Monday, April 14, 2008.

About 7,500 fans proved the old adage Friday night. They roared when things went well for the offense at Boise State’s Blue & Orange Scrimmage, and murmered when it didn’t. There was plenty of murmuring. But defense wins championships, y’know. It never gets enough credit at this time of the year, and the Bronco D shone during spring ball. So it was Friday, as the offense was held to less than three yards a carry rushing and a single touchdown. The conversation keeps coming back to new energy at linebacker being provided by sophomore Derrell Acrey, and redshirt freshmen Aaron Tevis and Hunter White. Those three combined for 12 tackles and a fumble recovery, heating up competition at that position immensely.

The water cooler talk, of course, centers around who the Boise State quarterback will be in 2008, and there seems to be some separation now, with Kellen Moore and Bush Hamdan ahead of Mike Coughlin and Nick Lomax. But it’s Moore who has the look of the frontrunner after spring ball. The freshman from Prosser, WA, was the one who moved the offense most consistently Friday night and appears to have a real command of the offense. Moore had a hand in the play of the night, laying a touch pass over the top to Titus Young for a 32-yard gain. Moore put it out there where only Young could get it—knowing that, well, Young could get it. Moore was 11-of-13 for 99 yards. Here’s the overriding positive for the offense this spring: just one interception in 126 passing attempts over the three scrimmages.

One of the sidebar activities of the Blue & Orange Scrimmage was a reunion of the 1979 and 1980 BSU teams that went 20-4 and claimed a Division I-AA national championship. The reason they were honored together was on the souvenir T-shirts each participant received: “Without 79 there wouldn't have been an 80.” The 1979 squad went 10-1 but was denied the Big Sky championship and subsequent playoff berth because it was on probation for an illegal scouting incident by coach Jim Criner in 1978. Three of BSU’s “Four Horsemen” made the festivities: Cedric Minter, Terry Zahner and David Hughes. The biggest ovations during halftime introductions of the teams were reserved for Minter, the Broncos’ career rushing leader, and College Football Hall of Famer Randy Trautman.

There will be a new Kelly Cup champion in the ECHL this year, as the Idaho Steelheads were ushered out of the playoffs in a four-game sweep by the Alaska Aces with a 2-1 loss last night at Sullivan Arena. It was a stunning exit for the defending champions, who just a week ago were coming off a strong finish to the regular season and held home-ice advantage in the first round. The Steelheads tried to change the karma last night, as Mark Bomersback scored just over three minutes into the game to give them their first lead of the series. But from there it was the Marek Schwarz Show—again. The former first round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues made 28 saves and was impenetrable on the power play. The Steelies were 1-for-25 on the man-advantage in the series.

Between the pipes, Derek Laxdal went with the tried-and-true Steve Silverthorn, coming off forgettable outings in Games 1 and 2. Silverthorn allowed six goals in about 3½ periods in those two contests, but he did everything he could last night in Anchorage. The Aces got to him with about 4½ minutes left in the second period to take a 2-1 lead, but he kept them at bay the rest of the way while the Steelies desperately tried to find the net against Schwarz. Still, the 2007 Kelly Cup Finals MVP comes away from this one series of the ’08 playoffs 0-3, and the Steelheads go into early hibernation.

Bryan Gates would be the most unlikely NBA coach ever, having never played college basketball—and having started out as a volunteer assistant with the Idaho Stampede in the CBA 10 seasons ago. But Gates has to at least be getting some notice, as he has taken away his second straight D-League Coach of the Year award. Gates has led the Stampede to their second consecutive West Division title and a first round bye in the playoffs this week. The Stampede finished with a flurry over the weekend, besting Bakersfield and Iowa at Qwest Arena to finish 36-14. Notable in Saturday night’s win was a trio of Stampede players with double-doubles: Randy Livingston (17 points, 16 assists), Jason Ellis (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Brent Petway (14 points, 10 boards). The Stampede open playoff action with a second round game this Friday.

I guess anything can happen in arena football. But Saturday night was something else. The Boise Burn were trailing Stockton 30-0 in the second quarter and rallied for an improbable 51-43 victory, their first of the season. With the score already 21-0, coach Lee Leslie pulled quarterback B.J. Rhode in favor of Royal Gill, and the former Eagle Mustang was sacked for a safety on his first snap. After one more Lightning touchdown, Gill keyed the comeback by going 15-of-24 for 191 yards and a TD and running for another score. The Burn defense was a factor, too—linebacker Chris Bruhn returned an interception for a touchdown and added two sacks.

Our former Boise Hawk of the Day is Ricky Nolasco, who got his first start of the season—and first in almost 11 months—Friday night for the Marlins and parlayed it into a 10-6 win over the Astros. Nolacso went five innings and allowed five earned runs, but he was the beneficiary of big-time run support in the form of five Florida homers on the night. The 25-year-old righthander is coming off a 2007 season that saw him beset with elbow problems, limiting him to five appearances and four starts. Nolasco was a key part of the Hawks rotation during their 2002 Northwest League championship season, going 7-2 with a 2.48 ERA.

The Boise State gymnastics team has set the table for its future with a fourth place finish Saturday at the NCAA South Central Regional at the University of Oklahoma. The 16th-ranked Broncos needed to finish in the top two to make nationals as a team for the first time, but couldn’t overcome the 10th-ranked Sooners and the surprising surge of No. 24 Illinois. Nevertheless, BSU’s Neil Resnick and Tina Bird were voted the regional co-coaches of the year.

This Day In Sports…April 14, 1981:

In his first home game after signing with the Chicago White Sox as a free agent, Carlton Fisk hits a grand slam to key a 9-3 win over Milwaukee at Comiskey Park. Fisk had played 11 seasons in Boston and would be with the White Sox for 13 more, setting a big league record for home runs by a catcher with 351 (since broken). He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 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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