Southern Idaho’s Arrogance Put On Display Once Again

Bazillionaire J.R. Simplot put a human face on “Boisecentricity” while ranting this week at Idaho legislators. “Boisecentricity” is Idaho’s version of Washington, D.C.’s “Inside the Beltway” mentality. It strikes legislators, state department heads and southern Idaho big shots such as Simplot. The afflicted believe the world begins and ends in Ada County. Ol’ J.R., the potato magnate, flashed his southern Idaho arrogance while blaming Idaho legislators for fumbling Micron’s expansion project. It wouldn’t have happened, he said, if Boise State University had the University of Idaho’s engineering school. In fact, added J.R., maybe we should move the UI school to Boise. And maybe North Idaho should secede from the part of our state that gave us a swell license-plate slogan we finally shook: “Famous Potatoes.”

Forget Junior - bring on the replacements

Gee, it’s tough to see Ken Griffey Jr., Jay Buhner and Jeff Nelson down on their luck. They recently traveled to Olympia, baseball caps in hand, to promote bills banning replacement players from playing in the Kingdome and forbidding the Seattle Mariners from advertising games played by replacements as “major-league baseball.” Said Griffey about baseball: “We play and care about it (sniff!), but it’s going to take more than us (sniff!) It’s about time people speak up (honk!)” Ok, Junior, I will. Why don’t you try to find another job that pays $31,000 daily? Sorry, bub, I’m for the replacements. They may be the Northwest’s only chance to land a championship pennant.

J.R. not only one with Daddy Warbucks complex

Leonard Rosen should take his son’s advice and chill out. Rosen? He’s a wealthy California businessman who’s threatening to sue the National Junior College Athletic Association unless son Matt wrestles in this weekend’s national championships. Matt, a North Idaho College wrestler, accidentally got cheated out of a point during a match at regionals and lost his chance to go to nationals. The elder Rosen told the other Coeur d’Alene paper: “I have an unlimited supply of money, and I will make it my life’s mission - my life’s mission - to get justice here.” Sounds like a sports dad run amok. Junior doesn’t want his pop interfering. The NIC wrestling program has suffered enough this year with the drinking-related death of one wrestler and the resulting expulsion of a defending national champion. Junior’s right.

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