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Wednesday, May 7, 2014.
SI.com’s list of the Top 100 Prospects for this week’s NFL Draft has notables on several levels for local fans. On the Boise State side, there’s No. 67 Demarcus Lawrence, described as “an under-the-radar guy that NFL fans ought to get to know now—Lawrence has a legitimate shot to leapfrog several players here and land in Round 1.” Among the 13 Bronco opponents on the list are prominent Mountain West foes, starting with No. 38 Derek Carr of Fresno State. The synopsis: “Carr has the ability to drive the ball downfield to all areas of the field, and he can reset and do it on the run. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if an NFL team saw more than enough to develop here and took him in the late first round as its quarterback of the future.” This is going to be interesting. Carr’s favorite receiver, Davante Adams, is No. 70 on the list.
The “non-conference opponent” category features No. 41 Kyle Van Noy of BYU, summarized as “another do-it-all guy capable of rushing the passer, tackling well and showing real athleticism in coverage. He doesn't really stand out in any one particular area, but he does a lot very well.” At No. 60, there’s Washington running back Bishop Sankey, who had two big games against Boise State. On Sankey: “(He) isn't a pure power back, though he understands how to bounce off contact and pick up extra yards, and his receiving ability is something that many pro teams would find valuable.” The Broncos have seen all of the above from Sankey. And No. 92 is Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, “a high-quality individual by all accounts. Size and injury concerns, not to mention a pretty obvious ceiling, may limit Murray as a prospect.”
In the “Boise State bowl opponent” division, let’s go no further than three Oregon State players in the top 100 who torched the Broncos in the Hawaii Bowl last December. No. 32 is wide receiver Brandin Cooks. “He will not blow through physical defenders nor will he win jump balls downfield,” says the description. “What he will do is make just about every other catch, then threaten to turn those plays into home runs.” No. 40 is Scott Crichton, who forced the Grant Hedrick fumble recovered by…No. 100, cornerback Rashaad Reynolds. Reynolds scored a touchdown on the play—and another when he scooped up a Troy Ware fumble and dashed 70 yards. “His 5-10 frame will be a liability when covering bigger receivers—but he can cover in the slot and outside (and) provides a pop in run support,” says SI.com.
The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl category has the biggest name of any local angle in this year’s NFL Draft. SI.com ranks University of Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack No. 4 among its top 100 prospects. The summary says: “No matter the opponent, Mack simply explodes off the tape. He seems to perfectly fit the NFL prototype of the hybrid player who can move from strong-side linebacker to rush end (think Von Miller), and there's little doubt that the 6-foot-3, 251-pound Mack will be selected among the first few picks in the 2014 draft.”
The Idaho Steelheads have reached the fork in the road in the ECHL National Conference semifinals. They beat Alaska tonight in CenturyLink Arena, and they even the series at two games apiece. Or they lose to the Aces and are on the ropes facing a three games-to-one deficit. The Steelheads hope to realize the full benefit of Anthony Nigro’s return. Nigro played for the first time in more than a month in the 5-2 loss in Game 3 Monday night. He got his skates back under him by the time the third period rolled around, just missing on a re-direction as Idaho tried to claw its way back into the game. The 24-year-old wing collected 47 points in 54 games during the regular season.
There aren’t as many penalties whistled in playoff series, but the games can be chippy. Monday night’s was, and Alaska’s Tommy Mele, who scored the first goal of the contest less than two minutes in, delivered an illegal check to the head later in the first period and has been suspended for tonight’s game. Also, the Steelheads’ Mitch Wahl has been fined for a slashing penalty in the third period Monday.
“En route to Jacksonville for the best tournament on Tour.” That was Graham DeLaet tweeting Monday about The Players Championship. It’s unofficially known at the “fifth major,” and it’s treated that way. What if the former Boise State star won the thing? Despite a top 20 standing in FedExCup points and over $6.6 million in career earnings, DeLaet still awaits his first career victory on the PGA Tour. He tees off tomorrow morning at TPC Sawgrass.
Elsewhere, Boise’s Scott Loewen, another former Canadian Bronco, is in 53rd place after the first round of PGA Tour Canada’s British Columbia Q-School following a one-over 73 yesterday at Crown Isle Golf Club in Courtenay, BC. The top 18 finishers get full tour status, and the rest of the top 40 get conditional status. Loewen is three shots away from that 18th spot. Moscow’s Chris Williams, the former Washington Husky who a year ago right now was the No. 1 amateur in the world, is also in the field and carded a two-under 70—good for a tie for 14th-place.
Boise State softball heads into the biggest regular season series in the program’s young history this weekend and takes the new Mountain West Player of the Week with it. Junior Hailey Torrez earned conference honors after going 8-for-15 with two home runs and nine runs batted in as the Broncos posted a 4-0 record last week. Boise State, tied with Fresno State atop the Mountain West standings, goes to San Diego State for a three-game series starting tomorrow to close out the league schedule. Also, the College of Idaho will host Oregon Tech Monday in the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round at Symms Field. Cal State San Marcos and Dickenson State are the other two teams in the Caldwell bracket.
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May 7, 2009, five years ago today: Each revelation in baseball is worse than the last, as Los Angeles Dodgers star Manny Ramirez is suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a female fertility drug. It was the latest black eye for a sport that had been rocked earlier in the year by the admission of steroid use by Alex Rodriguez, adding to a growing list of suspected stars that included Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. Ramirez would retire less than two years later rather than face a 100-game suspension for another positive drug test. Comeback attempts by Ramirez failed in 2012 and 2013.
(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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