My only comfort through the terrible football loses has been the excellent pieces on CougCenter (and my wife's comforting hugs). Please, CougCenter, write a piece that will make me want to watch another Cougar football game this season after that gross opener. I am already feeling sick thinking about the Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona, etc. games. I am just baffled. How did we do better in 2008 against the cowboys? Home field advantage doesn't influence the game that drastically. Plus, we were supposed to have a better team than we had in 2008 and OSU was supposed to have a worse team than their 2008 squad. (Sigh)

After the whole Pac 12 mayhem happened this spring, a friend of mine told me, "you must be one of four WSU fans in Utah that is happy the Utes joined the conference." I know there are many WSU fans in Salt Lake City, but there are probably about four in Southern Utah. See, I graduated in May and got a job in St. George, Utah. My exodus from Pullman was sad, and I feel like I took for granted the fact that I could walk to Beasley and Martin Stadium and that I could tune to 104.3 to hear every cougar game.

In order to maintain my cougar sports addiction here in Mormon Cougar Country, I would have to get a crazy sports package on my TV (which basically means I need to purchase a bunch of channels just to get FSN NW) or I would have to hope and pray that the Cougs make the Las Vegas bowl some time in the next few years. Of course, I could always pay $10 a month to hear streaming radio from Cougars All-Access (which really doesn't seem worth it), or look at the ESPN Gametracker (which always seems to stop checking the game with a minute to go-further proof that ESPN doesn't care about Coug Fans). Basically, CougCenter is my only hope to get up to date, thoughtful analysis on WSU sports.  Thank you, CougCenter!

So, yes, I am happy that I will likely get to see the Utah v. WSU game and other Pac-10 games in the future at some local eating establishments (notice I did not say Pub. . .this Utah after all). However, I have always been grateful to CougCenter for posting links to free video or audio multimedia coverage of the games. Now more than ever, I am depending on those links because I frankly can't afford the Cougar All-Access ($120 a year for. . .radio). If any WSU fans exist in St. George or Las Vegas, I would love to know how you catch the games. Maybe I will buy you a six-pack of Polygamy Porter if I can crash on your couch for a few hours to catch a game. Beyond that, how do Cougs outside of the Northwest catch games on a tight budget? I need to know. I got a job, but that  doesn't mean I have a ton of money to throw around. Also, I have to see a winning season of Cougar football because I never saw one while I was a student (small tear rolls down cheek and quickly evaporates in the 110 degree heat).

Go Cougs!

I know it is not uncommon to bring the new football recruits to a basketball game, but I think zzu cru and WSU athletics did it right this time. Normally, the new recruits sit up behind the north end basket and get an obligatory applause when Glenn Johnson announces their presence during a time out. This Saturday, though, zzu cru set aside two rows of prime mid-court seating and had the recruits come out right before the game to a standing ovation by the student section as they took their seats. Even though most of them played it cool (as 18 year olds do), I am sure it was a thrill for them. That's the way to make a recruit feel special!

After watching a satisfying win by us and a satisfying loss by the Huskies last night, I dug into Cougcenter to read articles and threads. When I got to Nuss' "Vindication, yes - but redress? Chances might be better than you think" article, it took every ounce of will power within me to not respond to the Duck trolls. Instead, I channeled my anger towards the Duck into an email towards Jim Sterk:

Mr. Sterk-

As a Coug, a Coug sports fan, and a regular follower of the (wonderful) sports blog Cougcenter <http://www.cougcenter.com/>, I just want to further encourage you and Ken Bone to pursue this business with the technical foul at the end of the UO - WSU men's basketball game on New Year's Eve. Normally I try and let these things go; but after reading an insightful article<http://www.cougcenter.com/2010/1/1/1229335/the-anatomy-of-a-blown-call>on how the referees blew the call and an article<http://www.cougcenter.com/2010/1/8/1240946/vindication-yes-but-redress>on how the NCAA actually agrees that we were wronged, I really want this matter to be resolved fairly. It makes me angry that Pac-10 officials would not be penalized for such a bad decision (if nothing else, such a controversial call) that affected the outcome of the game. A submitted appeal from you and Ken Bone to the Pac-10 would show the Cougar faithful that we really do care about what happens in our athletic programs.

Thank you. Go Cougs!

It was a cathartic exercise if nothing else, and I wasn't expecting a response. However, I saw this in my inbox less than 2 hours later:

James,
We asked for an official review last week. The Pac10 supervisor agreed with the officials. We sent them more tape today because we did not agree with decision. It is not over.
Best wishes,
Jim

Regardless of the outcome of the appeal, I'm happy that he has not given up.

This morning I was watching ESPN’s Tip-Off Marathon, and a few commentators were talking about the UCLA loss last night. Doug Gottlieb piped into the discussion and said that UCLA looked weak because of missteps in recruiting. I got really pissed, though, when Gottlieb made specific reference to Klay Thompson being at WSU and not UCLA, and he said “C’mon. You’re UCLA. You should have those types of recruits.” So begins this rant.

I’m from Southern California. Growing up, I was forced to choose a side: UCLA or USC. I often arbitrarily chose UCLA because it was the lesser of two evils in my opinion. Down there, those were the only teams that mattered. However, after I moved up to Pullman and I became a Coug fan, I began to despise those Southern California Pac-10 schools and their smugness, their sense of entitlement. When I would visit family and friends, they didn’t even know Washington State was in the Pac-10. I would constantly receive the distasteful comment of “oh, Washington State.  . . that’s the Huskies, right?” Over the past few years, I have become a self-righteous Coug fan that is bitter about the success of USC & UCLA teams that have advantages in recruiting, climate, and funds.

So, I was pleased that Stanford crushed USC this weekend, and was I excited when Cal State Fullerton beat UCLA last night. The giants fell this week. Even if it is a momentary setback for them, it still feels good. No matter how it cripples Pac-10 national exposure, I don’t want USC football to win the conference. And from the looks of last night, UCLA is far from regaining the conference title in basketball. Now, if the Cougs were more competitive and were in bowl contention, I would be more excited about the shifts of power in football this year. Alas, WSU football is terrible. But, basketball is a different story.

Pac-10 basketball is looking interesting right now after that UCLA loss. Sure, the media didn’t pick UCLA to be first in the conference; and, sure, it was just UCLA’s first game; and, sure, Cal State Fullerton has had some success lately. But, we are still talking about UCLA here. UCLA is a dynasty team. Like Carroll across town, we expect Ben Howland to reload his roster every year with blue chip talent. That is what the media thought, considering Dragovic (by the way , I Hate That Guy!) was the only returning starter and the media picked them third. Many people (ex: Nuss) talked about how unknown 3rd through 8th place will be in the Pac-10 this year, and I think the UCLA game last night definitely contributes to this theory.

Let’s face it, UCLA looked BAD last night. I would say it was more than just an off night for shooting that did UCLA in. They looked slow, they looked very sloppy, their defense was not what I expect from a Howland team, and they just looked very, very green. I would not be surprised if Howland worked some of his magic and got the team to the Tournament, but UCLA looks very beatable (more beatable than I can remember in a long time). I’m not the only person that was a little nervous when the Cougs squeaked out a win against Eastern yesterday, but that UCLA game made me feel a whole lot better about the Cougs chances in the conference. Comparatively, the Cougs looked more disciplined and smarter than UCLA (even though the Cougs have a lot of room for improvement). I know that the free throw percentage was discouraging for our game, but then I looked at the free throw and three point percentage for the UCLA game. Yuck! It is exciting for me to think (for the first time since I have been a Coug fan) that we have a legitimate chance to beat UCLA this year in basketball.

Okay, so I am comparing one bad game by UCLA and one mediocre game by the Cougs at the beginning of the season. UCLA has had some bad luck in the off-season with some of their better players. I am making a WAY too early assumption that UCLA is looking bad this year. I know, it was unfair for people to discount Oregon when Boise State manhandled them in the first game of this football season, and I shouldn’t do the same to UCLA. Fair enough.

But, back to Gottlieb’s comment, most of the country (with ESPN’s guidance) and especially UCLA and USC don’t see any problem with Gottlieb’s comment. Why shouldn’t UCLA have the best recruits? Why wouldn’t Klay go to UCLA? UCLA and USC deserve the best college players, right? No. Other schools in the Pac-10 deserve a shot at the Pac-10 title, a shot at taking down big schools like USC (football) and UCLA (basketball), and a shot at making their programs just as nationally relevant. I want to see a competitive conference, and not just domination from the two schools that ESPN expects to be successful in their respective dynasty sport.  

It is exciting to me when USC doesn’t look dominant in football and UCLA doesn’t look dominant in basketball. It is nice to see that those programs are fallible, and other non-dynasty programs get a chance at revenge for all the poundings of years past.

Okay, I will now step down from my Palouse-shaped soapbox.

Go Cougs!