This letter is meant to be taken in direct response to Scott Barnes's letter from the viewpoint of the at large Aggie student body to the USU administration
Mr. Barnes and the USU Athletic and Academic Administration -
Your assumptions are correct. We have been following the conference realignment between the WAC and the MWC with great anxiety, hoping to see USU come out on top of all of this. Needless to say we are dismayed, frantic, feeling betrayed, desperate, and very upset... but not with you.
In the world of business, which is what collegiate athletics and conference alignment really is, there are the honest and the dishonest, the pure and the tainted, the upright and the unethical. In its schools of business, science, education, and humanities, USU teaches ethics of the business world - that honor should be kept, that promises made should be upheld. This you did. The Aggie community is very pleased to know that USU is firmly committed to follow it's own Honor Pledge: "I pledge, on my honor, to conduct myself with the foremost level of ... integrity." When USU had the option to turn its back on a deal in favor of another that could have been better, USU stood firm. USU set the example. You, the administration, believed in the promises of those who stood with you and you in turn expected your promise to be believed.
But you were betrayed. Things are now really ugly - we understand. Should the WAC stand as it currntly does with six teams, believe us when we tell you that our rage will be felt full force against Fresno on September 16 when the Bulldogs come to face the Aggies on Merlin Olsen Field in Romney stadium. Believe us when we say that Nevada and Fresno will wish they didn't have to come to the Spectrum this year. All encounters previous will be considered tame and calm compared to the absolute contempt these schools will feel from the very educated USU student body. We understand what happened, and we are not happy with those who used to be called our friends. They are now embittered enemies to us. (On a side note, Nevada was already pretty despised. Now it will we outright hated.)
But now is a time for action. Do not sit around on your laurels hoping that the door to the MWC is still open. Operate on the assumption that it's not and once again take command of the situation. If an opportunity presents itself for USU to enter the MWC, take advantage of it. If the opportunity to get BYU in your conference without joining the MWC is still there, take advantage of it. We Aggie faithful are certain you are considering all the options, but we respectfully remind the administration that taking no action is the same as choosing to perish at the hands of Fresno State, Nevada, and the rest of the MWC, which is unacceptable for us and is equivalent to USU's denial of entry to the WAC 40+ years ago.
Indeed, all of these seems somewhat similar to when the WAC was originally formed in the 1960's. USU's requests and lobbies to join fell upon deaf ears once upon a time, and to ask the Aggie faithful to endure the past again is almost too much.
In short, we demand results this time around. Follow Stew's example and win. You've been punched in the mouth, now get back up and do some punching of your own. And if you go down, if you can't help it, if you've tried everything possible and if you still come up short; at the very least, show us that you went down with a fight. Show us that you scratched and clawed and drew as much blood as possible trying to make it work; we will respect you that much more for it. As proof, take our applause for USU's role in nearly orchestrating the coup of the decade in getting BYU to return to the WAC.
We thank you, the administration, for finally putting your time, energy, and resources into developing Aggie athletics as no previous administration has done for the last 40+ years. Thank you for your continued devotion to Logan, Cache Valley, and the entire state of Utah in your effort to continuously increase the profile of the university and its students nationally. We salute your fine work and trust that you will do everything possible to remedy the unethical and dishonest actions of Fresno State University and the University of Nevada-Reno.
But we still promise, when FSU and UNR come to town, they'll wish they'd not jumped ship so quickly. At the very least, they will feel embarrassed for not being able to assert athletic superiority over USU or its very enthusiastic student body.
Faithfully,
the USU student body at large
Utah State softball has had a decent week. The Aggies started out the week dropping a couple to the Utes, but bounced back in a big way against the Weber State Wildcats. USU swept out the Wildcats in dominating fashion, and Tina Ferguson continues her winning ways.
Alright, it's time for you to do some studying for tomorrow's show.
Kane Wilson Leaving Utah State Football Program 
The first thing about bracketology that everyone needs to understand is that the big national media knows very little about the western leagues. Ninety percent of the news media that follows the bubblewatch pays very little attention to the WAC, Horizon League, Conference-USA, Missouri Valley Conferences and the other mid-major conferences, unless the teams from those conferences do something extraordinary, just as the Aggies have been doing for the last few years. What has been most surprising to me in the bubblewatch this year is the disappearance of the Pac-10 from College Basketball relevance. When the regular season conference champion, Cal, has no wins against top-50 RPI opponents in four tries and has accumulated nine losses, well, that's how it goes. No one is lending respect to the Pac-10, and given the arrogance of "The Conference of Champions," I'm more than happy to see them humbled. In a final note, if USU wins every game to the WAC conference tournament championship, loses and still doesn't get in the NCAA tournament, I will be astounded. The selection committee loves late-season winning streaks, and that's exactly what the Aggies have built.
The Jazz are back to their schizophrenic ways. In the last week, Utah has lost to the Kings and Clippers – both on the road. Yet, when the Jazz play a quality Phoenix Suns club that's only a game and a half behind them, they get the comeback win. I really am leery about committing 100 percent behind the Jazz this year because they continue to have the same problems. They win against quality clubs and lose against crap teams on the road. Now, I like it when they win against quality clubs, and they should. The Jazz should never, ever lose to the Clippers or the Kings, even if Tyreke Evans is having a Rookie-of-the-Year season. Who knows? Maybe last night's victory against the Suns is the start of another seven-game road winning streak. Maybe if Deron Williams shaves his beard and starts anew, the magic will be renewed, and the Jazz will be able to make up the two games they need to overtake Denver and Dallas. The Jazz have such potential and watching them trip at the finish line again this year will suck, so they had better not.
Words cannot describe the value of the Aggie student section in the Spectrum. I truly believe that teams come to Logan expecting to lose. A source close to the Fresno team told me earlier this week that the team had given up in the shoot-around before the game even started. Who can blame these teams, though? Utah State has only lost 13 times in the last 12 years in this building, and each year the quality of the student section gets better and better. Now that we're all aware of how awesome Aggie students are, make sure you get to the arena quick this weekend. Now, because NMSU lost last night to Nevada in Reno, we've got the regular season championship in the books. Still, a reliable source has told me that Aggie fans will be camping out Friday in anticipation of Saturday's cutting of the nets. This game will certainly be epic. If this game will be your first experience at a USU basketball game, get there early and be ready to rush the court after NMSU bites the dust. We're cutting down the nets this weekend, baby. Aggies on top once again! Man, I love being an Aggie.
I was very pleased at the onset of this year's spring training season to see Johnny Damon out of one of those awful, awful Yankee uniforms. I really like his addition to the Tigers. His joining the Tigers gives Detroit a great bat in their lineup to complement Ordonez. I would keep an eye out for that team moving through free agency and into opening day. Of course, the Yankees are as dangerous as ever, but I think the real team to look out for in this season will be the Twins. Joe Mauer, the face of the franchise and AL MVP, is coming off a terrific season, and I really think that his efforts, leadership and teamwork will take the team far this year, but only if the Twins resign him. If not, then I would of course keep an eye out for all the teams from the AL East, the Tigers, the Angels and the Cubs. As far as who I would like to see do well this year, I would really love to see the Orioles, Cubs and my Red Sox do well. I'm dying for the Cubs to win the World Series just so their century-long drought will end, and I will always stand by my Sox. Why the Orioles? My parents' neighbor is Jeremy Guthrie, the starting pitcher for the Orioles. He's such a cool guy, and I want his club to do well.
With just under 10 seconds to go on Thursday, the Heat were up two against the Los Angeles Lakers. We all remember what happened the last time Miami had a two-point lead against the Lakers – Kobe banked in the contested 3-pointer and got LA the home win. So, what happened last night? Similar story, different ending. "The Black Mamba," as he has come to be known around the media, drove and floated the tying bucket and sent the game into overtime, but Miami was resilient at home to pull it out in OT. This week's play of the game was Dwyane Wade's defensive play that got Kobe Bryant a charging foul in the final minute of overtime with the Heat trailing by two. That foul basically sealed a win and sweet revenge for a struggling Miami club. It was awesome to see the Lakers bite it in South Beach. Word to the Heat!
Well, it's not secret - Utah State won last night yet again. 
