Coug Steve Gleason to
receive Congressional Gold Medal
By Mike Triplett, ESPN
(and other sources)
WSU grad a former WSU Cougar football player Steve Gleason
will become the first NFL player and just the eighth individual athlete ever to
receive a Congressional Gold Medal, which is considered the highest honor that
Congress can award to a civilian.
The House of Representatives on Thursday, Dec. 20 gave
unanimous passage of legislation S. 2652 to award Gleason, a Washington native
who played for the Saints from 2000-2006, the Gold Medal.
Gleason, a graduate of Spokane’s Gonzaga Prep who lives in
New Orleans with his wife and their children, is a former special-teams
standout with the New Orleans Saints, has become a renowned advocate for those
with ALS and other neuromuscular disorders since he was diagnosed himself with
the debilitating disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in 2011.
Gleason issued a statement saying he “learned that Congress
has confirmed my nomination for the Congressional Gold Medal. Talk about
feeling undeserving! The list of past winners is filled with enlightened and
powerful giants of humanity. It's ridiculously overwhelming.
"I'm grateful to (my wife) Michel, our families, my
caretakers, our Team Gleason staff, the researchers of Answer ALS, and the
cities of Spokane and New Orleans, for gracefully shining the light to lead me.
"I am honored, and accept the Congressional Gold Medal
for all the families who have been diagnosed with ALS, as well as anyone
struggling to overcome life's inevitable adversities."
The House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation
Thursday to award the Gold Medal to Gleason after the Senate also unanimously
endorsed the award in June. The final step is for President Donald Trump to
sign the legislation.
"It is a true honor to witness Steve Gleason become the
first New Orleanian and former NFL Legend to receive the Congressional Gold
Medal," Saints owner Gayle Benson said in a statement. "Along with
his wife, Michel, and everyone at Team Gleason, they have unfailingly
confronted ALS with a courageous and unwavering determination. Their tireless
work to provide crucial assistance and the latest in technology and services
has improved countless people's quality of living. Steve is leaving a truly
indelible mark in American history and we are honored to call him a true New
Orleans Saint."
"Through his work to help others who are disabled,
Steve Gleason has changed so many lives for the better," Louisiana Sen.
Bill Cassidy said in a statement. "As more members of Congress heard about
Steve's work, the support for this bill only grew. Steve is a hero to many and
I'm proud we got this done to honor a great American."
"The Congressional Gold Medal is reserved for those
individuals who make a profound and lasting contribution to our country -- and
Mr. Gleason has certainly done that,"
WSU grad Patty Murray, a senator from Gleason's home state
of Washington, said in a statement. "For those of us who've followed him
from his early days in eastern Washington, to anyone just learning about his
story today, we are all so fortunate that Steve brings the same fight and
passion to his health care advocacy that he brought to the football field.
Steve, you make Washington state so proud, and it's been my honor to play a
role in helping your Congressional Gold Medal come to fruition."
Gleason's most spectacular moment on the football field came
when he blocked a punt against the Atlanta Falcons to spark a Saints victory on
the night the Superdome reopened following Hurricane Katrina.
But he has since become internationally recognized for his
efforts as a crusader for those with ALS. The Steve Gleason Act was signed into
law by former President Barack Obama in 2015 to make critical technology
available to patients through Medicare and Medicaid.
Previous athletes to be honored with a Congressional Gold
Medal are Roberto Clemente, Joe Louis, Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Byron
Nelson, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
……………………….
WSU Soccer Coach Todd Shulenberger agrees to contract extension
through 2024
From WSU Sports Info 12/21/2018
PULLMAN -- Washington State University and Head Soccer Coach
Todd Shulenberger agreed to a contract extension that will keep the coach on
the Palouse through June of 2024.
Cougars' Director of Athletics Pat Chun announced the
contract extension for Shulenberger, Friday morning.
"In his four years in Pullman, Todd has elevated Cougar
Soccer to a national power," said Chun. "His teams have succeeded on
the field, in the classroom and been great ambassadors in our community. He is
a tremendous coach and mentor to our student-athletes and we are fortunate to
have him leading Cougar Soccer for many years to come."
In four seasons at WSU, Shulenberger has led the Cougars
soccer team to new heights including three NCAA appearances. Under
Shulenberger's guidance, a young Cougar squad made a record run in the NCAA
tournament in 2017 as WSU advanced to the tournament's third round for the
first time in program history. In 2018, the Cougars made their way to the
second round of the postseason despite fighting a rash of injuries to their
starting lineup.
In addition to their late season success, the Cougars
started the year with a record 10-straight victories as WSU became the final
undefeated and untied team in the country on their way to a No. 7 national ranking,
the highest ranking in 30 years of Cougar soccer. Shulenberger's Cougars
finished the year with 13 wins, one off the program's all-time best 14 wins, a
mark the fourth-year coach achieved in his first-year on the Palouse. For their
work, the Cougars earned a home game in the first round of the NCAA tournament,
defeating Montana 5-1 at Lower Soccer Field.
The Cougars have excelled both on and off the field under
Shulenberger as WSU placed nine on the Pac-12 All-Academic team. In addition,
both Rachel Thompson and Maddy Haro earned academic all-region honors.
"I would like to thank President Kirk Shultz, Athletic
Director Pat Chun and Deputy Athletics Director Anne McCoy with their continued
trust and commitment in me," said Shulenberger. "It was definitely a
wild ride this season with a ton of adversity, but this impressive group of
young ladies never quit. Cougar Soccer is now a national brand and we are all
excited to move forward in the years to come. I am very thankful to be their
leader and represent this special university."
The Cougars return eight of their 11 starters in 2019
including First Team All-Region forward Morgan Weaver, who finished second in
the Pac-12 in scoring as a junior in 2018.
::::::::::::::::::::::
WSU COUGARS VS. IOWA STATE CYCLONES IN 2018 ALAMO BOWL FOOTBALL
GAME ON FRIDAY DEC 28 STARTING AT 6 P.M. PACIFIC TIME. ESPN TELECAST.
IF YOU WILL BE IN SAN ANTONIO OR EVEN IF NOT, THE FOLLOWING
INFO SHOULD BE OF INTEREST.
FOR DETAILS VISIT alumni.wsu.edu
Dec 27 = Cougar Crawl in San Antonio at Hi-Tones Bar in San
Antonio,
Dec 27 = WSU President’s Welcome Reception at Grand Hyatt
San Antonio from 7-9 pm (Central). Online registration has closed. Walk up
registrations will be available at the door.
Dec 28 = The PreGame @ Valero Alamo Bowl at Institute of
Texan Cultures at 801 E. Caesar E. Chavez Blvd from 4-7 pm (Central)
Dec 28 = Alamo Bowl Viewing Parties: WSU vs. Iowa State at
various locations
Dec 28 = WSU vs. Iowa State football game in Alamodome, San
Antonio, 6 p.m. (Pacific ) kickoff. ESPN telecast.
Dec 28 = Alamo Bowl After Party at Howl at the Moon and
Merkaba on the Riverwalk, San Antonio
:::::
WSU FOOTBALL
Easop Winston’s ‘outrageously big’ hands have been a major
asset for Washington State this season
By Theo Lawson, Spokane S-R
UPDATED: Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, 10:49 p.m.
PULLMAN – The Washington State wide receiver isn’t
grumbling, but there are everyday obstacles that come with having hands as big
as Easop Winston’s.
The “oven mitts” attached to Winston’s forearms – that’s how
head coach Mike Leach describes them, anyway – have become a key asset for the
Cougars and their Air Raid offense on Saturdays.
But Monday through Friday? Well, sometimes they get in the
way.
When Winston reaches into a pocket for his iPhone X, he
places the device into the palm of his right hand and wraps his thumb around
the face of the screen until it overlaps with his index finger on the other
side.
If you don’t believe Winston’s hands are abnormally large,
try it yourself.
“That’s not normal,” he said. “So when I do that around my
family, around my teammates, they’re like, ‘I can’t do that.’ The goal is to
get a new phone for Christmas, a bigger one. But that one, like, dude it’s too
little for my hands. It’s just like I’m gripping a tennis ball or something. But
yeah, we’ll see if my mom gets me that.”
You listening, mom?
Winston and his jumbo hands have been a productive unit for
WSU in 2018.
In his debut season, the redshirt junior from San Francisco
reeled in 48 passes (fourth on the team) for 611 yards (third) and eight
touchdowns (tied for first).
Splitting time at “Z” receiver with Dezmon Patmon, Winston
posted consecutive 100-yard receiving yards against USC and Utah and was 36
inches short of a third when he went for 99 yards the following week against
Oregon State.
And there’s this nugget: Winston hasn’t drop a pass in 2018.
According to Pro Football Focus, only one other player in
the country – UCLA’s Theo Howard – was more dependable, catching 51 passes
without a drop. The PFF breakdown only measures balls that are deemed
catchable.
“When that stat came out, I was very humbled and blessed to
be able to keep that all throughout the season,” Winston said.
It might be masked by his humility, but Winston probably
doesn’t find the stat surprising. His hands have always been his meal ticket.
They’re the reason an underdeveloped high school receiver,
small in stature at 5-foot-8, 150 pounds, was offered a spot on the football
roster at a junior college powerhouse. Three seasons later, they’re the reason
the 5-10, 170-pound version of that same player was able to snatch a last-minute
Pac-12 scholarship from Washington State.
Winston vaguely remembers dropping one pass his final year
at Serra, also his first playing wide receiver, and he thinks there was one
more gaffe at City College of San Francisco. He caught 27 passes at Serra and
133 more over two seasons at CCSF. For every 80 passes Winston hauled in, one
fell to the turf.
Once in junior college, Winston was running a routine curl
route when he watched one of those balls whiz right through his hands. The
receiver shrugged it off, but the rest of his teammates paused and looked at
Winston as if they’d seen a ghost.
“My teammates weren’t used to me dropping balls,” he said,
“so they were looking at me kind of funny.”
Winston is deceptively quick, but he doesn’t jump off the
charts with his foot speed. He experienced a growth spurt during his grayshirt
season at CCSF, but that only bumped him to 5-10. Almost every other outside
receiver on the WSU roster has at least 4 inches on him. He’s not winning too
many head-to-head battles on the squat rack, either.
So Winston had balanced those perceived shortcomings by
being Mr. Reliable. Catch anything, catch everything.
“At the end of the day, the position’s called a receiver,”
he said. “You have to be able to receive the ball, at the end of the day, no
matter what else you can do. I feel like that’s how I got here and I feel like
it’s kind of benefited me this season.”
Already, Winston’s had two record-setting WSU quarterbacks
offer him the highest praise.
After Gardner Minshew connected with Winston for the 89-yard
touchdown that beat Utah earlier this season, the QB said of the play: “I saw
one-on-one coverage with a guy who’s pretty much unguardable one-on-one. I just
gave him a chance and we made it work.”
The junior college transfer had been on campus for only a
few months in April 2017 when Luke Falk described Winston’s hands as “the best
I’ve ever seen.”
Coaches and teammates still rave about their sheer size,
too.
One perk of playing at this level is school-supplied
receiver gloves. Before he arrived at WSU, Winston often spent hours fishing
through Eastbay apparel magazines for gloves big enough to fit his
disproportionately sized hands.
“They’re gigantic,” Leach said earlier this season. “That
would be worth your while. Request interview him just so you can hold your hand
up next to his. It is astounding because he’s 5-10 or whatever he is. It’s
astounding.”
“They’re crazy big. They’re outrageously big.”
In the past, when he’s been unsuccessful in finding a
receiver glove his size, Winston’s resorted to using offensive/defensive
lineman gloves. They don’t have the same adhesive properties as a receiver
glove, and he often has to cut out the extra padding, but it’s a job worth
doing if it means more comfort on the field.
“The size of his hands, it is bigger than anybody else’s
I’ve seen,” outside receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. said. “He wears 2XL
gloves and he does have large hands and he uses it well.”
The 2XL size is what Winston settled on this season, after a
short trial with a 3XL glove. The 3XL fits, he assures.
According to Winston, Patmon, who stands 5 inches taller,
also wears a 2XL. Tay Martin, a 6-3 junior, wears an XL, while Calvin Jackson,
probably Winston’s best size comparison at 5-10, uses a “large” but also fits
into a “medium.”
“The bigger, the better,” Leach said. “His aren’t just like
long, skinny hands. They’re big everywhere.”
The Cougars can take comfort in knowing Winston’s hands
won’t get any smaller. His cellphones might just have to get bigger.
“It really helps him a lot,” Martin said. “When he catches
the ball, it looks too natural. Guy has great hands, any ball in the air I’d
bet any amount of money he’s coming down with it.”
This season, it would’ve been a pretty safe gamble.
::::::::::::::::
A fourth JC defensive back, Shahman Moore, signs with
Washington State football team
Thu., Dec. 20, 2018, 5:30 p.m.
By Theo Lawson of the Spokesman-Review of Spokane
PULLMAN – Make it four junior college defensive backs headed
to Washington State next season.
Not yet finished with the early signing period, the Cougars
added one more body on Thursday, inking El Camino College transfer Shahman
Moore to the 2019 recruiting class.
WSU opened the early period on Wednesday by signing 19
players – four of which were cornerbacks or safeties. Three of those four are
coming to Pullman with playing experience at the junior college level.
And now so will Moore, a 5-foot-11, 154-pound cornerback who
played at El Camino during the 2016 and ’17 seasons, but was not listed on the
Warriors’ roster for 2018.
In 2017, Moore played in 11 games for ECC, making 26 tackles
while recording three interceptions for 106 yards. He also broke up five
passes.
He was named to the 2017 Southern California Football
Association National Division All-Central League First Team.
As a freshman in 2016, he played in nine games and totaled
23 tackles, one tackle-for-loss, three interceptions and four pass breakups.
Moore, born in Oakland, California, prepped at El Segundo
High School in Southern California and earned first team all-conference honors
as both a junior and senior.
Moore isn’t given a star rating by any of the major
recruiting services, but he listed other offers from Liberty and UTSA,
according to 247Sports.com.
The other defensive backs signed by WSU on Wednesday
included cornerbacks Armauni Archie (6-1, 175; El Cerrito High), Daniel Isom
(5-10, 180; Iowa Western) and Derrick Langford (6-2, 190; City College of San
Francisco), and safeties Bryce Beekman (6-2, 190; Arizona Western) and Gatlin
Grisso (6-0, 185; Aubrey High).
::::::::::
MEN’S BASKEBALL COUGARS HEAD TO LAS VEGAS:
From WSU Sports Info
The Washington State University men’s basketball team (7-3)
returns to the road for the Las Vegas portion of the Las Vegas Classic as it
takes on San Diego (9-3), Saturday, Dec. 22 at 7 p.m. PT at Orleans Arena.
• Following Saturday’s game, WSU will face either Drake
(8-2) or New Mexico State (9-2) for a second time this season, Sunday, Dec. 23
at either 4:30 or 7 p.m.
• Both games will be televised on FS1 as Justin Kutcher
(play-by-play) and Jimmy Jackson (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: www.wsucougars.com
COUGARS vs. TOREROS; THE WCC:
• Washington State and San Diego have met three times prior
to Saturday, as WSU holds a 2-1 advantage in the series.
• The Cougars and Toreros last met in the Championship game
of the Great Alaska Shootout, Nov. 28, 2009, a 96-56 Cougar victory.
• San Diego is a member of the West Coast Conference (WCC)
along with BYU, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint
Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco and Santa Clara.
• WSU is 131-66 all-time against current members of the WCC,
led by a 98-52 record against Gonzaga.
• The only member of the WCC the Cougars have not faced is
Pacific.
:::::::::::::
WSU Women’s Basketball: Swedlund's Career Night Overwhelms
Wichita State
From WSU Sports Info
LAS VEGAS – The big four of Washington State (5-6) women’s
basketball overwhelmed the Shockers of Wichita State (6-6), 85-59, to close out
play at the “Duel in the Desert” Thursday afternoon, Dec. 20, 3028.
Led by the career day of Alexys Swedlund, the Cougars' four
upperclassmen scored a combined 79 of WSU's 85 points in the contest, burying
the Shockers behind an avalanche of three-pointers.
From the outset, the Cougars knew they were in for a big day
offensively as the shots were falling in droves for Swedlund and junior
Chanelle Molina as the duo combined for 38 points in the opening half. Molina finished
the afternoon with 19 points as she got the ball rolling for the Cougs with
back-to-back threes in the opening minutes of the contest.
From there, Swedlund took over as the sharpshooter buried
five three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of play while helping to stymie
the Shockers offense. WSU held Wichita State without a field goal for nearly
seven minutes in the second quarter, only ceding points from the free throw
line that allowed the Shockers to stay within nine points at the break.
A four-point spurt right out of the locker room by
redshirt-junior Borislava Hristova got the star forward going in the second
half as she turned a rough outing into another spectacular showing in the box
score by scoring 21 of her 27 in the second half. After letting the Shockers
hang close, the Cougs would create separation with a 7-0 run thanks to Swedlund
who dropped in five quick points and a dime pass to Hristova for the other two
points as WSU went up 59-42 late in the third and never looked back.
Swedlund would score 10 of her career-best 27 in the third
including hitting her final two from distance to post a career-best seven from
deep. In the fourth, Hristova put the game away with a 13-point period as the
Cougars ended the nonconference season with a win.
WSU Coach Kamie Ethridge:
"I just thought we competed better. We managed the game
for 40 minutes. I loved our post play and our physicality in the post. I
thought Bobi and Maria in the first half really made an effort to be a bigger
presence for us which is something we have tried to do and didn't do against
Kansas. Clearly when you get Swede scoring like she did and Nelle playing like
she did and Bobi coming along in the second half that's a good not just 1-2
punch but a 1-2-3 punch. Clearly having those three players on makes us hard to
guard."
WSU finished the nonconference season at 5-6 and will head
into Pac-12 play in Seattle on Dec. 30 at Washington.
Alexys Swedlund led the Cougars on the night with a
career-best 27 points including hitting 7-of-12 from distance and 10-of-17
overall. Her seven three-pointers tied for the second-most in a single game
while finishing one off of the WSU record. She also added four steals
defensively.
Borislava Hristova finished tied with Swedlund with 27
points as she posted her sixth 20-point game of the year. She has scored in
double-figures in all 11 games on the year, the third-longest streak for a
Cougar junior and the second-longest streak in her career. In addition to her
scoring, Hristova grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds to post her second
double-double of the season.
Chanelle Molina earned All-Tournament honors (her second of
the year) after finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
Marian Kostourkova chipped in six points and seven rebounds
to round out the big four for the Cougs.
As a team, WSU went 14-of-27 (51.9%) from behind the arc,
tying for the second most three-pointers in a single game, one shy of the
record of 15.
The Shockers put two in double figures with Jaida Hampton
posting 14 points and Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage chipping in 11.
WSU outshot the Shockers 50.8%-to-33.9% from the floor while
grabbing 41 rebounds to Wichita State's 38.
:::::::::
WSU investigation finds Jason Gesser violated sexual
harassment policy
UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 20, 2018, 9:34 p.m.
By Thomas Clouse, Spokane S-R
Alyssa Bodeau didn’t know how her life would change after
she decided to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against
former Washington State University quarterback Jason Gesser.
But the waves of support and a new university finding has
convinced her that she made the correct call to put her name behind her pain.
Although the finding is 2 months old, Bodeau was informed that the WSU
investigation determined that Gesser had violated university policy in his
interaction with her following a fundraiser in Tumwater in 2015.
She met with investigators from the WSU Office for Equal
Opportunity in September after she decided to come forward with her story.
“I definitely felt like I had the opportunity to be heard
and that my situation was being taken seriously,” Bodeau said. “I don’t have
any reservations about going to campus. It might just take a little bit for me
to feel comfortable. But, I’m excited for that day.”
According to the findings provided by Bodeau, WSU
investigators ruled that Gesser’s actions met “the definition of sexual
harassment and non-consensual sexual contact” that “impacted the Complainant
emotionally, created a lack of personal security for her, and created a hostile
and offensive environment.”
Bodeau, 27, grew up in Spokane Valley, attended West Valley
High School and played volleyball at Lewis-Clark State College before
transferring to WSU in 2012.
She played her junior season in 2012, but chose to sit out
her senior year because of an injury. About the same time, she started caring
for the Gessers’ children, she said, to help out Gesser’s wife, a former WSU
volleyball player who remained active with the team.
But then she had the encounter with Gesser in 2015. He
played as WSU’s quarterback from 1998 to 2002. In 2013, Gesser returned to
Pullman after six years of professional football and several coaching stops,
including a stint at the University of Idaho.
At the time of the encounter, Gesser was a WSU employee who
was helping raise money for the Cougar Athletic Fund.
Just minutes after he was informed that a second woman came
forward with sexual misconduct allegations, Gesser resigned. According to the updated
WSU report, he never sat down with investigators to give his side of the story.
“To the young woman that I made feel uncomfortable, I
respectfully have a different recollection of the situation you’ve described,”
Gesser wrote, “but acknowledge that I should never have been in the situation
in the first place, and I apologize. I truly never meant to cause you harm.”
While Gesser provided the statement the day he resigned, he
did not cooperate with the WSU investigation.
“Investigators also attempted to interview (Gesser) and
(former Athletic Director) Mr. William ‘Bill’ Moos, who was present at the CAF
event in 2015,” investigators wrote. Gesser “declined to participate in the
investigation; Mr. Moos did not respond to OEO’s interview request.”
Efforts to reach Gesser on Thursday were unsuccessful.
“I definitely felt more support just from those results,”
Bodeau said of the investigation. “It could show people in the future that this
is a safe, supportive space to bring these things.”
#
