COUGARS

That new car smell is starting to fade from football practices around the Pac-10. Each team is on the field, and some, with earlier openers, are in full pads. The Washington State Cougars will add shoulder pads to their helmets today, so the hitting should ratchet up a notch. Everyone hopes that doesn't mean a scare like the one that hit at USC yesterday. Read on for WSU and conference news.
••••••••••

• Washington State: Yesterday was your typical fall practice day, which we covered with this story. But we noticed one player missing. We found out in the evening Chris Ivory (above), who flashed so much potential throughout his WSU career but never was able to stay healthy, had missed practice and was dismissed from the team. Maybe we can get a better explanation of why today. ... ESPN's Ted Miller was on Paul Wulff's conference call Saturday and asked about expectations. This post resulted from Wulff's answer. ... Freelancer Howie Stalwick's WSU notebook on CougFan is free, so here's the link. And that's it for today.

• Around the Pac-10: ESPN released its power rankings for the season and three Pac-10 teams made the list. ... Washington: The first day of practice in Seattle was greeted by stereotypical Seattle weather, as Tacoma's Todd Milles describes. Bob Condotta of the Times writes about a new/old face around the Husky offices. ... Oregon State: Lyle Moevao took advantage of an injury to Sean Canfield last season to solidify the starting quarterback spot. Now he's waiting out an injury of his own. ... Oregon: Very few teams in the country open with a tougher test than the Ducks – at Boise State on Sept. 3 – and that contest is already getting their attention. ... Cal: Who is the best running back in the Pac-10 (and quite possibly the country)? It's easy to make the argument it's the Bears' Jahvid Best. Here are some reasons why. ... Stanford: We mentioned at the Pac-10 media day the Cardinal will have some players going both ways. It's happening at practice. ... USC: On the third day of practice last year, quarterback Mark Sanchez went down with a knee injury. He recovered quickly, went on to a great year and is now in the NFL. Well, the first sentence repeated itself yesterday, with Aaron Corp's name in place of Sanchez. He's already recovered. Now let's see if the rest plays out the same. ...UCLA: If experience on the offensive line is as crucial as a lot of people think, the Bruins are in trouble. If talent is more important, then maybe they aren't that bad off. ... Arizona State: The Sun Devils think they have receivers they can count on. ... Arizona: Some people just can't gain weight. I hate those people.

•••

• That's it for this morning, except for our surprise bonus link. Recently, the Arizona Republic looked at Pac-10 coaches' salaries. You'll find the first one here, then follow the links for the rest. We'll be back soon. Until then …

---

---