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Wednesday Weekly: July 8, 2026.
Boise State announced at the end of the week that North End Zone suites are sold out as the new configuration is set to debut in September. So I thought this would be a good time for an Ode to the Old North End Zone. It was a disruptive source of consternation for opposing teams, right up through the 2024 Mountain West championship game. The first time there were ever stands there was in 1971, when temporary bleachers were trucked in for the first Boise State-Idaho game. Those stands became a “permanent temporary” fixture in 1979, installed for every football season.
It was the noise center of what was then Bronco Stadium until the south end zone was expanded in 2012. If there’s one game to zero in on, it would be Boise State’s 19-8 win over Oregon in the season opener in 2009. The Ducks had the ball at their own five-yard line as the North End Zone fans were going berserk. It was then that the Broncos’ Billy Winn knifed through and brought down Oregon’s LeGarrette Blount for a safety, creating what I’ve always felt was the loudest single moment in stadium history. The new North End Zone is an essential revenue generator for the program moving forward. The old one is now part of stadium lore.
MORE THAN YOU CAN EVER HOPE TO DIGEST
Phil Steele’s college football preview magazine finally hit Treasure Valley newsstands last weekend, and its uniqueness lives on: 376 pages, tiny font, and a key to 221 abbreviations that allow Steele to fit more stuff in. Boise State edge Jayden Virgin-Morgan is one of six featured players on Steele’s West Coast cover, for starters. And while most other publications have the Broncos as the favorite to grab the Group of 6 spot in the College Football Playoff, Steele favors Navy. But he makes it plenty confusing. Steele’s power ratings, showing the relative strength of each team, have Boise State at No. 47 and Navy at No. 69. But his preseason top 40, which he says predicts how teams will finish the season, puts the Broncos at No. 23 and the Midshipmen up at No. 20.
PAC-12 STUBS ITS TOE
Now that college football media days are upon us, it’s really hit me that the new Pac-12 isn’t holding one. I’ve been to plenty of media days, and yes, they’re probably a waste of money overall. But if there was one year for the Pac-12 to host an event, this would be it. The excitement has already been generated; all the conference had to do was pounce on it and make a splash. I want to know how the coaches are feeling about the Pac-12—and how they’re feeling about each other. I want to hear commissioner Teresa Gould’s vision for the next five years. All of it.
So here’s a Pac-12 media minute. Boise State is picked to win the conference this fall, but there are threats everywhere the Broncos turn. San Diego State is going to be good—the Aztecs smothered the Broncos last year, albeit with Boise State employing a very strange game plan. Fresno State is going to be good. The Bulldogs dominated the Broncos last year. But the theme of the new Pac-12 is the coaching. Utah State is growing under Bronco Mendenhall, Washington State appears to have hit a home run with Kirby Moore, Oregon State has opened up the NIL war chest for JaMarcus Shepherd, Jim Mora will change the culture at Colorado State, and G.J. Kinne has momentum at Texas State. There are no bottom-feeders, and there are no layups.
MORE DEGGIE THIS YEAR, PLEASE
Tyson Degenhart is set to suit up for the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Summer League Friday night on ESPN against the Boston Celtics. But will he take off his warmups this year? Hopefully Degenhart’s performance in the G League for Raptors 905 last season will earn him some playing time. The former Boise State great couldn’t catch a break a year ago in Las Vegas, playing six minutes in five games and totaling two points and one rebound. Degenhart took one shot the whole tournament—in the Raptors’ finale against Sacramento—and making it in the final minute of the game. Toronto has a 16-player roster for Summer League, so minutes may be tough to come by. But after he averaged 9.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 22.5 minutes per game for Raptors 905, things are hopefully looking up.
GETTING WELL ON THE ROAD
After a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to One Knoxville FC last Thursday on its home pitch, AC Boise had to travel almost 2,500 miles for a match at Westchester SC Sunday and pulled off a 1-0 victory. Westchester gave up an own-goal in the 62nd minute to account for Boise’s scoring, while goalkeeper Jonathan Kliewer was producing his third clean sheet of the season. ACB thus inches back over .500 at 7-6-3. You want a good example of the superior atmosphere at AC Boise games? The crowd numbered 1,776. That’s patriotic, but small. Look for another sell-out throng of more than 7,200 Saturday night for a USL Cup match against Sacramento Republic FC from the USL Championship level.
HAWKS GET PADDLED
Since joining the Pioneer League in 2021, the Missoula PaddleHeads have been the Boise Hawks’ Achilles heel. But this year started off with the Hawks taking two of three games in Missoula. Boise’s season has taken a turn, though. The Hawks fell 17-12 to the PaddleHeads last night to open a three-game series at Memorial Stadium, watching the visitors plate nine runs in the fifth inning. The defeat leaves Boise, with nine losses in its last 11 games, just one game over .500 at 22-21.
A DREAM DEBUT FOR HUGHES
You couldn’t have scripted Gabriel Hughes’ major league debut much better last Friday. The Rocky Mountain High grad, picked 10th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, was called up late last week and got to pitch in the Rockies’ 15-3 rout of the Giants. Hughes tossed the final three innings and earned a save, allowing no runs and two hits. Earlier this spring, this all seemed so improbable. Hughes struggled after being promoted to Triple-A Albuquerque—then was placed on the injured list in May with a shoulder problem. Something clicked after that, as the Statesman noted he returned to spin 15 2/3 scoreless innings with the Dukes to earn the call-up. The last Treasure Valley high school pitcher to appear in the majors was Bishop Kelly’s Josh Osich in 2021.
SCOPING OUT SPARKS’ PRO POSSIBILITIES
What’s next for Meridian’s Tyus Sparks, the first Treasure Valley player ever selected in the NHL Draft? Sparks was taken in the fourth round, 101st overall, by the Washington Capitals, and he participated in the Caps’ Summer Development Camp late last week. If Washington signs Sparks, he could be assigned to the team’s AHL team, the Hershey Bears, or its ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Sting Rays. The Statesman reports that an Idaho native hasn’t played in the NHL since Guyle Fielder with the Detroit Red Wings in 1957-58. According to TheHockeyWriters.com, fourth round picks have roughly a 40 percent chance of playing one game in the NHL. You probably know that Sparks is the son of Nate Sparks, who split time with Bart Hendricks at quarterback at Boise State in 1997-98.
JORGENSON BACK IN THE PACK
A slower start this year for Boise High grad Matteo Jorgenson at the Tour de France, as he sits in 43rd place after four stages. But Jorgenson’s role on Team Visma/Lease A Bike is to protect team captain Jonas Vingegaard and help pace him. And to that end, we see Vingegaard in fifth place overall. There are 17 stages to go in the grueling event. This is Jorgenson’s fifth Tour de France—his best finish was eighth in 2024. He was 19th last year. Jorgenson also had a ninth place result in the road race at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by POOL SCOUTS…perfect pools, scout’s honor!
July 8, 2021, five years ago today: Rookie Daniel Camarena of the San Diego Padres becomes the first pitcher since 1898 (that’s 123 years) to belt a grand slam home run as his first major league hit. With the National League adopting the designated hitter the following year, it would be shocking if this ever happened again. The role it played in this game was historic, too. Camarena, who went to Cathedral Catholic High in San Diego and had just been called up earlier in the day, connected off Washington ace Max Scherzer in the fourth inning after the Padres had fallen behind 8-0. San Diego would then roar all the way back to walk-off the Nationals 9-8, matching the best comeback in franchise history.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
