A small portion of my job is data entry, namely updating the E-R’s local calendar with Chico State events. It sounds tedious, but that’s only because it is. However, the silver lining is that seeing those dates sort of drives home just how close basketball season is to Acker Gym.

Like, for instance, Thursday.

The Wildcat women host Alaska Fairbanks to open up their season, and I’m trying everything in my power to cover it. I’m scheduled to be anchored to my desk tomorrow, but I think I can finagle a way out of here. It involves bribery and probably some yelling, but if you’re not doing those things in your daily life anyway, you’re just not trying hard enough.

Even if I can’t make it, I think you should. Come on, it’s Thursday. It’s not like you’re going to be playing disc golf at Bidwell anyway...

Keep an eye on these things in the first of Chico State’s dress rehearsals for the CCAA season; I know I will:

The hosts’ posts.
At some point, something is going to stop rhyming, and then I’ll probably be done blogging forever. Until then, Renee Goldoff and Christine Vest should be getting most of your attention as the Wildcats try to make the transition to a big, bad post team. Coach Brian Fogel has repeated that the blocks is where his team has the chance to shine, and if Goldoff can get off to the same start she did last year — and if Vest can carry over her strong finish — I think you’ll see Fogel proven right.

Natasha Smith.
Yep, I still think she has to be Jade Smith-Williams of a year ago. Or somebody does. If a player of that quality and leadership level doesn’t step forward early in the season, even the strongest of defenses will struggle to win games without a leader on offense. The good news is that Smith’s shown she has the tenacity to do it before. Defensively, I think the backcourt could be very strong with her as its focus.

Whoever’s singing the national anthem.
In my personal opinion, it should always be Vest, who did it last year beautifully. It would make her look that much more impressive before she went out and elbowed someone in the teeth.
Yes, Chico State does get some good anthems from time to time, and yes, I know how hard of a song it is. And I don’t particularly like laughing during it, but there was one that was so overly ridiculous last year that I couldn’t help it.

Just got penciled in to cover this game. It was about as painful as I thought it would be.