COUGARS

Ready for a full week? Let's see. There's basketball games Monday and Friday night, we'll have our season preview in Wednesday's paper and, like always, we'll have something from football nearly every day. Sounds like a full week to me. Read on.
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• Washington State: We had our follow story up last night, but there is much more to go over, as we do every Monday morning. ... Paul Wulff made what I told you during the bye week official. Senior Kevin Kooyman will redshirt and return next season. As we said back then, Kooyman intends to just take a unit or two next fall, allowing him to really concentrate on his last season of football. With the job market out there, who can blame Kooyman for wanting to stay in school a while longer? ... Jeff Tuel had his MRI yesterday around 4 p.m. and Wulff expected to get a call last night or this morning with the results. We'll do our best to find out and pass them on. ... Looking at the NCAA statistics this week, WSU is last in one major category, sacks allowed, and second-to-last in two, total defense and scoring offense. With UCLA's offense struggling (the Bruins are in the last 20 in rushing and scoring), the Cougars have a chance to improve their defensive numbers this week – especially since there is a 30 percent chance of snow. WSU is last in the Pac-10 in all but three categories: passing offense (9), kickoff returns (8) and tackles for loss (7) ... Want more links? There's our short on basketball and last night's post if you missed it. It includes the follow and the full version of our look back ... Freelancer Howie Stalwick has this story.

• Around the Pac-10: ESPN.com's Ted Miller ranks the conference and projects the bowl games. ... Buster Sports' Nick Daschel has his report card. ... Washington: Despite the stats, Nick Holt believes UW's defense is improving. ... Oregon State: As usual, the Beavers are getting better as the season wears on. ... Oregon: Hate polls? You are not alone. ... California: Wulff mentioned last night how horrific Jahvid Best's fall looked Saturday night. The good news is the Bear running back is out of the hospital. He won't play this week. ... Stanford: A big win means a big move in the rankings. ... USC: Arizona State's front seven even gave Matt Barkley fits. ...UCLA: WSU has another formation to worry about from UCLA: the wildcat. ... And quarterback Kevin Craft has prospered when need be. He might be needed this weekend, as starter Kevin Prince's status is unclear. ... Arizona State: More quarterback controversy after USC defeat. ... Arizona: The Wildcats are looking forward to the final four games – and a possible Rose Bowl berth.

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• That's all for this morning. We'll check in before the basketball game tonight. By the way, if you're interested in keeping up with Dick Bennett, check out this story. It's not covered here, but the elder Bennett had some health problems recently, though he is doing very well now. Until later …

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