Thought you’d want to know. These Coug (see photos) socks
for sale on 2/27/2019 for $6.99, regular price $18.00, at Eagle Bargain Outlet
at 13843 SE McLoughlin Blvd, in Milwaukie, Oregon.
………………..
Next storm system could bring another 4 inches of snow
starting tonight
From Pullman Radio News
The next storm system is expected to dump another several
inches of snow on the Palouse. The
National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory which begins late
tonight and runs into Thursday. The
forecast is calling for up to 4 inches of new snow. The winds are expected to be light which is
reducing the threat of blowing and drifting snow.
WSDOT urging people to avoid unnecessary driving in Eastern
WA for next 24 hours
From Pullman Radio News
The Washington Department of Transportation is asking people
to avoid unnecessary driving in Eastern Washington for the next 24 hours. Transportation officials say travel will be
treacherous. There are several road and
highway closures in the region. Another
round of snow is expected to hit the area tonight.
…………
UPDATE: Colfax schools close early; Pullman, Moscow
after-school activities canceled
Feb 27, 2019 Updated about 3pm
The following schools and public services in the region are
affected today by snowfall and hazardous road conditions (list will be updated
as new info becomes available):
CLOSED / CANCELED
Moscow School District (all schools within district closed,
all after-school activities canceled)
Pullman School District (Students released at noon today;
all after-school activities and athletics are canceled)
Colfax School District (Student released at noon today)
Potlatch School District (all after-school and
extracurricular activities canceled)
City of Pullman: City of Pullman non-emergency personnel
have been sent home for the day. Non-emergency personnel are considered those
not actively engaging in snow and ice control or public safety services. Administrative
and support services are being suspended for today. City Hall will be closed
for the remainder of today.
City of Moscow: City of Moscow nonemergency and nonpublic
safety operations will be closed after 1:45 p.m.
Hamilton Indoor Recreation Center: Closed at 5:30 p.m.
today.
Washington State Route 27 (closed between Garfield and
Fairfield in northern Whitman County, according to the Washington State Patrol)
The Whitman County Courthouse (Closed early today because of
the winter weather. The county limited its services and went to essential
personnel only at 10 a.m. at the courthouse in Colfax.)
Moscow Charter School
Palouse Prairie Charter School
St. Mary's School, Moscow
Genesee School District
::::::::::::
Baseball WASHINGTON STATE at NEVADA
From WSU Sports Info
Reno, Nev. | Don Weir Field at Peccole Park (3,000) | Feb.
28-March 2, 2019
Thursday, 1 p.m.
| Friday, 1 p.m. | Saturday, 1 p.m.
COUGARS CONTINUE ROAD TRAVELS WITH SERIES AT NEVADA
Washington State (2-6) hits the road for the third straight
week after moving its series with Nevada (6-1) from Pullman, Wash. to Reno,
Nev. because of snow in the Pullman forecast for most of the week. The
three-game series in Reno will run Thursday-Saturday with first pitch set for 1
p.m. each game.
FOLLOW ALONG
Cougar baseball fans can follow all the season's action on
the Washington State baseball official twitter page @CougBaseball, instagram
page @Coug_Baseball and wsucougars.com. Links to live stats and radio streams
will be available at the baseball schedule page on wsucougars.com. Every Cougar
home game will be webstreamed through Pac-12.org. The first two games at Nevada
are scheduled to be webstreamed by nevadawolfpack.com
::::::::::
White named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week
WSU’s Brandon White named Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week
2/27/2019 from Moscow Pullman Daily News
SAN FRANCISCO — Washington State freshman hurler Brandon
White was named the Pac-12 Conference Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday after
threw 6.1 no-hit innings against Santa Clara last week.
White’s no-hit showing came in the first career collegiate
start for the freshman from Chehalis, Wash. He tallied nine strikeouts and no
walks, and retired the first 15 batters he faced before the leadoff hitter in
the sixth inning reached on a Cougar fielding error but was thrown out trying
to steal second base later in the inning.
White, a 14th-round pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in last
year’s draft, is the first Cougar freshman pitcher to earn Pac-12 weekly honors
since Ryan Walker in 2015.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Cougars add two football assistants
PULLMAN — Washington State’s football team announced the
addition of two assistants, Roc Bellantoni and Dennis Slutak.
Bellantoni will coach linebackers and Slutak will serve as
the director of football operations.
“Roc is an outstanding coach that brings a great deal of
experience and expertise to our staff,” WSU coach Mike Leach said in a written
release. “He is a high energy coach that has a reputation of being an
outstanding recruiter and staff guy.”
Bellantoni recently completed his second season at Buffalo,
where he served as defensive ends coach and special teams coordinator in 2018.
Slutak arrives in Pullman having spent the past four seasons
as the director of football operations at UNLV.
He also served as the director of football operations at
Bowling Green in 2013, when the Falcons went 10-4 and reached the Little
Ceasars Bowl in his lone season.
“Dennis has a reputation of being one of the best football
operations people in the country,” Leach said.
Prior to Bowling Green, Slutak spent three seasons at the
University of Washington (2009-2011) and four years at USC (2005-2008).
::::::::::::::::
Projected enrollment in Pullman schools flattens
District officials say final student count for 2018-19
school year drops below previous year for first time in a decade
By Scott Jackson, Moscow Pullman Daily News staff writer Feb
27, 2019
Enrollment in the Pullman School District is down for the
first time in 10 years and officials are flattening projected growth for the
coming years.
Just more than 2,800 students are projected to be enrolled
in the district for the 2019-20 school year, and district officials say they do
not expect growth to overtake 2,900 for at least the next four years. The
Pullman School Board will discuss the updated figures during its regular
meeting at 7 p.m. tonight.
“We were bumping up 100 to 150 kids a year, and then lately,
it’s just been steady at about 30 to 40 kids per year,” PSD Finance Manager
Diane Hodge said. “Our enrollment has just finally steadied off after a 10-year
increase.”
Hodge said upward trends held true until 2018, when final
numbers dipped below 2017 enrollment.
School districts assemble a yearly budget based on
projections, Hodge said, but the amount of money a school is awarded by the
state is determined by a district’s final full-time equivalent students, so it
is important these numbers are as close to matching as possible. For the
2018-19 school year, the district budgeted for its estimate of 2,845 students,
but will only receive funding for its final count of 2,788.
“You always want to budget conservatively as far as
enrollment, but not too conservative because you don’t want to leave too much,”
Hodge said. “We just need to be more conservative on our spending because we’re
funded off our enrollment — which is why we don’t want to over-predict.”
PSD Director of Operations Joe Thornton said with enrollment
projections leveling off and the new Kamiak Elementary School nearing
completion, Pullman’s schools will have plenty of room for growth. When Kamiak
comes online, Thornton said, each of Pullman’s elementary schools and the high
school will be at around 85 percent of their full capacity. He said the
district is eyeing an expansion that would bring additional classroom space to
Lincoln Middle School, but with enrollment growth tapering off, the district
has a bit of “breathing room” to complete the project.
“What we see with enrollment is going to drive what we need
to do with anticipating more classroom space,” Thornton said. “You try to be as
forward thinking as possible because the last thing you want to do as a
district is get in a situation where you’re having to do temporary classrooms.”
Thornton pointed out temporary classroom facilities can cost
as much as $300,000 and are valueless when their lifespan completes — a
scenario he likened to “setting a pile of money on fire.”
While Hodge and Thornton both admit they do not know what
caused the drop in 2018, Thornton said he expects overall enrollment trends to
rise. He pointed out housing continues to be built and Pullman’s population is
still climbing, and some of those moving to the area will have children who
must attend school.
“Even though momentarily we look flat, I think the trend is
to continue to grow,” Thornton said. “You can’t just look at that one year data
and anticipate where you’re going to be — you need to look over a big window.”
::::::::::::::
COUGAR MEN’S BASKETBALL
Washington State-Stanford preview: Cougars look to snap
five-game skid against Cardinal
Wed., Feb. 27, 2019, 2:20 p.m. from Associated Press
Where/when: Maples Pavilion, Stanford, California; Thursday
, 6 p.m.
Bottom line: Stanford looks for its sixth straight win in
the head-to-head series over Washington State. In its last five wins against
the Cougars, Stanford has won by an average of 14 points. Washington State’s
last win in the series came on Jan. 31, 2015, an 89-88 victory.
Team leaders: Stanford’s KZ Okpala has averaged 17.2 points
and 5.7 rebounds while Daejon Davis has put up 12.3 points and 4.6 assists. For
the Cougars, Robert Franks has averaged 22.4 points and 7.4 rebounds while CJ
Elleby has put up 15.2 points and 6.7 rebounds.
Franks is a force: Franks has connected on 40.8 percent of
the 147 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 22 of 38 over his last five
games. He’s also converted 82.2 percent of his free throws this season.
Yet to win: The Cougars are 0-6 when they score 67 points or
fewer and 11-10 when they exceed 67 points. The Cardinal are 0-9 when they fail
to score more than 66 points and 14-4 on the season, otherwise.
Perfect when: The Cardinal are 5-0 when they record nine or
more steals and 9-13 when they fall shy of that mark. The Cougars are 5-0 when
the team blocks at least five shots and 6-16 when they fall short of that
total.
Did you know: Washington State as a team has made 9.6
3-pointers per game this season, which is second-most among Pac-12 teams.
:::::
WSU senior and former Cougar football player to compete in
“The Titan Games” championship Thursday night on NBC
From Pullman Radio News
A Washington State University senior and former Cougar
football player will compete in "The Titan Games" championship
Thursday night on NBC. Bridger Buckley
will face off against 3 other men for the title. The winner will receive 100,000 dollars. The show began with 32 male contestants last
month. "The Titan Games"
hosted by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson airs Thursday night at 8:00 on
NBC.
:::::::::::::::::::::
John Canzano: Pac-12 Conference invites questions, but
offers few answers
Updated Feb 27, 12:20 PM; Posted Feb 27, 5:14 AM
Larry Scott. Pac-12 Conference-commissioner, has come under
fire for his leadership.
By John Canzano, Portland Oregonian
I did some digging into the proposal Pac-12 Conference
commissioner Larry Scott has pitched his bosses.
The “Pac-12 NewCo” plan involves selling a 10 percent stake
in a newly created media-rights holding company to private-equity investors.
The deal is designed to infuse a one-time $500 million jackpot into the
conference’s cash-disadvantaged athletic departments.
However, Scott’s proposal is based on a dreamy $5 billion
valuation of the media enterprise. And we all know it’s not likely worth
anything close to that.
Getting someone else to invest in something you’ve struggled
to monetize yourself is a wonderful idea. Except, I talked with a couple of
experts in the field, and it turns out tough questions will be asked.
That could be bad news for the Pac-12.
Endeavour Capital is exactly the kind of private-equity firm
that the Pac-12 should be interested in partnering with. Its offices -- Los
Angeles, Portland, Denver and Seattle -- sit in the conference footprint. And
Endeavor Capital understands the challenges in funding higher education, having
been an equity partner in the lucrative transition Grand Canyon University made
from non-profit to for-profit more than a decade ago.
John von Schlegell co-founded the firm. He doesn’t blame the
conference for exploring private investment, but also, von Schlegell said
before the Pac-12 gets a nickel from a sophisticated investment firm,
conference headquarters should expect a deep drill into their world.
“It will be a proctological exam,” von Schlegell said.
“'Trust me'... is not going to work.”
Scott is on his third Pac-12 Network president. He’s cycled
through three Chief Financial Officers in the last 19 months, and Scott has
employed a couple of Chief Operating Officers during his tenure.
Anyone asked to invest $500 million -- or even $50 million
-- will have questions about the conference’s executive-level turnover.
Especially given that those employees were highly compensated vs. peers in
their industry.
They’ll also want to know their return on investment won’t be
undercut by expenses that include chartered aircraft, limousines, apartments,
lavish parties, and bloated executive-team salaries.
Scott and his top-five salaried staffers made a combined
$8.4 million a year in the last fiscal year reported. That’s more than double
what SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and his top-five salaried lieutenants make.
More than double, too, what Jim Delaney and the top-five employees made at the
Big Ten in the same period.
The Pac-12 also distributes significantly less to its members
than the other Power Five Conferences.
Hence, the need for a Pac-12 emergency-cash infusion.
An equity investor might request exit-style interviews with
those departed executives. But to get that, they’d need to ask the Pac-12 to
tear up the non-disclosure agreements it had those executives sign.
An outside audit of the conference financials might be
entertaining to us and helpful to an investor. But, problematic for conference
leadership.
Again, if I’m investing, I’d want to know my dollars weren’t
being used for any purpose but to make more of them.
Scott’s contract ends in June 2022. The Pac-12′s lease on
the downtown San Francisco headquarters expires later that same year. The
conference’s media contract runs out in 2024.
“Their time-frame fits private equity,” von Schlegell said.
"Private equity fits for a three, four, five, six-year window. There’s
digital-media upside that would yield value creation that private equity would
need... but my first thought when I heard about their plan was that it was
weird, but probably worth exploring.
“The market will tell him if he’s crazy.”
von Schlegell is smart and shrewd. He has two degrees,
including an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He’s a rancher,
and the co-founder of a successful equity firm. He sits as a board member on
about a dozen entities, including the Oregon State Board of Higher Education
before it was disbanded in favor of a trustee system.
If your company is looking for a financial proctology exam,
Endeavour Capital and companies like it will be happy to provide one. But given
what we learned about the Pac-12 financials in the four-part series late last
year, I doubt the conference will want to operate with true transparency to an
outside entity.
The numbers aren’t a good look.
In the last three weeks, I sent inquiries to all 12 members
of the Pac-12 CEO Group, asking a question -- have they asked for an
independent review of the conference’s finances?
Not the cursory drive-by look at the books that is typically
done.
Not a cozy internal audit by Scott’s lieutenants.
A deep dive, like the one a private-equity firm would
conduct.
Six members of the CEO Group responded. None of them
indicated an outside audit had been ordered. Oregon State’s Dr. Edward Ray
suggested I email the conference commissioner to ask him directly. So did USC
interim president Dr. Wanda Austin. Arizona State’s Michael Crow passed the
request to his vice president of communications.
Katie Pacquet, at ASU, issued a statement: “The conference
is audited according to conference policy.”
A non-answer, essentially.
Oregon president Michael Schill didn’t respond. But a
spokesperson for Schill, Kelly McIver, reached out via email and wrote: “Heard
that ASU’s Michael Crow may have delivered a response on behalf of the rest of
that CEO Group... does that match what you had?”
Um, no.
Hard to believe the old-guard president at Arizona State
would think he spoke for the entire CEO Group, especially since Colorado
chancellor Phil DiStefano is now the chair. DiStefano, by the way, is among the
new-guard campus leaders, and he’s on record in support of a potential equity
sale and seems to speak just fine for himself.
I emailed the conference headquarters to ask whether an
external audit of finances had been ordered by the CEO Group. Andrew Walker,
the Pac-12′s vice president of public affairs and head of communications,
responded with a statement he said I could attribute to the Pac-12 Conference.
It read: “The Pac-12 Board annually approves the operating
budgets of the Conference and Networks. They also regularly benchmark expenses
against peer group conferences and networks as part of sound fiscal hygiene. No
outside auditor has been engaged to support this regular review process.”
The statement raises two quick follow-up questions: Who does
it consider a peer conference? And who does it consider a peer network?
Walker didn’t reply.
I’ll give it a try.
The Pac-12 doesn’t have a real peer as an athletic
conference. It postures like a Power Five Conference member, but doesn’t
perform like one in major sports. And the Pac-12 Network isn’t ESPN, which has
86 million subscribers. With only 17.9 million subscribers, the Pac-12 Network
is more comparable to Comedy.TV.
Two sources familiar with “conference policy” on internal
auditing told me that the annual internal Pac-12 audit of finances isn’t an
extensive probe. Rather, it’s a cursory check to make sure the numbers add up.
The Pac-12 operation is ripe for a comprehensive
examination. And the conference is inviting one by opening the door for a
private-equity firm.
Said one high-ranking Pac-12 employee with knowledge of the
expense and salary structure: “If you asked me to do some quick math, and you
told me we needed to find $10 million a year in savings, it would take me three
minutes.”
It’s understandable the old-guard university presidents and
chancellors (ASU, Oregon State and UCLA) don’t view saving a few million
dollars in expenses as a high priority. They created this thing. If it’s
broken, it’s not just an indictment of Scott, but also their leadership. Some
of the newer members of the CEO Group might be more interested in cleaning up
the bottom line.
That said, the presidents and chancellors are charged with
managing multi-billion dollar budgets on their own campuses. They’ve been
focused on things such as funding, the government shutdown, sexual-harassment
claims, and suicide-prevention initiatives. In the end, the woes of the
athletic conference don’t occupy prime real estate on their desks.
“If I were a president, I’d want to get to the bottom of
it,” said another current Pac-12 employee.
Here’s another economic viewpoint. David M. Carter, an
associate professor at USC, works as a consultant in strategic marketing in the
sports and entertainment world. He’s consulted for the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, the
City of Los Angeles, the Rose Bowl, and was an expert witness in the lawsuit
pitting Oakland Alameda County Coliseum Authority v. Golden State Warriors.
“It certainly feels like a cash-advance of sorts that the
presidents and chancellors and ADs really want because they can’t afford to
lose pace,” Carter said. "It may have just been Larry Scott raising this
up the flagpole to see what kind of debate, development or business opportunity
he could get.
“($500 million for 10 percent) is a dreamy valuation. But
the value is what someone believes they can do with it.”
The Pac-12 fashions itself a media company. Scott said it in
his news conference before last season’s Pac-12 football championship game.
We all know it’s not a good one. The expenses are high. The
distribution is poor. And the revenue generated for its members has been a
raving disappointment.
Said Carter: “Running an international media company is not
a core competency of the conference. You want that institutional knowledge.
That’s where securing the proverbial smart money comes in.”
As in, the Pac-12′s wisest move would be to partner with
(and give up control to) an existing media company. That’s a proposition Scott
has balked at whenever it’s brought up. Remember, the Pac-12 has boasted for
years that it owns and runs it own network. Giving up the keys would be a major
about-face.
There’s reasonable doubt an existing media company would
view the Pac-12 Network and its current subscriber base as a must-have
acquisition. As Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News recently reported, the
numbers are far worse than anyone imagined.
One high-ranking Pac-12 official told me this week that when
the Pac-12 Network was formed, Scott approached ESPN, FOX, CBS and Discovery
looking for a potential partner.
“Nobody on the outside knows this,” the official said. “We
weren’t wanted.”
It’s why headquarters insiders have speculated Scott could
turn his focus to China, where he’s cultivated a close relationship with
Alibaba Group Executive Chairman, Jack Ma. Or that Scott might be forced to
deal with private-equity firms that don’t add the value of media-rights
expertise.
Potential partners will ask tough questions and cut costs.
That’s what companies do when they’re looking to turn a profit and maximize
value. Also, they’ll want to be more than a silent (10 percent) partner.
They’ll want control. And that’s how a proposal of $500 million for 10 percent
dwindles into a counter-offer of significantly less in cash in exchange for 51
percent control.
Private-equity money isn’t cheap.
A sophisticated firm won’t let public-records laws get in
the way of a dig into the financials. It will want a favorable valuation. It
will ask for an industry-standard 11-15 percent return on a $500 million
investment. The conference athletic directors, who were promised a windfall
when the network was formed, will hear that and fall over laughing, kicking
their feet at the ceiling.
They were suckered by Scott’s projections years ago.
The Pac-12 isn’t performing well in revenue-generating
sports. It didn’t put a team in the College Football Playoff for the second
straight season. It didn’t win a single NCAA Tournament game in men’s
basketball last season, and it may only get one NCAA Tournament bid in men’s
basketball this season.
The Pac-12 has some success stories. Women’s basketball,
softball, volleyball, baseball, gymnastics, swimming, tennis, rowing and track
and field have all mattered nationally in recent seasons. But the financials
show those successes don’t grow profits, just proud alums.
If nothing changes, David M. Carter at USC thinks the Power
Five Conferences could eventually split into two factions -- big-time and
small-time.
“Even though you have this great geographic conference (in
the Pac-12). You can win all the championships you want but if you’re not
competitive in football and basketball it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy
that you attract only Olympic-caliber sport athletes.
“It’s difficult to monetize that.”
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