Bronco radio job up for grabs

With the apparent ousting of Paul J. Schneider as voice of the Broncos, Boise State fans will have to get used to a new announcing team this season. Peak Broadcasting, the new owner of the radio rights to Bronco football, has yet to decide on who the play-by-play team will be for the 2008 broadcasts, so we feel an obligation to steer them in the right direction. Here is a short list of potential candidates:

• David Augusto and David Augusto. With sideline reporting from David Augusto.
  
• Caves and Prater. No, thank you.
  
• Wayne Dzubak and Father Time. We figure they hang out a lot together.
  
• Larry Gebert and Scott Dorval. Everyone loves a good weather metaphor.
  
• Dave Tester and Claudia Weathermon. Let's hope they don't fight over air time.
  
• A Magic 93.1 DJ and random callers. Bronco games would be played over a backdrop of Rhianna music.
  
• The Power Ball and the Verizon Wireless phone. Perhaps a three-man booth with the Carl's Jr. star?
  
• Brian Murphy and a hungry lion. This partnership might not last long.
• OBNUG. We would definitely make the broadcasts entertaining.
  

Scrimmage today at Mountain View HS

The Broncos' second open scrimmage of the spring takes place today at Mountain View High School at 3:30. For directions, click here.

Living up to the lofty expectations set by last month's scrimmage will be hard to do. QB Kellen Moore had his coming-out party, and the BSU backs looked solid. We'll be looking for improvement from a few key areas this time around, namely blocking, short-yardage plays, zone coverage, and concessions. Seriously, is it too much to ask to get a bag of kettle corn?

Also, we'll be handing out numerical rosters beforehand so that the following conversation doesn't take place again.

Old guy: "Who's 41?"
Us: "That's Johnson."
Old guy: "Johnson?"
Us: "Ian Johnson."
Old guy: "Oh."
Us: (moving to another seat)

See you there (except for you, Old guy).

KBOI loses contract, angers Bronco Nation

Reaction from Boise State fans over the loss of Bronco sports broadcasting by KBOI has been remarkable. Many are not ready to see Paul J. Schneider go; he has been the voice of the Broncos for 35 years.

"It's obviously been a great part of my life," Schneider said. "Obviously I'm closely identified with Boise State. I feel bizarre right now. I kind of thought it was coming, but it's kind of like when you have someone who's not doing good and not expected to live long and when they die, you go, 'Whoa!' And that's kind of where I am.

"I thought I'd do it until I turned into Harry Caray and I couldn't see anymore."

The games will switch from 670 KBOI to 580 KIDO beginning in the fall. Peak Broadcasting, which won the rights over Citadel, does not have as strong of a signal as KBOI did, but Peak won the contract in part due to its reach into markets statewide.

“We have a network that we’ve put in place that we’re going to be working on now that we’re Boise State’s choice for the broadcasts,” Peak General Manager Kevin Godwin said. “We have some great relationships inside and outside the state of Idaho that have shown a lot of interest in airing the football product.”

Many fans want Paul J. to remain the voice of the Broncos, and while Godwin did not rule out the possibility, the odds of Paul J. returning seem slim. Who might replace the BSU legend? Statue Left has posted a poll of possibilities, and we'll weigh in with our choices later today. As for now, we're going to go listen to the radio call of the Fiesta Bowl and take ourselves back to a simpler time.

Peak gets BSU radio rights [Idaho Radio News]
The voice of the Broncos is saddened... [Idaho Statesman]
Paul J. Schneider interview [KTVB.com]

Paul J. out as Bronco radio voice

KBOI will no longer be airing Boise State football, meaning Paul J. Schneider's reign as the voice of Boise State football is over.

Peak Broadcasting has been awarded the radio rights to broadcast Boise State football and men's basketball games for the next two academic years, the school announced Thursday.

Games will air on KIDO (580 AM).

The decision marks the end of an era. KBOI had held the contract for 35 years, with Paul J. Schneider serving as the Voice of the Broncos.

Kudos to Statue Left for bringing this to our attention. We'll have much more on this story tomorrow.

KBOI loses Boise State radio contract [Idaho Statesman]
Paul J. and ... Jeff Caves are out [Statue Left]

An open letter to the Blue Turf Towel guy

Dear Blue Turf guy,

We are sorry to hear about your recent legal troubles involving copyright infringement, idea mongering, and trademark pillaging. The lawsuit from Boise State in regards to your assault on their intellectual, turf-y property is bad news for you, but it is also hard on all of us trying to ride the coattails of Boise State's success. You have made the knock-off, Boise State curio market that much harder for the rest of us.

When Boise State University cracked down on your operation, they did so in such a swift, decisive way that we are scared to even speak the name Lyle Smith Field without first receiving written authorization from a BSU employee. Take a look at the language used in their lawsuit:

The lawsuit said the school "enjoys substantial trademark and trade dress rights arising from its long and continuous usage of words, color and imagery of blue turf to identify and promote the goods and services at and through Boise State University." (Blue Turf's) unlicensed usage "constitutes unfair and unlawful exploitation of Boise State University's reputation and goodwill," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said Blue Turf Towels owner David James Armstrong, after "notice and objections" from the university, continued to sell the towels that had "same or confusingly similar blue color and imagery as Boise State university's blue turf."

Our bedroom has "same or confusingly similar blue color and imagery as Boise State University's blue turf." Uh-oh.

We mourn the loss of your self-proclaimed "World Famous" souvenir, and although we never purchased one, we feel that the $6.95 price tag speaks more to the satiated demand market rather than making any statement about quality or durability. That said, we still don't like you.

Your gross mishandling of your product has wasted the faith and goodwill of Boise State. Not only is your future in Blue Turf washcloths, Blue Turf dishrags, and Blue Turf kerchiefs gone forever, you have seriously hurt the chances for the rest of us to ply our trade in parasitical business practices. We had some good products in mind, too.

• New Testament Marty Tadman Translation (excerpt: "Thou shalt not misread double coverage lest thou shallt be intercepted thusly")
• Blue and orange shampoo and conditioner
• Edible Fiesta Bowl trophies
• Ryan Clady Superman pjs (with footies and without)
• Stained-glass Buster Bronco ikons
• Paul J. Schneider pronunciation guide

Now you have essentially ruined any chance of these products coming to fruition. You and your blue towels have seriously hampered business for BSU third-party merch, and to what end? Graphic-intensive, non-washable fabric swatches? Market share on blue towels? Entrepreneurism? All you had to do was ask permission from BSU, and this whole thing might have never happened.

Now Coach Pete's Bathroom Reader Vol. 2 will never see the light of day, and that will be on your conscience.

Sincerely,
OBNUG

OBNUG Roster Update: Cornerbacks

Spring football gets OBNUG in the mood to speculate, so over the next few weeks, we will be making blind guesses as to who will be starting for the Broncos in the fall. We’ll do it position-by-position. Today: Cornerbacks.

Cornerbacks

Ideal candidate: a young Deion Sanders


Worst candidate: Jabba the Hutt


Actual candidates: Kyle Wilson, Garcia Day, Brandyn Thompson, Keith McGowen, Antwon Murray

OBNUG's pick: Wilson, Thompson. Obviously, Kyle Wilson is a shoe-in for one corner position, and we feel that Thompson will make good on the promise he showed last year and earn the other spot. We were expecting big things from Garcia Day this season, and we could still see him make an impact as a nickel back.

Konichiwa, Bronco Nation

Members from the football team at Hosei University in Japan are spending time at Boise State practices over the next two weeks. Might a future in the WAC be far off?

Hosei, which began an international academic partnership with Boise State in 2006, has appeared in 13 of the past 16 college football championship games in Japan. Hosei won back-to-back college titles in 2005 and 2006.

That is a better resumé than Utah State, New Mexico State, and Idaho put together.

The Hosei coaches have already been impressed by the way the Broncos practice, and they hope to take back some tips to keep their team at the top of Japanese football.

"The Broncos are very, very popular in Japan," Yaekura said. "A lot of people watched that Fiesta Bowl victory."

This just in: Bob Stoops hates Japan.

What's the Japanese translation for 'Statue Left'? [Idaho Statesman]