WOMEN’S BASKETBALL in Pullman
WSU lost 67-42 to Stanford 3/1/2019 evening
on Friel Court at Beasley Coliseum on WSU campus in Pullman. Next game is last
game of regular season… Cal plays WSU in Pullman Sunday starting at noon.
…………
Lack of naming rights deal for WSU football
field expected to cause Cougar Athletics to miss its budget deficit reduction
target
From Pullman Radio News
With no deal in place for the naming rights to the football field,
Washington State University Athletics will likely miss its budget deficit
reduction target for the year. An update
on Cougar Athletics budget shortfall will go to the WSU Board of Regents next
week.
The report anticipates that revenue from a proposed naming rights
corporate sponsor agreement will not be realized this fiscal year. The document reveals that WSU was hoping to
earn a million dollars from the deal in fiscal 2019. WSU President Kirk Schulz has stated that the
university wants to sell the naming rights to the football field in Martin
Stadium.
The expected lack of an agreement in the current fiscal year is the
primary reason why Cougar Athletics will likely miss its budget shortfall
reduction target. The department was
hoping to reduce its ongoing annual budget deficit by 2 million dollars this
year. That target is expected to be off
by 1.2 million dollars. Cougar Athletics
is now projecting a nearly 8 million dollar deficit for the fiscal year which
ends June 30th. That’s still an
improvement from last year’s deficit of 8.7 million dollars.
The regents will vote on Cougar Athletics next budget in June. Last June the plan called for the department
to end its annual deficit spending in 2023.
At that time the total projected accumulated debt for Cougar Athletics
was expected to reach 85 million dollars.
President Schulz has stated on several occasions that the department
will pay the university back for covering its multiyear overspending.
Next week’s report to the regents states that Cougar Athletics is still
committed to selling the naming rights to the field in Martin Stadium. The regents will begin meeting Thursday in
Everett.
…….
WSU student Bridger Buckley eliminated from
‘The Titan Games’
UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 28, 2019, 10:20 p.m.
By Azaria Podplesky Spokane S-R
He came, he saw, he was – this close – to
conquering “The Titan Games.”
Washington State University student Bridger
Buckley put up a good fight all the way until the end, making it to the finals
of the competition that creator, actor and professional wrestler Dwayne “The
Rock” Johnson called “the most insane athletic competition ever devised,” but
he was ultimately eliminated.
In the final episode, which aired Thursday
on NBC, Buckley faced off against truck driver James Jean-Louis in a challenge
called Uprising, which involved competitors wearing a harness connected to a
rope that was connected to an anvil.
As the competitors ran forward, they lifted
the anvil and broke through five sets of concrete barriers that lined a 30-foot
tower.
Both Buckley and Jean-Louis broke through
the first two sets of barriers with ease, but Jean-Louis was ultimately able to
break through the final sets of barriers faster, pulling the victory chain and
securing his spot in the final challenge.
Jean-Louis would go on to be named the male
titan over attorney and professional MMA fighter Derik Scott, while metabolic
technician Charity Witt defeated swim coach Jackie Wood to be crowned the
female titan. Both Witt and Jean-Louis won $100,000.
…………
WSU BASEBALL: Late-Inning Lead Slips Away at Nevada
From WSU Sports Info
RENO, Nev. (March 1, 2019) – Washington State saw a late
inning lead slip away in an 8-1 defeat to Nevada Friday afternoon.
The Cougars held a 1-0 advantage with two outs in the sixth
but Nevada (7-2) delivered a two-run double in the sixth and added two solo
homers in the seventh for a 4-1 lead and added a grand slam in the eighth. WSU
(3-7) was led by catcher Rob Teel’s two-hit game but the Cougar bats left eight
men on base.
In the first, WSU loaded the bases with nobody out after a
leadoff single from Dillon Plew, a walk to Garrett Gouldsmith and Andres
Alvarez reached on a throwing error but WSU could only push one run across on a
Kyle Manzardo fielder’s choice RBI-groundout to first. Nevada kept it a 1-0
game by getting a pair of fly outs.
In the fifth, Nevada put runners on first and second with
two outs and the Cougars called upon freshman lefthander Ky Bush from the
bullpen who ended the threat with a strikeout.
In the sixth, the Wolf Pack came up with a two-out two-run
double over the right fielder to take a 2-1 lead and pushed the lead to 4-1 in
the seventh with a pair of solo home runs. Nevada pulled away with a two-out
grand slam in the eighth.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Dillon Plew led off the game with a single up the middle,
has reached base in all 10 games
Gouldsmith walked in the 1st to extend his on-base streak to
6 games and he singled in the 3rd to extend his hitting streak to 6 games
Danny Sinatro singled in the 2nd to extend his on-base
streak to 8 games
Starter A.J. Block worked 4+ innings, 0 R, 4 H, 3 K,
no-decision
NEXT UP
The series wraps up with a single game Saturday at 1 p.m.
:::::::
WSDOT crews work through the night blowing snow of SR27
From Pullman Radio News
Washington Department of Transportation crews worked through
the night to try and get State Route 27 back open in Northern Whitman County
and Southern Spokane County. Crews are
blowing the deep snow drifts off the highway.
SR27 between Tekoa and Fairfield has been closed since Tuesday
night. Crews are working hard to get the
15 miles of highway back open as soon as possible.
:::
WSU MEN BASKETBALL HEADS TO BERKELEY FOR FINAL ROAD GAME OF
PAC-12 SEASON
From WSU Sports Info
Washington State men’s basketball (11-17, 4-11) looks to
bounce back as it heads to Berkeley to take on California (6-22, 1-15),
Saturday, March 2 at 4 p.m. at Haas Pavilion.
• The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network as Ted
Robinson (play-by-play), and Don MacLean (analyst) have the call.
• All season long, Cougar basketball can be heard on the
Cougar IMG Sports Radio Network with the Voice of the Cougars, Matt Chazanow on
the call.
• Live stats are also available at www.wsucougars.com
:::::::::::
WSU FOOTBALL
Washington State’s Andre Dillard puts on a show for pro
teams in on-field portion of NFL Combine
UPDATED: Fri., March 1, 2019, 6:39 p.m.
By Theo Lawson S-R of Spokane
The 40-yard dash may not be the best way to measure the
agility or athleticism of a player who usually does his work in a 10-yard
radius, nor is it the preferred drill for the largest humans competing at this
week’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
But it’s still an important barometer for the offensive line
position, and it was another way for Washington State’s Andre Dillard to
separate himself from the crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Only three of the 38 offensive linemen who participated
Friday afternoon chewed up 40 yards quicker than Dillard, who turned in a time
of 4.96 seconds on his second attempt after recording a 4.99 on his first try.
Texas A&M center Erik McCoy (4.89), Boston College guard Chris Lindstrom
(4.91) and North Carolina State guard Garrett Bradbury (4.92) all finished with
faster 40 times, but Dillard clocked the best time by an offensive tackle at
the combine.
"He's the best pass protector in the entire
draft."@WSUCougFB OT @AndreDillard_ runs a 4.99u 40-yard dash.
“That number will
work for me, for Dillard,” NFL Networks analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on the
live broadcast after Dillard’s first run. “Look at him and look at his body,
Rich (Eisen), he came out of high school at 240 pounds.”
After the second attempt, Jeremiah noted: “To me, he’s the
best pass protector in the entire draft, and sub-5 is a great number.”
Widely regarded by analysts, experts and writers as the top
offensive tackle prospect in the upcoming NFL Draft, Dillard backed up those
assertions by posting impressive marks in the other on-field drills he was put
through.
He had the top broad jump of an offensive lineman, leaping
118 inches. He produced the top 20-yard shuttle time, completing the drill in
4.4 seconds. Dillard also fared well in the three-cone drill, with a time of
7.44 seconds that placed him second.
Dillard participated in the bench press on Thursday, lifting
the 225-pound barbell 24 times for a middle-of-the-pack finish among the 46
other O-linemen.
A few of Andre Dillard’s results so far at the combine
today....
1st in Broad Jump- 118 inches
1st in the Twenty Yard Shuttle- 4.40 seconds
2nd in the Three Cone Drill- 7.44 seconds
4th in in 40 Yd Dash- 4.96 seconds
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler tabbed Dillard as one of the top
OL performers on Friday, writing, “There were high expectations for Dillard
this week, and he either met or exceeded them Friday. He looked outstanding in
pass protection drills – quick pitter-patter feet and easy lower body
movements.
“(He) has the best feet among the offensive linemen in this
draft with outstanding lower body flexibility, which could push his draft value
in the top half of round one.”
Dillard’s Washington State teammate, running back James
Williams, also cycled through the on-field tests, posting some impressive
numbers along the way.
Williams’ 40-yard dash time of 4.58 seconds finished in the
bottom half of the running back group, but he excelled in a few of the other
drills, with top-five marks in the vertical jump (36.5 inches, fifth),
three-cone drill (7.01 seconds, fourth) and 20-yard shuttle (4.25 seconds,
fourth). Williams didn’t participate in the bench press Thursday due to a
shoulder sprain.
WSU quarterback Gardner Minshew went through interviews,
team meetings and psychological testing and will complete his on-field drills,
including a throwing session, today.
:::
FOOTBALL
UW’s Myles Gaskin, WSU’s James Williams offer no regrets about differing decisions on NFL draft entry
UW’s Myles Gaskin, WSU’s James Williams offer no regrets about differing decisions on NFL draft entry
Originally published February 28, 2019 at 5:21 pm Updated
February 28, 2019 at 10:29 pm
Running back is one position where more experience in
college isn't necessarily a good thing for the NFL.
By Bob Condotta Seattle
Times
INDIANAPOLIS — Within a half-hour of each other on Thursday,
the two leading rushers for the two Pac-12 in-state schools in 2018 — Myles
Gaskin of Washington and James Williams of Washington State — walked into the
media interview room at the NFL combine to fulfill a necessary requirement for
each of the roughly 330 players who are here.
And within a minute or so of their arrival, each explained
his answer to a question many potential NFL draftees face each year — should I
stay or should I go?
It’s a question that’s maybe hardest for running backs, such
as Gaskin and Williams, to answer.
For players at many positions, more college experience is
almost always regarded in NFL circles as a good thing, or at least not a bad
thing.
But for running backs, who take a literal pounding 20 or so
times a game, more college experience often just means a bunch more punishment
and potential injury.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider said this week that
the wear and tear that running backs have already suffered is an increasing
consideration when it comes to draft time.
“When you look at the
number of touches you have to be really careful because there is only a certain
window for those guys, and the window is not incredible,’’ Schneider said. “ …
If we love a player, but, yeah, but he’s got such-and-such amount of touches or
soft-tissue injuries, that’s just part of the whole grade.’’
For Williams, who led the Cougars with 560 yards on 122
carries and also with 83 receptions for 613 yards, health was the biggest
factor he cited for leaving with one year of eligibility remaining.
Whatever upside there might have been to coming back for one
more season — Williams is regarded as a late-round pick — he felt was negated
by the risk of an injury along the way and that despite where he is currently
projected, he wasn’t sure there was much more he could have done to impress NFL
scouts.
“It was hard to leave
my brothers behind,’’ Williams said of his teammates at Washington State. “But
I feel like I was ready. I feel like I’m healthy. That’s the main reason — I’ve
seen two redshirt seniors get injured last year. I was like ‘I don’t want to be
that guy.’ My draft stock is either gonna get lower or stay the same because
I’m a catch a bunch of balls and rush for 500 yards, get the ball probably four
times a game. It was the perfect time to leave.’’
Williams is being represented by NFL Hall of Famer Eric
Dickerson, whom he met through another mentor while in high school and has been
training in southern California since leaving WSU.
“Eric Dickerson was
throwing a Father’s Day camp for kids that didn’t have fathers,’’ Williams
explained of how he first met Dickerson. “He (his mentor) introduced me to him.
E.D. (Dickerson) had me go and just coach all his running backs and he went up
beside and started helping me and I thought that was a cool experience.
” … All through college after every game or before games
he’d call me, pump me up, give me motivational speeches. He’ll tell me what I
did right or wrong in this process. Now I’m in his management, so it’s been
good.’’
Gaskin, meanwhile, stayed at UW for a final season after
giving considerable thought to leaving a year ago.
Staying another season allowed Gaskin to become UW’s leading
career rusher with 5,323 yards. Whether that helped or hurt his draft stock is
harder to know — a shoulder injury caused him to miss two games and resulted in
him rushing for the fewest yards (1,268) and lowest yards per carry (4.9
compared to a career 5.6) of his four years at UW.
But Thursday, Gaskin expressed no regrets.
“Just wanted to come back, finish out with my team, finish
school, too,’’ said Gaskin, who majored in American ethnic studies. “I wanted
to win as many games as I can. Our plan was to try to win the national
championship last year. Didn’t turn out that way. But I was glad I stayed. I
had a lot of fun. I had the most fun I had in my four years my senior year.’’
Is he worried at all that the shoulder injury will cause any
worry as he now heads into the NFL?
“I feel like I
haven’t been injured that much,’’ Gaskin said. “I missed two games my senior
year, but I don’t think that comes up. I don’t think that is a red flag for too
many teams, just because I played in a lot of games. Just those two games I
missed and I came back. I came back better than ever and just kept on playing.”
And now the hope for each is to keep on playing on the
biggest stage there is, a moment that for Gaskin, being in Indianapolis for the
Combine is making feel more real by the minute.
“It will be great,’’ Gaskin said of hearing his name called
in the draft April 25-27. “Something I’ve always dreamed about, something I’ve
always dreamed about as a little kid. Being at the combine, seeing that
everything is coming closer each and every day, I just can’t wait for that
moment.”
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