Steve Bergum

Tom Stebbins is quick to admit that the Spokane Golf & Travel Show he and his wife, Karen, first put on in 1999 suffered through some “ugly years” during its infancy. But the co-owners of Vision Marketing remained steadfast in their efforts to improve the quality of their annual event. And this year, they feel they have taken it to “a whole new level” with the addition of exhibits from many of the world’s leading golf equipment manufacturers.

In preparing for the start of Big Sky Conference play, Eastern Washington tackled one of the most difficult nonconference schedules in school history. From now on, the games count.

Whitworth University seemed in no hurry Sunday afternoon to start its next long home-court winning streak. But with 7 seconds left in a nonconference men’s basketball matchup against visiting Northwestern (Minn.) College, first-year head coach Matt Logie called a timeout and sketched out a length-of-the-court play that freed up Idris Lasisi for a long 3-point shot from the right wing.

Whitworth University seemed in no hurry Sunday afternoon to start its next long home-court winning streak. But with just 7 seconds left in a nonconference men’s basketball matchup against visiting Northwestern (Minn.) College, first-year head coach Matt Logie called a timeout and sketched out a length-of-the-court play that freed up Idris Lasisi for a long 3-point shot from the right wing. And when Whitworth’s senior forward, who had struggled with his shooting all game long, buried the mildly contested attempt with a second left on the game clock, the eighth-ranked Pirates escaped with a 78-76 over win the Eagles.

With 3D the recent rage in cinema, it’s comforting for certain NCAA Division I college basketball coaches to know D-III is still an option. Eastern Washington University’s Jim Hayford counted himself among those Friday night after his Eagles snapped a two-game losing streak with an 83-72 win over NCAA Division III Pacific Lutheran at Reese Court.

With 3D the recent rage in cinema, it’s comforting for certain NCAA Division I college basketball coaches to know D-III is still an option.

Former Eastern Washington University men’s basketball standout Glen Dean, who transferred to Utah following his sophomore year last spring, underwent surgery at a Salt Lake City hospital Wednesday to repair a ruptured blood vessel in his brain, according to former EWU coach Kirk Earlywine.

Eastern Washington University will continue its grueling nonconference men’s basketball schedule tonight when it squares off against UCLA at 7:30 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. The Eagles (5-4) are coming off a 91-76 road loss to Cal State Fullerton on Sunday and hoping to add to the ongoing struggles of the Bruins (3-5), who suffered early-season losses to Loyola Marymount and Middle Tennessee at the Sports Arena, which is one of two arenas serving as home venues for UCLA this winter while Pauley Pavilion undergoes a major renovation.

Eastern Washington University will continue its grueling nonconference men’s basketball schedule tonight when it squares off against UCLA at 7:30 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

It was never going to last forever. But few of those on hand Saturday night for Whitworth University’s nonconference men’s basketball matchup against visiting Montana Tech expected the Pirates’ 41-game home-court winning streak to end in the manner it did.

Craig Ehlo’s brief, bizarre flirtation with the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers was rebuffed Monday when the assistant’s job he apparently thought he was going to get on head coach Byron Scott’s staff, went instead to Nate Tibbetts, the coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s D-League team the past two seasons. Ehlo, in his first year as an assistant at Eastern Washington University, had, according to a source within the EWU athletic department, accepted the Cavaliers job last weekend. But that turned out not to be the case, according to Ehlo, who interviewed with Scott last Friday but was never offered the job.

A source close to the Eastern Washington University men’s basketball program confirmed Saturday morning an earlier rumor that Eagles assistant Craig Ehlo has accepted a coaching job with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. According to the source, the Cavaliers on Monday will formally announce the addition of Ehlo to head coach Byron Scott’s staff, where he will serve as a main assistant.

Whitworth University’s first-half performance against Northwest Conference rival George Fox didn’t seem all that bad Saturday night. Unless one compared it to the way the eighth-ranked Pirates played in the second half.

A source close to the Eastern Washington University men’s basketball program confirmed Saturday morning an earlier rumor that Eagles’ assistant Craig Ehlo has accepted a coaching job with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers.

When an early lead evaporates as quickly as Whitworth University’s did at Whitworth Fieldhouse Friday night, it’s not always the fault of the team that lets it slip away. The eighth-ranked Pirates made that abundantly clear following their 77-69 win over Lewis & Clark College in the Northwest Conference opener for both schools.

Eastern Washington University’s senior quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was named Thursday as one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Award that is given annually to the top player in the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision. Mitchell, a senior from Katy, Texas, threw for an FCS-high and school-record 4,009 yards and 33 touchdowns this fall for an Eastern team that finished 6-5 after opening the year with four straight losses.

Back when Mike Price was the head football coach at Washington State University, he used to conduct an annual clinic on the one-back offense that served him and the Cougars so well.

Eastern Washington University has leaned heavily on the offensive talents of first-year junior college transfer Collin Chiverton during the infant stages of this college basketball season. But Sunday afternoon, with Chiverton watching from the bench with four fouls, the Eagles showed they have some other weapons as well by putting together a 19-1 run that propelled them to a 79-59 nonconference win over visiting UC Davis in front of a Reese Court crowd of 1,563.