Rypien Could Be Close To Landing Job

The agent for Mark Rypien said Friday “things are heating up” in the NFL free-agent market for the former Washington State and Shadle Park High quarterback.

Houston and the St. Louis Rams are the most interested in Rypien, said Ken Staninger of Missoula.

“I would say that something is going to happen in the next seven days,” Staninger said. “If somebody gets real motivated, it might be in the next two or three days.”

Rypien, MVP of Super Bowl XXVI for the Washington Redskins, was released by the Cleveland Browns after last season.

At Washington State, Rypien played against new Rams coach Rich Brooks - then at Oregon. One of his coaches at Washington was Houston Oilers offensive coordinator Jerry Rhome.

Basketball

Washington State men’s coach Kevin Eastman has announced that Kareem Jackson and Chris Scott, a pair of 6-foot-3 junior college guards, have signed letters of intent to play for the Cougars next season.

Jackson comes from Sacramento City College, where he averaged 14 points and 10 assists as the team’s point guard. He was named MVP of the Bay Valley East Conference and first team all-state after he led the Panthers to a 24-8 overall record and the league title. The native of Oakland, Calif., finished his junior college stint as the school’s singleseason and career assist record holder.

Scott comes from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, where he led an injury-plagued Golden Norsemen to a 15-15 record. Scott averaged 14 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per outing. As a freshman, the Hugo, Okla., native set a school record by hitting 66 percent of his shots from the field. The team finished 26-6 and ranked No. 19 in the nation.

EWU football

Eastern Washington University will conclude its second week of spring practice with a scrimmage today at 11 a.m. on the Eagles’ practice field in Cheney.

Eastern will practice two more weeks before the annual Red-White game May 13 at 2 p.m.

UI football

The Silver topped the Gold, 14-0, as the defenses dominated in Idaho’s final spring football scrimmage played before 1,550 fans at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.

Track and field

Coeur d’Alene native Corissa Yasen of Purdue beat two-time defending champion Denise Steenstra to win the Drake Relays heptathlon Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa, with 5,326 points to first-day leader Steenstra’s 5,225.

And on Friday, Yasen repeated as high jump champion in the meet with a height of 6 feet, 1 1/2 inches.

Yasen, the former CdA Viking standout, set her career best in the seven-event heptathlon.

A junior at the West Lafayette, Ind., school, Yasen trailed Steenstra by 140 points after five events before taking the lead with a personal best of 141-6 in the javelin. That was almost 36 feet farther than Steenstra and left Yasen 11 points ahead going into the final event, the 800.

All Yasen had to do was beat Steenstra, and she did easily, winning in 2:16.90. Steenstra was second in 2:23.52.

“I finally put it all together in the javelin,” Yasen said. “I just fed off that for the 800.”

Yasen, who won the high jump on Wednesday with a school heptathlon jump record of 5-11 1/2, was second in the javelin and third in the long jump. Steenstra won the long jump and was third in the javelin.