Item: Ex-Idaho Coach Holt Jumps From USC To Washington/Seattle PI

More Info: Holt coached USC’s linebackers during his first tenure in Los Angeles (2001-03) before leaving to become head coach at Idaho in 2004. He went 5-18 in two seasons at Idaho before resigning to become an assistant with the St. Louis Rams. Instead of going to St. Louis, though, Holt returned to USC, wooed back to Los Angeles by Carroll. Before his first stint at USC, Holt spent three seasons at Louisville (1998-2000) and was an assistant at Idaho from 1990-97, serving four seasons as defensive coordinator under former Huskies assistant Chris Tormey.

Question: Why do UIdaho coaches (think: Nick Holt, Tom Cable) prosper when they leave the Palouse?

They left their heart, or at least their bounce, in Seattle. It’s not much of a song title, but that’s what Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few figures has happened to his sagging Zags, who play a rematch game at 15th-ranked Tennessee on Wednesday night. “If A.J. Price’s ‘prayer’ three doesn’t go in, I think it changes our whole mentality,” Few said Monday. He was referring to a tightly contested trey with nine seconds left Dec. 20 at KeyArena by Connecticut’s Price that tied the Zags before UConn won in overtime/Bud Withers, Seattle PI. More here.

Question: What’s wrong with Gonzaga?

Tubob: DFO, here’s a new feature for you: Have commenters type in their actual lunch each day and you pick the top one or three.

Mine (ok, mine’s not gonna win but it more an illustration):

Bowl of Progresso Hearty Tomato soup w/lots and lots of pepper
Peanut Butter and Blackberry Jam Sammich
Tim’s Jalapeno Chips
Cold frosty 1% milk

Question: What did you have for lunch?

Denny Austad of Ammon, Idaho, poses with a bull elk that was certified on Friday, as the world record American elk by the Boone and Crockett Club. Austad hunted public land in the Monroe Mountain District in southcentral Utah to kill the bull on Sept. 30. Official measurers scored the bull at 478-5/8  non-typical points, more than 13 points (inches) larger than the previous World’s Record.  Photo courtesy of Boone and Crockett Club.

David Horsey/Seattle PI ‘toon here

*Kuwait waste in Idaho is one of Time’s ‘underreported stories’/Idaho Statesman

*Missoula breast-feeding flap continues to stir emotions/Missoulian

*Some dinosaur daddies were caregivers/Billings Gazette

Orbusmax Special: Rifle found at Fort Lewis may have belonged to Saddam Hussein here.

Continue reading Huckleberries Best Of INorthwest — 1/6/09 »

“Bride Wars,” which opens Friday, stars Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson as best friends turned nasty nemeses when their weddings are scheduled for the same date. As the co-stars fielded questions to promote their comedy, your humble correspondent set off a lively exchange with one simple question: Watching this movie made me wonder: When crossed, are women meaner to each other than men?/Mark Caro, Pop Machine. More here.

Question: Are women meaner than men?

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter made big political news just now with his announcement of his pick for the state’s new lieutenant governor: Sen. Brad Little, R-Emmett. Little is  a rancher and Senate majority caucus chairman. “Nobody understands the issues, the personalities or the possibilities better than him, and nobody will work harder for the people of Idaho,” Otter said. Little pronounced himself “more than just delighted.” With many family members and supporters on hand watching, Little said, “I’m excited to join Gov. Otter’s team. We’ve got a lot of work to do … to get Idaho booming and boiling”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

Question: Are you as uninspired by Gov. Butch Otter’s selection of Sen. Brad Little for the lieutenant governor’s post as I am?

In this image released by Rogers & Cowan public relations, Jett Travolta, the son of actor John Travolta, is shown in an undated family photo. (AP Photo/Rogers & Cowan)

John and Kelly Travolta’s loss of their 16 year old son, Jett, breaks my heart. I can’t for a minute understand the depth of the loss they are going through, as they deal with his death…and the forever-ness of being apart from him. In years past, I would have attempted some trite comparison of Christianity and Scientology…coming up with some “accurate” statement about eternity. How shallow. How inappropriate. The loss of any child is a deep wound to every parent. To lose a child at 16, as the doorway to adulthood is so within reach, seems to be all the more saddening/Dennis Mansfield. More here.

*Selfishness versus marriage/Clayton Cramer

*Shine a light under the rocks/Fort Boise

*Idaho home-schoolers to be protected?/IVA

Question: John Travolta’s sister, Ellen, of course, is a local who performs occasionally at the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre. Has her brother John’s loss of his son affected you?

Continue reading Idaho Blogs — John Travolta’s Loss »

Bulgarians jump into icy water to catch the holy cross at a lake in the Bulgarian capital Sofia this morning. The Eastern Orthodox priests throw a cross in the river and the men take it out. It is believed that those who dive in the river will be healthy throughout the year. You write the cutline. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)

Item: Feeling stressed? You ought to have a tantrum/Daily Mail Reporter

More Info: The end of the holidays, cold weather and economic gloom (made Monday) one of the most stressful days of the year for returning to work. But experts have come up with an unlikely remedy - throwing a tantrum. ‘Releasing tension through shouting and screaming is a really beneficial way to expel the negative energies caused by stress,’ said body language expert Judi James, the Big Brother psychologist.

Question: What would happen at your workplace if you threw a tantrum?

I don’t really like the idea of asking state employees, even ones at the top, to bear the brunt of budget shortfalls. People vote for fiscally conservative legislators, and they accordingly try to keep the budget lean. When state employees don’t get raises, or take days without pay, they still deliver the services of the agency they’re working for, so taxpayers don’t experience the effect of budget problems/IdaBlue. More here.

Question: IdaBlue goes on to say that well-heeled Gov. Butch Otter shouldn’t have to give back his housing stipend in these tight economic times. Do you agree?

Minnick won in large part thanks to outgoing Rep. Bill Sali’s (R) inability to play nice even with members of his own party. The incoming Democrat will attempt to hold down a district that voted 69 percent for President Bush in 2004, and he has shown the fundraising prowess to do so. Minnick would be well-served if Sali ran again, but, even in that case, the GOP primary would be no cinch for the one-term former representative/The Hill.

Randy Stapilus comment

Kevin Richert comment

Jill Kuraitis story re: Minnicks in D.C.

Question: What must Congressman Walt Minnick do to be re-elected in two years?

 Kjell Sthioeberg strides uphill near Coeur d’Alene during a 10-mile run Monday. Despite record snowfall in North Idaho, those who are determined face the winter blast to exercise outdoors regularly. (AP Photo/Coeur d’Alene Press, Jerome A. Pollos)

*Kellogg woman sentenced for impersonating FBI agent/Alison Boggs, SR

*Big Sky structure falls as workers were ready to shovel roof/Bill Buley, CDA Press

*Pinehurst man to be sentenced for double murder today/Ty Hampton, Shoshone News Press

Continue reading AM Headlines — 1/6/08 »

What would it take for you to do the Polar Bear Plunge (into Lake Coeur d’Alene on New Year’s Day)?/Lewiston Tribune

*Nothing, I’d do it for free.

*$10

*$50

*$100

*No amount could get me into the river on a winter day