Wednesday, May 6, 2009.

Graham Watson, who covers non-BCS schools for ESPN.com, writes this week what many were thinking after the Congressional hearings last Friday on the BCS bowl system. "I found it interesting that [Gene] Bleymaier and Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson stood shoulder to shoulder considering Thompson hasn't spoken highly about Boise State and the possibility of it joining the Mountain West," penned Watson. "Though this had nothing to do with that explicitly, it might be a sign that the Mountain West is realizing that it needs to strengthen its conference to earn more BCS credibility."

It's been over five years now since Boise State was passed over for TCU in the Mountain West's one and only expansion in its 10-year history. And when the latest rumblings resonated, Thompson put the kibosh on Boise State and any further talk of Mountain West expansion. Then the commissioner finds himself sitting at a hearing table with Bleymaier in Washington, DC, and sees they're singing the same tune. At least for a day. BSU, which last year probably came across as a bit over-eager in its desire to move to the Mountain West, is wise now to just sit back and see what develops.

The Boise Burn will hit the one-third mark of the 2009 season Saturday night, and it's a crossroads in many ways. The Burn, now 4-1, are at a threshold--do they forge ahead on the momentum of the first five games or relive a little history? The club started each of its first two seasons 4-1 as well, only to suffer an eight-game losing streak in 2007 and a five losses-in-six-games stretch last year. The Burn has to try to change their fortune against a team they have never beaten, the Spokane Shock. On the road.

These are not good memories to carry into the offseason for College of Idaho baseball. After letting a one-run ninth-inning cushion slip away Monday, the Coyotes blew a three-run lead in the final frame yesterday, losing to the University of British Columbia 4-3 in the NAIA West Tournament. The Thunderbirds scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the ninth. The C of I season thus ends, marking the first time since baseball was reinstated in 1987 that the Yotes have failed to win a postseason game.

Former Boise Hawks manager Tom Kotchman was on Idaho SportsTalk yesterday and was in rare form. The longer he's away from Boise, the more emotional he seems to get about it. Kotchman was sitting in a van in Florida on a steamy 92-degree afternoon waiting for his daughter's playoff softball game to start--wishing he was in Boise chowing down at the Stagecoach. Kotchman, who guided the Hawks during their "glory decade" from 1990 to 2000 and won 501 games, called Boise "one of the ultimate places to be" for players starting their pro careers. He's still managing in the Pioneer League for the Orem Owlz. But Kotch, now 55, says it ain't over yet. "Maybe I can finish up in Boise--you never know."

Former Hawk Sean Marshall got a marquee start yesterday in a classic May matinee at Wrigley Field against the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, San Francisco's Tim Lincecum. Marshall was right there, trailing just 3-2 until the wheels fell off in the top of the eighth inning. He gave up a hit and a walk and was lifted for another ex-Hawk, Jeff Samardzija. The one-time Notre Dame star receiver then loaded the bases on a hit batsman, allowed a two-run double to Aaron Rowand (with both runs charged to Marshall), and yielded an RBI single to Randy Winn. When it was over, the Giants had won 6-2, Marshall's record had slipped to 0-2, and Samardzija's ERA ballooned to 8.10.

I was waiting for these numbers, thinking they would reinforce the theory that support for horse racing is evaporating and Les Bois Park is dying a natural death. So here you go. The ratings are in for the Kentucky Derby on NBC last Saturday--and the Run For The Roses posted its best figures in 17 years: a 10.2 rating and a 22 share. That's a seven percent increase over last year. Discuss amongst yourselves. By the way, it was 14 years ago today that former Les Bois jockey Gary Stevens won the second of his three Kentucky Derby titles, riding Thunder Gulch to the winner's circle.

This Day In Sports...May 6, 1931:

A day I make a note of every year--the day the most complete player in baseball history was born. Willie Mays is 78 years old today. Mays broke in as a 20-year-old rookie with the New York Giants in 1951, made the most famous catch in World Series history in 1954, and had the best years of his career in San Francisco after the Giants moved West. He ended up with 660 career home runs--fourth on the all-time list behind godson Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth.

(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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