Tuesday: Links with Diet Coke

Story of the day:

Broncos hire Nevada alumnus [BroncoSports.com]

Boise State head athletic trainer Gary Craner will be retiring next month after 36 years on the job. Paul J. wishes he had the same opportunity.

Craner will be replaced by Marc Paul, a Nevada alumnus and the head trainer for the Wolfpack for the past eight years.

“We are very pleased to have attracted a person of Marc’s experience and background,” Bleymaier said. “We knew that replacing Gary Craner, who has been here for 36 years, would be a difficult task, but we think Marc is the right person at the right time. We feel he will be a great addition to the program.”

We're crossing our fingers that Bleymaier hired Marc Paul the athletic trainer and not Marc Paul the mentalist and mind-reader. Although, we would like to know what Coach Pete is thinking vis a vis the quarterback situation.

Other links:

Losing to BSU could cost Oregon's Bellotti [OregonLive]
His contract is tied to performance and gaudy uniform incentives

This is the first we've heard of a Jared Zabransky statue [Bleacher Report]
And the last we'll hear of it, hopefully.

Brian Murphy's long-awaited Indy Car column [Idaho Statesman]
Long-awaited if you actually wait for that kind of thing.

HOF: Tadman's Fiesta Bowl falls short

The people have spoken, and they do not feel the same way we do about Marty Tadman.

Tadman's Fiesta Bowl performance was the first nominee for the OBNUG Hall of Fame, a shoo-in as far as we were concerned, but he failed to earn the required 70 percent of the vote for induction, falling two percent short at 68 percent.

Were it up to us, Tadman would have been a sure-fire inductee, and he probably would have the Hall of Fame named after him. However, we value the opinion of our readers, and we appreciate you guys letting us know what you think. The OBNUG Hall of Fame will, apparently, be the toughest ticket in town.

Thanks to the hundreds who voted. We'll have the second OBNUG Hall of Fame nominee for you next week.

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.

Fiesta Bowl can't catch a break

What has happened to the 2007 Fiesta Bowl? Less than two years ago, it was the greatest college football game of all-time. Now it is not even the greatest BCS game in the last five years?

The 2006 Rose Bowl was fun to watch and all, but it could not even compare to the overall drama and impact of the '07 Fiesta. It's like Matthew McConaughey and the Applewhites are running this thing!

Fortunately, there is still time to right this wrong. Click here to vote in the poll. Then, when you are finished voting, refresh the page and vote again. We can't let the Fiesta Bowl go down without a fight!

(While you're in the voting mood, feel free to give us your thoughts on Marty Tadman's OBNUG Hall of Fame induction.)

Friday: Links with PDA

Story of the day:

Stewart Mandel gives BSU its due [SI.com]

A reader notified us of Stewart Mandel's latest mailbag at SI.com, and boy are we glad he did. Mandel was asked why he didn't believe Fresno State was BCS material, and his answer was both refreshing and obvious.

Because Fresno State is the Clemson of mid-majors: A big tease. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Pat Hill fan, but how many times have we seen this movie before? The Bulldogs go out and slay a giant or two, jump up into the polls -- then lay an egg in conference play.

Zing! Good one, Stewie!

Even better, Mandel offers a far more reasonable option for a WAC BCS team.

Let's be realistic here. If you had to pick one WAC team to not only win the conference but crash the BCS, are you going to go with notorious choke artist Fresno, or Boise State, five-time league champion prior to Hawaii's crown last season. Boise plays tough non-conference games at Oregon and Southern Miss but gets both the Bulldogs and Warriors at home.

How great is that! Welcome to Bronco Nation, Mr. Mandel!

Other links:

More Boise State love from ESPN [ESPN.com]
Dinwiddie, Fiesta, Statue Left, and the '04 and '06 Broncos. This article nearly brought us to tears.

Dennis Dodd's coach hot seat ratings [Sportsline.com]
Coach Pete = safe. Robb Akey = worried.

NFL Bronco roll call [Fight Fight BSU]
Wish it were football season already.

The letter Z in moderation [Democrat Herald]
Pro: "Zabranski." Con: skillz and boyz

"Sweet Feet" Clady? [Idaho Statesman]
Anti-playoff opinion [Online Athens]

Tom Scott = Fresno State fan?

Tom Scott's "Scott Slant" is often an interesting read...except when it is just plain wrong.

Scott's Tuesday entry recapped the ESPN.com story by Ivan Maisel about the WAC's biggest questions headed into the offseason. And instead of tackling the subject of Maisel's outrageous claim of Boise State "rebuilding," Scott took offense to the assertion that no WAC team is suited to crash the BCS again.

If Fresno's one loss isn't to Toledo, and the Bulldogs run the rest of the table, they could still go BCS-bustin'.

(Disappointed sigh.)

Forget, for a moment, the fact that Scott does not throw his endorsement behind a loaded Boise State squad. In order for Fresno to "run the rest of the table," they would have to beat the Broncos in Boise. Not as easy as it sounds.

Thanks for the complete lack of faith, Tom.

Every return to the brickyard is triumphant [Scott Slant]

Thursday: Links with self-confidence

Story of the day:

Get rid of the redshirt [ESPN.com]

Big XII commissioner Dan Beebe has proposed a plan to give all college football players five years of eligibility by getting rid of the redshirt. Too little, too late for Marty Tadman, we're afraid.

Beebe said that college football differs than other sports because of the widespread practice of redshirting freshmen.

"The thought would be why we would give them an extra year in that sport," Beebe said. "But you're talking about a sport with more redshirts than any other sport. And it's a sport where youngsters play a physical, very tough game with a lot of hard practices."

We couldn't agree more with this proposal. The only question is what would the fifth year of eligibility be called? Freshman, sophomore, junior, senior...gentleperson? Re-senior? Esquire? Hopefully, Beebe has an answer.

Other links:

Respect for the hook-and-ladder [ESPN.com]
The top coaching decision in BCS history is Circus. No. 3 is Statue Left.

Chris Petersen cracked the Top 10 defining BCS coaches [ESPN.com]
We are also ecstatic that June Jones did not make the list.

Ian Johnson: captain of longevity [Dave's blog]
Yes, it does feel like Johnson's been around forever.

Do not get in a car with Gerald Alexander [Fight Fight BSU]
New conferences for college football [Minister of Information]