Friday, June 20, 2008.

Boise State to the Mountain West someday is a legitimate discussion. But some fans drum up the "What about the Pac-10?" question. There are so many reasons that won't happen, and here's another. To be fair, it's not only Bronco fans who bring this thing up. Stewart Mandel's Mailbag at SI.com this week spends time on Tom Hansen's departure as Pac-10 commissioner, and Roger of Waynesboro, VA, writes: "Do you think there is any chance the league will try to expand after his departure? With the huge payoff from conference championship games and a couple of teams in the region (Boise State, Fresno State) getting better, it seems like a no-brainer to me."

Responds Mandel: "The idea that conference championship games are a 'no-brainer' revenue stream is a misnomer. The Pac-10 would suffer with geography and logistics--30,000 Washington State fans aren't going to fly to Los Angeles or Phoenix on a week's notice. The main financial benefit of expansion comes from a league's regular-season TV contract, and to that end, the type of schools available in that area--Utah, BYU, Boise State, etc.--are not going to send the networks scrambling to pony up more money. The Pac-10 will remain at 10 for the foreseeable future." True words. But the Mountain West remaining at nine? Time will tell. The changing economy is going to force somebody's hand sooner or later.

Karl Benson's name is indeed surfacing in speculation over who will succeed Tom Hansen as commissioner of the Pac-10. Benson, going into his 15th year as WAC commissioner, gets props from Jon Wilner in the San Jose Mercury-News. "He knows football, he knows TV (especially ESPN), and he knows how to promote a conference," writes Wilner. "Oh, and he has connections in Pac-10 circles. One question: Would the Pac-10 CEOs hire someone from a non-BCS conference? If that's not an issue, and it shouldn't be, then put Benson on the short list." This is a big hire for the Pac-10, as Hansen has been commish for 25 years. But the league needs new blood. Hansen, among other things, does not know TV.

While the Boise Burn are in Stockton tomorrow night, B.J. Rhode will be spending time with his family, by choice. The one-time Boise State backup quarterback has, in effect, retired from the Burn after playing parts of two seasons. Rhode threw for 1,745 yards with 36 touchdowns and 16 interceptions in that time. Rhode's roster spot will be taken by Kyle Pratt, who didn't play college football. But Burn head man Lee Leslie coached Pratt in high school in Utah. Quarterback is a hurtin' spot right now, as the Burn have not completed 50 percent of their passing attempts in any of the past four games--all losses.

A couple linebackers are in the news today. Scout.com reports that BSU has picked up John Michael Davis of Las Flores, CA, a 6-2, 225-pounder who's also playing wide receiver for Tesoro High School. So he's gotta have some skills (Scout.com gives Davis a three-star rating). He represents the Broncos' fifth verbal commitment for 2009. And, Mountain View star Darren Markle has opted for Washington State. Markle is 6-1, 230 pounds--he's racked up 15 sacks the past two seasons for the Mavericks.

After Idaho fired basketball coach George Pfeifer in March, the Vandals were interested in Idaho Stampede assistant and former Fresno State head coach Ray Lopes. U of I hired Don Verlin from Utah State, but now Verlin has brought Lopes in to join his staff. Lopes helped the Stampede to the NBA D-League championship in April. He now returns to the college game, declaring his past troubles to be behind him. Lopes just finished serving what was, in effect, a three-year ban from NCAA basketball resulting from hundreds of impermissible phone calls made while he was coach of the Bulldogs.

The Boise Hawks suffered a second straight come-from-ahead loss last night, falling to Eugene, 8-4. Early in the game, the Hawks got a Rebel Yell--Rebel Ridling doubled and homered, knocking in three runs to stake Boise to a 4-3 lead. But the late-inning gong show struck the Hawks again, as the Emeralds scored four unearned runs in the eighth inning to go up 7-4. Then Eugene added another score with a homer in the top of the ninth. The game had an interesting ending, as Jake Opitz flied out to the rightfield warning track with a man on. Opitz, of course, had the walk-off homer on Opening Night and blasted an eight-inning round-tripper Wednesday. The Hawks now look for a wire-to-wire effort tonight in the fourth game of this season-opening series.

Fresno State has had another day added to its stay at the College World Series, this time due to weather as opposed to on-field exploits. The LSU-North Carolina elimination game was suspended due to rain last night with the Tar Heels off to a rip-snorting start. It'll be resumed tonight in the top of the first--UNC already had two runs across and had the bases loaded when the skies opened up. The Bulldogs are in the winner's bracket; if they beat the Tigers-Tar Heels survivor, they'll be into the CWS Finals as one of the great Cinderella stories in the event's history.

Carissa Simmons, the state high school 5A individual champion in 2006, is looking to add an Idaho Women's Amateur trophy to her mantel. Simmons, now a University of Montana golfer, blasted out to a three-stroke advantage after the first round of the Women's Am yesterday. She carded an even-par 72 to forge the lead over fellow Boiseans Maddie Shiels and Shawna Ianson.

This Day In Sports...June 20, 1993, 15 years ago today:

John Paxson's three-pointer with 3.9 seconds left holds up for a 99-98 Chicago win in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. With the victory the Bulls completed their first three-peat by beating the Phoenix Suns, four games to two. Michael Jordan averaged a Finals record 41 points a game, but no one realized it would be Jordan's final game prior to his first retirement. Jordan left for an ill-fated attempt at baseball in the Chicago White Sox organization before returning to the Bulls almost two years later.

(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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