Wednesday, April 16, 2008.

The new Boise State football signee confirmed by coaches yesterday, Mike Atkinson, proves the wisdom of saving scholarships for the unknown. Atkinson is a 6-1, 330-pound Canadian defensive tackle who Bronco staffers discovered while scouting one of his teammates in Windsor, Ontario. Atkinson won’t be your everyday true freshman when he arrives in Boise this summer. He attended a five-year high school in Windsor and is already 19. BSU defensive line coach Pete Kwiatkowski told the Windsor Star that Atkinson is extremely athletic for a big guy. And things are far from settled on the Bronco defensive line, with injuries keeping the staff from seeing the full picture there this spring.

Atkinson wants to compete for a tackle spot right out of the chute this season, with a couple openings in the rotation going into the summer. He’ll be up against Sean Bingham, Steven Reveles, Billy Winn, Chase Baker and Will Lawrence. The question will be how Atkinson adjusts from Canadian prep football to Division I-A. "We have to see if a freshman is physically ready to play and contribute and mentally able to handle it," Kwiatkowski said. "Since he's done a fifth year of high school, it's like he's already a redshirt freshman in terms of maturity." Check out his work as a fullback last season on You Tube. That’s right—fullback.

You think replacing Colt Brennan is a pressing question at Hawaii? How about Davone Bess, Ryan Grice-Mullins, Jason Rivers and C.J. Hawthorne, who combined for 367 receptions, 4,671 yards and 44 touchdowns. Last season alone, for cryin’ out loud. Spring football has 10 days to go at UH, and the four who hope to fill the bill are Malcolm Lane, Greg Salas, Aaron Bain and Michael Washington. Those guys are looking to be a “dreadhead déjà vu” for the Warriors. None of them played much last year—their combined numbers: 25 receptions for 429 yards and five touchdowns.

The Idaho Stampede know their opponent now for their second round D-League Playoff game Friday night. Coby Karl and the L.A. D-Fenders will be coming to Qwest Arena after ousting the Colorado 14ers yesterday, 102-95. The D-Fenders had six players in double figures, and Karl was not one of them. The former Boise State star was 2-for-11 from the field and netted only seven points. The Stamps are a team with a pedigree—it’s now up to them to finish. They set a team record for victories and winning percentage, with their 36-14 record eclipsing the 34-14 mark posted in 2003-04 under Larry Krystkowiak. The Stampede also put up the best record in D-League history this season.

The last time we saw Reggie Theus, he was coaching New Mexico State and was chasing down Karl during a chaotic moment against BSU in the WAC Tournament last year. That would be the last game of Karl’s college career. Last night, Coby may have been present in the stands as the first season as an NBA head coach ended for Theus. The Lakers took the floor after the D-Fenders victory in the Staples Center and routed Sacramento, 124-101—Theus guided the Kings to a 38-44 record. Karl just missed playing against the Stampede a number of times this season. This is his third stint with the D-Fenders—none of them have timed with the schedule until now.

Idaho State lost a coach and an entire team yesterday. Women’s basketball coach Jon Newlee, the winningest in ISU history, is headed to Idaho to take over for the departed Mike Divilbiss. And the Bengals men’s golf team will be no more, as the school is dropping the sport. Idaho State was part of the Big Sky in men's golf until the 2002 season, when the sport was dropped as a conference sport. The Bengals then competed as an independent for five years before joining a patchwork group of eight schools in something called the America Sky Golf Conference.

The Idaho Steelheads’ playoff run may have come to a sudden end, but former Steelheads mainstay Scott Burt is still going with Utah. And it could last awhile longer. Burt and the Grizzlies stunned Fresno by sweeping the first two games of their opening round series in the Save Mart Center, with Game 2 going three overtimes Monday night as Utah rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win, 4-3. The Grizzlies won just 32 of 72 regular season games and are seeded sixth in the National Conference, while the Falcons are the third seed. Burt, the 31-year old left wing who played seven seasons for the Steelies, has one assist in the series so far. It resumes at Utah tonight.

Our former Boise Hawk of the Day is Angels pitcher Scot Shields, who is rejuvenated after coming off his first career stay on the disabled list. Shields opened the season on the DL with shoulder problems but quickly rejoined the roster and has since allowed just one earned run and is sporting an ERA of just 1.69. Last night he set the table for Francisco Rodriguez with a perfect eighth inning in the Angels’ 7-1 win at Texas. Shields has thrown more innings than any reliever in the bigs over the past four years and looked like a worn-down guy at the end of last season. He began his pro career with the Hawks in 1997, going 7-2 with a 2.94 ERA.

This Day In Sports…April 16, 1948, 60 years ago today:

A long tradition begins in Chicago when WGN-TV televises baseball for the first time, covering an exhibition game between the Cubs and White Sox at Wrigley Field. Jack Brickhouse, who would announce games for both teams (though primarily for the Cubs) in a four-decade-long Hall of Fame career, was at the mike as the White Sox prevailed, 4-1.

(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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