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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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A packed Thursday morning

COUGARS

FROM PULLMAN -- With football practice, a live chat, early signing day and a basketball game last night, there were a few things to write about. And now there are a few things to read about. So go ahead and read on.

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We'll start in the newspaper, where there is a story taking a look at Arizona State's season, a game story from last night's basketball game, our weely Pac-12 football picks and a short item on the players WSU signed to letters of intent for men's basketball. On the blog, we had quotes and video following the basketball game, as well as our usual tale of the tape. And a recap of our live chat. ... With everything that was going on last night, there just wasn't time for a post from football practice. But there are only a few things worth noting -- Jeff Tuel is still taking the majority of the reps at quarterback (which isn't news at this point) and Isiah Myers is still practicing fully. Ioane Gauta threw a touchdown pass to Kache Palacio to win a 7-on-7 session to cap practice with offensive and defensive players switching roles. ... Howie Stalwick wrote about the basketball team's win in the Kitsap Sun. ... Jerry Brewer has some pretty direct criticism of Mike Leach's coaching job this season. ... WSU makes a top-10 list it would prefer not to make. ... From Arizona State: Excuse ASU's record, because Todd Graham has the Sun Devils in a better place, says one columnist. ASU's backup quarterback could get more reps.

Around the Pac-12 ... Arizona is focusing on Utah's big man in the middle. ... A pretty wild story in the Shabazz Muhammad saga. ... Washington has a versatile kicker. ... Taking things too seriously in Los Angeles. ... Freshmen will play a part in Saturday's USC-UCLA showdown. ... Stanford is up against it this weekend at Oregon. The Cardinal's center is a smart dude. ... Cal's athletic director speaks about the future of Jeff Tedford. ... Is Oregon State a model of hope for the Bears? ... Oregon's quarterback is battling Johnny Football for the Heisman Trophy, maybe. ... The memory of Fred Thompson lives on at Oregon State. ...  Colorado's running game is coming together. ... Utah's former quarterback is taking a job at Hawaii.

In basketball signing news ... Washington signed a guard and expects to sign another. ... Colorado signed three players. ... Oregon State picked up a center and a guard. ... Arizona signed one player. ... Utah signed four. ... California made the biggest splash by signing Jabari Bird.

Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple



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