February 22nd’s “HOT or NOT?” candidate is Natalie Zea. Cast your vote in our online poll below or on our Facebook page.

Natalie Zea was born March 17, 1975. She is known for her roles as Gwen Hotchkiss on the NBC daytime soap Passions, socialite Karen Darling on Dirty Sexy Money on ABC and Winona Hawkins on Justified on FX.

Zea had a few small film roles before joining the cast of Passions in 2000 as Gwen Hotchkiss, replacing exiting actress Liza Huber. Zea left the show in 2002, and was replaced by Huber.

She has made several different guest appearances in primetime, guest starring on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in 2001. In 2004, she recurred on the FX cop drama The Shield playing a love interest to Michael Chiklis’ Vic Mackey, leaving the show for the short-lived ABC drama Eyes. Her next major role was on the ABC soap Dirty Sexy Money, playing spoiled socialite Karen Darling. Following the series’ cancellation after two seasons, Zea recurred on the HBO series Hung. She has appeared as a series regular on the FX drama Justified.

Most recently, Zea portrayed high-powered defense lawyer Sarah Goodwin on Law and Order: Los Angeles. Zea’s character defended a female oil rig worker (portrayed by Sprague Grayden) accused of murdering a co-worker.

In 2010, she played Will Ferrell’s character’s ex-girlfriend, Christinith, in the action comedy The Other Guys.

There’s no sugarcoating this season, the University of Utah Men’s Basketball program is suffering through a historically bad season. At 5-20 coming into today’s contest, with fellow Pac 12 newbie Colorado, the Utes have suffered their first 20 loss season in more than 100 years of playing Dr. Naismith’s game. A minimum of 6 games remain for Larry Krystkowiak’s team this season, then the rebuilding project begins with his first “real” recruiting class coming in next season, along with a pair of talented transfers (Glen Dean and Aaron Dotson) sitting out and ready to play next season.

Today at the Huntsman Center, Utes fans will get a chance to forget this season’s struggles for just a little while and remember fondly one of the great seasons in Utah Basketball History. Today Utah will honor the 1976-77 Men’s squad, coached by Jerry Pimm and led by Jeff Jonas and Jeff Judkins. The team that went 22-7 won the WAC Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. That season was highlighted by an early season wins over national powers UNLV and at Rupp Arena against Kentucky.

I had dinner last week in Arizona with Jeff Jonas and then spoke with him again on Thursday on my radio show. The one thing that shines through when talking to Jonas or any of his teammates from that team and era of Utah Basketball is the pride in the program and love of the school. It’s something the Krystkowiak and his staff are trying to build once again with the players in the program. Names like Buster Matheney, Greg Deane, Tony Hodges, Michael Dunn and more were key players on the 1976-77 Utah squad, but also key names in Utah Basketball History.

I’m looking forward to meeting the man that put that team together, Head Coach Jerry Pimm. I’ve been around Utah Basketball for more than 10 years now and I don’t recall a time when Coach Pimm came back to a game. He’s living and retired in Santa Barbara, after 15 very successful seasons as Head Coach of the Gauchos. Pimm was 173-86 in his nine seasons as the bench boss at Utah and had a number of very good teams, winning 3 WAC Championships. You can make a case (and those being honored today probably will) that the 76-77 team was Pimm’s best at Utah.

So in a season, where things haven’t gone the way that Utah fans have grown accustomed over the years, today will be a nice chance to reflect on the good times, honor those who brought them and look forward to a time when Utah Basketball is great once again.

If you can’t make it to the Huntsman Center this afternoon, join us on the radio. Jimmy Soto joins me on today’s broadcast on the Flagship Home of the Utes, ESPN 700. Pre Game coverage begins at 2:30 and tipoff at 3pm.

February 15th’s “HOT or NOT?” candidate was Natascha McElhone. You voted. She’s:

Natascha McElhone began her career in the theatre, including starring in Richard III in Regent’s Park, The Count of Monte Cristo and The Cherry Orchard at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester; and in Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Open Air Theatre. McElhone made her television debut in the BBC’s Bergerac in 1991, and was seen in an episode of Absolutely Fabulous in 1992.

McElhone made her film debut in 1996′s Surviving Picasso with Anthony Hopkins. In the same year she was seen in the Dennis Potter TV mini-series Karaoke. Although she has made relatively few films, her most successful to date has been 1998′s The Truman Show with Jim Carrey. She had leading roles opposite Brad Pitt in The Devil’s Own, Robert De Niro in Ronin and George Clooney in Solaris.

In 2005, she co-starred in the NBC miniseries Revelations with actor Bill Pullman. She starred in a 2006 West End production of Honour at the Wyndham’s Theatre alongside Diana Rigg and Martin Jarvis. She then accepted a leading role in the Showtime cable television series Californication as Karen, alongside David Duchovny.

McElhone is the newest Neutrogena spokeswoman and the face of the Ageless Essentials Continuous Hydration line.

In 2010 she was heard as the voice of Marie in the video game Castlevania: Lords of Shadow from Konami.

February 8th’s “HOT or NOT?” candidate is Katharine McPhee. Cast you vote in our online poll below or on our Facebook page.

Katharine Hope McPhee was born March 25, 1984. She gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of the Fox reality show American Idol in 2006, eventually finishing as the runner-up.

Her self-titled debut album was released on RCA Records on January 30, 2007 and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200; it has sold 381,000 copies to date. The album’s first single, “Over It”, was a Pop Top 30 hit and was certified gold in 2008.

Her second album, Unbroken, was released on Verve Forecast Records on January 5, 2010 and debuted at number 27 on the Billboard 200. The album featured the single “Had It All”, which peaked at number 22 on the Billboard AC chart. It has sold 45,000 copies to date. Her third album, the holiday-themed Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You, was released on October 12, 2010. The album debuted at number eleven on the Billboard Top Holiday Albums chart while the single “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard AC chart. The album has sold 23,000 copies to date.

McPhee has also established an acting career, co-starring in The House Bunny in 2008 as the hippie sorority sister Harmony, and in a starring role in the NBC series Smash.

“Audentes fortuna juvat” — Fortune Favors the Bold

In my other play by play job I work with a Head Coach who lives and coaches by that Latin phrase. It was one of the first things that came to mind late Wednesday night when I confirmed that Utah Head Football Coach Kyle Whittingham named his 24 year old Quarterbacks Coach his new Offensive Coordinator. Brian Johnson is barely old enough to rent a car when he goes on recruiting trips, but he is now in charge of the Utah Offense as it heads into its second season in the Pac 12 Conference.

In the need for full disclosure, I consider Brian Johnson a friend. Not the kind that hangs out or spends holidays together, but still a friend. I first met Johnson when he was just 17 years old and a freshman on the Utah Football team. In the year, where everyone was talking about Alex Smith, Brian Johnson already stood out. He was one of the brightest and most articulate young men I’d come across in my years of coverage collegiate athletics. I knew immediately that the Utes had a good one and so did his Head Coach Urban Meyer and QB Coach Dan Mullen. On their way out of the program and off to Florida both raved about what great hands the Utah Offense was in for the next 3 years. I don’t need to recount the rest of the Brian Johnson story, because anyone reading or caring about this story knows the rest.

I use that example to illustrate that Johnson has always been just a little ahead of his years. So as the debate rages on sports radio and in the Twitter-sphere about whether Whittingham made the correct choice or not, I would simply tell you that nobody will know if this is going to work until Johnson puts on the headset on August 30th against Northern Colorado. One thing I will say is that Kyle Whittingham knows a thing or two about game planning against clever offensive minds and has spoken effusively about Johnson’s feel for the game.

Is there risk with this selection? There’s no doubt about it. Johnson has just 2 years coaching experience and has never been a Coordinator before. While he has played the game at a high level and has become an excellent recruiter in just two years on the job, he’s never called plays or run an offensive staff.

Kyle Whittingham has been around football and coaching his entire life. He is the son of a coach and has forgotten more football than most of us will ever know. This is the biggest hire of his 7 plus season Head Coaching tenure at Utah. He saw in his first go-around in the Pac 12 exactly what it takes to compete offensively with the “big boys”. When Norm Chow left for Hawaii, Whittingham had more than 50 potential candidates for the vacancy. He spent more than a month vetting candidates and after the process was complete his decision was just three offices down the hall.

As with any hire there will be risks, but often times the higher the risk the higher the reward. If you are going to take a risk then it might as well be on a guy that knows something about winning and even more about leading. In hiring Brian Johnson, Kyle Whittingham gets both. This would certainly be categorized as a bold move, now we’ll see if indeed fortune favors the Utes.

ESPN 700 Radio has confirmed with a source close to the situation tonight that Utah Quarterbacks Coach Brian Johnson has been named Offensive Coordinator. The former Sugar Bowl MVP has coached Quarterbacks for the last 2 seasons at the University of Utah. Johnson, who is 24 years old, is expected to be formally introduced in as Offensive Coordinator in a Press Conference on Thursday.

Johnson led Utah to a 26-7 record as a Quarterback from 2004-2008 and graduated as the school’s winningest quarterback. Johnson’s offensive influences include: Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer, Mississippi State Head Coach Dan Mullen, San Diego State Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludwig and Hawaii Head Coach Norm Chow.

January 25th’s “HOT or NOT?” candidate was Maria Bello. You voted. She’s:

Maria Elena Bello was born April 18, 1967. She is known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence and Payback. In television, she is known for her role as Dr. Anna Del Amico on the NBC medical drama, ER.

Bello’s breakthrough came when the producers Kerry Lenhart and John J. Sakmar cast her as Mrs. Smith in the spy show Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The show was cancelled after eight weeks on the air. Then came a guest stint on ER as the feisty pediatrician Dr. Anna Del Amico, in which she guest-starred in the final three episodes of the third season. Bello remained on the show for one season as a regular cast member, departing after the medical drama’s 4th season. The actress went on into movies landing a role in Coyote Ugly. She was nominated for the Golden Globe award twice: for Best Supporting Actress in The Cooler (2003) and for Best Actress in A History of Violence (2005). She starred in The Jane Austen Book Club as Jocelyn.

In 2008, Bello starred in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor as Evy O’Connell. In December 2008, Bello began developing a drama for HBO. Besides starring in the new series, Bello will also serve as an executive producer.

She starred in the 2009 Sundance film The Yellow Handkerchief, which was released in theaters on February 26, 2010 by Samuel Goldwyn Films.

In 2010 Bello guest starred in two episodes of Law & Order: SVU. In 2011, Bello starred in the television series Prime Suspect, which was canceled after a half-season (13 episodes).

“You are remembered for the rules you break” — Douglas MacArthur

I’m not sure that I ever thought I would use a quote from one of the great military minds in United States history to describe a Utah Basketball Player, but here we go. I’m sure by now that if you are reading this column that you know Larry Krystkowiak kicked his best player, Josh “Jiggy” Watkins, off the basketball team this week. Watkins has been a repeat offender in the breaking of team rules department. Let me say this, I’ve known Josh Watkins for nearly two years now, he’s not a bad kid. He’s a really nice kid, with an engaging personality. He also happens to struggle with following the rules set out by his Head Coach. What he did and how often he did it isn’t really all that important anymore. I know everyone like to know the details and what rules were broken, but the details aren’t all that important in this situation.

What is important is that the Head Coach, who is in his first year and trying to rebuild a program that has bottomed out, deemed the violations egregious enough to remove his team’s leading scorer and best player for the remainder of the season. This is called “Sending a Message” or “Establishing a Baseline for Program Expectations”. In other words, No one is above the rules, no matter how big or small the rules or status on the team. Krystkowiak and his staff aren’t just trying to make the product on the floor better, but they are attempting to change the culture of Utah Basketball, which hasn’t been great. Make no mistake about this too; this is a move for the long run not the short run.

The dismissal of Watkins from the basketball team will most certainly make an already offensively challenged basketball team much more challenged to score points. I’m not sure how or where the nearly 16 points a game that Watkins averaged will be made up. But some of the younger players like Kareem Storey and Anthony Odunsi will now be given the opportunity to show what they are made of and prove that they belong on the Division One level. Both have looked like freshmen for most of this season, which means they had moments where they’ve excelled, but mostly have struggled to pick up the College Game. Storey has shown some flashes of brilliance on defense, but will now be asked to be the primary ball handler and the guy that gets Utah into its offensive sets. Odunsi, whose minutes have diminished during Pac 12 play, will now likely see those minutes jump again.

The Utah Program isn’t being judged on wins and losses this year, to be fair it probably can’t be judged on wins and losses for a couple of seasons. Evaluation of Larry Krystkowiak’s team will come on progress and improvement. Unless there’s a clear understanding of the rules and what is expected of players in the program, there can never be progress and improvement or more importantly wins. So the message has been sent, now let’s see how this young team responds.

As always, I welcome your thoughts. Please feel free to comment here or send me an email to bill@espn700sports.com. You can also interact with me on twitter @espn700bill

January 4th’s “HOT or NOT?” candidate is Paula Patton. You voted. She’s:

Paula Maxine Patton (born December 5, 1975) is an American actress. She is known for her appearances in the films Idlewild (2006), Déjà Vu (2006), Mirrors (2008), Swing Vote (2008), Precious (2009), Just Wright (2010), Jumping the Broom (2011), and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011).

Her first acting role was a small part in 2005′s Hitch, which starred Will Smith and Eva Mendes. She followed that with a small part in the drama London and appeared alongside OutKast members Andre Benjamin and Big Boi in Idlewild.

Patton’s big break came in 2006 when she landed the pivotal role of Claire Kuchever in the science-fiction thriller Déjà Vu, starring Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer. She played television reporter Kate Madison in 2008′s Swing Vote. She appeared in the film Mirrors, alongside Kiefer Sutherland, in 2008. She also appeared in her husband Robin Thicke’s “Lost Without You” video in 2006. In Precious, Patton plays Blu Rain, a teacher at an alternative high school in New York. There she encounters and mentors the main character, Precious.

In fall 2010, Patton was announced as succeeding Sharon Stone as the new full-time assistant district attorney on the NBC legal drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. However, Patton landed the lead female role in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and thus her role on SVU was reduced to one episode. She was replaced by Melissa Sagemiller.

After tonight’s Utah win in the Hyundai Sun Bowl, I spoke with Utah Running Backs Coach Dave Schramm who told me that he has been offered the Offensive Coordinator’s Position at Fresno State University. Schramm tells me that he will accept the position on Tim DeRuyter’s staff.

Schramm doesn’t have a previous coaching relationship or tie with DeRuyter, but coached against the Bulldog’s new Head Coach when he was the Defensive Coordinator at Air Force. DeRuyter, who just completed his tenure as interim Head Coach with Texas A&M, reached out to Schramm about the position.

Schramm has spent the last seven seasons on Kyle Whittingham’s staff at Utah. He has coached running backs, tight ends, quarterbacks and spent time as Offensive Coordinator. Schramm told me he alerted his players Saturday night after the Utes 30-27 overtime win against Georgia Tech.

Schramm’s departure marks the 2nd offensive coach to leave the Utah staff this postseason. Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow was recently named Head Coach at Hawaii.