Spectators around the world agree, sports and food go hand in hand. Super Bowl Sunday is the busiest day of the year for Pizza Hut. Buffalo Wild Wings has developed an entire nationwide restaurant chain based on their motto of "Wings. Beer. Sports."

In-stadium fares are growing ever more diverse, no longer is it just a hot dog and pretzel. At Grizzly games you can get a Pizza Hut pizza, a bag of gourmet kettle corn and something called a walking taco. There are even vegetarian options, though from the numbers it doesn't look like Griz fans are big on eating healthy. Luckily for our waistlines football season doesn't last all year long.

The folks at UM Concessions are the ones behind the scenes that make sure there is a Coke and a box of Milk Duds waiting for you at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. There are several full-time employees that spend the entire year preparing for six Saturdays in the fall.

Here are some tasty numbers from the 2011 Grizzly football season.

8 home games

32 approximate hours concessions were open

726,800 fluid ounces of fountain soda

8,866,960 calories contained in 726,800 ounces of Coca-Cola Classic.* It would take a single person nine years, eight months and 15 days of the recommended daily value of 2,500 calories to match that number.

20,367 bottles of water

16,053 cups of hot cocoa

11,331 candies

9,972 Griz Dogs

5,151 Polish Dogs

2,396 soft pretzels with cheese

1,669 orders of nachos

1,150 bags of kettle corn

20 Veggie Bratwursts

Source: UM Concessions

Update: The last "Griz by the Numbers" post included a note that former Griz player Donny Lisowski was invited to the Seahawks' camp on a tryout basis. He impressed head coach Pete Carroll and Monday signed a three-year free-agent deal.

*www.caloriecount.com

The Montana men's athletic programs are on the verge of winning the Big Sky Conference All-Sports Trophy for the first time since 1970-71. That was the Grizzlies' lone All-Sports victory since the start of the Big Sky in 1963.

With only the outdoor championships still to be factored into the Big Sky's formula, Montana was averaging 13.5 points per sport, more than two ahead of Weber State's 11.4. Montana State was third at 10.8.

The Bobcats were second at the outdoor track and field championships at Bozeman last weekend, the Wildcats third and the Grizzlies seventh.

Montana won outright Big Sky titles last season in both men's basketball and men's tennis and shared the football championship. The Grizzlies finished fourth at the Big Sky cross country championships and seventh at the indoor track and field championships.

The Montana women won their first All-Sports Trophy last season.

Northern Colorado led the chase for the Women's All-Sports Trophy going into the outdoor championships. The Bears, who had outright titles in volleyball and golf, a shared title in soccer and a runner-up finish in basketball, were ahead of Sacramento State, but the Hornets finished first last weekend at Bozeman to UNC's ninth.

Montana was sitting fourth entering the championships.

The good news is Montana held a solid overall athletic points advantage when the men's and women's totals were combined. The Grizzlies were averaging 10.2 points per sport, well ahead of second-place Weber State's 8.7.

That total is the one that is used for determining the athletics portion of the Presidents Cup, which is awarded in July and is a balance of athletic and academic performance. The Cup also takes into account graduation rates and team grade point averages, among other things.

Overall Athletic Points (Men's pts. ... Women's pts. ... Total ... Avg./Sport)

Montana (67.5 ... 55 ... 122.5 ... 10.2)

Weber State (57 ... 47.5 ... 104.5 ... 8.7)

Montana State (54 ... 38.5 ... 92.5 ... 8.4)

Sacramento State (35 ... 66 ... 101 ... 8.4)

Northern Colorado (16 ... 80.5 ... 96.5 ... 8.0)

Portland State (36 ... 59 ... 95 ... 7.9)

Eastern Washington (49 ... 44 ... 93 ... 7.8)

Northern Arizona (38 ... 49 ... 87 ... 7.3)

Idaho State (28.5 ... 52.5 ... 81 ... 6.8)

Here's to the kicker.

Here's to the scrawny kid who weighed maybe a buck fifty when he showed up on campus in 2008 but with hard work ended up benching the standard 225 lbs. 24 times at the Griz Pro Day this spring.

Here's to the guy who had to replace the greatest kicker in Montana history and four years later was matching and breaking his records.

Here's to a man who spreads praise to his teammates and accepts the full burden of blame.

Here's to the hero that will look you in the eye when he shakes your hand and sign any autograph shoved in his face.

Here's to Brody McKnight.

McKnight transferred to Montana from Purdue but hails from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada a place known more for what they do on the ice than on the field. When he became a Griz in 2008 he stepped into big shoes, Dan Carpenter just left for the Miami Dolphins. Much of Griz Nation including myself was worried to see what would happen to the one phase of the game that was automatic. A few weeks into the 2008 season the redshirt freshman eased the minds of the Griz fans everywhere. He hit a 42-yard field goal as time expired to give the Griz a 38-35 win over Central Washington.

He is quick with a smile or a joke. He often slipped from his folksy Canadian tone into a fiery impression of his mother Jenny's thick Irish accent.  He also was great in the Missoula community. He never hesitated to speak at a fundraiser or dinner or volunteer for community service projects. He would do anything for Griz Nation but if he had his choice would probably be fishing.

He earned the respect of his teammates with his hard work and selfless attitude. When the punting game struggled and he was asked to step in, he did without question. He was named the 2010 and 2011 team co-MVP and was a team captain in 2011.

He was drafted eighth overall in the Canadian football League draft, but has set his sights higher. He signed a free-agent contract with the New York Jets and just finished their three-day minicamp last weekend. An undrafted free-agent deal is by no means a guarantee of a job, but here's to hoping that good guys occasionally finish first.

Here's to having two Griz kickers in the AFC East and hoping we can get lucky three times-in-a-row.

Based on its top-10 finish in the final coaches' poll in football last fall, Montana is currently ranked 19th in the latest Capital One Cup standings. The Capital One Cup will be awarded in July to the best men's and women's Division I athletics programs in the country.

Through the winter sports seasons, North Carolina leads the men's standings with 75 points. Stanford tops the women's standings with 109.5 points. The spring features 13 more championships that will impact the standings as teams attempt to win both the Cup and $400,000 in scholarship funds.

Schools earn points based on their teams' top-10 finishes in NCAA Division I championships and in the final official coaches' polls across 19 men's and 20 women's sports. The Cup is awarded in July at the annual ESPY Awards.

Last year Florida won the men's Cup and Stanford the women's.

Winter Cup highlights:

* Men's NCAA championship winners were Vermont (skiing), Florida (indoor track and field), Penn State (wrestling), Ohio State (fencing), California (swimming and diving), Kentucky (basketball), Boston College (ice hockey) and Illinois (gymnastics).

* Women's NCAA championship winners were Vermont (skiing), Texas Christian (rifle), Oregon (indoor track and field), California (swimming and diving), Minnesota (ice hockey), Ohio State (fencing), Baylor (basketball), Maryland-Eastern Shore (bowling), Alabama (gymnastics).

* The Baylor women's basketball team won the national championship and became the first team in NCAA history to win 40 games in a season.

* It was the third-straight national championship for Florida's men and Oregon's women in indoor track and field.

* Alabama won its second-straight national championship in women's gymnastics.

* In total, 89 schools have earned points in the Capital One Cup men's standings and 87 schools have earned points in the women's standings.

The Grizzly football team again made a big splash in the NFL draft. For the third time in five years two former players were drafted to the NFL. Cornerback Trumaine Johnson was selected with the second pick of the third round (65th overall) by the St. Louis Rams, and Caleb McSurdy was drafted with the 15th pick in the seventh round (222nd overall) by the Dallas Cowboys.

For any FCS school to have a single player drafted is an accomplishment, but with multiple players drafted Montana again set the standard.

Here are some numbers to put the big Griz draft day into perspective. 

0: Zero other FCS schools with more than one player drafted.

1: One other Big Sky Conference player drafted (Eastern Washington safety, Matt Johnson, fourth round to Dallas).

7: Seven Bowl Championship Series teams had no selections (Duke, Kansas, Maryland, Pittsburg, Texas Tech, UCLA and Washington State).

10: Ten BCS schools, including 2010 national champion Auburn, had only one player drafted.

7: Seven former Griz players drafted in the last five years, more than Washington (6) and Washington State (2).

32: Thirty-two draft picks in the history of Grizzly Athletics including Johnson and McSurdy.

9: Nine BCS schools, including Florida and Washington, with two players drafted, the same amount of picks as Montana.

4: Four former Griz players so far that have signed NFL free-agent contracts (Jon Opperud-Seattle, Jabin Sambrano-Indianapolis,  Brody McKnight-New York Jets, Charles Burton-San Diego).

1: One former Griz player, Donny Lisowski, invited to Seattle's camp.

How powerful and how positive for the University's image is the Montana football program? Another example surfaced last week at a popular Mexican restaurant in Tucson, Ariz.

A member of Montana's sports information department was on a cycling vacation in southern Arizona, and after a long, hard day riding up and down Mt. Lemmon, he and five friends from Polson paid a post-ride visit to La Parrilla, rumored to be the best spot for Mexican food in all of Tucson.

To enjoy that evening's NCAA tournament games on the television, the cycling sextet ate dinner (rated four stars out of four by all six, by the way) at the restaurant's bar.

The bartender was an Asian-American in his 50s and had -- at best -- a limited grasp of the English language, at least a form of English that the Montanans could understand. Despite this barrier, he knew one thing for certain when he learned of the group's home state.

"Griz football, yes?" he said with two thumbs up. Neat story to balance the new tradition of dog-pile journalism.

Remember: The sky is not falling. It's only reported like that so you'll buy the next day's paper to find out if it really did. It hasn't, and it won't be.

The Montana men's tennis team has just passed the halfway point in the spring season. Six of the Grizzlies' eight remaining matches will be against conference opponents starting Saturday with Idaho State. Four teams advance to Big Sky Conference Championship and the Griz are in the thick of a tight race. With this in mind the Montana sports information staff has compiled a mid-season Big Sky Conference Power Rankings.

1. Sacramento State (5-10, 4-0 BSC)

 Remaining conference matches:  at MSU, at UM, PSU, ISU

The Hornets are the perennial power in the Big Sky for tennis and this year is no different. Their non-conference schedule has been brutal but their conference play has been spectacular. Sac State won a home match against a strong Eastern Washington team 4-3 but a tough road trip to Montana to face the Griz and Cats looms on the schedule.

2. Eastern Washington (9-7, 3-1 BSC)

Remaining conference matches:  WSU, NAU, at UM, at MSU

The Eagles suffered their lone conference loss to Sacramento State in a hard-fought 4-3 match. EWU has been dominant in their other three matches dropping one point in their three matches in wins over Idaho State, Northern Colorado and Portland State. The Eagles have Weber State on March 6 and close out the season with the Montana schools.

3. Montana (7-4, 2-0 BSC)

Remaining conference matches:  at ISU, at WSU, UNC, SAC, EWU, MSU

The Griz are undefeated in Big Sky play but have yet to play a top conference opponent. That changes this weekend with the Idaho State-Weber State swing. Coach Kris Nord's squad has been surprisingly tough in doubles play and after the return of No. 2 Mikolaj Caruk from emergency surgery the team is healthy and intact. The Griz have a tough road to make consecutive trips to the conference championship. There are home matches with Sac State and Eastern Washington left on the schedule and a matchup with MSU to close out the season.

4. Montana State (6-7, 2-0 BSC)

Remaining conference matches:   at ISU, at WSU, SAC, UNC, EWU, at UM

The Cats have a similar story to the Griz as far as schedule but under the leadership of freshman Niklas Brandes MSU is surprising some teams this season. The Cats' non-conference loss to UM in Bozeman is one reason they are ranked lower than the Griz.

5. Weber State (7-8, 3-1 BSC)

Remaining conference matches:  MSU, UM, ISU, at EWU

Weber State is a wildcard team. The Wildcats might end the season in the third spot or in the sixth spot. WSU plays host to the Cats and the Griz this weekend and also have EWU and Idaho State to play in conference. The Wildcats beat Idaho State 5-2 in an early-season non-conference match. Their lone conference setback was a 6-1 loss to the Hornets.

6. Idaho State (6-8, 3-1 BSC)

Remaining conference matches:  MSU, UM, at WSU, at SAC

The most improved team in the conference this year, the Bengals are still very much in competition for a spot in the Big Sky Championship, they have work to do though. ISU's three conference wins came against Portland State, Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona, their loss was a decisive 7-0 sweep at EWU. This will be a critical weekend for the Bengals with the Montana schools coming to town.

7. Northern Arizona (4-11, 1-5 BSC)

Remaining conference matches:  at EWU, at PSU

The Jacks are mathematically still in the race for a final spot but it is likely they will be at home during the championship. NAU had its chance to get back into the race last weekend but the Montana schools put an end to those hopes.

8. Northern Colorado (4-7, 1-5 BSC)

Remaining conference matches:  at UM, at MSU

Northern Colorado is in a similar situation to NAU. Their two remaining conference matches will be the tough Montana road trip where the Bears will likely end their season.

9. Portland State (2-13, 0-6 BSC)

Remaining conference matches:  at SAC, NAU

Portland State is mathematically eliminated from the Big Sky Tournament.

Hoop is way more intensive for this broadcaster than football but I still by no means was ready for this historic Griz season to reach culmination.

There's at least twice as many games, meaning that many more pre-game and post-games and coach's shows and by February a broadcaster is struggling more and more to discover a different way to ask basically the same questions.

Sure there are different teams to learn, different tendencies to study and different arenas to travel to, figuring out all the time what the school does and doesn't provide for the radio guy.

Believe me it varies considerably from facility to facility but let me inject here I was more than surprised when at the NCAA Championship at the Pit, after reliably supplying stats at every time out to the entire press row, they didn't deliver the final package which contains far more succinct information than the computer screen.

But that's for another time.

Ironically prior to the season's tipoff I had printed 33 personal stat sheets, just enough I theorized to get the Grizzlies into the Sweet 16.

And I have to admit it was with trepidation, I headed out the door to Albuquerque with the last two in hand, knowing I'd be happy to design additional copies if indeed The University of Montana was left standing and headed for Boston Garden in the East regional.

Basketball starts for Montana usually while football is wrapping up the regular season and prepping for playoff action, but I'm not sure I remember spring football getting underway almost to the day when the hoop season is over.

But that's what we have - ample snowfall, subfreezing temperatures, lights being installed and spring football hitting the field on Monday.

But before the ball turns from oval, additional accolades to league coach of the year Wayne Tinkle, his staff and every part of Griz hoop for the most enjoyable season I can remember.

They persevered through the myriad that is the basketball schedule, hung together through injuries and personal tribulations, many of which you didn't hear about, and did what many a fine team had not done in two decades by bringing the league tournament back to Missoula.

And then they put the cherry on top of the sundae by ignoring the pressure, the odds of beating the team with the league MVP in consecutive outings to advance to the national stage.

And the fans rewarded them by coming out in droves, with three crowds in excess of 7,000 in the last four games, pushing the average attendance up about 700 fans and equaling last season.

All that when 12 games drew sometimes far less than half of what the team eventually drew.

The 2011-12 Grizzlies man-to-man were the most cohesive, helpful, competitive and enjoyable group I've been around in many a moon.

While seniors Derek Selvig, Art Steward, Shawn Stockton and Jordan Wood obviously will be missed they leave behind a legacy of raising the bar to a point that will challenge future generations of hoopsters.

And this team indelibly etched its collective name in the school's annals of success.

They took no quarter and they left it on the floor and while the loss to Wisconsin was hard to swallow, it won't be long until next year's edition is back at it in an attempt to again dominate the hardwood.

My radio companion Greg Sundberg made my season especially enjoyable and the technical folks at Learfield Sports in Jefferson City have made me a believer in the professional way they do their job.

And of course without the support of you the readers, the listeners, the sponsors and everyone associated with both Learfield Sports and The University of Montana, my job would not be as enjoyable as it is.

The class man that he is, Wayne Tinkle had a note read on the charter plane as it landed late Thursday night thanking everyone for their efforts.

But it's the guy at the helm who sets the tone and serves as an example of how to conduct yourself.

And while it takes a village, it is he that I give all the credit to for this remarkable and memorable season.

Safe and sound 1,100 plus miles from Missoula the Grizzlies head into a one-hour public practice session on the floor of the fabled Pit, home of the Lobos of New Mexico.

It is another of those long breaks between games that seem to epitomize this record-setting season.

Remember the Grizzlies wrapped up the league championship and subsequent NCAA berth March 7th and won't hit the floor here in Albuquerque until Thursday afternoon, the 15th.

But this resilient group is used to playing on consecutive nights, facing off in several games at home and on the road in a short period, or having a weeklong respite like the days preceding BracketBuster.

Long before any of these Grizzlies and the majority of the coaching staff for that matter were born, The Pit hosted the Grizzlies when the Lobos competed in the old Pacific Coast Conference.

While the Grizzlies have not met a Bo Ryan-coached team, they did face Wisconsin in 1997 in Hawaii.

Of course Griz third-year assistant coach Freddie Owens from Milwaukee gives Montana quite a succinct scouting report since he played at Wisconsin for Ryan for four years, started for a pair and led the Badgers to victory and into the Sweet 16 with a trey to defeat Tulsa as a junior in 2003.

Freddie's wife Carmen also hails from there as does Missoulian Sports editor Bob Meseroll, himself a Badger.

All-American candidate guard Jordan Taylor is one game key who shoots about 35 percent from three where Wisconsin has had their problems at time this year.

They make about a third of their shots from long range and shoot about 36 percent as a team with three to four guys filling it, but from the field overall the Badgers are just 42 percent.

And in Big 10 play they shot just 32 percent from three and less than 40 percent overall.

And league opponents scored about five more points on the average per game against Wisconsin while the Badgers scored just above 60 a game.

They make about eight treys a game and take about 40 percent of their shots from out there. The Badgers turn the ball over above two times less than their opponents. But they are not necessarily a ball-hawking group with about five steals a game and make just a dozen free throws a game per outing in 16 attempts.

Pre-game is scheduled for 11:40 Thursday morning with an approximate 12:10 tip.