COUGARS

Talk about a time-eating process this morning. Between football items and basketball stories, I've been chewing through websites like a termite in Tahiti. But we've gotten to the core of the information now. Which brings a question. How to present it? We've figured out a way. Read on to discover our choice.
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• Washington State: We're going to split our sections in two, with basketball first, then football. Seemed like the easiest choice. ... Basketball ... We had a note on the Arizona State game tonight in this morning's paper – if I could weave in a mention of lunch, I'd have the whole day covered – along with the short synopsis of the weekend. Other than that, I didn't find any mentions of WSU hoops. ... Football ... OK, there's a lot here. We had our story and notes on the blog last night. ... Howie Stalwick had this piece in the News Tribune and other papers. ... The Times' Bud Withers wrote a news column about the signings. ... The News Tribune also listed a quick synopsis of the 25 LOI signers and the three recruited walk-ons (or as they are officially known, "preferred walk-ons"). There are 25, I counted. Twice. ... CougCenter has a thought on the top eight recruits. ... And, finally, recruiting coordinator Rich Rasmussen had something to say about message boards and the recruiting of Asante Cleveland during a chat on Cougfan. Though we can't link it, we can quote what Rasmussen said: "Unfortunately, Asante chose to go a different direction at the 11th hour. It put us in a difficult situation due to the timing of his decision. Some of the feedback we received from his family was the negativity towards our offense on the blogs at times. This was something that they read during the course of the season, and it was a bit of a concern to them during the recruiting process. Was that the reason why he changed and went another direction? I don't know. But it may have played a part in their thought process." Rasmussen didn't seem to be saying this as an excuse, just explaining what the family had passed on.

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• Around the Pac-10: We start with basketball ... Arizona State comes to Pullman today carrying some baggage from previous visits to the state of Washington – and still with a shot at the conference title. ... Pac-10 road trips are a new thing to UA coach Sean Miller. The itinerary for the weekend is included. I'm sorry, but I can't shed a tear. Been there, done that. ... Nic Wise is, at times, a one-man Arizona team. ... The Cal Bears are in first place at the halfway point. The Cal Bears haven't been healthy for the first nine games. The Cal Bears hope to get healthy for the next nine. ... UCLA has found a force inside. ... When stuck for a story, give out grades. Been there, done that. ... Now on to football ... Despite Pete Carroll leaving USC and heading the Seattle, the Pac-10 still seems to have had a great recruiting year. At least according to the recruiting services. ... The Huskies signed another talent-filled class.

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• That's all for this morning. We'll be back before the basketball game tonight. Until then ...

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