Cats Beat the Griz Despite Fan Fiasco

MSU Conquers the Griz

Saturday night, the Montana State University Men's Basketball team faced off against the Griz.

The Bobcats maintained a consistent lead most of the game. During the final media time out, the Bobcat mascot Champ and the cheer squad sent hundreds of the tiny golden balls flying into the crowds. A member of the crowd threw one of the balls at Grizzly coach Wayne Tinkle which hit him in the back and another nearly grazed UM center Brian Qvale in the middle of a free throw attempt.

The second fan toss prompted MSU head coach Brad Huse to grab the public address microphone from its perch. "You're going to cost us a technical foul," Huse said, among other things, in a quick speech to the crowd of 6,427 - the largest Brick Breeden Fieldhouse has seen this season. The address was met with applause. But little did Huse know, his home fans had just cost him a technical foul, as the referees had already issued a warning after the original ball hit Coach Tinkle.

Qvale, who made the first free throw despite the distraction, made the second and Anthony Johnson hit the two technical foul shots which cut the Bobcat lead to 51-50 with 2 minutes, 33 seconds to play. Worthington Arena got a little quieter until Bobcat forward Branden Johnson drilled a deep 3-pointer with 1:59 to play, putting MSU back up four. "Getting the crowd back into it, it was a great feeling," said Johnson. That bucket and a layup from Navarre seconds later ended the game with a final score Montana St. 61, Montana 52.

After the game, Bobcat senior Branden Johnson commented that "the ball incident was crazy," and Coach Huse said his team was appreciative of the fans, saying "they helped us a heck of a lot more than they hurt us." However, those two novelty Bobcat basketballs will likely give Montana State's promotional department something to think about this week.

Montana State Bobcats - Bobcats Hold Off Grizzly Rally

Coach's Response to Technical Foul

Bozeman Chronicle's article

Chamberlin Rail Jam 2010

Buy tickets to the Rail Jam on March 5 & 6

The MSU Bookstore is selling Rail Jam 2010 tickets! Ticket price is $13. Gain access to every awesome event with these two day tickets! Buy early to take advantage of this special low price!

Snowsports, loud music, energy drinks, epic competition, and so much more! Rail Jam is not only a competition for snow athletes but also a music festival featuring Modifyde, Black Mask, GZA, Chicharones, Bassnectar, and 2009 Battle of the Bands winner Cure for the Common. Ski and Board Prelims start Friday the 5th followed by the finals on Saturday the 6th. This event is a the Gallatin County Fair Grounds and promises to be the biggest and best event yet!

Athlete sign-ups end February 12th! For more information and to purchase VIP tickets visit

http://www.therailjam.com/

Best Selling Nonfiction: The Case for God

The Case for God by Karen Armstrong

Moving from the Paleolithic age to the present, Karen Armstrong details the great lengths to which humankind has gone in order to experience a sacred reality that is called by many names, such as God, Brahman, Nirvana, Allah or Dao. Focusing especially on Christianity but including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Chinese spiritualities, Armstrong examines the diminished impulse toward religion in our own time, when a significant number of people either want nothing to do with God or question the efficacy of faith. Why has God become unbelievable? Why is it that atheists and theists alike now think and speak about God in a way that veers so profoundly from the thinking of our ancestors?

Answering these questions with the same depth of knowledge and profound insight that have marked all her acclaimed books, Armstrong makes clear how the changing face of the world has necessarily changed the importance of religion at both the societal and the individual level. And she makes a powerful, convincing argument for drawing on the insights of the past in order to build a faith that speaks to needs of our dangerously polarized age. yet she cautions us that religion was never supposed to provide answers that lie within the competence of human reason; that, she says, is the role of logos. The task of religion is " to help us live creatively, peacefully, and even joyously with realities for which there are no easy explanations." She emphasizes, too, that religion will not work automatically. It is, she says, a practical discipline: its insights are derived not for abstract speculation but from "dedicated intellectual endeavor" and a "compassionate lifestyle that enables us to break out of the prism of selfhood."

This bestseller can be purchased at the MSU Bookstore, located on the bestsellers self.

Best Selling Fiction: The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

" My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."

So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her-her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling.

Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously in Building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.

This national bestseller has been hailed as "A stunning achievement" according to The New Yorker and "A triumphant novel... It's a knockout" by Time Magazine. The novel is now a major motion picture directed by Academy Award winner Peter Jackson (director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy) staring Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, and new comer Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon. The movie is now playing in theaters everywhere. This book is now available at the MSU Bookstore on the Bestsellers shelf.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the MSU Bookstore. We hope you had a happy, healthy 2009 and we wish you the same for 2010!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! (a snowboarder writes this blog :))

Therapy Pups Visit MSU Bookstore

A couple of the Intermountain Therapy Dogs came to visit the MSU Bookstore on December 16th. These pups were spreading holiday cheer to visitors of the bookstore.

The Intermountain Therapy Dogs are representatives of Intermountain Therapy Animals. The non-profit organization specializes in providing animal-assisted therapy in the areas of physical, occupational, speech and psychotherapies, as well as special education.

For more information about Intermountain Therapy Animals, visit www.therapyanimals.org.

For more information about the event, contact Mary Uravich at 994-7472.

The end of the drought

It would appear that has been quite the drought in blog activity over the past 2 months. For that, I apologize. The marketing department has been slammed with holiday shopping, advertising and preparation. The MSU Bookstore is full of holiday cheer this time of year, with Christmas lights, snowflakes, and tinsel hanging all about.

December 8th was Ugly Sweater Day at the MSU Bookstore. If you happened to come into the store that day you might have questioned the sanity of some of the staff, but take solace in knowing that there was a contest going on. To the right is a photo of the winner, Katie, in her ugly sweater. Hers was adorned with some homemade accoutrements, most noteably a metallic bird that sat on her left shoulder.

So as you can see, Christmas cheer is going strong at the Bookstore. If you are still shopping or Christmas gifts, come check out our great selection of MSU accessories and clothing items under $20! We also have gift cards available for any amount and great sales on Apple computers. MacBook Pros are up to $100 off the education price, and still include a $1 all-in-one printer/copier/scanner.

Remember, free parking in the visitor lot at 7th and Grant for 1/2 hour, and shop any time at www.msubookstore.org