Sports fodder for a Friday morning ... Hey, Wolf Pack football fans, we're here to let you in on a little secret. The national media and even the Western Athletic Conference, which has too much to lose, isn't going to tell you this. But here it is: The Boise State Broncos are beatable and vulnerable. Yes, that's right. The team that doesn't play anybody (according to ESPN) barely survived a decent but certainly not great Tulsa team Wednesday night. And that was after sleep-walking past mighty UC Davis. The Broncos' secondary gave up big plays to Tulsa. Their running backs, well, let's just say that there is no Ian Johnson or Brock Forsey in the Boise backfield this year. The Broncos, who already seem to be counting their BCS dollars, are the Titanic ready to be shredded by a silver and blue iceberg.
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That laughing you just heard came floating down from Smurf Turf Land. The Broncos have won nine in a row against the Pack. They've scored at least 38 points in all nine of those games. They've spanked Chris Ault six straight times. Except for a brief stretch in the 1990s, Boise has always dominated Nevada. The Broncos have a great defense, a great quarterback and a great coaching staff. It is going to be an amazing game on Nov. 27, maybe the best game in college football this year. No question. All we're saying is that the Pack is ready. It's time. David Neill and John Dutton are the last two Pack QBs to beat Boise. It's way past time.
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The Boise game, we understand, is still 42 days away. Are we forgetting the six Western Athletic Conference games the Pack has to play between now and Nov. 27? Well, kind of. Yes, weird things always happen in Logan, Utah. Idaho is better. Playing at San Jose State is never a treat. Fresno is always a chore. But if the Pack loses before Nov. 27 it will be a stunner. The beauty of an 0-3 start is that you never, ever take anyone lightly the rest of the season. Boise, don't forget, became Boise because it has repeatedly destroyed its WAC foes. If the Pack wants to grow up to be Boise, it must do the same.
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It's tough to get excited about the Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitching. But it's even tougher to like the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen. Dodgers in seven. You have to love the way the Los Angeles Angels play the game. Jorge Posada's right arm is already twitching. But the New York Yankees bought the World Series last winter. It's going to be a classic Dodgers-Yankees World Series.
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Can you imagine the NFL with Rush Limbaugh as an owner? Well, the NFL couldn't. This is the same league, don't forget, that already has Al Davis, Jerry Jones and Daniel Snider. But what was the NFL afraid of with Limbaugh? Did they think Limbaugh's team would feature an all-white, middle-aged, blue suit-wearing roster and an all-male cheerleading squad?
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I have to admit I was sort of intrigued by the idea of reading a daily stupid, embarrassing, did-you-hear-what-that-moron-said-yesterday quote from Limbaugh during the NFL season. My Al Davis stupid draft pick, ridiculous free agent signing or trade and dumb coaching hire calendar is getting a little boring. Today's entry, by the way, is Rickey Dudley, Larry Brown and Joe Bugel. Tomorrow features Todd Marinovich, Javon Walker and Art Shell. I can't wait for the Darrius Heyward-Bey, Randy Moss, Lane Kiffin page.
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The surviving members of the unbeaten 1972 Miami Dolphins always pop the champagne corks after the last unbeaten NFL team loses every season. Will the 2008 Detroit Lions do the same this year when the last winless team wins a game? Hey, a record is a record, folks. The Lions, though, might not hold their 0-16 record all alone for much longer. Rush's St. Louis Rams can barely score, let alone win a game. We'll see how seriously the Lions cherish their record when the two teams meet on Nov. 1. But, seriously, who are the Rams going to beat this year? No, they don't play UNLV.