| May 2010 Archives By Steve Weakland / Fresno State Athletics Communications -thumb-250x375-6792.jpeg) College Football News recently ranked the WAC's top 10 quarterbacks and a couple things didn't seem to add up.
While all of such rankings are subjective and beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, one still has to wonder how or why some the players ended up ranked where they did.
Take Bulldog senior Ryan Colburn for instance, who was rated as the sixth-best quarterback in the WAC behind Kellen Moore (Boise State), Colin Kaepernick (Nevada), Diondre Borel (Utah State), Nathan Enderle (Idaho) and Bryant Moniz (Hawaii).
Most Bulldog fans will have a hard time seeing Colburn below a couple guys on that list, especially Moniz.
Certainly Pat Hill's reputation for developing quarterbacks is respectable. Of his four previous starting quarterbacks, three earned first-team All-WAC honors (Billy Volek, David Carr and Paul Pinegar), three were drafted in the NFL (Volek, Carr, Tom Brandstater) and are still playing in the league. By Alyssa Chambers / Fresno State Athletics Communications
The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today the Top 3 Finalists for the 9th Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. This award, which is considered the most prestigious honors in Division I women's collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. Past winners of this award include UCLA's Stacey Nuveman, Florida State's Jessica Van der Linden, three-time winner Texas pitcher Cat Osterman, Tennessee's Monica Abbott, Virginia Tech's Angela Tincher and 2009 winner Washington pitcher/hitter Danielle Lawrie.
The three finalists are UCLA's Megan Langenfeld, Washington's Danielle Lawrie and Georgia Tech's Jen Yee. The winner of the 2010 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year will be named on Tue., June 1 at the Opening Ceremonies of the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla.  By Jennifer Jory / Fresno State Alumna (Class of 2010) The time has come for me to hang up my hat and pass the reins on to a new Fresno State Equestrian team member. I am now an official Fresno State college graduate and no longer classified as a student-athlete, but as alumni. My senior year flew by so fast and I felt like I could not live in the many precious moments long enough. As a senior captain of the Equestrian Team I knew it was my job to be an outstanding leader and to leave behind large and defined footprints for fellow younger teammates to fill in the years to come. The first defined footprint I wanted to leave behind was to earn my degree by the end of my four years of eligibility. Graduating in four years was an important goal for me to achieve because I wanted to show the other girls on my team that academic achievement is just as important as competition achievement. If you can successfully compete for the Bulldogs both in the arena and in the classroom, you will be a successful student athlete. The second footprint I wanted to leave behind was in community service. I participated in Holiday thank you calls, Light the Night Walk for Cancer, Coats for Kids, and reading to younger Bulldog fans. As student athletes we are very fortunate to be given all of the perks that come with competing for the Bulldogs. I want my fellow teammates to remember how important it is to be grateful and give back to the community and all of the amazing Bulldog supporters. The third footprint I wanted to leave behind was dedication to the sport. Dedication and practice is the key to creating winners. The Equestrian team has been blessed with three amazing coaches and a group of talented and inspiring young women. With continued hard work and dedication this team can and will earn incredible achievements. The fourth and final footprint I wanted to leave behind was sportsmanship and a positive attitude. Over the last four years I have watched the Equestrian team improve in so many ways. The team unity shared among the women has become so strong that nothing is impossible for this group.  At the end of each college sports season, fans and friends gather to say farewell to the outstanding senior class.
This weekend's commencement ceremonies on campus honored thousands of students. Graduation is a special time in the lives of young people. It's a time to celebrate a lot of hard work over the years, a chance to look back and reflect, and equally important, a chance to look ahead to the future.
It's fitting that this weekend includes "Senior Day" for five outstanding Bulldog baseball players.
College student-athletes are most often celebrated for the here and now. Their careers end after four years. Ask anyone of them and they will tell you it goes by fast.
For two of the seniors, it seems like yesterday they were in Omaha playing key roles in the Bulldogs winning the College World Series title. That was 2008, just two years ago. Today they are on Beiden Field for the last time.  Here is the second edition of "Just Being Frank" from women's basketball assistant coach Brett Frank. Here's the sitch . . . I was trying to determine what my loyal following wanted to read about. By the way, if you are reading this blog for the second time as my second entry, you're one of the people I'm referring to as my "loyal following." I realized school is winding down and the "newsworthy" events of our women's basketball team are few and far between. Seeing as how many of you are not from Fresno (hereafter affectionately referred as "the 'No), I thought it would be fun to highlight this great community and all the wonderful things that go along with being in "the 'No. Former Fresno State All-American kicker Asen Asparuhov set school records and kicked his way to Bulldog glory. After 12 years of hard work, he is now a naturalized citizen. ABC 30 profiled his journey and accomplishment in this special feature. Congratulations Asen!  Former Bulldog equestrian rider Rebecca Flood will share her graduation with some very special people in her life: her three brothers.
Flood, graduating in Food and Nutrition with an emphasis in dietetics and food administration, will attend commencement ceremonies on Saturday on the Fresno State campus. Joining her in receiving degrees are brothers Erik, Timothy and Steven.
As all four Flood children receive their degrees on the same day, their parents, David and Susan, will be present for the commencement ceremonies. As unique as the circumstance is, it will be nonetheless a proud day for the entire family.
Rebecca has long been admired as a tireless worker on a squad that not only practices and competes in their beloved sport, but also must care for the horses on which they ride. Feeding, grooming and cleaning stalls are as part of their daily routine as attending classes and studying for tests.  Paul George, who finished his Bulldog career as one of the program's best free throw shooters and a dynamic scorer with 987 points throughout his freshman and sophomore seasons, has been working out with various NBA teams, including a visit today with the Milwaukee Bucks. He talked with the Bucks about his expectations for the 2010 NBA Draft, the process of working out for different teams, the type of player he will be and more... On how he would compare his workout with the Bucks to the one he had with the Bulls... "This one was a lot tougher. It was a lot more transition type of stuff, but it was pretty similar as far as competition. We competed pretty hard and had some pretty decent players at both ends so it was kind of the same in a way.
On what he would bring to the Bucks... "Just another guard that can kind of handle some pressure and take it off of Brandon Jennings a little bit in the backcourt. Just be another shooter and get out and defend. I think I can bring a lot to the Bucks."
 The art of defending your position as a pitcher requires precision, skill and heart.
In the third inning of tonight's 10-0 victory over San Jose State in seven innings, Josh Poytress showed the Bulldog faithful at Beiden Field how the will to win can be exemplified in the fundamentals. Â With the Spartan's Nick Borg running at second base and nobody out, Poytress reeled in a quick chopper by SJSU's Jason Martin to the left side of the infield grass, made sure he was balanced and delivered perfect throw over Bulldog third baseman to Isaac Vivas, who applied the tag on Borg.
Yet, it was talented southpaw's impressive reach across his body to snag SJSU's Tim Quiery bullet up the middle and start a 1-6-3 double play that really energized the Red Wave. Â The crowd also came to its feet when Poytress used his cat-like reflexes again to snatch another Spartan hit to the first base side of the pitcher's mound, that Josh flipped to Jordan Ribera at first base to end the sixth inning.
"Josh was outstanding and had good movement within the zone and out of the zone," said Batesole. "When you can move the ball around like that and throw three balls for a strike, you give yourself a great chance."
While home runs and strikeouts are also critical and often garner the headlines and highlights of a box score, the importance of defense and a little extra effort is magnified as a difference maker at the end of the season.
Poytress' left arm produced a masterful four-hit, mercy-rule complete game shutout in one of his best outings of the year.
Fresno State continues their push for the 2010 WAC regular season championship with a Saturday doubleheader at Beiden Field that starts at 2:05 p.m. with tickets as low as $8 for adults.  Jay Udwadia recognized the magnitude of the opportunity for his team as an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament.
By winning today's first round match 4-2 over BYU, the Bulldogs secured the program's first NCAA victory since 2003 and earned a second round date with the host and fifth-seeded USC, who swept Marist 4-0 in the afternoon match.
"We're happy to advance to the next round and we hope to keep it going," Udwadia added
After two days of competition, David Deal and Matt Bushnell sparked the Bulldogs into first place at the 2010 men's track and field WAC championships with third and fourth place finishes, respectively, in the decatlon. You can follow live results from Ruston, La., as both the men's and women's teams compete through Saturday.  The road to championship has no true beginning.
The drive, determination and passion must remain constant and focused. Â It is a process and a way of life - champions are battle tested and as powerful as the pureness of their heart.
The tradition and excellence of the Bulldog Baseball program is unmatched and the innate ability of Mike Batesole and his staff to create a culture of winning the right way sets the standard - through hard work, incredible athletic ability and academic performance in the classroom leading to the graduation of student-athletes.
The Bulldogs made significant progress on the field towards adding another championship chapter last weekend by sweeping the then first-place New Mexico State Aggies to catapult into Collegiate Baseball's Top 25.
The Fresno State baseball team returns home for the final eight games of the season and can sweep their way to their fourth regular season WAC title in five years and remain one of only four teams in the Western Region to make five consecutive NCAA appearances.
With Hawai'i downing New Mexico State 11-10 last night in walk-off style, Fresno State can secure the regular season crown by winning at least six of the next eight games and possibly fewer if New Mexico State and Nevada record any more losses in their final contests.
As the 'Dogs make their final push, which starts tonight against at 6:05 p.m. in Beiden Field against San Jose State, come on out to the ballpark for a beautiful Friday evening of Bulldog Baseball. The 2010 College World Series will be the last NCAA baseball tournament to be played in the famous Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. The stadium originally named Omaha Municipal Stadium was built in 1947 for the single-A Omaha Cardinals of the St. Louis Cardinals organization. A few years later it became the home of the Kansas City Royals triple-A team. In 1964, the stadium was renamed to honor former Omaha mayor Johnny Rosenblatt, who was instrumental in bringing professional baseball as well as the College World Series to Omaha. Rosenblatt Stadium has been home to the College World Series since 1950. Baseball is the only NCAA sport that has held their championship in the same venue year after year. Currently, the NCAA and the city of Omaha have agreed to continue hosting the Men's College World Series in Omaha through the 2035 season. Starting in 2011, the CWS will be played in a new stadium in down town Omaha. Jonathan Stempel of Reuters wrote this great article "Baseball Coaches will miss Rosenblatt Stadium" and Fresno State head coach Mike Batesole is featured in the story with a quote on the Bulldogs time spent winning the national championship in the `Blatt in 2008.  It's time to provide some insight into the Fresno State women's basketball program. To help us with that every other Friday assistant coach Brett Frank will give us snap shot of what is going on with the team throughout the course of the year in a series titled, "Just Being Frank."
The story goes like this . . . . I was recently assigned a great and overwhelming task by our Sports Information Director, Steve Schaack. He requested I use my creative talent (a scary thought since there's very little of that to begin with) to begin a new blog for the women's basketball link on gobulldogs.com. Obviously, if you're reading this, you've successfully found it and my work is being rewarded as you scan and process each word. Initially, I was torn on whether to talk about our past season or the season that lies in front of us. I thought maybe you would want to know more about the stars of the past season, or the newcomers that will be instrumental in building on our recent success. I thought of entertaining you with funny and anecdotal stories of trips on the road or of a gathering with Fresno State's Tim Anderson and the Fresno State band performing an impromptu concert for our team. As I was desperately trying to find my groove, I realized that before I could dedicate myself to any of these ideas, I needed to have a title for the blog. "Brett's frets" took the early lead as I was terrified of not being able to ever figure out a direction to go with my assignment... |
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College Football News recently ranked the WAC's top 10 quarterbacks and a couple things didn't seem to add up. 
