Details on Brand X behind their paywall, same as with the original behind Canzano's paywall. Probably the same old same old, but as always interested to hear what the hack says. Anyone with access to either please opine?

Kings played a China team in something called the NBA California Classic. He had 8 pts, 6 rebounds and 1 block in 18 minutes.

****ing drunk drivers...

Before the Pac-12 disappears: Here is each school’s football Mount Rushmore​

Jon Wilner
July 5, 2024 at 7:00 am Updated July 5, 2024 at 7:00 am
In one month, the Pac-12 will cease to exist in recognizable form. At the close of business on Aug. 1, the 10 departing schools will end their membership in the century-old conference, leaving Washington State and Oregon State behind to rebuild the league (or turn out the lights).

To commemorate the occasion — and give readers something to ponder over the holiday week — the Hotline presents our Mount Rushmore selections: The greatest players to grace the field for each Pac-12 school.

Important disclaimers:

• We selected four players and included the names of five more who were given consideration. In truth, we considered more than nine. For some schools — hello, USC — our initial list was more than 15 deep.
• Performance in the NFL was not part of the calculation.
• Nor did we consider players who competed before their schools joined the Pac-12. For example, Mike Haynes is one of the greatest cornerbacks who ever lived, but his Arizona State career came before the Sun Devils entered the conference.
• Kickers and punters were excluded.
• Not every Mount Rushmore selection is a record-holder for his school. Statistics mattered, but so did subjective criteria like impact and legacy.

Here we go …

Arizona​

Coach: Dick Tomey
Players: DE Tedy Bruschi, RB Ka’Deem Carey, LB Ricky Hunley, NT Rob Waldrop
Also considered: S Chuck Cecil, CB Darryll Lewis, CB Chris McAlister, WR Dennis Northcutt, LB Scooby Wright
Comment: Arizona was a defensive juggernaut for many years under Tomey, and our selections reflect that existence. Cecil made the greatest play in school history, a 106-yard interception return against ASU, and is plenty worthy of Mount Rushmore status. We mulled Rob Gronkowski’s inclusion, but his college production was limited.

Arizona State​

Coach: John Cooper
Players: OG Randall McDaniel, QB Jake Plummer, DE Terrell Suggs, DT Will Sutton
Also considered: S David Fulcher, LB Vernon Maxwell, DE Derrick Rodgers, OT Juan Roque, LB Pat Tillman
Comment: Plummer and Suggs were obvious picks; the others were pondered at length. Tillman’s total legacy is monumental because of his military service and death. But his on-field performance in Tempe, while first-rate, didn’t quite match the four listed on Mount Rushmore in our estimation.

Cal​

Coach: Pappy Waldorf
Players: TE Tony Gonzalez, RB Jackie Jensen, QB Joe Kapp, RB Chuck Muncie
Also considered: DE Andre Carter, RB Marshawn Lynch, CB Deltha O’Neal, OG Les Richter, QB Joe Roth
Comment: That’s right: No Aaron Rodgers. Or Steve Bartkowski. Or DeSean Jackson. (The bar in Berkeley is higher than you might expect.) With regard to Rodgers specifically, he had one superb season, in 2004, after transferring from junior college and before turning pro. Our selections performed to that standard and had longer college careers.

Colorado​

Coach: Mike MacIntyre
Players: LB Jimmie Gilbert, LB Nate Landman, WR Paul Richardson, WR Laviska Shenault
Also considered: CB Chidobe Awuzie, RB Jarek Broussard, CB Travis Hunter, RB Phillip Lindsay, CB Isaiah Oliver
Comment: Not many options for CU because of the school’s limited time in the conference and the paucity of elite players, which was reflected in the lack of success. (The Buffaloes were bowl eligible twice in 13 seasons.)

Oregon​

Coach: Rich Brooks
Players: RB LaMichael James, QB Marcus Mariota, WR Ahmad Rashad, CB Mel Renfro
Also considered: QB Joey Harrington, CB Alex Molden, DT Haloti Ngata, OL Penei Sewell, OL Gary Zimmerman
Comment: We viewed Mariota, Rashad (then known as Bobby Moore) and Renfro as clear picks for Mount Rushmore and gave James a slight lean for the fourth spot. Cornerback Kenny Wheaton was considered as the author of the defining play in school history (his interception against Washington in 1994), as was Justin Herbert. We considered both Mike Bellotti and Chip Kelly for the coaching position.

Oregon State​

Coach: Tommy Prothro
Players: QB Terry Baker, WR Brandin Cooks, RB Steven Jackson, DT Stephen Paea
Also considered: WR Vern Burke, WR Mike Haas, QB Sean Mannion, CB Jordan Poyer, RB Jacquizz Rodgers
Comment: If you’re unfamiliar with Baker, know that he won the 1962 Heisman Trophy. Burke was a star in the early ’60s, as well. The other selections reflect OSU’s success over the past quarter century. We also considered quarterback Derek Anderson, tailback Ken Simonton and defensive lineman Inoke Brecterfield.

Stanford​

Coach: Pop Warner
Players: QB Frankie Albert, QB John Elway, WR Ken Margerum, QB Jim Plunkett
Also considered: QB Andrew Luck, RB Christian McCaffrey, DE Bill McColl, FB Ernie Nevers, WR Troy Walters
Comment: Few schools can match the Cardinal’s star power across all positions and even fewer can match the Cardinal’s lineup of quarterbacks. We considered Bob Whitfield and Toby Gerhart, among others, along with John Ralston, Bill Walsh and David Shaw for the coaching position.

UCLA​

Coach: Terry Donahue
Players: QB Gary Beban, S Kenny Easley, RB Jackie Robinson, LB Jerry Robinson
Also considered: QB Troy Aikman, RB Freeman McNeil, LB Don Moomaw, OL Jonathan Ogden, WR JJ Stokes
Comment: A heavyweight lineup of players, for sure. Easley and Jerry Robinson were three-time consensus All-Americans, and Beban won the Heisman in 1967. While obviously better known for breaking baseball’s color barrier, Jackie Robinson’s best sport in college was, in fact, football.

USC​

Coach: John McKay
Players: RB Marcus Allen, RB Reggie Bush, S Ronnie Lott, OT Anthony Muñoz
Also considered: OG Bruce Matthews, WR Keyshawn Johnson, RB Charles White, LB Richard Wood, OT Ron Yary
Comment: An impossible task given USC’s incredible tradition. Several Heisman winners did not make the cut; nor did coach Pete Carroll, despite his decadelong dynasty. And we should mention our standards for inclusion, while modest, leave no room on Mount Rushmore for anyone accused of double murder.

Utah​

Coach: Kyle Whittingham
Players: CB Jaylon Johnson, DT Star Lotulelei, RB Zack Moss, QB Cam Rising
Also considered: DE Bradlee Anae, OL Isaac Asiata, DT Leki Fotu, LB Devin Lloyd, DE Nate Orchard
Comment: The Utes had an impressive list of candidates considering their short stay in the conference (13 seasons), with linemen accounting for a high percentage of the players under consideration. Whittingham was not only Utah’s best coaching candidate but the only coaching candidate as he prepares for Year 20.

Washington​

Coach: Don James
Players: DE Steve Emtman, RB Hugh McElhenny, QB Michael Penix Jr., OL Rick Redman
Also considered: RB Napoleon Kaufman, OL Lincoln Kennedy, S Lawyer Milloy, QB Marques Tuiasosopo, WR Reggie Williams
Comment: Only one selection, Penix, played for the Huskies during the Pac-12 era. Most other names should be familiar to fans who have tracked the conference over decades, but perhaps not Redmond, a two-time consensus All-American. Warren Moon’s exploits and legacy were rooted more in his pro career than his time at UW.

Washington State​

Coach: Mike Price
Players: C Mel Hein, QB Ryan Leaf, RB Reuben Mayes, QB Jack Thompson
Also considered: QB Drew Bledsoe, RB Steve Broussard, DT Rien Long, DE DeWayne Patterson, S Lamont Thompson
Comment: No specialist made a stronger case for inclusion than WSU’s Jason Hanson, arguably the best kicker in conference history. And we gave serious thought to the late Mike Leach as the Mount Rushmore coach, but Price had a longer tenure in Pullman and took the Cougars to the Rose Bowl, twice.

Jon Wilner: jwilner@bayareanewsgroup.com

It’s a long way to signing day but I’m pretty impressed with recruiting thus far, especially when you consider the lack of conference clarity. WSU and Dickert is a great fit if we can get into a solid conference and keep him.

Not sure if this was posted before but it shows some good athleticism including a 360 dunk
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Looks like you can now have as many on field, instructing coaches as you want. Just like the NFL…

It was in fact a Euro. He's 7'0" and "skilled" per brandx. He looks it in the highlights in tweet.

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Just for shits and grins. If/When the Big-12 wises up and invites the Pac-2 into the fold, do they split into divisions? Let's assume yes.

So, in the West, we have OSU and WSU, The 4 traitors (oops 4 corner schools), and BYU. Then I guess 2 of Texas Tech, TCU and Baylor (Houston being the easternmost Texas school).
In football, do you play 9 conference games, with 8 of them against your division and one crossover? How about basketball? Home and homes against your division and 4 more against the other division? Or play everyone once (17 games) with the remaining 1-3 as H&H's against nearby schools (in our case OSU, Utah, Colorado?) Didn't we play 20 conference games last year? I dunno what the Big-12 does.

Saw that Klay is reportedly going to Dallas. Be pretty cool to see him get another ring.

Well shit. So it's official that Costner will not return. So WTH is the plot going to be? Much as I love the show and the other actors, him disappearing is a killer. I don't even want to watch it.

Seems like a "who's got a bigger dick" fight between him and Dipshit Taylor Sheridan. You can't tell me that they could not have reached a deal where Costner shows up for a week and tapes his demise or impeachment or runs off with Summer or something. And I think and hope it backfires on him, as his already panned epic movie series will lose a lot of interest IMHO. I wo't go see it. F him. And Sheridan? Who wants to watch "6666" starring Jimmy and set in dusty Texas?

I'm really bummed. I love the show.

It seems to be a really fast-growing sport that a lot of the young ladies enjoy as much as the boys do baseball.

WSU has done really well at times in in girls basketball, girls soccer and girls volleyball.

Any chance Dr. Schultz could set aside a little of the windfall to build a successful softball program?

If you see “tent neighborhoods” from here on out, it’s because those you voted for want them to continue.

Proving that everything in CFB is now for sale, the Big 12 is apparently considering becoming the Allstate 12. Could be worth $3M per team.

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According to brand x Jones will be going on a mission for two years then redshirt the following year then joining WSU for his final year. Really would have liked to have him next year but now we still have a scholarship to fill.

Because it’s what he does….GM had some fun with media day

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Worth a watch........

Uh - maybe not. 14-2 Phoenix to start the game.

I'm not sure how accurate or subjective these annual "best global" ratings are...but here is a snapshot...

1. Harvard University
2. MIT
3. Stanford University
6. University of Washington
165. University of Arizona
179. Arizona State University
365. Oregon State University
397. Washington State University
1510. Boise State University

Since we have transitioned to N. Scottsdale, our daughter just got accepted into ASU. She did get accepted to UW, but she's living at home, and UW does not have online virtual courses for the undergraduate degree programs. She would have gone to UW, (even though she was indoctrinated as a COUG since birth). UW is a better school, except specialty degrees like Vetinarian, Communications, Hotel and Restaurant, Agriculture, etc.

Our daughter plans to do brick and mortar, driving to Tempe a few days a week, starting this fall, because her field of study is not offered online. Too bad we don't play ASU/UA anymore.

On a side note, we went to the Arizona Diamondbacks game yesterday at Chase Field in Phoenix.
T-Mobile Park, (Safeco Field), IMO.... is a much nicer ballpark, (regarding the stadium), then Chase....which is like 5 years older than Seattle.

Interview with Portland radio show host and all-around good guy Jon Canzano:

On WSU's $127.5M war chest earned from Pac-12 the settlement:

"We reduced our athletics budget this last year by about $10 million to $11 million. And that is painful as hell. We let people go who worked for us for 30 years. I mean, it was not an easy set of decisions to make. The reason I bring that up is you’ve got really two choices here. You can say we’re going to use some of those dollars, the majority of those dollars, to ensure that Washington State and Oregon State get the same (TV distributions) we would have gotten from media rights and not 20 percent of what we would have gotten from media rights. I think at least for the next two years, we’re looking at the conference providing a reasonable subsidy coming back to each institution from that war chest to help us preserve our competitive budget and … give ourselves time for that last question about where are we going to be (conference-wise) and what that’s going to look like.

I think that has been the approach much, much more so than, ‘Hey, let's sit on a huge bunch of money that we're going to go use to buy schools.’

I think cutting our athletic budget by $30 million so we can go buy somebody else, I think what would happen is people would say, ‘Well, Kirk, that’s great, but you just gutted us forever. Maybe that was too hasty a decision.’ So I know everybody looks and says, ‘Oh, you got all this money.’ But if you start looking at the media for the two schools over a couple of years, some of the legal stuff coming down the road, the need to keep a small conference office there, fees that we do have to pay to the Mountain West and other places to participate, you can burn through it pretty quickly. And we just want to make sure that we’re preserving some of those dollars for the future, but that we’re maintaining as much as possible the excellence we have in our programs right now."

Seems appropriate as this is the 1 year anniversary of his arrest.

https://apnews.com/article/universi...gQ1yMmiZbTNpWq9axx6yeaVuoTWaiY-HYI6d-KiHBM9Fc

Looks like Nightly News is gonna need some new topics to discuss.

I suspect general media focus will shift to the various power plays building for the DNC convention in Chicago, but who knows?

new poll question

38th pick to Memphis.

As expected, longevity is more important than accomplishment.

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