Presented by HARMON TRAVEL.
Tuesday Special: April 7, 2026.
It was at the home openers for the Boise Hawks in 1987, and the Idaho Stampede and Idaho Steelheads in 1997. Even the Idaho Sneakers World Team Tennis franchise in 1994. Those were all very cool events, but Athletic Club Boise’s home opener Saturday night was on another planet. The crowd arrived early, and when the place filled up, there were 7,211 fans, a USL League One regular season attendance record. The first thing that stood out was the line to get into the merchandise store, snaking all the way back to the main gate. That tells you something. The crowd was loud and into it, helped by the River Guard, perfecting its chants and drums in the south end stands. Is it sustainable? There are 18 more AC Boise home games stretching into mid-October. I’m gonna say yes.
NEW ACB ROSTER STAYS WITH THE SEASONED ONE
It was a draw, but it was a pretty darn exciting draw. Urged on by the sellout throng, AC Boise ended up in a 1-1 tie (we can call it that) with the Spokane Velocity, which is coming off back-to-back trips to the USL1 championship game. Most of the game was contested at Spokane’s end, but the Velocity broke through in the 21st minute when Boise goalie Joseph Andema had a clearing pass intercepted, and the visitors knocked it in. The AC Boise goal was electric, as Nick Moon scored on a rebound of a blocked penalty kick to level the match in the 51st minute. Moon raced to the southwest corner of the pitch and obliterated the corner flag as he was mobbed by his teammates. It was a high-decibel moment.
WINNING WILL MEAN MORE
So what will the rest of the season be like for what is technically a minor league franchise? Outside of die-hard baseball fans, the crowds at Boise Hawks games are out to enjoy beautiful Boise summer nights and don’t put a lot of stock into who wins or loses. Idaho Steelheads fans pack Idaho Central Arena to have a good time, but they’re a lot happier when the Steelies win. AC Boise crowds will be there to be part of a wild and intense scene, and it’ll be all about what happens on the pitch. The River Guard will make sure of it. Saturday was a special night in the old Les Bois Park.
WE’LL MISS THE HANSON BROTHER
Well, Boise State men’s basketball finds itself in full rebuild mode after Andrew Meadow’s transfer portal announcement. As if you didn’t already know, you just cannot attach your fandom to a standout player on your favorite college team anymore. When Meadow arrived just three years ago, it was the olden days of NIL. The innocent days. And Meadow, with his Hanson Brothers-type long hair and goggles, was poised to be a folk hero. The fact that he cut his hair and ditched the goggles didn’t affect Bronco Nation’s affinity for him. But 2026 is somethin’ else in the NIL world.
CHICAGOLAND IN THE BACKCOURT
Boise State has lots of guards, but not a true point guard. Until now, if he plays there. The first free agent signing (so to speak) as coach Leon Rice tries to reconstruct is North Dakota State point guard Damari Wheeler-Thomas, who can also play shooting guard. Wheeler-Thomas, from Elgin, IL, is only 6-feet tall, but he averaged 14.5 points per game for the Bison this season. Johnny Mallory made a good point yesterday. Rice likes those guards from the Chicago area—not only Derrick Marks, one of the program’s all-time greats, but RayJ Dennis, he of the 19 points in 3½ minutes to rally the Broncos past Utah State in 2020. Unfortunately, Dennis transferred to Toledo and then to Baylor (he’s currently in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks).
PEANUT RUNS IT BACK
Now, about the guy who is staying, as Peanut Carmichael turns out to be the unexpected cornerstone of Boise State hoops next season. Carmichael, Spencer Ahrens and AG Neto are the only ones with appreciable experience, and the latter two are expected to stay (at the moment). Carmichael will have a lot more on his shoulders, and maybe that will help his consistency. He made a splash when he burned his redshirt year last winter by scoring eight points in a win over UNLV. This season, Carmichael put up 16 points in back-to-back games in early February and didn’t hit double-digits again. His 7.9 points per game were up by just one point over last winter.
JEREMY IOANE
Saddened to hear of the passing of former Boise State safety Jeremy Ioane. He fought hard. A Statesman story the week of Senior Night in 2014 revealed Ioane’s need for a kidney transplant, and over the next five days, fans contributed $17,500 to the cause. Doctors had diagnosed Ioane with IgA nephropathy after a kidney biopsy in the summer of 2012. His kidney function was down to one percent, and he was spending 8-10 hours a day on dialysis. But he fulfilled his goal of playing on Senior Night and made the final tackle of his career against Utah State. Ioane had five career interceptions, and almost every one of them was memorable—a pick-six at Michigan State, the game-sealing interception against Washington in the 2012 Las Vegas Bowl, and a pick against Ole Miss at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by POOL SCOUTS…perfect pools, scout’s honor!
April 7, 2019: The Houston Rockets break their own NBA record for most three-pointers in a single game, draining 27 of ‘em in a 149-113 rout of the Phoenix Suns. After tying the mark twice earlier in the season with 26 treys, the Rockets broke it with just over a minute left when Austin Rivers hit from deep. Eric Gordon nailed eight three-pointers, and James Harden, the Houston superstar who was nearing the end of an historic season himself, dropped in five. Harden scored 30 points in just three quarters, the 56th straight game in which he had notched at least 20. The current record for three-pointers, by the way, is 29, last set by the Boston Celtics in 2024.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
