By CHRIS WALTERSKIRCHEN
Over the last 32 seasons no road venue has been more hospitable to the Montana Grizzlies than the Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff. The home of the NAU lumberjacks has proven to provide no home Field advantage for the Jacks as the Grizzlies have 14 wins in their last 16 visits to the Skydome. The Grizzlies have won their last 7 visits to Flagstaff since falling to the Jacks on a last second field goal in 1997.
With a win Saturday the Griz would go to 4-0 for the first time since 2009 but the eighth time since 1988. In the last 7 seasons that Montana began 4-0 they have made the post-season each time and have averaged close to 12 wins per season.
In each of his final four seasons as UM head coach Bobby Hauck had a 10-game winning streak each season. Saturday Hauck’s Rebels of Nevada-Las Vegas beat FCS member West Illinois 38-7 for their second straight win. It had been five years since the Rebels had won consecutive games.
Twice ESPN has broadcast a game from the University of Idaho Kibbie Dome on September 28. In 1985 the Sports carried a tape delayed broadcast of the No.2 ranked Vandals beating top-ranked Nevada-Reno. On September 28, 1989 It was sixth ranked Montana coming to Moscow for a showdown with the top-ranked Vandals, a game won by Idaho 30-24. This Saturday Idaho, sporting a 10-game losing streak, hosts Temple University from Philadelphia who like Idaho is winless this season but has a meager 4 game losing streak.
Former Missoula Osprey (2009) Paul Goldschmidt is currently leading the National League in both home runs and runs batted in. If Goldschmidt holds on to his statistical advantage he would be the first Arizona Diamondback to lead the National League in either home Runs or RBIs. By the way, the first former Os player to lead in a “triple Crown” category was Carlos Gonzales of the Colorado Rockies in 2010.
Chris Davis will be the first Baltimore oriole in 32 years to lead in the American League in home runs since Eddie Murray shared the home run crown in the strike-shortened 1981 season. The last Oriole to win a home run title outright was Frank Robinson in 1966.
Fifty years ago Friday (September 27, 1963) the top 2 teams in Class AA football met at Dornblaser field as the Missoula County High School Spartans defaced the Flathead Braves of Kalispell. It ended in a scoreless tie with the teams accumulating a combined total of 8 first downs and 198 yards of offense with just 2 penalties called in the contest.
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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.