Ok... not really.
The Idaho State basketball team announces a few changes to its 2008-09 schedule on Wednesday, two of which involve bumping the final two home games of the season into the tiny confines of Reed Gym, and out of the Mummy's Tomb-like environment of Holt Arena. The reason is the Idaho High School Activities Association's state wrestling tournament is that weekend, and if you've ever been to that, you know it's fitting into Reed Gym about the same time a sumo wrestler fits into a Geo Metro. Check out the official Idaho State release here.
A lot of Idaho State people are upset by this. During the Doug Oliver era, the team played all its home games in Reed Gym. That was ok, because the team wasn't good enough to draw crowds large enough to fill 3,000-seat Reed Gym, much less Holt Arena. Joe O'Brien took over three years ago and one of his first decisions was to move the team back in the Minidome, and he's been able to bring out teams capable of filling it. So it's a safe bet Joe O'Brien isn't a happy camper. Kellis Robinett, the Idaho State Journal's ISU basketball beatwriter, certainly isn't happy. You can read Kellis' opinions here.
Let me tell you why I think this is not just a good thing, but a great thing. I go to Idaho State, I work at Idaho State, I'm an avid supporter of all things ISU sports, and there are few people in the Western Hemisphere that would be happier than Mitch Worthington if those last two games, against perennial power Northern Arizona and perennial not-such-a-power Sacramento State, actually meant something. Way more than Reed's capacity of 3,000 people will want to come to those games.
However, high school sports make up the backbone we build our communities on, and on this side of the state, wrestling is more popular than high school basketball, and it takes a close second to high school football. Having covered more than a couple of these tournaments, both in Holt Arena and at Nampa's Idaho Center, I can almost guarantee the state wrestling tournament will bring in more fans than any basketball game that didn't feature the Bengals hosting Duke or UCLA. As stated in the release in a quote by ISU AD Jeff Tingey, the local hotels and restaurants -- most of whom pony up sponsorship dollars for ISU athletics every season, knowing a majority of the programs will finish in the lower half of the Big Sky Conference and have a hard time attracting crowds -- make huge dollars off this tournament. The amount of money they'll make off this is much, much larger than anything it would pull from a ISU regular-season basketball game, and I'd use "much" seven more times if it wouldn't look completely asinine.
A college is not just supposed to be part of the community, and sometimes, the cornerstone of the community, but it's supposed to give back to the community. Would the Idaho State basketball players, especially senior and Pocatello native Matt Stucki prefer to play what might his final home game in Holt Arena? Sure. But that would force the wrestling tournament over to Nampa, and not only would take tens of thousands of dollars out of the local economy, it would also make the IHSAA think twice about bringing the tournament to Pocatello in the future.
Good for Idaho State making the right decision.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Who are you, and what have you done with eastern Idaho high school football
Ok, yeah. I moved to Texas for a year. I chased the money and better football, where Division I-A recruits get a yawn and a shoulder shrug because they're a dime a dozen instead of continuous front page coverage because they're the once-in-a-lifetime kid. I admit it -- that was me.
But that didn't give everyone else in eastern Idaho the right to send the high school football scene straight to hell in a handbasket while I was gone.
Mitch Buck is at Bonneville? What? Who's running things in Rexburg (and from the looks of things, he is _running_ things, which is something 'ol Mitch never cared much for)? Hillcrest has a coach from California? Someone from California was willing to coach Hillcrest? Wait...... Hillcrest won a game? AGAINST A 5A STATE SEMIFINALIST?
What have you people done? When I left this happy hardly known state a little over a year ago, I left things very well in hand. Highland would make the state championship game every year. If a team from eastern Idaho won the 4A championship, it would Tom Harrison and Pocatello. Ditto for 2A and Firth.
In the one year I was gone, Highland lost in the first-round to a team in its own district. Not only was this a team Highland had beaten already, not just in the regular season but also in a Kansas City playoff, but it was a team from Idaho Falls. Highland sees teams from Idaho Falls on its playoff schedule and immediately starts reserving hotel rooms for the next round.
A team from eastern Idaho won the 4A title, sure, but it wasn't Poky. It was Blackfoot, who apparently finally realized that just because it's Poky doesn't mean you can't win. All you have to do is get out of the Dome and away from the Fifth District officials who love to make some interesting calls in favor of District 25 teams in the waning moments of tight playoff games. Anyone remember the Century/Blackfoot debacle from 2003?
And Firth... everyone wanted to run Bill Vasas out of town on a rail, even after winning two state championships, but here's one thing he never did -- lose to West Jefferson. Not that that's a bad thing -- WJ went on to beat.. someone.. for the 2A state championship. Sorry to say it, northern and western Idaho people, but down here in eastern-ville, the 2A squads don't really know who they beat in the actual state championship game. They just know who they had to go through in Districts 4, 5 and 6 to get there. Just make the title game, and winning it is usually a foregone conclusion.
At least Shelley kept things normal. It was an odd year on the calendar, so of course, Shelley won the 3A state title. Snake River, Fruitland, the IHSAA... doesn't matter who lines up against the Russets. If the year ends with 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9, Shelley will win the state championship. Which, unfortunately, bodes not all that well for Shelley this year.
Anyway, I'm home now. No more 18,000 fans at high school football games. No more dealing with TV crews at high school games (unless you're talking about this weekend's Rocky Mountain Rumble at Holt Arena, which could end up being four nationally-televised butt-whippings on Idaho teams by four middle-of-the-road California teams). No more 20 or 25 Division I-A recruits to worry about every year, and no more mythical USA Today national rankings to trifle with.
Just Friday night Idaho football. Hopefully, things will get back to normal around here.
But that didn't give everyone else in eastern Idaho the right to send the high school football scene straight to hell in a handbasket while I was gone.
Mitch Buck is at Bonneville? What? Who's running things in Rexburg (and from the looks of things, he is _running_ things, which is something 'ol Mitch never cared much for)? Hillcrest has a coach from California? Someone from California was willing to coach Hillcrest? Wait...... Hillcrest won a game? AGAINST A 5A STATE SEMIFINALIST?
What have you people done? When I left this happy hardly known state a little over a year ago, I left things very well in hand. Highland would make the state championship game every year. If a team from eastern Idaho won the 4A championship, it would Tom Harrison and Pocatello. Ditto for 2A and Firth.
In the one year I was gone, Highland lost in the first-round to a team in its own district. Not only was this a team Highland had beaten already, not just in the regular season but also in a Kansas City playoff, but it was a team from Idaho Falls. Highland sees teams from Idaho Falls on its playoff schedule and immediately starts reserving hotel rooms for the next round.
A team from eastern Idaho won the 4A title, sure, but it wasn't Poky. It was Blackfoot, who apparently finally realized that just because it's Poky doesn't mean you can't win. All you have to do is get out of the Dome and away from the Fifth District officials who love to make some interesting calls in favor of District 25 teams in the waning moments of tight playoff games. Anyone remember the Century/Blackfoot debacle from 2003?
And Firth... everyone wanted to run Bill Vasas out of town on a rail, even after winning two state championships, but here's one thing he never did -- lose to West Jefferson. Not that that's a bad thing -- WJ went on to beat.. someone.. for the 2A state championship. Sorry to say it, northern and western Idaho people, but down here in eastern-ville, the 2A squads don't really know who they beat in the actual state championship game. They just know who they had to go through in Districts 4, 5 and 6 to get there. Just make the title game, and winning it is usually a foregone conclusion.
At least Shelley kept things normal. It was an odd year on the calendar, so of course, Shelley won the 3A state title. Snake River, Fruitland, the IHSAA... doesn't matter who lines up against the Russets. If the year ends with 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9, Shelley will win the state championship. Which, unfortunately, bodes not all that well for Shelley this year.
Anyway, I'm home now. No more 18,000 fans at high school football games. No more dealing with TV crews at high school games (unless you're talking about this weekend's Rocky Mountain Rumble at Holt Arena, which could end up being four nationally-televised butt-whippings on Idaho teams by four middle-of-the-road California teams). No more 20 or 25 Division I-A recruits to worry about every year, and no more mythical USA Today national rankings to trifle with.
Just Friday night Idaho football. Hopefully, things will get back to normal around here.
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