Football season in full swing?
COUGARS
As the rest of the Pac-10 plays tonight, Washington State and Washington take the night off. In fact, by the time the two play, the first half of conference play will be done for everyone else. But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot to read on this Thursday morning. After all, it is football season, isn't it? It sure seems that way. There are actually more football-related stories on the link then there are basketball ones. And we are less than a week from February, the coldest month of the year and one of the best in the college basketball season. Read on.
••••••••••
• Washington State: We'll start with basketball just because of what time of the year it is. ... Ryan Collingwood had a story in today's Lewiston Tribune concerning Klay Thompson and Isaiah Thomas. You can't read the whole story here, but you can see the nice graphic that ran with it. ... Thompson did not win the male athlete of the year award in Seattle last night. It went to Olympic champion Apollo Ohno. ... Jeff Nusser at CougCenter examines the recent problems besetting WSU's offense (and also looks at football recruiting). ... Rivalry? Sure it's a rivalry. There was some trash talk coming out of Seattle this week with Thomas dissing the entire town of Pullman (Is he the first to do that? Don't think so.) ... It's a big week for WSU - once again. ... Think the Cougar students don't make an impression at basketball games? Think again. ... More on Bishop Sankey's decision is available from Bob Condotta and the Seattle Times. As for the discussion here, thanks for keeping it civil. ... Athletic director Bill Moos talked with the Times yesterday during a media blitz through the Sound. ... Forgot to pass this on earlier this week, but a couple more players, linebacker Daryl Monroe and lineman Rico Forbes, enrolled early at WSU this semester. Both have a lot of work to do to catch up with their classmates. Cougfan has this piece. ... What are the recruiting needs of the Pac-12 North teams, including Washington State? ESPN.com's Ted Miller shares them. ... He also has a video about Cougar football. OSU does have one local, however, who expects to play well. ... How have Pac-12 teams met their goals thus far? Here's one person's opinion.
•••
• Around the Pac-10: The Bay Area trip hasn't been kind to the Oregon schools recently, not for Calvin Haynes and the Beavers or for the Ducks. One OSU local, however, expects to have a good weekend. ... Arizona and UCLA meet for second in the conference tonight. ... Despite their recent problems, the Sun Devils are still optimistic about the rest of the season. ... USC faces ASU still struggling in its zone attack. Not a good night for that to happen.
•••
• That's it for this morning. Best news of the morning? There will be crepes next season at Safeco. Mmmm, crepes. ... Coach Ken Bone is holding a conference call this morning then we're speaking at a WSU class. (They get credit for listening to me? Weird.) We'll check in sometime this afternoon with more on both. Until then ...
