Pac-12 Network objective is
to make you take your eye off ball
Updated Apr 18, 2:19 PM; Posted Apr 18, 8:34 AM
By John Canzano, Oregonian
Several weeks ago, amid questions about the bad optics of staying in a
$7,500-a-night hotel suite in Las Vegas, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott sent a
memo to his staff.
He attempted to justify the need for the big boss to have a marble soaking
tub during the conference basketball tournament.
It was damage control.
Pac-12 Networks head Mark Shuken also issued an internal missive last
month. According to staff, Shuken addressed a report that the Pac-12 paid for a
downtown-San Francisco apartment for him that often sat empty. Also, he
explained the necessity for his conference-financed charter plane travel to and
from his home in southern California.
More damage control.
Leadership knows it has an awful morale problem in the conference
headquarters to go along with its money problems. But conference leadership
jumped the damage-control shark this week when it announced that critics don’t
understand the mission.
The Pac-12 Networks distributes less revenue to conference members than its
peers. It also has a shrinking audience and poor distribution. Athletic
directors and coaches are frustrated. And fans have given up on it.
Shuken said in an interview with the Sports Business Journal that those who
are taking the conference to task for the revenue aspect, “don’t understand the
objective.” He told the reporter that the aim of the networks is to “amplify
student athletes and their experiences.” Profitability isn’t the goal,
basically. And he pointed out that the lack of distribution, particularly the
absence on DirecTV, “doesn’t define the strength of the network.”
It’s a lot to digest.
And in the end, it leaves me hungry.
Certainly the SEC Network and Big Ten Network seek to amplify
student-athletes, coaches and programs. But while doing so those entities also
fund members at a level the Pac-12 does not. Those Power Five Conference
networks are more widely distributed as well.
Shuken’s comments were an insult to Pac-12 universities.
Yet, none of us should be surprised at the strategy of the conference. It
contracted with a high-profile crisis-management firm last year, and one of the
objectives laid out in a 34-page communications manual playbook involved an
intentional strategy to “engage third-party voices” to help “shift the
conversation.”
That’s what Shuken is attempting here.
The problem is the conference has thin credibility with the public. While
saying profitability isn’t the goal, it’s simultaneously seeking $750 million
in private-equity investment to address the shortage of revenue created by the
failing network. So what we have is the conference’s left hand reaching for a
pile of money while its right hand is telling us it’s not about money.
It’s been interesting to flip through the crisis-management playbook as the
Pac-12 tries to position itself publicly. It has been busy seeking out voices
in national and regional media that it views as neutral/friendly to try and
manipulate public perception. But what’s lost on the conference and its network
is that the most visible and effective crisis-management campaign would simply
be to acknowledge mistakes were made and get in the business of unwinding them.
You know, fix it.
If the mission isn’t profitability, then how about selling it so affordably
that it’s carried on basic cable next to CNN?
Last year, in front of the conference championship football game, Scott
announced that conference revenue and expenses were challenging to follow.
“We’re actually a media company,” Scott said.
He then claimed that his conference and network expenses were in line with
Pac-12 Conference and Pac-12 Networks “peers.” But he wouldn’t tell anyone who
he considers “peers.” I reached out to Andrew Walker, the Pac-12′s vice
president of communications in the wake of that news conference to ask who
Scott believed the Pac-12′s comparables were.
Walker didn’t answer.
For a media-company peer, is it ESPN Deportes? Or Z Living?
For a conference peer, is it the WAC or Mountain West?
Because the Pac-12 Conference expenses and revenue are not in line with
other Power Five Conference peers. The revenue gap is absurd, and growing. And
the network distribution vs. expenses ratio is nowhere near the class of ESPN,
FOX, the SEC Network or the Big Ten Network.
If the Pac-12 Networks is really on the job to amplify the student-athlete
experience, it’s failing. Top Pac-12 baseball games in the last few weeks
aren’t being “amplified." They’re absent from coverage. And some of the
best women’s athletics stories in the conference aren’t being told by the
Pac-12′s own media entity, either.
Shuken got out front. I get why. He’s just following the public-relations
playbook the conference paid for last year. But his messaging falls flat on its
face. The only reason he is claiming profitability and distribution aren’t the
objective of the Pac-12′s media company is because it doesn’t win at either.
The Pac-12 Network is like a magic act.
So good, none of us can see it. And so successful none of us can understand
it.
:::::
Pullman’s Minh’s Restaurant reopens after flood
Owners, volunteers worked Wednesday, Thursday to clear
water, debris from building
After the flood on Grand Avenue, the owners of Minh’s
Restaurant, Minh and Mindy Lam, and their friends have cleared the building of
water and debris. “We battle with the water,” Minh says.
By LAUREN ELLENBECKER, Evergreen April 18, 2019
Minh Lam slowly walked around his restaurant, pointing at
places where water had snuck under the building’s doors and clogged its drains.
He smiled as he spoke about the quick actions that saved
Minh’s Restaurant from being ruined by a flood. The flood was caused by a creek
flowing into Grand Avenue after heavy rainfall on April 9.
“When people see the water, they run away, but we battle
with the water,” Minh said.
Minh said his landlord and a customer in the restaurant immediately
began blocking his entrances, so water didn’t leak through. He said he could
see the water levels rising through the front glass door.
Mike Boone, Minh’s landlord, whose farm was also affected by
the flood, said he was hauling items away from the water that was coming
through the doors.
“It’s an act of nature,” Boone said. “It’s too bad when
these things happen, but it’s kind of uncontrollable.”
Minh and his friends swept the incoming water into drains
located throughout the building as soon as they spotted it, he said, and they
used pots to scoop extra water. They were doing this for about four hours, Minh
said.
Minh said their hard work is why Minh’s Restaurant was not
as affected as other businesses on Grand Avenue.
“You have to try your best to stop something,” Minh said.
“If you run away, it will get worse.”
Outside Minh’s Restaurant, drains were plugged by debris and
mud as the water continued to flow throughout Grand.
Mindy Lam, Minh’s wife, said she put on her rain boots and
cleared as much debris from the drains as she could. The water was so high it
was seeping into her boots within minutes, she said.
“I couldn’t walk,” Mindy said. “My toes felt numb.”
She continued to work outside for hours while using buckets
to scoop water from the overflowing drains, Mindy said. She was afraid the
water would wipe her out.
“I almost fell down [because] the water was too strong,”
Mindy said. “I was so tired, I almost had no energy.”
Mindy said she still feels sore from last Tuesday night.
The couple was cleaning their restaurant until 1 a.m.
Minh said customers called their restaurant the following
Wednesday and Thursday and asked if everything was okay, as well as offered to help
the Lams clean. Some customers didn’t know the flood occurred and tried to
order food, he said.
Boone and his family, along with people Boone hired, helped
the Lams clean mud and debris from their restaurant on Wednesday and Thursday
last week.
A health inspector arrived at Minh’s Restaurant Thursday and
approved them to open their business. The Lams reopened their restaurant on
Friday.
“Teamwork is what helped us,” Minh said. “Teamwork is
powerful.”
:::::::
Senior Madeleine Bingham of Richland, Wash. (Hanford High
School) finds passion for rowing at WSU
Three-generation Cougar first to compete for WSU after being
approached her freshman year, joining as sophomore
By KATIE ARCHER, Evergreen April 18, 2019
Madeleine Bingham is following in her family’s footsteps and
leaving her own mark at WSU after being raised a Cougar.
The senior rower is a third-generation Cougar. Her
grandparents and uncle on her mom’s side graduated from WSU as did both of her
parents.
Bingham said her decision to attend WSU was influenced by
her parents and one other person.
“I remember watching Klay Thompson on the TV and being like,
‘Oh, that’s a great school,’ ” Bingham said. “ ‘He’s doing so good. I
definitely want to go here.’ ”
Bingham is the first in her family to compete in athletics
at WSU; however, it did not start with an offer from WSU.
During high school, she played soccer, basketball and track
and field. Those sports prepared her for what was coming, Bingham said.
Her parents said she had offers from smaller schools for
soccer and basketball, but she wanted to go to WSU regardless of whether she
was an athlete.
In her freshman year, some rowers approached Bingham about
trying out for rowing. Bingham said she turned down the offer and instead
competed in club sports so she could focus on school.
The next year Bingham was approached again and this time she
gave it a shot. She made the novice team and, in her junior and senior years,
she rowed with the varsity teams.
Her father, James, knew how important it was for her be part
of WSU Athletics.
“Where she wasn’t able to meet the total end of her goals in
the other sports, making the rowing team was a great accomplishment for her,”
James said.
She knew being a walk-on was going to be challenging. Her
goal was to be one of the fittest athletes on the team so the coach would
notice her, she said.
Rowing is demanding in its own ways requiring both mental
and physical strength. She said practices start at 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., and the
testing days, which include doing 2ks or 6ks, are intense.
She enjoys the teamwork aspect of rowing because everyone
has to work together. The challenges of the sport keep her coming back, she
said.
She looks forward to the challenge of doing the hard
workouts and what she can do at that time. The workouts include short sprint
pieces which put the body under a lot of stress, she said.
This stress on her body is harder, however, because she has
asthma.
“You’re going to be pushing through your legs but then it’s
also a like a shock to your system overall,” Bingham said. “You’re trying to
breathe but you can’t really breathe sometimes. … You see the stars, you’re
going so hard.”
Her favorite rowing moment happened during her junior year
at the Clemson Invite. She was on the third varsity eight and her team placed
second, advancing them to the ‘A’ final.
Bingham said this was memorable because the Cougars wanted
to beat No. 9 Virginia at the time, however, Virginia finished in first.
In the “A” final, the team did not have a good start and had
to move up through the competition. They placed second, beating five other
crews including Virginia. She said this felt good because the team came from
behind to take second.
If she had not been approached, Bingham said she does not
know if she would have considered rowing. She said she thinks she would
probably still be participating in club sports.
Becoming a student athlete improved her grades because she
knew she had to get things done, Bingham said. She is studying environmental
science and German language, totaling to a 19-credit semester.
After WSU, Bingham is thinking about grad school and is considering
options in Germany. However, if grad school doesn’t work out, she’s thinking
about getting a job close to Richland, Washington, to gain work experience.
She wants to follow in her parents’ footsteps, Bingham said.
Her mom, Cindra, is an environmental scientist and her dad is an engineer.
With the influence of her parents’ careers, Bingham knew she
wanted to go into the STEM field.
Both Bingham and her younger sister, Emma, went into
science. Unlike Bingham, Emma is attending the University of Washington.
Cindra said she’s happy to see her daughter pursuing a
similar career path.
“I guess she did listen,” Cindra said. “All those times when
it looked like their ears were plugged and their eyes were closed, maybe she
was taking some of the stuff in.”
She has one more semester before graduating. Walking onto
the team was a positive experience for Bingham.
“It was an awesome decision. I just loved everything about
it,” Bingham said. “It’s really fun. Lots of hard work. It’s not like any other
sport I’ve done in my life.”
::::::
Cougars Fall in Series-Opener at USC
From WSU Sports Info
LOS ANGELES (April 18, 2019) – Washington State dropped its
series-opener 4-0 to USC at Dedeaux Field Friday evening.
The Cougars received solid pitching performances from
starter Ky Bush (3 IP, 2 ER, 2 K) and reliever Bryce Moyle who matched career
highs with 3.1 innings and three strikeouts while not allowing a run.
WSU brought the tying run to the plate after leadoff doubles
in the third and seventh innings but USC starting pitcher Conner Lunn kept the
Cougars off the board all night in his complete game effort. The Trojans
collected 11 hits but just one went for extra bases, a double.
In the second, USC used three-straight singles to push a run
across for a 1-0 advantage and added run in the third on an RBI-groundout for a
2-0 lead before tacking on two more runs in the eighth.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Collin Montez singled and recorded his team-leading 6th
stolen base of the season
Tyson Guerrero singled and stole 2nd
Dillon Plew’s 7-game hitting streak was snapped
NEXT UP
The series continues Friday at 6 p.m.
::::::::::
WSU football
A move to inside receiver has been fortuitous for Kassidy
Woods, Washington State
UPDATED: Thu., April 18, 2019, 9:39 p.m.
By Theo Lawson of Spokane’s S-R
PULLMAN – It’s a surplus the Cougars are thrilled to have,
but one they have to figure out nonetheless.
Barring any unforeseen transfers or unplanned departures
between now and August, Washington State is counting on having seven of eight
rotational wide receivers back in the fold this season.
A group that brings back two “X” receivers (Tay Martin and
Calvin Jackson Jr.), two “H” receivers (Renard Bell and Travell Harris), one
“Y” receiver (Jamire Calvin) and two “Z” receivers (Dezmon Patmon and Easop Winston
Jr.) accounted for a whole lot of production last year and left many defensive
coordinators scratching their heads.
The numbers were head-scratching, too. In 2018, those seven
accounted for 89 percent of the passes caught by a receiver in 2018, 30 of the
31 touchdowns scored and 3,451 of the 3,815 yards accumulated.
There aren’t any signs indicating any of those seven will
see their roles diminish a year later. So the Cougars are left with a happy
dilemma: what to do with the others.
While a few of the nonrotational wideouts are simply waiting
their turn, one of them – excuse the receiver pun – is taking a different
route.
When spring camp opened, coaches ran an interesting concept
by Kassidy Woods, an outside receiver who played sparingly on special teams in
2018 but preserved his redshirt by appearing in only four games. With the
outside “X” and “Z” positions especially clogged up, Woods got a trial run at
the “Y” slot position, vacated by departing senior Kyle Sweet.
“We had two good guys on the outside, is one thing,” coach
Mike Leach said. “The other thing is, he doesn’t mind and does well with
instructions and combat in there. Plus, he’s going to get bigger and bigger, so
I think it’s going to be a really good spot for him.”
Woods hasn’t filled out his body and still carries around a
frame that’s measured at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. That gives him at least 4
inches and 30 pounds on the three returning inside receivers – Bell (5-8, 165),
Harris (5-9, 180), Calvin (5-10, 162) – and another rotation hopeful, Brandon
Arconado (6-0, 190).
Woods isn’t exactly the prototype when it comes to a slot
receiver – and he’s heard about it more than once from jesting teammates
through spring camp.
“I go around and I call him our little Antonio Gates,”
cornerback Marcus Strong said. “He’s all inside, big dude at the slot. I think
it’s going to be real good for Kassidy, slot playing up against those
linebackers. It’s going to be a real good fit.”
By most accounts, it already has.
Woods expects it’ll take some time to adjust to running in
more traffic, and the blocking duties of an inside receiver are usually greater
than someone on the outside. But the Air Raid offers plenty of reps to its
receivers and Woods has made good use.
“It’s going good so far. I’m enjoying it. I’m still trying
to get used to the blocking and just being inside,” Woods said. “You have way
more to think about going inside and so many bodies to block and knowing your
routes and everything. So it’s been an adjustment, but I’m getting the hang of
it day in and day out. You definitely have to get the reps doing it instead of
sitting and watching it.”
It’s been an effective move and a productive one for both
parties, judging by the statistics charted at both WSU spring scrimmages so
far. In the first, Woods caught four passes for 33 yards. He broke out in the
second, reeling in six balls for 120 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s had a really good spring,” Leach said. “Needs to be
more consistent. Huge target. Good body control. He’s very athletic. He’s going
to get better and better, and also I think he’s going to get bigger and be able
to do more than he can now.”
Woods was receptive to the Gates comparison, smirking when
it was brought to his attention, but he spends more time studying an NFL
receiver with the same last name.
“First and foremost, Robert Woods (of the Los Angeles
Rams),” he said. “It’s a lot of big guys that are moving inside, in the college
and NFL, so I’ve been watching them, too.”
Nonetheless, It’ll be a tough rotation to crack for Woods.
All s
even starters return and Arconado, a little-used slot
receiver in 2018, has been one of the most consistent pass-catchers this
spring. It could be a two-man race between Woods and Arconado for the second
“Y” receiver spot.
But thanks to an open mind and a smooth transition, it seems
Woods still has a great chance of getting on the field in some capacity this
fall. At least, the guy making that call thinks so.
“I’d be surprised if he doesn’t crack the four,” Leach said.
“He’s going to be a hard guy to hold down.”
In more ways than one, maybe.
==No Smalls deal
Sav’ell Smalls, the nation’s top 2020 outside linebacker
prospect according to 247Sports.com, is making an unofficial visit to Pullman
this weekend to take in the Crimson and Gray game, Saturday at Martin Stadium.
At 6-3, 227 pounds, Smalls, from Seattle’s Kennedy Catholic
High School, is a five-star prospect, according to every major recruiting
service, and 247Sports.com considers him the top player in Washington and the
seventh-best player in the nation.
On Feb. 10, Smalls trimmed his list of potential schools to
12. WSU made the cut, along with Alabama, Florida, Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma,
Oregon, Texas, Washington, Clemson and Florida State.
==Gubrud takes part in 11-on-11
Graduate transfer quarterback Gage Gubrud, recovering from
an ankle/foot injury, participated in 11-on-11 drills for the first time this
spring during a shortened practice without pads Thursday in Pullman.
The former EWU quarterback had been limited to various
throwing drills throughout the last few weeks, but Gubrud took 11 snaps during
the team period toward the end of the practice. He completed 7 of 10 passes,
throwing four touchdowns and one interception.
“He’s got good composure in there,” Leach said of Gubrud.
“He’s got good composure. It’s not quite automatic or anything yet, but I did
think it was a good starting point.”
“He looked pretty good,” Arconado said. “I know he was a
little antsy it being his first time in team (period) in a while. He started
out slow, but he did really good at the end, I feel like.”
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