Mike Sando

Earl Riley signs an autograph for Hanna Lewis. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Washington State University used Thursday afternoon's first fall football scrimmage to evaluate complementary players, and coach Mike Price said he liked most of what he saw. "We're looking to find players and I think we found a couple that we didn't know we maybe had," the WSU coach said. "I know we found one."

Here a Swoosh, there a Swoosh, everywhere a Swoosh, Swoosh. Nike and its omnipresent trademark are coming to Washington State University in the form of an agreement that is expected to save the athletic department hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Shawn Tims and teammates could catch foes in dilemma. Photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman-Review

The man in charge of Washington State University's defensive secondary has been positively identified as Craig Bray, a 45-year-old father of two. It only seems as if Mike Ditka is patrolling the practice field during the football team's two-a-day drills.

Children from the Little Tykes Child Care in Pullman, where WSU offensive lineman Cory Withrow worked this summer, enjoy a day at practice with their hero. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Holmes

Jon Kincaid's touchy left ankle received the undivided attention of Washington State trainer Mark Smaha before Saturday's practice. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

1. Junior QB Ryan Leaf is a wanted man at media day Friday. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review 2. WSU senior defensive back Kenny Moore (21) can't resist trying to crack up senior linebacker Brandon Moore during team photos at the Cougars' annual picture and media day Friday. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Stanford defensive lineman Kailee Wong divulged an affinity for pro wrestler Hulk Hogan and compared the upcoming Pacific-10 Conference football race to "a huge Royal Rumble." USC cornerback Brian Kelly flatly said his team has "a lot more athletes" than mighty Florida State, the Trojans' first opponent this season.

James Darling called his lawyer Sunday and told him to work for a last-minute settlement with Whitman County prosecutors because he didn't want to risk a potentially lucrative pro football contract on a trial that seemed likely to result in a more severe sentence, Darling said Tuesday. "Things were out of my control - I just wanted to get this out of the way and move on," Darling, a former Washington State University star and recent Philadelphia Eagles draft choice, said from his Whitman County Jail cell only hours after securing a relatively lenient punishment by entering an Alford plea to the reduced charges of second-degree felony burglary and fourth-degree misdemeanor assault.

Darling

1. Kyle Lunzer wraps himself up in a Hoopfest T-shirt to ward off the cold Sunday morning in downtown Spokane. While Saturday was hot and sunny, the Sunday session was a little cooler, forcing spectators to find ways to keep the chill off. Despite the weather, fans and players once again made Hoopfest a big success. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. It may look like computer-generated graphics, but this is actually a more unusual sight, a non-moving screen. But seriously, the lettering was on fencing separating some of the 17,000 hoopsters from even more dangerous traffic. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 3. A call to arms. Teammates Bradd Miller and Brian Seidel fight for a rebound. Photo by Torsten Kjellstrand/The Spokesman-Review 4. Melvin Bradley, left, of Seattle and Michael Noyes of St. Maries, Idaho, study a map. Photo by Torsten Kjellstrand/The Spokesman-Review 5. The display of tournament results is a gathering point for players and spectators. Photo by Torsten Kjellstrand/The Spokesman-Review

Shea Seals, brick. Reggie Freeman, airball. Dedric Willoughby, clank. Isaac Fontaine, not even close. Fontaine, Washington State University's all-time leading scorer, was only one of several high-profile college shooting guards to be passed over in Wednesday night's annual National Basketball Association draft. Such exalted company apparently provided Fontaine little comfort, however, and the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder was unavailable for comment after watching the draft on television from his family's home in Sacramento.

Fontaine

Washington State sophomore Molly Moore reached new heights in the hammer throw. This time, she didn't even have to scale a 30-foot fence. Moore finished third at Sunday's Pacific-10 Conference Track and Field Championships with a personal-best throw of 163 feet, 2 inches. One week earlier, when a competitor's hammer became tangled atop the withered backstop at WSU's Mooberry Track, Moore fearlessly scaled the fence and worked the implement free with a pocket knife.

WSU teammates Bernard Lagat, left, and Eric Kamau ran 1-2 in the 1500. Photo by Associated Press

WSU's Ian Waltz puts himself atop the conference. Photo by Associated Press

He's a high-flying Cougar Washington State's Hilary Mawindi will take a flying leap at a Pacific-10 Conference championship. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Jeff Maher survived two years with a brash teenager named Gary Payton, so the 33-year-old figures he's ready for anything. His next challenge is helping Washington State basketball coach Kevin Eastman prove last year's 13-17 showing was merely an aberration. Maher, whose coaching career began 11 years ago under Ralph Miller at Oregon State, is Eastman's new top assistant. A formal announcement is expected as soon as today. "My first job in college coaching was working for Ralph Miller, so I've been blessed," Maher said Tuesday from his office in Bohler Gym. "Gary was 17 then and full of more energy than he has now - if I could get through that fire, don't try to pull any wool over my eyes now." Maher worked under Eastman at North Carolina-Wilmington from 1991-94 and left there last summer to help longtime friend Joe DeSantis lead NCAA Division II Quinnipiac College into the Division I ranks.

Jill Wimer owns her team's season-best marks in no fewer than four events, and yet the fifth-year senior makes it sound as if she's an embarrassment to Idaho track and field. Especially when it comes to the javelin, an event she has grown to curse since qualifying for last summer's Olympic Trials.

Ryan Zackula was right all along. Make that half-right, this being track and field. The Eastern Washington University senior, whose jubilation had been derailed by a video replay, was vindicated late Saturday when his 800-meter finish with Weber State's Rob Christensen was ruled a dead heat.

1. EWU's Ryan Zackula (156) closes in on Weber State's Rob Christensen, left, during the final stages of the 800 meters. Christensen won in a photo finish. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review 2. Eastern's Seville Broussard crosses the finish line alone and in first in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles. Photo by Sandra Bancroft-Billings/The Spokesman-Review

Darling