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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Game day for WSU, day after for most others

COUGARS

FROM SEATTLE -- We've got some Pac-12 games to recap, and one -- the one you care about -- to preview. Read on for links and game-day content for the Cougars, as well as a football personnel note.

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First, a football note: WSU has confirmed a report that defensive tackle T.J. Poloai has been dismissed from the program for a violation of team rules. Poloai (listed at 6-foot-2, 275 pounds) would have been a redshirt freshman this upcoming season. ... For my advance story about today's game at Washington, I wrote about the challenges -- and advantages -- of defending Huskies point guard Tony Wroten, who is second in the conference in scoring at 17 points per game. One quote that didn't make it into the story that I really thought was interesting this week was Abe Lodwick saying that WSU needs to use UW's aggressiveness to its own advantage. Hassling Wroten is a big part of that. ... As we did earlier in the week, Percy Allen of the Seattle Times takes a look at the Cougars' West Side recruiting efforts. ... Ryan Divish and I exchanged blog posts discussing today's game, though the art with his is far more outstanding. ... Divish also has this story about Huskies guard Terrence Ross, and his lack of aggression at times. ... The WSU women couldn't end the streak against UW last night.

Around the Pac-12: Question: When is blowing a 17-point lead a good thing? Answer: Never, really, but it's a heck of a lot easier to swallow when you still win the game, as Oregon did in Tucson last night over Arizona. The Ducks held on for a 59-57 win despite collapsing down the stretch, picking up just their second desert sweep in school history, partially because Arizona kept hitting the snooze button. ... Odd news on the football side of things for Oregon, as quarterback Darron Thomas announced he will enter the NFL draft. ... Oregon State didn't have as much luck in the desert this weekend, following Thursday night's overtime loss to Arizona with a 76-66 loss to Arizona State on Saturday. The Sun Devils lost Trent Lockett to injury in the process. ... Colorado stumbled on the road this weekend, falling 84-64 to Stanford. The Cardinal may have quieted some of their critics with the win. ... Utah gave Stanford a game on Thursday, but couldn't do the same at Cal as the Bears rolled to an 81-45 win. It was a dissapointing result that came amid progress for the Utes. ... USC and UCLA play each other today. The rivalry still means something even though neither team is very good this year.

All for now. We'll be back later today from Hec Ed with some pregame thoughts.

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



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