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BYU has announced that the BYU football game against Colorado state will be streamed online again. It’s called pay-per-view live video streaming. Here’s a description of the service:

This live online pay-per-view streaming broadcast is being offered for the BYU vs. CSU game for $14.95. The online broadcast will include live streaming game video from kick-off to post game. There are no blackout areas for the internet broadcast.

You can sign up for the live online broadcast at the CSTV website. I still can’t see myself paying $14.95 for a game where BYU is probably just going to stomp CSU.

Of course the BYU Athletics website is giving the following update on MWC satellite negotiations:

As of Tuesday, Oct. 31, THE MTN. is not available on satellite. CSTV/Comcast are still negotiating with the national providers to make the mtn. available via satellite. We understand many of our alumni and supporters live outside the Intermountain West and broadcast options such as live Internet broadcasts are very important.

We realize this additional broadcast opportunity is not ideal for everyone. However, the MWC and BYU are trying to find other ways to make the games available to fans all over the world.

Of course BYU vs. CSU is on the MTN. That should help about 3 of you that read this.

Living in Las Vegas I really don’t get to hear that much in the media about BYU football. Luckily with the internet I can still stay up with the team.

However, this week has been amazingly good for me as a BYU football fan. Last night I was driving home from a member’s house that is about 5 minutes from our place. I had the radio tuned to ESPNRadio and they were hosting the Mike Sanford (UNLV football coach) show. I didn’t know if I really wanted to listen to anything about UNLV football. Although, I decided to listen. Much to my surprise, they spent the entire time I was in the car talking about John Beck as the best quarterback in the MWC. They talked about John Beck’s draft status and potential as an NFL quarterback. They even talked about BYU’s running game.

Then, this morning I drove to work listening to ESPNRadio again. Collin Cowherd (however you spell his name) was talking about Louisville beating West Virgina. He compared Louisville to past BYU teams. While I disagreed with his commentary that BYU in the 80’s and their method of scheduling, I was still happy to hear him talk about BYU on the radio.

What does this all mean? I’m a BYU addict…and I’m ok with that.

Dick Harmon wrote a nice article about how the Ricks football era will come to an end after this football season. He notes the following about former Ricks players that are still on BYU’s roster:

BYU has five of those Ricks players. The list includes defensive captain Cameron Jensen, 2005 leading receiver Nate Meikle (gray-shirted at Ricks), all-conference tight end candidate Jonny Harline, linebacker Dan Bates and offensive lineman Erik Freeman. Spencer Franz of Rexburg is listed on Idaho State University’s roster and 2001 punter Kip Facer is at UNLV.

Just a quick glance down that list and even this year BYU is gleaning value from the former Rick’s football powerhouse. At least Anae admits that the loss of Ricks football has had an effect on BYU football:

“No question, it’s had an impact on BYU football, a direct impact,” Anae said. ” It was an excellent training ground in two ways and purposes. First, it was a training ground for kids to learn and understand the Honor Code and to understand standards and how important lifestyle off the field was in college. Second, academics were also important.
“But that mesh between faith and academics on a junior college level was exhibited there at Ricks just as it is here on a four-year level. To get the kids we did there at Ricks, who were non-LDS, turned out to be almost a proving ground for them. BYU would be interested to see if they could fit in here, and it was an easy transition for many of those kids.
Anae said BYU placed recruits at Ricks. “Some were not academically qualified for a four-year school, and others were either overlooked or late bloomers. For me, who has been on both sides of it, there is no question in my mind it (the end of football at Ricks) has had a negative impact on BYU football.”
Declared Anae: “There is nothing out there to replace it. There is not a faith-based institution like Ricks on the junior college level.”

Sure, as a BYU football fan I definitely miss the great recruits we got from Ricks. However, I think the worst part of losing Ricks football is the social impact on the city of Rexburg. I’ve never lived in Rexburg, but I’ve been there a number of times. There really isn’t that much to do. A football game would be a great activity on a Saturday. I know that church leaders are worried about the number of people getting married. Maybe if they reinstituted Ricks football (although I guess it would have to be called BYU-I Football) then more people would hook up at football games and get married. Well, probably not, but we can always hope right?

I got an email the other day about being added to Cougar Board and Cougar Update’s news and blog feeds. All I had to do was add a couple links to my blog. I figured this wasn’t a problem since this blog is really all about talking about something I love. I wished that it would have more collaboration on the site since I love talking with people about what’s going to happen with BYU sports. I figured, why not add a few links to sites that I really enjoy and get some traffic in return.

I was just added, but I’ve already seen a spike in traffic. I’m excited to see how this blog will evolve with more traffic. Readers should understand that this BYU sports blog is exactly that. It’s a blog that I enjoy to post to. If life gets busy then don’t be surprised if you miss some posts. However, I always come back to it. In fact, when I read something about BYU sports then I often can’t resist not to post about it. I do have a long list of things I’d like to write about and just haven’t had time.

Either way, I’d love to have your feedback on how to improve my blog and I’d welcome other people that are interested in writing for this blog too. Just post a comment if you’re interested in writing about BYU sports and want to participate on this blog too.

Ok, time to read a little about the Colorado State game tomorrow. Dang. It’s on the wretched (because the mtn’s not available in Las Vegas) mtn. Looks like I’ll be listening to it using the online radio. Anyone want to stream it for me?