SportsLink

WSU in the national spotlight

Posted by Vince

Oct. 6, 2009 7:17 a.m. • 16 comments

COUGARS • UPDATED: 9:30 A.M.; 1:15 P.M.

Most about everybody who reads this blog, I’m sure, watches ESPN. And the same number, probably, are aware of the WSU flag’s streak on Game Day, ESPN’s college football preview program. So you might be interested to learn said flag is the punchline – in a good way – of a joke the Game Day guys make in a new ESPN commercial. We have a copy of the ad, and my boss, Joe Palmquist, is efforting – a Dan Patrick word; wait, he’s no longer on ESPN, so Joe’s trying – to get it put up here at SportsLink. UPDATE: And, as you can see above, he got it done. It is pretty funny. For our usual stuff, read on.

••••••••••

• Washington State: You folks have been having quite a discussion here. All I ask is you keep it civil - so far, so good - and respect each other’s opinions, even if you disagree. Thanks. Now on to today’s links. … We have our first look at Arizona State, which is our usual Tuesday morning fare. … Freelancer Howie Stalwick has this feature on long-snapper Zach Enyeart in the Kitsap Sun and other outlets. … The Times Bud Withers takes a look at Idaho’s success, putting the emphasis on former Cougar defensive coordinator Robb Akey. … UPDATE 2: I admit I rarely head to the P-I website anymore because it is so rare when there is a story to link. There was one today and I missed it. But here is Jim Moore’s column.

• Around the Pac-10: Ted Miller of ESPN.com puts together his first look at this week’s games. … Nick Daschel of Buster Sports puts together his weekly look at the Pac-10 coaches. … Washington: Quarterback Jake Locker didn’t speak to the media after the Notre Dame defeat. He explained himself Monday, though Tacoma’s Dave Boling felt he didn’t need to. … Oregon State: James Rodgers is named Pac-10 offensive player of the week. … Oregon: The knee injury Jeremiah Masoli suffered against the Cougars is worse than previously thought. … Cal: With a bye this week, news of the Bears might be hard to come by. … Stanford: The answer to this headline’s question is yes. … USC: The Trojans have a bye this week as well. Joe McKnight doesn’t want one. …UCLA: The Bruins may be about to open up the passing game. … Arizona State: For now, Dennis Erickson is standing behind Danny Sullivan. … Arizona: The Wildcats need to get their running game together. Lucky for them the next opponent is UW.

•••

• That’s it for this morning. We’ll be back this afternoon. Until then …

16 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Patrick on October 06 at 8:24 a.m.
I encourage everyone to read Bud Withers article and, as well, read some of the comments. (Click on “success” above.) It is an interesting perspective that, I believe, has merit.
BrandonHansen on October 06 at 10:11 a.m.
Meanwhile UW alumni are making some smarmy comment about how they would be on an ESPN commercial if they wanted to, but they’re more dedicated to the Oh-so-much-better Fox Sports.

Brandon Hansen
Just South of North
www.justsouthofnorth.com
elvis on October 06 at 10:59 a.m.
Proud to have waved the flag in 2004!
kaddy on October 06 at 11:13 a.m.
That is classic - what a great commercial. It’s nice to see a bit of positive publicity in a down season!

The GameDay crew has gotten to the point where they now try to help the flag-waver get a good spot, too.
kaddy on October 06 at 11:27 a.m.
So I read Bud Withers’ article, and I didn’t like it. Seemed like he was trying to stoke a fire between WSU and Idaho.

I’m happy for Idaho and Coach Akey. In fact, most of the Cougar fans I know are happy when the Vandals are good…they’re our neighbors on the Palouse.

Wulff has dumped a little on the previous staff, but Akey did the same thing. What Wulff has said isn’t really that far off, either. We couldn’t get anyone to commit, but that wasn’t really Akey’s fault. It was more of an issue with Doba, who was getting older and dealing with his wife’s illness, understandably.

Wulff will get us back on track, but it’s hard when your best players are 18 and 19 years old.

By the way, it’s only a $300 deposit to reserve a club seat, and you don’t have to pay the rest until 2011.

www.martinstadium.org
sportsfan on October 06 at 12:30 p.m.
I am a vandal alum and I will be the first to say it is much easier to swing a 6 win season in their conference than it is in the Pac 10. Akey however is doing a great job. This being his third year. Next year is the key. If Wulff does not manage to be a mid-level pac 10 team and bowl eligible than he needs to get on a bus out of town. He inherited a pile of crap from the previous coaches. It has never been properly reported how bad the team was, or how much the staff had let the program slide in Doba’s last two years. The blame can fall squarely on the shoulders of the assistants, especially after it was clear that a change was coming, because they not only quit, but there were members of the staff that sabotaged the program. That being said Wulff did not say anything at the time, so he should not be saying anything now. it is his program and they need to start showing some improvement on the little things and some fight.
rufus on October 06 at 1:13 p.m.
flag tradition is a great story & done without taxpayers support – just like our stadium expansion… great ad .good thing come to those that wait… thks for the posting , vince.
RobE on October 06 at 2:49 p.m.
While Akey might take some exceptions to what Wulff has said about the prior staff, I think the most telling stat is the number of assistants he (Akey) attempted to hire away from WSU when he got the Idaho job…none.

Whether Wulff should have said that stuff so openly, is up for debate, but there is no doubt that Doba had about as dysfunctional of a coaching staff that you’ll ever find. That showed up on the field, at practices and in the classroom.

Personally, I thought Akey was a great D-Line coach, below average as a D-Coordinator, but has been incredible thus far as a head coach. He had the “you know what’s” to call out Boise State last season, and guess what, his players stepped up and made that more of a game than it had been in the past 10 years. He’s culled through a lot of dead weight, much like Wulff has done and is doing.

I think his 3 year track record should definetly set the standard as to what WSU should expect from Wulff and his staff.

It’s very exciting to see what Idaho has done, and it’s great to see a real good person like Akey having such success.
meancoug on October 06 at 4:53 p.m.
Very well said RobE. One of the more level-headed, intelligent posts in a while.

I would add that Wulff has gone out of his way to choose his words about the previous staff, knowing many were Coug alums. In trying to explain his own philosophy for the program, Wulff talks about what he wants done - more time in the weight room, more time in class, more time at the meal table. If people interpret that as throwing Doba under the bus, so bit it. But I don’t thik that is Wulff’s intention.

I too am happy for Akey, but remember, it’s still early. A lot of football to be played for sure.

How Coug Are You?
cougfan2000 on October 06 at 4:56 p.m.
Vince

I saw that Lobster was running with the ones today…Please….Please tell me he is not starting..please.
sportsfan on October 06 at 5:06 p.m.
I think Wulff has did everything he could the first year not to bring Doba’s name up or to run down the previous staff. Much like Akey, Wulff did not retain much of the staff, except for Levy and Broussard. Doba was a great assistant coach and a good man, who went through a very bad time while head coach. Because of that he tried to rely on his assistants (Tim Rosenbach and others) and they ran the program into the ground in a very short period of time. Wulff has done some good things, I think his recruiting is just right, and will succeed in time. Unfortunately the new breed of Coug fan thinks that WSU should be winning 10 games every year, and that will never happen. I want the Vandals to play in a BCS game every year, but they lack the resources to compete with the big boys, so does WSU. Best case is to build a steady program that can have a special year every 3 years or so.
extermin8r on October 06 at 6:25 p.m.
cougfan2000 I think Tuel is just a little sore still, but that is just speculation on my part. He seemed not to be running full speed out there. We’ll know more tomorrow probably
EllensburgCoug on October 06 at 6:35 p.m.
Great Game Day Promo for the Cougs!
I think Withers is a little off in saying Wulff has been critical of the previous coaching staff. I think he has been very gentlemanly about it.
He reminds of the way Dick Bennett was when he took over after Paul Graham. Bennett was never critical of Graham, in fact, he said some nice things about Graham. He just said he was going to do it his way. Much like Wulff.
Go Cougs
skagitcoug on October 06 at 7:00 p.m.
The GameDay commercial is great pub for WSU—you can’t buy that kind of exposure for the program. “Any publicity is good publicity”—especially when it’s good publicity.

Kudo’s to you Elvis for waving the flag previously at GameDay. Like most Cougs, my main reason (these days) for watching that program is to see the tradition continue.

The naysayers are wrong. Much like Akey, if Wulff stays the course and develops his belief system and players, better days will be ahead. Until then, we have beer…

Go Cougs—
85coug on October 06 at 9:26 p.m.
I would like to hear what Bill Doba’s take on all of this is. Any chance you can get an interview, Vince?
Busyman on October 07 at 8:05 p.m.
I do not understand these guys calling for Wulff’s firing. What in the world do they expect? Have they been to a game in the last 4 years? I have, and although you may not see it in the win column yet, believe it or not there is reason for hope!

This is a rebuilding project that is going to take time. Coaches don’t get let go because everything is going great! If they are still going 2-9 three years from now, they can talk about a new coach then, but for goodness sakes lets get behind the program and be positive.

I admit years ago I was not a big fan when they hired Mike Price who had a mediocre history of 6-5 seasons at Weber State. Given time and support he put WSU on the map. Shouldn’t we give Wulff a chance to do the same?

For crying out loud, WSU and idaho may not have many wins yet—but from everything I’ve heard and read, what we do have are dedicated, relatively young coaches who are busting their chops to turn their programs around. Both love the institutions they are working for, know what kind of kids they need to recruit and, oh yeah, all the kids you talk to love these guys! Lets give them both some time!

Go Cougs! Go Vandals!