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Written by Longball
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Friday, 26 February 2010 14:07 |
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That's right Coug fans, it's rivalry time on the Palouse and as is usually the case, sparks have been flying. OHHHH, you thought I was talking about the Huskies? Yeah, we'll get to them after we settle our little border-war with the Idaho Vandals. Good grief. I'm not going to jump to the conclusions that Cougfan has in their article, but suffice to say, the Jamal Atofau arrest situation seems a bit complicated and I think we have our answer why Wulff has yet to hand down a definitive penalty for the young man. Here's my advice to you, dear readers, when you see that the "4th degree assault" charge, keep in mind, it almost always means nothing too serious happened. Hopefully we can get this all sorted out so Jamal can participate in Spring practice. Also, lets hope Idaho and Wazzu players can cut the shenanigans cause incidents like this can lead to really bad things for both teams.
Now, on to the Dawgs. The Huskies invade Beasley this weekend still nursing hopes of a return trip to the NCAA. They are all fat and sassy after completely demolishing the Cougs at Hec Ed, and lest we forget, they totally went off the last time they played in Pullman. Despite a lone win on the road this year, the Dawgs are so confident that Pondexter went ahead and guaranteed a win in Pullman. My how things have changed since we ran off 7 straight against pups with the holy triumvirate of Weaver/Low/Cowgill.
Personally, I think Q-Pon has good reason to be confident and I'm really curious to see how these two teams come out for this one. The last two senior nights have been two of the best games I have ever seen at Beasley, so here's hoping we can muster another great performance.
Finally, we will be saying farewell to a lone senior tomorrow, Nik Koperavica. Nik has had about as much of a roller coaster career as possible. As a freshman he flashed some real promise sparking our offense off the bench with his signature back-door cuts. Then came the knee injury and a couple seasons of either not contributing, or driving Coug fans bonkers with his disastrous ball handling. This year, Nik has become everything we hoped he would as a frosh, plus a great 3-point shooter to boot. I couldn't be happier for the season Nik has put together and he can leave WSU with his head high, and perhaps, as the winning-est player in program history! Thanks Nik, I honestly wasn't sure I'd ever say this, but we are really, really going to miss you.
Lets hope the Dawgs get SERBED! at Friel tomorrow.
GO COUGS!
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Written by LucasCoug
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Thursday, 25 February 2010 08:00 |
In case you have been living under a rock for the last two weeks, by now you are well aware that Jim Sterk has "upgraded" to the Mountain West and that Bill Moos is our new AD. After a welcome to campus outing, that would have made the Rolling Stones blush, the hiring became official yesterday afternoon. I believe the last time Cougar Nation was this fired up about something, Bill Clinton was still President. Read on for more....
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Written by Sean Hawkins
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Wednesday, 24 February 2010 09:24 |
In a move anticipated from the moment Jim Sterk resigned, and quite frankly, a move some have said should have taken place back in 1994, finally Bill Moos returns to the Pullman. The press conference is at 2 PM today, and you can catch the streaming media here. As many have "opined", here and everywhere else in the WSU blogosphere/message boards, it is the ultimate story of right place, right time. WSU needed this guy, pure and simple, for so many reasons we won't even list them out here. Did Moos need WSU? Not really, not when you are being paid good money to hang on the ranch for another seven years. But clearly there has been a level of interest from Moos ever since his Oregon days ended a couple of years ago. Remember, Moos was part of the hiring process for the football head coaching position in 2007, where the program ultimately chose Paul Wulff. And, last fall Moos was brought aboard the ship to help try and reel in the funds for Martin Stadium Phase III, which as you know, hasn't yet made it to the finish line. Anyway, as our own Lucas mentioned the other day, you really have to wonder what Oregon is thinking right about now. Not that they have anything going on in their neck of the woods these days.....but they were the ones that blocked Moos from getting the UNLV gig back in December. What if they would have stepped aside and let him take that job? They certainly wouldn't be looking at Bill Moos, WSU Athletic Director today, that's for sure. Per Howie Stalwick over the weekend, well, just ask Moos himself: “The good Lord works in mysterious ways,” Moos said, “because I couldn’t have looked at this position if I had just been hired at UNLV.”
And another thing on the whole Oregon settlement with Moos, which according to reports, is still not totally settled. But how often do you see a business guarantee someone $2 million dollars in severance, along with an agreement that the only way he'll get said severance is if he doesn't work in the same field of work, west of the Mississippi, for the next 10 years?? You don't, unless of course you are concerned at the prospect of seeing him land, you know, a job in your conference? As Reggie Jackson once said, after being booed unmercifully by the Fenway faithful, "hey, they don't boo nobodies."
And you don't pay someone $2 million to not work in your world if that person is a nobody! Meanwhile, as expected, praise is pouring in on this move. From Cougfan: “He is the premier athletic director at the BCS level,” said new Montana head football coach Robin Pflugrad, an assistant coach at Oregon and Montana when Moos was AD at the schools.
“I couldn’t think of anybody more capable that we could bring in,” said Washington State football hall-of-famer Keith Lincoln, an assistant coach when Moos played for the Cougars and director of the WSU Alumni Association when Moos was WSU’s associate and associate athletic director.
“To me,” former longtime WSU sports information director Rod Commons added, “everything is ‘plus’ when you look at Bill Moos being Washington State’s athletic director.”
From Howie Stalwick via the News Tribune: “I’m really excited about this. This is wonderful,” former WSU baseball coach Bobo Brayton said by phone from his ranch outside Pullman.
“We’ve got Bill now. We’ve got new energy, new leadership. A lot of people are going to jump in the ship with him because they like Bill.”
These quotes are just the tip of the iceberg, as there are many more articles and interviews full of Moos praise from Jack Thompson, etc. Pretty clear picture forming here, isn't it? Clearly the people who have been in and around WSU athletics for many years are ALL IN on Moos. As someone who is involved over in Pullman told us last week after meeting with Moos behind closed doors, Moos "gets it, especially when it comes to football. The football program can drive 70-75% of an entire athletic department's revenue and Moos knows this." Times, as they say, are about to change. One more thing to add on Moos, and it's from Stalwick's story above, with the UNLV quote: If and when he takes over at WSU, Moos said he plans to implement many of the same strategies that worked so successfully on and off the fields of battle during his stints as AD at Oregon and Montana.
“I like the Nordstrom’s (business) model,” Moos said. “We’ve always liked that.
“It’s customer service. They don’t have to buy tickets. They don’t have to give (donations to athletics).
“It’s a privilege for us to have them do that, and they need to be treated that way and to make sure they are happy with their purchase. You create repeat customers, and that’s what you have to have.”
How can you not like the approach of trying to reach out and engage EVERYONE, not just the big donors? I think the idea of treating people like they are important to the cause, whether or not they give large amounts of money. Just because someone isn't sending WSU all their discretionary income doesn't make them a bad person. They need to bring these people in, make them feel part of something. That can only lead to good things.
I think Moos understands that the little things can go so far with the general fan/alum/follower. And hey, the guy who is on a tight budget today and might not be able to write a check? It doesn't mean he won't be making some really good money in the near future, and when the time is right, is ready and willing to help out instead of letting the fundraising call from Pullman go straight to voicemail....Like Moos says, these people need to be treated the right way and make sure they are happy with their purchase....and not just brush by them at fundraising events like a stranger in the crowd, with their eyes fixed on the bigger donors.
There is a wave of energy, excitement and enthusiasm here, and let's hope it continues after today. Welcome home Bill Moos!
All for now. Enjoy your humpday, and GO COUGS!
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Written by LucasCoug
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Tuesday, 23 February 2010 08:00 |
Replacing a great one.
Before we take a look at the Cougars pre-spring depth at running back, here are a few notes from around the league.
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