Thursday, January 31, 2008.

The twain appears to be meeting Saturday night in the quest to bring the big crowds back to Taco Bell Arena. Boise State is competing for the top spot in the WAC, peaking on offense and welcoming its rival to town. A goal of 10,000 fans has been established by BSU for the Bronco-Vandal game, with an accompanying promotion. Whether it can happen or not depends on how deeply the fever has taken hold with fans. BSU has drawn 10,000 only once since the 2004 NIT, and that was for Fiesta Bowl celebration night last January versus Hawaii. The Broncos are playing confidently at 15-5, leading the nation in field goal percentage at 52 percent, and 11th in the country in scoring. We’ll see how that resonates Saturday.

The all-time record in the place formerly known as the Pavilion is from a BSU-Idaho clash 15 years ago, when a sellout of 12,649 crammed the joint. Ah, those were the days. Crowds of 10,000-plus were a regular occurrence for about eight seasons once the Broncos made their first NIT run in 1987. But back then there were no Idaho Steelheads or Idaho Stampede and far fewer movie theaters and other entertainment diversions, and winning was a constant for BSU. It’s been hard for Bronco men’s basketball to get it back.

What transpired in the 2004 NIT shows that the possibility has always been there, though. After a throng of over 9,000 for the regular season finale against UTEP, BSU had to sell the first NIT game against UNLV from scratch and drew over 9,000 again. Then the next round against Wisconsin-Milwaukee had to be moved to the Idaho Center, and there were over 10,000 for that one. It was very sudden and very impressive, and it can happen again.

BSU has made it this far, less than a week until National Letter of Intent Day, without any of its football staff departing to other jobs. So things are looking good for Chris Petersen (that’s remarkable stability). And it appears the only guy who left after the 2006 perfect season made a good move. Sean Kugler, a Buffalo area native, has been promoted to offensive line coach from O-line assistant with the Bills. It was considered just a formality by the club once 28-year NFL assistant Jim McNally announced his retirement as offensive line coach earlier this month. McNally said the table was set for Kugler this season. "He was not treated as my assistant. He was treated as my equal." Buffalo feels good about Kugler, as the Bills set a franchise record by allowing only 26 sacks in 2007.

Did I mention stability? Fresno State is once again looking for an offensive coordinator, as Jim McElvain has been lured away by Nick Saban at the University of Alabama. Saban pointed in particular to “an impressive showing offensively against a very good Georgia Tech defense in their (Humanitarian) bowl win." McElwain, John L. Smith’s former assistant head coach at Michigan State, had just joined the Bulldogs a year ago after a season with the Oakland Raiders. Fresno State might be the team that takes its turn in getting all the “BCS buster” hype this year, but coach Pat Hill will be looking for his fourth O-coordinator in four years.

No announcement yet, but Art Valero has said he’ll be reuniting with Scott Linehan on the staff of the St. Louis Rams. Valero was a member of Boise State’s Division I-AA national championship team in 1980 and went into coaching with the Broncos. Then he departed with Jim Criner to Iowa State in 1983, and it’s been an interesting road since. Valero ended up at Idaho on John L. Smith’s staff with Linehan, and he coached again with the Rams coach at Louisville under John L. Valero’s been with Tampa Bay since 2002 and is reportedly set to be offensive line coach for the Rams, who fired O-line coach Paul Boudreau earlier this month. Strange that it’s not official yet, though, especially considering the hoopla surrounding the Rams’ hiring of former Redskins offensive coordinator Al Saunders yesterday. That move could affect things.

You may have heard former Nebraska Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch on Idaho SportsTalk discussing the new All-American Football League, a circuit centered around major college football hotbeds. The franchises are include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas. So it’s a given that there won’t be a lot of Boise State players involved. But former Bronco running back Antwaun Carter has popped up on Alabama’s roster. It makes sense in that he’s a Southern guy from Aiken, SC. Carter rushed for 718 yards and 17 touchdowns in two seasons at BSU.

Greg Rallo was at one time the Idaho Steelheads’ scoring leader, but just when he was healthy and had started giving chase again, off he goes to the AHL. Rallo was one of two Steelheads with a pair of goals last night (John Lammers was the other) in a 6-2 blasting of Stockton in Qwest Arena. The 27-year-old center has 10 goals and 17 points in his last 13 games dating back to December 1, with a month off due to injury sandwiched in between. Rallo found out before last night’s game he’s been called up to Albany of the AHL. For the season, Rallo’s totaled 35 points, eight behind team leader Lance Galbraith, who maintained his margin with two assists last night. With the win, the Steelies complete a sweep of that oddly-placed homestand—they now go back on the road for five straight games beginning tomorrow night in Phoenix.

The Idaho Stampede’s 14-game winning streak has come full circle since it started the week before Christmas. At that time, the Stampede were in the throes of a tough six-game December road stretch that saw then lose the first four. They had a chance to right the ship against the last-place Bakersfield Jam, and that they did. Then it was Anaheim, in second-to-last, and the Stamps took care of business against the Arsenal to nail down the first five games of the streak. Now they try to tie the D-League record streak at 15 tomorrow night versus Bakersfield in Qwest Arena. And if the Stampede win that, they can break the mark Saturday night in Anaheim.

This Day In Sports…January 31, 1998, 10 years ago today:

Gerry Washington sets a Boise State record for most free throws made in a game without a miss in a 72-67 loss to Idaho in the Kibbie Dome. G-Dub was 14-of-14 from the line—he is still ninth on BSU’s career list for free throw percentage at 78½ percent. Washington remains in a vegetative state in his California home after collapsing during a pickup game in April of 2000.

(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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