Christian Caple

PULLMAN – There’s been plenty of ice. Lots of attention from the trainers, too. And when he sleeps, Washington State forward Brock Motum even puts a drawer beneath his mattress to help elevate his sprained right ankle in an attempt to reduce the swelling. But will all that treatment be enough for Motum to play a basketball game Monday?

PULLMAN – Before the Air Raid revolution at Washington State, it would have been a sin for a receiver to miss any part of the quarterback’s play-call in the huddle.

PULLMAN – There’s been plenty of ice. Lots of attention from the trainers, too. And when he sleeps, Washington State forward Brock Motum puts a drawer beneath his mattress to help elevate his sprained right ankle in an attempt to reduce the swelling.

PULLMAN – Whoever finishes second in Washington State’s quarterback battle will not be able to blame a lack of opportunities.

PULLMAN – Mike Leach won’t be spending much time duplicating 16-millimeter film this spring. Because that’s no longer in style, the Washington State coach hasn’t bothered with playbooks, either.

PULLMAN – Mike Leach won’t be spending much time duplicating 16-millimeter film this spring.

PULLMAN – Perhaps none of Mike Leach’s assistants resembles his unconventional rise to coaching stardom more than Dennis Simmons, who has made a career of coaching receivers at the college level despite playing linebacker at BYU.

PULLMAN – Maybe they should just play twice in Corvallis this week and call it a best-of-5.

PULLMAN – At this point, Washington State might be playing for the Pac-12 as much as it is for itself. All season, pundits both national and regional have taken turns offering examples of nearby mid-major conferences that performed better than the maligned Pac-12.

Wyoming, travels to Pullman to play WSU in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational Monday night at 7. And just as the Cougars wanted to prove in a first-round win over San Francisco of the WCC that the Pac-12 is still king on this coast, they’ll try to further silence those who waved the MWC flag for much of this season. “More teams are in (the NCAAs) in those conferences this year,” said WSU senior guard Marcus Capers. “If you look at those leagues, people would say they’ve got better teams. I wouldn’t feel that way. The Pac-12 – or the Pac-10, as it was last year – is filled with a bunch of pros, so I just feel we’re competing."

PULLMAN – The assembly of Mike Leach’s first recruiting class at Washington State may have, in a way, offered a guideline for what to expect from the Cougars when they begin spring football practices this week. Leach and his assistants did as much as a new coaching staff could do prior to signing day on Feb. 1, noting afterward that piecing together a class in two months is not a task for the meek.

Washington State will host its next game in the College Basketball Invitational.

PULLMAN – Jim Mastro calls it a blessing in disguise.

PULLMAN – This town is so empty during Washington State’s spring break that Cougars guard Marcus Capers’ mind gets to wandering. “I was thinking about driving on the wrong side of the road, something like that,” the senior joked Tuesday. “Just to say I did it.”

Pac-12 women’s basketball has a new home in the Northwest. In a move that commissioner Larry Scott said will generate unprecedented television exposure for the sport and a better game atmosphere, the Pac-12 announced Monday that it has reached a 3-year agreement to play the Pac-12 women’s tournament at KeyArena in Seattle beginning next season.

PULLMAN – The season isn’t over yet for the Washington State men’s basketball team. The Cougars were selected Sunday to make their first appearance in the College Basketball Invitational, and will play a first-round game at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the University of San Francisco. The game can be seen on HDNet (Comcast channel 707 in the Spokane area).

PULLMAN – The season isn’t over yet for the Washington State men’s basketball team. The Cougars were selected Sunday to make their first appearance in the College Basketball Invitational, and will play a first-round game at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the University of San Francisco. The game can be seen on HDNet (Comcast channel 707 in the Spokane area).