Wednesday, June 17, 2009.

One of the sore thumbs in Boise State's 2009 football schedule is the absence of a meaty road game. Yes, you could count Tulsa. But unfortunately, not enough people are buying that as "meaty," as good as the Golden Hurricane are. The recession is bringing forth a new reality in scheduling to BSU athletic director Gene Bleymaier, though. His wish for home-and-home series with BCS schools is taking a back seat to the need to pad the coffers, as the Statesman's Chadd Cripe reports that Bleymaier is now actively seeking one-time-only payday games along the lines of the trips to South Carolina in 2001, Arkansas in 2002, Georgia in 2005 and Washington in 2007.

Home games will not suffer, as the Broncos already have six slated for 2010 and seven for 2011. So the openings on the schedule each of those two seasons are ripe for big-money road games, and Bleymaier is going after them. The proof will be in the pudding. Considering the remainder of BSU's non-conference schedules the next several years (BYU, Utah, Oregon State), the addition of quality BCS-level opponents on the road--and wins over said teams--would legitimize BSU's yearn for being included in the national championship conversation.

ESPN.com is counting down its preseason Top 25, and yesterday it got down to No. 14: Boise State. Writer Chris Sprow has a pretty colorful way of describing what makes the Broncos tick these days: "The reason coach Chris Petersen says his team 'came out of nowhere' last year is the same reason they don't have a prayer of sneaking up on anybody in 2009. This causes the coach a bit of stress. Sneaking up used to be the BSU way. Not anymore. The defense now gives them away. It was so dominant last year that it matched the level of the typically brilliant offense. Teams visiting the Broncos last year--the ones who used to get involved in shootouts on the aquamarine abyss--instead were introduced to the general unpleasantness of 'True Life: Smurf Lockdown.' In this version of the cartoon, the boys in blue shank you and steal your lunch ration."

Quarterback Taylor Tharp and wide receiver Nichiren Flowers are expected to be back in the lineup Saturday night for the Boise Burn after sitting out last week to heal nagging injuries. With five games to play, Tharp's total of 46 touchdown passes is just seven away from the single-season and all-time franchise record. Former Eagle Mustang Royal Gill holds both marks with his 53 last year. Flowers leads Boise in scoring with 21 touchdowns. The club also says injured wideout Casey Allen is about a week away from returning to the lineup. The Burn host the Stockton Lightning Saturday.

The Boise Hawks roster will be a work in progress for several weeks, but the first one is out as Opening Night approaches Saturday. Five former Hawks return to Memorial Stadium, the most notable being Josh Lansford, son of ex-big leaguer Carney Lansford. Josh was an infielder for the Hawks in 2006, batting .255 with five home runs. He made it as far as Double-A last season, but is returning to Boise to be converted to a pitcher. Other one-time Hawks include pitchers Ryan Sontag and Josh Whitlock, first baseman Sean Hoorelbeke, and third baseman Jose Made. By the way, new manager Casey Kopitzke is taking a leave of absence to attend to family matters, so Cubs roving infield instructor Franklin Font will serve as skipper at least through this week.

The season's over for former Boise Hawk Scot Shields after surgery yesterday for patella tendonitis in his left knee. The veteran Angels reliever, on the disabled list all month, wasn't progressing in rehab and the pain was too much to overcome. It had affected Shields all spring to the tune of a 1-3 record and a 6.62 ERA in 20 appearances. With Garret Anderson gone to the Braves now, Shields is the longest-tenured Angel on the roster, having played for the club since 2001. To demonstrate what an inexact science scouting can be, Shields wasn't drafted by the Angels until the 38th round in 1997. He played his first pro season that summer with the Hawks, going 7-2 with a 2.94 ERA.

Things have been a bit quiet on the Idaho Steelheads front since the infamous first round Kelly Cup Playoffs exit--the sweep at the hands of Victoria. But the Steelheads have their first returning player signed for next season, and he's saying the right things. "After the way the playoffs ended last season, I feel like there's a bit of unfinished business," said forward Matt McKnight. Music to the ears of Steelheads fans. But this is not: the news that Darrell Hay, Mark Bomersback and Bryan McGregor are all playing overseas next season. The popular Hay was the only player remaining from both Steelheads Kelly Cup championship teams, McGregor was the Steelies' leading scorer last season, and Bomersback was the team's next most efficient scorer.

This Day In Sports...June 17, 2004, five years ago today:

In back-to-back days, two local bombshells are dropped during an otherwise slow sports week. Boise State announced a 15-year deal to rename the Pavilion as Taco Bell Arena. That came a day after Albertson College athletic director Marty Holly broke word of the Coyotes exploring a return to football, a sport the school had dropped in 1977. That idea has since been tabled.

(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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