Fast Break
College basketball
Bennett mantra: ‘I’m staying’
Washington State men’s coach Tony Bennett decided Tuesday to put an end to all the speculation he may leave the Cougars.
“I will remain as the head coach at Washington State and I look forward to building for the future,” Bennett said in a news release issued by the school. “I am thankful for the opportunity this university gave me to become head coach and for the continued support of president Floyd, (athletic director) Jim Sterk and the entire Cougar Nation.
“Washington State University is a special place.”
Bennett said earlier in the day he wanted to put to rest recent rumors he was a candidate for other head coaching positions, allowing WSU to move forward.
The statement did not mention a possible contract extension for Bennett or planned improvements in assistant coaches’ salary, facility upgrades and schedule enhancements, all of which have been discussed by Sterk in the past few weeks.
The Cougars were 26-9 this season and reached the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16, where they lost to North Carolina. The Cougars are 52-17 in his two seasons as head coach.
Fishing
Jump-starting Sprague Lake
Fishless since a planned eradication in October, Sprague Lake is in business for anglers.
About 160,000 catchable-size rainbow trout are being stocked, including 3,200 beefy 1.5-pounders released on Tuesday.
In May, the lake will be stocked with trout fry, catfish, bluegills, bass and crappie.
Sprague is open for fishing year-round. Eastern Washington’s top trout waters open April 26.
Arena football
Gilliam wins second award
Shock defensive back Sergio Gilliam was named the arenafootball2 defensive player of the week for the second consecutive week.
Gilliam collected three interceptions last Saturday – one returned for a touchdown – tying the franchise record for the most interceptions in a single game for the second straight week.
The Shock play at Tri-Cities Fever at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Pro basketball
KeyArena plan dead in water
Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said a plan to renovate KeyArena is dead.
A local group led by Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer proposed the $300 million plan, but Nickels said the city is unable to close the deal.
State lawmakers have said that while they considered the proposal a significant step toward fixing the Seattle Center facility, they wanted to wait until 2009 to address the KeyArena remodel along with other King County projects.