@robertsrandoms
robert.taylor34@gmail.com

The idea behind Robert's Random is for me to write about whatever I'm thinking about whenever I'm thinking it. I try to write 3-5 times a week, but sometimes real work gets in the way of that. Sometimes I'll share whatever random thought I might have that day but most of the time, I like to write about things going on in the news. I'm a total news junkie, I spend a lot of time online at various news sites. If I find a story where someone does something totally stupid or I wonder "what were they thinking?" I don't mind pointing it out incase others missed it or taking my best guess at what they were thinking. I like to laugh, I like to make others laugh. There's so much serious and wrong stuff going on in the news that when I find an unusual or light story, I like to use it. And while real life news events might be the focus of many of my blogs, I'm just trying to entertain you, make you laugh and maybe even think about something you didn't know before reading. I'm not trying to break any serious news or deliver any hard-hitting coverage. You'll have to read a paper or watch one of the network shows for that.

WAC fires intern for costly mistake, BSU loss

Posted Sunday, November 28, 2010, at 12:15 PM

DENVER -- The Western Athletic Conference fired an unidentified office intern today after an internal investigation revealed the intern did not fax the conference's memo regarding Friday night's Boise State- Nevada football game to Nevada coaches as ordered last week.

The memo, which contained the conference's blueprint for a close game in which Boise State won, was to be mailed to Nevada coaches but was found on an intern's desk this morning.

"He just said he forgot to mail it," WAC Commissioner Karl Benson said.

"It's unfortunate we had to fire him, but because of failure to follow simple directions, Boise State went from playing in the Rose Bowl to the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl."

Boise State was just one win away from presumably jumping TCU in the BCS rankings and securing a bid to the Rose Bowl. An upset loss at the hands of the Nevada Wolf Pack ended any chance the conference had of sending its first team to the "Granddaddy of them all" in Pasadena.

The WAC was set to receive a nearly $8 million payout from the game until Friday's overtime loss. The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl's payout is $750,000, split between both participants.

WAC officials believe the unidentified intern was busy "facebook stalking" while he should have been working and forgot to take the memorandum, which was in a package marked "TOP SECRET," to UPS to be mailed in time for Nevada's game planning sessions. Still, the error almost went unnoticed until Boise State's kicker, Kyle Brotzman, missed a 26-yarder as time expired.

"That's when I began to think, 'uh-oh, something's not right,'" Benson said, who originally suspected Nevada coach Chris Ault to be playing by his own rules. A quick meeting between the two immediately following the game revealed Ault had not received the memo and an investigation was started.

Brotzman, who leads all active players in points scored, missed a 29-yard field goal in overtime. Redshirt freshman kicker Anthony Martinez nailed a 34-yarder to win the game on Nevada's first possession of overtime.

With Boise State leaving for the Mountain West Conference next year and Nevada and Fresno State following in 2012, it could be a while until a WAC team is in position to play in another BCS bowl.

"This is what happens when you leave things to chance," Benson said. "I thought we had all our bases covered Friday night, but I was wrong."

The WAC will have a three-way tie between 7-1 teams if Nevada and Boise State both win its last game. Hawai'i has already finished WAC play at 7-1.

"We really need to come up with a tie-breaker system," said Benson, who admitted his office has been too busy the past couple of months trying to keep the conference from dissolving to address that issue.

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This just doesn't add up, it this fiction or a good/bad joke?

-- Posted by obamaman on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 2:18 PM
It's satire.

-- Posted by RTaylor on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 2:33 PM
If it is then there is a fine line between satire and very irresponsoble journalism but then again, what would you expect from the Mountain Home News. They never report facts correctly for fear of ******* off a local they might know

-- Posted by obamaman on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 2:42 PM
I forwarded this to Brian Murphy at The Idaho Statesman. I hope Benson goes after you for slander.

-- Posted by k57 on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 2:45 PM
Ok, I see now, you are the author. You sir are an idiot. You need to respect the power of the pen, especially in the age of the internet. KTVB is already on this and it is going to make you look like a fool in the end, maybe it is you that will end up being fired.

-- Posted by obamaman on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 2:48 PM
I posted a link to this on facebook about an hour ago and it is already viral, I am not going to stop it in any way just to see you go down in flames.

-- Posted by obamaman on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 2:50 PM
I have also forwarded this to the head of WAC media and the WAC BSU representative. You should end up being fired or worse.

-- Posted by k57 on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 3:01 PM
So just to be clear, crazy anonymous trolls, you didn't understand that 1) You were reading a blog --- not even a news story in the news section of this website --- called "Roberts Randoms" 2) No writer could possibly know some of the aspects of this story (like a person Facebook stalking, which is ridiculous to read in and of itself and, thus, clearly satire) so it's clearly not real 3) You posted it on Facebook to your four friends and you believe that constitutes it going "viral"?

You are just absolutely sad little people.

The BLOG post is both creative and funny. Does it rise to the skill level of the writer's room at "The Onion"? No.

But it probably would still confuse readers, such as yourself, of Fox Nation.

-- Posted by WolfTrap on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 4:23 PM
You posted it to be "creative and funny"?? What a sick sense of humor you have. You are the sad little person. Go get a life.

-- Posted by k57 on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 5:05 PM
So sorry "WolfTrap" you were not the author of the blog, but that you think it was posted to be creative and funny shows your sick sense of humor.

-- Posted by k57 on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 5:09 PM
@RTaylor: Good one. Subtle commentary about the pervasive influence of $$$ in college football.

@WolfTrap: You got it right as well. Funny stuff.

-- Posted by SomeoneGetsIt on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 5:56 PM
I found the original by-line listed on my Yahoo home page under "local stories" with source listed as Mountain News. I clicked on it and was directly sent to a Page with huge letters that said "Mountain Home News" and only later did I see the very small tab that said "blog". I then added the link to my facebook page. I never added any other comment to my link aluding to the fact that this story was true. My friends and I then began questioning that validity or motive. That doesn't change the fact that the way the article is presented, going right back to it's presentation on the yahoo local news section that very much leads a person to believe it is a legitimate news story. Irresponsible journalism of this type has in the past in other publications caused huge and unnecessary problems for the people in the content of the story and for the author. Was I a little bit gulable, sure. Does that make it ok to write something of this nature without stonger efforts to present it as what it is and not a real story, no. By the way, Fox news is laughable, it is probably even worse journalism than the Mountain Home news, if that is possible.

-- Posted by obamaman on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 5:57 PM
Quite funny!

-- Posted by BSUFan on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 6:05 PM
Seems to me that you may need some kind of therapy, lots of stored up agression and anger there. The only reason I mentioned Fox new is because another comment posted alluded to the fact that I might be a fan of their news and I am not. I won't even begin to come up with a rebutle on you comments about my social status or financial condition. No use trying to convince you of something you have already made your mind up about. I do with much sincerity thank you for you service to our country. As far as hatefull, there is enough hate in your post for evryone, I posted no hate in my comments, just disapointment and bias is the same as an opinion, everybody has one. Sorry you spent so much effort and time on me and or this subject. Seems kind of silly to waste all that energy on someone whom you have more or less stated is worthless. If I had no worth, you just gave me some by paying attention to me. Good night and God Bless and I truely mean that.

-- Posted by obamaman on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 6:58 PM
bazookaman, long time eh... I thought you were going to stay out of political commentary. Fox news as an entity and the results of the election have nothing to do with each other. I do not watch Fox news becuase true journalism is supposed to state facts and let the listener/reader/viewer arrive at there own conclusions. I find it very hard if not impossible find truely unbias journalism these days, CNN included. I voted for Obama because I thought he was the best candidaite for the job. It is a political process that you as a military man served to protect. As it stands I am not entirely happy with his performance but then there really is no such thing as a perfect president. As for who I voted for in the mid-tems, I actually voted about 50/50 this year, Dems and Repubs. I believe in a two party system that put ideas together, debates them and then comes up with the best solution, As you have stated in older posts, this system is gone and needs to be completely revamped. I agree. Do you really think the country would be better off all Republican? That wouldn't be a democracy and even though our system is seriously flawed, I surely don't think a one party system is what you want, that isn't democracy and absolute power always leads to absolutely corruption I remember some comments we had to each othe a year and a half ago or so where you and I found some common ground, why so spiteful tonight?

-- Posted by obamaman on Sun, Nov 28, 2010, at 7:16 PM
If this was true do you really think an intern would be trusted with this kid of info? Looser!

-- Posted by prouddad98 on Mon, Nov 29, 2010, at 1:26 PM
Nice Robert!

Pretty funny. Don't worry about these idiots...I wonder how many of them have even taken a college-level journalism class?

This is satire. This is a blog.

Read the story first and you will know that this is satire.

I know Mountain Home is smarter than that.

-- Posted by ericbillings on Tue, Nov 30, 2010, at 10:41 AM
Wow, Robert a well done article. I had to start over once I figured out what the heck you were talking about then had a big grin on my face all the way through. Then I read the posts and.... No matter what, Keep writing. I will keep reading and hopefully keep grinning. Go Big Blue.

R&M

-- Posted by R&M on Tue, Nov 30, 2010, at 1:42 PM

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