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From The Blue to You: Letter to whom it may concern

Brittney Johnson — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:27:14 +0000

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER

Dear – “insert big time school name here,”

I know your football team is struggling right now and you’ve almost or already have fired that big money coach of yours. You know, the one that was supposed to bring you BCS games, National Championships and winning seasons.

I understand that you are on an extremely competitive hunt for a winner of a coach, someone that will lead your team, inspire you players and actually win. You are searching for a classy coach to please your boosters and make your community and team supporters happy. All of the traits mentioned and more, narrow down the search and on the short list of candidates is Boise State’s Chris Petersen.

Well, back off of Coach Pete!

I’m not even going to try to find negatives to turn you away from courting the football god’s gift to Boise State, because frankly, anyone would be hard pressed to find a valid reason not to go after Coach Pete. I’ll just say what most Bronco fans are thinking: leave our coach alone.

You may be able to come to Boise and wave a bunch of dollars in Coach Pete’s face. You may be able to come here with promises of five star recruits and extremely generous, wonderful boosters. You may be able to come here and brag about your football program’s proud tradition. Well, I hate to break it to you, Coach Pete is not interested; or at least that is what we would all like to full heartedly believe.

We all can admit that we, as fans, have been preparing for this since the massive 2007 Fiesta Bowl win and the fuel to the fire has continued as the 10 win seasons keep coming. It would be rather nice to go through one winter where we don’t have to worry about which school just fired its coach and if Coach Pete’s a candidate. Every year, no matter how much we tell ourselves and the others like us that we don’t have to worry, we are constantly on the edge of our seats, waiting for that dreadful day where we will hear the news that Coach Pete is leaving us.

Maybe Coach Pete will stick around and be Boise State’s “JoPa” and we can all call him, “ChrisPe.” Or maybe he will leave for a different school when the time is right. So until then please leave our coach and the stress level of Bronco Nation alone!

Sincerely,

- “insert Bronco fan’s name here”

Boise State establishes itself in world of college hockey

Josh Rasmussen — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:09:07 +0000

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER - Bronco netminder Dan Beaudrea prepares to stop a break-away shot from a University of Montana forward during a home game Nov. 6. at Idaho Ice World.

Boise State University football may make national headlines, and the women’s soccer players may call themselves Western Athletic Conference Champions, but none of their accomplishments came on ice.

The BSU hockey club, however, is in full swing, taking the ice by storm and has already played 13 of its 38 games this season.

Club president and team captain Dalton Smith, and his father, Lee, claim responsibility for starting the club 3 years ago.

“A lot of these kids came up together and want to play hockey,” Lee says. “They had nowhere else to go.”

It’s no small project to start a club either. It takes more than $40,000 yearly to play a full season. Lee is no longer designated the head coach though he handled those duties for the first two seasons.

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER - Boise State center, team captain and club president Dalton Smith extends toward the net during a shot in a home game against the University of Montana Nov. 6. at Idaho Ice World.

“I basically dumped my American Express into the first year just to prove we were serious,” Lee says.

To make matters more difficult, head coach Ken Beaudreau, in his first year coaching the Broncos, says, “I volunteer. The parents volunteer. The team manager, the assistant coach — no one gets paid. We are self-funded.”

He adds, “We’re always looking for sponsors. We’re always looking for support.”

The Broncos play as part of the ACHA (American College Hockey Association) in division II. The Broncos may play DII, but a DII hockey team doesn’t carry the same second-tier connotation as a DII football or basketball team. Other notable ACHA DII teams include Harvard, Ohio State University, New York University, Virginia Tech University, Arizona State University and the University of Idaho.

The rules most closely compare to those of the NCAA. Players must wear a full-cage on their helmets and fighting is forbidden. That doesn’t mean fights don’t happen. The penalty is an automatic ejection with a 1-game suspension as well as a 5-minute major another member of the team must serve during the game.

Like many sports, hockey demands a great deal from its players. To keep eligibility, each student must be a full-time, degree-seeking, with a minimum of nine credits and maintain a 2.0 GPA.

“It’s definitely been taking its toll on the whole team with grades, being gone every single weekend,” Dalton says. “It’s definitely intense. I don’t think somebody could hold a full-time job, go to school and play for a team. I personally don’t think it’s possible.”

But the reward is worth it to the players, most of whom grew up playing hockey. They manage themselves like any other hockey team.

“We don’t really allow any kind of drama between the players,” Dalton says. “Everyone shows a certain amount of respect for each other.”

BSU junior and 3-year-veteran of the WHL (Western Hockey League) Aaron Roberge’s several-team, multiple-league, hockey career came to an end 3 years ago in Canada but he maintains a love for the sport. Because of a by-law disallowing players with professional experience (WHL included) to play college hockey, he is ineligible to play with the Broncos but practiced with them a few times prior to receiving the news. The ACHA is not the WHL but some things never change.

“When I stopped playing hockey, I took a good, couple years off so … ya know how it is with guys on hockey teams — everyone’s really good, close friends,” Roberge says, “and there’s good camaraderie and everyone seems to get along. You get a feeling of being on a team and being with a group of guys who like to have fun and compete together.”

While athletes are often most-known through their sports, they are still responsible for daily life.

“Everything that happens at Boise State, the club sports, the varsity sanctioned sports — all of it’s important,” Ken says, “They’re all student athletes. These are people who are putting an enormous amount of time into their game, practice, school work and trying to get a degree. To me, they’re the finest of the finest.”

Ken has been coaching for 15 years at a variety of levels in multiple leagues including Peewees, Bantam, U-18 and the Idaho Rattlers. Youth soccer and YMCA roller hockey also help account for his coaching history.

“The game is almost secondary to what we’re trying to do,” he says, “which is make better men out of them — get them ready for the world.”

Ken’s son Dan Beaudreau, also the club vice president, serves as a 6’, 220-pound goalie for the Broncos. Coaching him has been really easy according to Ken.

“I’ve coached him for so many years and so many different teams that when we’re on the ice, he’s not my son and I’m not his father. We have kind of zoned that out, because I don’t understand goalies. They’re a totally different breed than anybody else. You’ve got to let him be who he is and trust him.”

The Broncos have a 23-man roster including former Idaho Junior Steelheads forwards Kevin Costello and Tyson Barnes and former Junior Steelheads AA defenseman Blake Englund. Boise is listed as the hometown for 13 of the 23 players.

A couple of the more-experience players are Dalton and brother Cortland Smith who combined for 54 of the team’s159 points in the 2008-2009 regular season. Cortland gets credit for leading the team in both goals (12) and assists (20) last season though he was followed closely by Dalton who tallied 11 of each.

Dalton’s hockey resume includes time with the Columbus Blue Jackets Midget Major AAA, an affiliate of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets.

Dalton says the team looks for “experienced players who are passionate about playing hockey.”

The club doesn’t only benefit players and fans. It also gives medical staff a chance to familiarize themselves with a new sport and learn its challenges. Gen Ludwig, the coordinator for injury prevention and care through Boise State says some of the most important differences are the rules and procedures. Also of educational value to new trainers are the pads and the order in which they are put on and likewise, taken off, should it be necessary during the treating and/or diagnosing of an injury.

The Broncos practice once a week on Wednesday.

The Broncos’ next home games are Friday and Saturday at Idaho Ice World at 10:00 p.m. against BYU.

To those who are new to the sport, Ken says, “Come out and learn the game. Come out with somebody who knows the game, learn it and (you) will fall in love with it when (you) see it live.”

From the Blue to You: Risky Business Payoff

Brittney Johnson — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:14:00 +0000

Chris Petersen, as a head coach of a top-10 program on the brink of the third undefeated regular season, you demand respect from the players. As a coach, you want them to listen to you and the things you instruct as they take the field to compete. If someone goes against your wishes, more often than not they will sit solemnly on the bench with their tail between their legs.

Saturday at the big rivalry game, Doug Martin and Titus Young did the unthinkable that turned into the unbelievable.

Before taking the field to receive a kickoff with 22 seconds left in the half, with the wind behind the kicker, and the ball likely going into the end zone, Coach Petersen told Martin to advise Titus to take a knee and get the touchback. Martin disobeyed, egging Young on to return a ball caught six yards deep in the end zone. The decision will likely go down in Boise State versus Idaho lore.

After a quick hand motion from Martin to take it up the field, Young rambled 100 yards for the game changing momentum shift that stamped a big W in the win column for Boise State. One of the most exciting parts of the play wasn’t the one that will show up on the stat sheets forever, it was the steamroll block by Martin mere seconds after the decision to motion Young out of the end zone. The hit put the exclamation point on the exciting special teams play that littered Sports Center Highlights Saturday night.

A risky decision of Young to ignore Coach Petersen turned into a huge smile on his face, risk turned into reward. If you are going to go against the Coach’s wishes you might as well notch six points on the board in doing so. Six points that will save your booty as you face your coach on the sidelines. Six points that will put the rival teams fans on sitting on their hands dumbfounded. Six points shifting momentum back to your team.

Thank goodness for Young’s and Martin’s risky play that contributed to the 63-25 shellacking of the instate rivals. The Broncos scored on offense, defense and special teams.

As Coach Petersen and staff look back on the victory, surely they will not be too worried about the decision made against their wishes that turned into the icing on the Bronco Cake and the thorn in the Vandal’s side.

The Arbiter talks with fine arts seniors

Evan Westerfield — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:52:36 +0000

The Arbiter talks with four bachelor of fine arts seniors before their thesis work exhibition.

Marissa Nobody

The Arbiter: Where are you from?

Nobody: I grew up in Brunswick Ohio, a small suburb on the outskirts of Cleveland. I really only slept there. While gray, Cleveland is a very large and exciting city, so much more than “Brunstucky.” By 13, I could sneak out of the house with some skill and spent most of my time immersing myself in the many diverse cultures, the historic Tremont Art District, and the underground music scene. Cleveland was really where I “grew” up, or started to anyway.

The Arbiter: How did you get your start as an artist?

Nobody: My whole family is creative in many ways; most of them don’t use it in the artistic sense anymore. I’m strongly convinced that being the youngest of four and being close to my sisters and brother helped me to become an artist. We were always making movies, writing poems, choreographing dances, and even building large wooden structures in the backyard. We were always asking “why?” And, “why not?” My Mother would rarely respond, “Because I said so.” and was very inventive with her answers. She’s very open and carefree. Singing and writing came along first for me. I’ve just recently realized I was forgetting something and now have been including music with my visual work. There’s an incredible amount of discovery and invention that is still very much a part of my process of being an artist that is directly linked to being a child.

The Arbiter: What medium do you use for your art?

Nobody: Currently I’m working with fabric, music, and community collaboration. I’m very drawn to sewing and printmaking because of the intricacies to the many processes, it’s similar to how people work or don’t work together, they’re all very surprising and mysterious. Being open to what I’m trying to figure out and what art needs from me is a constant process of acceptance. It’s important to know what works for you with whatever you do and being a “medium” focused artist really kept me from being fully honest with my work.

The Arbiter: What are your influences? (Family, famous artists, etc)

Nobody: I’m always looking at art from those I feel are underrepresented, the kind of artists you have to dig for hours to find a single image that represents their work. It’s difficult to be heavily influenced by them though because of the lack of documentation and history. It helps me to maintain the perspective that art doesn’t just exist in museums or because someone deems it so, art is so much bigger than that. My absolute favorites are the puppet maker -Scott Radke, and the printmaker – Koichi Yamamoto. Music is also a great influence in my work from the joyous and sorrowful blues to operas such as Lucia di Lammermoor, Jack White is prolific, Nina Simone my all time favorite, and around the way to some good ole Mr. Tom Waits and Woody Guthry.

Jean You

The Arbiter: What is your background?

You: My name is Jean You, I am originally from China. I moved to Boise with my family five years ago. I am a graphic design major student, and painting and drawing is my life long passion as an artist. I will be graduating next May.

The Arbiter: What is your preferred medium?

You: Medium include oil, acrylic, duck tapes and printmaking. I have one 48 inch by 60 inch large painting and eight more print studies of the painting in the show.

The Arbiter: What is your creative process?

You: I draw intuitively but think formally. I started drawing before painting. I usually had a set idea before the creative process, so my drawings are usually more precise and confident than sketches. I use duck tapes as one of the medium to in contrast of the characteristics of oil paints. Also introducing new materials onto the traditional canvas is a way to express that we are living in a postmodern society. To communicate with the idea of innovation and modernity.

The Arbiter: What do you think art is?

You: Art should be like the music that everyone needs it, everyone appreciates it, and everyone understands it.

Jake Rowe

The Arbiter: Where are you from?

Rowe: I was born and raised in Boise, minus four years attending TVCC and University of Hawaii at Manoa.

The Arbiter: How did you get your start as an artist?

Rowe: My start as an artist began in Junior High, West Junior High. I realized I had a talent and a love for drawing and my teacher, Mrs. Grooms, really encouraged me to continue taking formal classes and I haven’t stopped since.

The Arbiter: What are you influences? (Family, famous artists, etc)

Rowe: The influences of my art are first and foremost my Christian faith as well as artists like Norman Rockwell, Rembrandt, Rubens and Warhol.

The Arbiter: What do you hope to do one you graduate?

Rowe: I hope to find a job at a local Jr. High/High School inspiring others who have a love of art to continue their education and practice and see where it takes them.

Gwen Downs

The Arbiter: How did you get your start as an artist?

Downs: There is a lot of family members who like to draw, paint, or craft works for other members of the family as gifts. It was just natural for me to see of this and want to become an artist too.

The Arbiter: What medium do you use for your art?

Downs: I use all kinds of medium in my art; I really love the challenge of a new material when I get my hands on it. As for what I used for my show, I focused on the use of charcoal for the vast majority of my work but I experimented a bit with other materials also.

The Arbiter: What are you influences? (Family, famous artists, etc)

Downs: Family, friends, pets, my church, artist of all levels, life in general; they all have their place as my influence. My family was a big influence that made me more artistic growing up but what influences my work often are the things I see and touch from day to day in my life.

The Arbiter: What has studying at BSU done for your art?

Downs: The obvious should be that it has allowed me to improve on my skills where I was lacking but it has also given me opportunities to practice with new materials that gave me a good challenge to work on and push what I was good at to new levels.

The Arbiter: What do you hope to do once you graduate?

Downs: I want to become an art teacher so that I can inspire the next generation of artist that may enroll at BSU too someday.

From the Blue to You: Time to get creative Bronco Nation

Brittney Johnson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:47:20 +0000

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER

Bronco faithful it’s a new year, a new team, a new undefeated season but it’s also a new beginning for the University of Idaho rivalry game. Things have changed this year up north while the Broncos stay consistent. For starters the Vandals have seven wins and only three losses making them bowl eligible for the first time in a very, very long time. Bronco fans, sadly the same old taunting chants won’t work this year. So here’s a look back on the best of the best.

The decades old reliable taunt: “VanDULLS”. A perfect description of the style of play the Vandals have shown over the past decade.

A Bronco fan’s favorite joke: “How does a Vandal count to 10? Answer; 0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 0-4, 0-5, 0-6, 0-7, 0-8, 0-9, 0-10.” This joke holds true with the countless losing season up in the Palouse.

The chant heard around the Stadium: “And that’s another Vandal…. 4th DOWN!” This chant dates back to the 2004 shellacking at Bronco Stadium where the Broncos put up 65-points to the Vandals seven.

Winner of best sign at a game: “Need wins? Call 1-800-BIGSKY.” The sign dropped from the over hang of the upper deck of Bronco Stadium in the 2007 game was an additional low blow for Vandals.

Post Fiesta Bowl era taunt: “Buck up Vandals! You’re ruining our strength of schedule!” After strength of schedule was on the minds of Bronco Nation the Vandals defiantly took blows by Boise State fans to toughen up.

Best BCS related taunt: “Top 10, bottom 10! Top 10, bottom 10!” (completed with pointing up and down to signify top and bottom)

These are a few of the greats that have been echoed throughout Bronco Stadium on many occasions. This year is different. This year it’s time for Bronco Nation to put on their creative caps and get to work on new taunting cheers to compete with the overused, “Donkey State,” and, “Boise Junior College.” Bronco Nation, you have been creative before it’s time to be creative again.

This year the Rivalry is definitely different. There are so many Vandal fans coming out of the wood works ready to cheer a Idaho team with an actual winning record. The Vandals are on quick sprint to the Humanitarian Bowl in December so Saturday isn’t the only day this year Idaho fans will flock to Boise. So it’s time to come up with new material to complete the grudge week known as Rivalry week. North against South. Houses and families divided. A state split.

On a final note Bronco Nation, the taunting, “Toe Tappers.” line is always, and will always be fair game.

Boise State flying higher than ever

Josh Rasmussen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:33:10 +0000

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER - The Boise State-themed Horizon Q400 taxis to the gate after landing for the first time in at the Boise Air Terminal.

Boise State University earned its wings, Monday, when a newly-painted Horizon Air Bombardier Q400, boasting BSU colors and logos, taxied to the gate at the Boise Air Terminal.

The blue and orange aircraft is the latest in a series of university-themed paint schemes unveiled by Horizon.

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER - The Boise State-themed Horizon Q400 waits at the gate to unload passengers from Sacramento, Calif., after making its first stop in Boise.

“We had an opportunity to paint a plane with the Boise State University colors and marks,” said Dan Russo, vice president of marketing and communication for Horizon Air, “and we’re happy to do it and be an ambassador for the city of Boise.”

He called the plane a “tribute to Boise State University and to the city of Boise.”

“This aircraft is going to fly throughout our system,” he said, “from the northern regions of Western Canada down to Palm Springs and throughout Montana.”

It arrived from Sacramento, Calif., around 1:30 p.m. and presented itself before a mass of select Boise State representatives including University President Bob Kustra, the Boise State cheerleaders and mascot Buster Bronco. Russo presented Kustra with a model of the aircraft and thanked the University for it’s help.

“Boise State University was wonderful to work with,” he said, “and certainly recognized the benefit of the exposure as the plane flies throughout our system.”

Kustra said, “It’s not often I get an opportunity to thank the people in this airport for what they do for us, but I want to start with the Horizon Air employees. Every time we come through this airport we know we’re home.”

With this symbol of who we are and where we’re going,” Kustra said, “and with the daily successes we’re having at Boise State, whether it’s rising enrollment, whether it’s rising research, whether it’s rising reputation, this is just a great day for Boise State University.”

Arriving passengers were handed a city of Boise gift bag by Boise State cheerleaders after they stepped off the plane.

Jenna Harvy, a passenger on the flight visiting from California said she was told in flight, “There might be a camera when you land. If you see a film crew, don’t mind them.”

Just before the plane landed, she said, “They announced the cheerleaders would be there.”

“I did not expect this big of a production. I said, ‘only in Idaho’. This would never happen in California,” Harvy said, “It’s really neat though, it’s so nice to see so much pride.”

Kathy Terry, who was in town on a business trip and waiting to depart said, “I thought maybe the President was coming in. I think it’s great. It shows the spirit around the football.”

“You don’t have this kind of stuff in a big city,” she said, “They don’t pay attention.”

The aircraft sat on the ramp for a couple hours and provided a perfect background for the ceremonies in the terminal before it prepared for its first flight to Idaho Falls.

“We think it’s great that it’s flying in the state of Idaho for its first flight.” Russo said.

The University of Oregon, Oregon State, Washington State and the University of Washington were the other four schools Horizon featured with this program.

Russo mentioned the appropriateness of the TSA’s threat level being “orange,” then referenced the football team.

“It is not about the win-loss record,” he said, “otherwise we’d have a couple of planes in Washington that we would have to be repainting pretty soon.”

Russo said the paint job totaled about the average cost — $40,000, and should last about 5 to 7 years.

Models of the aircraft will be available to purchase in the bookstore shortly according to Russo.

Fort Hood massacre raises question: What is the cost of war?

MCT — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:46:10 +0000

Nov. 8 – Just a glimpse of that thin face, those intense blue eyes, is heart-rending: another man, barely out of childhood, dead in the war.

Not in Afghanistan or Iraq, but at Fort Hood, Texas, where an Army-trained psychiatrist opened fire, killing 13 soldiers and wounding 30 more who were taking care of the final details before going to the battlefield.

But the death of Aaron Thomas Nemelka, just 19, raises for me an inevitable question: When are we as American citizens going to stop paying the butcher’s bill that comes to us all too often from Iraq and Afghanistan?

It’s not just the more than 5,000 Americans killed in those wars, now 53 of them Utahns, but those who come home wounded in body, mind and spirit. Many fold themselves back into civilian life, but the memory of so many terrifying and ghastly events can never be erased. For some, there can never be healing.

Among the wounded in Thursday’s massacre was Utahn Joey Foster, who was headed to Afghanistan and helped pull people to safety despite a bullet to the hip.

The alleged shooter, Nidal Malik Hasan, was gunned down by a SWAT officer but survived. The fact that he is a devout Muslim has the Internet afire with the usual accusations that Islam is a violent faith that spawns murderous behavior. In my view, that’s just as much a fallacy as saying any faith ineluctably leads to violence.

I spoke with the Rev. Carl Wright, the head chaplain at Hill Air Force Base, who has twice been deployed to Iraq. In his view, it’s not Hasan’s faith but his experiences at the Army’s Walter Reed Medical Center that might have brought on what Wright calls “compassion stress,” also known as secondary stress disorder.

“The shooter would have had patient after patient, soldier after soldier, telling him gruesome stories,” he said.

“When you’re counseling with people, regardless of the helping profession, to a certain extent you feel what they feel,” Wright said. “You vicariously experience … not the identical experience, but pretty darn close, especially when you’re a psychiatrist or psychologist.”

Such professionals, he said, need to be in therapy themselves, constantly working on their own issues and on self-improvement. “It’s an article of their Hippocratic oath; all healers know that they are themselves wounded people.”

No one but Hasan can say what motivated him, but news reports say he was deeply troubled by the prospect of going to Afghanistan, that he opposed the wars but did not express anti-American views. His colleagues at Walter Reed thought him an indifferent therapist who once gave a fiery and inappropriate lecture on the Quran. The reports also say he was quiet and apparently had few friends, although a former president of the Muslim mosque in Killeen, Texas, where Hasan worshipped, called him a “very gentle person.”

It’s worth remembering that much the same was said about Sulejman Talovic, the Bosnian immigrant who killed five people at Salt Lake City’s Trolley Square in 2007 and was killed himself. As a child, he and his family were caught up in the war in Bosnia, and it’s been speculated that he, too, was a victim of post-traumatic stress.

In the dozen other mass shootings in the United States since 1991, none of the killers were Muslim: think of the two teenagers who in 1999 killed 13 classmates and a teacher and wounded 26 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School.

So we can acknowledge that we live in a time and world periodically stunned by violence. We must honor the courageous men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to protect this nation.
But here’s what worries me: even as the Iraq war winds down, President Barack Obama is debating whether to send tens of thousands more troops into Afghanistan.

We must ask, “To what end?” To try to change a corrupt government and contain the Taliban? To rout al-Qaida, even though its influence extends across the Middle East and in Africa? And despite the fact that Afghanis view coalition troops as an army of occupation in a nation that never has tolerated such forces since Alexander the Great?
And we must ask, “At what further cost?

From the Blue to You: Calling out AQ conferences

Kirk Bell — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:14:17 +0000

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER

Every year there are a handful of college football programs who have a legitimate eye on the ever coveted prize crowning one team a national champion; or at the very least the right to argue they should have been there by accepting a Bowl Championship Series bid. The Boise State Broncos have just as difficult a road as the Texas’, Alabama’s and Florida’s. Maybe not in the form of a constant battling schedule through the course of a season but by going undefeated three of the last four years.

Hence the argument of strength of schedule. This argument has little standing when team won’t play the Broncos. A recent article at Yahoo! Sports addressed this in a way that makes the rest of the BCS look like a bunch of sissies.

According to the article, BSU athletic director Gene Bleymaier has made an offer that you would think many big programs would enjoy with a bolstered strength of schedule by facing the Broncos. Not only the prestige of an event pitched against the Broncos, BSU is willing to do so in even more convincing fashion by playing a one-time game at their opponent’s home venue. By barring the Broncos these automatic qualifiers look more the cowards putting out a duck-and-run style of non-conference scheduling.

The question isn’t necessarily one why would these programs want to face the Broncos but rather why wouldn’t they; likely the frame that these “big-programs,” measure their decision.

BSU is consistently a very scary team for anyone who has hopes to enter the post-season as a BCS invitee. The big question they must ask themselves is how legitimate do these AQ programs want the Broncos to be. By not accepting head-to-head requests that could be settled on the field they can continue to say, “well who have you played lately,” or “try playing the schedule that we do every year.”

OK. Now that this argument has been approached, what legs do they have to stand on now?

Whoever these programs might be, they are simply spewing rhetoric and it’s become a ridiculous endeavor. It is nothing more than AQ conference contenders barking at the Broncos and then skulking away with their tails between their legs when BSU barks back.

It is time to call them out. Step it up or step out of the way. This is even more fuel added to the fire for a revamped BCS. The performance of the TCU’s, BYU’s, Utah’s and BSU’s no longer warrants being barred. There is strong argument that TCU should play for a national title or that last season’s Utah Utes should have been at the BCS Championship game. Unfortunately the AQ conferences would never have it, and even more, they seem to have enough pull in the BCS to make sure of this.

This season the powers that be have a tough decision to make pending BSU and TCU run the table. They can show that the BCS is a true contest pitting the best teams in the country together or they can find an excuse to place teams in at-large vacancies that could be better filled with the non-AQ’s.

Time to face the music “big-time,” programs. The songs you sing are getting stale. Time to try something new, like BSU.

Moore brothers finally connect

Trent Lootens — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:45:58 +0000

NIK BJUSTROM/THE ARBITER Kellen Moore drops back during an early season contest against Miami (OH)

Kirby Moore came to Boise State to play football with his brother Kellen. The brothers played together as early as Pop Warner league and now have the chance to showcase their skills at the college level.

Saturday against San Jose State the brothers connected for their first touchdown as Broncos.

Kirby lined up wide left next to sophomore Tyler Shoemaker for a first down play on BSU’s own 39-yard line early in the first quarter. Kellen took the snap and rolled out to his left with strong pressure coming from his blind side and threw a laser over Shoemaker right to Kirby. With his great hands, Kirby pulled in the high pass and took off with nothing but blue in front of him all the way to the end zone.

“When I first caught the ball I thought the guy was really close to tackling me,” Kirby said. “It was like it was too easy at first so I was checking around to make sure nobody was around me.”

Kirby took advantage of the look San Jose State’s defense gave him and utilized a great block by Shoemaker to break into the open field.

“I wasn’t expecting it, but the defense they played just worked to our favor and I just tried to make the most of the opportunity,” Kirby said. “They were playing man coverage and Tyler Shoemaker deserves a lot of credit. He put a pretty good pick on my guy who was trying to trail me.”

The Moore combination finally coming together was a great sign for the Bronco offense. Kirby is another reliable weapon to Kellen’s arsenal. The quarterback a barrage of options for potential deep threats.

Kirby, along with receivers Austin Pettis, Titus Young and Shoemaker completes the most dangerous wide receiver combination since the 2007 Fiesta Bowl team. Mitch Burroughs, a graduate of Meridian High School, caught his first touchdown of the season on a wide open 18-yard pass Saturday.

“We’ve got a lot of guys. (Opposing defenses) Can’t really focus on one guy. Other guys will make plays and kill you with it. Every week it seems like we’ve got a new guy stepping up. You just got to be prepared for everyone,” Kellen said.

Kellen thought it was great to finally be able to connect with his brother for a score, but realizes it’s going to be the first of many.

“It had to come at some point. We’re going to be here a few more years,” the quarterback said.

Kellen’s first touchdown pass to his brother was a special moment. The team had been waiting for this moment all year and for it to happen the way it did was great for everyone.

“That was awesome. I think everybody on our sideline had a smile on their face. To get a chance to play division one football with your brother is rare. Not many guys get a chance to play division one football and then when your brother is good enough to play and you can hook up for touchdowns too, it’s special,” Boise State head coach Chris Petersen said.

The Moore brothers get their next chance to put up points next week against a beleaguered Louisiana Tech pass defense who surrendered 327 yards through the air in its most recent game in a loss to the Idaho Vandals.

From the Blue to you: Carpe Diem Bronco fans

Brendan Sherry — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:50:55 +0000

JOSH RASMUSSEN/THE ARBITER

Last year Bronco fans hoped an undefeated season and an impressive win over Oregon would be enough to earn Boise State another trip to a BCS bowl. After all, the last time that Boise State went to a BCS game, they were undefeated and had a big win over Oregon State. The two seasons were comparable, an unblemished record and a key victory over a PAC-10 team. Things were looking good for Boise State until a team from the Mountain West Conference also ran the table and took BSU’s title as “BCS Buster.”

This year was supposed to be different. Boise State was the highest ranked team from a non-BCS conference before the season. The experts were saying that if BSU took care of business, they would be a lock for a BCS bowl by the end of the season. Once again, the Broncos had the opportunity to go undefeated and have a trademark victory over a good PAC-10 team.

Unfortunately, for the Bronco faithful there is another team from the Mountain West that appears to be raining on their BCS parade. This time it is TCU. The Horned Frogs have put together an impressive resume en route to a 7-0 record. With victories over two BCS conference teams and a win last week over a ranked BYU team, TCU has jumped Boise State in the latest BCS Polls.

It just didn’t seem fair Sunday when the Broncos dropped to seventh and were left looking up at the sixth-ranked Horned Frogs. They did everything the experts told them to do; they had a convincing win against Oregon and they were taking care of the rest their schedule. But the drop in the rankings indicated the Broncos did something wrong. Surely if they fell in the rankings they must have had a close call or some other reason to drop. Instead the Broncos came out and had one of their best performances of the year in Hawai’i.

The release of the latest polls made it feel as if a BSU return to the BCS would be impossible. Everyone on sports talk radio and television has seems to count Boise State out, and name TCU as the heir to the BCS Buster crown. But fans must not worry. There is still plenty of football to be played.

It can be tough to remember that it is the middle of the season and the Broncos still have six more games on their schedule. However, it is important to realize that it wasn’t so long ago when schools like California, Ohio State, BYU and Mississippi were all ranked ahead of Boise State. Now all of those schools have two losses and are out of the big picture. College football has more parity than ever and there will likely be enough upsets in the upcoming weeks to stir the top 10.

Broncos fans must sit back enjoy the fact that there is a top 10 program in town. The BCS continues to get more confusing every waking minute and things don’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Watching the way the polls change every week can be stressful but the week to week drama is what makes college football great. Boise State fans should start drinking the Kool-Aid of Coach Petersen and take the season one week at a time.

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