At Conference USA media day, I pulled Doug Wojcik aside and told him I couldn’t believe he scheduled a game at Colorado. It’s one of those games that’s tough to win for a number of reasons — you’re on the road, you’re playing at altitude, and you’re playing against a really good coach in Jeff Bzdelik. At the same time, it’s a game that, if you lose, reflects poorly on you and your conference because Colorado is down. Those were the kind of games C-USA was trying to move away from scheduling, where a loss hurts you RPI-wise and image-wise more than a win helps you.

Wojcik responded that he scheduled it for a couple reasons. The biggest one is that Colorado agreed to a home-and-home, so Tulsa will get a BCS conference school in its building. But he also felt that his team could get Colorado, especially playing in its first year with a new system under a new coach. Plus, Tulsa would head out to Boulder a couple days early to get used to the altitude.

As usual, Wojcik was right, and I was wrong. Tulsa shot 59 percent tonight and beat the Buffs, 81-68. Is it a great win? No. But it’s an important win, because these are the kind of games C-USA needs to gain legitimacy. Tulane is doing its part. Others haven’t during the non-conference season.
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The Griz waived guard/forward Jeremy Richardson, ending his brief stay after being called up from the NBADL. Richardson, a 6-7, 195-pound swingman, was signed on Dec. 20 and appeared in three games, totaling one rebound and one assist in 15 minutes played. He didn’t score on six attempts.

The team’s roster now stands at 13 players. There are no immediate plans to replace Richardson although it is possible he could be re-signed to a 10-day contract. During his eight-game D-League run, Richardson averaged 28.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.63 steals in 41.5 minutes for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

I have an open request to voters in both polls to keep slighting Memphis. How does Kansas pick up one of the Tigers No. 1 votes? Didn’t the Tigers blow out teams the way they are supposed to. With an average margin of victory of 22 points they aren’t exactly squeezing by a tough schedule. The Tigers put up 83 points a game so they can’t argue that the offense stinks. The closest anyone has gotten to them is 4 points by USC in NYC. My beef isn’t so much with Kansas as it is with NC. They have struggled to win several games including last night’s squeaker over Clemson. They had a hard time with DAVIDSON for goodness sake. So why am I pointing all this out and asking for voters to keep slighting the Tigers, MOTIVATION! The more you slight the Tigers the motivated they will be in March. Because unlike college football where the polls and biases keep non-BCS teams away from championships, the Tigers will get a chance to prove it on the floor.
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Since Sunday’s story on otters - and the potential damage they can cause to fish populations in private ponds - I’ve gotten several calls from people in west Tennessee who are having otter problems.

If you’re a west Tennesssean with an otter issue, you need to call the Region I office of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, located in Jackson.

Their number is (800) 372-3928. They can hook you up with a licensed trapper from this area and give you more info on what you can or can’t do with your unwanted otters.

Good luck.