SWX Sports - Shaun Rainey

[AFCAT]

Rainey is a douchebag gris homer. I can stomach Kyle Hansen but he is slowly, but surely, trending in the same direction. Let's not venture into Speltz territory.

Who is Speltz?

The Missoulian sports editor and gris homer. This is from 2016.


Loss to Montana State a wake-up call for Montana
BILL SPELTZ For The GazetteNovember 19, 2016



MISSOULA — Something was missing for the Montana football team Saturday.
That’s hard for me to write. Nine years ago when I arrived in Missoula, the first thing I told former Griz coach Bobby Hauck is I do not take cheap shots.
That’s not going to change when it comes to the intricate details of why Montana suffered its most soul-crushing home loss in years on Saturday. It’s a mistake for me to critique all the decisions made by second-year coach Bob Stitt because I’m not privy to inside information.
But whether I’m watching girls’ soccer, beer league softball or tennis, I know what wavering focus looks like. The Maroon & Silver fell in and out of a funk all afternoon Saturday.
Listening to Stitt talk about a 24-17 loss to arch-rival Montana State reminded me of former Bobcats football coach Rob Ash in his post-game press conferences. I admired that guy for what he accomplished but always felt he failed to instill in his players the importance of winning the Treasure State’s biggest game.
It takes speed, strength and unrelenting desire, to be sure. But it also requires a little bit of what I call Clint Eastwood nasty.
“When things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean.” From the 1976 movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales.
I have no doubt Stitt and his staff did all they could to prepare their troops for Montana State. It’s just that college football is more than physical preparation and work in the film room. It helps to have a little chip on your shoulder.
Repeat after me: Montana State (4-7) should never come to Missoula and run over Montana (6-5) for 368 rushing yards. Not in a million years.
What I saw in the Grizzly defense Saturday was that some of the guys — particularly the older ones who remember what it’s like to play alongside local legends like Jordan Tripp and Zack Wagenmann — played their fannies off. Some of the others, not so much.
Moreover, the Grizzly coaching staff was out-witted. Bobcats skipper Jeff Choate hinted at one of Montana’s defensive flaws afterwards.
“They have a tendency to play in a lot of two-point stances,” he said of the front line. “Pad level is one of the most important fundamentals of football.
“I don’t care how good you are, if you’re going to play in a two-point you’re not going to have great pad level. We were able to hit a lot of our quarterback runs in those situations.”
I’m going to miss seeing some of the Grizzly seniors out on the field next season. Passionate warriors like Caleb Kidder, Zach Peevey, Ryan Johnson and Joey Counts. It’s a shame for them things ended this way.
Even now it’s hard to fathom the Grizzly offense coming out of the locker room after halftime — staring at a 14-7 deficit — and looking so flat. The old Grizzlies would have been gnawing through their chinstraps to get on the field and score. These Grizzlies, who had trouble all season staying engaged in road games, came out passive and went 3-and-out.
This is not meant to be a Dean Martin Roast of Stitt or his 2016 team. Don Rickles did not contribute to this column, nor did Lisa Lampanelli (for you younger folks who watch Comedy Central).
This is more a call to action. Maybe next year you fly in Brock Coyle or Tripp or perhaps Cole Bergquist or Colin Dow and have them address the Grizzlies before they walk on field for the 2017 game. Maybe you show a clip from Saturday of MSU running back Chad Newell jabbing at Griz fans from one end of the stadium to the other with a homemade sign that read “State Champs.”
Maybe you get a reliable running game before heading to Bozeman. You know, the kind you used to use every year to run over the Cats.
Last, but not least, maybe you remind yourselves the Bobcats are going to come on the field with an attitude. The same one that served them so well Saturday.
“This is what I came here to do, beat the Griz,” Newell boasted. “We got that done.”
Anyone’s blood boiling yet?

[rfischer94]

Rainey is a douchebag gris homer. I can stomach Kyle Hansen but he is slowly, but surely, trending in the same direction. Let's not venture into Speltz territory.

Who is Speltz?

The Missoulian sports editor and gris homer. This is from 2016.


Loss to Montana State a wake-up call for Montana
BILL SPELTZ For The GazetteNovember 19, 2016



MISSOULA — Something was missing for the Montana football team Saturday.
That’s hard for me to write. Nine years ago when I arrived in Missoula, the first thing I told former Griz coach Bobby Hauck is I do not take cheap shots.
That’s not going to change when it comes to the intricate details of why Montana suffered its most soul-crushing home loss in years on Saturday. It’s a mistake for me to critique all the decisions made by second-year coach Bob Stitt because I’m not privy to inside information.
But whether I’m watching girls’ soccer, beer league softball or tennis, I know what wavering focus looks like. The Maroon & Silver fell in and out of a funk all afternoon Saturday.
Listening to Stitt talk about a 24-17 loss to arch-rival Montana State reminded me of former Bobcats football coach Rob Ash in his post-game press conferences. I admired that guy for what he accomplished but always felt he failed to instill in his players the importance of winning the Treasure State’s biggest game.
It takes speed, strength and unrelenting desire, to be sure. But it also requires a little bit of what I call Clint Eastwood nasty.
“When things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean.” From the 1976 movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales.
I have no doubt Stitt and his staff did all they could to prepare their troops for Montana State. It’s just that college football is more than physical preparation and work in the film room. It helps to have a little chip on your shoulder.
Repeat after me: Montana State (4-7) should never come to Missoula and run over Montana (6-5) for 368 rushing yards. Not in a million years.
What I saw in the Grizzly defense Saturday was that some of the guys — particularly the older ones who remember what it’s like to play alongside local legends like Jordan Tripp and Zack Wagenmann — played their fannies off. Some of the others, not so much.
Moreover, the Grizzly coaching staff was out-witted. Bobcats skipper Jeff Choate hinted at one of Montana’s defensive flaws afterwards.
“They have a tendency to play in a lot of two-point stances,” he said of the front line. “Pad level is one of the most important fundamentals of football.
“I don’t care how good you are, if you’re going to play in a two-point you’re not going to have great pad level. We were able to hit a lot of our quarterback runs in those situations.”
I’m going to miss seeing some of the Grizzly seniors out on the field next season. Passionate warriors like Caleb Kidder, Zach Peevey, Ryan Johnson and Joey Counts. It’s a shame for them things ended this way.
Even now it’s hard to fathom the Grizzly offense coming out of the locker room after halftime — staring at a 14-7 deficit — and looking so flat. The old Grizzlies would have been gnawing through their chinstraps to get on the field and score. These Grizzlies, who had trouble all season staying engaged in road games, came out passive and went 3-and-out.
This is not meant to be a Dean Martin Roast of Stitt or his 2016 team. Don Rickles did not contribute to this column, nor did Lisa Lampanelli (for you younger folks who watch Comedy Central).
This is more a call to action. Maybe next year you fly in Brock Coyle or Tripp or perhaps Cole Bergquist or Colin Dow and have them address the Grizzlies before they walk on field for the 2017 game. Maybe you show a clip from Saturday of MSU running back Chad Newell jabbing at Griz fans from one end of the stadium to the other with a homemade sign that read “State Champs.”
Maybe you get a reliable running game before heading to Bozeman. You know, the kind you used to use every year to run over the Cats.
Last, but not least, maybe you remind yourselves the Bobcats are going to come on the field with an attitude. The same one that served them so well Saturday.
“This is what I came here to do, beat the Griz,” Newell boasted. “We got that done.”
Anyone’s blood boiling yet?

That's a nice op-ed there, Speltz.

[PHAT CAT]

He's Larry Frost 2.0. I know I'm dating myself!

I'll never forget when he got a perm. Laughed my ass off. But, Larry is a really nice guy. I'll give him that.

[AFCAT]

Rainey is a douchebag gris homer. I can stomach Kyle Hansen but he is slowly, but surely, trending in the same direction. Let's not venture into Speltz territory.

Who is Speltz?

The Missoulian sports editor and gris homer. This is from 2016.


Loss to Montana State a wake-up call for Montana
BILL SPELTZ For The GazetteNovember 19, 2016



MISSOULA — Something was missing for the Montana football team Saturday.
That’s hard for me to write. Nine years ago when I arrived in Missoula, the first thing I told former Griz coach Bobby Hauck is I do not take cheap shots.
That’s not going to change when it comes to the intricate details of why Montana suffered its most soul-crushing home loss in years on Saturday. It’s a mistake for me to critique all the decisions made by second-year coach Bob Stitt because I’m not privy to inside information.
But whether I’m watching girls’ soccer, beer league softball or tennis, I know what wavering focus looks like. The Maroon & Silver fell in and out of a funk all afternoon Saturday.
Listening to Stitt talk about a 24-17 loss to arch-rival Montana State reminded me of former Bobcats football coach Rob Ash in his post-game press conferences. I admired that guy for what he accomplished but always felt he failed to instill in his players the importance of winning the Treasure State’s biggest game.
It takes speed, strength and unrelenting desire, to be sure. But it also requires a little bit of what I call Clint Eastwood nasty.
“When things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean.” From the 1976 movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales.
I have no doubt Stitt and his staff did all they could to prepare their troops for Montana State. It’s just that college football is more than physical preparation and work in the film room. It helps to have a little chip on your shoulder.
Repeat after me: Montana State (4-7) should never come to Missoula and run over Montana (6-5) for 368 rushing yards. Not in a million years.
What I saw in the Grizzly defense Saturday was that some of the guys — particularly the older ones who remember what it’s like to play alongside local legends like Jordan Tripp and Zack Wagenmann — played their fannies off. Some of the others, not so much.
Moreover, the Grizzly coaching staff was out-witted. Bobcats skipper Jeff Choate hinted at one of Montana’s defensive flaws afterwards.
“They have a tendency to play in a lot of two-point stances,” he said of the front line. “Pad level is one of the most important fundamentals of football.
“I don’t care how good you are, if you’re going to play in a two-point you’re not going to have great pad level. We were able to hit a lot of our quarterback runs in those situations.”
I’m going to miss seeing some of the Grizzly seniors out on the field next season. Passionate warriors like Caleb Kidder, Zach Peevey, Ryan Johnson and Joey Counts. It’s a shame for them things ended this way.
Even now it’s hard to fathom the Grizzly offense coming out of the locker room after halftime — staring at a 14-7 deficit — and looking so flat. The old Grizzlies would have been gnawing through their chinstraps to get on the field and score. These Grizzlies, who had trouble all season staying engaged in road games, came out passive and went 3-and-out.
This is not meant to be a Dean Martin Roast of Stitt or his 2016 team. Don Rickles did not contribute to this column, nor did Lisa Lampanelli (for you younger folks who watch Comedy Central).
This is more a call to action. Maybe next year you fly in Brock Coyle or Tripp or perhaps Cole Bergquist or Colin Dow and have them address the Grizzlies before they walk on field for the 2017 game. Maybe you show a clip from Saturday of MSU running back Chad Newell jabbing at Griz fans from one end of the stadium to the other with a homemade sign that read “State Champs.”
Maybe you get a reliable running game before heading to Bozeman. You know, the kind you used to use every year to run over the Cats.
Last, but not least, maybe you remind yourselves the Bobcats are going to come on the field with an attitude. The same one that served them so well Saturday.
“This is what I came here to do, beat the Griz,” Newell boasted. “We got that done.”
Anyone’s blood boiling yet?

That's a nice op-ed there, Speltz.

There was another pre-game, pro-gris article that year that was written on the Montana Mint (I think) website that turned out to be absolutely hilarious after the Cats won. I wish I still had it in my files.

[Bobcatsinmso]

Rainey is a douchebag gris homer. I can stomach Kyle Hansen but he is slowly, but surely, trending in the same direction. Let's not venture into Speltz territory.

Who is Speltz?

Bill Speltz, sports writer in MIssoula now who I believe used to be in Billings. Very pro-griz guy.

In other words he is a forever small media market nobody along with Rainey, or any other u of missoula biased journalism graduate.

[rfischer94]

Rainey is a douchebag gris homer. I can stomach Kyle Hansen but he is slowly, but surely, trending in the same direction. Let's not venture into Speltz territory.

Who is Speltz?

The Missoulian sports editor and gris homer. This is from 2016.


Loss to Montana State a wake-up call for Montana
BILL SPELTZ For The GazetteNovember 19, 2016



MISSOULA — Something was missing for the Montana football team Saturday.
That’s hard for me to write. Nine years ago when I arrived in Missoula, the first thing I told former Griz coach Bobby Hauck is I do not take cheap shots.
That’s not going to change when it comes to the intricate details of why Montana suffered its most soul-crushing home loss in years on Saturday. It’s a mistake for me to critique all the decisions made by second-year coach Bob Stitt because I’m not privy to inside information.
But whether I’m watching girls’ soccer, beer league softball or tennis, I know what wavering focus looks like. The Maroon & Silver fell in and out of a funk all afternoon Saturday.
Listening to Stitt talk about a 24-17 loss to arch-rival Montana State reminded me of former Bobcats football coach Rob Ash in his post-game press conferences. I admired that guy for what he accomplished but always felt he failed to instill in his players the importance of winning the Treasure State’s biggest game.
It takes speed, strength and unrelenting desire, to be sure. But it also requires a little bit of what I call Clint Eastwood nasty.
“When things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean.” From the 1976 movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales.
I have no doubt Stitt and his staff did all they could to prepare their troops for Montana State. It’s just that college football is more than physical preparation and work in the film room. It helps to have a little chip on your shoulder.
Repeat after me: Montana State (4-7) should never come to Missoula and run over Montana (6-5) for 368 rushing yards. Not in a million years.
What I saw in the Grizzly defense Saturday was that some of the guys — particularly the older ones who remember what it’s like to play alongside local legends like Jordan Tripp and Zack Wagenmann — played their fannies off. Some of the others, not so much.
Moreover, the Grizzly coaching staff was out-witted. Bobcats skipper Jeff Choate hinted at one of Montana’s defensive flaws afterwards.
“They have a tendency to play in a lot of two-point stances,” he said of the front line. “Pad level is one of the most important fundamentals of football.
“I don’t care how good you are, if you’re going to play in a two-point you’re not going to have great pad level. We were able to hit a lot of our quarterback runs in those situations.”
I’m going to miss seeing some of the Grizzly seniors out on the field next season. Passionate warriors like Caleb Kidder, Zach Peevey, Ryan Johnson and Joey Counts. It’s a shame for them things ended this way.
Even now it’s hard to fathom the Grizzly offense coming out of the locker room after halftime — staring at a 14-7 deficit — and looking so flat. The old Grizzlies would have been gnawing through their chinstraps to get on the field and score. These Grizzlies, who had trouble all season staying engaged in road games, came out passive and went 3-and-out.
This is not meant to be a Dean Martin Roast of Stitt or his 2016 team. Don Rickles did not contribute to this column, nor did Lisa Lampanelli (for you younger folks who watch Comedy Central).
This is more a call to action. Maybe next year you fly in Brock Coyle or Tripp or perhaps Cole Bergquist or Colin Dow and have them address the Grizzlies before they walk on field for the 2017 game. Maybe you show a clip from Saturday of MSU running back Chad Newell jabbing at Griz fans from one end of the stadium to the other with a homemade sign that read “State Champs.”
Maybe you get a reliable running game before heading to Bozeman. You know, the kind you used to use every year to run over the Cats.
Last, but not least, maybe you remind yourselves the Bobcats are going to come on the field with an attitude. The same one that served them so well Saturday.
“This is what I came here to do, beat the Griz,” Newell boasted. “We got that done.”
Anyone’s blood boiling yet?

That's a nice op-ed there, Speltz.

There was another pre-game, pro-gris article that year that was written on the Montana Mint (I think) website that turned out to be absolutely hilarious after the Cats won. I wish I still had it in my files.

Was it this one?

https://www.montana-mint.com/2016/10/21 ... griz-fans/

[ilovethecats]

The Montana media on average (obviously not in outlets based in Bozeman) is normal when the Griz are down and MSU is up. Any other time they're focused on the Griz. It's nothing new and it was much worse in the 90s and 00s. It's mostly an unconscious/implicit bias and it originates from having more media members with UM backgrounds over MSU backgrounds. It's been on full blast this week. When you watch a podcast or news channel show, the discussion is split in terms of the amount of time spent discussing each team, but the discussion's tone is emphasized when UM is the subject. What can the Griz do to win? What areas do the Griz need to fix to win? Meanwhile, we're told MSU played one of its best games of the year vs UM and probably can't replicate that. And there are multiple other examples.

The narrative, IMO, is that Montana is a team on the rise, while MSU has shown chinks in its armor. It's been okay for UM to have a close game against UND, because UND is better than everyone thinks and might be the second-best team in the MVFC. It was okay against ISU, because it was a bad matchup for them. They don't mention MSU's win at NAU, which was No. 13 at the time, and was a win away for making the playoffs, along with wins over UC Davis and UM.

When MSU beat UC Davis, the comments were that there were only two "good" teams in the conference - UM and MSU. Teams that MSU beat were bad, teams UM nearly lost to were actually quite good or there was some kind of team development rationale that caused UM to let the other team back in the game or remain in the game until late.

The Griz have played well at home the past two weeks and that deserves to be discussed. I know, however, that if the roles were reversed, MSU wouldn't be getting the same treatment going into WGS. Can you imagine if UM had beaten MSU in Bozeman to get the homefield and MSU was going there to play, how the media would be portraying that? It would be, just like 1.0, all about homefield. How will Lamson handle the noise? I've only heard one person ask about how Ah Yat will handle the noise at MSU. But I gotta admit I've quit watching most sports news and podcasts.

I'm not saying I'm perfect and that I don't do the same thing (show unconscious/implicit bias), because I know I do and I make a conscious effort to block it out (I wrote a piece on Hauck that was about his struggles in Bozeman and I included all his successes not only in those games but outside of that game in an attempt to avoid being accused of being unfair/mean to him; I think it's perfectly understandable how and why he lost those games: MSU was good/better). There's just not many MSU grads involved with the media throughout the state compared to UM grads.

Spot on Tom. Everything the griz do is either amazing or excusable. Everything the Cats do is just average and against bad teams.

Of course our win in the Mecca that is. Cat fans think we played just ok and came away with a win in a tough environment. Griz fans insist the Cats played the absolute best they possibly could, and if not for two lucky plays they would have won. I used to get so frustrated by this. Now I just find it laughable.

I have a feeling they’ll see just how wrong their arrogance was leading into this game. Not that they’ll ever admit it but that’s ok.

[AFCAT]

Rainey is a douchebag gris homer. I can stomach Kyle Hansen but he is slowly, but surely, trending in the same direction. Let's not venture into Speltz territory.

Who is Speltz?

The Missoulian sports editor and gris homer. This is from 2016.


Loss to Montana State a wake-up call for Montana
BILL SPELTZ For The GazetteNovember 19, 2016



MISSOULA — Something was missing for the Montana football team Saturday.
That’s hard for me to write. Nine years ago when I arrived in Missoula, the first thing I told former Griz coach Bobby Hauck is I do not take cheap shots.
That’s not going to change when it comes to the intricate details of why Montana suffered its most soul-crushing home loss in years on Saturday. It’s a mistake for me to critique all the decisions made by second-year coach Bob Stitt because I’m not privy to inside information.
But whether I’m watching girls’ soccer, beer league softball or tennis, I know what wavering focus looks like. The Maroon & Silver fell in and out of a funk all afternoon Saturday.
Listening to Stitt talk about a 24-17 loss to arch-rival Montana State reminded me of former Bobcats football coach Rob Ash in his post-game press conferences. I admired that guy for what he accomplished but always felt he failed to instill in his players the importance of winning the Treasure State’s biggest game.
It takes speed, strength and unrelenting desire, to be sure. But it also requires a little bit of what I call Clint Eastwood nasty.
“When things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean.” From the 1976 movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales.
I have no doubt Stitt and his staff did all they could to prepare their troops for Montana State. It’s just that college football is more than physical preparation and work in the film room. It helps to have a little chip on your shoulder.
Repeat after me: Montana State (4-7) should never come to Missoula and run over Montana (6-5) for 368 rushing yards. Not in a million years.
What I saw in the Grizzly defense Saturday was that some of the guys — particularly the older ones who remember what it’s like to play alongside local legends like Jordan Tripp and Zack Wagenmann — played their fannies off. Some of the others, not so much.
Moreover, the Grizzly coaching staff was out-witted. Bobcats skipper Jeff Choate hinted at one of Montana’s defensive flaws afterwards.
“They have a tendency to play in a lot of two-point stances,” he said of the front line. “Pad level is one of the most important fundamentals of football.
“I don’t care how good you are, if you’re going to play in a two-point you’re not going to have great pad level. We were able to hit a lot of our quarterback runs in those situations.”
I’m going to miss seeing some of the Grizzly seniors out on the field next season. Passionate warriors like Caleb Kidder, Zach Peevey, Ryan Johnson and Joey Counts. It’s a shame for them things ended this way.
Even now it’s hard to fathom the Grizzly offense coming out of the locker room after halftime — staring at a 14-7 deficit — and looking so flat. The old Grizzlies would have been gnawing through their chinstraps to get on the field and score. These Grizzlies, who had trouble all season staying engaged in road games, came out passive and went 3-and-out.
This is not meant to be a Dean Martin Roast of Stitt or his 2016 team. Don Rickles did not contribute to this column, nor did Lisa Lampanelli (for you younger folks who watch Comedy Central).
This is more a call to action. Maybe next year you fly in Brock Coyle or Tripp or perhaps Cole Bergquist or Colin Dow and have them address the Grizzlies before they walk on field for the 2017 game. Maybe you show a clip from Saturday of MSU running back Chad Newell jabbing at Griz fans from one end of the stadium to the other with a homemade sign that read “State Champs.”
Maybe you get a reliable running game before heading to Bozeman. You know, the kind you used to use every year to run over the Cats.
Last, but not least, maybe you remind yourselves the Bobcats are going to come on the field with an attitude. The same one that served them so well Saturday.
“This is what I came here to do, beat the Griz,” Newell boasted. “We got that done.”
Anyone’s blood boiling yet?

That's a nice op-ed there, Speltz.

There was another pre-game, pro-gris article that year that was written on the Montana Mint (I think) website that turned out to be absolutely hilarious after the Cats won. I wish I still had it in my files.

Was it this one?

https://www.montana-mint.com/2016/10/21 ... griz-fans/

That’s the one. I love it when clowns write stuff like that and make themselves look like complete morons.

[ilovethecats]

Rainey is a douchebag gris homer. I can stomach Kyle Hansen but he is slowly, but surely, trending in the same direction. Let's not venture into Speltz territory.

Who is Speltz?

The Missoulian sports editor and gris homer. This is from 2016.


Loss to Montana State a wake-up call for Montana
BILL SPELTZ For The GazetteNovember 19, 2016



MISSOULA — Something was missing for the Montana football team Saturday.
That’s hard for me to write. Nine years ago when I arrived in Missoula, the first thing I told former Griz coach Bobby Hauck is I do not take cheap shots.
That’s not going to change when it comes to the intricate details of why Montana suffered its most soul-crushing home loss in years on Saturday. It’s a mistake for me to critique all the decisions made by second-year coach Bob Stitt because I’m not privy to inside information.
But whether I’m watching girls’ soccer, beer league softball or tennis, I know what wavering focus looks like. The Maroon & Silver fell in and out of a funk all afternoon Saturday.
Listening to Stitt talk about a 24-17 loss to arch-rival Montana State reminded me of former Bobcats football coach Rob Ash in his post-game press conferences. I admired that guy for what he accomplished but always felt he failed to instill in his players the importance of winning the Treasure State’s biggest game.
It takes speed, strength and unrelenting desire, to be sure. But it also requires a little bit of what I call Clint Eastwood nasty.
“When things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean.” From the 1976 movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales.
I have no doubt Stitt and his staff did all they could to prepare their troops for Montana State. It’s just that college football is more than physical preparation and work in the film room. It helps to have a little chip on your shoulder.
Repeat after me: Montana State (4-7) should never come to Missoula and run over Montana (6-5) for 368 rushing yards. Not in a million years.
What I saw in the Grizzly defense Saturday was that some of the guys — particularly the older ones who remember what it’s like to play alongside local legends like Jordan Tripp and Zack Wagenmann — played their fannies off. Some of the others, not so much.
Moreover, the Grizzly coaching staff was out-witted. Bobcats skipper Jeff Choate hinted at one of Montana’s defensive flaws afterwards.
“They have a tendency to play in a lot of two-point stances,” he said of the front line. “Pad level is one of the most important fundamentals of football.
“I don’t care how good you are, if you’re going to play in a two-point you’re not going to have great pad level. We were able to hit a lot of our quarterback runs in those situations.”
I’m going to miss seeing some of the Grizzly seniors out on the field next season. Passionate warriors like Caleb Kidder, Zach Peevey, Ryan Johnson and Joey Counts. It’s a shame for them things ended this way.
Even now it’s hard to fathom the Grizzly offense coming out of the locker room after halftime — staring at a 14-7 deficit — and looking so flat. The old Grizzlies would have been gnawing through their chinstraps to get on the field and score. These Grizzlies, who had trouble all season staying engaged in road games, came out passive and went 3-and-out.
This is not meant to be a Dean Martin Roast of Stitt or his 2016 team. Don Rickles did not contribute to this column, nor did Lisa Lampanelli (for you younger folks who watch Comedy Central).
This is more a call to action. Maybe next year you fly in Brock Coyle or Tripp or perhaps Cole Bergquist or Colin Dow and have them address the Grizzlies before they walk on field for the 2017 game. Maybe you show a clip from Saturday of MSU running back Chad Newell jabbing at Griz fans from one end of the stadium to the other with a homemade sign that read “State Champs.”
Maybe you get a reliable running game before heading to Bozeman. You know, the kind you used to use every year to run over the Cats.
Last, but not least, maybe you remind yourselves the Bobcats are going to come on the field with an attitude. The same one that served them so well Saturday.
“This is what I came here to do, beat the Griz,” Newell boasted. “We got that done.”
Anyone’s blood boiling yet?

That's a nice op-ed there, Speltz.

There was another pre-game, pro-gris article that year that was written on the Montana Mint (I think) website that turned out to be absolutely hilarious after the Cats won. I wish I still had it in my files.

Was it this one?

https://www.montana-mint.com/2016/10/21 ... griz-fans/

That’s the one. I love it when clowns write stuff like that and make themselves look like complete morons.

So great knowing just how it all went down.

The griz arrogance is on another level and I don’t see how any could claim it doesn’t exist and then read crap like this. lol.

[nanacat]

Rainey is a douchebag gris homer. I can stomach Kyle Hansen but he is slowly, but surely, trending in the same direction. Let's not venture into Speltz territory.

Who is Speltz?

The Missoulian sports editor and gris homer. This is from 2016.


Loss to Montana State a wake-up call for Montana
BILL SPELTZ For The GazetteNovember 19, 2016



MISSOULA — Something was missing for the Montana football team Saturday.
That’s hard for me to write. Nine years ago when I arrived in Missoula, the first thing I told former Griz coach Bobby Hauck is I do not take cheap shots.
That’s not going to change when it comes to the intricate details of why Montana suffered its most soul-crushing home loss in years on Saturday. It’s a mistake for me to critique all the decisions made by second-year coach Bob Stitt because I’m not privy to inside information.
But whether I’m watching girls’ soccer, beer league softball or tennis, I know what wavering focus looks like. The Maroon & Silver fell in and out of a funk all afternoon Saturday.
Listening to Stitt talk about a 24-17 loss to arch-rival Montana State reminded me of former Bobcats football coach Rob Ash in his post-game press conferences. I admired that guy for what he accomplished but always felt he failed to instill in his players the importance of winning the Treasure State’s biggest game.
It takes speed, strength and unrelenting desire, to be sure. But it also requires a little bit of what I call Clint Eastwood nasty.
“When things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean.” From the 1976 movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales.
I have no doubt Stitt and his staff did all they could to prepare their troops for Montana State. It’s just that college football is more than physical preparation and work in the film room. It helps to have a little chip on your shoulder.
Repeat after me: Montana State (4-7) should never come to Missoula and run over Montana (6-5) for 368 rushing yards. Not in a million years.
What I saw in the Grizzly defense Saturday was that some of the guys — particularly the older ones who remember what it’s like to play alongside local legends like Jordan Tripp and Zack Wagenmann — played their fannies off. Some of the others, not so much.
Moreover, the Grizzly coaching staff was out-witted. Bobcats skipper Jeff Choate hinted at one of Montana’s defensive flaws afterwards.
“They have a tendency to play in a lot of two-point stances,” he said of the front line. “Pad level is one of the most important fundamentals of football.
“I don’t care how good you are, if you’re going to play in a two-point you’re not going to have great pad level. We were able to hit a lot of our quarterback runs in those situations.”
I’m going to miss seeing some of the Grizzly seniors out on the field next season. Passionate warriors like Caleb Kidder, Zach Peevey, Ryan Johnson and Joey Counts. It’s a shame for them things ended this way.
Even now it’s hard to fathom the Grizzly offense coming out of the locker room after halftime — staring at a 14-7 deficit — and looking so flat. The old Grizzlies would have been gnawing through their chinstraps to get on the field and score. These Grizzlies, who had trouble all season staying engaged in road games, came out passive and went 3-and-out.
This is not meant to be a Dean Martin Roast of Stitt or his 2016 team. Don Rickles did not contribute to this column, nor did Lisa Lampanelli (for you younger folks who watch Comedy Central).
This is more a call to action. Maybe next year you fly in Brock Coyle or Tripp or perhaps Cole Bergquist or Colin Dow and have them address the Grizzlies before they walk on field for the 2017 game. Maybe you show a clip from Saturday of MSU running back Chad Newell jabbing at Griz fans from one end of the stadium to the other with a homemade sign that read “State Champs.”
Maybe you get a reliable running game before heading to Bozeman. You know, the kind you used to use every year to run over the Cats.
Last, but not least, maybe you remind yourselves the Bobcats are going to come on the field with an attitude. The same one that served them so well Saturday.
“This is what I came here to do, beat the Griz,” Newell boasted. “We got that done.”
Anyone’s blood boiling yet?

That's a nice op-ed there, Speltz.

There was another pre-game, pro-gris article that year that was written on the Montana Mint (I think) website that turned out to be absolutely hilarious after the Cats won. I wish I still had it in my files.

Was it this one?

https://www.montana-mint.com/2016/10/21 ... griz-fans/

WOW, just wow. I'm so glad we've been beating them, hope we hang 50 on them Saturday.

[TomCat88]

The Montana media on average (obviously not in outlets based in Bozeman) is normal when the Griz are down and MSU is up. Any other time they're focused on the Griz. It's nothing new and it was much worse in the 90s and 00s. It's mostly an unconscious/implicit bias and it originates from having more media members with UM backgrounds over MSU backgrounds. It's been on full blast this week. When you watch a podcast or news channel show, the discussion is split in terms of the amount of time spent discussing each team, but the discussion's tone is emphasized when UM is the subject. What can the Griz do to win? What areas do the Griz need to fix to win? Meanwhile, we're told MSU played one of its best games of the year vs UM and probably can't replicate that. And there are multiple other examples.

The narrative, IMO, is that Montana is a team on the rise, while MSU has shown chinks in its armor. It's been okay for UM to have a close game against UND, because UND is better than everyone thinks and might be the second-best team in the MVFC. It was okay against ISU, because it was a bad matchup for them. They don't mention MSU's win at NAU, which was No. 13 at the time, and was a win away for making the playoffs, along with wins over UC Davis and UM.

When MSU beat UC Davis, the comments were that there were only two "good" teams in the conference - UM and MSU. Teams that MSU beat were bad, teams UM nearly lost to were actually quite good or there was some kind of team development rationale that caused UM to let the other team back in the game or remain in the game until late.

The Griz have played well at home the past two weeks and that deserves to be discussed. I know, however, that if the roles were reversed, MSU wouldn't be getting the same treatment going into WGS. Can you imagine if UM had beaten MSU in Bozeman to get the homefield and MSU was going there to play, how the media would be portraying that? It would be, just like 1.0, all about homefield. How will Lamson handle the noise? I've only heard one person ask about how Ah Yat will handle the noise at MSU. But I gotta admit I've quit watching most sports news and podcasts.

I'm not saying I'm perfect and that I don't do the same thing (show unconscious/implicit bias), because I know I do and I make a conscious effort to block it out (I wrote a piece on Hauck that was about his struggles in Bozeman and I included all his successes not only in those games but outside of that game in an attempt to avoid being accused of being unfair/mean to him; I think it's perfectly understandable how and why he lost those games: MSU was good/better). There's just not many MSU grads involved with the media throughout the state compared to UM grads.

This is thoughtful she fair. Thanks for sharing, Tom. Why do you think it gets worse when the gris are up? To me, it seems like gris people are willing to buy into anything that makes them believe they can "RTD."

Because they're excited and want to talk about it more and it makes their tone more positive. Human nature. I think everyone is the same way. The problem in this case is that there are a lot more UM people in the media. They just don't have the same tone when just MSU is doing well.

[KIX]

Rainey is a douchebag gris homer. I can stomach Kyle Hansen but he is slowly, but surely, trending in the same direction. Let's not venture into Speltz territory.

Who is Speltz?

Bill Speltz, Great Falls Trib.

[John K]

Rainey is a douchebag gris homer. I can stomach Kyle Hansen but he is slowly, but surely, trending in the same direction. Let's not venture into Speltz territory.

Who is Speltz?

Bill Speltz, Great Falls Trib.

I don't think Speltz ever worked at the Tribune.

[John K]

Rainey is a douchebag gris homer. I can stomach Kyle Hansen but he is slowly, but surely, trending in the same direction. Let's not venture into Speltz territory.

Who is Speltz?

The Missoulian sports editor and gris homer. This is from 2016.


Loss to Montana State a wake-up call for Montana
BILL SPELTZ For The GazetteNovember 19, 2016



MISSOULA — Something was missing for the Montana football team Saturday.
That’s hard for me to write. Nine years ago when I arrived in Missoula, the first thing I told former Griz coach Bobby Hauck is I do not take cheap shots.
That’s not going to change when it comes to the intricate details of why Montana suffered its most soul-crushing home loss in years on Saturday. It’s a mistake for me to critique all the decisions made by second-year coach Bob Stitt because I’m not privy to inside information.
But whether I’m watching girls’ soccer, beer league softball or tennis, I know what wavering focus looks like. The Maroon & Silver fell in and out of a funk all afternoon Saturday.
Listening to Stitt talk about a 24-17 loss to arch-rival Montana State reminded me of former Bobcats football coach Rob Ash in his post-game press conferences. I admired that guy for what he accomplished but always felt he failed to instill in his players the importance of winning the Treasure State’s biggest game.
It takes speed, strength and unrelenting desire, to be sure. But it also requires a little bit of what I call Clint Eastwood nasty.
“When things look bad and it looks like you’re not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean.” From the 1976 movie, The Outlaw Josey Wales.
I have no doubt Stitt and his staff did all they could to prepare their troops for Montana State. It’s just that college football is more than physical preparation and work in the film room. It helps to have a little chip on your shoulder.
Repeat after me: Montana State (4-7) should never come to Missoula and run over Montana (6-5) for 368 rushing yards. Not in a million years.
What I saw in the Grizzly defense Saturday was that some of the guys — particularly the older ones who remember what it’s like to play alongside local legends like Jordan Tripp and Zack Wagenmann — played their fannies off. Some of the others, not so much.
Moreover, the Grizzly coaching staff was out-witted. Bobcats skipper Jeff Choate hinted at one of Montana’s defensive flaws afterwards.
“They have a tendency to play in a lot of two-point stances,” he said of the front line. “Pad level is one of the most important fundamentals of football.
“I don’t care how good you are, if you’re going to play in a two-point you’re not going to have great pad level. We were able to hit a lot of our quarterback runs in those situations.”
I’m going to miss seeing some of the Grizzly seniors out on the field next season. Passionate warriors like Caleb Kidder, Zach Peevey, Ryan Johnson and Joey Counts. It’s a shame for them things ended this way.
Even now it’s hard to fathom the Grizzly offense coming out of the locker room after halftime — staring at a 14-7 deficit — and looking so flat. The old Grizzlies would have been gnawing through their chinstraps to get on the field and score. These Grizzlies, who had trouble all season staying engaged in road games, came out passive and went 3-and-out.
This is not meant to be a Dean Martin Roast of Stitt or his 2016 team. Don Rickles did not contribute to this column, nor did Lisa Lampanelli (for you younger folks who watch Comedy Central).
This is more a call to action. Maybe next year you fly in Brock Coyle or Tripp or perhaps Cole Bergquist or Colin Dow and have them address the Grizzlies before they walk on field for the 2017 game. Maybe you show a clip from Saturday of MSU running back Chad Newell jabbing at Griz fans from one end of the stadium to the other with a homemade sign that read “State Champs.”
Maybe you get a reliable running game before heading to Bozeman. You know, the kind you used to use every year to run over the Cats.
Last, but not least, maybe you remind yourselves the Bobcats are going to come on the field with an attitude. The same one that served them so well Saturday.
“This is what I came here to do, beat the Griz,” Newell boasted. “We got that done.”
Anyone’s blood boiling yet?

That's a nice op-ed there, Speltz.

There was another pre-game, pro-gris article that year that was written on the Montana Mint (I think) website that turned out to be absolutely hilarious after the Cats won. I wish I still had it in my files.

Was it this one?

https://www.montana-mint.com/2016/10/21 ... griz-fans/

Omg, that has to be the douchiest piece of so-called journalism I've ever read in my entire life. It makes it even sweeter when we proceeded to kick their ass later that season, and continued to kick their ass four years in a row, under a coach that he so classlesly derided. Go eff yourself Speltz. I actually sent him an email too a few years ago, calling him out after reading another one of his gris fanboy pieces of trash. As several of you have already mentioned, gris arrogance is completely off the charts, especially considering we've actually had more success than them for the last 15 years or so. If we beat them 100 to zero, I'll be disappointed that it wasn't 120-zero.

[John K]

I watched their newscast tonight. At one point Rainey and fellow gris homer Ben Wineman mentioned again that 2015 was the last time the gris won in Missoula. It was the perfect opportunity for Rainey to correct his error from Tuesday night, but of course he didn't. The only thing worse than making an error like that, is having it pointed out to you, but still declining to correct it. When the email I sent to the Missoula station manager bounced back to me as undeliverable, I forwarded it to the Bozeman station manager. I thought maybe I'd have a better chance of getting a correction that way, since he's based in Bozeman and presumably more invested in Bobcat football, than the homers in Missoula.

[94VegasCat]

Wow a Larry Frost reference! That fella gushed about the gris, he was enamored with all things gris. Second biggest homer compared to Mick Holien.

Maybe one of the more accurate writers in gris history was Gwen Florio but that is a hush hush topic that no one talks about. Well maybe we’ll just keep that swept under the rug like it never happened.

[lutecat]

I don't mind Ben.

And George Geise was the Tribune guy that loved the griz. Scott Manch? Was the Cat guy. Or even handed guy. But they did a really good job together of covering high school sports.

[AFCAT]

This is from a few days ago in the local paper. It's an opinion piece though.


Let’s talk about the real phoenix rising from the ashes.
I refer, of course, to the Montana Grizzlies football team.
For the first time all season, last weekend I saw a team of champions — not just
the flashes of brilliance from this player or that one that snatched victory from the
jaws of defeat more than once, but a multi-faceted, multi-talented team truly firing on all
cylinders. Just two more games before we take another trip to Tennessee to wreak vengeance on (I’m
hoping) Villanova and reclaim the national championship they stole from us in 2009!
We’ll have to get past South Dakota first, though, and the Yotes creamed Mercer last
weekend, 47-0. But in OUR house? With our team playing like a team that beat the only
team in the running who beat them? We’ll win. Then we’ve got the Cats again, this time in their sta-
dium. But the Cats lacked luster last weekend, despite playing at home against a Yale team
with nowhere near their talent. (Do you find it mildly insulting that the Yalies take umbrage at
being considered too “Ivy” to play good football, but have no problem dismissing the Cats
as too hick to take on “real” schooling?). I think the Cats are getting distracted somehow, as
evidenced by their continual post-game embarrassments. The Cats’ celebration after the
Brawl — from the juvenilia of scratching up the Griz logo to the scat-hurling and lewd ges-
turing to Griz fans — took the shine off their game-winning performance. Coach Vigen must have given
them the tongue-lashing they deserved. Maybe that contributed to last weekend’s lackluster
performance. But seeing Julius Davis interacting (pleasantly) with Yale players after the game
seemed to trigger Vigen into giving Davis an unwarranted what-for. Davis responded with the
indignation of the falsely accused, and it’s worth noting that the security guards nearby
took no notice of what ESPN was selling as mayhem-in-the-making. Eventually, Davis set-
tled down and joined the team’s prayer circle. (Do you find it mildly blasphemous that the
“Amen” to all this post-game public ribaldry is the ostentation of public prayer?)
So, if the Grizzlies who showed up to play last weekend are the same ones who show
up in Bobcat Stadium on Dec.20 … well, turnabout is fair, fair play. And after you win on
your rival’s fi eld, Griz, be classier than they were on yours on Nov. 22. That’s not setting the
bar very high. Then it’s on to Tennessee! I won’t miss Texas, but I’ve been to a championship game in Ten-
nessee. Chattanooga, not Nashville. Same diff erence when it comes to rain. The moment our
plane’s wheels hit the Tennessee tarmac, it started to rain. It kept raining until we left 30 hours
later. Rain in Tennessee is different from Montana rain — heavier, wetter, non-stop — and being
Montanans, nobody had an umbrella. Ski jackets? Of course. Umbrella? Get serious.
By the time we got to the one department store in Chattanooga the next morn- ing, there wasn’t a raincoat or
umbrella left. But I married a genius. While the rest of Griz nation stood forlornly by the
empty umbrella rack, my guy sidled over to the bath section. Yes! Shower curtains galore! We grabbed two and a sleeve
of shower rings and headed to check-out. Griz fans besieged us as we passed, pleading, “Where’d you
get those?” We gestured to aisle 14. And so it was that a significant portion of Griz nation cheered their team on in the
middle of a monsoon, wrapped in shower curtains bedecked with ducks, unicorns, and rain bows and clamped at the throat
with shower curtain rings. Curtains. Hmmm. Might have been bad luck. I’ll always remember standing through
the dismal second half rather than sit in the puddled bleacher, shivering beneath my Hawaii-motif shower curtain,
yelling at Bobby Hauck, “Get it to Mariani! Mariani! He’s wide open!” But would he listen to me?
No. This time will be different.

[coloradocat]

This is from a few days ago in the local paper. It's an opinion piece though.


Let’s talk about the real phoenix rising from the ashes.
I refer, of course, to the Montana Grizzlies football team.
For the first time all season, last weekend I saw a team of champions — not just
the flashes of brilliance from this player or that one that snatched victory from the
jaws of defeat more than once, but a multi-faceted, multi-talented team truly firing on all
cylinders. Just two more games before we take another trip to Tennessee to wreak vengeance on (I’m
hoping) Villanova and reclaim the national championship they stole from us in 2009!
We’ll have to get past South Dakota first, though, and the Yotes creamed Mercer last
weekend, 47-0. But in OUR house? With our team playing like a team that beat the only
team in the running who beat them? We’ll win. Then we’ve got the Cats again, this time in their sta-
dium. But the Cats lacked luster last weekend, despite playing at home against a Yale team
with nowhere near their talent. (Do you find it mildly insulting that the Yalies take umbrage at
being considered too “Ivy” to play good football, but have no problem dismissing the Cats
as too hick to take on “real” schooling?). I think the Cats are getting distracted somehow, as
evidenced by their continual post-game embarrassments. The Cats’ celebration after the
Brawl — from the juvenilia of scratching up the Griz logo to the scat-hurling and lewd ges-
turing to Griz fans — took the shine off their game-winning performance. Coach Vigen must have given
them the tongue-lashing they deserved. Maybe that contributed to last weekend’s lackluster
performance. But seeing Julius Davis interacting (pleasantly) with Yale players after the game
seemed to trigger Vigen into giving Davis an unwarranted what-for. Davis responded with the
indignation of the falsely accused, and it’s worth noting that the security guards nearby
took no notice of what ESPN was selling as mayhem-in-the-making. Eventually, Davis set-
tled down and joined the team’s prayer circle. (Do you find it mildly blasphemous that the
“Amen” to all this post-game public ribaldry is the ostentation of public prayer?)
So, if the Grizzlies who showed up to play last weekend are the same ones who show
up in Bobcat Stadium on Dec.20 … well, turnabout is fair, fair play. And after you win on
your rival’s fi eld, Griz, be classier than they were on yours on Nov. 22. That’s not setting the
bar very high. Then it’s on to Tennessee! I won’t miss Texas, but I’ve been to a championship game in Ten-
nessee. Chattanooga, not Nashville. Same diff erence when it comes to rain. The moment our
plane’s wheels hit the Tennessee tarmac, it started to rain. It kept raining until we left 30 hours
later. Rain in Tennessee is different from Montana rain — heavier, wetter, non-stop — and being
Montanans, nobody had an umbrella. Ski jackets? Of course. Umbrella? Get serious.
By the time we got to the one department store in Chattanooga the next morn- ing, there wasn’t a raincoat or
umbrella left. But I married a genius. While the rest of Griz nation stood forlornly by the
empty umbrella rack, my guy sidled over to the bath section. Yes! Shower curtains galore! We grabbed two and a sleeve
of shower rings and headed to check-out. Griz fans besieged us as we passed, pleading, “Where’d you
get those?” We gestured to aisle 14. And so it was that a significant portion of Griz nation cheered their team on in the
middle of a monsoon, wrapped in shower curtains bedecked with ducks, unicorns, and rain bows and clamped at the throat
with shower curtain rings. Curtains. Hmmm. Might have been bad luck. I’ll always remember standing through
the dismal second half rather than sit in the puddled bleacher, shivering beneath my Hawaii-motif shower curtain,
yelling at Bobby Hauck, “Get it to Mariani! Mariani! He’s wide open!” But would he listen to me?
No. This time will be different.

[WalkOn79]

The Montana media on average (obviously not in outlets based in Bozeman) is normal when the Griz are down and MSU is up. Any other time they're focused on the Griz. It's nothing new and it was much worse in the 90s and 00s. It's mostly an unconscious/implicit bias and it originates from having more media members with UM backgrounds over MSU backgrounds. It's been on full blast this week. When you watch a podcast or news channel show, the discussion is split in terms of the amount of time spent discussing each team, but the discussion's tone is emphasized when UM is the subject. What can the Griz do to win? What areas do the Griz need to fix to win? Meanwhile, we're told MSU played one of its best games of the year vs UM and probably can't replicate that. And there are multiple other examples.

The narrative, IMO, is that Montana is a team on the rise, while MSU has shown chinks in its armor. It's been okay for UM to have a close game against UND, because UND is better than everyone thinks and might be the second-best team in the MVFC. It was okay against ISU, because it was a bad matchup for them. They don't mention MSU's win at NAU, which was No. 13 at the time, and was a win away for making the playoffs, along with wins over UC Davis and UM.

When MSU beat UC Davis, the comments were that there were only two "good" teams in the conference - UM and MSU. Teams that MSU beat were bad, teams UM nearly lost to were actually quite good or there was some kind of team development rationale that caused UM to let the other team back in the game or remain in the game until late.

The Griz have played well at home the past two weeks and that deserves to be discussed. I know, however, that if the roles were reversed, MSU wouldn't be getting the same treatment going into WGS. Can you imagine if UM had beaten MSU in Bozeman to get the homefield and MSU was going there to play, how the media would be portraying that? It would be, just like 1.0, all about homefield. How will Lamson handle the noise? I've only heard one person ask about how Ah Yat will handle the noise at MSU. But I gotta admit I've quit watching most sports news and podcasts.

I'm not saying I'm perfect and that I don't do the same thing (show unconscious/implicit bias), because I know I do and I make a conscious effort to block it out (I wrote a piece on Hauck that was about his struggles in Bozeman and I included all his successes not only in those games but outside of that game in an attempt to avoid being accused of being unfair/mean to him; I think it's perfectly understandable how and why he lost those games: MSU was good/better). There's just not many MSU grads involved with the media throughout the state compared to UM grads.

This is thoughtful she fair. Thanks for sharing, Tom. Why do you think it gets worse when the gris are up? To me, it seems like gris people are willing to buy into anything that makes them believe they can "RTD."

Because they're excited and want to talk about it more and it makes their tone more positive. Human nature. I think everyone is the same way. The problem in this case is that there are a lot more UM people in the media. They just don't have the same tone when just MSU is doing well.

Choate should have had this framed after beating them 4 STRAIGHT TIMES!!