From a very young age, I loved watching the Olympics, both summer and winter. In 2002, I had the pleasure of covering some of the Winter Games in Salt Lake City, as well as getting up at 4:30 in the morning to watch the Olympic flame go by (it was my wife’s idea). The Winter Olympics are coming back to Utah in 2034 and I hope I’m around the enjoy those moments.

On X, @chadcluff wrote, “Yes, I have watched three hours of Olympics every day since the opening ceremonies. If you love America, you would, too.”

Only three hours, Chad? I don’t think my TV has been on anything but Olympic channels since it started. With DVR, I’ve probably watched more than the available nine hours a day. I mean, it is kind of my job. Tough, I know.

On Sunday, after we got back from church and started watching the final events, our power went out.

What do we do now?

What’s that noise?

I remember being able to get up from my recliner without making sound effects.

Good times, good times.

The fall camp grind

BYU football fall camp is a time when each coach and player interview we do is basically a “best version of themselves” response. The optimism is totally understandable. I believe Kalani Sitake made all the correct moves this offseason. He hired new offensive coaches and retained most of the talent on the roster, although some players did leave via the transfer portal. He brought in new players where he needed help (quarterback, offensive and defensive line) and spent the majority of spring fine-tuning the running game. Sitake has also continued to build the infrastructure of the program (strength and conditioning, nutrition, sports science, etc) and that support staff is critical for growth.

Will all of those changes and upgrades work out? Likely not, but the more that do, the better season the Cougars will have in 2024.

As for the players, I believe the roster is deeper and improved. How many wins that translates into is anybody’s guess.

My point is, the right moves were made. Now its up to the players and coaches to make it work.

Winning the close ones

ESPN’s Bill Connelly wrote a recent story looking at college football games decided by one score since 2018. Guess which conference had the most?

The Big 12, with nearly 47% of their games decided by one score.

At the bottom of the list were the Big Ten (36.3%) and the SEC (33%).

I suppose mileage may vary as to how much enjoyment you get out of BYU playing close games. My wife can’t hardly watch live BYU games because it causes her anxiety. I much prefer a competitive game than the blowouts you see in other power conferences. These numbers indicate a top-heavy problem for the Big Ten and the SEC, while the Big 12 gets crazier every weekend.

Considering the blowouts the Cougars suffered last season in the league play (at TCU by 33 points, at Texas by 29, at West Virginia by 30, home against Iowa State by 32), close games should be welcome in 2024.

This got me thinking about the BYU-Utah football rivalry. After the Utes joined the Pac-12 they won nine games in a row in the series, with seven of those games decided by single digits. The Cougars should have won some of the games but couldn’t make the crucial play down the stretch. Now both teams are in power conferences and I wonder, will BYU be able close the gap in those situations?

I think a big sign of improvement this season by the Cougars will be not necessarily how many wins but how many close wins.

Stump me, I dare you

Another day, another nearly 2.5 million points playing SongPop Go on Facebook. That was on “Music of the 80s,” which was my decade. Anything from the 1990s or 2000s I can’t remember because I was too busy helping raise three kids. All I know is Barney the Purple Dinosaur tunes and this funky cassette tape we took on road trips that somehow worked the names of our children into all the songs.

New to me

I’ve discovered an amazing non-Olympic sport.

While cruising the internet, I came across something called “Fistball.” It’s basically volleyball played on a soccer field and is competed on an international level (Germany is apparently really good). There are five players a side, the ball can bounce once before you hit it and it looks like a lot of fun. For young players, anyway. Too much ground to cover for us old folks. I’ll stick to the regular game indoors and grass volleyball when my wife really wants to play hardcore.

There are plenty of highlights on YouTube if you’re interested.

That’s all for now, but for this.

Stand up and salute Washington State running back Djouvensky Shlenbaker, Tulane wide receiver Phat Watts and UNLV offensive lineman Tiger Shanks. We’re less than two weeks away from the actual start of college football season and we’re all here for it.

Have a terrific week and stay cool.