Let Brian Murphy plan your Thursday night

In today's Idaho Statesman, columnist Brian Murphy pleaded with Boise State football fans to attend Thursday's Bronco basketball game.

...I'm making an exception today for all of those who call themselves Boise State fans - for the tens of thousands who show up at football games, who flocked to the Fiesta Bowl, who snap up hats and T-shirts and posters.

There is a pretty important men's basketball game Thursday night at Taco Bell Arena. The Broncos - your beloved Broncos, right? - host Utah State with the WAC regular-season championship and a postseason berth on the line...

Seems like a fan should be there.

We have a few problems with this. First off, he questioned Bronco Nation's loyalty. Second, he deigned to affect our social calendar. And third, he failed to understand that being a Bronco football fan has nothing to do with being a Bronco basketball fan.

We don't tell you how to write your condescending columns, so please don't tell us how to spend our free time.

BSU fans need to be at Thursday's game [Idaho Statesman]

Fresno State fans respond to schedule

Snooping around for some Fresno reaction to last week's schedule release, we found Bulldogs fans to be rather respectful about the season-ending matchup with the Broncos. Respectful, but wrong..

I like playing Boise late in the season. It's a great springboard for one of the teams into a BCS bowl. Becasue we had so many injuries last year and lots of guys had playing time, I think we will have better depth than Boise. This is really important late in the year...

I like the idea of playing Boise last. We should be clicking on all cylinders. The younger players will be more mature and experienced. From playing the tough schedule, they will be ready for anything Boise throws at them. I have a good feeling about this game...

Playing Boise for the last game is the only way to go. The predicted best 2 teams should play at the last game. Besides, BSU v. Fresno has started to be a good rivalry.

The Dog's will be up for the Utah State game no matter when it is scheduled.

Sorry, that last one didn't have anything to do with Boise State. It just made us laugh.

Bark Board [Scout.com]

NFL mock draft, OBNUG-style!

After a stirring day of workouts at Boise State's Pro Day on Monday, we feel that several former Broncos helped their causes tremendously. How tremendously? How does ten Broncos in the first ten picks sound? Check it out:

1. Miami Dolphins: S Marty Tadman
   The Dolphins need a lot of things, and Tadman is a lot of things. He is a safety. He is a licensed minister. He is a fan of DC Talk. His sheer football smarts alone would make him a candidate for defensive coordinator. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. He can't save this franchise in one day. He'll need at least a week and a half.
2. St. Louis Rams: LT Ryan Clady
   Experts had Clady predicted to go as high as number five to the Chiefs, but his Pro Day workout changed everyone's opinions. The Rams need talent along that offensive line to help keep paper-mache Marc Bulger healthy. Clady will do just that. And if Bulger does happen to get injured, Clady will fly around the world so fast that the earth rotates backward on its axis, causing time to go in reverse and allowing Clady the chance to save Bulger from a separated shoulder.
3. Atlanta Falcons: CB Orlando Scandrick
   The Falcons' love affair with confident defensive backs led them straight to Scandrick. They needed someone to lock down wide receivers, and DeAngelo Hall needed someone to run shirtless sprints with.
4. Oakland Raiders: DE Nick Schlekeway
   The Raiders had their eye on Arkansas RB Darren McFadden, but they couldn't pass up the awesomeness of a Boise State defensive lineman. Chris Carr had a big say in this decision.
5. Kansas City Chiefs: QB Taylor Tharp
   Unsure of Brodie Croyle's progress, the Chiefs reached for Tharp to give Croyle some competition. While there were better quarterbacks in the draft, Kansas City was drawn to Tharp by the way he threw lazy out patterns, and they were not at all discouraged that no one wanted to see him throw at BSU's Pro Day. No one really wants to see Croyle throw, either.
6. New York Jets: CB Rashaun Scott
   Drafting Darrel Revis last year helped out the Jets secondary, and adding Scott will continue the trend. With Scandrick and Tadman off the board, the Jets went with the next best available BSU defensive back, owing to the greatness of the Boise State secondary and Tadman's golden touch.
7. New England Patriots: OL Tad Miller
   The Patriots didn't need to add much to their juggernaut, but Miller will make an excellent fit along the strong offensive line. Miller improved his draft status by recovering from a knee injury, which is a highly coveted skill in the NFL.
8. Baltimore Ravens: FB Michael Lose
   Drafting a fullback in the top ten is generally unheard of, but the Ravens needed a valuable asset to the running game and special teams. Plus, Lose's hair can do magic things.
9. Cincinnati Bengals: OL Jeff Cavender
   Cavender impressed scouts at the Pro Day with his strength and agility, but what pushed him into the top ten was his ability of mitosis. Having two identical versions of oneself is a rare commodity in the NFL.
10. New Orleans Saints: OL Dan Gore
    The fourth BSU offensive lineman to go in the first ten picks, Gore will be a great fit in the high-powered attack of the Saints. He already knows the ins and outs of creative offenses, and he can grow long, intimidating hair if he needs to. The Saints valued this higher than anything else.

FOX Sports ranks the WAC

Pete Fiutak at FOXSports.com ranked all of college football's eleven conferences, and the WAC finished 10th. But we sure showed the Sun Belt what was up!

As always, the WAC will be top-heavy. Fresno State and Boise State will be top 25-worthy, if not higher, all season long, and even though Hawaii will take a step back, it'll still be potent. Nevada will probably be the league's third or fourth best team, it would probably win the MAC. The key will be the expected improvement of teams like San Jose State, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State. If the mid-range teams are better, the league should probably be boosted up a bit.

He went on to list the best team in the conference as Fresno State--the equivalent of kicking us while we're down.

Top conferences in '08 [FOX Sports]