COUGARS

Did you know there is a team representing Washington State that is playing in the national semifinals this weekend? Read on.
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• OK, it's a club team, so more than likely you haven't heard much about it before. But the WSU women's rugby club is in the final four at Stanford today, with a Division II title on the line. For more on the women and their season, check this story. ... We also had our short on Patrick Simon recommitting to WSU. ... Former Cougar quarterback Jason Gesser – and Fox Sports Northwest football analyst – has been named football coach at Eastside Catholic High. Guess he won't have time to do anymore FSN commentary.

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• That's it for this morning. WSU president Elson Floyd is expected to announce preliminary budget cuts for the 2009-10 fiscal year today, and all parts of the school will be hit, including athletics. But all we'll see today is a number, say 10 or 11 percent, that has to be shaved out of the $2.4 million WSU athletics receives from the school in the form of tuition waivers and the like. The next month or two will be spent trying to figure out how to save that money. When the department decides on a '09-10 budget, we'll try to explain it. And we'll be back if needed today. Until then …

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