Next WSU football game in Palo Alto, Calif., vs. Stanford.
Kickoff at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27th. It’ll be telecast on the Pac-12
Networks.
::::::::::::::
Big weekend brought crowds to Pullman businesses
WSU, College GameDay meant packed restaurants, lines out the
door
By Anthony Kuipers, Moscow Pullman Daily News
Oct 23, 2018
The calm of downtown Pullman on Monday morning was a stark
contrast to commotion Saturday and Sunday caused by an influx of people
arriving to the Palouse for Washington State University's football game against
the University of Oregon.
Local businesses were tasked with accommodating the
thousands of excited visitors drawn to Pullman to tailgate, watch ESPN College
GameDay in person and fill Martin Stadium to capacity for the big game.
Brian Power, general manager of Cougar Country Drive-In,
said 50 people were in line waiting to get inside the restaurant Saturday
morning before it opened, followed by another large line the next day.
Power said while home football games always bring in business,
he was a little surprised by the large turnout. He estimated the restaurant was
20-25 percent busier than usual.
Power said the business always tries to prepare for a large
number of people, but once it was announced ESPN was hosting College GameDay in
Pullman, "We didn't know what to expect."
The College GameDay crew members must have heard good things
about the local eatery because they hired Cougar Country to make a special meal
for the ESPN staff. He said the production manager for the college football TV
show particularly liked the onion rings, so the restaurant made sure those were
included.
Power said he was proud of his staff for their effort over
the weekend. He said they handled it well despite being understaffed after some
employees called in sick.
At Foundry Kitchen and Cocktails, about 25 people were
waiting to get into the restaurant Friday night, according to head chef Trevor
Vaught.
On Saturday, the crowd died down once the football game
started but increased in size again after the final whistle blew.
"It was a pretty rowdy environment, but pretty fun for
both sides," he said.
He said the employees began prepping for the weekend as
early as Oct. 12, and the full staff was on hand Friday night.
Kevin Douglas, manager of Café Moro, said he and his fellow
employees also had to make early preparations. He said they made sure to shop for
the business's milk, teas, breads and other essentials the day before the big
game. The coffee shop brought in extra employees for the weekend, as well.
"We were overstaffed, that's for sure," he said.
Maybe because most people were at the College GameDay set or
tailgating, Saturday morning was not especially busy for Café Moro, Douglas
said. But that changed the following morning.
He said about 300 people ordered from the coffee shop
Sunday, and there was a line stretching into the adjoining sitting room for
hours. He said the amount of customers was comparable to the crowd that comes
for Lentil Festival in August.
Douglas said he and his staff had a positive experience
interacting with the visitors.
"We really enjoyed having everyone here," he said.
Valhalla Bar and Grill on Colorado Street enjoyed its most
profitable weekend to date, according to Manager Roxanne Trocino.
"It was just a packed house all the time," she
said.
It could have been even busier, but Trocino said she heard
many people skipped going to the bars because they assumed it would be too
crowded to get in.
She said all employees were scheduled to work during the
weekend, and many worked double shifts to keep up with the crowd.
Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport also had a busy day, which
Airport Manager Tony Bean said is typical of a WSU home game. He said 26 large
charter aircraft landed at the airport during the weekend, including the plane
to pick up ESPN's College GameDay crew and the plane belonging to Phil Knight,
co-founder of Nike.
"We'll fill up every available inch of space
here," Bean said of the runway.
The weekend was not much different for the Holiday Inn in
Pullman, either. Sales Manager Sarah Daoud said in an email to the Daily News
that rooms were sold out for eight months. The hotel is usually sold out for
WSU games, she wrote, but the staff did receive more calls than usual from
people looking for rooms.
::::::::::::
Pac-12, Conference of Champions? Right now, ‘Conference of
Credibility Issues’ is a better nickname
Originally published October 23, 2018 at 6:00 am Updated
October 23, 2018 at 8:24 am
After reports about a Pac-12 executive interfering with an
officiating decision, and reports of WSU coach Mike Leach's incensed text
messages to the Pac-12 questioning whether the conference is trying to protect
student-athletes, the Pac-12 is at a crossroads, and its credibility is in
jeopardy.
By Larry Stone, Seattle Times sports columnist
Larry Scott doesn’t believe the Pac-12 has a credibility
issue, a conclusion that made me, well, incredibly incredulous.
The conference is the embodiment of a credibility issue
these days. It should change its nickname from Conference of Champions to
Conference of Credibility Issues (which admittedly won’t roll quite as easily
off Bill Walton’s tongue).
And if anything, it’s getting worse even as Scott, the
Pac-12’s beleaguered commissioner (beleaguered should be his official first
name) tries gamely to put out whatever is the latest raging wildfire of
conference credibility going up in flames.
That’s what Scott did Saturday afternoon in the back of the
press box at Husky Stadium at halftime of Washington’s game with Colorado, and
then again later that evening at Martin Stadium in Pullman. But I’d guess that
few were swayed.
You have on-field credibility issues, such as the
historically bad 1-8 bowl record for the Pac-12 last year, followed by an
equally bad showing in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament (just three teams
qualifying, all one-and-done, including conference champion Arizona losing by
21 to No. 13-seed Buffalo). And this year, the Pac-12 is headed to a second
straight year without a representative in the college football playoffs,
barring a miracle scenario involving Washington State, the only one-loss team
remaining.
You have off-field credibility issues, involving the ongoing
college hoops corruption scandal that has now touched six of the conference
schools, and the myriad questions surrounding the Pac-12 Network and resulting
revenue that lags far behind other conferences.
And now you have certainly the worst credibility eruption
yet, the recent report by Yahoo Sports that a conference administrator, Woodie
Dixon, interfered in an officiating decision; specifically, a would-be
targeting call against Washington State linebacker Logan Tago on USC
quarterback J.T. Daniels. According to the report obtained by Yahoo, the replay
official in the booth, Gary McNanna, was prepared to call targeting until Dixon
phoned the replay booth with a dissenting opinion that resulted in a no-call.
That’s a shocking revelation, one that raises all manner of
questions, first of all, about the conference’s commitment to player safety.
Especially when it’s coupled with a blatant targeting incident in the same game
on Cougar quarterback Gardner Minshew by USC’s Porter Gustin that wasn’t called
(and which, if it had been administered correctly, might well have led to a
Cougar victory over USC that would have left them with a far more legitimate
shot at the playoffs).
In a text to Scott (also obtained by Yahoo), WSU coach Mike
Leach said flatly, “The Pac-12 cannot say with any credibility, that they are
actually trying to protect student athletes.”
Scott said precisely that Saturday, noting that the Pac-12
places a “very high priority” on safety while citing the $10 million investment
the conference has made in research grants to study head trauma.
Scott also commendably acknowledged and took responsibility
for the Dixon snafu (which he has characterized as a misunderstanding). He said
it led to immediate changes in protocol and clarification to all involved that
the final decision on calls is solely the responsibility of the replay
supervisor.
That’s a good start, but the damage done is immense. The
league’s officiating already has a poor reputation, and on top of that you now
have questions about just how much meddling has existed in the past. It doesn’t
help when Leach, in the private correspondences Yahoo uncovered, accused Dixon
of phoning members of the Cougars staff in the press box during a 2015 game
against Stanford at Martin Stadium and ordering them to turn down the band
noise because “they were playing too loud.”
Leach texted Dixon, “Why can’t I help wondering, if you’re
trying to manipulate wins and losses?”
The No. 1 thing a conference must hold onto at all costs is
its integrity. While Scott stressed that WSU declined the conference’s request
for an inquiry into the matter, it’s just another body blow in what seems like
a never-ending flurry.
Here’s where it’s only fair to point out that for all its
football and basketball woes, the Pac-12 continues to shine in virtually every
other athletic endeavor. It won 12 NCAA team titles last year, far more than
any other conference, and is unquestionably the nation’s beacon when it comes
to women’s and Olympic sports.
That’s no small feat and worthy of considerable praise. But
the stark reality is that football and men’s basketball pay the freight for the
entire athletic program. If they continue to falter, then the Pac-12 will be in
a weak bargaining position when its television contract comes up for renewal in
2024. And the revenue gap will only grow larger, with ripple effects that
impact the entirety of their programs.
As such, the league is facing a profound philosophical
crossroads. There is a growing debate about whether the league should focus on
easing the path for its top football teams to succeed, rather than prioritizing
parity. That means, for example, avoiding instances like the past two weeks
when both Washington and Oregon played (and lost) key road games against teams
coming off byes. That sort of thing just doesn’t happen to the powerhouses in
the SEC.
Scott – who is under contract at $4.5 million per year until
2022 and thus not likely to be dismissed despite the turmoil — counters that
the Pac-12 is not in the business of pre-determining which teams are going to
be good and greasing the skids for them at the expense of others.
“It may change, but up to now, our schools don’t want to
say, ‘Hey, Washington and USC look good this year, so let’s make sure they
don’t play back-to-back road games and others do,’ ” he said. “We’ve asked that
question. Our schools don’t want to do that – at this point in time.”
It’s a question worth pondering further, for the good of the
Pac-12 Conference. Everything should be on the table. Its credibility depends
on it.
::::::::::::::::
ThirdPartyGate continues to burn: Larry Scott praises Woodie
Dixon, gives no indication a reprimand or apology is forthcoming
By Jon Wilner San Jose Merc News 10/23/2018
Pac-12 athletic directors are gathering in the Bay Area this
week for their annual fall meetings with conference leadership. The agenda,
according to a conference spokesman, includes standard issues pertaining to
football and men’s basketball.
The topic of highest interest, however, is anything but
typical: The football officiating controversy.
Or to be more precise, the ongoing football officiating
controversy.
ThirdPartyGate has sucked all the attention away from the
players, coaches and teams for the past two weeks and threatens to smolder
through November, swallowing whole the entire Pac-12 season.
I’d guess the athletic directors are none too pleased with
general counsel Woodie Dixon, who, according to a Yahoo report, went where he shouldn’t
have gone and influenced the replay review process.
I’d also guess the athletic directors are none too pleased
that commissioner Larry Scott approved the system that allowed Dixon to be
involved in the first place, or that Scott has been unable to change the
narrative.
What else should Scott have done, above and beyond removing
Dixon from the replay review process?
Well, he could have taken action, in the form of a
reprimand, fine, suspension or some sort of public admonishment.
He could have gone so far as to strip Dixon of his duties as
supervisor of football — only by cleaning house, some might say, can you truly
clean the mess.
At the very least, Scott could have asked Dixon to issue a
public apology to the conference’s football stakeholders and the schools, which
suffer when the brand gets damaged.
Instead, we got the opposite. When asked if Dixon is in good
standing, Scott offered a glowing review:
“Woodie’s held in very high regard by our schools, he’s held
in very high regard nationally, and by me,” Scott told reporters (2:43 mark)
Saturday in the Martin Stadium press box.
“There was a mistake that was made here; there’s no question
about that, and we’ve taken corrective action, and we’ve got ongoing
discussions about other changes we might make.
“But he’s held in very high regard by our coaches, by our
athletics directors, our presidents and many others.”
It appears no action — certainly no public action — against
Dixon is forthcoming.
I can’t help but think of the conference fining Arizona
coach Sean Miller $25,000 for using obscenities after a technical foul that
later turned out to be part of a bounty scheme.
I can’t help but think of the conference fining former Utah
athletic director Chris Hill $10,000 for using inappropriate language during a
private conversation with the head of basketball officiating.
Or fining Mike Leach $10,000 for accusing Arizona State of
stealing signs.
Or fining Mike MacIntyre $10,000 for chasing down an
officiating crew after a game and expressing his frustration.
Those were emotion actions and mistakes driven by the heat
of competition, and the conference extraction thousands of dollars of flesh
from Miller, Hill, Leach and MacIntyre.
And here’s Dixon, who called into the replay center to
express an opinion that he should absolutely not express — an opinion that not
only influenced the outcome of a game but jeopardized the integrity of the
entire football operation — and there’s not so much as an apology.
Even if it was an honest, one-time mistake, which has been
Scott’s contention, shouldn’t Dixon be held accountable?
With no public accountability, it creates the impression
that conference executives are above the law — that those on Scott’s payroll
are held to a different standard than those on the campuses.
The conference office, after all, is supposed to serve the
schools. In the Pac-12, it often appears to be the other way around.
How will ThirdPartyGate unfold this week at the AD meetings?
There will be some discussion, for sure — perhaps even some
heated discussion — but material steps are unlikely.
Only the presidents/chancellors have the power to demand an
apology or force change, and they aren’t scheduled to meet until the middle of
next month.
Granted, they have universities to run and 817 problems to
solve in the next hour.
But football impacts the entire campus like few other
entities — it affects morale and philanthropy and revenue and so much more.
And right now, Pac-12 football is struggling on multiple
levels, with the officiating controversy out in front.
Do the presidents and chancellors care one iota? We’ll see
next month.
::::::::::::::::;
WSU Volleyball looks to continue riding momentum of the past
weekend heading back on the road.
From WSU Sports Info 10/23/2018
NO. 19 WASHINGTON STATE (15-5, 6-4 PAC-12)
at UTAH (12-9, 4-6 PAC-12) | Wed., Oct. 24 | 6
p.m. PT
at COLORADO (12-9, 4-6 PAC-12) |
Fri., Oct. 26 | 6 p.m. PT
> Watch (at Utah) |
Pac-12 Network
> Watch (at Colorado) | Pac-12 Networks (Mountain)
> Live Statistics | WSUCougars.com
VOLLEYBALL QUICK NOTES
>> The Cougars enter this week after defeating No. 14
USC, and No. 20 UCLA at home over the weekend. The back-to-back wins over the
LA schools were the first since 1997, and the 3-0 sweep over the Bruins was the
first since 1996, and the first in WSU Volleyball history inside Bohler Gym.
>> The victories over both the ranked Pac-12 opponents
also kept the Cougars perfect home record in tact at 7-0 overall. WSU has not
been defeated at home since Nov. 11, 2017 against Stanford as well.
WSU JUMPS UP FOUR SPOTS TO NO. 19 IN AVCA COACHES POLL
Washington State made the biggest leap in the latest AVCA
Coaches Poll, moving up four spots to number 19 in the nation in the week nine
rankings.Fellow Pac-12 members that earned top 25 spots as well include; No. 2
Stanford (6 first place votes), No. 15 USC, No. 16 Oregon, No. 20 UCLA, No. 20
Washington, No. 23 Arizona, Utah (RV), and Colorado (RV).
WSU UP TO NO. 12 IN NCAA RPI RANKINGS
Washington State is currently slotted at number 12 overall
in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, posting a 15-5 record, along with being 6-4 in
the Pac-12 overall heading into late October. The Cougs currently have a home
record of 7-0 as they prepare to head to Utah, and Colorado this week, both
programs which are receiving votes in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. The Cougs
also now have an overall record of 7-3 when facing nationally ranked opponents.
WSU’s JOCELYN URIAS NAMED PAC-12 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE
WEEK
Jocelyn Urias of WSU was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player
of the Week for the week of Oct. 15-Oct. 21 as announced by the Pac-12
Conference office Monday.
The junior became the first Cougar to earn the award in 2018
and the first to earn the honor since Taylor Mims, Oct. 3, 2016.
The weekly award was the first career Player of the Week
honor for Urias as well. Over the weekend, she led Washington State to a pair
of victories over No. 14 USC, and No. 20 UCLA inside Bohler Gym to see the
Cougars remain a perfect 7-0 when playing at home in 2018. Jocelyn provided 13
kills Friday evening against the Trojans, while totaling 13.0 points, and
hitting .286 overall. The five-set thriller featured Urias providing the
match-winning kill in the final set for the 18-16 victory over USC. The Cougars
continued to ride the momentum of that win into Sunday, where Jocelyn recorded
a match-high 14 kills, and a career-high hitting percentage of .700 overall.
FOLLOW THE COUGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA ALL SEASON LONG
Get all the info, photos, and videos a true Coug Fan could
want by following the team on Facebook (facebook.com/WSUVolleyball), Twitter
(@WSUVolleyball) and Instagram (washingtonstatevolleyball).
::::::::::
More honors trickle in for Washington State QB Gardner
Minshew
Mon., Oct. 22, 2018, 9:17 p.m.
Spokesman-Review by Theo Lawson
PULLMAN – Gardner Minshew stretched his streak of 300-yard
passing games to seven and was lauded for his four-touchdown performance in as
34-20 victory over No. 12 Oregon Saturday night at Martin Stadium.
For the second time in as many games, Minshew was named the
Rose Bowl Game’s Pac-12 Player of the Week, and was one of eight quarterbacks
nationally nominated as the Manning Award’s QB Star of the Week. Minshew was
voted as the Manning Award Quarterback of the Week for his performance in WSU’s
56-37 win over Oregon State two weeks ago in Corvallis.
The fifth-year senior graduate transfer completed 39-of-51
passes for 323 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions in Saturday’s win
over the Ducks, which catapulted WSU to No. 14 in the Associated Press and
improved the Cougars to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in Pac-12 Conference play.
Minshew led a late fourth-quarter touchdown drive that
guaranteed WSU its 11th straight home win, completing four passes – including
two to Travell Harris – before firing a 22-yard touchdown to Dezmon Patmon that
made it 27-20.
::::::::::::
WSU football
Patrick Baumgartner, brother of Spokane-based politician,
hatched Washington State’s ‘Big Gulp’ formation in Cambodian bar
UPDATED: Mon., Oct. 22, 2018, 9:22 p.m.
By Theo Lawson of S-R of Spokane
PULLMAN – The veil has finally been lifted off the Microsoft
engineer that drew up the “Big Gulp Left” formation Mike Leach and Washington
State have used multiple times this season, most recently for a 24-yard
touchdown during Saturday’s 34-20 win over No. 12 Oregon at Martin Stadium.
The vague coordinates of the play’s origins were also
learned: at a bar, off the coast of Cambodia.
Shortly after “Big Gulp Left” sprung James Williams for a
first-quarter score that gave the Cougars an early 7-0 lead over the Cougars, a
Spokesman-Review source identified the play’s inventor and Leach confirmed
later that it was Patrick Baumgartner, a Microsoft engineer who’s also the
brother of Spokane-based state senator Michael Baumgartner, who suggested the
coach give it a try.
From his highly-popular Twitter account, Leach wrote Sunday
night “Shoutout to WSU alum and Microsoft engineer Patrick Baumgartner for
designing our “Big Gulp” formations…really smart big idea guy with an unusual
way of looking at things…sold me on it while hanging out on the Cambodian
coast.”
At a watering hole off the Cambodian coast, to be exact.
Over the summer, Leach and a group of Washington-based
lawmakers including Michael Baumgartner traveled to Cambodia where they met
with the prime minister and other government officials. Patrick, a WSU graduate
and avid football fan who has no apparent coaching or playing background,
tagged along and sketched out a tree of trick plays for Leach that stem from
the old swinging gates formation.
The Cougars have run a few different variations of “Big Gulp
Left” this season and strolled it out for the first time in a live situation
during the opener at Wyoming. Wide receiver Kyle Sweet typically lines up as
the center, snapping diagonally to quarterback Gardner Minshew, who hands the
ball off to a running back or wide receiver in motion.
Saturday, Williams got the handoff and the play, which
probably should’ve lost yardage, surprisingly went for a 24-yard score. The
junior running back eluded four tacklers behind the line of scrimmage then
three to four more before hitting the right sideline and eventually lunging
into the end zone.
“I thought it was good, that play wasn’t exactly how I drew
it up,” Leach said postgame. “He made about eight guys miss, which was the most
impressive part of it.”
Leach preferred not to divulge Patrick Baumgartner’s
identity after the game, noting “I think he plans to remain anonymous. The play
itself, we kind of just put them together, but the notion of revolutionizing
swinging gates – it’d be fine with me, but I’m not sure he’s a spotlight guy.”
Williams said he wasn’t sure what to make of the play when
Leach introduced it to the Cougars in fall camp.
“It was half and half, more crazy (because) I thought it
wasn’t going to work,” he said. “We’ve got to make it work, we’ve just got to
execute it. As crazy as it looks, we’ve got to execute it every time we run
it.”
Even if it does nothing else for the Cougars this season, it
was responsible for six of the 34 points they scored in a critical Pac-12 North
game against the Ducks.
The “Big Gulp” moniker itself was created by Leach, who
feuded with USA Today’s Dan Wolke on Twitter and told The Seattle Times Wolke
would be “selling Big Gulps in a couple years” after the columnist criticized
the WSU coach for tweeting out a video of a doctored Barack Obama speech.
::::::::
Washington State’s Gardner Minshew named Maxwell Award
National Football Player of the Week
Tue., Oct. 23, 2018, 10:36 a.m.
By Theo Lawson of the Spokesman-Review, Spokane/Inland
Empire
PULLMAN – Monday turned to Tuesday, but Gardner Minshew
didn’t stop hauling in weekly awards for his role in Washington State’s
two-touchdown victory over No. 12 Oregon Saturday at Martin Stadium.
Minshew, who on Monday was named the Rose Bowl Game Pac-12
Player of the Week, one of the Davey O’Brien Award Great 8 Quarterback
Performances of the week and one of eight Manning Award “Star” quarterbacks of
the week, was selected as the Maxwell Award National Player of the Week on
Tuesday.
The Maxwell Award annually recognizes the best player in
college football. Minshew, a senior graduate transfer from East Carolina was
added to its watch list after the Cougars’ week six victory over Oregon State.
In the 34-20 win over Oregon, the Brandon, Mississippi,
native completed 39-of-51 passes for 323 yards, four touchdowns and two
interceptions. Minshew’s passed for at least 300 yards in each of his seven
games as WSU’s starter and has gone over the 400-yard barrier four times.
Currently, he leads the country in passing yards-per-game
(392.1), is second in total passing yards (2,745) and fifth in passing
touchdowns (23).
:::::::::::::::::
Washington State’s Mike Leach suggests top to bottom, Pac-12
is country’s best football conference
Mon., Oct. 22, 2018, 6:42 p.m.
By Theo Lawson (Spokane S-R)
PULLMAN – Best division in college football? The Pac-12
North has unquestionably made its case through the first seven weeks, even if
it isn’t the most likely to ship somebody to the four-team College Football
Playoff at the end of the regular season.
Among the Power Five conferences, the Pac-12 North is the
only division with four teams currently ranked in the weekly Associated Press
Top 25 poll. When the rankings were released Sunday, Washington State (6-1,
3-1) came in at No. 14, Washington (6-2, 4-1) at No. 15, Oregon (5-2, 3-2) at
No. 19 and Stanford (5-2, 3-1) at No. 24.
The SEC East and West are each on the cusp, with three Top
25 teams, as is the Big Ten East, with Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State all
ranked. The Big-12, which isn’t split into divisions, has three of its 12 teams
ranked, while the ACC has two. The Pac-12 South gives the conference a sixth
ranked team, with No. 23 Utah forging its way back into the rankings after
beating USC.
WSU coach Mike Leach was asked about the North’s success to
this point during a Monday news conference, and why the division hasn’t
received more national praise. Five of the top six teams in the North still
have records better than .500 and the division as a whole sports a record of
27-16.
“One thing that maybe helps or the media jumps on – and it’s
somewhat understandable – in some conferences you have some clear-cut
frontrunners. Some clear-cut teams to beat,” Leach said. “This is clear-cut the
team to beat, has been over the years. Like having an Alabama or an LSU or
somebody. Then you’ve got Clemson and some of those guys. Our conference really
doesn’t have that, so it’s not like you’ve got this, so much to the comparison,
team to beat and everybody’s wrapped up together and it’s kind of a slugfest.”
As things stand right now, the Pac-12 would seem to be on
the outside looking in when it comes to sending a team to the CFP, which has
taken just two Pac-12 teams in its four-year history. There are still four
unbeaten teams in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 and the other six teams have just
one loss.
WSU is the top-ranked Pac-12 team in the AP poll – something
that hasn’t happened since 2002, the same year as the Cougars’ last Rose Bowl
appearance – and now appears to be the league’s best shot at earning a third
playoff berth. Oregon earned a trip to the semifinal in 2014 and Washington
went in 2016. Currently, every other team in the Pac-12 is sitting with two
losses through the first seven weeks.
Leach suggests teams in other conferences aren’t tested
week-in, week-out like they are in the Pac-12.
“I’ve said this for a long time, if you had a tournament
with the bottom of everybody’s conference with anybody else’s conference, we’d
crush the bottom of theirs,” he said. “And what makes that difficult and what
makes that imposing is there’s some games throughout the year in other
conferences where you’re not as threatened, you’re not in as great of jeopardy
as we are in this conference. In this conference, they can all get you, you
know?”
It’s possible, although records against other Power Five
teams of late don’t favor the Pac-12. The conference is just 3-6 against the
SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big-12 and Notre Dame this season and it’s coming off a
horrendous bowl season in which the Pac-12 went 1-8, losing to seven different
P-5 teams and Boise State.
:::::::::::::
International pulse market may be drying up
Farmers concerned as tariffs, competition drive
prices down
By Josh Babcock, Moscow Pullman Daily News
Oct 23, 2018
Prices on U.S. pulse crops are the lowest they've
been since the early 2000s, and some farmers on the Palouse are considering
planting less of the legumes if the prices stay stagnant.
"It's a little early in the game to
know," Kevin Mader, a fifth-generation Pullman farmer, said. "We
might have to switch to wheat; I plan on staying the course, but if there's not
a market, it will be pretty tough."
With the price of U.S. pulse crops already down
and India imposing a 10 percent retaliatory tariff on the crops in response to
U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, domestic pulse production could decline
dramatically.
According to information provided by the U.S. Dry
Pea and Lentil Council, India is traditionally the No. 1 market for U.S. dry
peas, lentils and chickpeas, importing more than 30 percent of all U.S.
exports.
A news release from the U.S. Dry Pea and Lentil
Council noted prices for U.S. dry peas, lentils and chickpeas have all dropped
nearly 40 percent since initial Chinese and Indian tariffs were put in place
earlier this year.
Current Indian tariffs on U.S. pulse crops are 66
percent for chickpeas, 55 percent for dry peas and 33 percent for lentils, all
of which are expected to increase by 10 percent Nov. 2.
"It essentially closes the market,"
Jeff Rumney, vice president of marketing for the U.S. Dry Pea and Lentil
Council, said.
He said farmers are experiencing similar problems
at Chinese ports.
The Indian government is trying become more
self-reliant by supporting its local farmers, Rumney said, and Indian pulse
crop production has spiked in the past two years, lowering the price for U.S.
crops and reducing demand.
Rumney said the situation is only compounded with
tariffs.
The plummeting price of pulse crops has farmers
like Mader sitting on their product and waiting for the price to rise.
"We plan on storing them until we are happy
with the price," Mader said. "It could be this spring, could be 12
months."
While the U.S. Dry Pea and Lentil Council is
expecting U.S. acreage of pulse crop production to decline if prices and
tariffs remain the same, Rumney said most farmers who have grown legumes for
years likely won't switch up their crops just yet.
"They aren't just going to turn it
off," Rumney said. "The people who have been in this for years, they
have seen these cycles before, and they are confident in the long term, the market
will come back."
Since 2009, acres of lentils planted in the U.S.
went from 299,981 to 758,000, or from about 205,934 metric tons to about
398,572 metric tons.
During the same time, acres of chickpeas planted
nationwide have leaped from about 81,633 acres to more than 651,000 acres, or
from about 52,120 metric tons to about 425,870 metric tons.
Rumney said U.S. farmers in particular ramped up
the production of chickpeas to reap profits from the high demand in the Indian
market, but with Indian farmers taking the lead, it is uncertain if American
farmers will get their foot back in the market. He noted building back the
relationships with foreign markets can be difficult.
With Indian crops dependent on monsoon rains,
Rumney said it is unknown how successful each year's crop will be until
American farmers have already planted their crops.
Mader said he has to make his decision by
February.
Rumney noted the past two years, Indian farmers
have greatly increased the acreage of their own pulse crops, and it is unknown
how many acres they will plant this year.
Rumney said the problem isn't getting any better.
The recent 10 percent tariff means both nations are not coming any closer to an
agreement. He said the upcoming Indian election could also affect the market.
According to a news release from the Dry Pea and
Lentil Council, an annual meeting organized between the two countries scheduled
Nov. 1 regarding trade negotiations may not take place.
To resolve the failing market, Madison Jacobson,
assistant marketing manager for the Dry Pea and Lentil Council, said the
council is trying to create a domestic market so pulse farmers are not so
dependent on exports.
"As a council, we are working hard to
develop the market here," she said.
::::::::::::::::
Leach doles out praise to players, coaches
WSU boss says 2018 club is one of the more coachable of his
career
By DALE GRUMMERT of the Lewiston Trib
Oct 23, 2018
PULLMAN - All season, Washington State football coach Mike
Leach has spoken of his team in more positive tones than usual, even when he's
got something negative to say.
A comment he made Monday perhaps explained why.
"This is one of the more coachable teams that I've ever
been a part of," Leach said at his weekly news conference. "Everybody's
on the same page. Everybody's pulling in the same direction."
That was especially true Saturday night when the Cougars
dashed to a four-touchdown lead in the first half and held on for a resounding
34-20 home win over Oregon that kept them in control of their destiny in the
Pac-12 North.
The No. 14 Cougs (6-1, 3-1) head to California this week to
face No. 24 Stanford on Saturday (4 p.m., Pac-12 Networks). The Cardinal (5-2,
3-1) are favored by three points.
A prime reason WSU was projected in the preseason to place
fifth in the six-team North was its significant losses in personnel, especially
at offensive line, quarterback and several positions on defense. Also, five
assistant coaches bolted.
But many of the newcomers to the regular rotation are
performing well, and team chemistry is surprisingly strong.
"I think some of that comes from coaching - we've got
some really good coaches that all complement the efforts of each other and pull
in the same direction," Leach said. "I think we've got players that
way too, and I think it's refreshing to go to work every day and, all of a
sudden, you say something once and typically it starts taking shape."
Despite significant offseason attrition on the defensive
front seven, the Cougars lead the conference in sacks, with 21, as well as
several other categories.
Leading the way in sacks for the team are rush linebacker
Dominick Silvels with 31/2 and weakside backer Jahad Woods with three. Middle
linebacker Peyton Pelluer, who may be playing the best football of his
distinguished career, owns 41/2 tackles for loss, while defensive end Logan
Tago has 51/2.
When asked to identify the most critical task of a defense,
many coaches say stopping the run. Leach is more inclined to say pressuring the
quarterback.
"There might be something else - I'd have to think
about it - but I think the most important thing a defense does is affect the
quarterback," he said. "There's a difference between sacking him and
affecting him, but you have to at least affect him."
The Cougars' success in accomplishing that goal speaks to
their smooth adaptation this year to new defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys.
"I think Tracy and Jeff Phelps, our defensive-line
coach, do a really good job coaching technique," Leach said. "They
have some wrinkles from one week to the next that I think have proven to be
pretty challenging (to opponents). Then our players have played pretty hard
too."
The Cougars also lead the Pac-12 in scoring, total offense,
passing offense, kickoff return yardage, punting, avoidance of sacks,
fourth-down conversions and time of possession.
Against Oregon, the Cougs squeezed most of their mistakes
into the third quarter, when they got outscored 17-0.
"I don't think our tempo was the same as it was in the
first half," Leach said.
"I think the ball didn't necessarily bounce our way.
And then we had to outlast it. As strong a streak of powerful play as the first
half was, that third quarter was kind of a long (streak) too. You've just got
to fight through it, just keep doing your job, which we did. And then I think
we won the fourth quarter."
As usual, Leach avoided specifying a goal for the rest of
the season, such as winning the Pac-12 North.
"Everybody we have left (on the schedule) is a really
tough team," he said. "Most of them have been ranked at some point,
for what that's worth. Yeah, they're all good and they can all come up and get
you. And they're all going to try."
After the Stanford game, the Cougs play California at home
and Colorado on the road before capping their regular season with home contests
against Arizona and Washington.
Leach declined comment when asked about the Yahoo story
published Friday night that revealed text messages sent by Leach to Pac-12
administrators, sharply criticizing officiating crews and league general
counsel Woodie Dixon. The coach did say say he read the story.
"You're going to have to write that one yourself,"
he said, chuckling.
::::::::
Washington State could be fined for rushing (Martin Stadium)
field (after UO at WSU football game) , but decision won’t come immediately
Mon., Oct. 22, 2018, 7:58 p.m.
By Theo Lawson Spokane’s S-R
PULLMAN – For the third time in two years, Washington State
fans hopped over the guard rails at Martin Stadium and poured onto the field to
celebrate a signature win for the Cougar football team.
Whether the school will receive a $25,000 bill for its role
in Saturday’s field rush will be determined by Pac-12 officials later this
week, a league spokesman told The Spokesman-Review Monday vie E-mail. A decision
will be made “somewhat later than usual” because the conference is holding
annual meetings this week.
Two years ago, the conference introduced policies regarding
the rushing of a field/court after a game, ruling that a school can be fined
$25,000 for a first offense, $50,000 for a second offense and $100,000 for a
third offense.
WSU fans rushed the field twice last season, following a
47-44 triple-overtime win over Boise State in which the Cougars rallied back
from a 21-point fourth quarter deficit, and after a 30-27 win over then
fifth-ranked USC three weeks later.
The Pac-12 levied just one $25,000 fine against WSU,
however, for rushing the field after the USC game. Following the win over BSU,
a fine was waived because it was determined that opposing players, coaches,
staff members and working personnel had sufficient time to exit the field
safely during a 60-second time period without being obstructed.
But one WSU fan launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise
money for “WSU’s Asinine Pac 12 Fine” and received more than $700 from 53
donors before it was learned there would be no penalty for rushing the field.
All of the money received was eventually refunded.
The Cougars have actually been part of four field rushes in
their last 18 games. When Cal upset No. 7 WSU 37-3 last year at Memorial
Stadium in Berekely, a few-hundred fans stormed onto the field afterward. Cal
was fined $25,000 by the conference later that week.
:::
Kickoff time for Washington State-Cal football to be
determined, but Cougars and Golden Bears will start late
Mon., Oct. 22, 2018, 7:20 p.m.
Spokesman-Review/ By Theo Lawson
PULLMAN – ESPN will take advantage of a seven-day window to
decide whether it will broadcast a Nov. 3 game between Washington State and Cal
or the one between Washington and Stanford.
Either way, the Pac-12 North affair between the Cougars and
Golden Bears at Martin Stadium will be guaranteed to start late. Cal and WSU
will either get a 6 p.m. time slot and appear on Pac-12 Networks or kick off at
7:45 p.m. and get a national ESPN broadcast.
ESPN will determine which game it will air next weekend, no
fewer than seven days before WSU-Cal and UW-Stanford. Cal holds a 47-27 lead in
the all-time series against the Cougars and the Golden Bears have won 11 of the
last 13 games, including last season’s 37-3 rout in Berkeley. Kickoff times for
three other Pac-12 games on Nov. 3 were reported Monday, by Jon Wilner of the
San Jose Mercury News. The day’s slate will begin with Utah at Arizona State at
1 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks and continue with UCLA at Oregon, a 4:30 p.m.
game that will air on FOX. Later on USC at Oregon State will air at 7 p.m. on
FS1.
