Concussion Makes Sigler Bide His Time

Kurt Sigler sits in on all the meetings, attends every Eastern Washington University football practice.

He takes the written tests coaches hand out weekly to players. He grades out well, of course, because he’s studied the playbook.

Come game day, though, while teammates are bouncing off lockers and ramming helmets, Sigler has to put a lid on his emotions.

He takes the field. And he hands out water or holds play cards.

“It’s tough on game day when I sit on the sidelines and can’t play,” the former Coeur d’Alene High Viking says. “It’s tough when we watch films and I’m wondering when I’m going to get my chance. I guess I use that for motivation.”

It’s unfortunate that Sigler’s chance didn’t come this season. He was in prime physical condition and had won a starting offensive tackle spot.

Then the sophomore suffered his first concussion a couple weeks before the season opener. No big deal. He took a few days off.

“First time I’d missed practice in years,” he says.

He returned on Aug. 29, four days before EWU would face Oregon State.

“I started feeling funny and I told Coach, `Hey, I need a minute,”’ Sigler remembers. “I went to the back, took off my helmet and that’s the last thing I remember. The next thing I know, I’m laying on the ground and they were taking me to the hospital.”

The doctors called it a subdural hematoma. “Basically a blood clot in my head,” he said.

That ended his season before it started. He’s since had a couple of CAT scans which show the clot has liquified, but hasn’t shrunk yet.

Doctors are telling him it’ll be 3-6 months before he can condition and lift weights.

Sigler hopes to receive a medical redshirt year, but progress is slow on that front. He redshirted as a freshman.

It’s a lot to deal with for the 20-year-old Sigler. But he is following doctor’s orders, keeping a positive outlook and looking forward to a future filled with football. He has lingering headaches but otherwise feels fine.

He spends Friday nights on the sidelines at Coeur d’Alene High, rooting on his younger brother, Kraig, an offensive lineman. School starts at EWU today.

“They haven’t said whether I could come back or not, but I plan on it,” Sigler said. “People realize how serious it was and they ask me if I’m still going to play. I’m always thinking more of how long it’ll take me to get back. It’s just a speed bump.

“Football is something I’ve always done and I feel like I have potential and so much I can do. I’ve worked hard to get where I’m at. I feel like there is unfinished business.”

Panhandling

It’s the price of doing I-A football business these days at Idaho. The Vandals’ schedule this year and in upcoming seasons likely will eliminate the 9-2 seasons boosters came to expect during the I-AA days.

The reality is the best Idaho can hope for is 7-4-type years, respectability against the Washingtons and Oregons that dot the schedule, and the hope of a bowl game.

“That will be an adjustment for all of us to get used to,” athletic director Mike Bohn said.

Simply put, football balances the books. Bohn arrived at Idaho in March, 1998, to a $5.4 million budget. It’s currently $8 million. The Vandals have added staff, salaries, costs, equipment, etc. The $13 million East End addition is just beginning.

“Until we can build our fan base, (football scheduling) is one way of making it work,” Bohn said.

Foot injuries always give UI basketball coach Dave Farrar cause for stress. Remember Cliff Gray’s and Devon Ford’s foot failings?

JC transfer Marquis Holmes, a 6-foot-6 wing, had surgery Tuesday. He has a fracture in his foot and an examination showed an old stress fracture, too. A screw was inserted to stabilize the injury. Holmes might be ready to practice in six weeks.

“They’re optimistic the surgery might even shorten the (recovery) time,” Farrar said. “My experience is it’s touch and go how that will work.”

Mike Hollis has been the only placekicker the Jacksonville Jaguars have known. But the ex-Central Valley High and University of Idaho kicker had surgery to remove a disc fragment in his lower back and he’s expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

Hollis, the NFL’s all-time leader in field-goal accuracy, had back surgery in January, 1999. He began experiencing sharp pain earlier this month.

His replacement is Steve Lindsey, who previously handled kickoffs.

Randy Mueller summed up his new life as general manager with the New Orleans Saints after spending nearly two decades with the Seattle Seahawks.

“We really enjoy it,” said the former St. Maries quarterback, “but it’s not home.”

Front row

There’s a good reason to go to the Idaho-Washington State game Saturday at 2 in Martin Stadium. No, it’s not to see if Steve Birnbaum is still imbedded in the artificial turf from Mao Tosi’s ferocious hit last year.

It’s to see if Idaho can post back-to-back wins over the Cougars for the first time since 1964-65.

The best of Friday’s prep slate for league implications: Cheney at Sandpoint. Best of the slate for rivalry purposes: Post Falls at Lakeland.

Grad school

Angie Shirley is on pace for a rare accomplishment in the Oregon State volleyball program. With 178 more kills, she will become only the third Beaver to have 1,000 kills and 400 blocks.

Shirley, a 6-2 senior who prepped at Coeur d’Alene High, surpassed 400 career blocks last week for the 7-2 Beavers.