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Thursday, July 10, 2014.
Count me among those who think it’s cool that Dan Goodale has been named to the 2014 Lou Groza Award Watch List. Much has changed since Goodale was a walk-on redshirt freshman out of Timberline High in 2011. That was the year he infamously missed the game-ending 39-yard field goal attempt in the 36-35 loss to TCU on the blue turf. Unfortunately, perception became reality—it was less than a year after Kyle Brotzman’s two missed field goals in the 2010 loss at Nevada, costing the Broncos a berth in the Rose Bowl. Goodale was lumped in. And his solid 2013 season has been overshadowed by a 43-yard miss at the end of regulation at San Diego State. But Goodale’s 89.5 percent conversion rate on field goals was still 15th in the country. And, as much as he’s been through, who’s to say he won’t have ice water in his veins as a senior?
BCS (and now College Football Playoff) expert Jerry Palm said on Idaho SportsTalk earlier this week he’s concerned about Boise State’s defense this season and doesn’t see the Broncos as a top 25 team. Phil Steele, author of the largest college football preseason publication (with the tiniest font), disagreed yesterday on IST. Steele has Boise State in the Mountain West championship game in December and ranks it No. 22 overall. He gives particular props to the Broncos’ back seven, calling it “a very experienced group.” In fact, Steele likes the veteran nature of the Broncos’ squad overall. “They have 15 returning starters—that’s more than the past two years combined,” said Steele. “I think Boise can get out there and win 10, 11 games this year.”
Charley Molnar, the former offensive coordinator at Notre Dame (among other places), has accepted the wide receivers coach position at Idaho under Paul Petrino. Molnar spent six seasons under Brian Kelly at Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Notre Dame—he was O-coordinator for the Fighting Irish in 2010-11 before being hired as head coach at Massachuetts. Molnar was fired at UMass last December after a 2-22 record. “Getting Charley to join our staff was a home run for us,” Petrino said. “He has been one of the best offensive minds in college football. He is a great teacher of technique and details of his position.”
The Boise Hawks had scored 10 or more runs in three straight games for the first time in four years going into last night’s matchup with Hillsboro. That streak was snapped, but no matter when you get a combined five-hitter from four Hawks pitchers. Boise beat the Hops 6-2 to move to within a game of them in the Northwest League South Division with 12 games to play in the first half of the season. Rashad Crawford ripped a bases-loaded triple into the rightfield corner in the third inning to give the Hawks the lead for good. After eventual winning pitcher Eric Leal departed, a Boise bullpen brigade of Ryan Williams, Trey Lang and Alberto Diaz combined to allow just one hit over the final four innings. The Hawks gun for their first sweep of the season when the series against Hillsboro wraps up tonight.
A couple notes from the bigs: Jason Hammel, the one-time Treasure Valley Community College hurler, got his first start with the Oakland A’s last night after coming over in the trade that brought Jeff Samardzija from the Cubs. In the Bay Bridge Series finale, Hammel allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits over five innings and took the loss as the Giants recorded what has become a rare victory, downing the A’s 5-2.
Ricky Nolasco’s season isn’t going swimmingly. The former Boise Hawk was placed on the disabled list by the Minnesota Twins Tuesday with an elbow strain. Among those with enough innings to qualify, Nolasco is dead last in the American League in ERA (5.90), runs allowed and hits allowed. This for a guy who was signed away from the Dodgers in the offseason to the tune of four years and $49 million. CBSSports.com baseball writer Matt Snyder calls Nolasco “the biggest bust to this point from last winter's free agency class.”
Troy Merritt is making birdies these days, and that could translate into a good week at the John Deere Classic, teeing off today in Silvis, IL. The former Boise State star carded 21 birdies last month when he finished second at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, and he pocketed 17 birds last week en route to a 16th-place result at the Greenbrier Classic. Merritt has climbed to No. 107 in the FedExCup standings and will now try to maintain the rest of the summer in order to retain his PGA Tour card for 2014-15. Graham DeLaet, meanwhile, is taking another week off from the tour as he gears up for his first British Open next week.
With the Albertsons Boise Open starting a week from today, we do our first prep on the tournament that enters its 25th year. This week’s Web.com Tour event is the Utah Championship at Willow Creek Country Club in Sandy. The current money leader on the circuit is 23-year-old Carlos Ortiz, a former University of North Texas golfer and a native of Guadalajara, Mexico. Ortiz has won $365,469 and leads runnerup Andrew Putnam by $94,000.
The 2014 Idaho Women’s Amateur tees off tomorrow at BanBury, and it’s good to see Boise’s Jean Smith in the field in the Classic Division. Smith is one of the state’s all-time golfing greats, winning seven Women’s Am titles between 1984 and 1998. She also won IGA Women’s Senior titles in 2003 and 2004. The crown jewel of Smith’s career was her U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur championship in 1995.
Yesterday I mentioned Boise State’s No. 74 finish in Division I in the race for the Learfield Sports Directors Cup. I should add that the College of Idaho was ranked 10th among the 290 eligible NAIA schools in the all-sports performance competition. The Coyotes, who had an outstanding athletic year, add football to their mix about nine weeks from now. I couldn’t find Northwest Nazarene on the Division II list—could be the Crusaders don’t field enough sports to qualify.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by HANDYMAN CONNECTION…trusted home improvements.
July 10, 1984, 30 years ago today: On the 50th anniversary of Carl Hubbell’s legendary five consecutive strikeouts in the All-Star Game, the National League has déjà vu as it beats the American League 3-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela struck out the side in the fourth inning, and Mets rookie Dwight Gooden did the same in the fifth. The six straight strikeouts were an All-Star Game record.
(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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