Aside from that, Cedar City and its 25,000 inhabitants have a lot going for it. A good four-year school, a historic downtown, roles as host to the Utah Summer Games as well as Utah’s annual Shakespearean Festival and - I’m not making this up - an annual Neil Simon Theatre Festival.
Simon, whose home town of The Bronx is nearly as far away from Cedar City as Shakespeare’s, once wrote that, “Sports is the only entertainment where, no matter how many times you go back, you never know the ending.”
Call that coincidence if you want.
I’m kidding n Rial took early retirement and headed off to Puget Sound. Fittingly, we’ve had to replace him with three stooges, I mean competitors, in the Big Sky picks. They are new columnist Bill Speltz, plus fellow sports writers Nick Lockridge and Chad Dundas.
We’ll be competing for a miniaturized “Little Brown Stein” in honor of the Idaho-Montana rivalry that, sadly, no longer exists. Just like the rivalry between myself and Rial.
So on to the battle. We’re leaving the Thursday games (Western New Mexico at Northern Arizona; Weber State at Boise State) and Friday contest (UM-Western at Eastern Washington) out, which leaves us with five Saturday games.
Season Record: Fritz: 0-0, Bill: 0-0, Nick: 0-0, Chad: 0-0
The picks
• Southern Utah at Montana: The Thunderbirds would seem to be cannon fodder given their recent problems. It’s worth nothing that they had similar pedigrees in 1998 and 2002 and gave the Griz all they could handle, but that was then.
Fritz: Griz 44, Southern Utah 13. Nick: Griz 36, SUU 17. Bill: Griz 38, SUU 14. Chad: Griz 45, SUU 14.
• Montana State at Texas A&M: It’s going to be 90 degrees in College Station, Texas, but remember n it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity. And Aggies’ running back Mike Goodson.
Fritz: A&M 45, Cats 17. Nick: A&M 42, Cats 16. Bill: A&M 41, Cats 7. Chad: A&M 35, MSU 7.
• Northern Colorado at Hawaii: The over-under on TD passes by Rainbow quarterback Colt Brennan is eight. I’ll take the over.
Fritz: Hawaii 63, UNC 3. Nick: Hawaii 51, UNC 10. Bill: Hawaii 31, UNC 7. Chad: Hawaii 55, UNC 10.
• Portland State at McNeese State: This is by far the toughest pick, a game between the No. 13 and No. 10 teams in the FCS, inside McNeese State’s Cowboy Stadium, otherwise known as “The Hole.” I like the Man in Black, Jerry Glanville, in this one. Apparently I’m the only one.
Fritz: PSU 33, McNeese 18. Nick: McNeese 34, PSU 29. Bill: McNeese 28, PSU 21. Chad: McNeese 28, PSU 21.
• Sacramento State at Fresno State: It’s the first meeting between the two California schools since 1972. The Hornets lost that game 24-7, and are bound to fall to 0-6 in their last six openers, all against Football Bowl Subdivision programs.
Fritz: Fresno 24, Sac State 7. Nick: Fresno 38, Sac State 12. Bill: Fresno 28, Sac State 3. Chad: Fresno 42, Sac State 3.
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