Live in the moment with these Cougs

COUGARS

Somewhere in the back of your mind there’s that little doubt, isn’t there? As a Cougar fan, you just can’t get rid of it.

Is this team really as good as its record? Or are the last nine Pac-10 games going to expose their its weaknesses? Will they Coug?

I know it’s hard-wired in, but push those thoughts away. Repress the memories of Coug failures of the past. Wall them off. And wait to see what tonight brings.

If WSU, 17-4, 6-3 in the Pac-10 and ranked 18th in the nation, can find a way to win in Tucson, you can cleave those thoughts in two. No matter how bad the Wildcats are playing, it’s nearly impossible for a Cougar team to sweep a season series from the Cats. But, after winning in overtime in Pullman, WSU has that chance.

Glenn Kasses’ advance of tonight’s (5:30; FSN; 920-AM) game touches on those points. His blog examines the game in more depth.

He also has the Pac-10 notes today, and the Cougars’ weekend is summarized in our Week Ahead notebook (last game).

If Tony Bennett’s Cougars – I’m going to write that a lot between now and the end of the season because I’m not sure how much longer I’ll get to – win tonight, solidifying their hold on third in the conference, you can breathe easier. The second half of the season will be OK.

Unless they lose at Arizona State on Saturday.

• We’ll be back this evening with coverage of the Cougar game and a link to the website story. If you have questions and/or comments before or during the game, go ahead and click the comment link either here or on Glenn’s blog. We’ll get to them.

• This isn’t basketball, but it is ex-Cougar news. Former quarterback Ryan Leaf is coaching golf this spring in Texas. Little did we know that all the golf he played around Pullman during the summer following his freshman year was actually preparing him for a career.