Fast Break
Cycling
Arbitrators deny Landis
Floyd Landis used the arbitration process as public theater to try to prove a point and regain his reputation.
In the latest attempt that almost certainly will be his last, the anti-doping establishment slapped down the one-time 2006 Tour de France winner once more, ruling Landis didn’t play fair, on the bike or in the hearing room.
A three-person panel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport agreed with a previous panel’s decision, ruling Monday that Landis’ positive doping test at the Tour two years ago was, indeed, valid.
He will not regain the title he won with a stunning comeback in Stage 17, a rally many thought was too good to be true and that turned out to be fueled by synthetic testosterone.
Emma Wasson
Zag nation loses devoted fan
The Gonzaga basketball program lost one of its most devoted fans over the weekend.
Emma Wasson, a fixture at Bulldogs games for more than 35 years, died Saturday from complications due to organ failure. She was 83.
Wasson sat near the end of Gonzaga’s bench at the McCarthey Athletic Center, keeping score in the official program and hollering ‘Miss it’ when opposing players attempted free throws. She rarely missed a home game and made numerous road trips to watch Gonzaga’s WCC and NCAA tournament games. One group of Bulldogs seniors gave Wasson a letterman’s jacket embossed with her name.
“They’re all my sons,” Wasson said of GU players in a 2005 interview with The Spokesman-Review.
Wasson is survived by her 10 children and their spouses, 18 grandchildren and spouses, and four great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Paul in 1972.
“She was a true loyal Zag fan, and we loved her,” Gonzaga associate head coach Leon Rice said. “Our players loved her and she was a big part of this program.”
GU players and coaches often stopped to chat with Wasson prior to games.
“Oh yes we could hear her (during games) and we always saw her when we came out on the court and we’d say, ‘Hello’,” Rice said. “She was always so great to us.”
High school Basketball
Hall of Fame induction July 19
The Washington State Basketball Coaches Association will induct five new members into their hall of fame, including former Walla Walla and Lake City High School coach Jim Thacker.
The induction ceremonies will take place in Spokane at the McCarthey Athletic Center in the Herak room on July 19 and in Tacoma, July 24.
Jim Clifton, Jack DeKubber, Bill Hill and Lyle McIntosh will also enter the hall of fame.
Those interested in attending should contact Shadle Park basketball coach Tim Gaebe at 993-4581 or e-mail him at timg@spokaneschools.org.