Monday, June 15, 2009.

It only lasts a half day or so as opposed to a week and a half or so, but the Ironman 70.3 Boise has given the community something to sink its collective teeth into. An impressively large throng at the BoDo finish line Saturday evening--and the storybook ending it witnessed--cements it. The race already has a wrap-up to live up to in future events, as reigning world champion Craig Alexander rallied with a mega-kick in the final 50 yards to nose out Chris Lieto by two seconds for the men's title. That allowed the crowd to temporarily forget the downpour, although it didn't seem to phase anybody that came out to watch Saturday.

In just two years, the Ironman 70.3 has become a major flag on the Boise sports calendar now. Fans line the route and pack the finish area the way they did for the Women's International Challenge that ended in 2002. The Ironman has that international flavor the way the Challenge bike race did, with Alexander hailing from Australia and women's champion Magali Tisseyre coming from Canada. With the field 10 times as large as the Challenge, the Ironman 70.3 is more accessible to local competitors, and fans showed their appreciation. There was an especially big roar for Boise's Kevin Everett when he was the first local to cross the finish line for the second straight year, placing 13th overall.

Not only was Boise State president Bob Kustra's essay in Friday's Sporting News Daily online edition, there was also a Q & A with BSU quarterback Kellen Moore. Nothing in there Bronco fans haven't heard before, but Moore does give a positive nod to a couple guys who set the table for BSU's Golden Era. Dave Curtis asked Moore, "What about the line of quarterbacks at Boise--a lot of guys who put up big numbers in college. How important is that to you?" Replied Kellen, "It's huge. Coach [Petersen] has developed guys well, but it goes all the way back to coach Koetter with Bart Hendricks. They prepare us well and get us ready."

I talked to Moore Friday night at the annual Bronco Dairy Boosters fundraiser about the assumption that his brother Kirby is going to play as a true freshman this season. Kellen maintained his guarded position on that subject--he's careful not to favor his brother. "One of the true freshmen is probably going to play," he said. But it could be Kirby, or it could be Aaron Burks, or it could be Geraldo Hiwat. Burks is the rangy speedster from Grand Prairie, TX, who got a head start by "greenshirting," graduating early from high school so he could enroll for second semester and play spring football. And Hiwat is the raw Dutch talent out of Capital High. "He's going to be something," said Kellen. Hiwat is already participating in Boise State's player-run practices; Kirby joins them this week.

The Boise Burn are officially over the hump. They have clinched their first winning season and have set a franchise record for victories with nine after Saturday night's 56-21 win at Tri-Cities. The Burn, playing without quarterback Taylor Tharp and wide receiver Nichiren Flowers, were resourceful yet again. Terrance Sanders broke the game open with a 55-yard touchdown return of a missed field goal attempt and former Boise State defensive tackle Alex Guerrero scored his first touchdown on a one-yard run. Rudy Carlton threw for 179 yards in place of Tharp with two touchdown throws, both going to former BSU star Jerard Rabb.

The one Boise State athlete who seemed like a layup for All-America honors at the NCAA Track & Field Championships was denied, but two other Broncos come home as All-Americans. Ryan Grinnell, who qualified in three events at nationals, had highest hopes in the triple jump. The senior from Idaho Falls just missed All-America honors by finishing ninth, though. Simon Wardhaugh placed third in the hammer and Pontus Thomee fifth in the javelin, giving BSU enough points to tie for 25th in the team standings. Meanwhile, Emmett's Matt Lamb is also an All-American after a fifth-place finish in the discus for Washington State.

More heartache for Nampa's Tyler Aldridge at the St. Jude Classic. Aldridge started strong with a one-under-69 in the first round, but he suffered on implosion in Memphis Friday. The one-time BSU golfer uncorked three double-bogies, and that was all she wrote on the way to a five-over-75. It resulted in Aldridge's eighth missed cut in nine tries this year on the PGA Tour. On the Nationwide Tour, former BSU standout Troy Merritt missed the cut by two strokes at the Knoxville Open.

A couple Treasure Valley boxers were on the sport's main stage at Madison Square Garden in New York Saturday night, on the undercard of the welterweight title fight won by Miguel Cotto over Joshua Clottey. One of the locals made his mark, as Nampa's David Lopez went the distance in his middleweight bout against Glen Tapia of Passaic, NJ, losing in a unanimous decision. Caldwell's Rudy Valdez Jr. did not fare as well--he was not able to come out of his corner for the third round of his matchup with Alberto Cruz of Puerto Rico.

This Day In Sports...June 15, 1977:

The New York Mets unceremoniously trade three-time Cy Young Award winner Tom Seaver, the team's best and most popular player, to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Pat Zachry, along with Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson and Dan Norman. The deal broke the hearts of both Mets fans and the man they called "The Franchise". It was the result of squabbling between Seaver and Mets general manager M. Donald Grant over the future Hall of Famer's contract and the direction of the team.

(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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