Tuesday, July 14, 2009.

The All-Star Break is a time for pause. The day before and day after the Midsummer Classic are the only days of the year when there are no games scheduled in any of the major professional sports. So let's touch on several baseball items of local note. One case study we're watching this summer is Triple-A baseball in Reno, as the Pacific Coast League has settled in there for the first time. It's interesting because Reno and Boise and basically the same size. I was skeptical when the Biggest Little City secured the Tucson franchise in the PCL, but the Aces built a sparkling new downtown ballpark, and it's a hit. They're averaging 6600 fans a game, far more than the 4500 they estimated it would take to break even.

Aces Ballpark seats about 9200, the second-smallest facility in the PCL--by design, because the Reno-Sparks area's population ranks 11th out of the 16 markets in the league. So that's about where Boise would be. So could Triple-A baseball succeed in Boise? First, of course, a new ballpark would be a must. Reno was fortunate enough to get its stadium construction underway before the economy crashed. Second, fans would have to come out on chilly spring nights (though that hasn't been a problem in Reno). But third, I sense that Reno is more baseball-oriented than Boise--and 72 home games (versus the 38 the Boise Hawks play) is a lot.

I caught up with the Hawks game in the middle of the fifth inning last night and saw they were leading Vancouver, 5-0. "That's not enough," I said to myself, noting the various bullpen collapses that have stricken the Hawks this season. But it was--they hung on to win, 6-3 behind four innings of scoreless relief from Joe Simokaitis, Danny Keefe and Ryan Sontag. It's the first time this season the Hawks have won two straight on the road. They haven't won three in a row anywhere this summer, and they'll go for that today in an afternoon finale against the Canadians.

The Hawks have their 14th selection to the All-Star Game in the form of the Mets' Francisco Rodriguez, although he's not followed fervently here. Why? Well, uh, Rodriguez played one game for the Hawks in 1999. He was the winning pitcher, for what that's worth. Rodriguez accounts for four of the 14 Hawks' All-Star Game picks. This is his first time with the National League after playing the first seven seasons of his big league career with the Angels. Rodriguez has been worth the Mets' investment, with 23 saves and a 1.90 ERA this season.

ESPN.com is running a series of "Games To Fear" on the non-conference schedules of prominent FBS teams. Among the non-BCS elite, Graham Watson lists Boise State's game at Tulsa as No. 1. These are points well-taken from Watson: "We all (me included) keep talking that if Boise State gets past Oregon then it has a clear path to an undefeated season. But don't count out the Golden Hurricane here. Sure, Tulsa lost a lot of talent from last year, but it's still a dangerous team capable of putting up big numbers. Boise State has a great passing defense, but the Broncos have allowed a lot of points and yards to spread offenses. The fact that this game is at Tulsa, a place itching for a big win, doesn't help."

Wait a minute, though, when did Boise State allow a lot of yards to spread offenses last year? Oregon only clicked when it went to Darron Thomas and threw like crazy out of desperation. Bowling Green and Southern Miss? Uh, one touchdown apiece. Utah State couldn't muster anything. And 14 of Nevada's 34 points came on interceptions returned for scores. The Broncos were fine against the spread.

NBA summer leagues can be a crossroads for players on the bubble. Former Idaho Stampede forward Jermareo Davidson would fall into that category. Davidson was just getting into a rhythm with the Golden State Warriors when his season ended in mid-March due to a stress fracture in his left foot. He's been rehabbing since and got his first taste of competition Saturday in Las Vegas. Davidson tired quickly, scoring just four points with two rebounds in 19 minutes. He played less than three minutes last night but did pull down three rebounds. "You can see that his timing is off, and he's pretty much playing on one leg," said assistant coach Keith Smart in he San Francisco Chronicle. Davidson started the Stampede's first 15 games last season, averaging 16 points and 11 rebounds before his callup to the Warriors the first week of January.

The international flavor of Idaho's basketball team manifested itself at the World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia, last week. Luciano de Souza and Luiz Toledo each started all six games for Brazil, which went 3-3 in the tournament. De Souza led the Brazilians with 15.2 points a game and added 6.2 rebounds per. He had a 28-point game in a win over Japan. Toledo averaged eight points and 5.2 boards for Brazil. Last season, de Souza scored 8½ points per game and led the Vandals in three-pointers, while Toledo redshirted.

One sport that has received a boost from the recession is tennis--as a lifetime sport, anyway. All you need is a racquet, a can of balls, and a neighborhood court. Tennis is also a great sport to keep those with disabilities active. To that end, it's a big week for the Idaho Wheelchair Tennis Association, as it welcomes 10-time U.S. Open Wheelchair Division champion Randy Snow to Boise for clinics this week. Snow will conduct a special session for disabled veterans tomorrow at the Boise Racquet & Swim Club. Then Snow will teach a clinic at Julia Davis Park Thursday for wheelchair players aged 8 and up. That will be followed by the key event, as Snow headlines the Two-Bounce Blitz Fundraiser Thursday night at BRSC. For more information, go to idahowheelchairtennis.com.

This Day In Sports...July 14, 1996:

Former Boise State star Chris Childs signs a six-year, $24 million free agent contract with the New York Knicks. Childs had spent the previous two seasons with the New Jersey Nets--he averaged 7 assists and almost 13 points a game for the Nets in 1995-96. That would end up being his best season in a nine-year NBA career.

(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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