Cole Morgan Goes West; Jeshua Falls Short

Cole Morgan is transferring to Western Washington University, as reported by the Seattle Times on Saturday.

What does it all mean for Cougar football? Well, not much. Quarterback is one of the few positions on either side of the ball this year where there will be depth. This certainly solidifies Gary Rogers as the favorite to take the ball in 2008, with Kevin Lopina and Marshall Lobbestael in line for the future.

The good news for Cole is that he can play right away at Western, because it is a lower division school and therefore has no transfer penalty. The Times suggests he will challenge WWU Senior Adam Perry for the starting job there. My prediction is that Morgan will win the job - he still has a gifted arm and good enough poise in the pocket to do well at any level of college football.

Jeshua Anderson fell just shy of Beijing in the 400m hurdles at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene. He placed fifth in the a semi-final heat where only the top four were set to advance. The silver lining is that Anderson will still be blazing past defensive backs this fall for the Cougar offense (which takes the field in just 60 days).

Channeling my Inner Fire Joe Morgan

Fire Joe Morgan, by the way, is a sports blog dedicated to cruelly ripping apart a wide variety of poorly written sports articles.

I didn’t think I would post again before I leave on my trip (see post below), but I just couldn’t pass up this opportunity, courtesy of The Columbian (his words in bold, mine in not bold). It’s not poorly written, I just feel like defending my anti-Hansen stance:

Commentary: Pac-10’s Hansen often gets bad rap

When Pacific-10 Conference commissioner Tom Hansen announced his retirement earlier this week, there were likely more responses of “It’s about time!” than “That’s too bad.”

Yeah, that seems about right.

And that’s too bad.

Okay, Skip Bayless. I’ll bite. Let’s see if you can back it up.

Hansen has had plenty of critics during his 25-year tenure as the league’s commish. He didn’t land marquee television slots on ESPN, stuck the league with a lackluster bowl game lineup, wasn’t proactive enough in the BCS mosh pit, and took an unpopular stance against a college football playoff.

Exactly. Now blow me away with the counter-argument.

To listen to some, it’s as if the Pac-10 is on a par with the Patriot League.

Now I can start diasagreeing. It’s not that we think of the Pac-10 as the Patirot League, it’s that we feel it is not on par with the other BCS conferences. A reasonable assertion.

That’s just dumb.

“dumb”?!?!. Hey, I’m not insulting your intelligence - don’t insult mine (which happens to be in agreement with a huge number of people).

All Sorts of Cougar News

Off-season news surrounding the Cougs seems to come in waves. Well, there’s plenty to pass along on this otherwise unremarkable Tuesday.

First, another edition of Buzzin’ The Palouse on Cougfan. This week covers not one, but two drafts: the MLB draft (four Cougars taken), and the upcoming NBA draft (with Kyle and Derrick working out for multiple teams). I also touch on the golf course, stadium renovation(s) and the continued success of Cougar rowing.

Next, we head over to WSU Football Blog, who attended the Columbia River Dinner and went home with shots of the newly rendered proposal for the Phase III designs of Martin Stadium. These are very different from what we’ve seen in the past, and if this is the one we ultimately go with it’s going to have a major impact on the stadium’s future. I’m sold.

Finally, and this truly is wonderful news, Tom Hansen is retiring as Pac-10 commissioner. Of course, he can’t be fired (that would be silly) so he will finish out the upcoming academic year. I thought about devoting a whole post to this, but I really can’t say it any better than Nuss over on WSU Hoops. I echo the sentiment that it is time for the Pac-10 to move forward, with a new commissioner that can take the conference into the new millenium. I’m all for experienced leadership, but 26 years of Tom Hansen?

What is Wrong With This Picture?

The answer: It was taken today. It’s June 10th, and it is snowing in Pullman. It is snowing in Pullman…

…and it’s June 10th.

……

……

[head explodes]

More pictures after the jump…

Scholarship Chart Updated

Link here, or at the top of the page.

Sauls Granted Release

After weeks of speculation, Stephen Sauls was officially granted his release from the Cougs toady. It’s a good news, bad news situation. The good news: there is a scholarship officially now available for next year, and it could possibly go to Ferris star DeAngelo Casto (I’ll update the scholarship chart when I get some more free time). The bad news, of course, is that we are losing a good player who had a bright basketball future until a freak injury caused a change in plans. I wish Stephen all the best and hope he gets back on the court.

Also, OJ Mayo is going pro and will sign with an agent. The Pac-10 is going to be a completely different league next year. I won’t say worse, because there’s loads of incoming talent, but very different.

One more interesting note: of the 15-man Cougar roster for next season, it is likely that 8 will be freshmen or redshirt freshmen now that Sauls has transferred. That is a young team, folks - and the nucleus of WSU’s future.

Dick Bennett’s first recruiting class scored six freshmen: Weaver, Low, Akognon, Henry, Harmeling, and Cowgill. When you think about how good those unheralded recruits turned out to be, this year’s class is downright scary.

Bennett, Johnson, Talk to LSU

This shouldn’t bring about any panic, but it is news, not rumor: Tony Bennett and Stanford coach Trent Johnson talked to LSU during the final four, most likely as a way for the Tigers to gauge either coach’s interest in the position.

Vince Grippi, my go-to Coug reporter at the Spokesman, makes it clear that he thinks Tony will not accept any offer.

Speaking of LSU, there’s an interesting article from lsubeat.com writer Glenn Guilbeau on how the firm LSU hired to find their new athletic director seems more than a little shady. This is the same search firm that will be “aiding” the Tigers in the search for their new basketball coach, now that the time-consuming search for their new athletic director has come to a close. LSU hired Joe Alleva, the Duke AD, who was assigned the unfortunate task of presiding over the lacrosse scandal and subsequent fallout.

Halftime Thoughts

29-29. But remember the Cougs were slow-starting last year against Oral Roberts.

We have Gus Johnson and Len Elmore announcing. I love Gus, but when you’re team is on the wrong side of a close game he’s the last announcer I want because he just about rips your heart out. In a close win, however, no one is better:

Low isn’t firing well (0 points). That’s OK though, he’s the focal point of the defense and he can open things up like that alley-oop to Cowgill.

My two biggest concerns are turnovers - of which there were way too many early on, and McCollough. He is killing us in the same inside-outside way that we saw from Anderson, Love, and Leunen. Looking at Winthrop pre-game he didn’t seem like a major threat. Time to re-evaluate that.

Having said that, the Cougs are a very good second half team. Winthrop has made its fair share of ridiculous shots, and it’s very common for a lower seed to keep it close for a half. However, they don’t call it March Madness for nothing. We’re going to need a great effort in the second half to come out with a win.

Win One For the Shootah

Ryan Appleby’s college career is not over. Yet.

In all seriousness, the Huskies deserve a postseason after being snubbed from the NIT for the second straight year. Still, the reversal of fortune here is amazing: when Ryan Appleby left Florida, the University of Washington looked like it was building one of the elite programs in the nation. Three years later, Washington State has won seven straight against the Dawgs; while all Florida did was win two national championships.

I do like the idea of the CBI tournament, because if nothing else it gives hope that someday the evil monopoly that is the NCAA doesn’t own everything having to do with major college athletics (they already own the previously-independent NIT).

Selection Sunday, Part 1

Let’s get one thing straight, Lunardi. The Cougs should absolutely not be a 7 seed, especially not a 7 seed in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Kenpom.com has the Cougs’ most recent RPI at #21. That means that if the seeding were based purely on the RPI, the Cougars would be at worst a six seed. There are four teams for each seed in the tournament. Therefore multiply four by six to get 24 - the number of teams that will occupy the top six seeds. It is possible the selection committee could frown on WSU and give them a seven seed. However, how can the committee justify dropping WSU in seeding and moving them to Little Rock, Arkansas in a first round game against Kentucky. Kentucky is a dangerous team and already travels well; I doubt they’d have any trouble getting to that first round game in droves.

Fortunately, the Cougs are not one of three Pac-10 teams that have to sweat out selection Sunday. In my opinion, Arizona and Oregon are in the dance while ASU is done in by their #296 SOS in their non-conference schedule (they went 10-2 in that run). I had a more lengthy explanation of my reasoning, but it has disappeared thanks to my computer randomly resetting my wireless connection every five minutes. Never buy a Dell. Ever.

Check back later and I will have my thoughts on WSU’s seeding and location. The Cougars are in a difficult position. UCLA will be a #1 in Anaheim. Stanford will be a #2-4 in either Anaheim or Denver. This makes it difficult for the selection committee to keep the Cougs nearby and avoid a later matchup against a conference rival. If the Cougs are bounced from the West the best they can do is Omaha. I hope the committee finds a way to keep WSU close to home and give them a seed they deserve. 6-seed in Anaheim, perhaps?