Woops, risky slip.
Monthly Archives: February 2011
ESPN Misspell
Filed under Uncategorized
Missoula City Council – Feb. 14, 2011
Taylor W. Anderson
Feb. 14, 2011
UPDATED – 11:56 p.m.
City Councilman Dave Strohmaier likes to enjoy a beer as much as the next guy, but Missoula’s got to draw a line somewhere to try and curb the underage drinking issue throughout Montana.
That’s what Strohmaier said after the Missoula City Council decided to push the proposed social host ordinance a step further in its life during a meeting on Monday night. The council set a public hearing for the ordinance for 7 p.m. on March 14.
“Underage use of alcohol is a contributing factor to some percentages of DUI incidents, so that is part of my intent to introduce this,” Strohmaier said.
Strohmaier’s legislation would instate penalties to adults who knowingly allow minors to drink alcohol.
The ordinance, which is in the the early stages of debate, would penalize anyone who has knowledge of or allows underage drinking to happen.
Councilman Bob Jaffe said after the meeting that he is open to amending the ordinance as it stands, but will likely vote against it as is. Jaffe thinks the law should apply to minors (under 17) rather than underaged persons (18–20).
“Where I’m at now is I probably wouldn’t support it,” he said. “If I feel like it’s going to pass, I’m gonna start working harder to amend it.”
Jaffe said his main concern with the proposed ordinance lies in the age-old question of what role governance should play in people’s lives.
“It’s kind of the whole philosophical discussion of what’s the appropriate reach of the law,” he said. “How far into people’s personal behavior do we need rules about?”
In an e-mail on Tuesday Jaffe posed a scenario that he’d rather not let unfold due to the council’s passing of the law.
“It is hard not to imagine situations where an adult child of a single mom is going to have his buddies over to drink and there isn’t a damn thing the mom can do about it,” it says. “In some ways she is the victim. I’m not sure I want to make her the criminal too.”
Still, Strohmaier said he drafted the proposal to help curb alcohol abuse in Montana, and wants it passed.
“My goal is to get seven votes around this table,” he said.
-30-
####
Filed under Missoula City Council, Missoula Public Affairs
What’s in a name? Quite a bit, actually
Taylor W. Anderson
Feb. 14, 2011
The University of Montana got a pretty big name in Nate Montana.
Montana’s depth will benefit from Montana’s playing.
On a more easily understood note, The University of Montana won big for the Montana Grizzlies football team by admitting Nate Montana during the spring semester of 2011.
The past few months have seen NCAA quarterback drama involving Michigan backup Tate Forcier and Notre Dame backup Nate Montana.
Forcier became a hit in Montana after the Missoulian reported that he visited the University of Montana campus in December. He started his freshman year at Michigan in 2009 and ignited the hopes of hundreds of thousands of Wolverines fans with a 4–0 start. But the team slid to a 5–7 finish, 1–7 in the Big Ten Conference. Forcier lost the starting spot last season to electric sophomore Denard Robinson. Forcier signed with the University of Miami earlier in February.
Montana’s departure from Notre Damn, though less notorious than Forcier’s from Michigan, means a great deal to a Grizzlies team that is losing its two senior quarterbacks.
Justin Roper and Andrew Selle played their final games with the team last season. Roper gained the starting spot after a career-ending arm injury at the hands of Sacramento State sidelined Selle. In his final year with the Grizzlies Roper played in 11 games, threw for 1885-yards passing, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
The Grizzlies are now trying to find a leader to toss to a strong wide out lineup.
Head coach Robin Pflugrad showed in his recruiting process that he’d like to have a deeper quarterback stock next season to adjust for that. The Grizzlies signed Trent McKinney out of Hawaii on National Signing Day Feb. 2.
With McKinney, the Grizzlies have four potential quarterbacks vying for a starting spot next season. The addition of Montana makes five.
The QB corps includes freshman Jordan Johnson, whose red shirt season was dropped when he entered the Grizzlies’ game against Northern Colorado in October. He now has three years of eligibility remaining.
Montana, son of football great Joe Montana, will likely be a walk-on for the team before the start of spring drills this year. Since he is leaving the Football Bowl Subdivision for the Football Championship Subdivision, Montana has two years of eligibility remaining in his college career.
It is likely that Johnson will be a front-runner in the race for starting quarterback next season. Montana, who wasn’t near the top of a six-deep quarterback lineup at Notre Dame will probably become Johnson’s top competitor for the spot.
If one thing can be analyzed from Pflugrad’s off-season moves so far, it’s that he wanted to adjust for Roper’s departure. The addition of two hot prospects will likely renew interest from a fan base that saw its team miss the playoffs for the first time in over 15 years.
####
Filed under Montana Football, Montana Sports, Opinion
