I’ll blog as we go.

First Quarter
– First defensive series has BYU coming hard after Andy Dalton and it really works. Three and out.
– First offensive series for BYU is a steady diet of Harvey Unga and quick passes. When Hall takes longer to pass he gets sacked.
– TCU gets the ball back and starts moving the ball. The D-line again can’t get the QB and that leads to big pass plays (like we have seen a lot this year).
– On the second series the TCU offense completely bullies the BYU D. It results in a Frog touchdown that seemed too easy.
– Three and out for BYU followed by another easy touchdown for TCU. 14-0. Something big needs to change or BYU will be blown out of this game.
– Next BYU possession — three and out again. That is just the first quarter. This could get reeeal ugly folks.

Second Quarter (more…)

Just wanted to note an interesting new marketing strategy from Deseret Book.

http://deseretbook.com/free

Here you can download a complete PDF of the books for free. Personally, I probably would never read most of these, but I was pleased to see Bruce Chadwick and Brent Top’s book here, as I like Dr. Chadwick’s studies, but would never have paid for this book. (As an aside, I’ve always loved the church’s policy of giving away their books for free via the web. (I wish the Boy Scouts did the same). Deseret Book, however, is not the church, but is a for-profit business. I can only assume they are doing this for marketing purposes.)

So what do you think? Will “the power of Free” help Deseret Book increase it’s market share?

BYU survived a motivated SDSU team in San Diego today and took down the Aztecs 38-28.

It was a fairly pedestrian showing by BYU but a win is a win and no one will remember the score if BYU can beat TCU next week. The good news is that the passing attack of TCU isn’t nearly as good as SDSU’s. The bad news is the TCU defense is a lot better than SDSU’s.

Since I have a degree from both schools I was pleased with how good SDSU looked today. I think the Aztecs are on their way out of the MWC cellar and ready to be at least a second tier team in the conference. They seem to have better coaches and a better culture overall than I have seen on Montezuma Mesa in a long time.

Some random thoughts on the game:

– Andrew Rich got burned on pass coverage a LOT in this game. The guy can really hit but he was a bit exposed as a pass defender I thought.
– How about that Scott Johnson? Before the half he made a shoestring tackle on a log pass play to save a touchdown and a couple of plays later intercepted the ball to keep the Aztecs off the board at all that drive. That was huge.
– Max Hall looked really good. Several touchdowns and no interceptions. But the best play of the game was his deciding to run the ball in at the goals line with the clock winding down when everyone (including his own team) thought he was going to spike it at the end of the half. That was cool.
– Look for Dennis Pitta on Sundays starting next season. The dude may be the best BYU tight end of them all before career is over and that is saying a lot.
– Manase Tonga is underrated. Tailback Harvey Unga was ok today but he is a lot better when Manase is playing fullback.
– It is nice to seen newer offensive players like Hafoka, Thompson, Diluigi, and even Ashworth really contributing. BYU has a lot of weapons.
– I loved the Jorgenson sack at the end. Not only did it finally ice the game but he added to his conference record stats.

TCU is up next week in Provo. This is a major measuring stick game for this team and season. The game has massive conference title implications.

Blake Ostler will be presenting on “The History of the Trinity: Mormonism Engages the Christian Creedal Tradition” twice this weekend, down in Southern California. Unfortunately, The Miller-Eccles Study Group didn’t have their website updated (as of this post) to announce this event which they are hosting, but I wanted to get the word out.

Orange County
Friday, October 16, 2009
Time: 7:30 PM

Home of Morris and Dawn Thurston
9752 Crestview Cir., Villa Park, CA 92861
714-974-1878

Los Angeles County
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Time: 7:30 PM

Home of Russ & Christie Frandsen
4357 Chevy Chase Dr., La Canada Flintridge, CA 91011
(818) 790-5491; rfrandsen@charter.net

Today marks my being baptized 11 years ago. In honor of that experience, here are two lists based on my personal experiences in the church:

11 biggest challenges to my staying active 11 years

(more…)

BYU beat the UNLV Rebels tonight 59-21.

It was a fun game to watch as a BYU fan. The team looked really solid. Max threw for tons of yards with no interceptions. Harvey ran all over the the UNLV defense racking up something like 150 yeard and three touchdowns in three quarters. There were some great plays by other players as well. A tremendous interception by Jordan Pendleton, two interceptions by Scott Johnson, and some great sacks by Coleby Clausen. Some great catches as well by Andrew George, Pitta, Chambers, Thompson, Hafoka, and several of the running backs. The other running backs took advantage of the porous UNLV defense as well. And O’Neil Chambers even had a 97 yard kickoff return.

UNLV did score a touchdown on a kickoff return and punched two other TD’s in as well but giving up 14 points ain’t bad for the defense.

Did I mention that Harvey was a monster out there? When that guy is healthy he is incredible. Nice win. BYU will look to do it again next week in San Diego in preparation for the showdown with TCU in two weeks.

Well, we of the Bloggernacle have been dissing people left and right of late, so I thought it was about time for the old “You have to say three nice things about that person” post.

Mr. McNaughton (more…)

We know next to nothing for certain about the Divine Feminine. There is a long standing tradition in Mormonism that preaches of a Heavenly Mother to complement a Heavenly Father, but the details are lacking to say the least. So in this post I figured I would loosely sketch out a few theories that I have heard and felt were noteworthy.

Assumptions matter

Before I sketch these theories out there are several related and sometimes more fundamental issues that are also debatable which have a direct bearing on any theories about divinity. Here are some of them: (more…)

Despite my propensity for nonconformity and insubordination, I did my best to assimilate when I went on a mission. I followed a lot of rules, even most of the ones that seemed unnecessary. However, sometimes my contumacious nature could not be contained. (more…)

My oldest is 6, and paid attention to conference quite a bit this time, with the help of stickers, the packet from the friend, and lots of snacks.

(more…)

It is halftime on Saturday for General Conference. While I watch these great men from afar, it made me think of a few close up experiences I have had. (more…)