish lessons, Elg returned in 1993 determined to rise to the pinnacle of his sport. As a sophomore, he once again won the league title on the floor exercise, this time in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while being named the MPSF Athlete of the Year. In addition to top-five NCAA finishes on the parallel bars and high bar, earning him two more All-America citations, Elg excelled in the classroom, garnering GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team recognition.

Elg was primed and ready for another great year in 1994 when disaster struck. While performing the “Iron Cross” on the rings — one of gymnastics’ most difficult maneuvers — Elg’s pectoral muscle ripped away from the bone. Despite high hopes for an NCAA Championship, Elg was forced to redshirt the year and begin the long road to recovery.

No stranger to fighting back, Elg returned with a vengeance in 1995, earning three more All-America citations with a second-place NCAA finish in the all-around and third-place finishes on floor and high bar. During the course of the season, he scored a perfect 10.0 on the high bar — just the second perfect high bar score in BYU history — and was named the Cougar Sports Magazine Male Athlete of the Year. The highlight of the year, however, came in January when Elg competed at the Winter Cup Challenge, besting the top 16 gymnasts in the nation over the age of 19 and earning a spot on the U.S. Senior National Team.

As a senior in 1996, Elg continued his national prowess, winning the Nissen Award — the sport’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy — annually given to the nation’s top gymnast. He ranked first in the all-around for most of the year until an ankle injury slowed him down and finished the season third in the all-around for his seventh All-America award while also placing seventh on the high bar and eighth on the pommel horse at the NCAA Championships. He went out on top of the MPSF as the league’s Athlete of the Year. His success in the classroom was also recognized with GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team accolades. Elg, who holds the BYU record in the all-around and on the pommel horse and shares the top score on the floor and high bar, graduated from BYU that April with a 3.93 GPA in Health Science.

In the end, it was Elg’s love for learning more than his love for gymnastics that guided his life after BYU. He attended the Southern California College of Optometry, graduating in 2000 as the class Valedictorian, and has earned several professional awards for his work. A member of the American and Arizona Optometric Associations, Elg runs his own practice in Arizona, where he participates each year in various community programs such as Vision USA, which offers eye exams for the underprivileged. He and his wife Stephanie have two daughters — Alison and Natalie.

Charlene Johnson, Women’s Volleyball
Even before Charlene Johnson donned her No. 16 BYU women’s volleyball jersey as a freshman in 1991, everyone knew the 5-foot-10 setter was a force to be reckoned with.

Already a three-time high school All-American out of Pleasant Grove, Utah, Johnson did not disappoint as a freshman starter. She took on her setting duties with an iron will, leading the Cougars to a 26-5 overall record and second-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference. As the honors poured in for the young Johnson — WAC Freshman of the Year, All-WAC First Team, AVCA All-West Region Second Team and Asics/Volleyball Monthly Freshman All-America Team — it became obvious that BYU fans were witnessing the emergence of a star.

And emerge she did. Over the course of the following three seasons, Johnson continued to provide the complete package to the BYU women’s volleyball program, delighting fans, racking up awards and, most importantly, leading the Cougars to success. Honored as an All-WAC selection in each of her four seasons and the reciepient of four All-America citations, Johnson also earned the distinction of becoming the only women’s volleyball player in program history to earn All-Region accolades during all four years of her BYU playing career.

BYU’s second-place WAC finish in her freshman year did not last long with Johnson directing the Cougar attack. A 1992 league title was the first of three straight for the Cougars, who also saw success on the national level as they advanced to the NCAA’s Elite Eight in 1992 and the Final Four in 1993. Johnson earned NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team honors both years and NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team accolades in 1993 as she recorded an eye-popping 65 assists against UCLA to propel her team to the Final Four. Her career culminated in 1994 with WAC Player of the Year honors in addition to All-Region and All-America recognition.

A two-time Cougar Club Competitor Award recipient, Johnson’s incredible numbers left their mark on the BYU record books. She is second all-time in three categories, including career assists (5,321), career assists per game (12.35) and season assists per game (13.13), a mark that was also fifth in the nation in 1992.

Johnson’s stellar career did not end with her college eligibility. In 1995, she served as an undergraduate assistant coach at BYU before leaving to play professionally overseas for two years in Switzerland and Italy. Johnson returned to her native country in 1997 and began a five-year stint with the U.S. National Team, which included a fourth-place finish at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia.

Since leaving the National Team, Johnson has used her skills to help others, serving as an assistant coach at the University of Nebraska, perennially considered one of the top teams in the nation. The Huskers enter the 2006 season as the preseason No. 1 after losing in the 2005 NCAA title match. A 1999 BYU graduate with a B.A. in Therapeutic Recreation, Johnson has three children: Kaipo, 13; Vailin, 4; and Sydney, 2.

Jason Pyrah, Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country
The mood of the crowd when he stepped up to compete was termed “Pyrah-mania.” Speculation began early in his career that Jason Pyrah could be an Olympic contender. He proved that speculation right. Twice.

Pyrah was a six-time All-American at BYU where he competed on the cross country and track and field teams in 1987 and from 1991-94. He won six WAC Championship titles in the 800- and 1500-meters. Not only did he lead the cross country team to a second-place finish — the highest finish in the history of the program — but he also won countless races in track and field competition. Taking fifth at the World Junior Championships in the 1500 meters as a freshman, Pyrah’s versatility and competitive nature set him apart from the typical athlete.

“He was just someone who you could always rely on,” said Coach Mark Robison, assistant coach in Pyrah’s BYU days. “No matter what, he always brought everything to race day. He didn’t vacillate; he was just constantly consistent. And driven–man, was he driven.”

Always one to go out strong and lead the pack, Pyrah’s times remain among the top 10 all-time at BYU in the 800- and 1500-meters. Pyrah let his determination affect his academic pursuits as well. He was named an Academic All-American for cross country, graduating from BYU with a degree in physical education in 1995 and earning a master’s degree in nutrition, dietetics and food science in 2002.

Pyrah finished his collegiate eligibility in 1994, continuing on to a 10-year professional career. During that time, he made two Summer Olympic appearances in Atlanta and Sydney in the 1500 meters, ran more than 30 sub-four-minute miles and traveled to more than 20 different countries.

Beginning with a second-place finish in the 1500 meters at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and a win in New York City’s Fifth Avenue mile in 1994, Pyrah’s successes piled up. He was a bronze medalist in the 1500 meters at the 1995 Pan-American Games. His personal bests include a time of 1:46.62 in the 800 meters and 3:35.21 in the 1500 meters.

A two-time U.S. champion in the mile, he finished in the top three eight times in indoor and outdoor competition at Nationals. Pyrah retired from competition in 2004 but still finds a way to make an impact as a role model. He has accepted many inspirational speaking assignments including speaking to the Boys and Girls Club, student groups of all ages and various church-affiliated groups.

He currently resides in his home state of Missouri where he works in an outpatient rehabilitation center as a Certified Athletic Trainer. He married the former Angela Hyde in 2000, and the couple has a daughter, Sydney Jade Pyrah.

Ethan Watts, Men’s Volleyball
Ethan Watts started playing volleyball as a high school junior. Just two years later, he was on his way to a successful career as a collegiate, professional and Olympic volleyball player.

Watts, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, didn’t start playing volleyball until he joined a club team in Tulsa because his school didn’t play the sport. He developed quickly into a dominating Division I college athlete.

The accolades came early and often for Watts who was named to the WIVA All-Freshman team in 1991. Watts had 177 kills and a .337 hitting percentage as a freshman and led the team in block assists. From his freshman season on, his hard work and training paid off and showed in his performance on the court. Watts improved statistically in each of his four years.

Not only did Watts improve each year in the stat books, he also earned more accolades as his career progressed. As a sophomore, Watts was honored as an honorable-mention All-American while ranking second nationally in blocks per game. He earned second-team All-America honors as a junior while leading the nation in hitting percentage (.493) and was a first-team All-American as a senior. Watts set personal season highs in hitting percentage (.519), kills (416), blocks (146) and digs (124).

Watts’ performance on the court was reflected in his team’s overall performance. Between 1991 (Watts’ freshman year) and 1994 (his senior year) BYU improved its record from 2-25 to 21-6.

Watts was the first of a string of BYU All-Americans that eventually led to three National Championships.

After his BYU playing years, Watts went on to play professionally in Italy. In 1996, he represented his country in Atlanta at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

While playing with the U.S. National team in the Canary Islands, Watts met Manuela Mezzardi. Watts continued playing in Italy where he dated and later married Manuela.

Watts returned to BYU in 1996 to finish his schooling. In 1997, he earned a B.S. in Psychology. After finishing his degree at BYU, Watts earned an MBA at the University of San Diego. He also earned a JD from USD, graduating in the top 25 percent of his class.

Currently, Watts is an attorney at Mazzarella Caldarelli, LLP. He is a member of various attorney organizations, including the American Inns of Court, the San Diego County Bar Association, the California Bar, the Association of Business Trial Lawyers and the American Bar Association.

Watts is a volunteer for an organization his wife established called “Operation Calendar.” The organization raises money for wounded veterans.

I know this is old news, but I don’t care. I haven’t had a chance to post it. Really I don’t care because the observations are still valid today. I made the long trip to Provo so I could see the game live and enjoy the beauty of Lavelle Edwards stadium. I can’t think of many things more beautiful than visiting a football stadium. This is true going to a BYU game or attending a game here at UNLV. I just love the atmosphere of it all.

Sure BYU beat Utah State, but it wasn’t all that impressive. The good part is that Robinson was injured. I’m not sure if he played today against TCU, but I’m interested to see the tape of the game when I get it from my brother-in-law. Don’t try to tell me that he got an interception and ran it back for a touchdown. This is true, but if that’s all you look at then you’re crazy. You should have seen him getting beat time and time again. He’s just missing some of the innate skills needed to play corner.

What was really funny is the guy behind me was complaining over and over about Robinson getting beat by a wide receiver. He had some very good points that I enjoyed listening to since he was spot on. However, right after the guy behind me had finished complaining about Robinson getting beat, Robinson got the interception run back for the touchdown. That sure shut that fan up. Which a lot of people would like. It just gave me another reason to dislike Robinson. I like hearing fans talking smack. Robinson ruined that for me. Either way, a good quarterback would have eaten Robinson alive.

The O-line did look good even with the injuries they’ve had.

One other observation from being at the Utah State game. Why in the heck would the BYU marching band play Yankee Doodle Dandy for their half time show? This has to be the stupidest decision I have ever seen made by a band director. There are so many incredibly good songs out there and they chose Yankee Doodle Dandy. No wonder people hate band. If you play crap songs like that then the band deserves to be hated. I’m not saying you have to go out there and play the crap that people call music today. I am saying that Yankee Doodle Dandy is an absolutely horrible choice of music for a half time show. Choose something better and if you can’t choose something better then quit your job. You’re ruining it for all of us that love band, but wish that you didn’t keep giving it a bad name.

Here’s a release of the Mountain West Conference teams on TV:

MWC BROADCAST SCHEDULE
Day Date Sport Game TV Broadcast Time
Fri 09/22/06 VB Colorado State @ BYU mtn. 3:00 p.m. MT
Sat 09/23/06 FB Utah State @ BYU mtn. 1:00 p.m. MT
Sat 09/23/06 FB UTEP @ New Mexico CSTV 3:00 p.m. MT
Sat 09/23/06 FB Utah @ San Diego mtn. 5:00 p.m. MT

# FB: BYU has dominated the series against Utah State in recent years, going 17-1 against the Aggies, dating back to 1983. Additionally, the Cougars have won the last 18 meetings in Provo. One of the closest games between the two schools came in the last meeting in 2002 when BYU defeated Utah State in Logan, 35-34.

# FB: UTEP beat New Mexico in last year in El Paso, 21-13. The previous meeting between the two teams came in Albuquerque in 2001, a 26-6 UNM win. Since 1970, the Lobos are 24-8 against the Miners, including a 13-2 record at home.

# FB: San Diego State defeated the Utes last year in Salt Lake City 28-19, but Utah has won five of the last seven meetings. San Diego State has a 7-5-1 record at home, although Utah took the last meeting in San Diego in 2004, 51-28.

# VB: BYU — No. 16 BYU tallied a 3-0 record last week, including opening up conference play with victories over Air Force and Colorado State…The Cougars are tied with Utah for first in the MWC…BYU’s home win over Colorado State last Saturday was its first over CSU in Provo since the 2000 season…The Cougars have swept eight of their 10 wins on the season…Senior Lindsy Hartsock leads the MWC in hitting percentage (.449) and is second in blocks per game (1.76)…She is currently 13th and fifth in the nation in both categories, respectively…Junior Chelsea Goodman has recorded six double-doubles in 10 matches played this season.
COLORADO STATE — CSU lost to 21st-ranked Utah and 19th-ranked BYU last weekend on the road…Sophomore Mekana Barnes led the Rams with 11 kills and a .304 hitting percentage vs. the Utes…The Rams’ match vs. BYU marked the third straight season that the teams played a five-game match in Provo.

Now the only problem is that none of us get the mtn.

Well, as you can tell from my blog I have not been able to get over the depression of BYU’s loss to BC. Don’t get me wrong. The season is not over since we lost to Boston College. However, if we had won it would have changed the entire complexion of the season. The fact that we were so close just left me with a bad taste in my mouth. My only consolation is the fact that some writer(sorry I can’t find the article) called out the refs for saying it was an interception without indisputable proof.

Well, I’m finally coming out of the depression. I’ve made the 5 hour drive to Provo to watch BYU take on Utah State. I know I know. It’s not a huge game, but it’s always fun to see an in state rival go down. Plus, the atmosphere at a game is fantastic at this point. Assuming the BYU game can avoid the rain then it should be the last game before it gets so cold that staying at home to watch the game is almost better.

What was a healthy BYU football team is now looking a little banged up. Playing BC does that to you. I’ll be watching the offensive line in particular with Eddie Keele out for the season and Sete Aulai suspended for this game for violating team rules.

I must admit that I think having Sete Aulai out is almost a benefit to BYU football since his snaps have been horrible. So many of them have been right at the top of John Beck’s sneakers. That can’t help a quarterback feel comfortable back there. We’ll see if Jake Kuresa can step up and play center well.

Eddie Keele out for the season is a major blow for cougar fans. He will be missed, but hopefully someone will step up and fill his shoes well.

Well, time to go and play some ultimate frisbee here in Provo and then I’ll be off to the game. What more could a reasonable man ask for?

I found a nice blog that shows a bunch of films of Cosmo’s new TV ad spots. It’s a nice webpage for those of us outside Utah to see what’s being developed. I’ve personally never fallen in love with Cosmo or mascots in general, but these aren’t too bad.

If you are in Utah, then I apologize for submitting you to more of these commercials.

Paul Peterson says Boston College fans have nothing to fear now that the former Eagles quarterback is an offensive intern on Brigham Young’s coaching staff. “They made me turn in my BC playbook before I left,” Peterson said with a chuckle yesterday by telephone from Provo, Utah.

Source

Paul Peterson may have turned in his playbook, but I can’t imagine that Paul is anything but a benefit to BYU planning to defend the Boston College defense. I’ll be amazed if they don’t bring this up as a storyline during the ESPN2 broadcast of BYU and Boston College.

You don’t work for a few years on learning plays just to forget them when you turn in your play book. Plus, BYU has all the film from all the games where he could recreate the playbook if he wanted.

The more important point is that by watching film, Bronco Mendenhall could almost reproduce the playbook also. Hopefully Peterson will have some insight into how the BC coach calls the plays.

In the end, BYU running the ball is going to be the difference in this game. If BYU runs the ball against BC then BYU will win. If they can’t, then they will lose.

I think the UA President, Robert Shelton, deserves all the accolades in the world for sending the letter copied below to UA fans. Everyone that knows me knows that I love to talk smack as much or more than the next. However, it has really been amazing how outrageous many of the cheers have become at sporting events these days. Our culture has something to do with it, but I’m glad to see someone trying to fight against it and make our culture better.

Fans should show mature game manners

The Arizona football team’s season opener against Brigham Young University was a great game, played against a worthy opponent. To borrow from our hallowed history, our team “fought like wildcats,” and we eked out a proud win.

Some of the credit goes to the raucous fans, who displayed admirable school spirit in cheering on the team. The Zona Zoo has never been bigger, and it has never been louder than it was at the BYU game.

Unfortunately, some of the noise was ugly, and it was unbecoming of this university. The expected ribbing of the opposing team devolved into name-calling that included insulting the predominant faith of BYU.

To tell opposing fans who we think will win the game is one thing. To insult their religious beliefs is really quite another, and it is not what the UA is all about. Not only was it unacceptable to treat visitors to our community this way; it was insulting to any member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We are surely joined by UA students, faculty and staff members who feel a sense of betrayal by members of our own fan base at these actions. One need not be Mormon to be terribly offended by these incidents.

This university is a global village of students from all walks of life and from all faiths. To insult visitors for any reason, faith or otherwise, is to insult members of our own community as well.

Some universities have well-earned reputations for acting shamefully toward opposing teams and their boosters. This is not what the UA has ever been about, nor is it what it should become.

When opposing teams and their fans come to the UA, we want to win those games. But there is no place on this campus for the ugly behavior that some chose to carry out at the BYU game. Put bluntly, such behavior will not be condoned, nor tolerated.

So, as we prepare for Saturday’s game against Stephen F. Austin University, let’s all cheer the Wildcats on to victory. More importantly, let’s support our team’s effort on the field by being decent hosts off the field.

UA President Robert Shelton,
Associated Students of the University of Arizona President Erin Hertzog

There is a whole lot of chatter that has happened about the MWC CSTV Comcat the mtn. deal. Here’s some highlights from the chatter and links to more commentary:

Without divulging my sources, (a family member of mine helped put the CSTV deal together before it was sold to CBS), the real issue is with Comcast and their desire not to give BYU the re-broadcast rights. BYU is the only school looking for the re-broadcast rights and apparently they are highly pissed that Comcast is not budging on the deal and there is talks of BYU calling it off, which would include BYU becoming independent. I guess the CBS acquisition has been viewed as a disaster and that the MWC has no credibility right now inside. Also, Cecil Samuelson and Co. had a “hand-shake” negotiation about the re-broadcast rights but never put it in a contract and are now paying the consequences. Until it is sorted out with Comcast and BYU, KBYU will not show any immediate or day-off re-broadcasts. This sucks.

Thanks veddarhall Well, I guess Cecil Samuelson learned a great lesson. I bet Comcast’s purchase of CSTV may have changed much of this.

I know a lot of you are sick of hearing from me on this. But I do have some additional information that might be of some use.

1. CSTV has demanded outrageous rates for their channels
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/ CA6366091.html
Anyone who believes that mtn should cost almost as much as Disney Channel is not thinking.

2. CSTV has demanded that their channels be on a basic or expanded basic package. In any new negotations with cable or satellite, they are demanding that CSTV and mtn be moved from a sports tier to a general tier (thereby increasing the number of subscribers and revenue).

It is my understanding that this is the major sticking point with the satellite companies.

3. CSTV has not been in serious negotiations with any of the major cable or satellite companies for about a month now. CSTV indicated that they were unwilling to negotiate off of their deal. This essentially took Time Warner and Cox off the table. It is my understanding that DirecTV and Dish continued to discuss trying to keep CSTV on a sports tier and make mtn on the sports tier as well, but that has since died.

4. CSTV is not in a good financial position right now. Because they are wholly owned by CBS, it is difficult to prove this out by looking at financial statements. But after having dicussions with those directly involved with the negotations, their gut is that CBS has delivered the ultimatum that they need to be financially contributing to the company by the end of this year.

5. The latest twist is that Comcast sports (in an effort to break even on producing the MWC games) will be offering some of the games on their network. This was apparently a recent change that Comcast made to try to make sure they at least get their investment back from producing the games.

For those of you that continue to state that this is posturing between companies and this occurs regularly, I respectfully disagree. I have been in the cable industry for a few years now and I have never seen anything quite so mismanaged as this.

I don’t know who has done a worse job, CSTV or MWC officials. It is really too bad that they attempted to launch this new channel right now. It should have waited at least a year or two.

P.S. For those of you that want to question my sources, I work for Cox Communications in New Orleans. I was previously working for Cox in Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Thanks whoisjohngalt

Tonight ended the hopes for the current deal with Dish/DirecTV. Here’s why:

1. The negotiations have stalled on price. Dish/DirecTV would love to broadcast at no cost—the question is what they will pay. They have said the current asking price is no good. I have spoken to a contact at one of these companies and he said he sees no reason to pay what they are asking. That is a fact (or at least it was a few days ago when I spoke with him).

2. In response, the MWC/CSTV/MTN have asked fans to put pressure on them by calling and by switching to Comcast/other.

3. Because the Tulsa game was not going to be shown live, ALL THE FANS THAT CARE ENOUGH TO CALL AND/OR SWITCH HAVE DONE SO. There will be no new group of fans calling dish/directv this week. Dish/Directv have decided the volume of fans that care is not sufficient to pay the asking price.

4. Fans are pissed off at all parties. But this week I imagine the MWC/BYU/CSTV/MTN will take the heat. The decision to pull the rebroadcast AT THE LAST MINUTE was NOT made by dish/directv. It was the absolute worst thing the MWC/BYU/MTN/CSTV could have done. They have pissed off all out of state BYU fans (those who care the most about the satellite deal).

Given all of this, think about the next game on the mtn. Suppose dish/directv refuse to pay the asking price and mtn is still not listed. DO YOU REALLY THINK BYU AND THE MWC WILL LET OUT OF STATERS GET SCREWED AGAIN LIKE THEY DID TODAY? I think there is no way that happens. Tom Holmoe will know that if the next game is “blacked out” the way this one was that folks will start calling for him to get tossed and will refuse to give money to BYU. He will hear from so many pissed off fans that he will do whatever he can to make sure that there is at least a rebroadcast of the game.

Dish/Directv know this is not a tenable equilibrium for BYU fans. They know that BYU/MWC will have to give in next time. Knowing this, there is NO WAY they will pony up the money that is being asked.

CSTV/MTN/MWC/BYU bluffed today, and Dish/DirecTV called it. They know that whatever hardball talk they hear before the next game will be more of the same.

The only way this gets done now is if/when CSTV lowers the ask. That has to happen eventually and everybody knows it. The question is: how many more games do we have to miss before the children in charge of the MWC/BYU/CSTV side of these negotiations realize it?

Thanks Milton

I okayed it with the gentleman I spoke to, who was very helpful and forthcoming, that I could come here and lay it out. Feel free to ask questions.

Here are CSTV’s two main points on distribution.

1. They are the lowest cost Regional Sports Network in the country.
2. They are the ONLY Regional Sports Network that accepts Tier Carriage, within their region. (So, they’ll let carriers put them in the digital tier, instead of a basic tier. No other regional sports network accepts that.)

Point #2 also cuts down on the asking price, but cause a carrier may only have 40% of the subscribers in that higher tier.

They’re making the mtn. extremely accessible to carriers.

Prior, I was of the opinion they were asking too much money. Having my questions answered, I think they’re making it quite affordable, and the carriers are the parties responsible for holding this up.

Thanks tkh9

All seems like it is still rumor mill, but it’s interesting conjecture.

The tribune has a bunch of quotes from MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson talking about the CSTV/Comcast negotiations with satellite providers.

“I absolutely sympathize” with college football fans who cannot see the league’s new television network because it is not available on satellite broadcast services like DirecTV and Dish Network. “Because I’m one of them,” he said.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not going to put a timeline” on it.

“Yes, it’s frustrating,” Thompson said.

“The negotiations are vigorous,” Thompson said. “They are ongoing, they are active and both sides are working tirelesly” to put a deal together.

Tell you what MWC. Give me a video feed of the game and rights to broadcast the game and I’ll make sure anyone with a high speed line gets access to the games. All it costs you is giving me the video feed. I’ll take care of the rest. P2P technology is coming a long way.

I still wish someone would comment on the yanking of BYUTV replaying the game.