Monday, July 27, 2009.

It's a catchup Monday after vacation, and we start with a Sporting News columnist who last week lined out "this year's nightmare BCS scenario." Dave Curtis sees a possible six undefeated teams this season. In order of unbeaten likelihood, he views Florida "chiseled into the national championship game," Penn State rolling through the Big Ten, and Oklahoma beating Texas to go unblemished. Curtis also says Boise State, with a win over you-know-who, "can samba its way to another BCS bowl," Georgia Tech can surprise Virginia Tech and and roll through the ACC without a scratch, and Notre Dame is even a 12-0 candidate, thanks to an easy schedule. "And the country can wade through college football's great championship mess," writes Curtis. Now that would be fun.

I'm not gone very often, but something always seems to happen when I am. It was an eventful week last week, led by the announcement that Boise State is playing Viriginia Tech in October of 2010. This is not your run-of-the-mill payday game when a non-BCS school serves as fodder for a BCS giant. It's an arranged marriage fostered by the FedEx Field folks in Washington--a featured national game at a neutral site, positioned for a prominent TV slot. Yet it still brings BSU a crucial $1.25 million.

The word that the Mountain West is outwardly considering expansion again revives one of the great yearns of the decade at Boise State. It's been 5½ years since BSU was passed over for TCU when the MWC jumped to nine institutions. Though he won't name names, commissioner Craig Thompson can be talking about only one school in thoughts of getting Mountain West membership to 10. There's still debate to come--for example, is the lack of a baseball program at BSU a significant stumbling block. And is the thought of splitting the financial pie one more way just too much for Thompson to bear? It does start to make you wonder, though, if the Broncos' contest against Utah two years from now might end up as a conference game.

As memorable as Michael Atkinson's spring was, his summer has been forgettable. Atkinson's DUI last week, coupled with a reported injury that's limited his participation in player-run practices, casts some doubt on the role he was expected to play with the Broncos as a true freshman, at least in September. The 6-0, 320-pounder is likely facing some kind of suspension. A sequel to that rambling 25-yard run Atkinson pulled off as a fullback in April's Blue & Orange Game may have to wait. But put aside any assumptions as to what effect it will have on Atkinson's BSU career. Remember that Kyle Wilson was suspended for the first three games of his freshman year in 2006 for undisclosed reasons. Wilson was a starter by the time the Fiesta Bowl rolled around and may end up the most highly-regarded cornerback in school history.

The eighth time was not a charm Saturday night for the Boise Burn. But not because the Burn blew up their showdown with Spokane so big that the weight of the moment collapsed on them. The Burn played inspired football in front of 4,654 fans who really wanted this one, rallying from a 13-point halftime deficit to the cusp of victory, even with their starting quarterback on the bench with his arm in a sling. Mark Thorson, who took over for the injured Taylor Tharp midway thjrough the third quarter and put the Burn in position to win, but a goal-line interception in the final minute allowed the Shock to survive, 56-51. The Burn finish the regular season 12-4 and open the af2 Playoffs this Saturday against the Arkansas Twisters.

The Boise Hawks are back within four games of .500 after their second straight win in Eugene, a 7-4 victory yesterday over the Emeralds. Jeff Antigua was the story, striking out an amazing 11 batters in just 4 2/3 innings of one-run, two-hit relief. It was the most strikeouts by a Hawks pitcher since current Baltimore Oriole Rich Hill struck out 10 during the 2003 season. (Okay, since sometime before Hill, but that's as far back as the Hawks can track it right now). Antigua improves to 2-1, with 35 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings this season. The Hawks wrap up their five-game series in Eugene tonight, having already clinched their first winning road series of the year.

We don't exactly know what feelings Rickey Henderson has for Boise, his first stop in professional baseball as a 17-year-old. But we know what feelings he has for his first manager, Tom Trebelhorn with the Boise A's in 1976. Henderson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday, and Trebelhorn was the first person he saluted for spawning a career that produced the major leagues' all-time runs and stolen bases leader. Henderson talked about 1976, and how Trebelhorn taught him to run the bases smart and play hard as he hit .336 and stole 29 bases in 46 games. Henderson made it to the bigs with the A's in 1979 and spent 15 of his 25 seasons in Oakland.

Former Boise State golfer Graham DeLaet is making his second foray onto the PGA Tour count--he's going to make money. The Saskatchewan native, the money leader on the Canadian tour, was six-under for the tournament when play was suspended during the third round of the rain and lightning-plagued RBC Canadian Open. DeLaet is eight shots off the lead, and will resume play on the 12th hole this morning. He recovered from an opening round 73 to card a 66 in the second round and make the cut. DeLaet also played in the Canadian Open two years ago but missed the cut. Nampa's Tyler Aldridge, another one-time BSU golfer, didn't make the grade in Oakville, Ontario, after shooting 72-73 over the first two rounds.

This Day In Sports...July 27, 1986:

Sacramento cyclist Greg LeMond becomes the first non-European to win the Tour de France since the event began in 1903. LeMond crossed the finish line along the Champs-Elysees in Paris with a winning margin of three minutes. He'd go on to win the Tour twice more, in 1989 and 1990--an unthinkable feat for an American until Lance Armstrong strung together his historic seven championships from 1999 to 2005.

(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.)

---