Reggie Larry riding the pine in NBA summer league

Reggie Larry's NBA career has gotten off to a rather tepid start.

The former Boise State standout is playing in Las Vegas with the Golden State Warriors' summer league team. Well, "playing" might be too strong of a word. The Warriors have played two games already, and Larry has seen exactly six minutes of court time in that span. His stats are understandably meager.

Reggie Larry: 1-2, 2 points, 0 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot

All of those numbers came in Golden State's first game Friday nightsecond game Sunday against the Mavericks. Larry did not play SundayFriday against the Sixers.

There is still plenty of time for Larry to make an impact on the team, and with the Bobcats (tonight, 7:30pm), King, and Raptors still on the schedule, the competition certainly lends itself toward that end. However, getting an opportunity seems to be Larry's biggest obstacle.

Come on, Golden State. He's shooting 50% from the floor, and he's capable of doing this:

Friday: Links with Boise

Story of the day:

Greg Graham staying with Broncos [Idaho Statesman]

Oft-beleaguered Bronco coach Greg Graham looks to have a new incentive-laden deal with Boise State that could keep him in Boise for the better part of forever.

The contract includes standard components, such as an annual salary of $345,000 and financial incentives for conference championships, postseason berths and academic performance... The contract also has incentives for additional years that strictly relate to wins, championships and postseason bids.

Graham's contract could turn into a nine-year extension, provided he keep winning. Certain criteria range from winning the conference tournament to earning an NIT berth to completing fundamental inbounds plays.

We're happy to have Graham back because we feel that the Bronco men's basketball team has an opportunity to build upon its success from last season. The more winning BSU teams, the better!

Other links:

Extension coming for Hawkins? [Ralphie Report]
Being mediocre in the Big XII is a lot better than being awful in the Big XII, we guess.

Someone's talking Big East split [Fanblogs]
Southern Miss is being thrown around as a possible addition.

Was Hawaii's Sugar Bowl trip unethical? [Star Bulletin]
We mean besides the horribly lopsided loss part.

J Bates column links to OBNUG [J's Blog]
Ergo, OBNUG links to J Bates column. Thanks, J.

San Jose State and NMSU also not good [Rivals.com]
Well, half the WAC is out of the way, and Rivals isn't even out of the 100s yet.

Monday: Links with America

Story of the day:

J. R. Simplot (1909-2008) [Associated Press]

Idaho lost one of its most successful and recognizable businessmen today when Jr. Simplot passed away in his home. He was 99.

While this news item is not expressly about Boise State, Simplot did have a soft spot in his heart for the Broncos, as explained by a story from the Tri-City Herald.

In his 90s, he seldom missed a Micron board meeting and was often seen about town, at events from Boise State University football games (he routinely bet $10 on the Broncos) to Art in the Park.

Betting on the Broncos? No wonder people considered him to have a brilliant business mind.

Other links:

Peak Broadcasting's BSU network [Idaho Press-Tribune]
You're welcome, Pocatello.

Don't expect BCS changes by 2018 [ESPN.com]
But do expect hover-cars.

Give Greg Graham an extension! [Parsing the WAC]
His players graduate!

None of BSU's Fiesta plays make list of memorable moments [ESPN.com]
And we're done reading ESPN.com forever.

Why is this year different for Fresno State? [Fresno State football blog]
"Because it is," says Fresno State fan.

OBNUG's trip to Birmingham

When Greg Graham shook hands with Rick Pitino before the game, it dawned on me that we were going to have to compensate for more than just size and speed. It showed from the opening tip when Louisville pressed and did not allow the Boise State offense to get into any sort of rhythm all night long. At least, after Louisville's systematic dismantling of Oklahoma on Sunday, our loss seems to look a little better.

All in all, our trip to Birmingham went pretty well. We took a few pictures. Most were before the game. We found it difficult to take more when the game finally got underway.

A big thanks to my friend Chad Uram, a Michigan fan, who made the trip with me and was an honorary member of Bronco Nation for the day and helped me pass out flyers. If you were at the game, I hope a flyer made its way into your hands. We personally handed one to the WAC commissioner, Karl Benson. We also got a compliment from David Augusto.

All in all, the spirits of the Boise State fans were pretty high before the game, and I think we all appreciated the effort by the team. The Broncos might have come out with a little of the deer-in-the-headlights look, but they rebounded to keep the game respectable.

So, how many days until Idaho State?

Have a good weekend, Bronco fans

We had a lot of fun hanging out here for the BSU game. Of course, we would have more fun had the Broncos not lost by 18. All things considered, though, we are proud that the they got this far, and we look forward to the momentum gained from an NCAA appearance.

We also liked what we saw at the football scrimmage. The team showed some real promise at a variety of positions, and we can’t wait to see how far things have come along at the next scrimmage April 4. Here are the stats from today’s scrimmage:

Passing: Kellen Moore 10-14-0, 114 yards, 1 TD; Bush Hamdan 5-9-0, 61; Nick Lomax 6-9-1 70, 1 TD; Mike Coughlin 3-7-0 29.

Rushing: Ian Johnson 4-70 (TD), Doug Martin 10-59 (TD), Jarvis Hodge 3-57, D.J. Harper 9-40, Matt Kaiserman 4-18, Titus Young 1-9, Tanyon Bissell 1-8, Moore 1-6 (TD), Lomax 4-2, Toshi Franklin 1-(-1), Coughlin 2-(-15)

Receiving: Young 6-109 (TD), Michael Choate 5-33, Ricky Cookman 2-17, Franklin 2-16, Hodge 2-14, Sean King 1-25 (TD), Kaiserman 1-17, Austin Pettis 1-15, Bissell 1-12, Mitch Burroughs 1-7, Chris O’Neill 1-5, Tyler Shoemaker 1-4

Scoring plays: Moore 6 run, Young 14 pass from Moore, King 25 pass from Lomax, Johnson 66 run, Martin 24 run

See you Monday.

Boise State basketball live-blog!!

Welcome to OBNUG's live blog of the Boise State-Louisville NCAA tournament game! Feel free to leave comments or just read along. The photo above is from OBNUG contributor Nick. He's at the game, and we'll be checking in with him throughout. Go Broncos!

Pregame: Nick reports a great atmosphere at the game. Joe Hughes and David Augusto are in the building, and WAC commissioner Karl Benson is bleeding blue and orange tonight. We printed off some sweet signs for fans to hold up. Keep an eye out for lots of orange on your TV screen.

Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery are doing the TV coverage. Could it get any better? I think not!

19:42: first points to Louisville.

19:29: first turnover to Boise State.

19:28: first Boise State slighting from Verne Lundquist.

18:32: Crowd sounds decisively pro-Louisville.

17:01: We're not scoring points, but we are collecting Louisville fouls.

16:46: Padgett to the bench. That should help open things up.

15:43: First BSU basket from Thomas. It's about time. Hopefully that will calm the Broncos down; they look like they're playing tight.

13:51: Louisville 13, Boise State 5. The Cardinals are shooting great from downtown. Reggie Larry, summon your super powers and save us!

11:50: Louisville 18, Boise State 13. We're starting to warm up from three-point range. Larry almost tore his leg off, sliding on the giant NCAA saucer logo at halfcourt. My goodness, could that thing get any bigger? The logo, not Larry's leg.

CBS just cut away from the game! Come on! To the Internet!

10:05: Louisville 26, Boise State 15. That lead sure grew fast. (Oh, and CBS is back; thanks Greg Gumbel.)

9:25: Did Matt Nelson leave his game in Boise? He's been a non-factor.

7:31: Louisville 30, Boise State 19. Larry dunk! Bill Raftery approves!

4:56: It will be hard to close that deficit with Louisville shooting the way they are. It will be hard, too, when Padgett returns in the second half.

3:21: Louisville 38, Boise State 24. It would be nice to get this deficit down to single digits by halftime. Of course, we'll have to defend the three to do that.

Halftime: Louisville 44, Boise State 31. With the Cardinals shooting 57 percent from the floor, they look tough to beat. First half highlights: that one Reggie Larry dunk, Verne Lundquist calling Tommy John surgery a disease, and when we weren't behind by double digits.

19:45: And we're back. Our man at the game, Nick, says the BSU fans are still in it. Sounds like a Brian Murphy story to me.

18:00: Louisville 48, Boise State 35. The Broncos almost let things get away from them there at the start, but a nice little run forced Pitino to take a timeout.

15:57: Louisville 54, Boise State 35. The Cardinals are 10-of-17 from three. That's not a three-point percentage; that's a completion percentage.

14:28: Louisville 54, Boise State 40. The first reference to Boise State fans, and it only took 2/3 of the game to get it. Naturally, the reference was to how few of them are in attendance.

12:38: Louisville 61, Boise State 42. The lead continues to grow. Louisville is just shooting the lights out, and we are turning the ball over way too often against their press.

10:03: Nelson has looked better since his slow start, but it's probably too little, too late.

9:34: Larry dunk! Every time Reggie Larry dunks, Bill Raftery compliments the Broncos. That would be two compliments for those of you keeping track at home.

6:41: Louisville 66, Boise State 52. The Broncos have climbed back to within 14 points. It's funny how we look so much bigger against WAC opponents. Faster, too. These Louisville Cardinals are just a different breed.

4:43: And the announcers have delved into football conversation...and they can't figure out the name of the play that one the Fiesta Bowl.

4:13: The lead is 20.

2:55: Louisville 75, Boise State 59. At least the Broncos aren't showing any quit. Good for them.

0:23: This one is just about in the books. Greg Graham just took out his seniors, and Louisville took out its starters.

Final: Louisville 79, Boise State 61. The Cardinals were just on fire tonight. They shot the lights out from three-point range (50 percent), and they played some tough defense. Still, Boise State had its share of good moments, and we certainly looked like we belonged.

We'll have pictures from the game later this weekend, and we'll have some more recap next week.

WIR: Football scrimmage, basketball dance

Week in Review (WIR) won't be closing out the week for the first time in this site's brief history. There is a lot more good stuff to come. We'll be back with photos from the football scrimmage this afternoon. Then, we'll be live-blogging the men's basketball game tonight and checking in with our man in Birmingham. David Augusto photos? Perhaps!

• Broncos make the NCAA Tourney.
• Brian Murphy back on bandwagon.
• QB discussion with OBNUG experts.
• Ian Johnson: kick returner.
• Just Q it.
• Nevada QB makes amends.
• Picking runners and receivers.
• Jarrell Root out for spring...but how?
• We're not Dan Hawkins fans.
• Hamdan gets starting nod in first scrimmage.

Come back for more Boise State news and insight later today. Go Broncos!

It's that time of year again!

If you're stuck at work today, hopefully you have a login to the wonderful service provided by the NCAA that's pictured above. If you have a really cool office or boss, you can put this on the projector in your conference room without shame. If you don't, well -- they have a boss button that might work. It's definitely worth a try. He'll respect the effort.

Boise State doesn't tip-off until tomorrow night. We'll be there. Look for us on TV. Until that time when Reggie Larry-ness sweeps the nation, we've got this for you. Besides, who doesn't love to wake up to Paul J's voice in the morning?

Friday's event schedule

Friday is a big day for Boise State athletics with both the football team and the basketball team in action. OBNUG will be at both events, and we'd love to meet you.

• 3:30pm: Spring scrimmage at Bronco Stadium.
• 8:30pm: First-round NCAA tournament in Birmingham, Ala. (tipoff 30 minutes after opening game)

We'll post pictures from the scrimmage and the tournament game as soon as we can, and we'll be live-blogging the TV broadcast of the basketball game. It will be a fun day!

OBNUG in Birmingham!

As disappointed as the rest of Bronco Nation was to hear that BSU would be playing its NCAA tournament in the East region and, consequently, in Birmingham, I was a little excited. Being the eastern arm of OBNUG since I live in Nashville, this was a nice surprise. Even more of a surprise, however, was finding out that Boise State would be in the late session on Friday night. Due to the length of the trip and prices of airfare, there were BSU tickets to spare, and I was able to procure myself a pair to the first round game.

So, for those of you able to make the trek or lucky enough to be in close proximity to the game, I look forward to meeting each and every one of you. For those of you who have a job, bills, and a fear of flying, I will attempt to sneak my laptop into the game and upload as many pictures of Billy Packer and Jim Nantz as I can. Go Broncos!

An open letter to Brian Murphy

Dear Brian Murphy,

You continue to amaze us.

Days after throwing the Bronco men's basketball team under the bus, you are back on the bandwagon. Who let you on? Was it the FOX 12 News at Nine guy? We knew we should have kept a better eye on him.

Your article about the Broncos' winning the WAC championship was a 180 from your previous stance, and it was dripping with condescension and fragments. But amidst the rambling and feelings, you still found time to slip in a shot at BSU fans:

New rule: The bandwagon is accepting all comers. The first sign-up is today at Taco Bell Arena, where the Broncos will watch the NCAA Tournament selection show.

Doors open at 3 p.m. Bring your dancing shoes. Maybe the fans will fill it up. For once.

Ouch! Touche!

We know you'll be busy patting yourself on the back between now and the Broncos' first game on Friday, and you might not have a chance to put the usual half an hour of time and effort into your column. So we figured we would try our hand at writing your column for you. How hard could it be? Answer: not very. See for yourself:

"Who would have thought that the Boise State Broncos would be sitting in Birmingham, Alabama, about to play Rick Pitino and Co. in the NCAA tournament? Certainly not the media. Certainly not the WAC. Certainly not BSU fans.

Bandwagon.

But here they are. The team that wouldn't quit. Head coach Greg Graham has readied his troops for the greatest moment of their careers and the greatest moment in Boise State basketball history--perhaps even the history of amateur basketball.

Statesman.

The lessons learned through the regular season and the WAC tournament will serve this team well. They will not get discouraged if they get down early. Perseverance. They will not panic in crunch time. Relaxed. They will not be intimidated. Vikings.

This Boise State team is different, and it is a shame that more people don't know about them. But perhaps that is why the Broncos are standing here today: to prove everyone wrong.

Bandwagon again.

When Reggie Larry, Matt Nelson, and company hit the court in Alabama on Friday night, the whole world will be watching. What will that world see? It will see grit and toughness, passion and fire, excitement and courage. The world will see the best Boise State Broncos men's basketball team in ever, and no one can take that away from them.

Murph Turf."

You can thank us later, Brian Murphy.

Sincerely,
OBNUG

Bold predictions for the week ahead

Hopefully, the Boise State men's basketball team can pull some BSU-football magic in the NCAA tournament. We foresee a first-round upset, a second-round upset, and head coach Greg Graham's head exploding.

• Reggie Larry will make a buzzer-beater to send the Broncos to the Sweet 16. Afterward, he will propose to teammate Matt Nelson.
• Vinny Perretta will throw his name into the QB competition after a beautiful halfback pass in the first spring scrimmage. Bush Hamdan will not be available to comment.
• OBNUG will win $100 in its Facebook NCAA Tournament pool, and we will put the money directly into R&D--which is our euphemism for Guitar Hero.

BSU basketball going dancing

Congratulations to the Boise State men's basketball team! With a triple-overtime victory over New Mexico State on Saturday, the Broncos will be playing in their first NCAA tournament since 1994.

The Broncos earned a #14 seed and will play Louisville on Friday. We'll be watching, and calling in sick to work.

Broncos going to the Big Dance [Idaho Statesman]

Will Boise State join Cinderella in NCAA Tourney?

This past weekend, George Mason won the Colonial Athletic Association tournament and is bound for the Big Dance! OBNUG has been a big fan of George Mason ever since they took out the a full page ad in the Idaho Statesman, wishing us luck before the Fiesta Bowl (see above). It's good to see them back where they belong.

And it would be great if Boise State could join them. Today, the Bronco men's basketball team gets its chance in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament.

After a disappointing finish to the regular season, Boise State fell to a #4 seed and will face #5 Hawaii at noon today. Losing at home on senior night cost the Broncos the top seed, but it also hurt the team's credibility with fans. Probably the two biggest moments on Boise State's basketball floor (Tyus Edney's gamewinner for UCLA and Hampton upsettting Iowa State) didn't even involve Boise State, but a win for the WAC title could have changed that.

So, how good is this Broncos team? They won a very respectable 22 games in the regular season and finished 12-4 in the WAC, but they failed when it mattered most. The last time that I remember a Boise State team having a shot at making the NCAA tournament was Roberto Bergersen's squad back in '99, so this year's group doesn't exactly have history on its side.

We'll find out what these Broncos are made of over the next few days.

UPDATE: The Broncos beat Hawaii 80-74 and advance to play the winner of Utah State and San Jose State. BSU overcame an eight-point halftime deficit.

Bronco basketball falls to Utah State

The BSU men's basketball team fell at home to Utah State last night in a game that could have clinched the WAC title outright for the Broncos. The 19-point loss could end up costing BSU a high seed in next week's conference tournament.

But the most disappointing thing about the loss was that there were 10,000 anxious Bronco fans on hand to watch it happen, many of whom cannot get off this bandwagon fast enough (Brian Murphy first!).

There is a huge difference between igniting a fan base and throwing up back-to-back double-digit losses at home to end the regular season.

Just ask the disgruntled masses that filed out of Taco Bell Arena as the final minutes ticked away, leaving just the Aggie faithful to serenade the victors.

A chance squandered.

A moment not seized.

It should sting. Bad.

We at OBNUG are much less fickle when it comes to Bronco athletics. Sure, the men's basketball team let us down last night, and yes, the whole thing brought back memories of the Hawaii Bowl. But a loss in a big game is not going to affect how much we like the Broncos' basketball team. We liked them before, and we don't like them any less now.

The conference tournament will be fun to watch, and we'll try to have some coverage of it next. week. Let's hope at least a few people are still on the bandwagon.

'Sad, sad night' for Boise State men... [Idaho Statesman]

Photo courtesy Idaho Statesman.

Let OBNUG plan your Thursday night

Yesterday, Idaho Statesman columnist Brian Murphy wrote an article calling out Bronco football fans for not being Bronco basketball fans. Specifically, he wanted Bronco Nation to attend tonight's men's basketball against Utah State as if it were some sort of obligation.

We didn't appreciate Murphy's presumptive tone, and we certainly didn't like that he was trying to plan our Thursday night. But anything Murphy can do, OBNUG can do better, so here are our humble suggestions for Thursday night activities.

1. Watch LOST.
Maybe this week we find out why the statues only have four toes.

2. Go to Dairy Queen.
Medium Oreo Blizzards for everyone!

3. Plan a road trip to a BSU away game.
Eugene is only 530 miles away.

4. Re-watch the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
Fast-forward past the Zabransky interception.

5. Write Brian Murphy a letter.
Preferably one telling how to spend his free time.

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]