A first post on a Friday morning
COUGARS • UPDATED: 10:20 A.M.; 1:30 P.M.
We're on the early flight to Seattle out of Spokane, so we'll post our Washington State links, then catch up with the rest of the Pac-12 after we get into the Emerald City (does anyone call it that anymore?). Read on.
• UPDATE: We're finally in a spot where we can share other links with you. We have added the Pac-12 links and a basketball one.
• UPDATE NO. 2: We've got some basketball news to pass along for tomorrow's exhibition game in Pullman vs. Lewis-Clark State (and no, we're not going to be there). The Cougars will be without starting guards Reggie Moore (groin) and Faisal Aden (concussion), according to assistant athletic communications director Jessica Schmick. They both were injured in last week's closed scrimmage vs. Montana. Also injured in that scrimmage was post Brock Motum, who has recovered and will play this weekend. With Moore and Aden out, expect to see a lot of freshman DaVonte Lacy and Fresno State transfer Mike Ladd.
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• Washington State: We put together a practice post last night, with notes from Paul Wulff's short-as-usual Thursday afternoon presser. But much of yesterday was given over to examining how the Cougars will deal with the newly adopted NCAA rules. That story, which took four interviews and a few days to put together can be found here. We can summarize it this way: They will cost a lot, recruiting is going to get a bit more complicated and the academic provisions will affect WSU some, though right now the football and the two basketball teams meet the postseason criteria. ... ESPN.com has this piece on Ryan Leaf. ... And CougCenter's Jeff Nusser has an interesting basketball piece. ... A basketball piece from Yahoo on the change in the WSU program. ... And one more football item from Cougfan on the redshirts.
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• Around the Pac-12: ESPN.com's Ted Miller asks what we know. ... Jon Wilner has his Pac-12 picks. ... Washington: With newly rebuilt stadium on the horizon, the Huskies wonder if they can stop Oregon's offense. ... Oregon State: The Beavers are nicked up heading into their game with Stanford and its first-year coach. ... Oregon: Darron Thomas is the right choice at quarterback. Giving a bit more money to athletes is the right choice. This Duck defender made the right choice in following his dad. ... California: The Bears best player may be their punter. Still, they are hunting a bowl berth. ... Stanford: Andrew Luck is best when he needs to be. ... Colorado: The Buffs know how good their opponent is tonight. ... Utah: At 4-4, the Utes are looking to go bowling. ... USC: Even the Trojans are using freshmen in key spots. ... UCLA: The Bruins had to use some reserves against Cal and they came through. ... Arizona State: Though unsung, the Sun Devils' safety can play. ... Arizona: Speaking of freshmen, this one is having a pretty good season.
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• That's it for now. We'll be back tomorrow morning for sure. Going to see our nephew play his junior college football game tonight. He's a center, so we'll be paying attention to line play. Until later ...
