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Thursday, May 14, 2015.
Here’s a question that is occasionally asked: whatever happened to the Boise State Athletic Hall of Fame? There hasn’t been an induction ceremony in eight years. The class of 2007 included quarterback Bart Hendricks, basketball star Roberto Bergersen, gymnast Johnna Evans, tennis player Wesley Moodie, discus thrower Jared Rome, wrestler Kirk White, and former university president Dr. John Keiser. All of them date back to the last century, so you can imagine the backlog of athletes in line for spots in the Hall. But I’m told there are rumblings of a revival inside the walls of the Varsity Center. Maybe the induction could be presented every other year the night before a marquee football game—in the years that the BSU Auction Gala isn’t held. Eventually they’d catch up.
Two things as we chew on just the football category. First, remember that Kellen Moore—and others who finished their careers from 2011 forward—aren’t eligible yet. Second, let’s set the bar high for starters: conference Players of the Year and/or NFL first and second-round draft picks this century. Your players of the year camped out in the Hall of Fame “green room” are safety Quintin Mikell, running back Brock Forsey, quarterback Ryan Dinwiddie and linebacker Korey Hall. The pre-2011 draft picks who were selected in the first two rounds are offensive tackle Daryn Colledge, safety Gerald Alexander, offensive tackle Ryan Clady, and cornerback Kyle Wilson. And I dare say there are numerous other football Broncos from those years who are worthy. Ian Johnson, anyone? Coach Dan Hawkins? And on and on.
It’s official now, with Boise State basketball announcing the signing of Boston College graduate transfer Lonnie Jackson to a Financial Aid Contract. Jackson will be eligible immediately. “We love to shoot the three and we are getting one of the best three-point shooters in the country,” said coach Leon Rice. BSU’s release on Jackson notes that he becomes the fourth active Bronco who has made at least six three-pointers in a Division I game, joining Anthony Drmic, Nick Duncan and James Webb III.
Boise State is hardly alone in the transfer business. There’s more Division I transfer movement than usual around the country—after a down year, Mountain West basketball seems to be seriously reloading right now. Max Hoetzel, a 6-foot-8 forward who left Indiana after his freshman season, committed to San Diego State on Tuesday following a two-day campus visit. The San Diego Union-Tribune says Hoetzel “is considered one of the nation’s top perimeter marksmen for his size.”
At Nevada, new coach Eric Musselman picked up a verbal Tuesday from Shawn Smith, a transfer from Marshall who can play immediately. Smith reportedly turned down offers from Alabama, Saint Mary’s and USC. His situation is much like the Broncos’ Jackson—Smith was injured five games into the season last fall and was granted a medical redshirt. Musselman already has two other Division I transfers, Southern Illinois’ Jordan Caroline from Southern Illinois and Marcus Marshall of Missouri State, who have to sit out next season. Also, Fresno State got transfer guard Jaren Hopkins from Colorado yesterday. Hopkins will have two years of eligibility with the Bulldogs after sitting out next season.
Gary Stevens and Firing Line drew the No. 8 post and will break from the outside in the eight-horse field for Saturday’s Preakness Stakes. Stevens is conceding nothing to the two stalwart entries trained by Bob Baffert, American Pharoah (which beat Firing Line by a length at the Kentucky Derby) and Dortmund. “Hopefully we can turn the tables,” said Stevens. The 52-year-old Idaho native has Baffert’s respect. “As we get older, we’re not going to get too many chances, so hopefully look, if he’s 80 years old or 79, he’s still bringing it. But it’s tougher as we go along,” Baffert said of the rider who won a Derby for him in 1998 aboard Silver Charm. “He brings a lot of experience into this race.”
Graham DeLaet is taking this week off, but Troy Merritt is right back at it after the disappointment at The Players Championship last week. The former Boise State standout tees off this morning in the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte. Merritt was one shot off the lead after the first round of The Players—and 16 strokes back when it ended last Sunday. He’s currently 82nd in FedEx Cup standings and has $738,390 in earnings this season.
Talks are underway in an attempt to head off the soccer strike in Spain that may or may not affect the Basque Soccer Friendly at Albertsons Stadium in July. Eleventh-hour discussions were being held last night in Madrid between the Spanish federation, La Liga and the players’ union. Spain’s National Court could rule today whether it has legal jurisdiction to stop the strike, which revolves around a proposed new government law controlling the sale of TV rights and the distributuion of revenue.
There’s nothing like a Game 7 in hockey. Better yet, an overtime in Game 7 in hockey. The New York Rangers and Washington Capitals played one last night in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the Rangers won it 11½ minutes into the OT, 2-1, to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. That ended the season of former Idaho Steelhead Jay Beagle, who was in the middle of the fray as the action intensified toward the end of the third period and into the extra frame. The Caps center had potted the winning goal in a 1-0 victory in Game 3 of the series. During the regular season, his seventh with Washington, Beagle recorded 20 points in 62 games. He was a Steelhead during the team’s last Kelly Cup championship season in 2006-07.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by ZAMZOW’S…nobody knows like Zamzows!
May 14, 1981: The Boston Celtics top the Houston Rockets, 102-91, to claim Game 6 of the Finals and win the NBA championship. The Celts’ Larry Bird, in his second NBA season, went 7-for-10 in the second half—finishing with 27 points and 13 rebounds. The MVP of the Finals, though, was Boston’s Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell. Although it was the Celtics’ 14th NBA title, it was the first for any member of that Boston team.
(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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