Basketball

When layups are falling as readily as halfcourt shots and the shooting from the 3-point arch might as well be shooting from the Golden Arches at the Mickey D's down the street, you'd better play good enough defense to save your bacon.

In preparation for Wednesday night's game against Arkansas State, Utah Valley State coach Dick Hunsaker gave forward Richard Troyer a present.

Ah, that was more like it. The BYU basketball team that has spent the last month struggling shooting the ball while under-whelming its followers, and even itself, took a season-high crowd Saturday at the Marriott Center and made a positively predictable afternoon out of facing New Mexico.

The individual averages were similar, the results Saturday were not.

He made us wait a few extra minutes, and he decided when the post-game interviews were done.

Should it be called CEMR? Or maybe a more word-like MERC?

Trent Plaisted can't buy one, Shaq's are ugly and Rick Barry's were unique.

The stock market has been big economic news this past week, dropping sharply in early trading before bouncing up and down for the rest of the week.

Poor Phil DeGaffenried. He just can't win.

Back when I was in junior high, my dad (a P.E. teacher and coach) showed us an instructional shooting film. It was an actual film. You threaded the movie through the projector and ... never mind.

Layton Christian had watched a comfortable fourth-quarter lead shrink to just five points in a matter of seconds.

One-third just isn't going to cut it. Not in the Mountain West Conference, not even at home where BYU won its 41st consecutive game Wednesday by surviving again without what's supposed to be the Cougars' best skill.