THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Talkin' turkey, turnovers ... and tag?

As you might expect from a holiday weekend where you might need a diversion from, you know, actual conversation, there were some pretty good games on TV over the last several days.

The Zags played a couple of entertaining games against Good Teams You've Actually Heard Of, routing one foe and losing a thriller to the other one.

Soon they can go back to thrashing Teams You've Never Heard Of, then mowing through the (mostly) poor saps in the West Coast Conference before the exciting games return in March.

The Cougs did something that usually only happens about once every changing of the presidents, and rightfully celebrated their Apple Cup drubbing of the Huskies on the Huskies' (artificial) turf.

(As I type this, I'm watching Michigan and Ohio State playing in the snow. Michigan last beat the Buckeyes two presidents ago, and I fear Ohio State is going to disappoint the Wolverines again. That's just the way it seems to go in this rivalry these days — drubbing, or disappointment. Either way, it's still a Big Blue "L." Hopefully, I'm wrong, but ... )

THE MOST intriguing game I saw this weekend on TV was a game of tag.

Yes, tag.

It was on one of the ESPN channels the other day, and I believe it was called World Chase Tag. There's also a show out there called Ultimate Tag, but ...

... it doesn't really matter what it was called.

What mattered was there was something strangely entertaining about watching one person maneuvering through an obstacle course of sorts, zipping under and around bars and whatnot — imagine navigating a course set up of scaffolding — trying to tag the other person within 20 seconds.

Most times, the one dude tagged the other in just a few seconds. But in this "game," the last contestant managed to escape the chaser for 20 seconds, earning his team a point — and the win!

Imagine that — a walk-off in tag.

SINCE FOLKS around here eat up anything Zags, perhaps our Lovable Local Heroes could keep us entertained with the occasional game of tag over the next few months on a course set up at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

The event would still draw the usual sellout crowd of 6,000, as well as a strong regional TV audience.

Who wouldn't want to watch 7-foot Zag freshman phenom/unicorn Chet Holmgren, zig-zagging as it were, across the obstacle course, dipping down to avoid banging his head on one of the crossbars, lunging after Drew Timme, as the star junior and Player of the Year candidate rounded the corner, trying to avoid the tag of his teammate-turned-opponent — perhaps while on his way to film his next commercial for Northern Quest Casino.

NIL, you know.

That certainly would be more entertaining than watching them clobber, say, San Diego, by 58 points.

On this Turkey Day afternoon, Tag on TV was followed in the programming lineup by a rousing game of Cornhole, the Thanksgiving television equivalent of turkey followed by stuffing.

Cornhole appears to be the politically correct (and much safer) replacement for the good ol' days of lawn darts.

Bean bags are less dangerous, it seems — unless winged overhand at your opponent.

Then again, nothing says Family Reunion like your uncle hobbling off with a lawn dart stuck in his calf. Or an actual game of darts ending when little brother took one in the back of the head.

Either of those games might be more enjoyable to watch than football for Boise State fans, as their Beloved Broncos have butchered the current gridiron season to the tune of a 7-5 record with not one, not two, but three losses to teams in that Mountain West Conference — a league they should rule with Zag-like dominance.

Boise might have to settle for playing a bowl game on its home field — a game originally created to help make sure the Broncos had a bowl game to play in, back when there weren't 72 or so of them.

But since those early days, Boise State has outgrown its own Boise Bowl ... until this season, perhaps.

(As it turned out, Michigan found a way to not lose to Ohio State for a change, beating the Buckeyes for the first time since Bo Schembechler was coach. Or so it seems.

Maybe Ohio State would have fared better against the Wolverines in a game of tag, instead.)

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.