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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Ten pounds later, we’re back on the beat

COUGARS

Where were we? Oh yeah, Pullman. Go away for a while and the whole town changes. Read on.

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• Yes, we're back from vacation. Physically if not mentally. Three things happened while Kim and I were out of town. We scaled Mount Everest, we ate crawfish pie and we walked on the moon. Of course, Mount Everest was at Disneyworld, the moon was at Cape Canaveral and the crawfish pie? It was real, it was really good and it was in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We relaxed on the beach, dodged tornadoes and visited Fort Sumter. We circled Augusta National, walked around Jordan-Hare Stadium and put our feet in the Gulf of Mexico. All in all, a great trip. ... But while we were gone, a lot happened in Pullman, including Klay Thompson staying in the draft (but really, who thought he wouldn't?), Aire Justin losing his PED appeal with the NCAA (but really, who thought he would win?), and the Pac-12 announcing the biggest college media money grab in history (OK, that wasn't in Pullman, but that's where the effect will be felt more than anywhere else). It's the latter event that is filling my time now, as I try to flesh out what the new media agreement means to Washington State. Pretty interesting stuff if you ask me, but then again, you start talking about millions and millions of dollars and that always piques my interest. ... As you know, school is out now, though the first summer session is underway. Will there be any academic casualties to hit the football program? Usually there is, but it's still too early to tell. Why? Because even if a player failed to meet a requirement in the spring semester, there are appeals and the summer sessions to make it right. We'll keep an eye on it. ... As for links, we'll get back into that business as well, though the well is a little dryer this time of year. You all may have seen this blog post from ESPN.com's Ted Miller concerning Jeff Tuel from last week, but I'll pass it along anyway. ... And that's it for today.

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• We'll be back as events warrant. 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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