• Speaking of cursing, did you know BYU has an offensive lineman named Nick Longshore? How convenient. When he gets hurt, he can curse like a longshoreman.

• Did you know junior wide receiver Troy Sheide is the son of former BYU quarterback Gary Sheide. So ex-QB's Fowler and Sheide have sons playing for BYU. That's nice, but what I'm really waiting for is Jim McMahon's kid to show up.

• Did you know BYU has a defensive back named Tico Pringle? Just saying his name makes me hungry.

Then there are the oddities about the Utes. For instance:

• Did you know 300-pound lineman Jason Boone comes from a family of 10 children? Do you ever wonder why people stop having kids when they're one short of a team?

• Tight end Pate Moleni comes from a family of 11 kids — so they have a full complement of players. Wanna go for a kickoff unit?

• Freshman kicker Kepa Gaison's full name is Bart-Jonah Iokepa Gaison. Or you can call him Notorious B.I.G. for short.

• The Utes have a player named Joe Giuliani and one named Joe Jiannoni, both linebackers. Which means, I guess, we can just call that part of the field "Little Italy."

• Quarterback Brett Ratliff's nickname is "Ratty." You don't want to see his apartment.

• Jason Voss, a 6-3, 268-pound tight end, showed dairy heifers in 4-H. Word is the judges kept pinning the blue ribbon on HIM.

• And finally, defensive back Mombroso Washington participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Imagine that — a player who understands the game against BYU really isn't war after all.

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E-mail: rock@desnews.com