The House Of Heat

An oasis has been reached- spring practice starts tomorrow. Here's the practice schedule, ripped off from the official site for you die-hards without jobs. (Kindred spirits? Right now, yes.)

PRACTICE SCHEDULE (August 2-26)
Thur., Aug. 2 - Practice #1 (helmets), 6:40-9 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)
Fri., Aug. 3 - Practice #2 (helmets), 6:20-9:30 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)Sat., Aug. 4 - Media Day, 1-3:30 p.m. (Dutson Theater, Carson Center) and Practice #3 (shells), 6:05-8:20 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)
Sun., Aug. 5 - Practice #4 (shells), 5:30-7:50 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)
Mon., Aug. 6 - Practice #5 (pads), 7:15-9:15 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)
Tues., Aug. 7 - Practice #6 (shells), 8:45-11 a.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility) and Practice #7 (pads), 7:15-9:15 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility) ... (depart for Camp Tontozona at 10:30 a.m.)
Wed., Aug. 8 - Practice #8 (pads), 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Thur., Aug. 9 - Practice #9 (shells), 8:50-11:05 a.m. and Practice #10 (pads), 4-6:15 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 10 - Practice #11 (pads), 3-5:15 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 11 - Scrimmage, 11-1 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 12 - Practice #12 (pads), 3-5:15 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 13 - Practice #13 (shells), 8:50-11:05 a.m. and Practice #14 (pads), 4-6:15 p.m.
Tues., Aug. 14 - Practice #15 (pads), 3-5:15 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 15 - Practice #18 (shells), 10:05-12:15 p.m. (depart for Tempe at 3:30 p.m.)
Thur., Aug. 16 - Practice #19 (pads), 7:15-9:15 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)Fri., Aug. 17 - Scrimmage, 7-9:30 p.m. (Sun Devil Stadium)
Sat., Aug. 18 - No Practice
Sun., Aug. 19 - Practice #20, 5:45-8 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)
Mon., Aug. 20 - First Day of Classes, No Practice
Tues., Aug. 21 - Practice #21, 5:45-8 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)
Wed., Aug. 22 - Practice #22, 5:45-8 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)
Thur., Aug. 23 - Practice #23, 4-5:30 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)
Fri., Aug. 24 - Mock Game, 6:15 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)
Sat., Aug. 25 - No Practice
Sun., Aug. 26 - Practice, 5:45-8 p.m. (Kajikawa Practice Facility)
As always, interviews will be held after all of these practices/scrimmages. Media are allowed to shoot all of these workouts until the team returns to Tempe from Camp Tontozona. Then, beginning Thursday, August 16, media can shoot the first 30 minutes of non-team drills.

I've always wanted to take the trek to check out a Camp Tontozona scrimmage with grill and keg in tow, but rumors have swirled that there is a strict no alcohol policy in place and that space is very tight, all assuming that the famous Payson summer rains don't cancel the whole thing.

What kind of fall practce is full of carousing yahoos at 2 am?

The best damn fall practice in town!

If you head up the hill to Camp T, get there early if you want a good view since there's no bleachers. And for chrissakes, don't let Rex Banner catch you having too much fun.

* The aforementioned no alcohol policy may be in jeopardy if Coach Erickson and Peter O'Toole have their way judging by this masterful piece at EDSBS, highlighted by this gem: "Got this boss gig at Arizona State. We’re gonna kick some ass."

* The official site has it's release from Pac-10 Media Day posted. They're also selling 2007 Media Guides for $20 a pop, but I think I'll stick with the good ol' free interwebs for team information. There's probably more content on Facebook and Myspace than can be found in that overpriced rag. Speaking of media day, here's a short interview with boss-man Erickson.

* Devils Digest is all over the start of practice like a UA grad on a mop job, posting a fine position preview and a list of 12 key players for 2007. You don't even have to pay for 'em!

* the mainstream media is on top of practice too, led by Jeff Metcalfe's piece on the start of the season. Erickson pointed out that playing well in the opener against SJSU is important, but not that important.

Dennis Erickson plucks a score from one of his 310 games as a college or pro head coach to make a point about his 25th season at some team's helm.

Oregon State 21, Eastern Washington 19.

From that unimpressive start of the 2000 season against a Division I-AA opponent emerged a juggernaut that finished 11-1, crushed Notre Dame 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl and was fourth in the final Associated Press poll.

Some hack from Tucson tried to spin the same story into wildcat bukkake using the headline "Erickson worried about facing Tomey." Maybe you shouldn't have fired him, then.

* As usual with the big papers, there are a couple of insightful player pieces on workhorse RB Ryan Torain and incoming frosh Jonathan "Tank" English, one of thousands displaced by Hurricane Katrina two years ago. After reading the article, Tank appears to have the mental maturity to step in and contribute at defensive tackle right away. At 6'0" and 330 pounds, he also has a pretty solid set of physical skills, too.

* Geting back to references about cartoons, if you haven't made it over to the Simpsons Movie website to make yourself into a Simpsons avatar you need to do so right now.Moe's sucks, I'm headin' to The Vine!