The Front Row with MARK NELKE September 26, 2010

Like many of us, I woke up this morning and couldn't believe the hubbub I was seeing on TV.

All those people, lined up, waiting - some for hours and hours and hours ...

... all for the chance to be one of the first people to check out the new Apple Store in Spokane.

Oh yeah, that College GameDay thing in Boise was pretty impressive as well. A total crowd of 13,205 - Bronco fans would smirk that was more than the Idaho Vandals drew for an actual football game earlier this season - showed up to serve as a backdrop for Fowler, Corso and Herbstreit and the rest of the ESPN crew for its three-hour college football pregame show/political rally.

It was GameDay's first trip to Boise since the show left the studio and hit the road in 1993, and it drew the third-largest crowd ever.

Boise State's worthiness as a potential participant in the national championship game was, of course, a part of the discussion, and the talk will continue after the Broncos beat 18-point underdog Oregon State by 13 later than night on ABC.

With the other highly ranked schools looking to avoid land mines pretty much every week the rest of the way, Boise State pretty much only has a couple - Nevada and Fresno State come quickly to mind.

Also, of course, there's that Nov. 12 game looming in Moscow, where a revved-up, sold-out crowd of more than 16,000 will provide another pretty good backdrop for the ESPN2 cameras. Then again, after Saturday's effort ...

More stuff I thought I saw on the ESPN crawler ...

After being ambushed on the red carpet at Eastern Washington last week, Montana considers copper-colored turf for its football field ... Mariners magic number remains at 5 for avoiding the worst record in the majors this season ... NFL considers banning NFC West champion from playoffs if no team reaches 8-8.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via e-mail at mnelke@cdapress.com.