Former Helena High and Montana Grizzlies kicker Dan Carpenter met the media for the first time since replacing San Diego's Nate Kaeding as the AFC's Pro Bowl kicker.

I won't lie to you. When I first came out to Montana two and a half years ago to take a position as ABCMONTANA's Bozeman and Butte sports reporter, I didn't know what to expect. It wasn't that I was scared or nervous at all -- maybe suspicious would be a better word. Coming from a half-hour south of Philadelphia, I grew up in a big-city sports town with incredibly passionate fans. I wondered how anything in Montana could stack up to that experience.

Now I realize I should never have been suspicious.

The passion for sports in Montana is just as strong as anywhere else in the country. Whether I was covering Cat/Griz or Class C Girls Basketball States, the fans were loving it, and I was able to feed off that passion, channeling it into my work.

There's no way I can thank every person that made my experience in Montana what it was, so I'm not going to try. However -- to everyone I interviewed, coaches or players, thank you for being so gracious and available to me. Whenever I think back on my time in Bozeman, the memories will always be good, the sports will always be enjoyable, and the people will always be incredible.

And I need to clear up one thing before saying goodbye. Greg Ortiz: I have never been, nor ever will be a closet Griz fan.

Farewell Montana -- and God Bless you all!

~ Dave Griffiths

Over the past 2 1/2 years Dave Griffiths has provided our viewers with amazing coverage of Bozeman/Butte sports. Unfortunately, at the end of the week he is leaving us for warmer temperatures. Dave has recently been hired at a station in Florida: a great loss for our company, and a great get for his new station.

I have only been doing this job for 2 1/2 years, but I doubt I will ever work with someone as dedicated as Dave. Whether it was Montana St. football, or Bozeman girls basketball, Dave put his best into everything that he did. He never missed a deadline, always helped fill out a show, and was not only a great co-worker, but a great friend. You will be sorely missed, and we here at ABCMontana wish you the best of luck with your new job.

-Greg
greg@maxmontana.com

p.s. Hopefully at your new job you will have a picture where the body is actually yours!

Dear Coach Pflugrad,

Congratulations on the new job! I just hope you know what you are getting yourself into.

Montana Grizzly fans are some of the most passionate fans in the entire country, and they only expect the best. Big Sky Conference championships are no longer good enough for Griz Nation. After 12 in a row, they expect more. Just making it to the FCS National Championship is a disappointment. Montana fans want a title. Your predecessor was 80-17 in his 7 year career at Montana, including three trips to the National Championship. But because he could not win the big one, many Griz fans thought he was a terrible coach.

Rumor has it you are bringing a high flying passing offense, circa Mid 90's Dave Dickenson. That should get you off to a good start with fans, because Griz Nation hates running the football. If Montana scores under 40 points a game, then start searching for a new OC, because obviously the play calling is terrible.

And don't even think about losing to Montana State. Matter of fact, don't even think about beating the 'Cats by less than 20. According to the Missoula faithful, Montana St. should drop down to Division II so they can compete again. A loss to them would be worse than losing to Western State in the opener.

But don't worry, its really not that hard to earn the respect of Montana fans. As long as you go undefeated, beat an FBS team along the way, lead the nation in scoring and points allowed, wallop the Bobcats by at least 20, and defeat four straight CAA schools on the way to a national championship, you should have no problem.

Best Regards,

Greg Ortiz

p.s. Never let anyone know your opinion on Montana moving up to the FBS, it will not turn out well.

I spoke with Mark Desin this afternoon, and he said he's leaving Montana State to play his final season of college football at Rocky Mountain College in Billings. This comes as a bit of a surprise in some ways to me, being that Desin only has one year of eligibility remaining. Still, he's a terrific athlete who just never found a consistent role with the Bobcats, and that consistency is something he's hoping to achieve with Rocky.

Plus, he's back in his hometown of Billings where it seems half the city would take a bullet to make him the starting quarterback for Montana State.

Here's an interview I did over the phone with Desin this afternoon. He actually had shoulder surgery this morning and planned on spending most of his day sleeping it off. Lucky him: I called. Sorry Mark.

~ Dave Griffiths
dave@maxmontana.com

If you like it or not, Bobby is the new head coach at UNLV. So now the question becomes: Who will be the new head coach at Montana?

If you like it or not, Bobby is the new head coach at UNLV. So now the question becomes: Who will be the new head coach at Montana? With only about a month left until national signing day, Montana needs to move quickly and should hire a new coach within a week. Here are some of the top candidates:

Robin Pflugrad: Montana Wide Receivers Coach

Pflugrad has a strong Grizzly background. He coached at UM from 1986-1994 and has coaching stops at numerous Pac-10 schools, including ASU, Oregon and Washington St. Many thought it was odd that he would leave the Pac-10 for the same job at Montana, so maybe he knew there would be an opening this year? He has no head coaching experience, but neither did Bobby when he took the job.

Brent Pease: Boise St. Assistant Head Coach

Pease is one of the hottest coaching prospects this off season, and is rumored to be interviewing for the Arizona St. Offensive Coordinator job. Pease also has strong ties to Montana, graduating from UM in 1990 and coaching in Missoula from 1991-1998. We all know the success Boise St. has had in the past couple years, and Pease is a big part of that. Like Pflugrad, he has no head coaching experience, but he would be a great hire for Montana.

Dave Doeren: Wisconsin Defensive Coordinator

Doeren was the Recruiting Coordinator for the 2001 Grizzly National Championship team, and since then has rocketed through the coaching ranks. After Montana he was the Defensive Coordinator at Kansas, and now holds the same position at Wisconsin. Rumor has it that Doeren is very interested in the job and wants to prove him self as a head coach. He is young, has a great history of recruiting, and could help out the Grizzly defense. Personally, I think he would be the best hire, but I don't get paid to make those decisions.

Kraig Paulson: Montana Defensive Coordinator

Paulson is in his 2nd stint with Montana and overall has spent 19 years on the Grizzly coaching staff, the past 6 as Defensive Coordinator. Nobody knows yet if he will follow Bobby to UNLV. But even if he does not, many in Griz Nation don't think he has what it takes to be the head man. He has a great track record as an assistant, winning FCS Assistant of the Year in 2006, and would help keep some stability in the program.

Mike Van Diest: Carroll College Head Coach

The last time Montana hired somebody from the lower ranks it worked out pretty well. Some think the jump from NAIA to NCAA is too significant because there is not much recruiting on the NAIA level. However, you cannot argue with his success. Any time you win 4 straight National Titles at any level it means you can flat out coach. Van Diest is a huge name in Montana, and is well respected by High School coaches in the state. If he were to ever leave Carroll, this is the job he would leave for.

Matt Lubick: Arizona State Assistant Head Coach

Lubick, the son of Sonny, was a 4 year starter at Montana Western. In his three seasons as Recruiting Coordinator at ASU, he has brought in some serious talent, including Brock Osweiler. Lubick has plenty of coaching experience and has proven himself to be one of the top recruiters in the country. With all of his ties to Montana, the Grizzlies should take a hard look at Lubick. He could be the next big up and coming coach.

Nothing 100% official will be released about Bobby leaving until a 12 PM (PST) press conference tomorrow. But you can bet Montana already has their next coach in mind, and could make a decision as early as the end of this week. If not, expect an announcement before the new year.

~Greg Ortiz
greg@maxmontana.com

Sources at the University of Montana say Grizzlies Football Coach Bobby Hauck has accepted the job of head coach at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Sources at the University of Montana say Grizzlies Football Coach Bobby Hauck has accepted the job of head coach at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

A press conference has been scheduled in Las Vegas for noon PST tomorrow where Hauck will be officially introduced.

Hauck went 80-17 in seven seasons with the Grizzles and led the team to three Football Championship Subdivision national title games, including last week's 23-21 loss to Villanova. The other finalist for the UNLV vacancy was former Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione.

Hauck will replace Mike Sanford, who was fired last month after going 16-43 in five seasons with the Rebels.

What time is it?

GAMETIME

Its time for us at ABCMontana to put our money where our mouths are. Vegas has Villanova as a 2 point favorite for tonight's (12/18/) game against Montana. Here's what we think:

Dave Griffiths: Montana 17-16

Varun Sriram: Montana 60-3

Greg Ortiz: Montana 24-14

Brett Denham: Montana 31-14

Jason Nitschke: Montana 24-13

We may be a little biased - but nobody here thinks the Griz will lose. Even Bozeman reporter Dave Griffiths has his money on the Griz (I think he is a closet Griz fan anyways). Hope everyone has a good time watching the game.

Up With Montana Boys!

~Greg Ortiz
greg@maxmontana.com

From the title of this blog, I can smell the hate mail coming already.

I don’t work with Bobby Hauck often. I’ve been in several press conferences with him after three Cat/Griz games and after this most recent win over Appalachian State. But one time, I got a one-on-one interview in the spring of 2008 at one of the team’s spring scrimmages. He was very cordial. Fun-loving would really be the best way to describe his attitude to me, even though he knew I was from Bozeman, the city of his biggest rival. He was his usual stiff-lipped self on camera, not divulging too much information, but from our off-camera interaction that day, I believe he respected me, even though we had never met before.

I've heard many reasons why people are not big fans of Bobby Hauck -- everything from his coaching and team management to the way he handles himself off the field. The Griz don't blow away opponents fans think they should. Some of Hauck's players have had run-ins with the law. He's not eloquent and open with the media. Montana State fans cried out bloody murder when Hauck supposedly, maybe, just might have flipped the bird to a group of fans when the Griz arrived at Bobcat Stadium for Cat/Griz this year.

But when Bobcat Senior Captain Dane Fletcher calls a local newspaper to correct them suggesting he doesn't respect Hauck with this quote, "I have the utmost respect for Bobby Hauck. I respect the hell out of that guy", you have to stop for a second and think. Dane Fletcher said that? Dane who might be the single most passionate Bobcat I've seen in the three years I've been covering Montana State? He respects the coach of the hated Griz? The man you could hate for all those previously mentioned reasons? DANE FLETCHER respects Bobby Hauck?

Yes, he does. And you should too.

In the past three years, Bobby Hauck and the Griz have a grand total of three losses -- just one more than National Championship game appearances -- two. That's a staggering statistic. The Griz have won at least a share of the Big Sky Championship in each of Hauck's seven seasons as head coach. In three of the past four years, Big Sky Coaches have selected Hauck the league's Coach of the Year. The man wins. Period.

Still, I've even heard some people criticize his big-game coaching abilities, saying he folds under the pressure. Those people point to two facts. First, Hauck hasn't won a National Championship. Second, Hauck and the Griz lost to Wofford two years ago in the first round of the playoffs after an undefeated season. Fair points, but it's not the whole argument.

Consider what Hauck has done in other big games. Four straight Cat/Griz wins -- the last three in fairly dominant fashion. It takes a lot to take the absolute best from your arch rival year in and year out and hand it to them pretty convincingly (just ask Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers after losing to the lowly Cleveland Browns this past Thursday). Hauck and the Griz have also made two straight National Championship games after that loss to Wofford in 2007. This isn't the BCS -- The Griz have earned those berths by beating some of the best FCS teams in the country in the playoffs. Take this year's playoff run: A remarkable comeback against SDSU, a dominant peformance over SFA, and a thrilling win over the team of the decade App State with the player of the decade in Armanti Edwards.

And yet, when I'm on the Carroll College sidelines shooting their quarterfinal win over Mid-America Nazarene and the PA announces the Griz are down 17-0 to SDSU, a few fans still say "Geez, when are the Griz gonna learn Hauck can't cut it?" It absolutely baffles me.

One thing about Hauck you cannot deny: The man exudes supreme confidence. His detractors take it further, saying his confidence does more than straddle the fence of arrogance or cockiness. Even if that’s the case, something good for the Griz has come out of that: His players have picked up that confident attitude. During these past three years I’ve lived in Montana, I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the Griz in a game they should lose only to somehow remarkably make a last second comeback or hold off a promising drive to win. Coaches always give tons of credit to the players for wins like that. But you know how they do it? The Griz expect to win. They never doubt themselves. That attitude comes directly from Bobby Hauck.

Speaking of players, here’s something else you cannot deny: Hauck's players absolutely love him, and he loves them. I’ve never seen a coach so emotionally involved with his players after a big win. Hugs, chest-bumps, butt-slaps, and even kisses adorn the many individual victory celebrations Coach Hauck has with seemingly each of his players after a big win. Any program wants a coach to be connected with his players. Bobby Hauck has that connection.

I’m sure after reading this blog, Hauck’s prolific haters won’t readily change their minds. They’ll still call him bad names, criticize his big-game coaching, and say it sometimes seems he runs a prison detention camp rather than a football team. But whether you call Hauck a jerk, weak under pressure, or Warden Norton, there’s something else you need to call him.

A Winner.

And in the end, that’s the kind of coach everyone wants.

~ Dave Griffiths
dave@maxmontana.com

Take a listen as we discuss Montana's second round playoff game against Stephen F. Austin from the opposing perspective with Kevin Gore, who covers the SFA football team for the Daily Sentinel in Nacogdoches, TX. Kevin tells us some of the key players to watch for on the Lumberjacks, how he thinks they matchup against the Griz, and how he thinks they'll handle the crowd and weather on Saturday. Click on the "Watch Video" link to tune in.

~Varun
varun@maxmontana.com