2 QB System
A lot has come out since I first posted, so I thought I would update the post. KSL has a good write up here or you can click the link off to the side, Riley will get the start and both will play. "They are both Starters." If you haven't already, you have to listen to Broncos comment under cougar cuts, he gives a lot of details on how the QBs situation will work. This will be all over the place in the news tomorrow. I think that BYU is handling it the right way, nothing is set in stone, they will just see how things play out and who continues to progress. This should be fun to watch.

I know that most of you will have read this (byucougars.com) by the time you get to read this post, but I just wanted to post it just in case some of you did not get the chance to see it yet and share a few of my thoughts. In the release they talk about BYU going with 2QBs for what looks like the entire season. I think that this, in my opinion, is the best case scenario. It is the best case scenario for me. I like what both QBs bring to the table. I like Heaps more, but I think both skills sets have a lot of value. I know a lot can be said about how 2 QBs affects the other players around them ie WRs, but I think that BYU can play it right and have there be a fluid transition between the two. For all I know 2 QBs could tank, but I would love to see how it plays out.The only bad news is if your name is Riley, it seems he would be the one getting less reps as the season progresses. It would seem very strange to have a running QB get a majority of the snaps and have a QB with pocket presence come in for situational play. It should be more like Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, only Tebow was a freshman. With Jake being the freshman it buts a little twist on it but we will see how it works out. The QB pendulum has swung its way back and forth for a long time for me. Most times I think that having a mobile QB is great and keeps defenses worried about the QB taking off, but to use Riley means that Heaps playing on the field is delayed,(that could be a good thing or a bad thing). and I might just be selfish but I want to see what he can do even with the learning curve that may come with that. I have read about some sweet plays that he has made since in spring and Fall camp and I want to see those this season.

It has been said that Riley has so much more experience than Heaps, but experience does not always mean better. One thing that it does reflect is confidence. I think that Riley has more confidence because he has taken a snap with thousands of fans screaming at him. So with that confidence I believe that he is more ready to start a game, not that Jake could not have that confidence im just saying. It reminds me a lot of what Utah did last year. You have Terrence Cain who plays the first half of the year and then " the true freshman" Wynn takes on the other half of the season. One thing that I don't understand is why put Cain on the bench? This makes no sense!!! Maybe our Ute fan can explain this. It is not that Cain was doing bad, I think he only loss one game to Oregon and won all the other games. Then for no other reason throw in a true freshman that could use a year under his belt. And I saw that in the last scrimmage of fall camp Cain did better than Wynn did. I can understand there is a lot of upside for Wynn but I don't know. If Riley started the season and Heaps didn't play but Riley was winning games, I would be rooting for Riley to continue to get the reps, it makes no sense to take one player out just because you want the other one to get some PT!!!! Let the Freshman wait his turn while the upperclassmen gets the job done. Okay I am now off my soap box and rant!!!!

I have heard from a few places, but Vai Sikahema said it best here that he thinks that using both is a good option for BYU, and that he thinks that Heaps will get more and more reps as the season goes on. But the best quote was this one:
"Jake may be starting by mid-season, but I'd like him to have a little more time to adjust to cover two corner blitzes, his nerdy roommmate in Helaman Halls, American Heritage in the JSB, ward FHE, negotiating with the BYU Parking Office to have the boot removed from his car and climbing the stairs at the Richards Building after the first snowfall."

With all this said I am excited about the upcoming season. I am not sure how many games BYU will win nor do I know who will be the better QB but I do know that I am excited to watch them play and cheer on the cougars again.

Runnin' Ute Amidst a Den of Cougars

First of all I would like to thank my good friend Dante for that nice introduction to the Man Stuff Blog. After all that build up I don't want to let anyone down. Hopefully I can blow you all away just like Elder David A. Bednar did with his first conference address as an apostle, you know, the "Tender Mercies" talk, where he nailed it and won us all over. I feel like Eminem in 8 Mile: "knees weak, palms are sweaty, there's vomit on my sweater already, mom's spaghetti. " Wow, I just went from an Elder Bednar analogy to Slim Shady, well I strategically planned that contrast to help demonstrate how it feels to be a Utah fan while attending BYU

I grew up close to the school up north and planned on going there all my life. Both of my parents graduated from there, but became those type of parents whose kids go to BYU and convert schools, well not really. Neither of them care much for sports. I on the other hand do, and have followed the University of Utah from a young age. I used to go to football games in the old stadium when they had wooden bleachers. I drove down to Tempe, Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl my freshmen year. I remember one year when the U had a deal with ESPN to play late monday night basketball games. Staying up past midnight was hard on a school night, but I did it because I love my Utes. I used to never have a set NFL team that I liked. I just followed where the Utes went and cheered for them. They have produced great players just like BYU has in the NFL.

When the end of November rolled around I recall being divided amongst my friends, red and blue. We would wear to school that week what color we represented. Those who grew up in Utah understand this segregation. So from early on I have had the rivalry pulsating through my veins. So why not go to Utah? A lot of family pressure, better environment to get ready for a mission, I felt too smart for Utah almost like it was too easy to get into, and my main reason now is that Utah does not have a construction management program.

I cannot just trade my team. You know the feeling you get in your gut when your team is close to winning or losing a rivalry game, after all the trash talk leading up to it all week? How can you face those who you know will give you crap after the game? I have invested too much over the years emotionally to be able to start cheering for who I considered the enemy. I did cheer for BYU to do well in the MWC to make us all look better, but now that everything is different I don't know what to think yet.

I hope to add some crimson to this blog. I will not be a stupid Utah fan that hates on BYU and I expect the same respect in return. I also hope to add insight on lots of man related stuff like construction, man movies, hunting, basically I enjoy all things man. Amen.

BYU Going Independent?

OK, I have to take a couple of minutes and comment on BYU going independent. For those of you who don't do a BYU google search to start your day off as I do to see whats going on, there is a massive rumor that BYU is going to leave the Mountain West and join the WAC in all sports except football.

What makes this rumor so interesting is that ESPN broke the news. Greg Wrubell thinks that this may be a sign that BYU is working with them and gave them first dibs on it. The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that it is a done deal, the athletic directors are only waiting for approval from the church. The interesting thing is that the rumor started as a twitter from Colorado State which officials said came from a hacked account.The interesting thing is that the rumor started as a twitter from Colorado State which officials said came from a hacked account. This all seems a little fishy to me...I think that I'll wait for an official press conference.

I was looking over the out of conference schedule and it is interesting that BYU had 3 WAC teams (Boise State, Utah State, and Hawaii) one year. BYU is building a state of the art broadcasting center. It seems to me like BYU has been planning this out for a while now. I think that BYU officials were hoping for an invite from the Big 12. Since that didn't happen, it feels like they had planned on going independent and rejoining the WAC a couple years ago (long enough to plan and build a broadcasting building).

The question that remains is should BYU do it? Lets break it down:

Scheduling. It will be harder to schedule 12 teams a year instead of just 4. Joining the WAC, they will play 3-4 WAC school every year, so they only need to schedule 9-8 teams. BYU obviously isn't Notre Dame, but they aren't Wyoming either. BYU will fill a stadium and has a national presence by affiliation with the LDS church. Navy and Army can do it. I think that BYU will be able to pull it off.

The Rivalry.It will make scheduling the rivalry game with Utah a lot easier. The MWC wasn't going to budge for BYU and Utah to maintain the rivalry game. Now, (assuming independence) it doesn't matter. I admit, I was starting to look forward to an enhanced rivalry with TCU and a new one with Boise State, but keeping the Holy War going is a ton better.

Being in the WAC. Joining the WAC will be a step down for every other sport, especially men's basketball. I have really developed a liking for the UNLV and SDSU games. They are good teams that the WAC cannot match. It will be fun for the USU rivalry to intensify. Along with the rumor of BYU leaving, some have mussed over the idea of BSU returning to the WAC. So, there still could be a chance of BYU-BSU games being played (BYU and BSU currently had agreed to play each other in the 2012-2015 seasons).

Money. Lets face it, everything is really about money. The MWC had good intentions, it just couldn't materialize.This will break down into two categories: TV and bowls. The Mtn TC network could not generate enough money and the bowl tie in are not that great.

Television. Reports state that the Mountain television network only generated about $2 million per school from TV revenue. That is pennies compared to other schools. Additionally, BYU has the potential to broadcast to an international audience. The Mtn, on the other hand, barely became available on one satellite provider. I think that BYU finally got fed up with being tied into the Mtn when it could broadcast its games to a national and an international audience. Plus some of the announcers are horrible (we all know who I am talking about). It would nice to not want to mute the game while I am watching it.

Bowl Games. One question is that of bowl games. To be blunt, the MWC bowl affiliations are not that great. The best case scenario besides busting the BCS is landing in the Las Vegas Bowl with a million dollars to share with the rest of the conference. I think that enough bowls would be willing to affiliate with BYU that are at least on par with the Las Vegas bowl. Ideal situation is that BYU gets Notre Dame status, but I doubt that will happen.

Just to add my opinion, I would like to see BYU continue to play Air Force if they do go independent. I always enjoy those games even if the players do not enjoy their chop blocks. When I weigh everything out in my head, it seems about sixes of whether to stay in the MWC or go independent. There is a huge risk and potential reward for BYU by going independent, but I think that they would fare just fine regardless. The only disappointing thing would be if the MWC was going to get AQ status. BYU must think that its not close enough to stick around and find out.

If BYU does leave, I could see BSU returning to the WAC and basically ruining the MWC. For the MWC to stick together, the MWC could possibly allow BYU to broadcast its own games. Yeah, they might loose some money...but it would be better than loosing BYU. Other than that, I don't know how the MWC could make a compelling case that would make BYU want to stay.

So, should they go or should they stay?

Update: The MWC invited Fresno and Nevada to join the conference. The WAC had all of the schools sign a contract that would cause each school to pay $5 million if they left the conference. Looks like the MWC is trying to destroy the WAC. I think that the WAC may be in better position with a contract with ESPN.

This seems to say that the MWC believes that BYU is gone. This was reported on CBS Sports. I wonder if TCU is pulling out too.

Is the off-season supposed to have this much drama?

A New Blogger

Someone made a great point about how some of our posts seem to be written wearing only our blue goggles. That got me thinking: we need to add a new element to the blog. We have already read a great post on rivalries. With that being said, I found a great new blogger that can contribute a lot to our posts. He spent his first couple of years at BYU studying to be an English major so I know he's a good writer. He switched to construction management two years ago and is excelling in the program. I am really excited to have him contribute ideas about home repair and maintenance (you know, guy stuff) to the blog.

With all that being said, I must mention to you all that he is a Ute fan (and a Yankees fan but that is personal between him and me). My take on rivalries is that they should not get so heated to the point that we cannot enjoy a rivalry game together (follow here to read my post on rivalries on Anna's blog.) So I hope that we can read the perspective of a Ute fan with an open mind and be careful not to upset our new contributor with mindless BYU biased comments. Let's be men's men.

Without further adieu: I give you my good friend: Dan Christenson.

A Quick Note

Forgive me for making a post for this but I could not demo it in a comment. You can embed video into your post by clicking the button underneath the video on YouTube. Then you just paste the html into your post. (This is not meant to critique anyone or any previous posts, it's just a helpful hint for those interested)

Here is an example:



I figured the video I posted ought to be manly, so that is what I came up with. Im not sure if you guys followed the Old Spice viral video marketing campaign, but it features Isaiah Mustafa, former wide receiver in the NFL. There were literally over 100 of these videos circling the internet. This was the last one they made. I found them quite amusing, and Isaiah Mustafa is certainly manly enough to be featured on this blog.

Couple of funny manly commercials. Sure they are beer commercials, but come on "that's just funny to a high life man".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQyQP07-_dg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BNp47p8VMU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lb28iZKHJc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnOcwy3Jle0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3i1zdSYmBo&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RLCD-PpWqU


And this one from Braveheart just to jump start your manishness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf7muYYQkJQ&feature=related

The Stuff of Manly Men

I figure that it is about time that I throw my hat into the ring. As a male hetero sapien, I find that there are certain elements of our physiological/psychological makeup that hearken back to yesteryear when loin cloths were all the rage and manliness was measured by the size of your ... saber-tooth tiger beating club.

Now there are certain things that are extremely reminiscent of those golden years of testosterone and masculinity and in my estimation they are presented here in no particular order: fire, ritualistic tribal dancing with sharp sticks and spears, wild and untamed ravenous beasts, cage fights with silver back gorillas, man's primal instinct of survival, and the most recent edition of Sport's Illustrated College Football Preview 2010.

Now any yahoo with a death wish could travel to the dark, vast jungles of Central America and do the Texas two step while holding a jaguar by the tail. Likewise, on safari in the savannas of Africa, one could tangle with rhinos, hip-hop with hippos, wrangle with bull elephants, or ride an ostrich while playing polo with a lion's head as a ball and using a wildebeest's femur as a stick . What is so exciting about this whole affair is the sense of adventure and risk and that it is where men become men.

But if you really think about it, it is for those very reasons that us modern manly men don't do those things. Think about it! Jump into the Nile with hungry crocodiles and most fellas are as good as dead. Dive into a cobra hole and you'll come out with the worst of it. I mean someone could get really hurt. You know that wise old Chinese adage (bless those Chinese who just sat around all day long and thought of really brilliant things to say that we now call proverbs): “It's all fun and games until someone gets their eye poked out”! Genius. Verbal gold, like intellectual nectar being poured straight from the Gods themselves and onto our souls. Sort of like those old crystal clear Pepsi commericals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPvyq_KmXhc

Now that stuff is definitely manly and great, but what is great about modern society is that we can watch other people do it for us and live to tell the tale. I introduce to you Bear Grylls--"manly man extraordinaire and ultimate possessor of testicular fortitude".

If you have never tuned in, I highly recommend that you watch Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel. True it's not actually being on safari or traversing the Himalayas with nothing but an old canteen and a Bowie knife, but who wants to do that anyway? That's dangerous. No, there is plenty of excitement to be had by living by proxy through Bear.

Just as a teaser, I have included some video evidence of Bear Grylls: Manly Man, The Stuff of Legends. Please view responsibly!

Could you do this if the going got tough? Bear did, because he's tough and he got going

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U_xmfSwYSw


Snake Killer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53kVU6Jps9w

You thought Ozzy Osbourne was cool with the whole bat thing? Check these out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHY8isbz7sk&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du8xg_HBVjQ&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw96c1-EWvU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIQHtHJ-mD0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tugc3Y-EosE&feature=related


And one final spoof that was too good not to share

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJknzSvtOMA&NR=1


So there you are: Man in his purest and most unadulterated form. I recommend that we are cut our man cards in half upon witnessing his awesomeness. If you are like me, you will never look yourself in the mirror with the same confidence again, unless like me, you commit to live by proxy through Bear Grylls.

College Football Playoff

Fall camps have started, Dallas played Cincinnati in a pre-season game, but lets face it--its still the dead of the summer. Now we don't even have the Tour de France to watch. Ironically enough, on EPSN.com they are running this story where the polled a number of college football players on whether they wanted to have a playoff. Here is the link. The majority wanted to have a playoff, but said that they would prefer 3 bowls compared to 1 playoff experience. Now, the bowl games are nice--you get swag and it is a fun experience partially because the majority of the bowl games don't mean anything. WHAT!?!? You mean people don't care about Wyoming and Fresno State playing in the New Mexico Bowl or whoever played in the PapaJohn.com bowl last year? It is a good experience for the team, the school and players. But now there are some many bowls and too many worthless bowls. Any body can make it to a bowl game now. I am fine with that, you can never have too much college football. On the other hand who wants to watch a week full pillow fights between middle of the pack MAC and C-USA teams?

The reason the this is ironic, is that while I was showering after playing basketball I had this same thought. I mentioned it to my brother. The bowl games were originally set up to get a good match up and have an exhibition game. They were never intended to choose a national champion. Recall the fiasco when you would have multiple national champions because one poll voted one team and another poll voted another. Even worse, the national champion often would play an inferior team in their bowl. For example, see BYU in 1984 when no one wanted to play them so they played a 6 and 6 Michigan. Enter in the BCS who "fixed" everything for us. Now we have a national championship game with the 2 best teams. OK, so its still screwed up, but we won't get into the politics here.

With that introduction, here is my plan. Why don't we do both? Have the top 10 to 16 teams in the BCS rankings make it in to the playoffs. The higher seed team will host the game, so it is a money making deal and an incentive to get ranked higher. The national championship game will still be at a neutral site. The other bowl games can still invite teams to come and play as an exhibition game as they were intended to be. This way, teams that don't make it to the playoffs can still have the bowl experience.



The major complaint against a playoff is the it makes the regular season games not as important (when was the last time we had an undefeated national champion??). This way, you have to remain in the top 10. A loss could be devastating. The other caveat is that the team has to win its own conference. We cannot have a national champion that does not win its conference unless the conference champion also made it in the playoff and lost in playoff competition. Another complaint would be that they are playing too late into the year. Give me a break. When did the NCAA start pretending to care about the student athlete's schooling? Every other division does it just fine. In fact, having 16 teams would only take 4 weeks to play the whole play off. It would be feasible for a play off team to play in the playoffs as well as play in a January bowl game. Another lame excuse is that of tradition. How many times did we need to see USC beat up on the Big 10 champ? The Rose didn't seem to mind when USC played Texas either. It is another lame excuse. Finally, we know that it is all about money. That will never change. Hopefully this idea helps lessen that stranglehold.

My point is that we can give the bowl experience to the same amount of teams and still be able to name a real national champion. The playoffs could even get corporate sponsors like a bowl game and give swag to the playoff teams. What are your guys opinions? I obviously wrote this on the fly and I am sure that there are kinks to iron out. Something to help ease the anticipation of the upcoming football seasons (pro and college).

Which QB is best?

OK it's time to ask the million dollar question, "Who is the future QB at BYU?" Where does this group of manly men weigh in on this all important fall camp question. Bronco said that this was a straight up 4 man battle but about a week into camp we see that there are only 2 real QB's getting first team snaps. Which is really a shame because just by looking at this picture you can tell that Jason Munns #12 is a full head taller than Riley Nelson. Munns is 6-5, 254 lbs. that may easily be the biggest QB to ever play at BYU. But as Robbie pointed out last week size is not everything. I heard in a quote from Brandon Doman that said that Munns being fresh off a mission is not ready to lead this team. I really hope that we don't lose this great talent because I bet with a four man battle at lest one of these guys will transfer after this year.

James Lark is the 3rd QB in the race, I am not that impressed with him because I remember back in the 2006 4 A high school state championship Lark went head to head against Riley Nelson and Nelson wiped the floor with him. I think he would be a serviceable QB but not the winner that BYU has come to expect.

Now here is the real debate between the "Wild Cougar" himself Riley Nelson and the "Young Gun" in Jake Heaps. Now on this battle I've gone back and forth, but here is where I currently stand. I'm not a huge fan of a 19 year old kid leading the cougars who are known for being old and wise. But I guess if the Lord can trust the preaching of the Gospel to 19 year olds he can also trust the leading of his football team :). So the ideal situation I think is if Jake Heaps goes on a mission. And Riley would have the team for 2 years with Munns backing him up. When Heaps got back he would take over the reigns of the team with an experienced back up in Munns. But I've heard that Heaps is not planning on the mission unless the Cougars red shirt him this year. After what happened with the Ben Olsen debacle I don't know if redshirting Heaps is the best choice. So I think would should happen is that Jake Heaps should be given the starting job from day one and that Nelson should be sent in for wildcat packages. I think if Heaps is struggling you simply increase the amount of wildcat/Riley plays but don't bench him and shake his confidence.

The main concern I'd have with Riley starting is that we are so deep and talented at wide reciver I'd hate to waste that with a QB who can't throw the long ball and runs 60% of the time. But I do think he would provide a nice change of pace to the standard BYU game plan. Also If Riley was the starter if he went down the offence would have to copleately change for his back up that is not a runner.

In closing here are Jake and Riley's numbers through 3 days of camp:
Heaps is 24-33 (72.7%) for 247 yards 4 TD 1 INT
Nelson 19-31 (61.2%) for 251 yards 4 TD 0 INT
Pretty close but for the reasons mentioned above I think I have to go Team Jake on this one where do you all weigh in?

Addendum: Here is Brett Richins' (from deepshadesofblue.com--Quinn Gooch's blog)) take on it: http://deepshadesofblue.com/byu-quarterback-time-to-choose/

Here is a side note of a great article about how Jan Jorgensen who now works for 1280 the Zone got kicked out of Ute Practice they know his colors don't bleed. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700054140/Utah-Utes-football-Jan-Jorgensen-not-welcome-at-U-practice.html

PS I will be graduating tomorrow and there is nothing more manly than finishing up 7 years of schooling, If anyone happens to go to the McKay school of Education convocation on Friday at 8 am at the field house I will be saying to closing prayer. No Big Deal.

Rivalries

Well...I guess that we should all remember this too

Being an Aviation major, I had big plans for my first man post. Unfortunately, Daniel is more manly than I am, works around "real planes" and beat me to the punch. Alas, I must wait a season before I return to that topic.

Fortunately, the topic of rivalries is often on my mind, and with the most revered rivalry currently on the rocks, I thought I would address this most manly of traditions.

When you get down to the bare bones of a rivalry, one has to realize that it was born of a man's mind. Domination, pride, show of force, love of self, competition, bragging rights and hatred... all show their beautiful face in a proper rivalry. There is something about these long held traditions that brings out the natural man in me. Why is it that nothing brings more personal satisfaction and pride than an old-fashioned beat down? Especially when I did nothing to personally secure the victory. The truth of the matter is that I picked the right team at the right time.

So the question, then, is "why"? Quite simple my sports loving friends, quite simple. It comes from a deeply bred and nurtured manly instinct known as "I-want-to-fight, you-take-flight". Similar to the "fight or flight" instinct, the former is an instinct of the purest form, passed down through the generations through proud fathers, passed on to their worthy sons so that they too may enjoy the spoils of belonging to the winning team.

I was first taught about my emerald and navy genetics by my father. Being the Mariner fan that he is, I was born with an inherent dislike for anything Yankee. When I was child, I was even trained to sing "Mariner-doodle-dandy". Being the AL rivals that we are, we always sat intently around the TV waiting for Randy Johnson to bean Derek Jeter. I learned a very important lesson from this particular rivalry, though. Sometimes you have to savor the victories despite losing the war. Yankees (*spits on the ground) have been the better team historically, but that doesn't mean we don't give 'em hell when they come to Safeco Field. There have been many low points for me in this rivalry (the betrayal of A-Rod, for instance). These low points have only strengthened my loyalties, though.

This brings me to the rivalry of all rivalries. There are few rivalries that resemble the Civil war like the "Holy war" does. On both sides of the line of conflict are common enemies. Most belong to the same religious denomination, vying for collegiate sports domination. Intertwined into the rivalry are jabs and accusations of religious extremism or immoral activities that defy the religious laws that form the commonality between the two rivals. Making the rivalry even stronger is that bragging rights are carried into church, along with the usual boasting at work, school and home. The rivalry between Utah (*spits on the ground again) and BYU has long stood as a means of men on both sides to claim superiority over the other side, and now the rivalry is facing uncertain times. For the first time since the rivalry began, the two teams will not be in the same conference. If the match-up becomes rare, how will these men prove their worth among each other? Up to this point, we rivals have been prevented from ripping each other apart by allowing our heros in shoulder pads to duke it out for us. Without conference commonality, the rivalry will most likely take a back seat to BCS dreams.

Addendum: Just because this is a good picture--

Addendum #2- Check out this video, and then record the time on the video at which you receive goosebumps... As for me (Dane), it was at 0:08.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uXDglb82ak

The Favre Saga

Consider me a football purist. I watch the Super Bowl for the most important aspect of it: the commercials. Not really. But one really stood out to me and it was hilarious. Brett Favre in 2020 debating whether he was ready for retirement or not after winning the Super Bowl MVP.

It is NOT funny anymore, Brett. Good heavens, quit going back and forth on whether or not you are going to play or not. You have put us through three years of waffling. But I know you shouldn't shoulder all of the blame for the attention you get when you talk about what you might have for dinner tomorrow night (some people feel like if they delve deep enough into his dinner preference, there will be some indication on whether he's retiring or not).

Not only do fans enable this madness, but the media goes on a frenzy and airs Brett Favre Career Tribute for 16 hours until you change your mind. So I guess you can't blame the media completely. The media only talks about what people want to hear.

But do we want to hear about this? I know I complained about a lack of sports news last week, but this is a whole new month. This is August. Trade deadline has passed, MLB division title races are tightening up, college football programs are ready to get the season under way. A-Rod also just made history this morning (600 home runs at 35 years old. Congrats, you dirty Yankee. I respect your accomplishment.) and all we hear about it Brett Favre.

My suggestion to Mr. Favre: go hang out with Osama bin Laden in a cave somewhere until Week 1. I don't want to hear that you changed your mind three times in the shower today and I don't want to hear your diesel truck as Ed Werder tries to ask you about your ankle.

Look at me. In a little over 300 words, I let the Favre saga spread even more.

Shark Week

I don't know if it is my fascination with being a submarine commander, or being a sniper, or simply a head-hunting free safety--sharks are cool. They stalk their prey, lurking in the shadows. Then, out of now where, they attack. Generally, their prey have no idea what hit them. Right now on the Discovery Channel they are airing Shark week. It lessens the dead time of the summer. It is not quite as cool as sports, but it is interesting. It always amazes me how those massive hunks of predatory meat can hurl themselves out of the water. Google Air Jaws if you have not witnessed this for yourself. The first time we watched shark week, Katie was pregnant and dreamed about sharks for a month. And, when you are pregnant, your dreams are more vivid. I can only imagine.

Top Three BBQ Joints in Utah Valley

Being the talented eater that I am I felt that I could contribute to Man Stuff by presenting what I feel are the top three BBQ restaurants in Utah Valley. I would try to present some cool BBQ recipes or tips, but I do not own a smoker or even a grill,...yet. Hence I must rely on the restaurant business to satisfy my almost constant and insatiable cravings for BBQ. However, before I share my top three BBq joints, I would encourage everyone to visit the following educational site on BBQ, just to make sure we are all of the same understanding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ubTQfr_tyY

Now, the moment you have all been waiting for, Cody's top three BBQ joints in Utah Valley:

1. Hands down, without a doubt, and with every fiber of my being, the best I've tasted is Pat's BBQ in Salt Lake City.

I came across this joint because it was featured on Guy Fieri's show, "Diners, Drive ins, and Dives." This place is literally a hole in the wall. In fact, I thought we arrived at the wrong place when my friend Jake and I hit it up for lunch a few weeks back. The place is located behind this industrial park looking area, just off the free way. You park on a gravel patch 50 yards from the entrance. Had it not been for the large banner of the pig flashing us and the unmistakable aroma of BBQ I would have climbed back in the car and left.
Here is the thing about Pat's though, the only thing worth getting is their lunch specials, which usually sell out by 1pm (they open at 11am). We sampled some of their pulled pork and regular brisket and it was just average. I would like to try their pork and beef ribs though. Everyday they have a different lunch special. Friday's is the burnt ends brisket. It's a double rubbed, doubled smoked slab of meat. That may not make sense or even seem possible to you BBQ-minded people so just check out the triple-D clip at the Pat's BBQ website below (make sure to scroll down to the bottom).

http://www.patsbbq.com/

The burnt ends brisket was the most tender and juicy BBQ I have ever tasted. The outside crust spawns from a flavorful rub that is cooked to perfection. It provides the optimal texture and flavor, while the inside is juicy and full of that nice smokey BBQ flavor. Pat has also engineered some tasty sauces to complement his meat, but I preferred the burnt ends brisket just the way it was. I want to go again and try the Wednesday lunch special: smoked meatloaf!

2. While I didn't think it was possible to beat Pat's burnt ends brisket, my friend Jake mentioned he prefered the brisket from the Smoking Apple in Lindon over Pat's. Being the BBQ conesour that I am, I decided to investigate. As you can see, my brother Mike (a fellow BBQ enthusiast and talented BBQer - He conjured the best ribs I've ever tasted to this point in my life) joined me for this BBQ outing. I ordered the brisket and ribs. The Smoking Apple brisket was delicious, but in my opinion, Pat still holds the title. The Smoking Apple shreds their brisket taking away from the awesome texture and flavor you get from Pat's burnt ends brisket. Also, the smokey BBQ flavor was not as pronounced as Pat's brisket was. I actually preferred the Smoking Apple brisket with a little bit of their house BBQ sauce.
Their ribs were delicious. I think they really smoked them and didn't cheat by steaming them in the processes. They were tender and flavorful and cooked just to the point where they almost fell off the bone. I enjoyed them because I liked the sensation of biting the meat off the bone; more manly I suppose. At the same time, it was easy to clean the rib of all its meat. My only critique is when they serve their ribs, they smear a whole bunch of their BBQ sauce on the top of them, which isn't necessarily bad, but part of judging good BBQ is tasting that good ole' fashion, unadulterated with sauce, smokin piece of meat. So if you get the ribs, ask that they not put on the sauce. The other nice thing about the Apple is its price, very cheap and affordable.

3. And coming in at number 3 is the slightly pricey and a little stingy on their portion size, Goodwood. I really only go here on special occasions or with someone who I know has a small appetite and I can ask to finish off their left-overs. I have tried their pulled pork, brisket, chicken, and apple smoked turkey. If you are a first-timer trying out Goodwood, don't waste your time with the chicken, don't even let your wife waste her time or your money with the chicken. My one complaint with Goodwood is obviously their chicken; it's dry and just not that flavorful. The pulled pork and brisket are good, better than Pat's even, but I think they cook the pork with a lot of liquid smoke which I think is cheating. Now, I have not tried any of their ribs, and I don't know if I ever will, but I am in love with their Apple Smoked Turkey. I don't know how they do it, but this turkey is beautiful. When they serve it, you can see clearly the trademark smoke ring of a successful smoke. Also, turkey, especially the white meat, is also known for being dry, but not this stuff. It is as juicy as a starburst, only the restaurant doesn't fill up with water and giant fruits when you bit into it, and the taste is 100% BBQ. I have never even bothered to put sauce on this stuff because the flavor is so good on its own. One time, when I forgot to take off my skirt and had to actually doggy bag some of this meat for lunch the next day, I made it into a sandwich and purposly did not put on any sauce. Not only was my sandwich perfectly juicy, but incredibly flavorful. I have to give Goodwood props on their apple smoked turkey. It is worth every overly-priced penny you pay for it.

Well, those are my top three favs. If you have not already enjoyed the bliss offered at these restaurants, I hope my post inspires you hit up the restaurant soon. At the same time, I realize I have not hit all of the BBQ joints in the valley like Lon's BBQ, the Smokehouse, or Wallaby'; but when I do, if they measure up I will be sure to let you guys know. Until next time, continue being manly.