FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Gary Andersen's dog died late last spring. Her name was "Aggie," acquired by the family during his Utah State coaching days. Late on a sad Thursday night in May, the Oregon State football coach laid her to sleep.
I only know because we were supposed to talk that day for a column I was working on. Andersen asked if I wouldn't mind connecting with him the following day.
"She's my baby," he told me then.
A month before that, in April, Andersen attended the wedding of his oldest twin son. The father of the groom wore a tuxedo with a blue vest beneath it.