At Utah Valley University Thursday, former House Speaker Paul Ryan said the historic vote to remove Kevin McCarthy from his role as speaker earlier this week was “a total disgrace.”

He also had strong words about former President Donald Trump, who he said was a “scourge” on the country and the Republican Party. He said he was in favor of the GOP nominating a presidential candidate “who is not indicted,” and praised several of the candidates running for the 2024 nomination, saying they were much more likely to beat President Joe Biden than Trump.

Ryan, who led the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2018, was speaking as a guest of the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at UVU. 

In his remarks, Ryan:

• Criticized House Republicans, calling Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who coordinated the effort to remove McCarthy, an “unprincipled demagogue."
  
  
• Lamented changes to the GOP, saying, “The kind of populism we have right now is not rooted in principle. It’s unprincipled populism, wrapped around the cult of a personality on Donald Trump. And this populism is gripping our party in very ugly ways."
  
  
• Condemned former President Donald Trump, labeling him "a scourge." Ryan continued: "I believe political leaders should strive to be honest, ethical and moral people and should try to set a standard for the rest of the country. Donald Trump doesn’t do any of that. He frankly does the opposite of that. That’s one of the reasons why I think he’s unfit for office.”

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If Utah gets a major league baseball team, what happens to the Salt Lake Bees?

The Larry H. Miller Company will break ground on a new ballpark in South Jordan for the minor league Salt Lake Bees later this month.

But what happens to the longtime Triple A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels if the company’s all-in effort to bring a major league expansion franchise to Utah succeeds?

“We would keep them in the market,” said Steve Starks, CEO of the Miller Company, adding five major league clubs have their top minor league teams in the same metropolitan area.

Starks said having the Triple A team only 22 miles from the major league team would be a competitive advantage for developing players and acclimating to the team culture. It also would give fans the opportunity to watch hot prospects play in the minors and then in the majors as they’re called up, he said.

Read what Starks had to say about selling the Jazz and getting back into big-league sports. 

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Are Utah or BYU games more fun for fans? Our reporter asked a man on an epic college football road trip

Over the past decade, Rodger Sherman became famous for his takes on college football without ever leaving his couch.

But earlier this year, Sherman decided he desperately needed to visit the stadiums he’d spent hours watching on TV. So, he quit his job at The Ringer and started planning an exciting, exhausting, almost unbelievable college football road trip. 

Here's a sample of what he told our reporter Kelsey Dallas about how BYU and Utah games measure up:

• What stood out about the Utah-Florida game? "I had the perfect view from up top. That backdrop is something you don’t get on TV or at most other stadiums. ... If you look at the way they win games there, their style of play, the altitude, the crowd noise — those things come together and make it one of the most annoying places for a visiting team." 
  
  
• How does Utah compare to BYU? "The pregame atmospheres were very different. I was handed several beers in the parking lot at Utah. I was handed zero beers in the parking lot at BYU. I was impressed with both stadiums. They’re both intimidating places to play. Both have the altitude factor and extremely loud fans."
  
  
• Which one would you recommend? "Here’s the distinction I’ll make: Utah was a better football experience, but BYU was a better experience experience. I was really impressed with the show BYU put on, like with Cosmo jumping over fire and the fire dancers. The student section is ridiculous. But at Utah, I was more locked into the game."