Ex-Vandal Vobora now a Seahawk

NFL: Former St. Louis linebacker David Vobora has agreed to a contract with the Seattle Seahawks.

Seattle announced the signing on Monday. To clear a roster spot, Seattle released running back Vai Taua.

Vobora was the final pick of the 2008 draft out of Idaho. He went on to play 34 games with St. Louis, including 16 starts. Vobora had 97 tackles – 24 of them on special teams – during his three seasons with St. Louis.

He’ll add depth to a group of linebackers that saw David Hawthorne shift inside and Leroy Hill step in at outside linebacker after Lofa Tatupu was released earlier this month. Vobora was waived by the Rams on Aug. 12.

Associated Press

Gonzaga to get at least 12 ESPN games

Men’s Basketball: The Gonzaga University Bulldogs will appear on the ESPN family of networks a minimum of 12 times according to the 2011-12 schedule announced by the West Coast Conference and ESPN on Monday.

Six of GU’s conference games will be televised on ESPN2 as part of the WCC again being the centerpiece of ESPN’s Thursday night coverage. The Zags will also have one WCC game shown on ESPNU.

In addition, the Bulldogs will have a minimum of five nonconference games televised on the ESPN family of networks.

Eastern Eagles picked No. 1 again

College football: The defending national champion Eastern Washington Eagles are picking up right where they left off.

EWU received 23 of 28 first-place votes and tallied 687 points to make them the top-ranked team in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Preseason Coaches Poll released Monday.

Eastern returns 15 starters from last year’s team that won the NCAA Division I title and finished with a school-record 13 wins.

Dealer assaulted at Randolph’s home

NBA: A man who went to the West Linn, Ore., home of Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph to sell marijuana said he was beaten with a pool cue in a dispute over the price of pot.

The man told deputies at least three men assaulted him but Randolph was not among them. No arrests have been made.

Police identified the victim as 26-year-old James Beasley of Portland.

The victim told officers that he recognized Randolph and was certain he wasn’t involved in the beating, but he didn’t know the names of the people who assaulted him. There were at least 20 people at Randolph’s home.

Associated Press