Cougar Gridiron Classic Promo

A little over a month until Cougar Football! Here's a little promo for the Cougar Gridiron Classic:

Death on the Palouse

Dateline NBC aired a special tonight, Death on the Palouse, which chronicled the saga of Frederick James Russell. It was the first interview from Russell since being extradited from Ireland back to Whitman County in 2006 after the accident in 2001 that claimed 3 WSU students' lives. There are many videos on the Dateline website, but here is a small part of the interview with Russell:

Save the Trees!

While most students are gone for the summer, a major change is happening on campus. Part III of the Library Road project involves removing several older trees near Avery Hall. There is a great website, www.savewsutrees.com, bringing attention to this issue, with an online petition you can sign and let your voice be heard. There has also been media coverage in The Daily Evergreen and theMoscow-Pullman Daily News. There are also some good pictures over at this blog.

So what can you do? Sign the petition at the link above, join the Facebook group, write a letter to the Daily Evergreen, or send an email to James Michael Stone of WSU Capital Planning and Development, jmstone@wsu.edu. Hopefully some of these graceful giants can be saved which give WSU its character and make it a beautiful place to be a Coug.

[Photo David Barnes and Michael Hanly, savewsutrees.com]

Giant Cougar to Hit Palouse

That's right, as part of the Martin Stadium remodel, some alumni has donated a 4500 pound, $400,000 bronze cougar statue. It will be located in the NE corner of the stadium and should be in by the November 8th game against Arizona. A crappily photoshopped picture above shows what it might look like. For more info, check out this article on Cougfan.

Kyle's A Bobcat

Kyle Weaver was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats with the 31st pick overall in the 2008 NBA Draft. Weaver was selected along with D.J. Augustin and Alexis Ajinca by the Bobcats, joining former Gonzaga and Spokane native Adam Morrison. He is the only Cougar to be drafted in the last 12 years.

I wish he would have been picked by the Blazers, who had 3 picks near the end of the first and start of hte second round, but I think he will be a good fit in Charlotte, where Tony Bennett played his pro ball.

Update: It turns out that Derrick Low is going to be on the Maerick's summer team. Hopefully he can get a shot at making the team

Seattle Times: WSU Football in Trouble

The long anticipated Seattle Times story on the troubles the Cougars are having on the field has finally been published. It goes through the accounts of several players, including Andy Mattingly, Trevor Mooney, Andy Roof, and the oft-troubled Xavier Hicks, who was ticketed for driving without a license when he was released from his jail term. It definitely reflects poorly on not only Coach Doba and his staff, but many of the current players. Coach Wullf said:

"We've got some kids making some mistakes, but they're not major mistakes," Wulff said. "We're not talking major drugs. We're not talking some truly serious issues that go on in society."

But he adds: "I guarantee that will be held to a minimum as we move forward. The players understand that. I guarantee it."

Hopefully Wulff can help the team put these issues behind them and some leaders will step up and take charge. At least these issues have all been in the public eye and there have been no cover-ups by the players, coaches, police, or university (unlike similar allegations of the Huskies a few year ago). You can read the whole story about the troubled Cougs here.


On a lighter note, here's a nice article about new Suns coach and former Trailblazer Terry Porter, with plenty of quotes from Dick Bennett. And I who would have thought that Terry Porter and Tony Bennett shared a room.

Snow in Pullman... in June?

You heard correctly. Pullman residents awoke this morning to a fresh blanket of snow covering the Palouse. Here are some pictures from around campus.