WIR: Bronco Nation rejoice, football returns

Week in Review (WIR) had a wonderful summer vacation, thanks for asking. But now there's work to do. First off, about the weekend. The Broncos will be practicing Saturday and Sunday, and here are some places to go if you need a fix of Bronco news. (We're pretty sure you could have found these on your own; we just like mothering you.)

• Dave's Blog
• Bronco Beat
• BSU Blog

This week was the busiest yet at OBNUG, as we cranked out 26 posts in five days. Hello, early onset carpal tunnel syndrome! Here are the best posts from the last week:

• Camp notes from Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and today 
• WAC quarterbacks falling like flies.
  
• Zabransky not as clutch as people remember.
  
• The Statesman surprises.
  
• Fresno State team preview.
  
• WAC teams are unusually happy.
  
• Hawaii's season preview.
  
• Preseason football should be fun.

We'll see you bright and early on Monday morning. Have a good weekend, Bronco fans.

QB battle: Moore vs. Hamdan: Day 5

The most important decision in the history of the world will be made in the next few weeks, and we'll be providing daily updates on all the hype and hyperbole surrounding the Boise State quarterback competition.

  Vs. 

The Press-Tribune has posted audio from Kellen Moore's post-practice press conference. Here's the link: Press-Tribune multimedia. We know what will be playing in David Augusto's iPod this weekend.

Here's today's breakdown:

Moore: connected with Titus Young on a deep TD, thought it was "awesome"
Hamdan: found Vinny Perretta for a long touchdown toss, celebrated with Geritol and extra-cautious high-fives

Advantage: Moore. Assuming Young will be on the field more often than Perretta, Kellen chose the right wideout to connect with.

In the lead...Hamdan. By a hair. And no, we have nothing to base this on.

Camp notes: pads are heavy and other new experiences

Today's Boise State practice was full of firsts:

• First time wearing full pads
• First time practicing on the new blue turf
• First time newcomers practiced with returners
• First time the offense showed up
  
• First time Paul J realized that Jeremy Childs and Jeremy Avery are different people.
  

Dave Southorn filed his report from the morning sessions, and he had plenty of nice things to say about RB D.J. Harper, even though Harper did not have many nice things to say about himself.

"I was actually really disappointed with how I did last year," Harper said. "If I can stay healthy, I want to be a lot more productive."

The offense finally showed some firepower with three long touchdown plays during practice today. Kellen Moore and Bush Hamdan threw for two of the scores, and Jeremy Avery broke a 45-yard TD run. It sure was nice of Ryan Winterswyck and Mike T. Williams to let them.

Chadd Cripe has details, too.

More on practice today if anything surfaces.

NFL preseason weekend: Scandrick vs. Naanee and more

There are plenty of Boise State players on NFL rosters this offseason (see our list for AFC and NFC), so there are plenty of reasons to cozy up to Rich Eisen and the NFL Network all weekend. Gerald Alexander and the Lions played last night (Alexander had one tackle), and there is a full slate of games over the next few days. Here are the top games to watch.

1. Cowboys vs. Chargers, Sunday 8:00pm
   Romo vs. Rivers. Tomlinson vs. Ware. Owens vs. Cromartie. Scandrick vs. Naanee? You can forget those first three matchups. It is preseason, remember? The Scandrick-Naanee battle will be the fun one to watch. Both former Boise State standouts should see significant playing time in this first preseason game, and there is a good chance that they might line up across from one another. Who will get the better of whom? Will they chat about the Boise Fanci Freez? Will the Hard Knocks cameras pick up on this?
   
   
2. Broncos vs. Texans, Sunday 6:00pm
   Ryan Clady will get his first taste of NFL action against Mario Williams and a whole bunch of Mario Williams' back-ups.
   
   
3. Cincinnati vs. Green Bay, Monday 6:00pm, ESPN
   Do you think the ESPN crew will talk much about Brett Favre? Only all the time! Try to cut through the Favre love shower to get your eye on Daryn Colledge and Korey Hall. The two former Bronco stars will still give you a reason to watch the Packer offense even though it does include more Aaron Rodgers than you might want.
   
   
4. 49ers vs. Raiders, Saturday  8:00pm
   Drisan James (Oakland) and Jerard Rabb (San Fran) are both battling for roster spots on their respective teams, and they'll need to make their mark early in the preseason to earn their shot. How about a re-creation of the Fiesta Bowl hook-and-ladder? We doubt Jared Zabransky is busy.
   

Morning paper: Boise State football links 8/8

Practice begins in earnest today as the players put on full pads and the newcomers join the returners for morning practice. David Augusto could NOT be more excited.

Brandyn Thompson named camper of the day [BroncoSports.com]
That brings the tally to Defense 3, Offense 1, Special teams: 0.

Get your Ian Johnson injury pdf [Press-Tribune]
Now the season can officially get underway.

Further details on Bronco practice [Times-News]
Dustin Lapray is nothing if not descriptive.

George Iloka is the man [Statesman]
He is more mature at the age of 18 than we are now.

Yakima loves adopted son Kellen Moore [Yakima Herald]
Reporting on other newspapers' polls must mean a slow news day.

Idaho needs wideouts [Statesman]
In addition to most everything else.

Elkin first to admit he was awful last year [Statesman]
Punting is not as easy as it looks apparently.

Freshman DT Michael Atkinson could be good [Dave's Blog]
At least a few of these freshmen are going to see playing time. Why not the big one?

Nevada is so weird [ESPN.com]
First hynotism. Now volleyball. What's next? Improv?

Beer and fantasy sports are here to stay [SI.com]
Maybe there is hope for college football after all.