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Wednesday, May 21, 2014.
It’s the slowest time of the year in local sports. No better time for a splash like this. After 44 seasons as Bronco Stadium, the home of the blue turf is probably going to get a new moniker today, as multiple sources say naming rights have been sold for the facility. The “major announcement” will be made this morning. As the arms race continues in college football, and as Boise State decides how far it wants to chase power conference schools in providing cost-of-attendance funds, this would be important money. Let’s say its $1 million per year. That would more than cover the projected cost for cost-of-attendance scholarships at BSU.
Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says it’s going to be DeMarcus Lawrence—just like former Cowboys star DeMarcus Ware, with a capital “M”—from here on out in Dallas. The former Boise State star and second-round NFL Draft pick claims that’s the way his first name is spelled on his birth certificate. He just never got around to correcting people, including those at Boise State, as the years rolled on. Lawrence had quite a week as he settled in with the Cowboys. He arrived in Dallas last Tuesday, and then witnessed the birth of his son, Damari, Thursday morning via iPhone from Boise. He flew back here to meet his newborn son that day before heading back to Texas Friday night, landing at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning and going straight to work at the Cowboys’ rookie mini-camp.
By all accounts, Lawrence’s Dallas debut at the camp went well. The Star-Telegram got the full meal deal from Dallas defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli, who’s happy the Cowboys moved up 13 spots in the second round to land Lawrence. "I felt it when we worked him out," Marinelli said. "I felt it in some of the things in his Pro Day. I can feel some of the things here. But now everything speeds up. The biggest thing these guys have got to do is, sometimes whatever worked for you doesn’t work (in the NFL). The sets are different; the hand placements for the O-linemen are different. So now it’s just day to day, day to day. Try to develop the habits. Try to develop a signature move and what is a counter. When you get that, you’re doing OK. But that’s months of work." Well, so far Lawrence is saying—and doing—all the right things.
The “Bronco Invasion” is stirring the pot in places large and small this week. Yesterday at KBOI’s Business Breakfast, one of the attendees asked Boise State coach Bryan Harsin about Joey Martarano, the redshirt freshman linebacker and former baseball star from Fruitland. Harsin replied that Martarano is working hard—calling him extremely strong and athletic. But with linebacker being the Broncos’ deepest position, featuring the likes of Ben Weaver, Tanner Vallejo, Blake Renaud, and Tyler Gray et al, Harsin wants to find other ways of getting Martarano on the field. The obvious vehicle would be special teams; the less obvious one would be offense. Harsin is toying with the idea. Can you imagine Martarano at tight end? As much as Harsin likes to utilize that position?
As feared, there will be no Las Vegas Wranglers in the ECHL next season. The Wranglers have suspended operations for 2014-15 after their lease at Orleans Arena expired—and plans for a new rooftop arena fell through. The team spun it as “Wranglers to Return to the Ice for 2015-16 Season” in its press release yesterday. That’s predicated upon the hope that the franchise can find a new place to play. “We are not going anywhere,” Wranglers president Billy Johnson said. “We’ve accomplished a lot since 2003, and come too far since January to turn back.” It’ll be interesting—ECHL teams that have gone dark for a year don’t have a good track record of returning.
We’re waiting on an official announcement from the Idaho Stampede after the Deseret News reported last week the Utah Jazz will enter an NBA single-affiliation agreement with Boise’s D-League team. Like the Stampede, the Jazz haven’t commented on the report. Idaho was a partial affiliate of Utah in two previous seasons, 2006-07 and 2011-12. Running a D-League franchise is a grind, especially the finances, so Stampede managing investor Bill Ilett has been aggressively pursuing a replacement for Portland, which ended its association with the Stamps last month after just one season. NBA franchises in single-affiliation arrangememts control the basketball operations, including players’ and coaches’ salaries.
Boise State’s Andy Bettles dips his toe in the round of 64 today at the NCAA Men’s Singles Championships in Athens, GA. The senior from Somerset, England, drew Virginia’s Ryan Shane in the first round. It’ll be an upset bid by Bettles, as he is ranked No. 87 in the country, compared to No. 46 for Shane. It’s the second straight NCAA singles berth for Bettles, who was All-Mountain West in both singles and doubles this season and was the 2013 MW Player of the Year.
Former Boise State basketball player Fred Williams is coaching his third WNBA team, as the season is underway. Williams made his debut as head coach of the Tulsa Shock last Saturday with an 80-76 loss to San Antonio. Known as Freddie when he was a point guard for the Broncos in the late 1970s, Williams went on to become head women’s coach at USC and has coached in the WNBA since it began. His first pro head coaching job was with the old Utah Starzz at the turn of the century. Williams was fired last fall by Atlanta after leading the Dream to the WNBA Finals, where they lost to Minnesota, the team he and the Shock face in their home opener Friday night.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by HARMON TRAVEL…the art of travel—perfected.
May 21, 1930: After hitting three home runs in a game against the Philadelphia A’s, the Yankees’ Babe Ruth decides to bat right-handed in his final trip to the plate. The one-time-only experiment in switch-hitting failed, as the Babe was struck out by Jack Quinn. It was a missed opportunity—only 14 players have hit four homers in a game in modern major league baseball, and Babe Ruth is not one of them.
(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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