BYU Sports

I’ve spent quite a bit of time the last few weeks talking to people from both Wyoming and BYU who were involved in the Black 14 incident in Laramie 40 years ago.
From BYU, I visited with former players Marc Lyons, Mel Olson and Dick Legas, along with former coach Tommy Hudspeth, now a fundraiser for Tulsa.
From Wyoming, I was able to interview three members of the Black 14 -- Mel Hamilton, Tony McGee and Don Meadows -- as well as Kevin McKinney, who was a student at Wyoming in 1969 and is now an official in the athletic department.

Ryan Thorburn, a Wyoming graduate who authored a book on the topic was also a great help.

My article on the 40th anniversary of those events was posted online this morning, and can be found here. It is scheduled to run in Saturday’s newspaper.

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Those rumors that BYU defensive coordinator Jaime Hill’s car was egged after the loss to TCU have turned out to be true, as this article in the Provo Daily Herald outlines today.
It was a newsy day yesterday, with the Cougar basketball team beating Trinity Western in an exhibition game and getting a commitment from Las Vegas senior Anson Winder.
Also, BYU announced its basketball game on Dec. 12 against Fresno State will be in Fresno, instead of Los Angeles.

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My notebook in today’s paper is mainly about BYU’s penchant for giving up big passing plays recently.
However, there is a note about BYU running back Harvey Unga, who says he’s not even thinking yet about whether he will forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft.
Here are more of Harvey’s thoughts on that:
“To be honest, I have got my mind set on this season. I haven’t thought about the NFL or Canada or whereever,” he said. “As far as I am concerned, I have this season in front of me, and that is my main focus right now. Then I think as I focus on that and work hard the rest of the season, things will fall into place whether it be this year or next year.”
Unga said the morale of the team was picked up by a re-emphasis on working hard.
“Nothing comes easy. Nobody is going to lay down for us. Wyoming is a tough team, and they will be tough playing at home.
We saw what they are capable of, and we are not taking anything lightly now.
Not saying we have before. But coming off a loss like that, guys have had to re-focus mentally.
We have learned from out mistakes and we are just looking forward to this weekend.”