Presented by CLEARVIEW CLEANING.
Friday, May 23, 2014.
When TCU revealed it was moving from the Mountain West to the Big East in late 2010, I said at the time the Horned Frogs have to feel a little dirty. It would have been hypocritical not to say the same thing about Boise State when the Broncos announced they were following suit a year later. TCU cleaned up by switching to the Big 12 without ever playing a Big East game, and Boise State washed it away by staying in the Mountain West—also without ever playing a Big East game. The issue of the $5 million Big East exit fee has been lurking in the shadows for BSU for almost 17 months. The two sides are scheduled to meet June 6 in Chicago to try to finish ironing out the Broncos’ suit and the conference’s countersuit. TCU did pay its $5 million exit fee, but that was before the Big East disintegrated into the American Athletic Conference.
BYU is in the headlines for trying to be proactive in its internal investigation of allegations that some members of its football team over the years have received improper benefits from former director of football operations Duane Busby. The NCAA’s radar is up. If the NCAA finds something and, say, hands down a bowl ban for the Cougars, what do they have left? There’s no conference championship, no all-conference awards, no league rivals. BYU would have to make its Friday night visit to Boise State in October bigger than it is. You could say any NCAA action regarding the Cougars would probably take longer than that. But hey, the honchos made an instant decision last week in the appeal to help Bronco recruit Antoine Turner, didn’t they?
I don’t know if anyone can figure out why Brett Smith skipped his senior year at Wyoming to enter the NFL Draft. Smith, who signed a free agent deal with Tampa Bay, has already been waived by the Buccaneers after just a week and a half. That doesn’t bode well, with reports saying he doesn’t have the accuracy the Bucs were looking for. Now what? Smith would seem to have the skill set to make a go of it in Canada. But he’s missing out on an infusion of energy and hope in Laramie under new Cowboys coach Craig Bohl.
Cleveland fans are waxing poetic about the future of their football team with Johnny Manziel aboard. And Browns defensive tackle Billy Winn is optimistic about his own prospects moving forward. Wednesday during OTAs, the Browns’ website reported that Winn consistently made his way to the quarterback. When the former Boise State star was with the first unit during 11-on-11’s, “he was leading the pack in terms of getting into the backfield.” The thought is that Cleveland could be fashioning a bigger role for Winn under new defensive line coach Anthony Weaver. The snippet included a photo of a smiling Johnny Manziel alongside a smiling Winn.
Boise State senior guard Anthony Drmic is on the court in Perth, Australia, in hopes of making the Australian Boomers national team that will play in the 2014 Sino-Australia Challenge against Team China. The team that competes in the Challenge beginning next Thursday will form the core of Australia’s entry in the FIBA World Cup in July. Drmic’s Bronco teammate, Igor Hadziomerovic, played with the Boomers last summer but is not participating this time. Drmic will see a familiar face in camp, though, good buddy and fierce Mountain West rival Hugh Greenwood of New Mexico.
The Idaho Steelheads may have just finished a generally disappointing season, but the franchise has been stable under coach Brad Ralph. Now the Steelheads have reached an agreement with Ralph to extend his contract with the team through the 2016-17 season. Ralph has totaled 84 wins over his first two seasons with the Steelies. Incidentally, when he and his players take the ice in October, CenturyLink Arena will have a new high-resolution, center-hung, four-sided video screen. A much-needed and long-awaited addition.
Graham DeLaet is always near the top and is making a lot of money on the PGA Tour. But in his quest for a first tour victory, it’s always somethin’. The former Boise State is tied for 24th after the first round of the Crowne Point Invitational at Colonial in Fort Worth after a one-under 69 yesterday. DeLaet is four shots off the lead. So do the math. He was cruising along on the back nine—until he bogeyed three of the last five holes. DeLaet could be right there. We’ll see what the weekend brings.
Boise’s Brian Scott will start in the 19th spot at the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday after qualifying at 191.884 miles per hour. Scott will also race in tomorrow’s History 300. He paced the field in the first of two practice sessions yesterday for the NASCAR Nationwide Series event. Scott’s best lap of 178.684 mph edged Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick.
The College of Idaho makes its debut in the NAIA Softball World Series this morning when it takes on Lindsey Wilson of Kentucky. The Lady Yotes are 33-16, while the Blue Raiders come in at 48-9. The C of I will send Mountain Home grad Nickayla Skinner out to the mound yet again. Skinner went 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA and 27 strikeouts in the NAIA Opening Round bracket in Caldwell last week.
The NAIA Baseball World Series begins today in Lewiston, hosted again by Lewis-Clark State at Harris Field. LCSC, 43-7 on the season, earned a bye in the first round of the 10-team tournament. The Warriors will start play tomorrow when they face the winner of today’s San Diego Christian-Cumberland game. There are some valley ties on the Lewis-Clark State roster, including two sons of KTVB’s Carolyn Holly (she doesn’t trumpet that). Kevin Hawk, who transferred from Gonzaga, is a senior catcher, and Colby Hawk, a former LCSC pitcher, is the team’s pitching coach. There’s also Borah High grad Chris Woolley, a senior infielder who transferred from the University of San Diego.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by HANDYMAN CONNECTION…trusted home improvements.
May 23, 1998: Having just pitched a perfect game against Minnesota—that coming after retiring the final 10 batters in his previous start against Kansas City—the Yankees’ David Wells extends his AL-record string of consecutive outs to 38 when Red Sox leadoff hitter Darren Lewis grounds out in the first inning. However, his streak would come to an end when Boston’s second batter, Darren Bragg, reached base on a short, high pop that was lost in the sun. The Yankees went on to win nevertheless, 12-3.
(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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