The Saints re-signed rookie returns ace Jermaine Jackson. He might bring an alternative on special teams after Rashid Shaheed’s muffed punt:
This is interesting. The New Orleans Saints announced a couple of changes to their practice squad on Tuesday, with rookie running back Jacob Kibodi being waived to open a spot for first-year wide receiver Jermaine Jackson.
The Saints spent big to get him in the building as a rookie free agent by guaranteeing $160,000 of his rookie contract. That’s more than some draft picks got from their teams, so they clearly valued him then and now by bringing him back for a second look now that he’s healthy.
The two men were archery hunting for elk when the bear charged from close range, biting one man and knocking him to the ground.
An archery hunter in Idaho was knocked to the ground and bitten by a grizzly bear Sunday, but he and his partner pulled sidearms and killed the bear.
Both men dialed 911 after the incident. As Monday afternoon, the injured hunter was recovering from non-life-threatening wounds at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.
According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the hunters were targeting elk west of Henrys Lake in Island Park when the attack occurred.
“Both men were able to utilize their sidearms to shoot the bear, deterring the attack,” Fish and Game explained in a news release.
Conservation officers responded to the scene and determined “that the hunters acted in self-defense during a surprise encounter with the bear from a very close distance.”
Grizzly bears are protected by state and federal law. Killing them while hunting is legal only in self-defense.
Henrys Lake is in the Caribou-Targhee National Park, about 15 miles west of Yellowstone National Park.
–Grizzly bear image courtesy of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Former Wisconsin offensive lineman almost leads Idaho to upset win over Oregon
Former Wisconsin offensive lineman and current Idaho head coach Jason Eck almost pulled off a career-defining upset win on Saturday.
Eck’s Idaho team enters the 2024 season ranked No. 7 in the Football Championship Subdivision. It opened with a trip to No. 3 Oregon — a team many believe will compete for a national title.
The Vandals held tough despite entering the game as six-score underdogs. They dropped the contest, 24-14, but trailed, 17-14, with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Eck played offensive line at Wisconsin from 1995-1998. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant on Barry Alvarez’s staff from 1999-2001.
The La Crosse, Wisconsin, native’s long coaching career has traveled through a chunk of the FCS, mostly as an offensive line coach. Idaho is his first head coaching gig, a position he has held since 2022.
Eck is 16-10 as a head coach after the narrow loss to Oregon. He has the Vandals’ program trending positively after a 9-4 2023 campaign.
The former Badger was about 10 minutes and a few bounces of the football away from one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history. Keeping the game as competitive as it was is a major win for his program entering 2024.
The poor performance from Oregon is something to monitor as the season progresses and conference play begins. The Ducks will visit Madison on Nov. 16 in one of Wisconsin’s biggest games of the season.
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Robert Trent Jones Jr. brings Osprey Meadows back to life at Tamarack Resort in Idaho.
Robert Trent Jones Jr. has completed a renovation of the Osprey Meadows course at Tamarack Resort in Idaho, introducing a new level of playability to a layout that he designed and originally opened in 2006.
Then owned by a different group, the course about 90 miles of Boise had closed nine years after it opened because of economic hardship, and it was purchased by Tamarack Resort in 2021. Offering mountain, meadow and lake views, the course includes its main 18 holes plus a bonus par 3 named Gambler’s Hole.
“The grand opening of Osprey Meadows is the highlight of our summer, and we couldn’t be more thrilled for players to experience all 19 holes of this beautiful course,” Scott Turlington, president of Tamarack Resort, said in a media release announcing the completion of the renovation. “It’s extremely rare to get a second chance to make a first impression. In fact, it doesn’t happen very often, and we’ve got that opportunity now.”
Jones Jr.’s firm, Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects, reduced the number and length of forced carries, and fairways were widened. Further refinements are planned. The course can now be stretched to 7,447 yards.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to reinvigorate the award-winning Osprey Meadows Golf Course at Tamarack,” Jones Jr. said in the media release. “The confidence that the Tamarack ownership has exhibited in the long-term value of this unique golf experience is unprecedented. We appreciate their vision and commitment.”
Check out a selection of photos from Osprey Meadows below.
The New Orleans Saints lost another wide receiver to injury at training camp. Rookie signee Jermaine Jackson was waived on Saturday:
The hits keep coming for the New Orleans Saints receiving corps. The team announced Saturday that rookie wide receiver Jermaine Jackson was waived with an injury designation, having exited Friday’s practice session with an undisclosed ailment. It’s a tough break for the rookie from Idaho, who was competing for a roster spot with his knack for returning punts and kickoffs.
Expect Jackson to revert to injured reserve upon clearing waivers. The Saints guaranteed him $160,000 when he signed as an undrafted free agent, so they’ll probably want to hold onto him while he recovers. He’s joining offensive tackle Justin Herron and tight end Tommy Hudson on injured reserve with Ryan Ramczyk done for the year on the physically unable to perform reserve.
His departure means even more upheaval at wide receiver. The Saints had been practicing without rookie draft pick Bub Means as well as veterans Cedrick Wilson Jr. (a projected starter) and Equanimeous St. Brown in recent days, so they were already running thin at the position. It’s why they brought back Marquez Callaway and signed Samson Nacua off the street. We’ll see if more additions are coming, but Jackson being waived was also a corresponding move so they could sign reinforcements at tight end, so they may stick with the group they’ve got.
Our hundreds of raters weigh in on the best public-access and private courses in Idaho.
Looking to play the best golf courses in Idaho? Welcome to our annual Golfweek’s Best ranking of public-access and private courses.
Following are the rankings for both types of courses, as judged by our nationwide network of raters. The hundreds of members of our course-ratings panel continually evaluate courses and rate them on 10 criteria on a points basis of 1 through 10. They also file a single, overall rating on each course. Those overall ratings are averaged to produce all our Golfweek’s Best course rankings.
The courses on the first list allow public access in some fashion, be it standard daily green fees, through a resort or by staying at an affiliated hotel. If there’s a will, there’s a tee time – no membership required.
KEY: (m) modern, built in 1960 or after; (c) classic, built before 1960. For courses with a number preceding the (m) or (c), that is where the course ranks on Golfweek’s Best lists for top 200 modern and classic courses in the U.S.
* indicates new or returning to the rankings
Best public-access courses in Idaho
Coeur d’Alene Resort in Idaho (Courtesy of Coeur d’Alene Resort)
Report: Washington State’s Isaac Jones had predraft workout with Thunder.
The calendar has flipped to June, which means NBA teams are intensifying their predraft process and hosting players for workouts and visits. The 2024 NBA draft will take place from June 26-27.
The Oklahoma City Thunder enter this year’s class with a sole draft pick of the No. 12 selection. OKC was gifted the free lottery pick via the Houston Rockets.
The Thunder will host several meetings with draft prospects in the past weeks. This includes players outside the lottery range as OKC will likely seek to add undrafted free agents or even buy back into the second round if it likes someone enough.
One possibility is Washington State’s Isaac Jones. He reportedly had a predraft workout with the Thunder, per League Him.
Washington State forward Isaac Jones has conducted workouts with the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Cleveland Cavaliers this past week. https://t.co/4j46Bo8zXfpic.twitter.com/GbLZMbW1b1
The 23-year-old played in JUCO for three years before transferring to Idaho and Washington State for his final two college seasons from 2022-24. He was with the Cougars last year.
In 35 games last season, Jones averaged 15.3 points on 57.5% shooting, 7.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 blocks. He went a total 1-of-14 from 3. At 6-foot-8, 245 pounds, he’s a bit undersized for a center.
Jones is a potential undrafted free agent target. He has a shot to join the Thunder’s summer league squad and possibly be added to the G League’s OKC Blue for next season if he impresses enough.
A full list of 2024 NBA draft prospects that have worked out or visited the Thunder in the predraft process can be viewed here.
Countdown to Kickoff: Jermaine Jackson is the New Orleans Saints Player of Day 80. What can the undrafted rookie do this summer to make the team?
One of the more coveted undrafted rookies of this year’s class for the New Orleans Saints is wide receiver/returner Jermaine Jackson out of Idaho. The former Vandals standout has an opportunity to make things happen in a specified role here in New Orleans.
Before we get to that though, let’s highlight Jackson as our Saints Player of the Day as we are now 80 days away from the Saints’ season opener against the Carolina Panthers.
Name (Age): Jermaine Jackson (24)
Position: Wide receiver
Height, weight: 5-foot-7, 170 pounds
Relative Athletic Score: 2.81
2024 salary cap hit: $798,333
College: Idaho
Drafted: Undrafted in 2024 (New Orleans Saints)
NFL experience: Rookie
As things stand now for the Saints, Jackson is a longshot to make the team at the wide receiver position. With the top four spots already set between Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, A.T. Perry, and Cedrick Wilson Jr., Jackson will be competing against guys such as Equanimous St. Brown, Bub Means and Stanley Morgan Jr. for that fifth, possibly sixth spot on the depth chart. But this is where the value of Jackson as returns specialist matters.
At the backend of the receiving corps, Jackson has the potential to take a spot from another player due to his unique ability as a returner. Over his three years at Idaho Jackson combined for 536 yards on 36 punt return attempts, scoring on two of those and averaging about 15.7 yards per attempt. On kick returns Jackson was equally impressive accumulating 690 yards on 23 attempts, averaging 30 yards a return.
We’ve seen the Saints time and time again locate diamonds in the rough when it comes to return man as well as finding other undrafted players who have contributed big on special teams for them. Shaheed and Deonte Harty are the most notable having All-Pro recognition under their belt for their abilities back deep. If Jackson can provide a spark in this year’s preseason games, it is possible that he could be the next man in line to fill this role for the team.
The Saints spent big to sign undrafted Idaho returns ace Jermaine Jackson. With kick returns changing, it’s worth investing in multiple options:
NFL teams tell you how they value players by their actions, and most importantly how they spend their money. With the 2024 NFL draft behind us the New Orleans Saints entered a fierce bidding war with other teams for the rookies whose names were not called during the draft. And one of their first pickups was a costly one: Idaho Vandals wide receiver/return man Jermaine Jackson.
Jackson is listed at 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds so he’s cut from the same cloth as other Saints returns specialists like Rashid Shaheed and Deonte Harty. While he received just a $10,000 signing bonus to come to New Orleans, Jackson is also getting $150,000 of his base salary guaranteed, per KTIK 95.3 FM’s John Mallory. That’s significant. For context, Shaheed was guaranteed $222,000 when he signed with the Saints out of Weber State.
So why is he so special? There aren’t many players in college football with 600-plus return yards on both punts (604) and kickoffs (666), as well as four return touchdowns (three off of punts, one off of a kickoff). That production comes from a combination of instincts, athleticism, and hard work to cultivate them.
And why do the Saints value special teams so highly? Their coordinator Darren Rizzi was integral to developing new kickoff rules for 2024, which make it more favorable for teams to roster multiple returns specialists. He’s always scouted returners heavily. Some of them have hit like Shaheed and Harty. Others fell off like Marquez Callaway and last year’s undrafted rookie Malik Flowers. This year’s second round pick Kool-Aid McKinstry returned punts at Alabama (35 times, for 427 yards) and said he’s open to helping in the return game if he’s needed.
But Jackson isn’t limited to work on special teams. Over the last two years he caught a combined 107 passes for 1,645 yards with 6 touchdowns as part of Idaho’s one-two punch at wide receiver. It’ll be fascinating to see whether Jackson can overcome the size mismatch with a very talented group of Saints cornerbacks over the summer but he was consistently productive at Idaho. But clearly the team has high expectations for him. All he needs to do is back them up.
What’s loud, colorful, and only happens in Twin Falls, Idaho, during May? It’s Shoshone Falls After Dark, an event showcasing what boosters like to call the “Niagara of the West.” This spectacular waterfall on the Snake River is 212 feet tall and 900 feet wide. It’s a good deal taller than Niagara’s highest falls (Horseshoe Falls at about 180 feet high).
For the fourth year running, people can enjoy light shows at the falls Thursday through Sunday during the month of May. Midnight Production Studios choreographs the lights to a recorded soundtrack by Idaho DJ Eric Rhodes. The display is a partnership between Southern Idaho Tourism, the City of Twin Falls, the Idaho Central Credit Union, and Idaho Power. Seems like a good time to have the power company on your side.
Photo courtesy of Southern Idaho Tourism
Waterfall lovers come from all over the country to see the lit-up falls. “Shoshone Falls After Dark has quickly become one of the region’s most popular events, and we’re thrilled to expand it so even more people can experience this breathtaking spectacle,” Haley Evans, Southern Idaho Tourism marketing and event coordinator, said in a statement. “Shoshone Falls is one of Idaho’s most iconic and beloved landmarks, and showering this magnificent high-desert landscape with a symphony of lights and music under the stars is truly magical and mesmerizing.”
Photo by Brayden Weeks, courtesy of Southern Idaho Tourism
Tickets are sold at $20 per vehicle, with timed entries between 9:15 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. to avoid overcrowding. The show lasts about 10 minutes and the passes are for 15-minute slots. Evans says that the event usually sells out, so buy your ticket ahead. Leashed dogs are welcome, and the falls will light up rain or shine.
Photo courtesy of Southern Idaho Tourism
“The vibrant music and light show illuminating the falls at night takes it to a next-level magical experience,” Michael Watson, chief marketing officer at Idaho Central Credit Union, said in a statement. “If you haven’t had a chance to check this out yet, now is the time.”
Photo courtesy of Southern Idaho Tourism
While Shoshone Falls is the area’s best-loved attraction, there’s lots of other outdoorsy stuff to do in Twin Falls. You can bike the Canyon Rim Trail, zipline across the Snake River, rock climb, or rent a kayak in Centennial Waterfront Park to watch BASE jumpers throw themselves off I.B. Perrine Bridge.
Shoshone Falls shines even without lights. / Photo by Teresa Bergen
