Pullman
Radio News
The
Washington State Department of Transportation has updated their traveler
advisory and construction schedule for the weeks of April 5th through the 15th.
Crews will continue grinding out concrete pavement and make repairs as needed
to the road bed before work begins to repave sections of US Highway 195. Crews
will be making bridge deck repairs at multiple locations. The work could create
delays at three different stretches of the roadway as temporary traffic signals
will be installed, WSDOT advises up to 20 minutes of delays in total. The work
will take place at mile posts 48, 63 and 65 in the vicinity of Steptoe and
Rosalia.
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ASWSU,
city talk community issues
ASWSU
plans to increase flu shots, voter registration, bring farmers market to campus
By DAN
DOUCET, Evergreen April 5, 2018
ASWSU
senators and city officials discussed a number of community issues, including
the international situation that has led to Pullman residents being unable to
recycle glass, during a special joint meeting Wednesday.
Eileen
Macoll, the Pullman representative on the Whitman County Solid Waste Advisory
Committee, said recycling in Pullman is largely dependent on overseas markets.
“The
situation in China is rapidly evolving,” she said.
Macoll
said China accepts only the cleanest and best materials for recycling. She
asked the people at the meeting to look on the bottom of their cups for a
number.
“If it
doesn’t say a one or a two on it,” she said, “it will probably go in the
garbage.”
The city
no longer accepts glass for recycling because it isn’t feasible, she said,
which has been an unpopular decision among residents.
“Nobody
likes that,” she said.
She said
the situation changes constantly and looks grim, but she hopes a market will
develop locally so they will not have to ship waste overseas.
“This will
affect your generation far more than it will mine,” Macoll told the students.
Pullman Transit updates
Pullman
Transit Manager Wayne Thompson said the city is going through a period of
steady growth.
“You are
here at a time where you get to experience that and benefit from it,” he said.
The
transit department is creating a new bus route, renaming current routes and
working on technology, Thompson said. The new tech includes a GPS system to
allow riders to track their bus.
“We pretty
much got it this week where we think it is fully functioning,” he said. “It’s
taken a while.”
He said
there has been no movement on a Pullman-Moscow bus route. They are waiting
until the 2020 census, he said, so they can receive more funding.
Increasing
voting registration
ASWSU
senators also presented some of their ideas, which came from initiatives passed
earlier this semester, to the city officials. The entire City Council was
present, as well as various department heads and the city attorney.
All Campus
Sen. Gavin Pielow said students will start receiving voter registration forms
and guidance on filling them out as they move into residence halls.
“What we
want to see is more voter registration of students,” he said.
Pielow
said Washington citizens can request up to 1,000 voter registration forms for
free from the state, so residence hall directors could receive them and
distribute them as students move in.
Johnson
said the city spends money to send ballots out to voters, so students that move
away should remember to change their address.
“Make sure
you take that extra step when you leave,” he said.
Improving
vaccination rates
Arts,
Sciences, Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy Sen. Jacob Lizarraga said he is
focused on making sure more students get flu vaccinations. He said only about
40 percent of WSU students are vaccinated.
“We really
need to bring the vaccinations to our students,” Lizarraga said.
He said
his efforts include bringing the opportunity for immunization to campus. If
students can get vaccinated at the grocery store, he argued, they should also
be able to get vaccinated at the CUB.
This article has been updated from its original
version
::::::::::::::
Cougs look
to fix road woes at UO
Pac-12
play continues with clash against Ducks
By STEPHAN
WIEBE, Moscow Pullman Daily News
Apr 6,
2018
PULLMAN -
A home stretch that featured two extra-inning wins and three wins by one run is
in the books for the Washington State baseball team.
The
Cougars now hit the road for a three-game series against Oregon, starting with
a doubleheader today in Eugene.
The
Cougars' 3-1 homestand against Arizona State and Gonzaga was a big confidence
booster for Washington State (8-15, 3-6 Pac-12), which started the season 4-13,
but it must carry its momentum on the road if it is to make a dent in the
conference standings.
The
Cougars and Ducks are two of five Pac-12 teams with three conference wins, so
whichever team wins the series is sure to make a jump in the standings heading
into the latter half of the baseball season. Washington State is 2-9 on the
road this season and is tied for seventh in the Pac-12.
"We
got to come home and get our legs underneath us, get extra time to work with
our kids in the cages, pens - there's no replacement for that," Washington
State coach Marty Lees said after a 4-3 win over Gonzaga on Tuesday. "We
had a pretty good home stand so I think we can take it into the weekend."
The hero
of WSU's home stretch was no doubt junior left fielder Justin Harrer, who
smacked two home runs, including a walk-off, extra-innings long bomb against
the Sun Devils on March 29. Harrer is hitting .265 out of the three-hole and
leads the team in home runs (5) and RBI (14). His five homers are tied for
fifth best in the conference.
Senior JJ
Hancock has also impressed at the plate with his .295 average and is tied with
Harrer for the team lead in runs with 12. Hancock also showed his savvy in the
field with a fully extended, diving catch into foul territory in the March 29
victory - a candidate for play of the year.
Veterans
like Harrer and Hancock are a big reason for the Cougars' recent success, but
the younger players have stepped up too.
Freshman
designated Collin Montez (.294) showed some pop at the plate with a clutch home
run against the Sun Devils and freshman second baseman Mason De La Cruz has
shown to be an excellent fielder when given the chance.
"You
look at Mason De La Cruz, (we're) trying to get more time with him," Lees
said after the Gonzaga game. "Being a young kid he's a high-quality
defender. At some point we'll start moving him around."
On the
mound, the Cougars have turned to a host of different pitchers and are still
looking for consistency. Senior Scotty Sunitsch has shown the best stuff as a
starter (2-1, 3.86 ERA) and closer Ryan Walker (2.57, 2-2) is arguably the most
dangerous pitcher.
But Walker
has had to pitch extended innings in several games this season, so he hasn't
been able to consistently serve as the closer.
"We
hope he doesn't have to (keep dong that)," Lees said. "That will
allow us to use him two or three days. That extended-inning role, we're not a
fan of it, but when it's time to win, Walker needs (to be in)."
Oregon
(16-11, 3-6) is coming off a nonconference win against San Francisco and is
10-4 at home this season.
The Ducks
are tied for the conference lead in batting average (.311) and are led by Kyle
Kasser (.358) and Jakob Goldfarb (.337).
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Cougs’
O-line may have a bookend look
Wazzu
looks to reload in the trenches with Lucas and Dillard
By Dale
Grummert, Lewiston Tribune
When young
offensive lineman Abraham “Abe” Lucas made a recruiting visit to the Washington
State football program a couple of years ago, coaches shrewdly tabbed Andre
Dillard as the kid’s host.
Not only
do the two rangy linemen from western Washington have a slight physical
resemblance, they exude a similar air of low-key reasonableness – the same
quality that helped inspire Dillard’s nickname at the time, “Obama.”
Teammates
asked Dillard, “Is this guy your brother?”
No, he
said. Two seasons later, though, they might be bookends on the Cougars’
offensive line.
Now a
second-year freshman at 6-foot-6 and 305 pounds, Lucas has been playing
first-team right tackle during recent WSU spring workouts, while the 6-5, 305
pound Dillard prepares for his senior year as the well-established left tackle.
If Lucas continues to improve heading into the 2018 season, it’s easy to
imagine him filling the vacancy left by four-year starting RT Cole Madison.
That’s one
of several story lines along the O-line, where the Cougars are also trying to
replace All-American guard Cody O’Connell and starting right guard B.J.
Salmonson.
“As far as
technique and stuff, I had good role models to look up to last year,” Lucas
said Thursday after the Cougs’ seventh spring practice. “Even now, (I’ve got)
Andre Dillard. He was my host when I first came up here, so I look up a lot to
him.”
And yes,
the comparisons have been hard to avoid, especially when people were calling
him “Little Dillard.”
“We have
some sort of resemblance, I guess,” Lucas said. “I kind of see it, but I don’t
want to say that I see it, because I think it’s kind of weird. I grew up 20
miles away from him. I never knew him because he went to Woodinville (High) and
I went to Archbishop Murphy (in Everett).”
The
urgency to replace three starters on the Wazzu offensive line coincides with
the arrival of a new position coach, Mason Miller, hired in February after Clay
McGuire left to become co-offensive coordinator at Texas Tech.
Miller is
well-steeped in WSU coach Mike Leach’s offense, having worked for years with
the man who co-authored the Air Raid with Leach, Hal Mumme. So he’s predisposed
to like tall, mobile linemen, who tend to thrive in the Air Raid’s vertical
sets. Last season Miller assisted Mumme’s son Matt, who was a first-year
offensive coordinator at Nevada.
“I like
large humans,” said Miller, who softens his military-inspired discipline with a
wry humor. “I like people who look like Sasquatch.... I want them to be
straight up and down – that way they can move. If you can move, you can block.”
The young
Lucas, the coach said, “is kind of getting some confidence as he grows. It’s
kind of fun to watch. It’s been a while since I’ve been around a talented guy
like that (who’s) that young. I’m excited to watch him grow. It’s going to be a
fun process.”
But he
might need a nickname to replace the obsolete “Little Dillard.” Lucas said he
doesn’t hear the Barack Obama analogies as much as his older teammate does. He
think it’s because he has a penchant for facial hair. So maybe “Honest Abe.”
QB update
If the
starting tackles in the fall are indeed Dillard and Lucas, it’s hard to say
which of them will be the blind-side bodyguard.
Lucas
would fill that role if the Cougars choose left-handed Camm Cooper as
quarterback. At this point, however, the true freshman is still overshadowed by
veteran right-handers Trey Tinsley and Anthony Gordon.
Tinsley
appears to be leading the race, though Gordon looked especially sharp during
team period in drizzly weather Thursday at Martin Stadium.
Slated to
join the fray during preseason camp will be right-handed graduate transfer
Gardner Minshaw.
::::::::::::::::::::
COUG
FOOTBALL
Washington
State offensive line could be binded by tackles with lots in common
UPDATED:
Thu., April 5, 2018, 9:53 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson Spokane S-R
PULLMAN –
The players who could bookend Washington State’s offensive line this fall have
much more in common than a shared “offensive tackle” title.
On the
left side is Andre Dillard, a redshirt junior who’s listed at 6-foot-5, 306
pounds. On the right is Abraham Lucas, a redshirt freshman who stands 6-6 and
checks in at 305 pounds.
And,
unbeknownst to both players until Lucas showed up to Pullman on his recruiting
visit, the Cougars teammates grew up within close proximity to one another.
Just 20 miles of terrain separates Lucas’ hometown of Everett from Dillard’s
nest in Woodinville.
Their prep
careers overlapped for one season, in 2013, and Lucas’ Archbishop Murphy
Wildcats play in Washington’s 2A classification – two tiers below Dillard’s
Woodinville Falcons – so the players never bumped into one another at the high
school level.
“It’s kind
of funny,” Lucas said. “I grew up like 20 minutes from him and I never even
knew him.”
But Lucas’
official visit to WSU, and his subsequent commitment to the Cougars, spurred a
team-wide joke that the second-year player may never hear the end of.
In their
circle, he goes by “Little Andre” or “Little Dillard.” Apart from their
physical makeup and western Washington upbringing, the offensive tackles have
another striking similarity. You wouldn’t mistake them for identical twins, but
if you were to pick a set of brothers from the Cougars’ 93-man spring roster,
Lucas and Dillard might be the first to come to mind.
“It’s
funny, I came up here (to visit) and they’re like, ‘Is this guy your brother?’
” Lucas said. “(Andre) was like, ‘Oh no, I’m hosting this guy.’
“I guess
we have some sort of a resemblance. I guess I kind of see it, but I don’t want
to say that I see it just because I think that’s kind of weird.”
Not that
Lucas minds having Dillard in his corner.
A
fourth-year junior, Dillard becomes the elder statesmen of WSU’s offensive line
– one that recently graduated a former unanimous All-American, left guard Cody
O’Connell, a three-time All-Pac-12 Conference right tackle, Cole Madison, and a
14-game starter, right guard B.J. Salmonson.
Dillard
isn’t far behind O’Connell or Madison when it comes to career accolades or
games played and enters his junior season as a two-time all-conference honoree
who’s played in 29 games and started in 26. Dillard may have been WSU’s best
NFL Draft prospect on the OL had he declared after his redshirt sophomore
season. Even with minimal improvement this fall, he’ll have a chance to climb
into the top two rounds of the 2019 Draft.
For an
O-line that has so much to replace, Dillard isn’t a bad place to start.
“As far as
technique and stuff, I had really good role models I could look up to last
year,” Lucas said. “Cole, Cody, B.J. (Salmonson). Even now, Andre. He was my
host when I first came up here and so I looked up to him a lot for technique
because he’s a really good tackle.”
Dillard is
as cerebral as they come, and the year Lucas spent in his shadow is beginning
to pay off.
He could
be starting four spots to the right of Dillard when the Cougars open the season
at Wyoming in September. WSU’s first offensive line grouping has been
consistent since the Cougars started spring camp: Dillard at left tackle, Josh
Watson at left guard, Fred Mauigoa at center, Robert Valencia at right guard
and Lucas at right tackle.
“I think
we’re kind of settling in a little bit,” Lucas said. “We’re still trying to get
a little feel for each other. But (offensive line coach) (Mason) Miller’s whole
thing is, he’s going to put the best five on the field, which is what he’s
supposed to do. If there is changes around the first group, second group, I
wouldn’t be surprised because he has to find the starters and who’s going to
get the job done the best.”
Granted,
Lucas should know he’s already receiving some pretty high marks from his new
position coach.
“He’s kind
of getting some confidence as he grows,” said Miller, who was hired in February
to replace Clay McGuire. “It’s kind of fun to watch. I haven’t been around a
young offensive lineman in a couple years – a talented guy like that (who’s)
that young. I’m excited to watch him grow, that’s a fun process.”
:::::::::::::::::
MEN’S
BASKETBALL
Washington
State gets verbal commitment from Slovenian-born wing Aljaz Kunc
Thu.,
March 29, 2018, 10:20 p.m.
By Theo
Lawson S-R of Spokane
PULLMAN –
Washington State has potentially taken a step to fill one of its four vacant
scholarships, receiving a verbal commitment Thursday from 6-8 wing Aljaz Kunc,
according to Verbal Commits.
Kunc is a
native of Slovenia and would become the first player born outside of the United
States and Canada to sign with the Cougars under fourth-year coach Ernie Kent.
A long and versatile wing, Kunc most recently played at Impact Basketball
Academy in Las Vegas.
He’s also
played for the Slovenian Under-18 national team at the FIBA U-18 European
Championships. Kunc averaged 1.8 points per game and 0.2 rebounds per game in
the competition.
The
Cougars, who’ve already inked Cleveland High small forward CJ Elleby to a
Letter of Intent, would have at least three more scholarships to fill after
Kunc signs. That number could become four if Robert Franks hires an agent and
chooses to turn professional. Franks declared for the NBA Draft without an
agent on Monday.
:::
https://www.cougcenter.com/2018/4/6/17205362/hercules-mataafa-is-flying-under-the-radar-and-hes-fine-with-that
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HOME
REGATTA AGAINST OREGON STATE MOVED TO FRIDAY
Cougar
rowing will host the Beavers at 5 p.m. at Wawawai Landing.
From WSU
Sports Info
PULLMAN,
Wash. – Due to expected inclement weather Saturday morning, 15th-ranked
Washington State rowing's home regatta against Oregon State, originally scheduled for Saturday, April 7,
will move to Friday, April 6, with racing scheduled to start at 5 p.m. at
Wawawai Landing on the Snake River.
The
regatta will kick off with the varsity four race at 5 p.m., followed by the
second varsity eights at 5:15 p.m., varsity eight at 5:30 p.m. and concluding
with the third varsity eight and novice eight at 6 p.m. Scheduled race times
could change.
Directions
to Wawawai Landing: From Highway 195 (North or South), turn west on Wawawai
Road at the blinking yellow light. Travel on Wawawai Road for 10 miles, the
road will end at a stop sign. Turn right and drive six miles down into the
canyon. Go past the county park on the right and over the railroad tracks. The
boathouse is a cinderblock building on the right. Park on the side of the road
or in the parking lot south of the boathouse.
…………..
