Grinding into Thursday

COUGARS

FROM PULLMAN — Another Thursday means WSU’s final practice of the week before taking on California. After that? A bye week. But there is no rest yet. Not for the Cougars, and not for us. Read on.

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In today’s newspaper, you will find a story about California’s breakout win over UCLA. You will also find our Pac-12 picks for the week. On the blog, you will find a recap of our live chat , some notes from Ken Bone’s media availability yesterday, some notes from practice , and our weekly Pac-12 pick ‘em contest . … Howie Stalwick has this WSU basketball story in the Kitsap Sun. … Bud Withers has a feature on Gino Simone in the Seattle Times. … WSU broadcasters Bob Robertson and Shawn McWashington answered questions in a Seattle Times live chat yesterday. … For some reason, Mike Leach’s “empty corpse” comments caught on in a big way on the national level today, with ESPN touting the story on its home page for much of the day. … From California: A Bears cornerback earned some more national recognition for his efforts against UCLA.

There is one Pac-12 game tonight — Arizona State (4-1, 2-0 Pac-12) at Colorado (1-4, 1-1 Pac-12): An Arizona State offensive lineman has been a steady force throughout his career. … Colorado is hoping to turn things around on a national stage .

Around the Pac-12 … Stanford will face a tackling machine at Notre Dame this week. … A UCLA receiver is out with a rib injury. … USC’s kicker will try to block out the fans this week at Washington. … Jordan Poyer’s big game against WSU earned him some national recognition . … Oregon’s backup quarterbacks are adjusting to college football. … Utah might have a tough time defending a certain UCLA tight end . … Washington’s rebuilt offensive line is making strides every day . … Role players are making a big impact at Arizona.

Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com . Twitter: @ChristianCaple