Basketball season ends, more troubles for Leaf
COUGARS
FROM PULLMAN -- For a Saturday in late March, there sure is a lot of WSU-related news to get to. Read on.
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Not sure where to begin today, so we'll start with the basketball stuff. WSU came up just short of winning the CBI championship, falling 71-65 to Pittsburgh in the decisive third game yesterday afternoon. Here's the story that ran in our paper from a correspondent, and here is our usual postgame blog post. Here's the AP story, and the take from the Pitt side. ... The bigger news, however, may be the arrest of former WSU quarterback Ryan Leaf on burglary and drug charges in Great Falls, Mont., on Friday. A short story appeared in our newspaper, but the Great Falls Tribune discusses the arrest in more detail. A police spokesman said last night that more information should be available on Saturday. Leaf also released a statement last night: “I’ve made some mistakes, and have no excuses. I am using the tools I’ve learned to move forward rather than backwards, and will be open to talking about the details in the days to come. I am confident that there will be further understanding when the facts are revealed, and feel very blessed for all of the support, especially from my friends and family.” ... There was, in fact, some positive news for WSU yesterday, as well. The Cougars added another linebacker to their 2012 recruiting class, signing JUCO transfer Justin Sagote to a letter of intent. Sagote, who spent the last two seasons at San Mateo College, will arrive in the fall and have three years to play two. Here is his official WSU bio. That makes 29 players in the class of 2012, though four of them signed early, enrolled in January and are already practicing. ... We also posted our video interview with freshman receiver Rahmel Dockery. ... The WSU baseball team lost 15-10 to USC in the opener of a 3-game series at Bailey-Brayton Field.
Elsewhere in the Pac-12 ... An Arizona cornerback will transfer. The Wildcats are using helmet cameras to record practice film. ... But a couple of Colorado basketball players will not. ... But three Utah basketball players will. ... A Utah linebacker tries to fill some big shoes. The Utes have received high marks for their practices thus far. ... Looking ahead for Stanford, NIT champs. ... Previewing Oregon's defensive line. ... And Oregon State's defensive line. ... Washington will be thin on the offensive line when it begins spring practice on Monday. ... A USC receiver awaits his time to shine. Youth might be a concern up the middle. ... Ten questions for UCLA this spring. ... Bronco Mendenhall enjoys having a hand in BYU's defense.
All for now. WSU scrimmages later this afternoon, and we'll be there.
Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple