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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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The heat’s been on at WSU practice


COUGARS

It's a busy morning so let's not waste a bunch of time with chitchat. Let's get right to the meat of the day, the news about Washington State football and the rest of the Pac-10. Read on.
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• Washington State: It's hard to believe it will be October tomorrow. Around here, October is the anti-March, it comes in like an 80-degree lamb and goes out like a lion. A cold, candy-filled lion. Anyhow, this may have been the best weather of any practice week all year (though some of the offensive linemen would disagree), what with just enough warmth to necessitate wearing shorts, but not so much you sweat all the time. Plus, it's late enough in the year the library offers shade for a lot of practice. ... We have this short story concerning the possible Pac-10 schedule changes and how it might affect Washington State. And we have our Pac-10 picks. ... Christian Caple at the Moscow-Pullman Daily News has his picks as well. ... We found this WSU basketball story on Yahoo last night. ... Our next basketball Q&A is with DeAngelo Casto.

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• Around the Pac-10: You like the Pac-10? Jim Moore loves it. ... But it will be changing over the next few months, and ESPN.com's Ted Miller has the latest. ... He also has his picks for the weekend. ... Jon Wilner ranks the Pac-12. ... With Cal announcing the end of baseball, where does that leave the rest of the conference's teams? ... San Jose's Mark Purdy just discovered everyone hates Oregon. He hasn't spent much time in our newsroom the past few years. ... Washington: The Huskies' freshman running back has remained healthy and productive, unlike their rivals' across the mountains. ... USC and UW both have young coaches. ... Oregon State: The Beavers' special teams could be the driving force behind a season turnaround. Though I'm not so sure James Rodgers will be cleared to play. ... Remember the Fiesta Bowl team from 10 years ago? The school does and is honoring the players. This is a story well worth taking the time to read. ... Oregon: I'm afraid everywhere Stanford plays this year there will be an Owen Marecic story or two. Not here. I did it last year. ... George Schroeder examines Jim Harbaugh. ... Cal: The Bears have a bye this week. ... Stanford: The tailback by committee seems to have found a chairman ... USC: Nick Holt will be back in the Coliseum this Saturday. ... UCLA: Though quarterback Kevin Prince seems to be getting better (he didn't practice again), backup Richard Brehaut is on alert. ... One drive against Texas may have made the Bruins' season. ... Arizona State: Steven Threet needs to bounce back after a horrendous game vs. Oregon. ... The Sun Devils have give Jacquizz Rodgers a tough time. ... Arizona: With a bye this Saturday, the Cats had some time off. That's pretty much over now.

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• That's all for this morning. We'll be back for sure after practice this evening and possibly sooner if we get our Q&A done. Until then ...



Vince Grippi
Vince Grippi is a freelance local sports blogger for spokesman.com. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.

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