New Montana State head football coach Rob Ash hasn’t been in Bozeman too long, but he already likes what he’s seeing.

“I’ve been very impressed with the reception from everyone,” he said on Monday. “The people here are a lot like back in Iowa. Very outgoing and real positive.

“I get the same feeling here as I had back there and I already feel comfortable.”

Ash spent from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Father’s Day in his office trying to get situated in his new digs.

“It was Sunday and Father’s Day, but it was nice because there were no interruptions,” he said.

Ash hasn’t had a lot of time to sit down and evaluate his team. When he does it will be limited to watching films of last season’s games and this spring’s practices and scrimmages.

“We have no preconceived notions,” he said in terms of where players sit in the depth charts.

MSU players will have just three weeks of practice to learn Ash’s system, but the new coach is confident that they’ll be able to grasp it.

“I think they’ll be able to pick it up fine in August drills,” he said of what he calls a player-friendly system. “It’s not long on terminology and once the season gets going we’ll keep adding to it.”

The Bobcats’ talent level isn’t something that was lost on Ash during the interview process.

“The fact that this team was exceptional on the field and made a playoff run was important to me,” he said.

The Bobcats return 14 starters and have several players with considerable playing time in reserve ready to fill the open spots.

One area, however, needs more than just a little help. The offensive line has just two starters and the starting tight end back from last year, so three spots — center, guard and tackle — need to be filled.

“It’s an area of concern, but we have some young talent there and coach (Jason) McEndoo is back,” he said. “We have a couple scholarships left and it may be that we end up taking in a guy right now, but he has to be a good fit.”

The Bobcats start the season Sept. 1 in College Station, Texas against highly touted Texas A&M.

Cee Cee Tryan of Helena was the lone Montana State University qualifier for the finals round at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo. over the weekend.

Tryan, now in her senior season, finished eighth in breakaway roping to make the final field and took sixth after the final go. It was her first time reaching the final go-round in four trips to the CNFR. Tryan and partner Sam Levine of Wolf Creek were entered in the team roping, but one bad run sent them tumbling down in the standings.

That event was eventually won by Augusta’s Matt Robertson riding for Tarleton State (Texas) and Belgrade’s Cody Tew of Weatherford College (Texas). That MSU had just one contestant going in the finals was a bit of an upset as both Bobcat teams were ranked in the top 10.

For what it’s worth — literally — I can’t say I know anyone that owns a Barry Bonds home run ball, but as of last week I’m now related to someone who owns a Barry Bonds foul ball.

My nephew Stacey used his own charisma but mostly the sweet face of his niece Madison to talk one of the ball boys at the Arizona Diamondbacks game into tossing her a foul ball if one came his way.

Wouldn’t you know it, a couple innings later Bonds lashed one the ball boy’s way and he — true to his word — called Madison down to the railing where she became the co-owner of one Barry Bonds foul ball (she shares it with her little brother, Jacob, of course).

As Mel Allen would say: How about that?