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Wednesday, March 26, 2014.
The Statesman’s Brian Murphy clearly laid out Boise State’s liabilities in ever hosting the NCAA Tournament again. Taco Bell Arena lacks modern amenities, the high-tech bells and whistles fans have become accustomed to—and creature comforts. It also lacks in seating capacity, although that in itself is not a deal-breaker. For example, the attendance for Missouri’s win over Marquette in the second round of the 2009 tournament, the last one to be held in Boise, was 12,184. The capacity of Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, which hosted two rounds last weekend, is 11,736. The facility was close to full for San Diego State’s victory over North Dakota State. Spokane has replaced Boise as the Inland Northwest hub for occasional NCAA Tournament hosting. Unlike many sites, both cities fill their seats. That’s not the issue.
Murphy pointed out that the NCAA cited Taco Bell Arena’s poor lighting for television as one of the main reasons it is now passed over. That’s correctable. The facility also has a substandard video screen, a tiny box on the old scoreboard that hangs above the court. Spokane has a 15’ by 20’ LED video wall. Boise State is planning an upgrade of some kind in that department. It is also looking at a new sound setup (the current public address system is very difficult to understand if there’s any noise at all). Veterans Memorial Arena also has 16 luxury suites and two restaurants. Those are higher hurdles to clear in Boise.
San Diego State football holds its spring game, the Red & Black Scrimmage, tonight. It’s uncommonly early, and it’s on an odd day of the week. But Aztecs coach Rocky Long is a big fan of the SDSU basketball team, and he planned this long ago, expecting hoops to be happening at the school the last weekend in March, and so it is with the Aztecs facing Arizona in the Sweet 16 tomorrow night up I-5 in Anaheim. Long didn’t want any conflicts.
At Boise State, Leon Rice has modeled the building of his basketball program after Bronco football. At San Diego State, that’s flip-flopped. “If you look at the first six years coach (Steve) Fisher was at SDSU, you’ll see a very similar type of progression,” Long told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “We’re one of five (schools) now that have been to four straight bowl games and five-straight NCAA tournaments,” Long said. “And the only one of the non-BCS schools, so the only school to do it without a monstrous budget—which is a pretty good deal.”
Jeff Caves mentioned this the other day—a story that said the Oakland Raiders have “a massive crush” on former Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr. Too bad for Carr. The Raiders just brought aboard Houston castoff Matt Schaub and are unlikely to use the No. 5 pick in the NFL Draft for Carr. But they think they could trade down and still get him. Carr reportedly performed well at Fresno State’s Pro Day last Thursday, and Oakland’s entire coaching staff was there. The 6-2, 214-pounder led the Bulldogs to the Mountain West championship last year, throwing for 5,083 yards and 50 touchdowns.
Colorado State will have a new backup quarterback this season for Garrett Grayson, who set CSU’s single-season passing record last year with 3,696 yards. Conner Smith led the Rams to wins in three of the four games he started in 2012 but played in only one game last season and did not attempt a pass. Smith is planning to transfer to another school to complete his college eligibility. Big things are expected from Grayson—the 6-2, 220-pounder has been invited to the Manning Passing Academy in July. Spring football began yesterday at CSU. The Rams will be Boise State’s opponent in the home opener on the blue turf September 6.
The Idaho Steelheads are on the road for only their second series against Stockton this season, beginning tonight. The Steelheads took two out of three from the Thunder at CenturyLink Arena in December. As usual, it seems, a hot goalie awaits the Steelies. Stockton’s Brian Foster is tied for third in the league with 21 wins. Idaho counters with a guy who’s become one of its most productive offensive players, forward Gaelen Patterson. At the end of January, Patterson had a total of nine points (four goals, five assists) and a minus-11 rating in 38 games. In 23 contests since then, he has collected 14 points (four goals, ten assists) and has a plus-9 rating.
The Idaho Stampede really need a win in their quest to make the D-League Playoffs, and they’ll try to get one in CenturyLink Arena tonight against the last-place team in the West Division, the Bakersfield Jam. The Stampede will also have Portland guard Allen Crabbe on the floor, as the rookie from Cal has been assigned to Idaho for the second time this season. Crabbe has played in only 14 games for the Blazers, averaging 2.1 points and 5.1 minutes. He played three games for the Stampede a couple weeks back and scored 16.7 points per outing. Bakersfield will be battling tonight as well. Despite a 20-24 record, the Jam are still mathematically alive for the postseason.
Former Boise Hawks lefthander Rich Hill, who has been dealing with the loss of his newborn son and had reported late to spring training with the Boston Red Sox, has been reassigned to Triple-A Pawtucket. Hill didn’t allow a run in his three spring outings, but there wasn’t a place for him on the Red Sox staff. He had signed with Boston to be closer to his home and family during the ordeal. He’ll still be within driving distance while pitching for Pawtucket.
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March 26, 1974, 40 years ago today: George Foreman successfully defends his world heavyweight title with a second-round knockout of Ken Norton in Caracas, Venezuela. Foreman staggered Norton with a series of blows in the second round before the referee stopped the fight, giving Foreman a professional record of 40-0. He would lose his crown to Muhammad Ali seven months later in the “Rumble In The Jungle” at Kinshasa, Zaire.
(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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