Thursday, March 22, 2007.

The first scrimmage of spring football is tomorrow afternoon at rapidly-changing Bronco Stadium. I’m thinking there’ll be interesting seating arrangements, because on the west side the outer walls are comin’ down. What matters to fans, though, is what’s happening inside those walls, particularly at the quarterback position. This is when the battle to replace Jared Zabransky really heats up. As coach Chris Petersen said yesterday on Idaho SportsTalk, the first scrimmage “would probably equate to a couple practices”, and practices carry a lot of weight at Boise State. Petersen says Taylor Tharp will probably be out there for the first series, but cautions everyone not to read anything into that. And remember: in a situation like this, the defense is always ahead of the offense in the first spring scrimmage. And there’s no relief available from Ian Johnson. So it might not be that pretty.

Nothing has been decided in these first seven practices of spring ball, and nothing has to be settled by the time the Blue-Orange Game ends April 13. Pete points to 2004 spring football, when Zabransky, then a sophomore, and senior Mike Sanford were locked in a tight tussle in the quest to succeed Ryan Dinwiddie. The staff didn’t pick Zabransky until a week before the season opener—and didn’t announce it publicly until Z trotted out to take BSU’s first snap against Idaho. The last-minute revelation worked out just fine, as the Broncos beat the Vandals 65-7 and went on to their first undefeated regular season.

The Alaska Aces snapped their modest two-game losing streak last night, busting open a tie game with three third-period goals in a 5-2 thumping of the Idaho Steelheads. J Bates was almost right on yesterday on IST when he predicted an over-under of two minutes in for a fracas between these two clubs. It took just 1:10, as the Steelies’ Jeremy Yablonski exchanged blows with Steven Later. Yablonski and teammate Matt Nickerson ended up with game and match misconducts in the third period, each called for a deliberate attempt to injure. Alaska tallied twice on the ensuing 5-on-3 power play to put the game away. The fun continues tomorrow and Saturday in Qwest Arena.

The playoff picture is clearing for the Idaho Stampede. The team has already qualified for the NBA D-League’s postseason. And if the Stamps split this weekend at Albuquerque, they clinch at least a no. 2 seed and a home playoff game. They’re chasing the franchise regular season record for victories—34 set three years ago. The Stampede is 28-13 with nine games left. The architect of that 2003-04 run, former coach Larry Krystkowiak, was on Idaho SportsTalk the other day. He wasted no time in crediting Stampede managing investor Bill Ilett with launching his bid for an NBA coaching job, one that has already come to pass with the Milwaukee Bucks. “Without that experience, there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind I wouldn’t be sitting here with the Bucks,” said Krystkowiak.

Twenty years ago, Tim Floyd was finishing the first of his two seasons at Idaho. Floyd had replaced Bill Trumbo and had returned the Vandals to their victorious ways, giving them the first of what would be eight straight winning seasons. From there it was on to New Orleans and Iowa State—then his ill-fated testing of the NBA waters. Now Floyd is back in his element in college hoops, and he has USC in the Sweet 16 this week (the Trojans play North Carolina tomorrow night).

The first thing you notice about Floyd is: he looks exactly the way as he did when he was coaching in Moscow where he went 35-25 in his two years. Even his hairstyle’s the same. And the same color, which might be another story. But he’s the right guy at the right time for USC, which has been the most surprisingly dominant team of the first two rounds in the NCAA Tournament with its decisive victories over Arkansas and Texas.

As we watch tonight’s Sweet 16 games, here’s hoping there’s a little more energy in the arenas. Most first and second round sites were devoid of passion last week despite some outstanding matchups. One question is this: is there a Wolf Pack Nation? It’s harder for Reno fans to get to New Orleans than it is for Boise fans to get to Phoenix—and it’s basketball, not football. Boise State traveled 25,000 fans to Glendale for the Fiesta Bowl. Sure, it was football’s equivalent of a Final Four trip. But couldn’t you expect Nevada to get 10 percent of that to follow its Top 10 basketball team? The Wolf Pack had an estimated 600 fans down there.

Former Albertson College pitcher Jason Simontacchi has resurfaced with the Washington Nationals, and he has a chance of resurfacing in the majors next month. Simontacchi had struggled with shoulder problems since his three-year stint in St. Louis. He hasn’t pitched in the bigs since 2004 but has had a strong spring, becoming a candidate for the Nationals rotation. Washington manager Manny Acta says Simontacchi “has been helping himself—big time.” He played for the Cardinals from 2002-04, going 20-10 with a 4.77 ERA in 83 appearances. Simontacchi pitched for the Coyotes in 1996 and was really “discovered” during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney when he represented Italy.

Tennis rankings fluctuate wildly, as evidenced by the new ones this week. The Boise State men, bubbling under the Top 25 at no. 27 a week ago, have jumped all the way to 19th after a good showing at the Blue-Gray Classic. The Broncos beat Wisconsin and 16th-ranked South Alabama in Montgomery before falling to no. 14 Alabama in the semifinals of that tourney. They’re home this afternoon at 1:30 to face BYU at the Appleton Tennis Center.

This Day In Sports…March 22, 1958:

Kentucky defeats Seattle University 84-72 to win the championship game at the NCAA Tournament. Seattle was led by Elgin Baylor, who poured in 25 points and was the Tournament’s top scorer. He also had 19 rebounds in the title game. Baylor had transferred to Seattle after starting his collegiate career at the College Of Idaho in Caldwell.

(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 1350 KTIK/The Ticket. He also handles color commentary on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football.)

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