Archive for the 'Washington St. Cougars' Category

Holmgren says MattHass and Shaun A. are game-time decisions Sunday. That’s the word from Mike Sando on the T-N-T blog. “Both players practiced extensively today,” he writes, but he’s not allowed to say who took the most reps with the starters.

Baseball’s GM meetings are over, and the Mariners are still talking to what seems like almost everyone out there. Bavasi tells Larry LaRue in the T-N-T today that there’s plenty of interest in Beltre and Sexson, but “nothing remotely close” has been offered.

Go figure out Sonics’ coach Bob Hill for me, would ya? Frank Hughes writes in the T-N-T that Hill sat down to chat with frustrated PG Earl Watson and reassured Watson about his role on the team. Then, when asked about Watson’s public complaints last week, Hill’s head spins around 360 degrees, fire and smoke come out of his nostrils, and he bit–slaps Watson like this:

“This is all a waste of time. He knew he was going to be a backup when he came here. We talked about it when he first got here. It is a waste of time to talk about not liking his role.”

Yikes. Careful, Bob. Try the decaf…. Anyway, Gary Washburn writes in the P-I about the same situation, with comments from Hill predicting a good game from Watson tonight. Well, 6 points and 6 assists in 18 minutes is not too bad off the bench. But the Sonics lost another at home, 118-109 to Utah.

Oh, yeah, what’s this about an “Apple Cup”? My 8-year-old is excited. He’s a Husky fan, “because dogs are cooler than cats.” Me? Couldn’t care less at this point, but I do root for both teams when they’re playing well, reaching bowl games, etc. We’ll watch the game, but I’ll be much more interested in Ohio St.-Michigan.

So, Matsuzaka costs Boston $50+ million just for a chance to talk about a contract … and that’s just one sign of how crazy the pitching market is this winter. Larry LaRue has some great info. in his T-N-T article today. Like, two teams want to trade for Joel Pineiro? Whoa. And then this:

Just how thin is pitching – and how great is the need? Consider this: left-hander Sterling Hitchcock, who hasn’t pitched in two years, came off the voluntary retired list and filed for free agency just to get into this market.

Seriously, if that’s how it’s going to be, the Mariners are probably better off sitting out. We don’t need to sign a loser to some huge contract that ends up making Jarrod Washburn look like a bargain.

But my opinion is worth squat. Turns out the Mariners have already contacted every pitcher on the market. Or so it seems.

Apple Cup at the beginning of the year? How bizarre would that be? I know some other rivalry schools do it — I think Colorado and Colorado St., but not positive — but it just seems strange to think about having the Apple Cup every year in the warm glow of late summer. Weird or not, the two schools are talking about it.

Here’s what’s going on this fine Friday morning:

IN the T-N-T, Larry LaRue gives an overview of the Mariners’ off-seasoon wish list, with a couple interesting names in there, like Nomar Garciaparra (as a candidate to DH) and Greg Maddux. I’d be happy with the former, but not with the latter.

Since the Seahawks can’t find a running game the traditional way — i.e., with actual running backs — Clare Farnsworth reports that Seneca Wallace has more freedom to run this week against the Raiders.

“There have been times,” coach Mike Holmgren said, “where I’d say, ‘Hey, (count) 1, 2, then take off. Go ahead and take off. Put the pressure on the defense that way.’”

Danny Fortson, Sonics’ savior? That’s what Percy Allen says in the Times. Good article, and he’s right about how badly the team needs Fortson to step up and contribute.

Pac-10 media think it’ll be UW coming in at #3 in men’s hoops this year. They like Oregon at No. 4, OSU at No. 8, and the Cougars to finish dead last. UCLA, as expected, is picked to win the conference. Don Ruiz also points out a couple interesting rule changes coming this year:

The most notable new rule prohibits players from calling timeout while in the air or before they have complete control of the ball. Another change will encourage referees to call fouls on all players diving onto other players in a loose-ball scramble.

Romar thinks the rule that could have the most impact demands that players set screens while “in a natural stance.” The rule prohibits players from spreading their legs to trip defenders or from cocking their forearms to hit them.

Pac-10 media have picked USC to win the Pac-10 football race again this year, but some writers give the nod to Cal, Oregon, and even ASU. It’s the first time in three years the vote wasn’t unanimous for the Trojans.

Oregon ends up 3rd overall with 3 first-place votes. OSU, WSU, and UW are all down in the bottom half. Here’s the voting:

First place votes in parentheses
1, USC (18) 276
2, California (7) 247
3, Oregon (3) 229
4, Arizona State (1) 204
5, UCLA 145
6, Arizona 133
7, Oregon State 125
8, Washington State 96
9, Stanford 90
10, Washington 50

A funny thing about WSU Cougar fans is that every one of them rates their own players way ahead of what conventional wisdom says about the player. To hear some Cougs tell it, Will Derting was the second coming of Dick Butkus.

Well, not quite, but Derting was one Cougar that I thought came kinda close to being as good as WSU fans though he was. He was one Cougar I liked watching and rooting for.

And his football career is done. Jim Moore has the story in today’s P-I.

Though there are countless pro opportunities available overseas, in Canada and the Arena League, Derting isn’t interested. After spending six weeks in Hawaii, the former Coug linebacker has decided not to play pro football and is working on the family ranch in Okanogan instead.

Too many injuries…. Derting didn’t pass his NFL physicals. Sad story. Would’ve liked to see him get a chance at the next level.

We have a kid here in the Tri-Cities that you probably don’t know yet, but you will soon enough. His name is Jason Munns and he’s the QB at Southridge HS in Kennewick, and next school year will be his senior season. Everybody wants him, including both the Cougars and the Huskies.

According to Cougfan.com, Munns visited WSU today. Not positive, but I think this is his first visit to any school. The full story is behind a subscriber wall, but the home page offers this blurb:

Star Kennewick QB likes what he sees on unoffical trip to WSU but Michigan, others coming on strong.

Scout.com has some more info. on the kid:

Scout.com QB prospect list – he’s 11th, with a 4-star rating

Scout.com profile page — “Veteran Spokesman-Review sportswriter Vince Grippi calls him a right-handed Matt Leinart.”

It’s no surprise that the Dick Bennett era at WSU is coming to an end — it’s been talked about for a good part of his 2+ years in Pullman. Bennett didn’t set the world on fire, but he certainly has gotten the most out of the players he had. And that’s the main question now facing his son, Tony.

Can WSU basketball bring in guys with enough talent to compete in the Pac-10?

The current Cougars are young, and they play hard, but not one of them appears to be the kind of guy who’s gonna scare the other team. Where are the guys like Mark Hendrickson and Ike Fontaine — both 2-time all-conference choices? Turning the clock back further, where are guys like Brian Quinnett, James Donaldson, and Craig Ehlo, all of whom went on from WSU to play in the NBA? Can Tony Bennett bring back guys of that caliber to Pullman, or will it just be more castoffs that the rest of the Pac-10 doesn’t want?

Cougar fans have always said Pullman is the biggest problem for recruiting, esp. in basketball where it’s hard to get urban stars to play in the middle of nowhere. No doubt there’s some truth to that, but then how do you explain the success Dick Bennett had at Wisconsin — which isn’t exactly a downtown metropolis attracting the best city kids in the midwest?

At Wisconsin, Bennett didn’t have much in the way of competition. And that’s the biggest problem facing WSU basketball right now — not location, but competition. The Cougs are a distant 3rd among Div. 1 teams in this state. The success of Gonzaga and, to a lesser degree, UW, is killing WSU hoops. Is it coincidence that Gonzaga’s rise coincides exactly with the end of the WSU careers of some of the guys mentioned above — Hendrickson and Fontaine? All the guys who want to stay in state and don’t care about being away from Seattle are going to go to Gonzaga — at least the talented ones, that is. And now with UW solidifying itself on the basketball court, the talent pool open to the Cougars is even smaller.

The official release announcing Tony Bennett’s hiring brags about the work he did recruiting Wisconsin’s top players when he and Dick were there. He’ll have to work the same kind of magic in Pullman — but he’ll have to do it against the goliaths of Gonzaga and UW. Good luck, Mr. Bennett.

It’s a shame that the lunkheads who vote in the college football polls won’t be smart enough to recognize that Notre Dame should move up in the rankings after that game today. Win or lose, last play of the game or not, the Irish proved that they are every bit as good as USC right now. But when you vote in polls, you have this odd sense of obligation telling you “the losing team must move down.” That’s pretty stupid. Notre Dame will fall out of the Top 10, but they are unmistakably one of the best ten football teams in college football right now.

What an incredible football game.

Hats off to OSU for upsetting Cal, and to WSU for giving UCLA everything it could handle — a much better effort this week outta the Cougars than they’ve given the past couple weeks. (Edit: but it’s still terrible that they blew a 28-7 lead….)

Was browsing through the magazine section at Barnes & Noble today at lunchtime. Let’s see what I can remember….

1. CBS Sportsline’s magazine ranks Gonzaga #4 in the nation.
2. Sporting News’ magazine ranks Gonzaga at #10 in the nation.
3. Both of those have the Huskies finishing 4th in the Pac-10, UO and OSU a bit lower than that, and the Cougs down near the bottom of the conference.
4. Athlon’s magazine doesn’t do pre-season rankings, but did have the Zags reaching the Sweet 16.

Saw this headline on the Times’ web site:

WSU to modify postgame security

Initial reaction: Yeah, they’re gonna stop letting the football team leave at halftime!