Sports in brief: Akey says base tour humbling

Football: University of Idaho’s Robb Akey (above, left), who is one of five college football coaches on a tour of military bases in the Middle East, relayed these thoughts back home:

•“I will say that this has been a very humbling experience and we have a great group of young people over here putting their lives on the line every day,” Akey said. “It is amazing to me how excited they have been to visit with us. While we are thanking them for fighting for us, they are thanking us for being here.”

•“Things have heated up over here in the past few days, which have been pretty tense, to say the least. But it seems that having a piece of “back home” over here enables them a distraction for a moment and they do light up when they talk about home. We have some good Vandal fans over here and I think we have gained some new ones.”

•“After another flight, we visited a hospital and that was a very humbling experience as well. We met some there who had been injured in firefights or by IEDs. Had a fantastic conversation with a special forces member who had been injured in a firefight and I will tell you, he is one tough son of a gun. He was injured while searching for an MIA. The doctors, nurses, surgeons and support people at the hospital are another pretty special crew. ‘Thank you’ meant a great deal to them today as well.”

Two arrested Pioneers won’t play Shock

Football: Two days before No. 2 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton takes on No. 1 Spokane in an af2 showdown, two Pioneers players were arrested Thursday in the aftermath of a bar fight in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.,

Pioneers coach Rich Ingold confirmed that defensive lineman Justin Parrish and fullback/linebacker Jason Acquaye have been suspended and won’t make the trip to Spokane. Parrish is one of the best defensive players in af2 with 11 sacks and would probably be MVP of the defense if the team had a vote, Ingold said.

Jim Meehan

McNair made teen suicide prevention PSA

FOOTBALL: Tennessee state officials say they had been preparing a youth suicide prevention public service announcement for television featuring former NFL quarterback Steve McNair before he was shot and killed last week. The PSA will now be shelved.

Police say a 20-year-old girlfriend of McNair’s shot and killed him on July 4 before killing herself in Nashville, Tenn. – AP

Thousands turn out for service, Page B2