Monday, May 11, 2009.

The Sporting News Today online edition is running a series on position rankings in the NFL, compiled by RealScouts. In declaring "a new era at offensive tackle," the publication has former Boise State star Ryan Clady ranked No. 1. Yes, numero uno. The synopsis says what BSU fans already know about Denver's second-year star: "An extremely athletic left tackle who gave up just 1½ sacks as a rookie last year, he has great feet and the ability to run-block at the second level and mirror ends in pass protection." Those who agonize over any struggles in Boise State's running game last season must remember who was missing. Incidentally, All-Pro Jordan Gross, the Carolina Panthers star and former Fruitland Grizzly, is ranked sixth on the list.

After experiencing the remarkable stability of Boise State football under Dan Hawkins and Chris Petersen, Clady is already looking at wrenching change as he enters his second year in Denver. He has to learn the system of a new coach after the departure of the legendary one who brought him in, Mike Shanahan. And Clady also has to get use to a new quarterback, with the new coach, Josh McDaniels, having all but run off Jay Cutler. But nobody in NFL circles doubts that Clady, now listed at 6-6, 325 pounds, will be seamless in the transition.

Does "close but no cigar" fit here? The Boise Burn almost pulled off their biggest win in franchise history Saturday night but fell just short, losing 64-62 in Spokane. The Burn were unphased by the sellout crowd of 10,557, twice building two-touchdown leads in the first half only to see the Shock rally. Taylor Tharp had by far his best game of the season, going 28-of-32 for 347 yards and eight touchdowns. The only problem was that two of Tharp's incompletions went into the arms of Sergio Gilliam on the last play of the third quarter and with 41 seconds remaining in the fourth. The victory gives Spokane the tiebreaker over Boise should one be needed at the end of the season.

There is a former Idaho Steelhead still active in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That wasn't the case until Friday, when Jay Beagle called back up by the Washington Capitals in time for Game 4 of the NHL Eastern Conference semifinals. The 23-year-old right wing got three minutes of ice time Friday night and four minutes Saturday, both games Capitals' losses. Beagle, a member of the Steelheads' Kelly Cup championship team two seasons ago, made his NHL debut with the Caps February 11. The Caps are on the ropes as they play Game 6 at Pittsburgh tonight.

There will be some changes to the NCAA basketball rulebook next season, and one relates directly to the drama we saw at the end of the Missouri-Marquette game during the NCAA Tournament's Boise Bracket. That's when Mizzou's J.T. Tiller was injured as he was fouled, and coach Mike Anderson inserted Kim English, who promptly canned both free throws, bringing a shower of boos from the Taco Bell Arena crowd. From now on, the opposing coach will determine who shoots free throws for an injured player from among the other four players still on the floor.

Get ready for more Greg Patton-isms this week. Patton, the Boise State men's tennis coach, is understandably euphoric after the Broncos upset Alabama 4-3 on the Crimson Tide's home courts Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. That means BSU is headed to the main draw of the tournament, as the Sweet 16 gathers later this week in College Station, TX. It's the Broncos' first trip to the round of 16 since 1996, and only their second ever. The win takes the sting off the upset loss to Hawaii in the WAC Championships final--by the way, the Warriors fell to UCLA in the second round, 4-0. The BSU women also made the second round after upsetting Alabama Saturday, 4-3, the team's first victory ever in the NCAA Tournament. But BSU was swept 4-0 yesterday by second-ranked Georgia.

Davey Hamilton is in for the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 Sunday, May 24. Hamilton, after missing the top 11 in Saturday's Pole Day qualifying, got through in the No. 22 and final spot available yesterday at the Brickyard. This will be Hamilton's ninth Indy 500 start and his third since returning after a six-year absence due to his horrific crash at the Texas Motor Speedway in 2001. He's placed in the top 10 at Indy three times, with his best finish coming in 1998 at No. 4.

Our honorary former Boise Hawk of the Day is, well, the only guy we apply that tag to. Casey Kotchman is finding his stroke in his first full season with Atlanta. Kotchman , the son of former Hawks manager Tom Kotchman who spent chunks of 11 youthful summers in Boise, went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in yesterday in a 4-2 win at Philadelphia, raising his average to .312. Kotchman was sixth in the order yesterday but has been batting primarily cleanup for the Braves. Despite that, he didn't hit his first home run of the season until last Thursday (and followed with his second round-tripper Friday night).

Atlanta has been banking on the Kotchman it saw last September rising up in 2009. The 26-year-old first baseman, who signed a one-year, $2.9 million contract in the off-season, batted only .149 in his first 22 games after coming over in the trade with the Angels for Mark Teixeira. But Kotchman hit .305 with 15 RBIs over the final month of last season.

This Day In Sports...May 11, 1977:

Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner, his team in the midst of a 16-game losing streak, assumes the role of manager. With Turner in the dugout, the Braves continued their losing ways, dropping a 2-1 decision to Pittsburgh. The next day, the National League ruled that no team stockholder can manage his own team, and Turner's career as manager was over after one game.

(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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