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Monday, May 5, 2014.
The Idaho Steelheads return home in good shape tonight for Game 3 of the ECHL National Conference semifinals against Alaska. With a split in Anchorage last Thursday and Friday, the Steelheads grabbed home ice advantage over the top-seeded Aces. It's now essentially a best-of-five series, and the next three games are in Boise. The Steelheads are 2-1 at CenturyLink Arena so far in the postseason—they split six games with Alaska in the friendly confines during the regular season. It’s time for the Steelies to hold serve at home against one of the ECHL’s perennial powers.
In the 6-4 loss to Alaska in Game 2 Friday night, Pat Nagle got the start between the pipes for Idaho and allowed all six goals while making 39 saves. Still, it gave Josh Robinson a chance to catch his breath after clocking 130 saves between the final game against Colorado and the series opener versus the Aces. He hasn't been scored upon in his last 203 minutes and 27 seconds, the equivalent of more than 10 periods of hockey. Look for Robinson to start tonight.
Flying under the radar this postseason is 22-year-old Steelheads defenseman Eamonn McDermott, who was playing for Colorado College about seven weeks ago. McDermott played heavy minutes in the Monday night marathon last week in a crucial playoff game, just a few days after cracking some teeth and taking a bunch of stitches to close a cut following a puck in the mouth at Colorado in Game 5. He also had an assist on the lone goal in last Thursday night’s 1-0 overtime thriller in Alaska. Based on play-by-play man Will Hoenike’s research (“here’s your obscure trivia,” he says), McDermott is the first person named Eamonn to play professional hockey in North America.
The odds on Candy Boy, 16-1 at the gate Saturday at the Kentucky Derby, proved to have merit as Gary Stevens rode the colt to a 13th place finish at Churchill Downs. It was an interesting day for the one-time Capital High wrestler. In the first race of the day, Stevens won the Grade II American Turf event by a neck aboard Global View, but not before taking what we'll politely call “road apples” in the face from a horse in front of him that couldn't hold it. Stevens said it went all over his goggles. "I think I rode so hard down the stretch just to get away from the smell," Stevens told NBC Sports Network.
Meanwhile, a crowd of 6,217 enjoyed the Derby—and Opening Day—at Les Bois Park. Track officials told KTVB that Treasure Valley Racing co-owner Larry Williams was back in Louisville with his wife Marianne in the winner's circle. The Williamses own Lucky Pulpit, which sired Derby winner California Chrome (as well as Rousing Sermon, the eighth-place finisher two years ago).
The NFL Draft finally commences this Thursday. Why was it pushed back two weeks this year? Commissioner Roger Goodell said that the move was forced by a scheduling conflict at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, which hosts the draft. But conspiracy theorists are running rampant. They say the NFL just wanted to spread out its publicity parade even more. At any rate, it seems certain that Boise State’s Demarcus Lawrence will continue the Broncos’ remarkable run over the past eight years that has seen 10 picks in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. Boise State has had four first-rounders, four second-rounders (including Jamar Taylor to Miami last year), and two third-rounders. Lawrence will probably be in there somewhere.
Clarification on Boise State's "sunny May day" I mentioned Friday. Amend that to partly sunny. While the worst is past for the athletic department, the probation phase of the NCAA's penalty against the university lasts until September 13. It was on that date in 2011 that the NCAA Committee on Infractions issued its report on BSU. It is expected that all noses will be kept clean for the next four-plus months.
Brian Scott was rather occupied on the NASCAR circuit this weekend, running both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup at Talladega. The races ended in similar fashion for the Boise native. Scott actually earned his first career Sprint Cup pole for the main event, yesterday's Aaron's 499. But he was out with 50 laps remaining, finishing second-to-last after being among the numerous victims of a crash triggered by Brad Keselowski. It was Scott's fifth Sprint Cup start this season—his top finish remains a 25th-place in February at the Daytona 500. In Saturday's Nationwide race, he finished 33rd after a another crash on lap 62.
Stephen Fife finally made it back to the bigs yesterday. How long he stays depends on how the L.A. Dodgers view his 2014 debut. With Hyun Jin-Ryu on the disabled list, Fife was called up from Albuquerque for a spot start for the Dodgers at Miami. The Borah High grad threw six innings and allowed four runs on seven hits and got a no-decision in the Dodgers’ 5-4 loss. Thing is, three of the Marlins’ hits off Fife were home runs. The one-time South Central Boise Little League World Series participant was 4-4 with a 3.86 ERA for the Dodgers last year, but is only 1-2 with a swollen 7.08 ERA with Albuquerque this season.
Troy Merritt just needed consistency Friday, as in, play like he did Thursday to make the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte. Merritt did not. The Boise State grad imploded in the second round, shooting a five-over 77 and missing the weekend. Graham DeLaet took the week off to rest up for The Players Championship beginning this Thursday at TPC Sawgrass.
Campus goings-on: the Boise State women's softball team swept New Mexico in a three-game series at Dona Larsen Park, winning both Saturday and Sunday via walk-off home runs. The Broncos have now won eight games in a row and have climbed into a tie for first in the Mountain West with Fresno State. The College of Idaho’s Nicayla Skinner was named Cascade Conference Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season after going 20-7 with a 1.65 ERA. Skinner’s next assignment is the NAIA Championships—the Coyotes are one of 10 teams hosting Opening Round brackets beginning next Monday. And the Yotes baseball team had a disappointing stay at the NAIA West Grouping Championships in Vancouver, B.C. The C of I lost 9-5 to Menlo Friday and 4-1 to Concordia Saturday, and its season is over at 25-22.
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May 5, 1987: The Basketball Hall Of Fame inducts three of the NBA’s most exciting players ever. Entering the Hall were former scoring champions Rick Barry and Pistol Pete Maravich—who averaged, respectively, a league-best 35.6 points for the San Francisco Warriors in 1967 and a league-best 31.1 points for the New Orleans Jazz in 1977—and guard Walt Frazier, who excelled on defense as well as offense for the New York Knicks.
(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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