Big Sky announces TV deal

[SloStang]

It is going to look bad for Direct TV/Root TV when the only Big Sky team they did not air in 2012 turns out to be the 2012 Big Sky Champions. I am not saying....I am just saying.

[AZGrizFan]

It is going to look bad for Direct TV/Root TV when the only Big Sky team they did not air in 2012 turns out to be the 2012 Big Sky Champions. I am not saying....I am just saying.

Post marked and saved for future reference.

[Sapper]

It is going to look bad for Direct TV/Root TV when the only Big Sky team they did not air in 2012 turns out to be the 2012 Big Sky Champions. I am not saying....I am just saying.

completely agree

[CatBlitz22]

It is going to look bad for Direct TV/Root TV when the only Big Sky team they did not air in 2012 turns out to be the 2012 Big Sky Champions. I am not saying....I am just saying.

And what makes you think what you return from last year will give you a BSC ring?

[SloStang]

It is going to look bad for Direct TV/Root TV when the only Big Sky team they did not air in 2012 turns out to be the 2012 Big Sky Champions. I am not saying....I am just saying.

And what makes you think what you return from last year will give you a BSC ring?

First we do not play Montana, MSU or EWU in conference in 2102.

Second I have been to spring practice and this is the best team Cal Poly has had since 2008. Walsh is a great recruiter and has really elevated the talent at Cal Poly. This team is deep.

Look for QB Andre Broadous and RB Williams to have big years on offense and LBs Kenny Jackson and Johnny Millard to have huge years on defense. My only concern going into spring was depth at D-Line and Walsh addressed that with a transfer from Wisconsin and two JC transfers. All three are better than the departing seniors they replace. We lose an All-American CB in the secondary, but will be deeper in the secondary this coming year. We also have a JC transfer at Safety and this kid can lay the lumber.

[polsongrizz]

Grizz with all the problems and the loss of your coach I think this is going to be a tough year welcome to the bottom.

We could have lost the whole coaching staff and have the players run the team and still finish about 11 spots higher than isu.

[Sapper]

Grizz with all the problems and the loss of your coach I think this is going to be a tough year welcome to the bottom.

We could have lost the whole coaching staff and have the players run the team and still finish about 11 spots higher than isu.

You probably will beat ISU I give you 80/20 odds and with what is going on with your QB it might be your only BSC win besides UNC. If you lose to ISU the world will come to an end and the grizz fans will set out in a lynch mob for the coach and players. Like I said welcome to the bottom.

[Mvemjsunpx]

We could have lost the whole coaching staff and have the players run the team and still finish about 11 spots higher than isu.

You probably will beat ISU I give you 80/20 odds and with what is going on with your QB it might be your only BSC win besides UNC. If you lose to ISU the world will come to an end and the grizz fans will set out in a lynch mob for the coach and players. Like I said welcome to the bottom.

Seriously? In 2010 the Griz put in a new offensive system, a new coaching staff, and got half the team hurt, yet still went 7-4.

Even if Johnson gets arrested & kicked off the team or transfers or something (which seems a bit less likely at the moment), Montana won't be sniffing the bottom.

[kalm]

And what makes you think what you return from last year will give you a BSC ring?

First we do not play Montana, MSU or EWU in conference in 2102.

Second I have been to spring practice and this is the best team Cal Poly has had since 2008. Walsh is a great recruiter and has really elevated the talent at Cal Poly. This team is deep.

Look for QB Andre Broadous and RB Williams to have big years on offense and LBs Kenny Jackson and Johnny Millard to have huge years on defense. My only concern going into spring was depth at D-Line and Walsh addressed that with a transfer from Wisconsin and two JC transfers. All three are better than the departing seniors they replace. We lose an All-American CB in the secondary, but will be deeper in the secondary this coming year. We also have a JC transfer at Safety and this kid can lay the lumber.

Damn, glad we don't have to play you guys this year...in conference.

[lakesbison]

Ill be watching Oprah instead

[CatBlitz22]

And what makes you think what you return from last year will give you a BSC ring?

First we do not play Montana, MSU or EWU in conference in 2102.

Second I have been to spring practice and this is the best team Cal Poly has had since 2008. Walsh is a great recruiter and has really elevated the talent at Cal Poly. This team is deep.

Look for QB Andre Broadous and RB Williams to have big years on offense and LBs Kenny Jackson and Johnny Millard to have huge years on defense. My only concern going into spring was depth at D-Line and Walsh addressed that with a transfer from Wisconsin and two JC transfers. All three are better than the departing seniors they replace. We lose an All-American CB in the secondary, but will be deeper in the secondary this coming year. We also have a JC transfer at Safety and this kid can lay the lumber.

You lost what, 13 starters after going 6-5? Other than your schedule, I'll have to see it to believe it. Good luck.

[rationalgriz]

slostang hit the nail on the head. Poly does not play Montana, Montana St., or EWU in conference play. This is a huge advantage for them in the Conference Title race.

[Darell1976]

Why can't they show all the teams and why can't there be games without Montana and Montana State. How about Cal Poly at UND or Sac State/UC Davis. I hope UND can still show other home games on Fox College Sports (UND still has a contract with them).

[CPAlum]

And what makes you think what you return from last year will give you a BSC ring?

First we do not play Montana, MSU or EWU in conference in 2102.

Second I have been to spring practice and this is the best team Cal Poly has had since 2008. Walsh is a great recruiter and has really elevated the talent at Cal Poly. This team is deep.

Look for QB Andre Broadous and RB Williams to have big years on offense and LBs Kenny Jackson and Johnny Millard to have huge years on defense. My only concern going into spring was depth at D-Line and Walsh addressed that with a transfer from Wisconsin and two JC transfers. All three are better than the departing seniors they replace. We lose an All-American CB in the secondary, but will be deeper in the secondary this coming year. We also have a JC transfer at Safety and this kid can lay the lumber.

Slo...I always enjoy your coverage of the team. It is like having the Cal Poly insider. Someday if I ever am able to stash away enough dough. I'm gonna retire to SLO and watch spring practice..

I agree with you on schedule.....Cal Poly has never looked so good in April. They deserve it. I'd encourage anyone to take a look at the Cal Poly schedule over the past 3+ years..its hellacious.

I agree on Broadous....he should have a huge year...experience....time with a few talented receivers.

I am not sold on Williams...Ive seen flashes but in general I think Rogers is/was a better prototype for the Cal Poly offense. His speed to the outside was amazing. Williams runs more between tackles and that is great but I don't see the explosiveness in the open field that we saw in Rogers....I hope to be surprised.

I have a big question mark at FB. Romanelli was a monster...and filling his shoes will be challenging. Hope we have someone really special emerging there because the Option lives and dies by that position. Romanelli and Broadous really were clicking last year....we will see

We desperately need to put more pressure on the QB this year. Last year was a disaster with the injury to Gavin Cooper.

I've heard a few good things about the new Kicker(s).....Lord knows weakness at that position has plagued us in the past.


I think Cal Poly could surprise many folks and take the conference but as another poster said that has everything to do with schedule. Best team since 2008? ...I guess that means Walsh's best team....I hope so.

[OptimusPrime]

Why can't they show all the teams and why can't there be games without Montana and Montana State. How about Cal Poly at UND or Sac State/UC Davis. I hope UND can still show other home games on Fox College Sports (UND still has a contract with them).

Who the hell would want to watch those games?

[Darell1976]

Why can't they show all the teams and why can't there be games without Montana and Montana State. How about Cal Poly at UND or Sac State/UC Davis. I hope UND can still show other home games on Fox College Sports (UND still has a contract with them).

Who the hell would want to watch those games?

Fans of football. Why would I want to watch Montana and Montana State every single week? I thought this was the Big Sky Conference not the Montana Conference. 13 teams and yet they can't get Cal Poly on tv? Out of 12 weeks Montana is on 7 times and MSU 6. Yeah thats fair.

[dal4018]

With that deal the Sky is leagues ahead of the Mo Valley. Our ESPN 3 deal is horse ****.

What were the parameters for your deal with ESPN?????

[Catattack]

This reminds me of the old ESPN contract with the WAC. If you weren't playing Boise State, you weren't on tv.

[SeattleGriz]

Root Sports NW is the old FSN NW.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_Sports_Northwest" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Wildcat Ryan]

I would like more Weber road games to be on tv cause I go to all the home games anyway, (minus the ones on opening hunt weekend) but this is a little rediculous. The only time your gonna be on tv is when you play either Montana or Montana State, thats a little unfair to the rest of the league.

[CPAlum]

I'm not trying to be too much of a Montana apologist but TV is about ratings....If the Big Sky wants exposure they should feature their greatest asset. Montana is the BSC's greatest asset. When Cal Poly (Portland, UND, Weber etc.) spends the better part of 20 years consistently in the playoffs and sell upwards of 24k tickets to home games....Id bet Root will add a game or 5. Until then I'll be happy that the conference that my team plays in has a TV deal. Oh and when Cal Poly does play against Montana on Root....Ill be happy that thousands of folks will have the opportunity to the Griz lose.

[Wildcat Ryan]

I'm not trying to be too much of a Montana apologist but TV is about ratings....If the Big Sky wants exposure they should feature their greatest asset. Montana is the BSC's greatest asset. When Cal Poly (Portland, UND, Weber etc.) spends the better part of 20 years consistently in the playoffs and sell upwards of 24k tickets to home games....Id bet Root will add a game or 5. Until then I'll be happy that the conference that my team plays in has a TV deal. Oh and when Cal Poly does play against Montana on Root....Ill be happy that thousands of folks will have the opportunity to the Griz lose.

I can see the whole more money issue, but having the Montana's on tv EVERY weekend is going to give them an even bigger recruiting advantage over the rest of the conf teams than they already had before.

[BearIt]

There is also the issue that UM and MSU both had TV deals to air all their games. They likely wouldn't agree to the Roots sports deal without getting the majority of their games on air.

Roots said they would air up to 18 games. I'm sure when they analyzed the potential viewership of the other games they determined that the math didn't work. Based on that they decide to only air 13 games featuring UM and MSU.

The only 2 games that I could see potetially competing with those 2 schools for viewership are the CPU/Sac State and WSU/ISU.

This being the 1st year of the contract I'm sure they wanted to do everything they could to make sure it is successful. Lowest risk was MSU and UM.

[goon48]

Root? never heard of it.

i already pay $93/month on dish, no reason to pay $12 more for a sports package to get "roots"

wasnt that a slave movie with oprah peeing?

I guess you could always just go back to basic cable for your trailer house.

[SloStang]

First we do not play Montana, MSU or EWU in conference in 2102.

Second I have been to spring practice and this is the best team Cal Poly has had since 2008. Walsh is a great recruiter and has really elevated the talent at Cal Poly. This team is deep.

Look for QB Andre Broadous and RB Williams to have big years on offense and LBs Kenny Jackson and Johnny Millard to have huge years on defense. My only concern going into spring was depth at D-Line and Walsh addressed that with a transfer from Wisconsin and two JC transfers. All three are better than the departing seniors they replace. We lose an All-American CB in the secondary, but will be deeper in the secondary this coming year. We also have a JC transfer at Safety and this kid can lay the lumber.

You lost what, 13 starters after going 6-5? Other than your schedule, I'll have to see it to believe it. Good luck.

I can see where you would feel that way. I know we were 6-5 last year, but we were a play away from being 7-4 (lost to EWU in triple OT) and we had a extremely rough schedule.

As far as 13 starters, that is a little misleading. I'll start with the OL. They only show 2 starting OL returning. LT Giovani Sani did not start last year, but started has started 15 games over the last three seasons and RT Karl Winkleman saw a lot of action last year due to injury. The only new face on the OL will be LG Kyle Zottneck. His senior year at Los Alamitos HS he was the Sunset League MVP as an OL/DL. The Sunset League is one of the top Leagues in California. The kid is a stud.

In the backfield we return Andre Broadous at QB for his third year as a starter. He is a QB with the IT factor and can beat a team with both his feet and his arm. We do not list any returning starters at RB in 2012, but there is plenty of talent there. Deonte Williams is returning and he was the Big Sky Newcomer of the year in 2008. He played last season with a couple of different injuries, and I really think he will be one of the top RBs in the Big Sky next year. At the other SB look for 6'2" 215 Cole Stanford to start. He was not the starter in 2011, but he is one of the fastest players on the team and was the top tackeler on Special teams last season and I expect he will have a big year in 2012. We do lose Romanelli at FB and that is a big loss, but we have three players that might not be a bruising of a runner as Romanelli, but they have more speed and if they hit a crease they can go the distance.

At WR they only list Lance Castaneda as a returning starter, but Willie Tucker was the second leading WR on the team last year as a true freshman and play more snaps then the senior starter. The biggest developement for a player is from their first year of starting to their second and I really believe the sky is the limit for these two young WRs. We also return our 3rd and 4th leading WRs so we have some depth at the position.

On the D-line we lose three starters, but with the addition of three transfers and five really talented younger players I see this unit as being better than the 2011 unit. I am sure they will put more pressure on the QB. The returning starter Sullivan Grosz was leading DT in the Great West in tackles for loss and he will be one of the top DL in the Big Sky in 2012. Look for Wisconsin transfer Jake Irwin and JC transfer Omar Omilabu to bring the heat on QBs from their DE position. Something that was lacking in 2011.

We have what I believe is two of the best LBs in the Big Sky returning in 2012. The first is 4 year starter Kenny Jackson. The second is three year starter Johnny Millard (son of former All-Pro Keith Millard). They led the team in tackles in 2011. The third LB will be either Sophomore Nick Dzubnar (South Coast League Defensive POY his senior year in HS - also one of the top leagues in California) or Air Force transfer Junior Chris Judge (was an All-State LB at Oaks Christian HS). We are loaded at LB.

We only have one returning starter in the defensive secondary, but will be a more athletic secondary in 2012. We were hit hard by injuries in 2011. In 2012 we will be young but extremely talented and deep. Bejon Samoodi returns at one CB spot and has been the starter there the last two years. He will be backed upped by Nico Molino and Vante Johnson who both had starts in 2011 due to injuries. There is a three way battle for the open CB spot between Rfr Chris Fletcher (son of former Charge DB Chris Fletcher), Sophomore Kevin Britt and Rfr Karlton Dennis (was the Trinity League Defensive POY his senior year in HS- the best league in California). At safety we lose both starters, but look for Sophomore Dave Douglas (came out of spring last year as the starter but sat out last season because of grades) to step in and have a big season. Kid can lay the lumber. Look for the other spot to be filled by 2011 JC transfer (redshirted last year with an injury) Matt Reza and 2012 JC transfer Alex Hubbard. Hubbard has already made an impact this spring. He is a mini Troy Palamalu (even has his hair) and he can flat lay out a WR or RB. I know we will be much improved in the defensive secondary.

There is my long winded explanation. Sorry if I put you to sleep.