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I receive a lot of e-mail, but there are two questions I get most often. The first is from a beleaguered African woman whose husband — some sort of prime minister — died and left her a large sum of money. Apparently she wants to filter that money through my bank account and give me a hefty reward. The second question I get on a daily basis is from Mountain West Conference sports fans: “When am I going to be able to watch my favorite team on TV?”
That’s actually a question I’ve been getting since the MWC and CSTV signed the original deal in 2004. And three years later, that’s the question MWC commissioner Craig Thompson will be asked over and over again in Las Vegas this week at the league’s media days. The Mtn., CSTV’s MWC channel, was made available the day the league started playing games at the beginning of 2006 — but only to a select few areas. Football fans in the state of Utah lucky enough to have Comcast as a cable provider have had access to the Mtn. from Day 1, as well as games on Versus and CSTV. As 2006 became 2007, the Mtn. footprint slowly expanded into Colorado, southern California, Nevada, Wyoming and Idaho. But not on the two major satellite providers, Direct TV and the Dish Network, and that’s what has MWC football fans popping veins in their respective foreheads. Comcast, which has half ownership in the Mtn., insists its best interests lie in satellite distribution — yet a billboard in the Salt Lake area indicates that the Mtn. can “only” be found on Comcast. A TV commercial in regular rotation in Utah boasts the same thing. It’s been a public relations disaster from Thompson, who has put on a brave face and continues to repeat that “talks are ongoing.” The league, following BYU and Utah’s lead, hired an attorney to look into the matter last month, but there’s been no movement since then. Last year at the MWC meetings, Thompson turned his state of the conference address into a Q&A on the television deal. He couldn’t answer a lot of questions directly because the contract was just getting signed, but he did attempt to sound confident the satellites wouldn’t be far behind. “Stay tuned,” he said. How long will MWC fans be expected to keep staring at a blank screen? There will be other discussions at the media meetings (thank goodness), which will be held at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Las Vegas today and Tuesday. Each MWC coach brings two players with him to meet the press, and they will participate in countless television and print media interviews. Preseason predictions and all-conference teams will be released and discussions will be held with bowl representatives. Thrilling stuff, huh? The media got the top three teams in the conference right in last year’s preseason poll, except BYU won the league title instead of TCU. Wyoming, picked to finish dead last, tied for third place in the MWC with Utah. Colorado State, picked fourth, fell to eighth. The media’s preseason selections got 15 of the 26 All-MWC first teamers right, including BYU’s John Beck as Offensive Player of the Year and Utah’s Eric Weddle as defensive player of the year. This year I picked TCU 1, BYU 2 and Utah 3 again. The Cougars simply lost too much firepower to earn the automatic-defense-of-title pick. BYU does get both TCU and Utah at home this season, but I’m concerned about the Cougars opening with Arizona and UCLA and a trap game at New Mexico late in September. As I’ve previously mentioned, I couldn’t go with Utah’s Brian Johnson as first team quarterback (I decided on Air Force’s Shaun Carney) because he didn’t play last year. He still could end up being the league’s offensive MVP, though I picked New Mexico running back Rodney Ferguson. TCU defensive end Tommy Blake will be a unanimous choice as defensive MVP. I selected BYU’s J.J. DiLuigi as Freshman of the Year (though I wish the league would change it to “Newcomer of the Year” so we could include JC transfers) and Utah kicker Louie Sakoda as Special Teams Player of the Year. I voted for BYU linemen Sete Aulai and Dallas Reynolds on the MWC’s first team offense. Fui Vakapuna got consideration at running back, but based on last year’s stats, Ferguson and TCU’s Aaron Brown deserved first team honors. I also wish the league would give us the option of choosing a third wide receiver instead of a tight end. I voted for Wyoming’s Wade Betschart because he was the only returning tight end with decent stats. But I would have rather included Utah’s Brent Casteel, UNLV’s Casey Flair or BYU’s Matt Allen or Michael Reed as a third receiver. Austin Collie falls under the Brian Johnson rule: He didn’t play last year. What’s interesting about the defensive side of the ball is that last year, BYU’s only first team selection on the preseason squad was linebacker Cameron Jensen. After BYU ran roughshod through the MWC and held league opponents to an average of just 14 points per game, the league media voted again — and Jensen was the only defensive first team selection. Huh. This year I voted for defensive end Jan Jorgensen, linebacker Bryan Kehl and safety Quinn Gooch, though I also considered cornerback Ben Criddle, safety Dustin Gabriel, nose tackle Russell Tialevea and linebackers David Nixon and Kelly Poppinga. BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall is bringing two seniors (Kehl and Allen) to Las Vegas. Today, Mendenhall meets with both the TV and print media. The preseason predicted order of finish and preseason All-MWC teams will be released as well. The BYU players will be available to the print media on Tuesday. The event gets the full treatment with live TV coverage (CSTV) and internet updates on the MWC Web site (themwc.com).
Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson can be reached at 344-2555 or by e-mail at
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This is how Daily Herald Sports Editor Darnell Dickson voted in this year’s preseason Mountain West Conference poll.
Darnell’s 2007 Preseason MWC Football Media Poll
1. TCU
Can the Horned Frogs upset Texas in an early-season meeting?
2. BYU
Can the Cougars overcome stunning losses in leadership?
3. Utah
Can QB Brian Johnson return to his 2005 form?
4. Colorado State
Is stud RB Kyle Bell truly 100 percent come kickoff?
5. New Mexico
Can QB Donovan Porterie continue to improve?
6. San Diego State
Will the Aztecs avoid the injury bug that bit so hard last year?
7. Wyoming
Will Cowboy fans continue to be patient with homegrown coach Joe Glenn?
8. Air Force
Can new coach Troy Calhoun toughen up the Falcons?
9. UNLV
Can Mike Sanford finally get his talented players to win?
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