The Super Bowl is bigger than the game of football, and I’m not talking about the halftime wardrobe malfunctions and ‘70s rock acts.

I’m talking about the commercials. Super Bowl Sunday is the one day of the year when people not named Don Draper embrace advertising unabashedly. When DVRs get set for the ads. When Joe the Plumber runs to the fridge during the football so he can make it back to watch the commercials.

This phenomenon has been strongly reinforced to me over the past week or so. It began with an email I received from Marketing Charts, a service we subscribe to at our agency.

According to its research, 72 percent of viewers consider Super Bowl commercials to be entertainment. Seventy-two percent! Huge. It would be hard to get 72 percent of Super Bowl viewers to agree that dogs are cute and talking babies are creepy. (Did you hear that, E-Trade?)

Confirmation of the craze doesn’t end there.

A teaser — yes I said teaser — for Volkswagen’s Super Bowl commercial had nearly 12 million views on YouTube by Saturday. CNN, the “Today Show” and countless other programs spend millions of dollars in air time previewing — yes I said previewing — commercials. And if you Googled Matthew Broderick on Saturday — yes I said Matthew Broderick — three of the top five organic listings were for his Honda CR-V commercial reprising Ferris Bueller.

Most telling, Honda’s competitor Mazda bought the top paid placement on the Google results page for Broderick. It reads: “It’s a Fun Commercial. But we have a better option.” The link lands you on a microsite for Mazda’s SUV. When competitors start using black ops tactics to infiltrate your mega millions ad buy, that’s saying something.

Question is, is it all worth it? The average national Super Bowl advertising package costs around $4 million. I’m not sure what stars like Broderick get paid, but it’s likely seven figures. Even spots like Career Builders’ (man, I love chimps) are expensive to produce — probably around $1,000,000 when all is said and done.

And, you know what? Thanks largely to the World Wide Web, it’s worth every penny for these big brands.

Yes, the Internet has given advertisers a platform for leveraging the millions they spend on the production, movie stars and air time. It’s also created a hyper-media market where everyone from the Huffington Post to the “Today Show” is vying to grade, dissect, report on and gush over the commercials.

Calculate the viewership, public relations value, social networking pass along, YouTube views and extraordinary buzz that brands get for no other reason than they are running an ad on the Super Bowl, and it may be the bargain of the year.

As an advertising agency working in a small market, we often get asked if the Super Bowl is something local companies can benefit from.

Absolutely.

You’ll get the best ratings of the year, people will be more likely to watch your ad, and you won’t pay anywhere near $4 million.

For example, in Missoula this year airing a local spot on the Super Bowl cost in the range of $1,500 to $3,500. To get the most for that money, you’ll want to produce the spot well (remember the ads you’re being compared to in the moment), which ups the budget ante.

Still, it can be more than worth it. Local Super Bowl buys have been very successful for our clients in the past. We can easily track increased website hits and following-week sales to the awareness generated by a spot on the big game, even one that’s only run once.

All of that assumes the spot is good, relevant and touches some kind of emotional chord.

Amid all the hype, hoopla, and dollar signs, the best ideas still stand out. And there were several good ones for Hyundai (Cheetah), Doritos (Great Dane), Chrysler (Eastwood), and Fiat (Super Model).

But here are the three Super Bowl spots that stuck with me in the end, including my favorite, which only aired in Canada but I caught online. You can see them and lots of other Super Bowl commercials at superbowlcommericals.org.

• VW’s Dog Strikes Back — This spot is not a classic like the Darth Vader kid. But it is a fun story, well-produced and engaging. Personally, I think the online teaser The Bark Side is even better. Viewers online must agree, since The Bark Side has four times the views.
• Kia Optima Dream Car — I love how over-the-top this spot is. It’s got Motley Crue, a stadium filled with bikini-clad women, a cowboy riding a rhinoceros and two lumberjacks sawing a giant hoagie. It’s bombastic fun that screams, “Super Bowl!!!” and still manages to show off the car.
• Budweiser Canada Flash Fans — This is great advertising any day of the week. Budweiser gives the gift of “the big time” to two amateur Canadian hockey teams. Authentic and touching, it champions a reason people drink beer — to celebrate sport together.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Dannon Oikos commercial featuring John Stamos, the Teleflora commercial featuring Adriana Lima, and the Acura commercial with Seinfeld didn’t do it for me.

The reasons? They had few surprises (or bad ones) and the stars outshine the brands, rather than enhancing them.

Which brings me back to Ferris Bueller and Honda. From the buzz online, it was clearly a big winner in the free-media sweepstakes, and I have to admit I enjoyed the commercial in a nostalgic way. Still, I couldn’t help but think that when the valet catches air in Broderick’s CR-V the whole thing had, well, jumped the shark.

But then, maybe that’s what Super Bowl advertising is really all about.

****************

Sean Benton is an agency principal and creative director at PartnersCreative in Missoula, Montana. When not thinking creative strategy for his clients, he might be thinking about his Labrador puppy and bird hunting. You can see the agency’s work on their website.

It was simple. The dress was beyond perfect. The people gathered amazed me everyday. Family and friends from all over the world. The beach. The waves. The sunshine.

The perfect wedding—stress free, beautiful, and all of that paled in comparison to the simple fact that I was marrying the right guy.

Friends introduced us. They knew. They called him the “He-Elke” and claimed that they knew we would get married—years before we ever met.

We fell crushingly in love and then immediately went into a two-year long distance romance, filled with thousands and thousands of miles driven, countless hours of phone time, and a totally unrealistic idea about what actually being together would be like.

And then we were. Together. All the time. Until I thought we might kill each other.

And then I was sick. And he slept in the windowsill of my hospital room for weeks. And he carried me when I couldn’t walk. He told me I was beautiful when I was cut open, stitched back together, and left to heal with scars that will never go away.

He went from being an extreme backcountry athlete to a guy who took his sick girlfriend for walks. One block, then two. And then he would carry me home.

We were twenty-five.

His giant hands brought our son into the world.

Then he was a daddy. We were parents. I was stunned. He shone. When he held our son, he had ballast that I never expected and always needed.

He always got up with the baby at night. Always. Still does.

And then he was standing, in homage to Jon Cusack, with a baby in one hand and a boom box on his shoulder, blasting “In Your Eyes” and asking me to marry him.

Frankly, I was so terrified I don’t think I ever said yes.

But we did it anyway, got married in Mexico in our bare feet with our son. We said we had already done the richer, poorer, sickness, health thing… but what we learned during it was that at each turn we chose each other. So our vows were as much about how far we had already come then what was around the next bend.

But here we still are, a few bends later. I still choose you. And I say yes.

Happy anniversary to the right guy.

************

Check out more from one of Missoula’s FAVORITE Mamas About Town, Elke Govertsen: F’ing Laundry,  Norman Rockwell’s Got Nothing on Missoula, or  Anywhere but Missoula, MT.  And check out Missoula Children and Nature Network and Active Moms Missoula.

Share your mama (and papa!) stories below. We promise…Elke will respond!

 Visit the Mama About Town archive.

************

Elke Govertsen is the publisher of Mamalode which is a magazine and website for area moms. When not juggling her family, business, and the laundry (disclosure – there is no laundry being done whatsoever), Elke tries to eek out time to write, do yoga, and read like a fiend.

One of the keys to success when you are couponing is to stock up when items are at ridiculously low prices and then matched up with a coupon for an even lower price.

I am stocking up every week on different items therefore my shelves and freezers are full. In addition, we had an abundant harvest from the gardens this year, a successful hunting season and raised a 300lb hog. Our freezers are full to say the least.

So, what does a family do when they reach a point of full capacity? Well, our family decided to enter into our own Pantry Challenge for the month of February.

A Pantry Challenge is an experiment which our family commits to eating only what’s in our freezer and shelves for an entire month. This means no trips to the grocery store except for special circumstances.

We’ve given ourselves permission to eat out if the opportunity arises but our overall goal is to use what we have so painstakingly worked to stock. Not that we don’t eat this way most of the year, but this month, we are taking it to the next level and limiting what else comes into our house. In a sense, we are living the life of a pioneer who, in the dead of winter, didn’t have a choice but to live off of what was stored and preserved.

Our main goal is to use up some items before they expire or go bad but secondly we are anxious to see what this will do to our monthly budget. I suppose the next step in all of this would be to calculate each meal based on the cost involved to see how much we were saving and compare that to actual retail prices.

Yeah, in my free time I’ll be sure to tackle that task! But we do anticipate having some extra cash at the end of this month as a direct result of our challenge – how exciting!

If you have been following me on Facebook about this challenge, then you know that many questions have come up about the basic items such as milk, bread, and fresh produce.

These are the items which draw us into the grocery stores each week. Retailers count on us coming in for those basic necessities, which is why they have you enter the labyrinth of aisles as you search for these basic items. Their hope is that on your way to the back of the store for milk, you’ll pick up a can or two of olives or a package of chocolate chips. Statistics show that the longer you are in a store, the more you will spend.

Well, we have been buying discounted milk and freezing it. I know, some people think that is weird.

But we have three growing boys! The level on my milk jugs shrink by multiple inches every day and I just can’t seem to keep up. By purchasing milk on sale and freezing it, we 1) Have reduced the amount of trips to the store 2) Stocked up at a sale priced item and 3) Have a constant supply of milk for the boys.

Now, there has been some question about the milk itself. Since we buy 2% milk, we do take some of the milk out before freezing so the jugs don’t expand and crack. If you buy skim milk, you won’t have to do that.

When the 2% milk thaws out, the cream will have separated so you just need to give your jug a good shake to combine it all back together. After that, you’d be hard pressed to know the milk had been frozen! So, we’ve got our milk for the month frozen and ready to go!

When it comes to vegetables, we’ve got an entire freezer filled up with last year’s harvest. Beets, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, corn, squash, tomatoes, and peppers. Plus, we have potatoes, onions, squash, apples, and onions stored up as well. Oh, and we still have fresh brussel sprouts out in the garden that are so yummy!

The fruit is a little more challenging, since most of our fruit trees are very young so we have only been able to harvest our apples in the fall. So, two weeks ago I stocked up on blueberries (3 for 1!) and froze them, plus I freeze bananas for smoothies and last week I picked up eight pounds of oranges, which had been marked down 50% – and oranges last a long time on the shelf.

In September, we scored six pounds of strawberries for free, which I froze those, so we will be enjoying lots of strawberries this month. Fruit is one of those items which we all have become accustom to having at our disposal, yet that is a relatively new concept.

Prior to WWII, people only ate the fruit which was either in season or which they had preserved. Being dedicated to offering my family a balanced meal every day, I questioned whether I could accomplish the challenge when it came to fruit. But realizing what I had preserved in the freezer and canned on the shelf, I am now confident I can get by this month and still provide my family a healthy and well-balanced diet.

As far as bread is concerned, this should be an easy task.

First of all, I have some loaves frozen and I’ll be happy when they disappear since they take up so much room in the freezer. Once they’re gone, then I’ll get the chance to do my favorite thing – bake homemade bread! It’s cheap, healthy, and easy. It sounds like a daunting task, but seriously it is so easy: A little bit of flour, water, oil, and salt and, viola, you have bread. If you have a bread machine, it’s even easier. My family begs for homemade bread so this month they are going to be spoiled!

Even though we are only five days into this challenge, I’m already seeing a difference in our freezers and shelves. I’m focusing on using those pesky items which are in the way and trying to finish up items in the refrigerator (like that almost empty bottle of ranch dressing!). This challenge is testing my creativity as I gather a variety of random items and vision a menu plan from those items. Interesting and fun!

Beyond all of that, this challenge is forcing us to be more independent, less commercial, and ultimately more frugal.

I’m wondering how we’ll feel after a month. Will we continue the challenge? Or be relieved it’s over? I will post again at the end of the month with my observations and experiences.

I’ve had some people decide to do the challenge along with us! Feel free to jump on board and create the challenge according to your needs. I’m posting updates on Facebook regularly, so if you’re interested feel free to friend me at Erin Eisenman-Turner and follow me on Pinterest.

Are you up for a challenge??

******************

Erin’s got tons of tips for saving money, couponing, and sticking to a budget in her previous posts: Save Money and Do It Yourself with Pinterest, Learn How to Save with a Couponing Class, and How to Create a Household Budget. Be sure to check out the Missoula Save it Club.

   Visit the Coupon Queen’s “Save It” archive.

*******************

Erin Eisenman-Turner is proud to be a native Missoulian. Along with her husband and three sons, they raise chickens, pigs, rabbits, and vegetables at Turner Family Farms in the Orchard Homes area. When the farm chores are done, the coupons clipped, and the blog written, you can find Erin exploring Montana, collecting antiques, and trying to maintain a well-run, happy, and organized home for her family.

The Montana Radio Company announces the addition of ESPN Montana at 97.5 FM to their network of stations.

ESPN Montana signed on yesterday afternoon and joins The Trail 103.3, U 104.5, and 105.9 Jack FM as the newest Montana Radio Company signal. For the first time ever in Western Montana, ESPN Radio will be available on the FM dial. This will greatly expand the coverage area from the previous AM signal. Residents in the Bitterroot will now be able to enjoy ESPN programming on their radio.

In the coming months, The Montana Radio Company will add ESPN Radio to the FM dial in both Great Falls and Helena creating a sports network serving both fans and advertisers.

The Montana Radio company anticipates announcing two hires in the coming weeks. These new employees will be challenged to build local sports coverage to a level exceeding what has been available to Montana radio listeners previously.

Montana Radio Company Operations Manager Dave Cowan commented, “It was exciting adding a new station to our group today, but hopefully this is just the beginning of what we can do with the power and resources of the ESPN brand coupled with our dedication to – and focus on – local sports, athletics and outdoor recreation.”

Foundation-rattling news this week: Facebook has filed with the SEC to set the stage for an initial public offering (IPO), meaning they’re getting ready to sell shares to the public.

Once this happens, Facebook Svengali Mark Zuckerberg (“With a name like Zuckerberg, it has to be delicious!”) will probably see his $17.5 billion fortune increase by $10 billion or more in a single day. That’s almost as much as Adam Sandler gets paid to star in a shitty movie that insults the intelligence of a four-year-old.

If there’s anything Americans love to hate, it’s a snotty young billionaire.

But that’s not the issue here. What really has people dry-washing their hands is what’s going to happen to their personal information once Facebook goes public.

In the S-1 form filed earlier this week, Facebook revealed that it brings in about $4.50 annually for each of its 850 million active users.

That comes to about $3.7 billion in 2011, roughly equal to the net worth of the remaining old, rich, white lawyers in the Republican presidential race. Or, the GNP of about 25 nations. That’s a lot of cheddar.

Facebook? Is that kinda like Friendster?

How does Facebook make this money? Well, they sure ain’t raking it in from all those jagoffs playing Farmville. It comes from advertisers who pay for the information all of us Facebook users so willingly serve up on a daily basis.

But this is nothing new. Facebook has been selling your information since the day you signed up. Any time you click on a website or like a page, the content is categorized and funneled to Facebook advertisers who then populate your page with stuff they think you’re into.

This is why I am not surprised at all when I open my Facebook page and it’s covered with ads for industrial chicken gizzard fryers, Flip Wilson DVDs, orthopedic condoms, and some book about the Giant Beavers of South Florida.

Zuckerberg is smart, shrewd, opportunistic, and ruthless in his business dealings. “Facebook was not originally created to be a company,” he wrote in an open letter. “It was built to accomplish a social mission—to make the world more open and connected.” Riiiiight, then we’ll all go for chai together after our hot yoga class and compare the ribbons on our lapels.

But I don’t know why he even bothers to mention the social network’s original mission. Facebook is the biggest cash cow ever, and Zuckerberg has made enough money to fill the Berkeley Pit with dinero because he was smart and lucky. He was in the right place at the right time. Had he not created Facebook, someone else would have come up with it within a month. (Actually, someone did. Hey there, Winkelvoss twins!)

At least he’s up front with his ambition.

Wanting to parlay his massive fortune into an obscenely humongous fortune is his right, and if he didn’t take Facebook public, we’d be inundated by editorials and blogging jackanapes decrying his lack of ambition. Hell, as long as people are going to resent you, might as well make a few billion in the process. So, yeah, that naked ambition annoys a lot of people. But the real vitriol and horrified shock are leveled at the harvesting and selling of Facebook users’ personal information.

All the outrage over this “invasion of privacy” is utterly disingenuous. Zuckerberg and his investors are capitalizing on a bottomless wellspring of human nature: Narcissism.

Man, if we could somehow use bathroom mirror pictures of needy college girls striking awkwardly slutty poses to generate energy, Facebook could get us off the fossil fuel teat in no time.

The vast majority of Facebook users are convinced that they are the most interesting people on the planet, and who are they to deprive others of their every passing thought?

Bob Wire's analog dislike button.

They think all their “friends” need constant updates on their location in meat space, and they’ll never pass up a chance to share some shopworn, Pollyanna bromide to fill you with inspiration.

Spend five minutes on Facebook and you’ll see that the desire to overshare outweighs people’s need for dignity or privacy. It’s the way we’re wired; Zuckerberg knows it.

If you hate that these guys are making wheelbarrows full of Benjamins off your personal info, it’s simple. Don’t click. You can still see all the Hipstamatic prints of your sister’s dog and watch various lunatics have their very public meltdowns and fits of rage over some perceived Real Life slight. If you don’t click, your preferences stay in your head where they belong.

If the naked capitalism of Facebook ads turns your stomach, start your own social network. It’s a free country.

All this moral indignation over privacy issues is bullshit. Nobody’s holding a gun to your head. But if they are, I hope you’ll post a photo.

*****************

Wanna laugh ’til your sides hurt? These ought to do the trick: Bob Wire’s State of the Union, Snow Daze, and Nobody Pushes Me Around Like My Chiropractor.

   Check out all of Bob Wire’s posts in his blog archive.

*****************

Think of it as Gonzo meets Hee Haw: Missoula honky tonker Bob Wire holds forth on a unique life filled with music, parenthood, drinking, sports, working, marriage, drinking, and just navigating the twisted wreckage of American culture. Plus occasional grooming tips. Like the best humor, it’s not for everyone. Sometimes silly, sometimes surreal, sometimes savage, Bob Wire demands that you possess a good sense of humor and an open mind.

Bob Wire has written more than 500 humor columns for a regional website over the last five years, and his writing has appeared in the Missoulian, the Missoula Independent, Montana Magazine, and his own Bob Wire Has a Point Blog. He is a prolific songwriter, and has recorded three CDs of original material with his Montana band, the Magnificent Bastards. His previous band, the Fencemenders, was a popular fixture at area clubs. They were voted Best Local Band twice by the Missoula Independent readers poll. Bob was voted the Trail 103.3/Missoulian Entertainer of the Year in 2007.

You can hear his music on his website, or download it at iTunes, Amazon, and other online music providers.

It’s almost Valentine’s Day. Things start to get a little depressing around this time of year for Missoulians with cabin fever, seasonal depression, oh, and that part about being single.

Are you fed up with the same day-in-day-out routine, grasping the same bottle of wine cooler, and hanging out with the same people wearing different clothes and spouting off the same lame pick-up lines? Are you starting to ask yourself where are all of the (preferably un-attached) Valentines in Missoula?

Do yourself a favor. Stop thinking you are going to find that special someone at Stockman’s Bar. It’s not going to happen. Sure, you may meet someone there to take home but will he or she be someone you want to take home… to your parents?

With that out of the way, let’s dive into my “locals-only” list of places to meet your potential lovebird that will offer little to no competition to worry about.

UM Golf Course
Ladies, this one is more catered to you. I know, your idea of a good time may not include spending a day out on the greens hitting small balls across an open field, but let me tell you, THIS is where men (good, and often very polite men) hang out during the weekend.

Caras Park
Especially during the summer. This outdoor attraction in the heart of downtown Missoula is literally swarming with both guys and girls during the warmer months. Especially when one of the many “Fests” are taking place. My advice to the ladies: Hang out near the food vendors. Fellas love to eat.

Famous Footwear
Or any shoe store for that matter. Face it, besides men and children, shoes are on the list of things woman are most passionate about. Your best bet is to request the help from a girl who’s shopping for herself and ask her to advise you on what shoes to buy. Just make sure you check her ring finger before you ask for her help.

Jacobs Island Bark Park
Dogs are great people meeters! “Fetch, Ubu, Fetch. Good dog”.

Liquid Planet (downtown)
The atmosphere of this local coffee shop is perfect to attract a mate. Just sit in the couch in the front facing the window near Higgins Avenue. You are bound to see the man or woman of your dreams walk through that door at any minute. Just do them a favor and don’t look distracted. Leave your book or laptop at home and smile as they walk by. Who knows, they just might order up a cup and return to join you for some conversation!

Facebook
As creepy and stalker-ish as this may sound, yes, Facebook is a great source to weed out the losers from the winners in Missoula. Remember, you don’t have to friend them to do some sneaky investigating. Often times, people don’t restrict their photos and tidbits of information entirely on this social network to leave you wondering. Just be careful about the information YOU share with them once you strike up some flirty online chatter.

UC Center on campus
This is a prime spot to meet exciting people who are building toward a better future for themselves. That’s a great characteristic to be looking for when you want to find someone to settle down with. Our college campus is bursting at the seams with a wide variety of fascinating and well-educated guys and girls. You are bound to find a potential study partner if you hang out here long enough. Your best bet: The cafeteria and game room.

Church
Like-minded singles tend to group up in order of political, spiritual, and religious affiliations. That’s why churches are often times the absolute best place to meet a potential lover. There are plenty of fantastic churches in Missoula. Find a preacher that best suits your style and don’t be afraid to mingle with the flock before and after their sermon.

Farmers’ Market
While you are stocking up on fresh produce, you can do a little people watching at the same time!

The Peak Health and Wellness Center
This place does more than just help you find singles. It gets you off the couch, makes you more fit, and, as a result, makes you more attractive. Think of all the people you could meet! Healthy, attractive individuals that probably wouldn’t mind if you “spotted” them…if you know what I mean.

Good luck on your search! Let us know if you have luck at any of the places we recommended. Feel free to add other locations that maybe we left out in the comments below.

*******************

If you’re looking for directions, info, or more ideas for going out in Missoula, check out the Make it Missoula nightlife page.

*******************

To say he is America’s Tallest DJ wouldn’t be far from the truth when it comes to Aaron Traylor. He clocks in at a whopping 6 foot 10 inches and has been the premiere source of the Northwest’s born and raised talent for 20 years; he’s a radio disc jockey at ZooFM, turntable mix master, and a guy who has a hard time fitting into most clothing.

The recent arrest of a Missoula mother for driving while intoxicated with her six-year-old son is just another incident in a long string of horrific stories highlighting Montana’s DUI problems.

In a KPAX news article, witnesses to the accident stated that, “Jana Lorenz’s Grand Am was speeding and did not stop for a blinking red light. They say Lorenz’s car was traveling too fast for the right turn and ended up crashing through a fence and then hitting the home.” Fortunately, the child suffered only minor injuries.

In a separate occurrence, NBC Montana reported another DUI arrest last weekend. According to the news story the driver “…reportedly took out a few mailboxes and hit a parked car before he gave up and was arrested.” Again, no one was seriously injured.

However, the recent history of Missoula DUIs has had far more tragic results.

In February of 2011, Rachel Millhouse’s vehicle was hit and she was killed by Joshua Jacob-Allen Thielbar. Thielber was a multiple DUI offender and, according to KGVO1290 News Radio, was sentenced to just a 20 year suspended sentence.

In November of last year, Brian Holm of Lolo struck and killed a pedestrian on Brooks Street in Missoula. According to the Billings Gazette, “Missoula County District Court Judge Dusty Deschamps sentenced Holm to 30 years in prison with 15 suspended, but delayed sending him to prison pending an appeal.” There have been many stories similar to these in recent Missoula history, each uniquely tragic.

The solution to Missoula and Montana’s DUI problem is not one that will be easily found or quickly solved. However, there is hope.

Montana has recently legislated stricter DUI laws. A KXLH news story explains the changes and how lawmakers hope they will discourage repeat DUI offenders. Proactive approaches have also taken aim at giving impaired individuals alternatives to getting behind the wheel.

A Zoo107.5 article describes one such service dubbed UCallus, which aims to get drivers “home safely, and back to [their] car when necessary.” The University of Montana started running late night buses from Missoula’s downtown area to the University District named UDASH. Missoula has also developed a DUI Task Force to deal with the multiple facets of this problem.

While people will continue to drink in excess, it is the hope of Montana’s citizens and law enforcement that people who do drink will make the responsible decision not to drive while impaired.

The problem will likely persist, but the reduction of impaired drivers through transportation alternatives, harsher consequences, and anti-drunk driving campaigns is the first step in diminishing the tragedies resulting from this crisis.

***************

Each week, Tom Diddel recaps the most talked-about stories in Missoula. Visit the Make it Missoula News & Opinion section for more talk of the town.

***************

Tom Diddel has lived in Missoula on and off for nearly thirty-eight years. He enjoys skiing, hiking, and many other outdoor activities. He holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Montana and is currently working as a Freelance Writer and a Para-Educator.

Just past the midway point in the Big Sky schedule and the Montana Grizzlies are tied with Weber State for the lead in the Big Sky standings. There is much work to be done before the regular season champ will be crowned but Montana’s fans have waited a long time for another chance to host the league tournament.

The last time the Grizzly men won a regular season title was 2000 when the Griz attack was led by Matt Williams and Mike Warhank. Over the last 12 years 7 different schools have hosted the Big Sky men’s tournament including former league member Cal State Northridge. While having gone a dozen years without a regular season title Montana has earned 4 trips to the NCAA tournament by winning the league tournament.

A tale of two cities… In mid-December Northern Arizona and Idaho State parted company with their long-time men’s basketball coach and while the Lumberjacks have floundered,  the Bengals have awakened and are currently 4-4 in the Big Sky and in the hunt for a spot as a top 4 seed for the post-season tournament.

You’d figure a guy named Deane Martin would liven things up–even in Pocatello. Monday night Martin brings his “act” and his ISU Bengals to Dahlberg Arena.  We are not sure how good a singer the Idaho State Deane Martin is but he does have a spot on his resume that is reminiscent of the entertainer of the same name, as Martin the coach spent three seasons as an assistant at Nevada-Las Vegas.

Since the start of the 2007-08 season the Montana Lady Griz have an impressive lead over their MSU Bobcat counterparts having won 98 games compared to 82 for the Cats. However over the last five seasons when the Lady Griz and Lady Cats have met it has been a much closer match-up as Montana has just a 5-4 advantage against the Bobcats since February of 2008. Montana did however win the two schools’ only post-season meeting over the last 5 years with a resounding win in the 2008 tournament title game.

Sunday’s Super Bowl game in Indianapolis marks only the third time teams have met in a super Bowl rematch with both the same head coach and same starting quarterback. In both of the Steelers-Cowboys super Bowl meetings of the 1970’s it was Tom Landry and Chuck Noll on the sidelines with Roger Staubach and Terry Bradshaw guiding the offenses.

In the 1990’s Buffalo faced Dallas in consecutive Super Bowls with Marv Levy and Jimmy Johnson as opposing head coaches and Jim Kelly and Troy Aikman as the opposing quarterbacks. Sunday, just as it was 4 years ago,  it will be the coaching match-up of Bill Belichek and Tom Coughlin with the field generals, Tom Brady and Eli Manning. One significant difference from 4 years ago is that at the time, both Brady and Eli Manning were bachelors and now each has gotten married.

*****************

Chris Walterskirchen has been an observer of Montana sports for nearly half a century. A Kalispell native, Chris has worked in various capacities for professional and college sports organization of at various times: ranging from announcing and statistical work to the concessions and even a stint as a costumed mascot.

Chris has academic degrees in communications and elementary education. His style of sports trivia involves more than just who won and who lost, but also focuses on the obscure or human side of sports. In this blog you will learn things like the Grizzly football team has won 210 games over the 19 seasons since they have had Monte as their mascot or that UNLV is the only school that both the Griz and Lady Griz have both faced in the NCAA basketball tournament

When not following sports Chris enjoys taking care of animals of all kinds (a peacock rescue?) and reading to pre-schoolers.

Ok.  Quinoa is the new super-grain or something, right?  Sounds fabulous, sounds hard to prepare, fancy.  Wrong you would be to let these thoughts dance in your head.  Quinoa is positively ancient, and about as simple to cook as Top Ramen.  No seriously, it makes proper rice look like rocket science.  And what’s more, it is quite tasty.

Quinoa is the gluten-free starch in this dish, but fresh scallops are the star.  I’ve been on a bit of a seafood kick lately, I think to prove to myself that there is plenty of good product out there, despite the big “M” out my back window.

If last weeks protein was on a budget, this week certainly is not.  Fresh, not frozen, diver scallops are pricey, about twenty bucks per fifteen count.  That said, it is worth it, and when properly cooked, just might be the most perfect of all foods harvested from the sea.

Without further adieux I give to you Scallops over Red Quinoa with Maitaki Mushrooms.  For this dish you will need:

• A bag of red quinoa
• Chicken stock
• Four or so large scallops per diner
• A few stalks of the white/green chard, not the red variety
• One head of Maitaki mushrooms (they grow in clumps)
• Butter (think early era Paula Dean)
• Plenty of chopped garlic
• Large bulb of shallot
• Citrus
• White cooking wine

Wash the quinoa in a strainer, add a half cup per diner to a medium saucepan along with water that comes two fingers or so above the grain, along with a few shakes of salt and pepper.  Cover and set heat to medium.  Wash your Scallops thoroughly in cold water, rubbing the edges to get any remaining grit out.  Set on a paper towel, and cover with another paper towel.  When the scallops are totally dried, add liberal salt and cracked pepper to the top side, along with a pinch of paprika per scallop, mostly for color.  Set aside.

As the quinoa begins to cook it will use up the water, at which point you can add a bit of stock and white wine, as you fluff with a fork, and cover again, turning to med-low heat.  Remove the individual mushrooms from the bulb with a paring knife and add to a hot skillet along with a few pads of butter, S&P (salt and pepper), and some garlic.  You want the shrooms to cook on medium high heat so you get some nice color on them and maximize flavor.  These mushrooms are also referred to as “hen of the woods” which I quite like, as they have an earthy, strong, almost poultry-like flavor.  Now wash and roughly chop the chard, adding to a skillet or wok on medium heat along with a healthy amount of Olive Oil, and S&P.

Now for our scallops.  Select your favorite iron skillet and get it rippin’ hot.  Add butter and a bit of olive oil.  You want it hot enough to almost brown the butter, but not burn it.  At this time add all of the scallops, seasoned side down, and DON’T TOUCH for at least three minutes.  We want then to develop a real crust.  When the first few begin to faintly crack on their sides, carefully flip them.  They do not need quite as much time on the second side.  At this point your chard should be nicely cooked, your shrooms browned, and the quinoa should have sprouted little pig tails (see photo).  Add a pad of butter, fresh herbs, a squeeze of your citrus and correct the seasoning.  Remove the scallops from the pan, crust side up and let rest for just a minute while you add a quarter cup of wine to the still-hot pan, along with minced shallot and a squirt or three of hot sauce.  As soon as it stops smelling strongly of wine, the pan sauce is ready.

I decided to plate this dish with a birds nest of chard, a mount of red quinoa in the middle, the scallops all around and the mushrooms scattered evenly.  Drizzle your quick sauce around the outside of the plate and ring that dinner bell.

******************

P.M. Devlin is a gluten-free fishing guide who lives in Missoula, Montana with two dogs and a pretty girl.

This Saturday, Missoula band, The Lil’ Smokies, will be headlining the 17th Anniversary Party for the Great Northern Brewing Company.

The party follows immediately after the infamous second-coming of the Black Star Beer Barter in Whitefish, where contestants plan on offering up anything from a collection of cats to songs and dances for a year’s supply (52 cases!) of Black Star beer. I’ll be heading up there to check in on the shenanigans myself.

At the Beer Barter, two special judges will be on hand to pick this year’s winner. Professional skiers, Andy Mahre and Lynsey Dyer (an MSU alum and American Freestyle skier), will be judging the competition, alongside Tony Herbert, Executive Director of the Montana Brewers Association, and Marcus Duffey, General Manager of the Great Northern Brewery.

One of the events I’m especially excited about is the Warm Up to Winter Carnival on Friday night, which includes a pub crawl and giveaway of a limited edition Black Star Pendleton Woolen Mills blanket at several different downtown watering holes.

Participants can register at the Palace Bar, The Bulldog Saloon, The Remington, Crush Lounge, Great Northern Bar & Grill, VFW Lounge, Craggy Range Bar & Grill, and the Black Star Draught House. At the stroke of midnight on Friday, the blankets will be given away.

Mixed into the weekend is the Whitefish Winter Carnival, a unique celebration of fun, frivolity and friendship in and around Whitefish. The carnival encompasses both the annual Penguin Plunge and the World Skijoring Championships.

The carnival comes with a 50+ year history, and in the January/February issue of National Geographic Traveler the Whitefish Winter Carnival was named as one of the top ten winter carnivals in the world! Check out the full schedule of events on Flathead Events.

On top of that, Vogue ran a column called “Destinations of the Month: Ski Towns, USA,” which also highlighted the winter carnival in Whitefish and the Skijoring Championships.

Built into the carnival festivities are a parade and a looming attack from the Yetis who try to kidnap the snow queen. Sounds dangerous, but I’ll report what happens with that.

On Saturday, after the carnival and the Beer Barter wind down, the Great Northern Brewing Company’s 17th Anniversary kicks off, with music by The Lil’ Smokies.

Joe Barberis, head brewer of the Great Northern Brewery prepared an Anniversary Black Lager especially for the occasion. As he describes it, “It’s a smooth and roasty Black Lager with sensible barrel-aged character that you won’t want to miss.” Sounds pretty good to me!

Who else is coming up to Whitefish this weekend? Are you bringing anything to barter? Chime in below.