Tuesday, July 7, 2009.

Not to belabor the Sporting News angle, but--beyond the feature on Boise State coach Chris Petersen--this week's issue opens up the vault on the magazine's 2009 preseason rankings, No. 1 to 120. As a prelude, let's mention that SN has BSU rated tops among this year's BCS-buster candidates. Writes Matt Hayes, "If the Broncos can handle Oregon in the season opener, the only thing keeping this experienced and talented team from a BCS bowl will be self-implosion." The Sporting News places BSU 14th, and the Ducks seventh.

SN supports the general consensus that Nevada will make its most serious challenge to the WAC crown this year, ranking the Wolf Pack No. 37. And that Louisiana Tech will be this season's WAC mover and shaker, putting the Bulldogs next in line. But it's enlightening that the conference's third-place team languishes at No. 71. Another down year for the WAC. One-time powers Fresno State and Hawaii are 77th and 82nd, respectively.

The magazine has Idaho at No. 112 in the country--eighth in the WAC. And it includes a creative quote from Vandal legend John Friesz. "Idaho may be down, but is never out," said the 1989 Walter Payton Trophy award winner. "A win in November over the 'Froncos' (rivalry slang for Boise State) and life will once again be good in Moscow." Friesz was the starting quarterback for victories No. 6, 7 and 8 in the Vandals' 12-game winning streak over the Broncos. BSU goes for its 11th straight triumph over Idaho on November 14 at Bronco Stadium.

Turnabout is fair play. And so, 14 years later, Nevada goes to battle against the ghost of Bart Hendricks. The Statesman's Brian Murphy reports that Eagle High quarterback Taylor Kelly has committed to the Wolf Pack's 2010 recruiting class, spiriting away a star quarterback from Boise State's backyard. We won't know until, say, 2012 how significant this development is. And we don't know how interested the Broncos were in Kelly, as they already have their quarterback commit for 2010 in Grant Hedrick.

But you can't help but think back to 1996, when BSU signed Hendricks out of Reno. It didn't immediately parlay into success, but in his junior year, Bart led the Broncos to a 52-17 beatdown of Nevada on the blue turf that is still seen as one of the key moments in the launch of Boise State's current Golden Era. Hendricks finished his BSU career with over 10,000 yards in total offense and 78 touchdown passes. He led the nation in TD passes as a senior with a school-record 35. Meanwhile, Nevada has lost nine straight games to the Broncos. With Kelly, the Pack perhaps looks for a karma switch.

Dad won't be coaching, but he'll be keeping an eye out. Former Boise State star Coby Karl is not only playing for the Celtics' entry at the NBA summer league in Orlando, he's also been tabbed for the Denver squad in the Las Vegas summer league that starts this weekend. Nuggets coach George Karl has assigned coaching duties for the Vegas event to assistant John Welch. Coby's giving the NBA another shot after playing for the Lakers as a rookie in 2007-08. He left the Idaho Stampede in January to play for Club Joventut in Badelona, Spain, where for a time he was a teammate of Spanish sensation and eventual Minnesota first round draft pick Ricky Rubio.

Can Wesley Moodie carry his momentum into the U.S. Open? The former Boise State All-American is enjoying his best overall season as a doubles player. After being eliminated in the second round of the Australian Open with fellow South African Jeff Coetzee, Moodie and Belgium's Dick Norman were runnersup at the French Open last month before making the semifinals at Wimbledon last week. Moodie has never made it past the first round of the U.S. Open, and didn't even get that far last year.

Cubs first round draft pick Brett Jackson said yesterday on Idaho SportsTalk he's "taking the game one at-bat at a time" this summer. The Boise Hawks are especially thankful Jackson concentrated on one at-bat in particular last night. The former Cal star blasted a two-run triple in the seventh inning--and that was the difference in a 5-4 win over Eugene at Memorial Stadium. Jackson's clutch play completed a rally from a 4-0 deficit, with converted infielder Josh Lansford taking advantage to record his first professional victory. All five of the Hawks wins this season have been by one run. They tangle with the Emeralds again tonight in the fourth chapter of a five-game series.

Former Boise Hawks have been stellar on the mound in the majors this week. Jarrod Washburn, calling it the "best stuff I've ever had," tossed maybe the best game of his 12-year big league career--a one-hit shutout in the Mariners' 5-0 win over Baltimore at Safeco Field. Washburn's 5-6 record belies the key number this season: his ERA is 3.08. At Wrigley Field, one-time Hawks catcher Randy Wells went six innings, allowing two runs in the Cubs' 4-2 victory over the Braves. Boise alum Sean Marshall followed with a scoreless inning in middle relief, helping Wells improve to 4-3 with a 2.48 ERA. And on Sunday, the Marlins' Ricky Nolasco won again, striking out 12 in eight innings in a 5-0 triumph over the Pirates. It was Nolasco's fourth straight victory.

This Day In Sports...July 7, 1978:

Martina Navratilova wins her first Wimbledon singles title, rallying from 2-4 in the final set to beat Chris Evert 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. And on this day in 1990, Navratilova would take her final Wimbledon singles crown, downing Zina Garrison in straight sets. It was Martina's ninth singles championship at the All-England Club, breaking a 52-year-old record.

(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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