Jackie from Jackson meant everything

Growing up, my family had a beautiful border collie.

I remember the day we picked her up in town. She was from Jackson, Mont. We named her Jackie. I can’t sufficiently put into words what she meant to our family. She was part of it. As she grew up, so did we.

From the start, Jackie worked her way into our hearts. She was loyal, loving and ferociously independent. She wasn’t just my dog but my brother’s, mom’s and dad’s. She had this unique way of spreading her attention to all of us. And since we lived on a ranch, Jackie wasn’t just a pet — she worked.

We moved cattle and she’d run for miles with her tongue wagging, herding strays, nipping heels and keeping order. Believe me, for a rancher there are few things more valuable than a good cattle dog. She was that.

Jackie was special because she was a constant, steadfast friend. We’d wrestle on the lawn, and she’d growl like I was a killer mountain lion. My mom would open the window from the kitchen and peek outside to make sure everything was OK. It was. Jackie knew we were playing, and she never bit too hard. I always won our lawn battles, but I like to imagine Jackie thought she was the hands-down winner, too.

When it came to games, though, the thing Jackie loved more than anything was her Frisbee. I guarantee your arm would fall off from throwing that plastic disc before she’d lie down in exhaustion. She obsessed over playing catch with that thing. Even the word Frisbee would rile her up.

Jackie was the smartest animal I’ve ever been around, so it’s never made sense to me why a plastic disc ensnared her attention so completely. We had to hide it from her or she’d carry it everywhere. To this day, I can’t see a Frisbee and not think of her.

It’s not fair to call Jackie a pet. In a family of Frankos, she was a Franko. We raised her and she helped raise two boys. Jackie walked everywhere we walked, whether it was down to Grandma’s house, out to the river or into the bushes.

When we were older and riding motorcycles, she ran with us. Picture a childhood of bumping along a dirt road on a Honda 90. Right there next to you is a border collie, tongue wagging. Jackie was just a constant in our lives. Go and move handline and she’d tag along. Leave to rake hay and she’d want to go. My brother would spend hours and hours in a tractor and swather in the summer. Jackie would ride along.

She watched us leave for college, and I hope, at least until she was gone, Jackie made sure the house never seemed too quiet for mom and dad, even though we weren’t around anymore.

The day I found out Jackie had passed, I was walking around Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Mont. Let’s make one thing clear. I am not a Grizzly. I didn’t have one item of maroon gear on me. It was early December, the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs and the Grizzlies were hosting Weber State, back when the Wildcats had Cameron Higgins throwing for 4,500 yards and 36 touchdowns. Earlier that season, Weber had handed Montana its only loss of the year, a 45-28 beat down.

Who in their right mind doesn’t want to see that rematch?

I had never been to a game at Montana, the premiere FCS football venue in the country. As I was trudging around in a sea of maroon and overalls, my mom called with the news. The call itself wasn’t surprising. Jackie had been an old dog.

I thought of her today for the first time in some time. I had been thinking about football. And then Jackie popped into my mind, and I’m flooded with memories.

Funny how life and sports come together. Jackie loved her Frisbee, but she’d play catch with tennis balls, beach balls or footballs. Just as long as she was doing it with her boys.

Idaho State vs. Idaho postgame blog

Idaho State 2, Idaho 0

For a full game recap, click here.

Star of the game: Team chemistry. Winning is fun, and the 2-0 Bengals are having a blast right now. But two games into the regular season and it’s clear the 24 players on coach Allison Gibson’s roster like each other, regardless if they’re winning or not.

Even this past summer, Gibson stressed the importance of welcoming the new freshmen recruits, saying she doesn’t allow hazing on her team.

Allyson Stainbrook, one of the six Idaho State seniors, said, “ Our seniors leaving last year, they were really strong. ... They helped with our overall team connection. The team chemistry is everything. We may not be the best team all the time, but we work the hardest. I think that helps a lot.”

Second star: Amanda Ellsworth. Through two games, the junior has two goals and an assist. She’s stellar around the goal. But she’s a hero of the game because of her leadership.

Gibson says Ellsworth has taken Jessica Sanchez under her wing, and that’s making all the difference for the talented freshman from Silverdale, Wash., who scored her first career goal against the Vandals.

ZERO of the game: The refs. I’m not one to call out referees. I truly believe they do everything they can to call a game fairly and professionally.

But the second half between the Bengals and Vandals got out of hand. Both teams were taking pot shots at one another after plays were dead. ISU fans will point to the Idaho players as the instigators — and to an extent that’s right — but the Bengals got their shots in.

It took too long for the head referee to grab control of the situation, putting players from both sides in danger.

On another note, Sanchez, along with her first goal, picked up her first yellow card. She had a couple funny comments to say about it afterwards.

“I’m not a mean person so that’s really not me,” she said. “But to have one in the belt intimidates a couple of people, I guess.

“She was pulling my jersey and then afterward I kind of retaliated and pushed her off me. That was the foul. He (the referee) was saying, ‘12!’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, go get ’em!’ But then he was talking to me and that was embarrassing.”

Bengals set to welcome Vandals to Pocatello

Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal

Idaho State emerged drenched, soaked and bruised, but the Bengals were 1-0. It all felt worth it.

A day removed from escaping Davis Field with a 2-1 overtime victory over Boise State, ISU hosts the Idaho Vandals today at noon.

Friday afternoon, the Bengals and Broncos began just as the copious amounts of rain started to fizzle out, but the storm that saturated the greater Pocatello-Chubbuck area with 2.5 to 4 inches of moisture left Davis Field flooded.

Both squads slogged their way through the muck, and the Big Sky preseason co-favorites eventually outlasted the physical Broncos in extra time after Amanda Ellsworth banged home her seventh game-winning goal as a Bengal and the 17th overall goal of her career.

“It felt good,” Ellsworth said. “It felt like I was getting back on the bicycle (and) riding again.”

After exhibition contests against former alumni, a junior college club team from Salt Lake Community College and the College of Idaho, Boise State provided ISU its first real test of the season.

In some spots, the Bengals excelled.

There was perseverance. ISU fought through a 55-minute weather delay. Junior Madeline Gochnour curled in as pretty of a goal as possible from 30 yards out, but Boise State quickly erased any momentum with a goal of its own.

There were heroes, too. The two goal scorers, of course. But give some credit to Zaessja Madamba. Off the bench, the 5-foot-4 freshman was the one who grabbed the throw-in from the sideline and passed it back into the box where Ellsworth did the rest.

And in a game where Boise State left with an 18-7 shot advantage, senior defender Allyson Stainbrook and sophomore goalkeeper Sheridan Hapsic both did just enough to fend off the Broncos’ attack.

But as good individually as Stainbrook and Hapsic were, BSU exposed some communication and execution problems between the Bengals backline and midfield.

“Our midfield struggled tremendously in the first half and parts of the second half,” Gibson said.

Gibson did, however, approve of how her players adjusted as the match progressed.

“Overall, it was just the organization of our defensive line and the pressure in front of them,” Gibson said. “When it’s not good, they have to drop. When it’s good, they have to step, and they were kind of off on their timing a little bit.”

So there are some kinks in the system to still work out. Idaho provides the next opportunity.

The Vandals arrive in Pocatello off a 3-0 loss to Weber State in Ogden Friday. The Wildcats scattered 27 shots and held Idaho to two shots on goal.

“We knew we would take some lumps and bumps early on, playing some tough games and we found that out today,” said Idaho head coach Pete Showler in an Idaho Athletic Media Relations release. “We will learn from our mistakes and move on.”

The Vandals, picked to finish second in the Western Athletic Conference preseason poll, started six freshmen.

ISU assistant Stephanie Beall was an assistant at Idaho for two years before coming to Pocatello in 2010. Gibson says they will lean on her knowledge of the Vandals’ system.

“We’ll rely heavily on her to kind of give us a bit of a scouting report,” Gibson said. “... They always play a very possession-oriented game. (Showler is) another English coach, so it’s kind of that English style of soccer that we can always anticipate.”

Notes: Idaho leads the all-times series with ISU with six wins, five losses and three ties. ... Under Gibson, the Bengals are 3-4 versus the Vandals. ... The last time Bengal soccer beat both the Broncos and Vandals in the same season was 2007.

Idaho State vs. Boise State post-game blog

Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal

Idaho State 2, Boise State 1, OT

For a full game recap, click here.

Star of the game: Allyson Stainbrook. The senior defender dominated. Her influence on the pitch helped ISU stave off a Broncos side that had 11 more shots and three more corner kicks. After the game, Idaho State coach Allison Gibson said, “The kid is such a true competitor and such a great leader — and the perfect captain. She’s developed that level of respect with her teammates that she can say and ask anything of them or demand anything of them and they have to respond.

“Because she, literally day in and day out, proves herself on the field. To me, that’s the big reason she is the captain. And that’s the easy way to look at leadership.”

Second star: Bengals starting goalkeeper, Sheridan Hapsic. Hapsic finished with seven saves, and several were highlight worthy.

After Hapsic finished last season as the MVP of the Big Sky Conference tournament, it seemed like she’d have firm control of the position this year. But with redshirt-junior Carly Maloney and junior Maria Deal Cruz on the Bengals roster, too, Gibson kept the goalkeeping position wide open in fall camp.

Against the Broncos, Hapsic showed why she’s ISU’s best keeper.

“It’s her position to lose,” Gibson said, though, she did add that each of the three GKs will play during the preseason. In case Hapsic goes down with an injury (cue knocking on wood, Bengal fans), Gibson wants Maloney or Dela Cruz ready, especially once conference play begins.

Third star: Any ISU fans who remained to watch Amanda Ellsworth bang home the game-winning goal in sudden-death OT after a 55-minute weather delay.

A 90-minute soccer game took three hours, and rather than the scorching 98 degree days Pocatello has had the past month it was rather cool and wet. So, solid effort crazy Bengal fans. (And it doesn’t hurt that those who did stay watched an awesome finish.)

Bengals host Boise State in season opener

Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal

The Governor’s Cup is caput, nada, thrown away like a day-old newspaper.

Boise State and Idaho are visiting Pocatello, but the Cup — an annual event that crowned the top soccer team in the state as either a Vandal, Bronco or Bengal since 1998 — is not at stake.

So when Idaho State plays Boise State today at Davis Field starting at 4 p.m. it’s just another game.

But there are some reasons why it’s more than that. The Bengals would love to avenge last season’s 3-2 loss in Boise, and considering how the all-time series between ISU and BSU is deadlocked at 7-7-1, the winner of this afternoon’s match will move in front.

Neither squad has played an official game this year. Idaho State shook the cobwebs off last Tuesday, throttling the College of Idaho to the tune of 9-0. Let’s presume neither one wants to begin this season in a hole at 0-1.

And even though the Cup has been shelved, it doesn’t mean a win today for either squad won’t affect recruiting Idaho’s in-state talent.

Plus, one of Idaho State’s starting 11 is a Boise State transfer. As recently as a few months ago, Whitney Peterson called herself a Bronco.

If those reasons don’t suffice to convince anyone that ISU vs. Boise State is more than just another game — sans Governor’s Cup — perhaps Idaho State coach Allison Gibson can.

“We definitely want to be the top school in Idaho,” Gibson said, after Tuesday’s exhibition shellacking. “I think winning these games gives us that right. The bragging rights if nothing else.”

Following Tuesday’s game, where the Bengals scored more goals than they had in the first two exhibition contests combined, Idaho State looked ready for another level of competition.

Gibson constantly preaches that everything the Bengals do in fall camp and the preseason is about preparing for the conference slate.

Boise State and Idaho both provide real tests for ISU to judge its progress up to this point of the season. And the Broncos — under first-year head coach Jim Thomas — will challenge Idaho State’s defense like no other opponent has in 2013.

“It’s going to be interesting. We played them in the spring under their new head coach, and they had a lot of mobility in their front line and their midfielders,” Gibson said. “... It’ll be more of a challenge for our defense to try and keep things straight and organized in front of them as there’s this ensuing chaos of runs.”

The Mountain West Conference tabbed Boise State fifth in its preseason poll, but the Broncos return nine starters from a team that finished second in the Mountain West last season, including leading goal scorer junior Shannon Schueren.

Schueren scored or assisted on all three of BSU’s goals in the matchup one year ago. And as a freshman, the Bothell, Wash., native scored a goal off the bench to help the Broncos knock off ISU 2-0.

“There’s a lot of fun angles to (the game), but I think at the end of the day it’ll be a great opportunity to see where we’re at,” Gibson said. “And I think that’s the most important thing. Of course, we want to be the dominant school in Idaho.”

Notes: Peterson, the Boise State transfer, said facing her former teammates will be interesting. “They’re still my friends, but when I line up on the field they’re still my opponents,” she said. “I’ll be ready to go.”

The less glorious side of coaching

Good grief, am I glad I don’t coach. Coaches have it rough like a kite searching for a strong breeze on a serene afternoon.

On a daily basis they have to deal with preseason paperwork before anyone can play. How easy do you think it is to gather signed forms that are completely filled out from say 15 cross country runners or 50 football players?

“Hey, son, is that bottom line signed? Did you put down the date? What about this line up here, don’t forget that.”

And let’s see, coaches have the illustrious duty of doling out equipment, and that’s a nightmare, especially in football.

“Helmets, check. Shoulder pads, check. Hold on, that helmet is too big and this one needs more air and that one is missing the cushion that goes around the ear. OK, helmets, check. Shoulder pads, well, hey, we might move him to linebacker this year so make sure No. 56 grabs some of the bigger shoulder pads.

“Wait, No. 13 and No. 15 are fighting over who gets the No. 1 jersey? Which one should get it? I don’t care. Conditioning drills start in an hour. I don’t have time to worry about a number.”

But of course they eventually do.   

Sure, a head coach can hand off duties like figuring out which cornerback needs a chin strap or where somebody lost their shin guards, but the train isn’t moving until everything is set.

And by train, I mean practice, you know just that place where games are won (and lost). Where one team gets better and another only shuffles its feet for two hours. Want to know who’s going to have a good football team or which soccer program is the best? Attend a practice. Watch the kids work, how the coaches interact with the players and compare how Program A utilizes its time versus Program B.

Oh wait, the new No. 1, the guy coach slotted into the starring role of the offense can’t practice today because he forgot his paperwork. Shoot, he was only concerned with nabbing that No. 1 jersey.

Idaho high school coaches, how do you do it? How do you balance the day job with coaching? How do you find the time to meet with assistants to discuss if that promising sophomore is indeed that promising but still develop a practice plan, gather all that darn paperwork, fix the practice equipment, find your whistle, talk to the media, eat and sleep?

And, coaches, if you’re thinking to yourselves, “Yeah, he’s right. I am busy. If I could just eliminate some of the fluff like talking to the media my life would be way easier,” forget about it.

If only because the preseason is the best time to talk to coaches. Silly media polls are coming out soon, everybody’s win-loss records are dead even and the future is limitless. Talking to coaches in the preseason is the best.

Because before the action starts, preseason possibilities feel so good.

Team didn’t win a game the year before? So what, 2013 is a new day.

Suffer a terribly excruciating, eye-gougingly painful loss to a bitter rival one year ago? So what, 2013 is a new day.

Lose every single good player on the team from a year ago except No. 1, and that guy can’t even remember his paperwork? So what, 2013 is a new day.

2013 is the season Team A continues its legacy as the best squad in Idaho.

2013 is the season when Team B reverses its fortunes of the past — fortunes that consistently dictated losing seasons — and has a year to remember.

2013 is the season Team C avoids having to rebuild with a small senior class and reloads with a pack of unproven but capable juniors.

2013 is the season Team D finds a way to overcome its greatest weakness and achieve the ultimate goal that’s always just evaded its grasp.

And 2013 is the season every single coach and player ends the year as undefeated champions on top of the universe (or at least Idaho).

Oh, and 2013 is the season I’ll stop misspelling names, screwing up statistics and ruining leads. I think we can all root for that.

So here’s to the 2013 high school preseason, where enthusiasm runs unchecked, dreams remain alive, injuries are non-existent and win-loss records stand untarnished.

Better yet, here’s to the 2013 season that’s literally at our doorstep. The time when those dreams are shattered except for the lucky few, injuries destroy seasons and records rarely turn out as hoped.

And here’s to the coaches who guide their teams through it.

ISU basketball releases 2013-14 schedule

There’s no place like home it’s said, but the Idaho State men’s basketball team better feel comfortable away from Pocatello.

For the second season, coach Bill Evans and the Bengals play a road-heavy schedule. This year it’s loaded with three Pac-12 programs and one in-state foe.

ISU travels to Arizona State (Nov. 15), Utah (Dec. 10) and Washington (Dec. 14). Those are three of the Bengals’ nine non-conference dates.

Other games include San Fancisco (Nov. 18), Cal State Bakersfield (Nov. 23) and Idaho in Boise at Century Link Arena Dec. 20.

“Everything is predicated on how well we do in our league, and I hope that our preseason schedule will help prepare us for league play,” Evans said.

Unlike a season ago when the Bengals finished 6-24 overall and 5-15 in the Big Sky, Idaho State does have two more home games slated before starting conference play.

“That’s a bonus. It’s a hard schedule, like a lot of other guys at this level,” Evans said. “... We’re just grateful we have a couple more home games than we had last year. We’re excited about the schedule and the opportunity it presents itself.”

Playing at home is big. In 2012-13, ISU entered the Big Sky 1-7 and played one game at Holt Arena in 54 days.

The schedule released by Idaho State Monday has the Bengals hosting Evergreen State College Nov. 9. Evergreen’s president is Les Purce, a former Pocatello city councilman and mayor.

And after a three-game road trip, Carroll College visits Pocatello Dec. 6, and then the Bengals welcome Cal State Bakersfield Dec. 28 before commencing Big Sky action against Portland State and Eastern Washington at home.

“I’m excited about our schedule,” Evans said. “... We have more depth. We’re a little more athletic. We’ve got a little more size. So hopefully that’ll equate to more wins.”

Idaho State men's basketball 2013-14 schedule

11/4/2013    7:05 p.m.        vs. Dickinson State (Exhibition)
11/9/2013    8:00 p.m.        vs. Evergreen State
11/15/2013  TBA               at Arizona State University
11/18/2013  8:00 p.m. (MST)    at University of San Francisco
11/23/2013  TBA               at CSU Bakersfield
12/6/2013    7:05 p.m.        vs. Carroll College (Mont.)
12/10/2013  TBA               at University of Utah
12/14/2013  TBA               at University of Washington
12/20/2013  TBA               at University of Idaho
12/28/2013  7:05 p.m.        vs. CSU Bakersfield
1/2/2014     7:05 p.m.         vs. Portland State University
1/4/2014     7:05 p.m.         vs. Eastern Washington University
1/9/2014      TBA               at University of North Dakota
1/11/2014    TBA               at University of Northern Colorado
1/16/2014    7:05 p.m.        vs. Southern Utah University
 1/20/2014    TBA               at Weber State University
1/23/2014    7:05 p.m.        vs. University of Montana
1/25/2014    7:05 p.m.        vs. Montana State University
1/30/2014    TBA               at Sacramento State
2/1/2014      TBA               at Northern Arizona University
2/6/2014      7:05 p.m.        vs. University of Northern Colorado
2/8/2014      7:05 p.m.        vs. University of North Dakota
2/15/2014    5:05 p.m.        at Southern Utah University
2/17/2014    7:05 p.m.        vs. Weber State University
 2/20/2014    TBA               at Montana State University
2/22/2014    TBA               at University of Montana
2/27/2014    7:05 p.m.        vs. Northern Arizona University
3/1/2014     7:05 p.m.         vs. Sacramento State
3/6/2014      TBA               at Eastern Washington University
3/8/2014      TBA               at Portland State University

I’ll never forget the importance of a coach

My memory is terrible. Really, it’s awful. Sometimes I think it’s pointless for people to introduce themselves to me. Because whether their name is Dave, John, Ryan, Diane, Jennifer or whatever, I’m going to immediately forget.

It’s not that I don’t want to soak in Ryan’s name, so the next time I run into him at Albertsons I can yell, “Ryan, man, how you doin?” No, it’s just that my memory is as useful as wind in outdoor basketball games.

Just ask my brother how awful my memory is. His mind is like a vice. He can remember exact details from our childhood, like what happened Aug. 16, 1994. (I, however, have no idea what happened Aug. 16, 1994, you’ll have to ask him.)

But I’ll tell you what my severely-limited brain can remember — every coach I’ve ever had.

I remember my first basketball coach. He was a cowboy with teeth stained from years of chewing tobacco. He wore a black, dirty cowboy hat and boots, even while coaching.

My first basketball coach, the cowboy, was great for a third-grader, despite what we all might assume cowboys know about basketball. He pushed me. He believed in me. He wasn’t afraid of piling on responsibility before I was ready. Looking back at that roster, the cowboy’s choices were limited, but he hooked me on the game.

The first high school coach I had was sort of a jerk. He was ornery. We stunk, and he liked losing about as much as Bill Belichick enjoys the media or shirts with sleeves. But notice that I’m not saying my first high school coach was bad. I’m glad we ran sprints until my legs died, and I hope his dissatisfaction with poor effort and even worst results rubbed off on me.

My first high school coach endured a losing season, and this was a high school basketball program that didn’t accept losing. At halftime, he’d body check lockers in an effort to show us what real boxing out resembled. He’d yell about careless turnovers or lackadaisical effort until his face resembled the color of a Braeburn apple.

We were freshman slogging through a losing season. One that no one remembers but the guys on that team. He never gave up on us, though, and I have to commend him for that.

You know, it’s amazing how little I remember the games from that freshman season. I mean, I’ve probably suppressed them — if only for my own sanity. But I remember my first high school coach — vividly.

I can still hear his voice boom instructions that echoed to the four corners of the gym. I remember his favorite drill and how we’d consistently blunder a defensive rotation. He’d yell, cajole and encourage from the sideline. And we improved.

The freshmen team that lost most of its games was better when the season ended than when it began. I moved away from that town, but the guys on that squad weren’t half bad by the time they were seniors. My first high school coach had a hand in that. I know I’m a better person for having played under him. My inconsistent mind remembers that.

I wish my forgetful mind didn’t remember all my coaches. I recall the good ones, but I’ve retained everything from the bad ones just as well. I’m convinced the good ones had something that rubbed off on me. I’m afraid the bad ones did too.

You see, my varsity high school coach was a crock. He didn’t know basketball, and he certainly didn’t know how to coach. He couldn’t communicate or organize practices. He didn’t demand high effort and never forced us to execute.

Practice makes perfect and we were a perfect joke in games.

I’ve shunned my high school basketball days, post freshman year, because my varsity high school coach was a walking mess. I don’t want to remember, but I can’t forget.

Those memories flooded to the forefront of my brain after reading a letter-to-the-editor in last Saturday’s paper. Tamara Forrest wrote in encouraging parents to be wary for the signs of a bad coach. Tamara wrote, “There are still way too many coaches in this country who are failing to teach and model ethical behavior.”

She goes on to list some behaviors of both poor and good coaches. They’re spot on. It occurred to me that with fall sports kicking off in a couple weeks — 16 days and counting until high school football — it’s time to step back and really think about what we all expect of a coach.

They’re charged with an athlete’s well-being and development, yet asked to push those players beyond their limits. Coaches are role models, but they have to yell occasionally and correct and enforce discipline. They must encourage fair play and honesty, but coaches tell a middle linebacker that when the opposing running back is powering through the B gap, he’d better lay him out — an act that’s pure brutality anywhere else but on the field of play.

Coaches have difficult jobs, and their pay never offsets the time and effort required to do a good job (I’m not referring to either college or professional levels).

But a coach’s influence can span years, decades even. Athletes never forget their influence, either good or bad. I guarantee it.

The dominant headlines in sports — they’re exhausting

It’s Thursday, and I’m exhausted.

Johnny Manziel, a guy I’ve defended for three months even though it seemed obvious the 20-year-old Texas A&M Heisman-winning quarterback was overwhelmed with his celebrity status, is on the precipice of missing a large chunk (if not all) of the 2013 season because he may have accepted payments for signing autographs. We’re 38 days away from Johnny Football versus Nick Saban, but it might never happen.

On its own, I can handle the Johnny Manziel storyline. He’s not the sole reason it’s the middle of the week in August and I’m worn out.

I’m tired because anyone who wishes death to the NCAA and its garbled system of rules will contort Manziel’s story to bolster their own opinions on how student-athletes are poor, overworked and taken advantage of (they’re not).

I’m beat because Johnny Football is fading fast, and he’s doing it at the same time as Alex Rodriguez is fighting a 211-game suspension for his relationship with Biogenesis, a shady clinic in South Florida that doled out performance enhancing drugs like Santa delivers presents on Christmas Eve.

Rodriguez’s lengthy suspension is one aimed at kicking him out of the game on a permanent basis. Baseball wants a guy with 647 career home runs and a bloated 10-year, $275 million contract to vanish. Rodriguez will fight despite the fact that 13 other players accepted their suspensions, including the Milwaukee Brewers’ Ryan Braun. He’ll fight because he wants the $95 million or so the Yankees still owe him. I just want him gone. The never-ending Rodriguez drama wears me out. It’s August. The baseball playoffs are taking shape, but all of it’s overshadowed by Rodriguez’s refusal to slink away to retirement.

Here’s the thing, though. I’ll deal with PEDs in baseball and a star college athlete violating NCAA rules. I can put up with both stories at the same time. But then Riley Cooper and the video where he uses a racial remark hits the Internet. Suddenly, Cooper’s drunken escapade eclipses the questions regarding the Philadelphia Eagles’ new coach, Chip Kelly, and whether his hyper-offensive system can succeed in the NFC East like it did in the Pac-12 North.

The NFL preseason is upon us, but I’m drowning in how the career of a 25-year-old receiver with 46 career receptions survives this public relations mess. I’d rather spend time guessing how Tony Romo will completely fail to fulfill the expectations associated with his new $108 million deal.

And if I’m going to mention off-season happenings, it’s hard to not bring up Aaron Hernandez and the murder charges.

Since LeBron James and the Miami Heat held off the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, it’s been a summer of negative stories, one right after the other — seemingly on repeat.

I’ve followed all of them, and I’m drained. Football, basketball, baseball, sports, none of the storylines should sound like bad television dramas that never made it to air. I’m ready for football games to start, if for no other reason than they might distract from the summer of depressing headlines.

Building a winner — Reshaping the last-place Bengals one recruiting class at a time

Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal

 The cellar of the Big Sky standings is a miserable, ugly and lonely place.

That’s where ISU men’s basketball sits. The Bengals have company — that would be the companionship of the Portland State Vikings, who also finished with a 5-15 conference record in 2012-13 — but, really, that’s not the kind of buddy anyone at Idaho State wants to associate with.

Clearly the best place to reside is at the top of the Big Sky, a place taken over by Weber State and Montana. Those two programs have won 71 and 67 Big Sky contests the previous five seasons, respectively. In contrast, ISU has 29 conference victories to its credit in that time span.

It’s not like the Bengal players have to ask for advice from anyone at Weber or Montana about how much better playing in front of packed gyms during the Big Sky conference tournament is.

No one on the Bengals’ roster even has to leave campus to find Big Sky champions. ISU’s soccer, women’s basketball, volleyball and softball teams all have some experience in that realm.

And their head coach, Bill Evans, an assistant at Montana for four seasons before coming to Idaho State, was part of two Big Sky title teams (2009-10 and 2011-12).

Evans arrived in Missoula after spending 15 years as the head coach at Southern Utah, accumulating 209 wins, the most in school history.   

“I loved my time at Southern Utah, but I think I learned a lot at Montana,” Evans said. “(Montana head coach Wayne) Tinkle gave me an opportunity to step away a little bit from some things, so I got more involved in others.”

At Montana, Evans saw the game from a different perspective. Now, in Pocatello, he’s been handed a rehabilitation project. But that’s a good thing, because Evans says he loves recruiting and developing players.

Evans wakes up in the morning with a smile on his face.

“If you don’t enjoy the process, you oughta do something else,” he said.

Part of the process has been formulating a 2013 recruiting class that can continue remaking the Bengals in Evans’ own vision.

Nnamdi Ezenwa, a senior who played in all 30 games a year ago, will redshirt this year, and Ayibakuro Preh broke his foot working out early in the summer. Preh is expected back by the start of camp, but his foot has been in a boot, limiting his off-season workouts.

Camp does not start until Sept. 27, but even now Evans projects at least two new starters. Either one of those could come from the group of five junior college transfers and three incoming freshmen.

In Evans’ eyes, ISU addressed three areas with the class. The first was depth. And with players like 6-foot-7 Marcus Bradley and 6-foot-11 Ajak Magot, the Bengals have boosted their size and athleticism.

In the backcourt, junior Chris Hansen and senior Tomas Sanchez — ISU’s two top returning scorers — seem like sure locks to start in 2013. And Evans says 6-foot-4 senior Andre Hatchett will move from the four position where he played a year ago to the two this season.

Offensively, the move is minimal for Hatchett as Evans’ system is predicated on spacing the perimeter, but on defense Hatchett’s days of guarding powerful, tall forwards is largely behind him.

Evans could start a lineup that’s 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 and 6-11.

More than anything, the size and the roster depth should help what was Idaho State’s greatest weakness — rebounding.

The Bengals were dead last in rebounding margin in the Big Sky a year ago. Evans’ plan to fix the issue was pretty simple.

“Somebody told me a long time ago, if you want somebody who rebounds, recruit somebody who rebounds,” Evans said.

But it is early, and no plan is concrete. In year two, Evans, his players, Idaho State and Bengal fans want to bury the past and make a move for the postseason tournament. That means a wide-open competition as summer begins to fade.

“They all have a chance to start for us,” Evans said. “I’m going to start the team that’s best for us, not necessarily the best players.”