Husband. Dad x2. Journalism professor
@MurrowCollege
. PA voice of Pac-12 Champion
@wsucougarwbb
. TV host/moderator. WSU Athletics Advisory Committee.
There’s a small chance I had too much fun getting to do public address for
@WSUCougarFB
last night. Thank you Glenn Johnson (a mentor & inspiration) for the help and allowing me to sit in “the” chair for a bit.
I wanted to share a bit of that fun with you all.
#GoCougs
The Mariners have hit .175 in the past week against the defending World Series champs, the defending NL champs, and the team with the current best record in baseball.
They’re 5-2.
The Pac-12 as we know it will be laid to rest tonight, with the single-season & career passing yardage, passing TDs, and career receiving yards records belonging to Washington State Cougars.
The WSU football team is 58-37 since 2015, 33-25 in conference. A bowl game in every season that had bowl games. 4-4 against Oregon. Getting out ahead of any narrative that suggests that WSU has done anything but consistently outperform expectations/recruiting rankings.
Jake Dickert took exception to a comment and mentioned it in a postgame presser, which, according to Game Day, is “thin-skinned.”
So Game Day, taking exception to a comment and making a full segment about it, is… ??
"I thought that it was thin-skinned, they were hypersensitive, and it wasn't their best moments at all."
Desmond Howard criticizes Dickert, Leaf, as well as Ohio State's Ryan Day for going after Lee Corso and Lou Holtz.
The
@Mariners
win + the
@Rangers
loss means Seattle leads the AL West by 3 games.
It’s the first 3-game division lead post-May 1st for the Mariners since they were up 3 on August 22, 2003.
WSU President Kirk Schulz and athletic director Pat Chun just arrived at Whitman County Superior Court. Arguing to stop a meeting of the 12 current members and remove decision-making powers from the 10 who’ve announced they’re leaving the conference.
Son: “Dad, want me to show you how to play Minecraft?”
Dad: Builds Martin Stadium/Gesa Field to scale.
I’ll be spending the (virtual) offseason here. And I’ll be back inside for the start of the 3rd quarter.
#GoCougs
Overheard the kids discussing colors in the other room.
4-year-old daughter: “Just don’t pick purple and yellow, ‘cause that’s like the Huskies.”
I did it everyone. I did it.
Two months until
@Mariners
Opening Day. But since they won’t let me into
@TMobilePark
right now, I decided to build my own. Block by block. In Minecraft.
#goms
@MLB
“It’s all about TV ratings” they say as Arizona, Colorado, and Arizona State - who ranked 10th, 11th & 12th respectively in the Pac-12 in viewership in 2022 - leave for the Big 12.
BREAKING: Arizona, Arizona State & 2-time defending Pac-12 champion Utah joining Big 12 in 2024 pending Big 12 formal approval in next 24 hours, sources told
@ActionNetworkHQ
. Big 12 will be 3rd league w/at least 16 schools, while Pac-12 down to 4 schools
UW fans are fretting over the cost of travel to see their football team play a game away from Seattle.
1) Travel is & has been expensive for a long time.
2) It was determined by UW leadership that committing to such travel challenges was inherent to the survival of the program
We’re moving to Pullman!
I have accepted a job with the
@MurrowCollege
at WSU as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Communication. I am charged with preparing our student journalists for careers in TV news. It’s a humbling, overwhelming, but exciting opportunity!
#GoCougs
I hold zero ill will toward any Coug who gets offered a crazy sum of money from another school this offseason. And many will. But we sure would love it if you guys considered sticking around Pullman a bit longer. Could be something special here.
#GoCougs
Gardner Minshew must have signed thousands of autographs and taken thousands of photos this weekend. Wall-to-wall events, made time for everyone, kind to all, smiled big in every pic.
A million thanks to The ‘Stache for making this an unforgettable weekend in Pullman.
Rock bottom was last week. I have no emotion for an immediate 14-0 deficit to Cal.
I live in Pullman & am a journalist, so I will make this vow: Some day - maybe soon, maybe in a decade - I will find the story of what happened during the bye week in 2023.
Some one-loss conference champion (maybe an undefeated champ) is going to be left out of the 4-team CFP, and people will lose their minds, calling the system broken.
Now imagine being a top-half Power 5 program for the last decade and getting left out of realignment entirely.
Julio Rodriguez & Cal Raleigh each have 27 HRs, the first Mariner teammates 25 or younger to reach that mark. The only other M’s who hit 27 HRs at age 25 or younger:
Alex Rodriguez
Ken Griffey Jr.
Jim Presley
Alvin Davis
Hey Kalen DeBoer, if you would take one piece of advice from a Coug in this situation, I’d say it’s to stay away from a place called Arety’s Angels. You’re welcome.
The biggest game in college sports is happening in Colfax, Washington today. I’ll be at the hearing in Whitman County Superior Court in the Pac-2 vs. Departing 10 case.
By the afternoon, we should know who has governing control over the Pac-12.
The Pac-12 schedule release is a fun reminder that on Sept. 9, 2023, Wisconsin will be the first Power 5 program to play a non-conference game in Pullman in 25 years (Last: Illinois, Sept. 5, 1998).
#GoCougs
What do you do when your broadcast journalism class is supposed to meet at the same time as a huge hearing about the future of the Pac-12?
Field trip to the courthouse (and a little extra credit)!
Thanks to these awesome students for their initiative. We’ll keep you updated.
Following the victory by OSU & WSU yesterday, I’ve seen a new conversation start with a little more steam: G5 teams who want to be in the Pac-12. In terms of narrative victories, it seems Tuesday made the Pac-12 a desirable destination, an important first step in a rebuild.
I grew up a Cougar fan - mom & dad went to WSU and several other family members, including myself, got to experience years in Pullman. When I was little, all I knew of football was the Apple Cup. Can't believe that's getting thrown out like trash.
Well there it is. People will complain... then get used to it... then, in 25 years when the name changes again, people will harp on the “lost T-Mobile Park tradition.” I’ll just choose to like it now.
Thank you
@WSUCougarFB
seniors. Most of these guys have had 3 coaches here and a conference membership that ignored them. There’s something special about this place and they figured it out.
#GoCougs
Unreal. The Cougs have gone 3-1 against this group:
No. 4 Louisville
No. 8 BYU
No. 18 Baylor
No. 6 Texas
Just beat the Longhorns, the defending national champs, in Austin.
#GoCougs
#cve
Curious to see how many Cougs show up to College GameDay in Seattle.
And for UW students, staff & alumni who wonder what the commotion is Sat. morning: College GameDay is a TV show about American football, which is a sport played at the university in late summer through fall.
Bill Walton died within 12 hours of the final Pac-12 sporting event. Dude was the quirkiest, weirdest, and most ardent supporter of west coast sports there has ever been. RIP.
The sendoff for the
@WSUCougarsMBB
team as they board the bus to start their journey to Omaha.
#GoCougs
#MarchMadness
🏀 WSU (7) vs. Drake (10)
🕰️ Thursday, 7:05pm
📺 Tru TV
Here’s what should happen: The Big Ten also takes in Utah, Colorado, and the pairs of WA, OR, AZ, & bay area schools. Two divisions. We’ll call the easternmost teams the “Big Ten” & the west something to do with the ocean next to them. Winners play in a game called the Rose Bowl.
Dear people managing vaccination sites: Please stop telling my student reporters that cannot get video of your building from a public sidewalk. And don't threaten to call the police on them for exercising a constitutionally-protected right of a journalist.
Cougar WBB up 14-4 at the first media timeout. A welcome reminder so far that Pac-12 is done.
Also, Jake Dickert - WSU’s biggest fan - is here taking in the action.
The Richard Sherman-Marshawn Lynch conversation on Sherm’s podcast is great. Interesting bit on Russell Wilson (unfiltered as you might imagine… headphones on). Starts with the idea that neither have a direct line to Russ.
Full interview:
Cougar volleyball has run through these teams (rankings at the time of the matchup).
No. 8 BYU
No. 18 Baylor
No. 6 Texas
No. 6 Oregon
Beat them all.
“No one wants us”? Maybe so…
Bella Murekatete’s last field goal attempt in Beasley Coliseum is a game winner. With the week we Cougs have had, let’s appreciate someone who gave all she got for 5 years in Pullman.
Whitman County Superior Court Judge Gary Libey grants the preliminary injunction.
"I grew up in a place where conduct spoke more than words. What you do and how you do it, is what counts in life."
WSU and OSU win.
Side note on this Civil War announcement - Canzano reporting that the Mike Leach Memorial Bowl (WSU vs. Texas Tech) will happen in Pullman next year. That would be game No. 12 on WSU’s schedule.
Civil War football game is on for 2024 and beyond. Oregon State and Oregon finalizing deal.
Ducks vs. Beavers on Sept. 14 at Reser Stadium.
(PS: Texas Tech will play at WSU in 2024)
More on "Operation Preserve the Civil War" here:
The WSU sports cycle:
Step 1: Recruit & develop players ignored by other programs.
Step 2: Consistently outperform programs with higher-ranked recruiting classes.
Step 3: Have their players poached by those programs who failed with their own guys.
Step 4: Repeat.
As a professor at WSU, I’m here to excuse all Cougs from studying for finals from 1-3pm on Sunday (Dec. 10) so you can watch your mega-talented
@WSUCougarWBB
team play UW. We aren’t sure what’s going to happen to the hoops 🍎 🏆 so you may as well be there!
#GoCougs
The team that’s done the most damage to the Mariners during this postseason run?
The Red Sox.
Since August, Boston is 3-13 vs. HOU, TEX, and TOR. Lost every series. Also 2-4 vs. TB & BAL.
Under oath this summer, Kliavkoff said USC & UCLA lost their board positions when they announced they were joining the Big Ten in 2024.
Why is this important? Kliavkoff is a defendant in the Pac-12 case, which means he either has to stand by this or risk perjuring himself.
News: In a sworn statement in the Comcast case, commissioner George Kliavkoff said USC and UCLA had been removed from
#Pac12
board - a potentially significant development for the WSU/OSU lawsuit
I have a confession: I haven’t watched a single bowl game. Die hard sports fan disenfranchised but the whole endeavor. Bummed out to not even be a little compelled to watch decimated rosters pretend to care, then act like it meant something.
I will, however, watch the semis.
ESPN's report on the WSU/OSU suit against the Pac-12 includes this very important piece: "The essence of WSU and OSU's concerns are, if the league's 12 schools formally meet (next Wed.), that the current members could vote to dissolve or evenly distribute the remaining assets."
The Northern Lights are out. I can even see them from our backyard in Pullman (credit to my phone’s long exposure for “seeing” it better than I can). Even so, what a show.