Thursday, May 7, 2009.

Bruce Feldman of ESPN.com has a list of "10 breakout players from spring practices." And there's a most unlikely name on it. No. 8 is Boise State offensive tackle Michael Ames. "The Broncos have been searching for more help on the O-line, and Ames, a freshman walk-on who hadn't played in a football game since the 2004 season, looks like one of their answers," writes Feldman. "Ames, who spent 2006 and 2007 away serving a church mission and turns 22 this summer, impressed the BSU staff with his intelligence and his work ethic." Feldman said yesterday on Idaho SportsTalk he noticed Ames standing out in reports coming out of Boise during spring ball and decided Ames was worthy of a top 10 spot on his list.

When you think offensive tackle, the numbers "6-5" and "255" don't seem to match. Could be those 255 pounds listed for Ames on the Bronco roster came from a weigh-in before winter conditioning. But whatever his weight is now, the former Centennial Patriot has a way to go before reaching that unwritten minimum of 280 desired by offensive line coach Scott Huff and strength and conditioning coach Tim Socha. Ames is hardly unique on the BSU front when it comes to the weight issue. It's going to be interesting to see this play out in fall camp.

There's a lot more pressure on the No. 4 guy on Feldman's list than there is on Ames. That would be Washington quarterback Jake Locker, now a junior. Strange as it sounds, one of the high points of Locker's career remains the 24-10 win over Boise State in the second game of the 2007 season. "OK, is this finally the time when the super-athletic Locker breaks out?" writes Feldman. "You should never read too much into spring stats, but we'll give new UW coach Steve Sarkisian the benefit of the doubt here. The goal was to get Locker to complete over 60 percent of his passes and the speedy quarterback looked much sharper than that in the Huskies' spring game. He connected on 16 of 18 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns, and those other two could've been caught." Safe to say Washington, winless in 2008, won't be such a punching bag this year.

The Boise Burn have jumped from ninth to seventh in the new af2 Coaches Poll, but they're still looking up at Spokane. The undefeated Shock received 24 of 25 first place votes as they prepare to welcome Boise to town for a Saturday night showdown. The Burn will have Alex Guerrero back--the former Boise State star has returned from a tryout with the B.C. Lions of the CFL.

The Kelly Cup Playoffs had a Game 7 last night. It was in the Pacific Division Finals, as Las Vegas ended Stockton's Cinderella story with a 5-1 victory at Orleans Arena. The Wranglers advance to the National Conference Finals now against Scott Burt, Lance Galbraith, and the Alaska Aces. Alaska's been idle since finishing off Victoria in the West Division Finals last Saturday.

This is the honors (and dishonors) paragraph. The NCAA has released its annual Academic Performance Rates (APRs), those numbers tied to player progress toward graduation. Boise State led the WAC in five sports, including football and men's basketball. It's the third year the football team has topped the conference. But the Bronco men's golf program was the only one in the country in that sport that faces NCAA sanctions. The golf squad's APR was 886, far below the line of demarcation at 925 and among the bottom 10 percent in the country.

Former Boise Hawk Troy Percival is getting in a groove as he shakes off the rust from a very uncertain fall and winter. The Tampa Bay closer had back problems that prevented him from pitching in Tampa Bay's postseason run to the World Series last October. Then came offseason back surgery, but Percival fought his way back onto the Rays' staff. He notched his third save in the last four days--and fifth of the season--last night, closing out a 4-3 win over the Yankees in 10 innings at the new Yankee Stadium. He also dropped his ERA to 2.08. Percival, who played the first of his two seasons with the Hawks as a catcher 20 years ago, turns 40 in August.

With the end of the College of Idaho season comes the end of an era in Treasure Valley baseball. Dane McGrady and Bryan Champ played their final collegiate games for the Coyotes--almost 10 years after they were teammates on the 1999 South Central Boise team that made it to the Little League World Series. McGrady was hit by a pitch 70 times during his C of I career, breaking the school record. Champ was a two-sport star for the Yotes, a three-time Cascade Conference All-Defensive Team selection in basketball, and a three-time all-conference third-baseman in baseball. Seems like just yesterday they were bleaching their hair blond for the trip to Williamsport.

College of Idaho pitcher Jody Zillner, a junior from Emmett, and first baseman Heather Dixon, a senior from Boise, have been named Cascade Conference Pitcher and Player of the Year, respectively. Zillner is en fuego going into the NAIA National Tournament, having won 12 straight decisions. The Coyotes open pool play at nationals a week from tonight. Meanwhile, Boise State upset San Jose State at the WAC Softball Tournament yesterday, 8-4. The Broncos had finished the regular season with 13 straight conference losses. Today they get to face top-seeded Fresno State on the Bulldogs' home field.

This Day In Sports...May 7, 1988:

Caldwell native Gary Stevens, who got his horse racing start at Les Bois Park while a student at Capital High in the late 70's, rides Winning Colors to victory in the 114th running of the Kentucky Derby. It was the first of three victories for Stevens in the Run For The Roses, as Winning Colors became only the third filly ever to win the Derby.

(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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