HB Arnett's 801 372 - 0819 <mailto:hbarnett@fiber.net> hbarnett@fiber.net 1391 West 800 South - Orem, Utah 84058 Vol. 35, Issue 40 - July 9, 2015 Click Here To Order or Renew Your Subscriptions <http://cougarclicks.com/product/Order-Cougar-Sportsline?ID=3173> What is an idiom? 1. a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the light ). For Example. Shot in The Arm: No question that BYU football needs some rejuvenation in the program after three consecutive 8-5 seasons. But the shot in the arm that Charles West, the gifted running back from Texas, received with an actual bullet last week wasn't what BYU needed now. Head, shoulders, knees and toes, is a Primary song. West seems to be living those lyrics. You have to wonder where his head is after he exhibited a foot fetish among other things in his first arrest in Texas months ago. In last month's letter I said if West was a stock, I would be selling him. This month, I am shorting him big time. This scenario is a perfect example of what I have believed about athletes for decades: The more trouble an athlete finds off the field or court, the more talented he or she usually is. Brothers and Sisters: This is how I start all my church talks. Now it describes BYU's volleyball programs. I wouldn't call it nepotism, but more like sibling shuffling. In case you missed it, a few weeks ago Shawn Olmstead was head coach of the BYU women's volleyball team. His sister, Heather was his top assistant. Chris McGown was the head men's volleyball coach and his dad, Carl McGown, the former BYU volleyball coach two coaches removed, was his volunteer assistant. Now Shawn Olmstead is the head coach of the men and Heather Olmstead is the head coach of the women. If you are having trouble understanding how this all works, think of it like this: George H.W. Bush was the head coach of the country. George W. Bush followed him as head coach. Jeb Bush is still an assistant coach at Florida, but desperately wants the head country coaching job. Heather, oops, I mean Hillary Clinton, the wife of Bill Clinton, wants her husband's old head coaching job. Marco Rubio, was Catholic, then became a Mormon and has since returned to Catholicism. He also wants to be the country's head coach. Meanwhile, the Pope, as in Mark, the former BYU assistant basketball coach, is now the head coach at UVU. I wouldn't be surprised if he wants the BYU head coaching job someday. Speaking of the Bush's.. Two in hand is better than one in the Bush...There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth if Frank Jackson, the senior guard to be at Lone Peak HS, doesn't sign with BYU. Jackson has blown up on the national radar and is considered a top ten recruit. He actually is extremely talented and highly recruited. Dave Rose and BYU want him in the worst way. Now for the big "in the bush" question. Whose minutes would Jackson take at BYU if he opts to come on board. Nick Emery is a better outside shooter and can get to the basket as well as Jackson. TJ Haws has better range on his jumper, is extremely competitive and is bigger than both Jackson and Emery. You can't have too many great guards. Just ask Kentucky and Duke. BYU already has two in hand and hopes Jackson comes out of the bush to buy into BYU. Mi casa es tu casa: Tyler Haws, BYU's all-time leading scorer in basketball, was not drafted in the recent NBA draft. He did sign a contract with Obradoiro Clube de Amigos do Baloncesto, a top tier Spanish League team. Haws, meanwhile is playing with Cleveland in summer league NBA action. He has a clause in his contract that will allow him to opt out of the Spanish contract if Cleveland or any other NBA teams signs him before July 31. Meanwhile, the first phrase in Spanish that Haws needs to learn is: dame la pelota (give me the ball). Holy Toledo.Not to be confused with Holy moly or Holy smoke, BYU signed a home and home football contract with the Rockets of the University of Toledo. Here is what the Toledo Blade published about the series: The Rockets will travel to Provo, Utah, to play BYU in 2016, and the Cougars will make a return trip to the Glass Bowl in 2019. UT's game in Provo is scheduled for Sept. 30, 2016, a Friday night game at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Toledo director of athletics Mike O'Brien said that the UT program is "getting every indication" that the game will be televised nationally. "Any time you can get a program such as BYU on a home-and-home, it's obviously a fit and a positive for UT," O'Brien said. "They have great history and we're excited about this series." The contract between BYU and Toledo was not available Wednesday, but UT spokesman Paul Helgren said the series will be played for matching $250,000 guaranteed sums. BYU will pay $250,000 to Toledo in 2016, then the Rockets will pay the same amount when BYU plays the 2019 game in Toledo.The 2019 game is scheduled for Sept. 28, which also is a Friday night. O'Brien said "there's always a possibility" the game in Toledo will have a national television audience as well. I'd cut off my left arm.It's a good thing Nick Emery, the left-handed shooting guard for BYU who signed two years ago, didn't follow this idiom. Instead, he cut his left foot (heel) in a non-basketball related accident. He will miss 6-8 weeks and most likely won't make the trip to Spain in August with the basketball team. Don't Count your Chickens before they Hatch.BYU fans, including me, have been sitting on the Big12 expansion nest for nearly 3 years now. Still no chicks yet, but there were some chirps and cheeps the last couple of weeks when Oklahoma President David Boren said he thought the Big 12 should expand because, as a league, they were psychologically disadvantaged to the other big boy conferences. He also exposed details of the current Big 12 TV contract which actually says that if the league expands, so will the money. The bottom line for me is that BYU winning, in football and basketball, solves all problems and issues.including Big 12 expansion issues. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.Taysom hill is BYU's beauty and beast. He beautifully represents the school and LDS Church every time the media puts a microphone or camera in front of his face. He is a beast on the field and gives Bronco Mendenhall and the Cougars their best chance to win football games. But how does he stack up for an NFL future? He has all the tools. He is athletic, has great leadership skills and can throw the ball well enough to succeed at the next level. Unfortunately, he is long in the tooth. That's the axiom that worries NFL scouts. Hill will be 26 before he ever takes a snap in an NFL game or practice. Brandon Doman and John Beck were also older when they left BYU for the NFL, so look for Hill to get his shot. If his age is his lemon, some NFL team should get to sip some pretty good lemonade beginning next season. Double T is a nice BYU Brand My dad's cattle brand in Arizona was Rafter T. My father-in-law's brand in Montana was Diamond W. I applied for my own brand a few years ago in Utah and the state gave me this one: Low/IQ. I'm not sure if Bronco Mendenhall has his own livestock brand , but when it comes to BYU football he put a nice Double T on the program this past month. That's because he received two verbal commits from Jonah Trinnaman and Hank Tuipulotu. Trinnaman is a 6-0, 185 receiver out of Snow College where he was a freshman last season. He prepped at American Fork HS and committed to sign with Utah State. He has legit speed and was recruited by Oregon State and Utah. He will most likely be a midyear transfer in December. Here are two videos to watch on Trinnaman. Video 1 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=133&v=LOLdAdqymSE> , Video 2. <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1250056/jonah-trinnaman> Tuipulotu is a 6-3, 225 pounder who played receiver and tight end for Nation Ford HS in Fort Mill, SC. He is the son of former Cougar Peter Tuipulotu and nephew to former Cougar Tom Tuipulotu. Here is what the Herald of Fort Mill had to say about him and his commit to BYU: One of the most heralded local high school football recruits, Nation Ford's Hank Tuipulotu, has committed in relative silence to Brigham Young University. Tuipulotu, 17, committed verbally to his parents' alma mater late Friday night, July 3, and news of his commitment exploded like fireworks on Independence Day morning. A rising senior who exceeded 1,000 receiving yards last season, Tuipulotu picked BYU over Furman University, Appalachian State University, Navy and Air Force - all of which had officially made him offers. The University of North Carolina and N.C. State were also in the hunt for Tuipulotu, but were still trying to figure out how to work out the numbers for two years down the road. Tuipulotu, a Mormon, won't actually be attending college until 2018 because he will be leaving for a two-year mission trip in the fall of 2016. While on his mission trip, a commitment common among Mormons, especially young adults, Tuipulotu will have little free time for himself outside of his commitments to the church, but will be allowed to work out in the morning to stay in shape. "It will be tough to stay in shape," he said. Tuipulotu said he is unsure where he will be going on his two-year mission, but should find out a year from now. His mission won't be finished until sometime in late 2018, thus he will most likely enter BYU in time for a spring practice for 2019. Tuipulotu said that 80 percent of BYU's football players go on their mission trips before they play college football. "They have it down to a science," he said. "It will take some used to getting back into the swing of things." The fact that Tuipulotu's parents attended BYU didn't much factor into the decision, he said. "It was more of my decision," he said. "I like the campus. It is a very fun atmosphere. I am excited to play there." He said he enjoyed meeting with the coaching staff and said the honor code the school has is something he already lives his life by. Both of those things, he said, helped in making his decision. "I am ready now," he said. "I got to visit with the coaches and talk to them. I feel like it's the best fit for me." Once he does take the field for BYU, Tuipulotu will most likely play slot receiver or H-back for the Cougars. He can officially sign his letter of intent in February. Here is some video on Tuipulotu. Video 1 <http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1862429/hank-tuipulotu> . Decommit is not a Word BYU had verbal commitments from a trio of football and basketball players earlier this year. The most notable was Frank Jackson, the super talented LDS guard from Lone Peak HS. Garrett Bolles is one of the top junior college offensive linemen in the nation. He was committed to BYU but has now decommitted and has offers from the likes of Auburn and Alabama. Most recently, Hirkley Latu, a talented safety from Kahuku HS in Hawaii now says that he has re-opened his recruitment after originally committing to BYU. In response to all of this, I recently received the following from a subscriber. I found it interesting and think you will to. -------------------------------------- Decommit is not a Word.Even if you put a hyphen in it, it's not a word. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suggestions/decommit> http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suggestions/decommit I realize sportswriters use it. But it's nonsensical. A "commitment" does not allow for a change of mind. There are words used to describe people who break commitments and they're not nice words. "Liar" would be one of the nicer ones. Remember, a commitment is supposed to reflect more than your feelings on a particular day. Name withheld --------------------------------------- So with this in mind, here are some of my suggestions for recruits to use when announcing where they will sign only to change their minds later. How about, Chameleon Commit? Kinda Committed; Until Something Better Comes Along Commit.; Just kidding commit; My mom and dad made me do it commit; and, I liked their car better than your car commit. Names and Games Cody Hoffman and Austin Collie both had their first touchdown catches in CFL action last week. Hoffman, against the Calgary Stampeders had 3 catches for 48 yards including the 15 yard TD toss. Hoffman plays for the Montreal Alouettes. Collie also hit paydirt with a TD pass against the Ottawa Redbacks. He caught 5 balls for 54 yards. Nate Austin.I recently ran into a couple of returned sister missionaries who were from McAllen, Texas. I asked them if they had ever known Talon Shumway, the BYU football player or Nate Austin, the BYU basketball player. Both former Lone Peak HS stars served in the Texas, McAllen mission. The former Sisters said they didn't know Shumway, but both knew Elder Avatar. That is what they called the 6-11 Austin. Dave Rose is still trying to give out his last scholarship for this coming year, the 2015-16 season. He tried to entice 6-11 Kennesaw State transfer Willy Kouassi to come to Provo. He had offers from Memphis, Arkansas and Boise State among others. He landed at Arkansas. BYU has now offered Elon transfer Elijah Bryant. Elon is a private school in North Carolina. He was a freshman last season and led his team in scoring. He was the Colonial Athletic Association freshman of the year. He is reportedly LDS and has offers from BYU, Miami, Dayton, Butler and Texas A&M. He is from Gwinnett, Georgia and attended New Hampton Prep School in New Hampshire before enrolling at Elon. Richard Klamian was one of my best high school buddies. He wrestled on scholarship at Alabama for the Crimson Tide, but his passion was sports gambling. He made a living at it. He, at one time, was the head odds maker at the Stardust in Las Vegas. We kept in frequent contact until he passed away a few years ago from brain cancer. He was a great guy and friend. I bring all of this up because I know how hard he and other odds makers work to establish gambling lines. I also know, for the most part, how accurate they are in establishing lines and evaluating different teams. The Golden Nugget recently came out with their opening lines for BYU football in several games for this coming season. They had BYU opening as a six point dog against Nebraska. That number quickly went down to plus 4. The same for BYU vs. Boise State. BYU opened as a 6 point underdog and quickly had enough money wagered on the Cougars to go to only a 1 point dog. What that means is that there are plenty of Vegas gamers and gamblers who think BYU is underrated by the general public this year. Here is a portion of an article by ESPN that backs up that opinion. The article was penned by ESPN staff writer Dave Tuley. Here are a couple of paragraphs to validate that assessment. It was apparent right away that BYU was one team getting a lot of support as several of the Cougars' lines moved toward them. Professional handicapper Paul Stone was among the sharp bettors jumping all over BYU. "I was second in line and got BYU plus-6 against Boise State in my first set of bets," said Stone, who has a service called Paul Stone Sports and won the Golden Nugget's football contest during the 2013-14 season. "By the time I got back to the front of the line, it was already down to 1. I like the quarterback, Taysom Hill (there's that name again) but he's had a history with injuries so I was looking for spots to play BYU in the first half of the schedule when he should still be playing." In addition to that five-point move toward BYU from plus-6 to plus-1, other BYU games to steam were the Cougars' Sept. 5 opener at Nebraska as the line was bet from BYU plus-6 to plus-4; Sept. 19, BYU plus-14 to plus-12.5 at UCLA; Sept. 26, BYU plus-7 to plus-6 at Michigan; Nov. 14, BYU plus-12 to plus-7.5 versus Missouri (game in Kansas City, Mo.); Nov. 28, BYU pick-'em to minus-4 at Utah State. To read the entire article, click here <http://espn.go.com/chalk/story/_/id/13158896/the-biggest-early-line-moves-g olden-nugget-list-166-games-year-college-football> . Chaz Ah You may be the next legacy football recruit to leave the state and his BYU bloodline behind. Ah You, will be a junior this fall at Westlake HS in Saratoga Springs, Utah and is a 2017 recruit. He is 6-3, 185 and being recruited as a defensive back. He already has offers from BYU, Utah, Utah State, Oregon State, Oklahoma State, Washington, Washington State and UCLA. His dad, Matt Ah You, played linebacker for the Cougars. His uncle, C.J. Ah You, had a short stint at BYU out of Lone Peak HS. He left Provo, played a year at Snow College and signed at Oklahoma. He also played in the NFL. Dear Subscribers; Here's my latest potential missionary update. I checked to see if the Church needed any service missionaries to take care of their fleet of Harley Davidsons. No luck. The Church doesn't own any "Hogs" .The closest they could come was servicing and slopping the pigs on their Hog farm in Ogallala, Nebraska. I'm a big believer in "I'll go where you want me to go", but right now it looks like I'll be going for another year publishing Cougar Sportsline. It won't be exactly like slopping the hogs in Ogallala, but there will be plenty of hype to slop in Provo when it comes to BYU sports. The slopping starts again with the first issue in August. That will coincide with the start of fall football camp. My wife and I are still ogling a future mission in either Ogallala, Oaxaca, Oberhausen, Ogbomosho, Okasaki, Ongole, or even an Oral Hygiene service mission in Owensboro, Kentucky. Until then, I'll start brushing the few teeth I have remaining and brushing up on BYU sports for my 36th year of publishing Cougar Sportsline. hb
