Fast Break
Track and field
Pickler earns national honor
Washington State’s Diana Pickler on Tuesday was named USA Track & Field’s Athlete of the Week after winning the heptathlon Thursday for the second time in three years at the Texas Relays in Austin.
A senior at WSU, Pickler won the women’s heptathlon with a world-leading and personal-best score of 6,205 points, a 350-point improvement over her previous best of 5,855.
NFL Europa
Meyer makes Cologne roster
The dream of playing in the National Football League for former Eastern Washington University quarterback Erik Meyer is alive and well.
After an impressive preseason training camp in Florida, the 2005 Walter Payton Award winner made the roster of the Cologne Centurions of NFL Europa when final cuts were announced last week.
The Centurions open the season Saturday against the Hamburg Sea Devils.
NBA
Obscene gesture costs Morrison
Charlotte Bobcats forward Adam Morrison was fined $25,000 by the NBA for making an obscene gesture to a fan during a game in Miami.
The former Gonzaga player made the gesture while sitting on the bench late in overtime during Charlotte’s 111-103 win over the Heat on Sunday. Morrison did not play in that game or Tuesday’s game because of a sprained knee, the first games he missed this season.
Morrison said he was being heckled throughout the game.
“I’ve got to learn to take it, I guess, but I think the guy went over the edge a little bit, calling me ‘white trash’ over and over again,” said Morrison. “I reacted naturally and I made a mistake. I hurt the organization and the team. I’m sorry about it and it will never happen again.”
SportsLink
In case you missed it
All the sports news doesn’t fit in the paper, but online columnist Vince Grippi can lead you to the rest. If you go to SportsLink at spokesmanreview.com/ sports, Vince will connect you to stories of interest in the Northwest.
•The Sporting News’ Tom Dienhart rates the Pac-10 coaches, putting WSU’s Bill Doba ninth. Grippi has the link.
•Adam Morrison is nursing a sprained knee. How long will he be out? Grippi has the link.