Mike Sando

Washington State University has received commitments from at least 15 football recruits and is expected to announce the signings today, sources confirmed Tuesday. The Cougars had only 17 scholarships to offer this year, primarily because there were just 12 seniors on scholarship last season. The two remaining scholarships are expected to be filled sometime after Thursday, when the NCAA "dead period" ends.

1. Lynn Archibald, center, with his wife, Anne, left, and daughter, Lee Anne, has spent a lot of time watching his son, Beau, play basketball at WSU this season. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review 2. "It's not going to go away, so you just have to take it," freshman Beau Archibald says of his father's terminal illness. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 3. Beau Archibald, right, is a creator on the court, always reaching for opportunities as he did during Saturday's 74-55 win over Arizona State. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Washington State's Rodrigo de la Fuente cradles the ball after a first-half scramble as ASU's Mike Batiste hangs on. The Cougars retained possession. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Arizona sends an early message to WSU as Bennett Davison dunks on Cameron Johnson on the first play of the game. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Stanford was bigger, quicker, deeper and livelier. Washington State was in serious trouble. The 17th-ranked Cardinal scored the first 12 points Saturday and presented more problems than WSU had answers, solving the Cougars 81-61 before 7,231 in Maples Pavilion. The victory upped the Cardinal to 6-2 in the Pacific-10 Conference, one-half game behind UCLA. WSU fell to 2-5 and has lost three straight. Afterward, WSU coach Kevin Eastman called Stanford the best team his Cougars have faced all season, even if the Cardinal can play better (see: Stanford 109, UCLA 61). "They're better than Georgia," Eastman said. "I think they'd beat Michigan, who we've also played, in a series. "They have all the parts - good big guy (Tim Young), good point guard (Brevin Knight) and two other things you have to have: shooters and passers."

Perhaps you've already heard this one. Washington State takes a healthy lead against a supposedly superior opponent, only to squander that lead and lose when Isaac Fontaine's last-gasp jumper clangs off the rim.

Embarrassed and apologetic, Washington State forward Carlos Daniel took responsibility Wednesday for the shoplifting arrest that led to his suspension for last weekend's basketball game against Washington. "I want to apologize to my parents and then to my teammates and coaching staff for the embarrassment and humiliation I put them through for the bad decision I made," said Daniel, who is expected to start when the Cougars visit California tonight at 7:30.

1. Washington State's Tavares Mack watches a rebound elude his grasp following teammate Isaac Fontaine's final shot of the game. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review 2. Steve Slotemaker draws a charge on UW's Todd MacCulloch. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Daniel is averaging 13.8 points per game. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Scoring leaders Isaac Fontaine (22) of WSU and Mark Sanford of UW (right) figure to be at the center of attention during today's game. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

The NCAA's landmark decision allowing student-athletes to hold part-time jobs may be only the first step in easing financial restrictions on scholarship athletes, Washington State University president Sam Smith said. Smith, who chairs the NCAA Presidents Commission that approved the change last week, addressed several related issues during a campus press conference Friday.

The Washington State men's basketball team posted an aggregate grade-point average of 3.17 last semester, by far its highest on record, the university confirmed Wednesday. The 3.17 GPA breaks the previous modern WSU men's basketball record of 2.62, set in the spring of 1991, a university spokesman said. WSU has team GPA records for the last 15 seasons, he added.

1. Carlos Daniel stretches for two of his team-high 21 points and gets a bonus foul shot for his efforts against the Beavers. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. Isaac Fontaine drives around Oregon State's Ron Grady in the first half. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

Carson Cunningham gives OSU a lift. Photo by Associated Press

Washington State guard Isaac Fontaine blows by Oregon's Jamar Curry as the Cougars break away to an early lead. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Oregon point guard Kenya Wilkins (10) is a fast-rising star. Photo by Associated Press

In case anyone thought Thursday night's 28-point loss to UCLA was a fluke, Washington State went out Saturday afternoon and lowered the limbo bar another notch, losing 106-73 to USC before 2,868 in the Sports Arena. Thus ended the Cougars' longest road trip of this 1996-97 basketball season, a 16-day misadventure that took them through Spokane, Hawaii and Los Angeles and lowered their record from 7-1 to 8-5.

First, the positive part of Washington State's "performance" in Thursday night's Pacific-10 Conference basketball opener at Pauley Pavilion: "We don't have to come back to this friggin' place this season," coach Kevin Eastman said. Now for the ugly part: UCLA outworked, outmuscled and out-everythinged the Cougars in posting an absurdly easy 84-56 victory that kept WSU winless here in 32 tries.

1. The Arizona State secondary proves no match for Ohio State's David Boston, who breaks free for a first-half touchdown. He later hauled in the game-winner. Photo by Associated Press 2. Plummer fights for a 3-yard, second-quarter gain. Photo by Associated Press

Ohio State quarterback Joe Germaine, left, and coach John Cooper show off the Rose Bowl trophy. Photo by Associated Press

John Cooper, left, and Bruce Synder wear helmets, not hearts, on their sleeves. Photo by Associated Press

Pac-10 basketball preview The abrupt firing of UCLA basketball coach Jim Harrick three weeks before the beginning of the season was bound to affect the balance of power in the Pacific-10 Conference. But few imagined the impact would be felt so quickly. With five starters back from a team that went 23-8 and won its second consecutive conference title, UCLA was ranked as high as fifth nationally in preseason polls. Then came Harrick's ill-fated recruiting dinner and controversial firing. Untested assistant Steve Lavin took over on an interim basis - emphasis on interim - and has been unable to rally the Bruins. At 5-3, UCLA has dropped from the rankings altogether, and a reversal seems less likely with each lackluster performance. Meanwhile, most of the rest of Pac-10 appears stronger. Perennial contender Arizona is joined in the Top 25 by upstarts Stanford and Oregon. California, left for dead after a number of high-profile defections, is 9-2 and headed in the right direction under new coach Ben Braun. Washington, led by Mark Sanford and driven in part by the 11th-hour collapse that cost it an NCAA bid last season, will again be competitive. Washington State appears better than one might have figured - Sunday night's 85-79 loss to No. 4 Michigan would have been respectable even if Mark Hendrickson and Donminic Ellison were still with the team.

1. Cougars stand tall. Ken Kavanagh, foreground, and his San Jose State teammates needed to take their game to another level in Sunday's Spokane Arena game against Washington State. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review 2. Isaac Fontaine lays one in for two of his 22 points that led Washington State over San Jose State. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Mack