What's up This Week

February 6 is just a week away, and for college football fans, that means just one thing: National signing day. For those who do not know what a national letter of intent is, click here.

After a dismal start to the recruiting season, Cougar football coach Paul Wulff is making up ground quick. He just received a verbal commitment from his 20th recruit and this class seems to have some promise. While former coach Bill Doba tended to go after skilled players such as running back and wide receivers, Wulff's strategy appears to be in going after bigger players on both sides of the ball.

Some top verbal commitments include Bernard Wolfgramm, a junior college defensive end, cornerback Kevin Frank (pictured), who had offers from Nebraska, and Jared Karstetter, a 6'4" wide receiver from Spokane.

The coaching staff still has a few players they would like to go after, and nothing is a sure deal, but the early indication is the the cougs have a solid recruiting class...



...Check out this week's Seattle Times investigative piece. It's a story chronicling the off-the-field problems of the last great Husky football team. The story not only vindicates what Cougar fans have been known for years, but it shows the price a school and a community pay when they put athletics ahead of everything else. Part four comes out tomorrow...


...The Cougar men play host to the Bay Area schools this week. Don't miss Saturday's game, when #14 Stanford invades Beasley Coliseum. Tip-off is noon. Thursday's game against California will not be televised.

A stark contrast

Hey cougar basketball fans.

As I am sure that you know, there is a small difference between the 2007-08 Men's and Women's cougar basketball team. While the men are fighting in the tough Pac-10 for a conference title and are listed in the Top ten in both polls (as of the time of this post). The women are in the cellar of the Pac-10 with only 3 wins and none in conference.

Not saying that it is going to get any easier for both of these teams. But the fact that at the start of the women's game on Thursday, there were 3 students sitting in the student section! 3!!! Now granted that is a combination of the team's struggles and the men being on TV but.....3? Come on cougar fans! We can do better than that!

Didn't we support Robbie, Kyle and Derrick when the program was struggling as it was rebuilding? Then why can't we support these women as the program is doing the same thing. Let them hear us....

Cheer up Cougar Faithful

WSU 64-Arizona 76
Not the final outcome most Cougar faithful expected. However it is important to remember that it is not how poorly you play in January, but rather how well you play in March that matters. With that said, the Cougars looked helpless tonight, unable to score consistently and unable to stop the Wildcats. They'll need a better performance against Arizona State on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 4 pm.

Oh yeah, the Women's team blew a double-digit second half lead...again. Junior Katie Appleton scored 23 points to lead the Cougars.

Meanwhile, watch these YouTube videos to help shake off the losses.

Former Cougs Football Star in Stable Condition

An ex-WSU football player's condition is steadily improving after a car accident Tuesday morning, reported the Seattle Times.
Rien Long, a defensive tackle and Outland Trophy winner on WSU's 2002 football team, was upgraded to stable condition this morning at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.
Police say the 26-year-old Long was driving too fast down an on ramp when his vehicle lost control and hit a rock embankment. The car's only passenger, 28-year-old Wesley Stephens, was treated for non-critical injuries.

The end of an era....

This is the first of many team blogs that we will be posting on this site. This first one though is dedicated to the ending of an era. This era being the losing streak that the Men's Cougar basketball team had against the University of Oregon Ducks. This streak had lasted the better part of 7 years, in that we had lost 13 in a row going into Sunday nights game.

I wish that I had been there to see it, as I am sure that Jeremy can give you a first person point of view. I can however tell you that I have another interesting point of view for this thrilling game. I do sports shows. I am currently the Co-Director for a Cable 8 Production Show, "Inside the Lines" and am working on a spin off show called "Trackside" (It's all about motorsports.) I also have a weekly radio show on KUGR, called FNST (Friday Night Sports Talk). In addition to all of this, I get to do KUGR sports coverage of the games (sometimes play by play, sometimes color) or like I was on Sunday, doing studio coverage for pre-game, halftime, and post game.

I have to admit that I was bouncing back and forth watching via Internet the NFC Championship game and the cougars. I listened to the two guys doing coverage, WSU trailing big early, then coming back, Baynes inside early, then D-Low, then Kyle. 34-30 UO at half. Then the second half came, the crowd getting into it, the national TV crew eating it up, and the studio team getting excited. Near the end of the game, I couldn't stand it, I was pacing back and forth like a expecting father. Finally, the free throws go through down the stretch and WSU wins, 69-60. It was great. Now there are downsides to doing this approach (aka not seeing it). However, when you get a chance to be that involved at home....It makes for a great day!

Congratulations Cougs! Back to #6 and tied for first.

Trevor

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