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Thursday, March 27, 2014.
A hornets’ nest was opened in Chicago yesterday by the National Labor Relations Board, and you can’t run from it. The NLRB ruled in favor of Northwestern football players in their quest for the right to unionize. To try to count the ramifications of this is like trying to count stars in the Milky Way on a clear night in the Sawtooths. If this becomes a precedent, what about public schools? What about basketball, wrestling, tennis, golf, track and field, gymnastics, softball, etc.? How does Title IX figure in? If $2,000, the amount floated by the power conferences in play-for-pay proposals, isn’t enough, what is? If this survives the massive wave of appeals sure to come, it will put budget-conscious non-power conference schools in an impossible situation. There is not enough money in the till. Get back to me when you figure out where the lines will be drawn.
College athletics has put itself in this position, though, beyond the selling of TV rights and merchandise and luxury suites. One argument that resonated with the NLRB was the amount of time people who are supposed to be students put into sports. Former Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter testified under oath that despite NCAA rules restricting involvement in athletics to 20 hours per week in-season and eight hours during the offseason, he spent 40-50 hours per week on football during the season. That put him into the “employee” category in the eyes of the NLRB. That number is hard to dispute. The pressure to work harder than your opponent—to devote yourself to film study and voluntary workouts—has made college sports a full-time job. Most athletes are happy to sacrifice, but there’s a faction that wants to be paid.
San Diego State can say it is better than it was in November when it lost to Arizona 69-60 at Viejas Arena. After all, the Aztecs have made it to the Sweet 16, where a rematch with the Wildcats awaits. But if you saw Arizona take apart Gonzaga 84-61 last weekend in the round of 32, you’ve got to think the ‘Cats are a ton better than they were four months ago. The “X” factor for SDSU is not the “X” man, Xavier Thames. It’s Dwayne Polee. Aztecs coach says Polee’s improvement has paralleled that of his team. “He’s been sensational,” Fisher said. Polee, who hit the three-pointer with three seconds left to beat Boise State last month in Taco Bell Arena, did not play in the game against Arizona in November. He was healthy. He just didn’t play.
Fresno State has made the best-of-three championship series in the CBI after a 71-64 win over Old Dominion last night at the Save Mart Center. Guard Marvelle Harris bounced back from an abdominal injury Monday against Princeton to score a game-high 20 points. The victory allowed the Bulldogs to ring up their first 20-win season in seven years (they’re now 20-16). The ‘Dogs will play Siena for the title beginning with a home game Monday.
Boise State coach Bryan Harsin says his staff will probably install “about 85 percent” of the offense during spring football. Does that mean they’re 42½ percent of the way there as the Broncos take a breath this week in the middle of spring ball? Probably not. But Harsin’s not worried about reaching that goal by the time the Blue & Orange Game rolls around April 12. “I know this after watching these guys—they can handle a lot,” said Harsin last week. Ironically, it was just a year ago that Chris Petersen’s staff was taking things off the offense’s plate. And almost as ironically, Boise State’s production increased to 476 yards and 37.5 points per game. But there were times that the Broncos couldn’t get those yards and points when they needed them most.
Jared Allen teased Seattle last week—and now he’s a Chicago Bear. The former Idaho State star thought about the Seahawks over the weekend, but he was able to land a four-year contract with the Bears. Pretty good for a guy who turns 32 a week from today. Allen thus stays in a familiar division. The difference now is he’ll be chasing Minnesota’s quarterback—whoever that’s going to be. With 128.5 career sacks, Allen is No. 12 in NFL history. He’s reached double-digit sacks in seven consecutive seasons and had 11.5 last year with the Vikings.
Troy Merritt has been granted a sponsor’s exemption to the Valero Texas Open, and he’ll be in the field that tees off today. Merritt is still trying to get his return to the PGA Tour kick-started as we near the end of March. The former Boise State star missed the cut at his last event three weeks ago at the Puerto Rico Open after a fairly disastrous five-over 77 in the first round. Graham DeLaet took last week off from the PGA Tour, and he’s doing the same this week, recharging at home in Meridian in the ramp-up to his first Masters. He’ll be honored by Boise State tomorrow night in "A Bronco Celebration with Graham DeLaet" at the Steuckle Sky Center.
It was Robinson Time last night as the Idaho Steelheads opened a three-game series at Stockton with a 4-2 victory. Brett Robinson, activated yesterday off injured reserve, scored one Steelheads goal and added an assist. And Josh Robinson got back to being himself, getting the win while making 24 saves. The Steelheads are hoping Josh is going to be around awhile this time, hence the release of backup goalie Kevin Kapalka yesterday.
The next former Steelhead to make the NHL could be Justin Dowling. The 23-year-old forward has been signed to a two year contract by Dallas, effective next season. Dowling is currently with Texas of the AHL, where he has scored 39 points in 66 games. He logged 46 points in just 34 games for the Steelheads last season, including a pair of hat tricks—both against the Bakersfield Condors.
The Idaho Stampede stubbed their toes last night in the playoff hunt, falling in CenturyLink Arena to the Bakersfield Jam, 96-85. The Stampede shot an abyssmal 33 percent from the field when they desperately needed a solid performance. Allen Crabbe, sent to the Stamps by the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday, scored 12 points. Crabbe went just 6-for-20 from the field and missed all five of his three-pointers. Idaho is now two games behind Reno for the final D-League playoff spot with five games to play. The Bighorns will be in Boise for a pair of matchups this weekend.
There’s another official Scott Slant representative at spring training in Arizona this week. We have not only Julie, but Roger, who watched the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies yesterday. Roger reported that Bishop Kelly grad Josh Osich took the mound for the Giants after ace Matt Cain had been shelled. Osich, who pitched college ball for Oregon State, went 2/3 of an inning and didn’t allow a run—although he did yield three bases on balls. The Giants later rallied past the Rockies for an 8-6 victory. It was Osich’s first appearance in a spring training game.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by BLAZ’N DIAGNOSTICS…fast answers and dealer-level expertise.
March 27, 1917: In just the third year the Stanley Cup was awarded to a professional team—it had been part of amateur hockey for its first 21 years of existence—the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey Association fall to….the Seattle Metropolitans. Yes, Seattle of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association was among the first professional Stanley Cup champions. Wouldn’t Seattle like to have an NHL team in Key Arena today.
(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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