By CHRIS WALTERSKIRCHEN
Mick Delaney and Willie Beamon are both head coaches in Missoula, Delaney at UM Beamon of the semi-pro Missoula Phoenix. Back in 1978 these two coaches faced each other as opponents. Delaney was an MSU assistant and Beamon a star Linebacker for Boise State. The game featured No. 1 (1-AA) Montana and No.3 Boise and lived up to its billing as the Bobcats pulled out a 30-28 win.
The last time the University of Montana’s spring scrimmage was held under the lights on campus was 1959, at that time it was a varsity versus alumni game and when the Griz won they celebrated wildly as they had gone 0-10 the previous fall.
At this writing Wayne Tinkle is still in the mix for the vacant Colorado basketball coaching position. Currently the leading candidate is Southern Mississippi head coach Larry Eustachy. Eustachy spent 3 seasons in the Big Sky Conference as head coach at Idaho from 1990-93. Eustachy took his Iowa State team to the Elite where they lost to eventual national Champs, Michigan State.
Former Griz star player and successful coach Larry Kryskowiak had a rough season as head coach at the University of Utah but not as rough as for fans of his former employer the New Jersey Nets. After many years of poor records and low attendance the Nets were sold to a group that decided to move the team.
Usually when professional sports teams move they are transferred to a city far removed from the city they just left. However, the new owners of the Nets could likely move the team’s offices in a parade of cars. Next fall the Brooklyn Nets will make their debut. The New Jersey Meadowland Sports Authority has decreed that no mention of the new location be made during the remaining games. On April 27, 2012 the day after the Nets season ends, there will be a ceremony in Brooklyn to commemorate the new addition to the neighborhood.
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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.