Wednesday, August 6, 2008.

The analysis of Boise State's 2008 offense has been rolled out every which way since the sour end of the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. Beyond the no-news-is-no-news Jeremy Childs press conference yesterday, you know about the quarterback battle, the depth at running back and wide receiver, and the offensive line questions. That leaves one position that's gone relatively unnoticed, mainly because its productiveness has perpetuated itself. That's another way of saying when one good BSU tight end leaves at the top, another is emerging from the bottom. When Derek Schouman departed, Tommy Gallarda started up the ladder. Now that Ryan Putnam and Sherm Blaser have graduated, Capital High product Kyle Efaw comes in at entry-level.

The Broncos usually play four deep at the tight end position, and that opens the door for Efaw, who grayshirted after graduating from Capital in 2006 and redshirted last year. He joins a group led by tight end-fullback hybrid Richie Brockel and weight room warrior Chris O'Neill. Coach Chris Petersen was so impressed by the progress O'Neill made during the offseason he blurted out the senior's name this spring when asked about BSU's NFL hopefuls for 2009. The 6-3, 250-pounder could display a Schouman-type aura this year. Gallarda is now the third tight end, and coaches will look to find a role for Efaw.

Uh-oh. ESPN.com's preseason college football Bottom 10 is out, and the WAC has two of the three at the, well, the "top." Idaho is No. 1, with notes from David Duffey, certainly the most popular writer in Moscow right now, whose theme centers around Lollapalooza-type music artists. "We Go To 11--The Vandals turned it up all the way to 11 losses in 2007. Will the dial go to 12 this season?" No it won't. Utah State is No. 3 on the infamous list, with Duffey writing, "Nine Inch Nails: Like the sound of 9-inch nails against a chalkboard? If so, you'll love the Aggies." Ouch.

The arrival of NFL training camps has done nothing to suppress the props coming Ryan Clady's way. The former Boise State star, chosen No. 12 overall in April's NFL Draft, is featured in The Sporting News this week in a story on the five left tackles taken in the first round. "Denver runs a zone-blocking scheme that stresses agility over girth, and Clady fills the bill. 'He shows good foot base and good hand use,' an AFC scout says. Clady must improve his technique. Still, you can see why the Broncos plan to start him. 'I think he was the most athletic tackle in the draft, by far,' Sporting News draft expert Russ Lande says. 'In their scheme, he'll be a superstar. You just don't find kids with his size and his feet.'" Denver opens the preseason Saturday at Houston.

If you catch a glimpse of Bishop Kelly grad Nick Symmonds during Friday night's Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, you'll see a refreshed runner who proclaims himself ready for the world's biggest stage. He's spent the time following his stirring 800-meter win at the U.S. Olympic Trials vacationing and resting in Oregon, instead of going to Europe for tune-up races. On his blog, Symmonds says, "I will not only be the freshest guy on the start line in China but will have allowed my body to strengthen and sharpen even more then I had for the trials."

The Boise Hawks squandered an opportunity last night to cut into Spokane's formidable lead in the Northwest League East Division. Yakima finally got back at the Hawks with a 6-4 victory while Spokane was being mauled 15-2 at Tri-City. That leaves the Hawks five games behind the Indians. Don't blame Ryan Flaherty for the bump in the road--the first-round draft pick out of Vanderbilt has gone 6-for-9 the past two games and smashed a two-run homer last night, his third of the season. Monday night Flaherty nearly hit for the cycle, collecting a single, double, and triple, and ripping a second double off the right-centerfield wall in the ninth inning.

Last weekend, Oakland manager Bob Geren said former Boise Hawk Jerry Blevins might be a candidate to take over as the A;s closer if Huston Street continued to struggle. Well, things ain't getting any better for Street, who yielded two runs in the bottom of the ninth yesterday to give Toronto a 4-3 victory and hand Oakland its eighth straight loss. In his last 16 appearances, Street is 1-4 with a 6.00 ERA and four blown saves. Meanwhile, since being called up by the A's on the 4th of July, Blevins is 1-1 with a sparkling 1.23 ERA in 14 outings. The 24-year-old lefthander played for the Hawks in 2004 and 2006. It was the first summer in Boise that got Blevins launched--he was 6-1 with a 1.62 ERA in helping the Hawks to their last Northwest League championship.

You can say goodbye to an event that has become a cherished September golf tradition in the Treasure Valley. Albertson's Boise Open will be without the Kraft/Nabisco Shootout this year, as promoter Jeff Sanders has had to cancel it due to ballooning travel and broadcast costs. During the first 18 years of Boise's Nationwide Tour stop, the event once known as the Skins Game for College Golf has set the tone for the week, drawing everyone from John Elway to Arnold Palmer. One of the unique highlights was three years ago, when the Shootout field included the tournament champions from the day before on the PGA, LPGA and Nationwide Tours: Jason Gore, Annika Sorenstam and Troy Matteson.

This Day In Sports...August 6, 1948, 60 years ago today:

In London, 17-year-old Bob Mathias becomes the youngest decathlon winner in Olympic history just two months after graduating from high school--and only six weeks after competing in the grueling event for the first time. As a senior at Stanford in 1952, Mathias won the gold again at the Summer Olympics in Helsinki and retired from competition, having never been defeated.

(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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