This is indeed a sad day for Wyoming high school football.

Eight Wyoming teams were involved in out-of-state games this weekend. All eight lost.

Yep, a big fat 0-8.

(Edit: Actually, only seven lost. Sheridan beat Rapid City Central, S.D., 34-0. We received a transposed score from a call-in on Saturday night.)

The scores (oh, the scores!): West Grand, Colo., 13, Saratoga 9.... Hardin, Mont., 14, Powell 8.... Steamboat Springs, Colo., 21, Laramie 14.... Laurel, Mont., 27, Cody 0.... Rich County, Utah, 31, Mountain View 0... Billings Central, Mont., 49, Worland 7.... Sky View, Utah, 55, Gillette 21.

Yeah, I know, these games don't really count in the power ratings, and a lot of people are still upset that we here at the Star-Tribune count these games as part of teams' overall standings.

But come on. Oh-and-eight? (Edit: One-and-seven?) Really? Wow.

It's not so much that the Wyoming teams lost. It was how -- by 27 or more points in five of those eight games. (Edit: By 27 or more points in four of those seven games.)

Yeah, those two Utah games can't really be figured in, because Utah starts football practice in, like, February. Those other six (edit: five) games, though, Wyoming was on even footing.

Next week, 11 Wyoming football squads play out-of-state games. Please tell me at least one will win. Please. Right now, I'm not so sure.

(Oh, and mad props to Wind River and Riverton for winning when I picked against them.)

This week: 6-6. Season total: 6-6.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com

Football picks time... the abbreviated version. You'll see the full version next week. For now, I'm just picking. I'm picking only the games; scrimmages and jamborees will be going by the wayside as far as picking goes. "I think" winners in bold:

Friday
Interstate
Steamboat Springs, Colo., at Laramie
Saturday
Class 5A
Green River at Natrona County (As a side note, this could be one of the best games of the season. I flipped a coin to make this pick. Seems unfair that it's a Zero Week game.)
Kelly Walsh vs. Rock Springs, at Riverton
Interclass
Riverton at Star Valley
Wind River at Cokeville
Interstate
Billings Central, Mont., at Worland
Gillette vs. Skyview, Utah, at Green River
Laurel, Mont., at Cody
Powell at Hardin, Mont.
Rich County, Utah, at Mountain View
West Grand, Colo., at Saratoga
Sheridan vs. Rapid City (S.D.) Central, at Gillette

Here's the rest of the Zero Week schedule:

SCRIMMAGES
Cheyenne Central at Cheyenne East, TBD
Jackson at Evanston, 1 p.m.
Kelly Walsh sophs at Wright, 10 a.m.
Kemmerer at Lander, 11 a.m.
Sundance at Hulett, 10 a.m.
Torrington at Douglas, 11 a.m.
Wheatland at Rawlins, 1 p.m.
JAMBOREES
Burns, Lusk, Newcastle, Pine Bluffs at Newcastle Jamboree, 9 a.m.
Big Horn, Glenrock, Greybull, Laramie JV at Laramie Jamboree, 8:30 a.m.
Lingle, Southeast at Cheyenne Central JV/Cheyenne East JV, 9 a.m.
Lovell, Riverside, Rocky Mountain, Shoshoni, Thermopolis at Thermopolis Jamboree, 10 a.m.
OFF: Big Piney, Buffalo, Burlington, Dubois, Guernsey, Hanna, Lyman, Midwest, Moorcroft, Normative Services, Pinedale, Tongue River, Upton, Wyoming Indian.
Note: Games involving Laramie and Saratoga count in WHSAA power ratings; other games, scrimmages and jamborees do not.

Sorry for the abbreviated version. You'll get more out of me next week.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com.

The world-famous (or at least Wyoming-famous) Sports Goulash Trio is back this fall with three events that are likely going to be the ones everyone will be talking about on Monday:

CROSS COUNTRY: Laramie Invitational, Friday. This is where three of last year's six state individual champions are slated to run, including both of last year's Class 4A champs. Talk about a great way to gauge summer improvement... not only for the defending individual champs, but for everyone else, to see how they stack up.

VOLLEYBALL: Cheyenne Invitational, Friday and Saturday. This weekend is so much fun -- most of the state's teams are partaking in tournaments this weekend, so it's a great way to play a lot of volleyball and see exactly what needs work. But more than that, this is Kelly Walsh vs. Natrona County, version 2008, Round 1. Even though it doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of the season, it'd still be fun to watch it (and don't forget the other four teams there.... improved East, perennially tough Central and one of the 3A favorites, Rawlins).

TENNIS: Kelly Walsh/Natrona County at Cheyenne Central/Cheyenne East, double dual, Saturday. Oil City vs. Capital City -- it's always a great way for all four teams to figure out where they stand early in the season.

There they are, this week's trio. Where are you headed this weekend? Leave a comment below and tell the universe.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com

Golf is by far the shortest sports season of all.

From start to finish, golf season barely lasts a month and a half. There is no time to waste -- improvement has to come fast.

But, right now, a few schools are putting golf improvement on an awfully high pedestal.

In all, 13 schools that participated in the opening weekend of golf on Thursday and Friday will be back on the course for tournaments this upcoming Monday and Tuesday.

Of those 13, four schools -- Kelly Walsh, Natrona County, Torrington and Thermopolis -- began school this past week. The rest begin this week.

That means golfers from KW and NC are missing four of their first seven days of school; golfers from Torrington are missing four of their first five days of school; and golfers from Thermopolis are missing all four of the first four days of school.

Thermopolis' team will also golf next Thursday and Friday, meaning those students will mis six of their first seven days of school.

Next week, golfers from Buffalo will miss two of their first three days of school; golfers from Gillette will miss two of their first four days; golfers from Douglas will miss both of the first two days; and golfers from Riverton and Sheridan will miss four of their first five.

How about that for welcome back?

Nice to see ya, now get on the bus.

But enough with the numbers. For Wyoming's golfers, this arrangement flat-out stinks. This is way too much time out of school, especially in the first few days of learning that are critical to success for the rest of the year.

Teachers know it, too. Think how far behind a kid is who misses four of the first five days of school, and then think whether or not that's worth it for 36 holes of golf. There's no question where the kids should be -- in school.

But I don't blame the kids or the teachers, and I only slightly blame the coaches and activities directors who set the schedules because there is not much else they can do.

Instead, a good portion of the blame rests with Wyoming's golf course managers.

More and more often, course managers have been reluctant to allow their course to be taken over by high-school golfers on the Saturdays that are usually a boon for their coffers.

And rather than turn away the people with the money, the golf courses have opted to move high school tournaments to weekdays.

And that's where ADs and coaches get stuck. They are at the mercy of the course operator for course time, and the operators have been more and more reluctant to give up that course time on the weekend -- especially early in the school year, when golf season is winding down.

(That's not so much the case in September, when courses have been more willing to set up a Friday-Saturday tournament. Mad props to the course managers in Buffalo, Powell, Kemmerer, Laramie, Lusk and Wright for allowing schools to schedule Friday-Saturday or Saturday-only meets in the regular season. Postseason meets are also almost exclusively Friday-Saturday, as they should be.)

Managers need a gut check. If their pocketbooks can't afford to set up a Friday-Saturday tournament, maybe they need to reconsider whether they want to host a tournament at all.

Still, coaches and ADs really need to make a gut check, too. Are back-to-back tournaments stacked around a weekend -- basically, four missed school days in a row -- really worth it? Is 36 extra holes of golf worth missing two more days of school, especially in an essential time of the year?

For KW, NC, Torrington and Thermopolis, the season's golf schedules say the answer is yes. But it sure would be nice if the state's golf course managers didn't force the coaches and ADs to make this decision in the first place.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com

... Where are you going? Do you have some room for me?

Tomorrow is Thursday. A big Thursday. The start of fall sports big.

Golf tournaments in Riverton, Sheridan and Wheatland mark the start of competition. As usual, golf hogs the early sports spotlight, simply because it's the only sport allowed to have competitions the first week and a half.

Next week is when stuff gets truly busy -- cross country and tennis start next Thursday, then volleyball, swimming and football join the fun next Friday.

We'll be running our fall sports previews for all sports starting next Friday (Aug. 29), with class-by-class football previews starting the following day.

Coaches have begun to send me their fall sports preview information. Reading through those in and of itself is enough to spark my excitement. It's a fun time of year...

Is there any event in particular you've been keeping your eye on this summer? I have a few that have already piqued my interest: Gillette Invitational and Rawlins Invitational volleyball, anything tennis in Rawlins (but that's a whole other blog post), Riverside at Big Horn in Week 2 of football season, Casper Invite cross country to kick off the season.... How about you? Any "can't miss" events this fall?

Now for something completely different:

HEY COACHES! Be sure to send me your fall sports preview information if you haven't done so already. Call me at (307) 266-0615 or (800) 791-5002 or e-mail me at patrick.schmiedt@trib.com if you have questions.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com

It's today and it's great.

This should be a state holiday; the official beginning to the 279-day excursion we know as the 2008-09 high school sports season.

Today, so much starts anew. Last year is gone. All that matters today is hope.

Superficially, the hope is basic -- hope for a great day, a great week, a great season, a great school year.

Most likely, though, that hope will end sometime in the next two-and-a-half months. For a few, that championship hope turns into reality.

But no matter what, at the end of the season, everyone is better. Win or lose, sports mold character. When the season is done, the personal change is only beginning.

More than winning a championship, today's hope should be that two-and-a-half months from now, you're a better person because of your involvement in something great -- and greatness has nothing to do with winning or losing.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com

A little bit of juggling in Zero Week football....

Cokeville had a game scheduled with Rich County, Utah, for Zero Week, one of three games that was supposed to count in the WHSAA's power ratings. However, that game has been canceled by the schools "for various reasons," the WHSAA's Trevor Wilson said.

Instead, Cokeville will only have seven games that will count in the power ratings. The eighth week will be filled by a game with the Evanston JV and Zero Week for Cokeville will be a scrimmage game with Wind River.

Mountain View and Rich County will play each other in Zero Week, but that won't count in the power ratings.

Also....

The WHSAA granted Laramie special permission for Laramie to play its Zero Week game against Steamboat Springs, Colo., on a Friday night. Since the WHSAA requires players to participate in 10 practices before the first contest, all Zero Week contests have been played on Saturdays. Laramie will be exempt from that this year; however, Wilson said Laramie's players still must participate in 10 practices before the first contest (i.e. Laramie will have to practice on Saturday or Sunday the first week).

Laramie's game and Saratoga's Saturday game with West Grand, Colo., are the only two Zero Week games that will count toward the WHSAA's power rating.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com

With fall practice starting on Monday, this will be the last in our fun little summer series of trivia questions. Remember that internet researching is discouraged, guessing is encouraged, you play by posting your guess as a comment to this post, and I reply as soon as I can to let you know if you're right or wrong.

This week's question is worded oddly. Stay with me...

Championship football Saturday was unique in 1993. Something happened that Saturday that had never happened before and hasn't happened since in the course of Wyoming's football history. What was it?

(See, confusing, right? Here's what I'm aiming for: Some or all of the winners of those championship games had something in common. What did they have in common?)

It's a weird way to end the summer, but give it a chance. Thanks for playing along all summer long; it's been fun.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com

By September 30, we'll know a lot more about the future make-up of Wyoming's high school football landscape.

On that date, the Wyoming High School Activities Association's board of directors will vote whether to overhaul the classification system, including the addition of six-man football.

If the proposal passes, the conference make-up will shift -- only slightly for most of the state's larger schools, but quite dramatically for most of the smaller schools.

And here is the meat of the proposal, all spelled out:

The proposal still has the 22 largest schools making up the two largest classes -- the only change would come in the numbers. Right now, those 22 are split evenly -- 11 in Class 5A, 11 in Class 4A. The proposal calls for only the top 10 to form a new Class 4A and the next 12 to form a new Class 3A. (Right now, Riverton is the No. 11 school that would drop a classification.)

From there is where the changes truly take shape.

The new proposed Class 2A would have 16 teams -- much larger than any current classification. And the remaining 21 schools would be placed into two divisions of Class 1A -- one for 11-man and one for six-man.

The projected Class 2A would include all current Class 3A schools plus Greybull, Big Horn, Tongue River and Wyoming Indian. The remaining schools would make up Class 1A, with the schools themselves choosing whether to play six-man or 11-man for a period of no less than two years.

(So far, eight schools have "verbally committed" to the WHSAA for six-man: existing programs Guernsey, Midwest, Hanna, Meeteetse and Ten Sleep and new programs Fort Washakie, Rock River and Kaycee. Farson and Snake River could also have six-man programs in time for '09.)

First: Does all that make sense? Hopefully it does. Ask me questions if you've got 'em.

Second: Do you think this overhaul will help the state's football teams? Would these changes be positive changes? Do you think six-man football would be viable in Wyoming? Do you think it's a wise move to give smaller schools their own choice on which version of the game they'd like to play?

Let's hear it.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com

It's Thursday, so you know what that means: Sports Goulash's impossible trivia. Brief reminder of the rules: No researching to find the answer; guesses are allowed and encouraged; you guess by putting your answer in as a reply to this post; I let you know whether you're right or wrong as soon as I can; everybody happy!

This week's question: In the 22-year history of the Wyoming State High School Soccer Championships, what team (you have to name both the school and the gender) has scored more combined goals than any other squad?

Bonus question: How many goals has this team scored in those 22 years at state?

Begin your guesses now....

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com

Of the WHSAA's 12 boys and 12 girls sanctioned sports, each one has had its dynasties.

Sooner or later, all dynasties eventually fade. Some last longer than others, and they're all worthy of recognition.

But in which sport is it hardest to build and maintain a multi-year dynasty?

Is it a mainstream team sport like football, basketball or soccer, where seasons are often defined by how teams play in a three-game loser-out tournament?

Or is it tougher in a sport like golf, where one bad day for a team meber -- or one outstanding day -- might mean the difference between first and fifth?

Or is it in a sport like wrestling or tennis, where individual efforts are paramount and team success -- and therefore the construction of a dynasty -- simply a byproduct?

For argument's sake, here are the the longest and second-longest state championship streaks in WHSAA-sponsored sports (excluding indoor track, which is brand new, and alpine skiing, where our archives only go back to 1993):

Boys
Football: Cokeville, 6 (1986-91), and Worland, 5 (1952-56)
Cross country: Gillette, 7 (1988-94) and 6 (1998-2003), and Wright, 5 (1998-02) and Encampment, 5 (1973-77)
Tennis: Cheyenne Central, 8 (1986-93), and Natrona County, 3 (1977-79) and Jackson, 3 (2000-02)
Golf: Cheyenne Central, 4 (2004-07) and Douglas, 4 (1981-84)
Basketball: Gillette, 6 (1992-97), and Cheyenne Central, 4 (1942-45) and La Grange, 4 (1958-61)
Wrestling: Star Valley, 7 (1992-98), and Cody, 6 (1947-52) and Gillette, 6 (2003-08)
Swimming: Lander, 12 (1997-08), and Green River, 4 (1974-77), Laramie, 4 (1976-79 and 1985-88) and Gillette, 4 (1993-96)
Nordic skiing (since 1982): Jackson, 5 (1989-93 and 2004-08), and Natrona County, 4 (1996-99)
Track (since 1974): Torrington, 6 (1974-79) and Gillette, 6 (2001-06)
Soccer: Cheyenne East, 4 (1986-89), and Kelly Walsh, 2 (2002-03) and Cheyenne Central, 2 (1990-91)

Girls
Volleyball: Cokeville, 9 (1985-93) and 7 (1995-01), and Pine Bluffs, 5 (1978-82)
Cross country: Gillette, 12 (1995-06), and Douglas, 5 (2001-05)
Swimming: Gillette, 6 (1994-99), Laramie, 6 (1972-77) and Douglas, 6 (1978-83)
Tennis: Cheyenne Central, 7 (1981-87), and Sheridan, 4 (1990-93)
Golf: Lusk, 6 (2001-06), and Gillette, 4 (2000-03) and Natrona County, 4 (1991-94)
Basketball: Gillette, 5 (1994-98), and Gillette, 4 (2001-04) and Star Valley, 4 (1986-89)
Nordic skiing (since 1982): Lander, 6 (1993-98), and Natrona County, 4 (1989-92)
Gymnastics: Gillette, 7 (1999-05), and Laramie, 6 (1979-84)
Track: Ten Sleep, 6 (1981-86), and Worland, 5 (1993-97)
Soccer: Cheyenne East, 3 (1986-89) and Natrona County, 3 (1989-91)

What do you think? Looks like soccer might have the early edge...

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com

Silly me.

I thought Wyoming didn't have a state girls basketball tournament until 1976.

I was only 50 years off.

Try 1926. That was the first year of the "state" girls basketball tournament organized by old Lingle coach Clyde Braden.

From the March 12, 1979, edition of the Star-Tribune:

"Distaff state tournaments in Wyoming date back ton 1926. A total of 12 state tournaments were scheduled between '26 and 1937 and nine of them were held. State champions and runnersups in the first era of Wyoming girls' basketball follow:
1926 Wheatland, 1st; Lingle, 2nd
1927 Flu epidemic
1928 Newcastle, 1st; Lusk, 2nd
1929 Canceled by a blizzard
1930 Lingle, 1st; Wheatland, 2nd
1931 Lingle, 1st; Wheatland, 2nd
1932 Newcastle, 1st; Lingle, 2nd
1933 Guernsey, 1st; Lingle, 2nd
1934 Wheatland, 1st; Pine Bluffs, 2nd
1935 Torrington, 1st; Burns, 2nd
1936 Flu epidemic
1937 Torrington, Guernsey
The final tournament in 1937 included a 20 team field.
Beth Ashburn hit a shot from center court to Torrington the championship. She was 10-for-10 from the line in that game."

Before stumbling across this article, I had never heard of these tournaments. They've really piqued my interest, and I'm interested in tracking down some people for a story on these tournaments.

My question for you: Do you know anybody who played, coached, officiated or watched one of these tournaments? If so, please give me a call at (307) 266-0615 or shoot me an e-mail at patrick.schmiedt@trib.com. Thanks.

Posted by patrick.schmiedt@trib.com