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Wednesday, July 13, 2016.
Yesterday on Idaho SportsTalk, Marty Holly said, “I’m tired of being the boss. And that’s the honest-to-goodness truth.” But the College of Idaho athletic director isn’t ready to hang it up, so he’s trading places with Reagan Rossi. Holly is now the Coyotes’ associate athletic director, and Rossi is the AD. According to C of I, Holly will “oversee fundraising efforts, assist Rossi with day-to-day operations and game management, serve as a department liaison to the admission office in recruiting student-athletes, work with faculty in the academic advancement of student-athletes, and invigorate the C of I Athletic Hall of Fame.” That’s not a to-do list for a retiree. Holly has been athletic director for the Yotes for the past 35 years, since arriving in Caldwell as men’s head basketball coach in 1981 from his assistant’s post at Idaho State.
Holly was a visionary at a college that was really struggling at a time when the economy was stalled and inflation was accerlerated. College of Idaho offered only four sports in 1981—now the school has 19. His infectious personality has garnered a ton of community support over the years, helping move the basketball program from a rundown O’Connor Fieldhouse to the J.A. Albertson Activities Center and building Wolfe Field for the baseball program. And the big enchilada: bringing back football in 2014 after a 37-year hiatus. As a hoops coach, he guided the Coyotes for 19 seasons with 14 20-win seasons and the 1996 NAIA Division II national championship. To do what Holly has done, you’ve gotta be a good guy; you’ve gotta be easy to work with; you’ve gotta bring people together and motivate them. Marty Holly has done it all.
Rossi has seen it happen, as she is in her 18th year at College of Idaho. She has been associate athletic director the past four years after serving as head women’s basketball coach for 13 seasons. Rossi won 244 games and two Cascade Conference Tournament titles and led the Yotes to five berths in the NAIA Division II Championships. “She is extremely smart, creative, loyal, tough, and she understands the uniqueness of the College,” said Holly. Presumably Holly will still have his spot on the sideline at Simplot Stadium, where he enthusiastically prowls during C of I football games.
Right off the bat we thought we might be seeing the most difficult category of all when voting for Boise State’s 30-Year All-Blue Team began. Yeah, the defensive backs were tough. But good luck with the group that starts today. The wide receivers will throw you for a loop. You can select three. Begin with the most recent candidates (even Thomas Sperbeck is a candidate). Career receptions leader Matt Miller, single-season touchdown catch record-holder Tyler Shoemaker, career TD receptions leader Austin Pettis and career receiving yards leader Titus Young also go on the list from this decade. Young needs to be judged on what he did on the field, not the police blotter life he has led since leaving the Detroit Lions in 2013. Young’s school career record for receiving yards is the 3,063 he covered from 2007-10.
Dave Southorn of the Statesman reports that, according to their families, Boise State football players Marquis Hendrix and Donzale Roddie have had their appeals denied, and their expulsions from the university have been upheld. Darreon Jackson’s suspension was reduced from one year to one semester, but his family says Jackson’s unlikely to stay with the Broncos. The three players had been investigated by the school on allegations of sexual assault after three incidents last year. Hendrix’s father told the Statesman his family is considering a civil suit.
Tanner Vallejo is far from disrespected as his senior year approaches. The Boise State standout has been named to the watch list for Butkus Award that goes to the nation’s top linebacker. Vallejo landed on the Bronko Nagurski list last week. Vallejo is one of 51 players on the Butkus docket and one of three from the Mountain West. All signs point to Vallejo being rejuvenated in 2016 after his numbers slipped as a junior—and the season ended with a suspension from the Poinsettia Bowl.
We know one local high schooler who will be wearing crimson and gray in the stands when Boise State and Washington State meet in Albertsons Stadium on September 10. Eagle High offensive lineman Alec Kuzmack has committed to the Cougars over the Broncos and Colorado State. Kuzmack is a 6-5, 295-pounder—he also excels in the shot put and discus for the Mustangs’ track team.
As the Boise Hawks resume play tonight after their first night-off of the season, let’s take note of the larger crowds at Memorial Stadium this year. The Hawks are averaging 3,274 fans per game after drawing 2,893 per game last summer. The club announced an all-time record of 4,497 on July 3. That wasn’t actually a record (the Hawks averaged almost that many in 1995 when the stadium capacity was larger), but it’s still pretty good. It was the top known crowd of the past decade, anyway. There is a huge missed opportunity this year, though. The Hawks are calling this their “29th season,” when in fact it’s their 30th. Go from 1987 to 2016—count ‘em on your fingers. It’s probably too late to correct that oversight and take advantage of the 30th season thing, though.
Former Boise Hawk Kris Bryant made his make on the All-Star Game in the first inning last night. The Chicago Cubs’ star third baseman, who has 25 home runs this season, clocked a solo homer off Chris Sale to give the National League a 1-0 lead. But American League dominance ultimately continued in the Midsummer Classic with a 4-2 victory at San Diego’s Petco Park. Former Hawk and current Toronto Blue Jay Josh Donaldson got one at-bat for the AL and flied out.
Two other pro notes: former Idaho Steelheads coach Brad Ralph has resurfaced in the ECHL. Ralph is taking over the Florida Everblades after one season with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League. Ralph and the Rockets parted ways this spring despite the fact the club went 48-20-4 and made the WHL Western Conference Finals. The Steelheads were 48-18-6 in 2014-15 in Ralph’s final season in Boise. And former Boise State star James Webb III got the start last night for the Philadelphia 76ers in NBA Las Vegas Summer League action against the Golden State Warriors. But Webb went scoreless in 13 minutes and pulled down only two rebounds. He was 0-for-5 from the field.
One followup on Allie Ostander’s experience at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene. I saw a photo of Ostrander giving 5,000-meters winner Molly Huddle a congratulatory embrace after the first round last Thursday. It truly looked like a mother-daughter thing in terms of age difference when, in fact, Ostrander is 12 years Huddle’s junior (31-19). Turns out Huddle is the Boise State freshman phenom’s idle, though. Chantel Jennings of ESPN.com reports that Ostrander sought out Huddle past the finish line right after the race and “had one simple request: Could she sign an autograph for a big fan?” That fan would be Allie. “I think she thought I was joking,” Ostrander told Jennings. “But I was 100 percent serious.” Said Huddle, “I think of us closer to peers. I mean, she’s in the finals.”
This Day In Sports…brought to you by ZAMZOW’S…nobody knows like Zamzows.
July 13, 2013: In the midst of another mediocre season that almost had him banished to San Francisco’s bullpen, two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum spins the first no-hitter of his career in a 9-0 Giants win at San Diego. Lincecum struck out 13 batters, walked four, and threw a career-high 148 pitches. The wiry 29-year-old had won the Cy Young in 2008 and 2009 and had won two games in the 2010 World Series but had struggled off and on since then.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment Sunday nights at 10:30PM on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors five sports segments each weekday on 93.1 The Ticket. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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