Fast Break
Deceased
Former WSU QB Gambold dies
Former Washington State University athletic star Bob Gambold has died in Arizona, the school said Monday. He was 79.
Gambold, who was raised in Longview, played football and basketball for the Cougars after World War II. He was a starting quarterback for teams in 1948, 1949 and 1950. He was a starting forward for legendary basketball coach Jack Friel those same years.
He went on to play briefly in the NFL for the Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles
He then turned to coaching football as an assistant at Everett Junior College, WSU, Oregon State, Stanford and Illinois. In the NFL, he was an assistant coach at Denver and Houston.
WAC Football
WAC honors Idaho’s Shaw
Idaho defensive end Josh Shaw, who helped the Vandals snap a 17-game losing streak against Western Athletic Conference foes, has been named the conference’s defensive player of the week.
Shaw, a Spokane junior from Lewis and Clark High School, recorded 10 tackles, three of which amounted to losses of 18 yards, in Idaho’s 20-14 victory against New Mexico State. Shaw also had two sacks and forced a fumble in the third quarter that led to a Vandals field goal.
Idaho (2-7, 1-4) prepares this week for a Saturday matchup against San Jose State.
Donations
Pickens gives OSU $63 million
Billionaire booster T. Boone Pickens will give another $63 million to Oklahoma State to finish athletic projects that were supposed to be paid for with a previous $165 million donation that took a hit during the economic downturn.
Pickens announced the gift Monday and also said he would be returning the $125 million remaining in the athletic department’s fund to the university.
Pickens’ $165 million donation in January 2006 was the largest gift ever given to a college athletic program. He intended to grow it through his investments so it would pay for about $420 million in renovations and new construction on the campus.
That plan was going smoothly until Pickens’ BP Capital energy fund encountered major financial trouble in recent months. The university said last week considerable funds remained.