Away

I was consulting the hairy oracle early this morning when I was suddenly spirited away by a band of celestial billy goats. They took me to their enchanted land of bearded wonders and we feasted all day upon the finest pieces of paper. I must say it was a wonderful time. Alas, towards the end of the day I realized that I had not been able to read the finest pieces of newspapers as I normally am wont to do. I made an excuse to the billy goats that my bowels could not handle all this fiber, which was not entirely untrue, and it allowed me to make my way into the forest and slip off into the night.

And so now I am finally back. I won't promise that it won't happen again. Those billy goats are tenacious.

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Stephen Tsai profiles Karl Noa and his emergence in the Boise State game, though it's mostly about Karl proposing to his sweetheart. Among other news and notes, Tsai writes about Inoke Funaki practicing at holder.

For more than 30 minutes yesterday, backup quarterback Inoke Funaki practiced as the holder on field-goal and point-after attempts. Funaki replaces punter Kurt Milne, who was involved in three bad snap-to-hold connections against Boise State.

"It was tough at first," Funaki said. "I'm still getting used to it."

Dave Reardon profiles slotback Aaron Bain, who gets the start this weekend because Ryan Grice-Mull(en)ins is injured.

It will be the first start for Bain, who has three catches for 14 yards this season and five for 88 with two touchdowns last fall.

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound muscleman, who can bench 435, said he's pumped.

"No matter who we're playing, I'm always excited to play. Even if I wasn't starting," Bain said. "We don't care who it is out on the field. We have to worry about ourselves."

Holy crap he's strong. Hope he has a great game.

And finally, here's an article on former Warrior punter Mat McBriar, who is booming it for the Dallas Cowboys, currently average a little over 50 yards a punt.

There's no need to read between the lines in this relationship, no reason to wait for Parcells to toss a caustic comment in McBriar's direction. It won't happen. The Cowboys punter is on firm footing with the man in charge.

Outstanding. That's the word Parcells uses for McBriar's performance to open the season. The Cowboys coach believes you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who is punting better right now.

Can McBriar feel the love?

"Somewhat," he said. "But I was told a long time ago by a punter that you're only as good as your last kick.

"If he's happy with me, that's terrific right now. But I also know once I'm lining up there at Tennessee, I'm starting with a clean slate."

Way to go Mat.

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Just so you know, I may be "kid"napped again tomorrow. That's right. I said it.