Football players and other thugs

MONTANA

After former Democratic Congressman Pat Williams attacked a certain sacred cow at the University of Montana, reaction was swift. Here's what he told The New York Times: "We've had sex assaults, vandalism, beatings by football players. The university has recruited thugs for its football team, and this thuggery has got to stop." Williams, now a regent of the Montana University System, quickly tried to make it clear that he was only talking about a few athletes, rather than a majority, but the backlash has been fierce, with the Montana Quarterback Club going so far as to circulate a petition for his ouster. But given that the reason behind his interviews with the Times and espn.com was the upcoming rape trial of a suspended University of Montana quarterback, perhaps "thuggery" was not too strong a term.

UTAH

As the Logan Herald Journal delicately put it, "Sex toys are a ticklish topic. Just ask the guy who stole a certain item recently from the Persian Peacock in downtown Logan. …" That particular guy, who remains anonymous, was not the smartest thief in town, seeing as how a surveillance camera caught him in the act. Alert storeowner Jessica McWhinnie swiftly posted a picture on the Web, not of the thief, but of the stolen item, threatening the "dude" in question with exposure if he didn't pay her $32 "for the toy you felt OK about stealing from a small local business." In no time flat, $40 in cash was stuck in the store's door, causing Persian Peacock's McWhinnie to post a final message of "WOW," adding that from now on, shoplifters "will be recorded on video and turned over to police after we have uploaded the videos to Facebook and YouTube."

Tips and photos of Western oddities are appreciated and often shared in this column. Write betsym@hcn.org.