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Wednesday Weekly: February 11, 2026.
John Canzano and his “Bald Faced Truth” column peeked inside the Pac-12’s secret teapot Tuesday, lining out some details of the new Pac-12’s first football schedule, the release of which is imminent. According to Canzano, the conference is going to execute a “flex” schedule the final week of the regular season in an effort to put its top team in the best position for the Group of 6’s College Football Playoff berth. Canzano indicates that four home teams and four road teams will be designated—and then will be paired at least six days ahead of that Saturday. I’m wondering, however, if the home teams for that final week will be revealed with the schedule release. Springing home games on four schools and giving them six days to sell tickets would be chaotic. Let’s see how the flex thing shakes out.
The flex model is likely a one-off for 2026 only, as the Pac-12 is expected to add at least one more football member next year. But other conferences will be watching it closely to determine if they’d like to adopt a similar quirk, for whatever reason. The Pac-12 version will not count flex week matchups as conference games, Canzano says. So they apparently will not have any effect on who participates in the league championship game the following week. Also, most Pac-12 teams will have a Friday night game next season (which is not earth-shaking news around here).
NORTH DAKOTA STATE’S MOUNTAINOUS MOVE
Props to Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez for grabbing North Dakota State as a football-only member. It came out of nowhere, and it was a coup. If NDSU, which has won 10 of the past 15 FCS national championships, can afford the fees and big increase in expenses and maintain its elite level of football, great. I mean, who wouldn’t watch a game between UNLV or New Mexico and North Dakota State for first place in the MW this fall? “Gloria The Gangster” is resilient as all get-out. Still, there are no regrets from the five Pac-12 breakaway schools. There are many reasons for that move. I wonder what Bison fans, who travel well, will think the first time they visit San Jose State and see a stadium with all the seats removed from one side of the field. One of the most bizarre facility remodels of all-time.
A GOLD MEDAL PREVIEW?
The biggie that really wasn’t—the USA versus Canada Tuesday in the preliminary round at the Winter Olympics in Milan. The Americans blanked the Canadians 5-0, with Sun Valley’s Hilary Knight logging an assist. The asterisk there is that Canada was without one of its best players and captain, Marie-Philip Poulin, who was injured in a win over Czechia on Monday. Poulin should be back should the USA-Canada collision course for gold come to fruition. Knight now has 32 career points in the Olympics and is tied with Jenny Potter for the American record. Her next goal or assist will make history. The U.S. now moves on to the quarterfinals Friday against Italy.
Elsewhere Tuesday, Boise High grad Sammy Smith skied her first Olympic race, the Women’s Sprint Classic in cross country. Smith made the quarterfinals and finished a respectable 19th overall. Women’s downhill gold medalist and Victor native Breezy Johnson and teammate Mikaela Shiffrin just missed the podium in the women’s team combined on Tuesday, finishing fourth. Today, Hailey native Chase Josey competes in the men’s snowboard halfpipe qualifier, and Teton Valley native Jaelin Kauf gets one more chance this morning to qualify in the women’s moguls. The final follows.
STORING ENERGY FOR UNLV
With the Pac-12 football schedule buzzing, it makes you yearn for next winter’s basketball slate to come out—when’s Gonzaga coming to town? Things to ponder while Boise State is on its Mountain West mid-week bye—the Broncos getting a brief respite before entering the home stretch of the season Friday night against UNLV. The Rebels, of course, handed Boise State a tough 89-85 overtime loss in Las Vegas four weeks ago. And both teams are 7-6 in conference after UNLV rolled past San Jose State last night. The Broncos scored 91 points in regulation in taking down New Mexico at The Pit last Saturday, and they did it with Andrew Meadow scoring only two points. Meadow clearly wasn’t feeling up to snuff. If he and RJ Keene, who wasn’t even there, are back in the groove, I like Boise State’s chances.
The plus/minus in a 91-90 game like the one in Albuquerque is always going to be interesting. Plus-four was the highest number for Boise State, and that belonged to Peanut Carmichael, who started in place of the flu-ridden Keene. Dylan Andrews was only plus-three despite his best game as a Bronco (33 points). Carmichael’s game is worth revisiting: 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers, and a career-high eight rebounds.
YOTES KEEP PACE IN THE CCC
It’s a jam atop the Cascade Conference standings as College of Idaho heads to Oregon for games at Bushnell and Corban this weekend. Five teams are within one game of each other—the Yotes are tied for third after a five-point win over Northwest and a 48-point romp over Evergreen State last week in Elgin Baylor Arena. In the latter matchup, C of I tied a school record with (count ‘em) 14 blocked shots. Chance Winter had five of them and Ethan Tinney four.
STEELIES WITH A PACKED ITINERARY
The Idaho Steelheads have four games in six days this week, starting with Tuesday night’s date with the Utah Grizzlies. That was a makeup of a game lost to the brief ECHL players strike over the holidays, and the Steelheads took a wild one 7-6 in overtime. Brendan Hoffman’s hat trick was key—it gives him 32 goals for the season, tops in the ECHL. Idaho now heads to Wichita for Friday, Saturday and Sunday matchups with the Thunder. The Steelies continue to chase the Kansas City Mavericks in the standings. They’re now 31-11-4, four points back of KC. The Steelheads’ Kaleb Pearson, by the way, was named the ECHL Rookie of the Month for January, with 16 points in 10 games to kick off 2026.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by THE JAMES…craft food and cocktails, with heart and soul.
February 11, 2011, 15 years ago today: The Cleveland Cavaliers break an NBA record 26-game losing streak by beating the Los Angeles Clippers 126-119 in overtime. In their first season without superstar LeBron James, the Cavs had been positively awful. But five days after ending the streak they would take down the two-time defending NBA champion L.A. Lakers, improving Cleveland’s record to 10-46. Just a season earlier the Cavaliers had compiled the league’s best record at 61-21. They would finish the 2010-11 season at 19-63.
(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.)
