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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Privacy awaits Cougars

COUGARS

FROM PULLMAN -- Tonight's practice, which begins at 8:15 p.m., will be the last of camp that will include player interviews. As of Sunday, practices will be closed -- to fans and to the media. We'll be there, as usual, but first, here are some words.

...

As a heads up, not only will practices be closed, but there will be no player interviews from now (or tonight, rather) until after the BYU game. So if you notice a lack of player voices in our stories between now and then, that's why. Coach Mike Leach and his assistants will still be available each day, and we'll still be watching practice from above Rogers Field. ... Anyone else catch the Oregon/Arizona game from 2009 on the Pac-12 Networks last night? It was their first Pac-12 classic game, which shows quite a bit of the original television broadcast with commentary from fans, media and players mixed in. Kind of like a 30-for-30 about a single game. Pretty cool.

... We continued our position previews with a look at the restructured defensive line, which is more worried about clobbering folks this season. We also have our usual notes from practice -- which included a scrimmage -- posted on the blog. ... Howie Stalwick says WSU's defense is fine being out of the spotlight. ... ESPN's Pac-12 blog writes about Rickey Galvin's transition to receiver. ... Men's Journal is going to publish a story about Mike Leach.

Around the Pac-12 (and BYU) ... Bud Withers opines on the debut of the Pac-12 Network. ... Arizona migh start a walk-on at slot receiver this season. ... Arizona State coach Todd Graham thinks highly of his freshman nose tackle. ... Utah needs its senior leader in the receiving corps to get healthy, then produce. The Utes' have two brothers who are ready to make their last season special. ... Colorado's newly-minted starting quarterback isn't fazed by the opportunity. ... Washington booted a couple players and had two more suffer injuries. ... California practiced in its new stadium for the first time. ... Stanford is adjusting to the new kickoff rules. ... USC got its left tackle back. ... Jim Mora has made it clear that UCLA is his team. ... BYU appears on the right track, according to its coach. ... Oregon State thinks it has two quarterbacks who can win in the Pac-12. ... Oregon's competition at kicker is, well, a competition.

That's it for now. We'll be back late tonight with notes from WSU's final open practice of the season.

Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple



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