I still think the Bears should have dealt #1, but picking up Odunze at 9 was good. They’ve got targets and a legitimate run threat now…too bad they still don’t have an OL.

Not sure what the Falcons are thinking. Cousins is a bit of a gamble on a rebuilt Achilles…and now they spend #8 on a kid with rebuilt knees? It could work out for them in a Favre-Rogers way…but it’s a huge roll of the dice.

Broncos….I don’t really have an issue with picking up Nix at 12. Could be a high value pick there. But WTH did they trade for Zach Wilson?

Seahawks…getting Byron Murphy at 16 seems like a steal. But I feel like he’s a bit undersized for an NFL DT, and might not last long

Mik just called me this afternoon. He's been admitted into urgent care at Sacred Heart in Spokane for acute Kidney Failure. This is totally new to him, and this is all we know.

Mike wanted me to post this to let you know he may be away from our board for awhile, and in the meantime, your prayers are most appreciated.

We're believing for a full recovery! Thanks.

Brynn McGaughy, a 6-foot-3 forward is the No. 17 prospect in the Class of 2025.

Sounds like this young lady could be an immediate impact player for Coach Ethridge

This has been touched on already, but I still don't get it. Former, pre-NIL athletes may/will get a settlement for NIL money they might have earned before the NIL shit became legal? The biggest question is this - how exactly can the athletes prove or calculate damages? "Oh well gee I would have made $X back in 2020" (or whatever). And the lead plaintiff is former ASU SWIMMER Grant House? Who would have gotten (my guesstimate) probably, exactly, maybe $-0- in NIL Money? WTF? I guess Minshew should add his name to this lawsuit. He would have made millions from mustache wax and jort companies.

On Brand X. Interesting quotes from him -
"all in" on NBA (a combine invite or not will clear that up IMHO), doesn't want to come back to college, but if so WSU would be in the mix. Loved/loves his time here.

If the NBA doesn't pan out, he would really rip it up in the HS gym league in Riley's offense. Hey Cougar NIL - at least make an offer that would give him a very comfortable last year at WSU. Can't even begin to compete with other schools on this, but a stellar last year and his multimillion-dollar NBA future would be set. If he's not keen on college anyway, at least we would be a comfy place to hang out. Do kinda wonder about his grades, could that be a quiet factor?

But not until June 2025. It was just released.

pullman radio

So here is a marketing idea from the always thinking Loyal one. Let's pronounce this as the Mike Leach tribute game. Run that crossed swords Coug flag up the flagpole. See if we can get his widow, and/or maybe a couple of Leach alumni players and/or coaches to fly in and have some sort of on-field ceremony with Coug and TT luminaries on the field. Of course active coaches and players (like Minshew) will be busy that weekend but do what we can. A final sendoff for the Pirate.

WSU baseball, women’s swimming joining Mountain West as affiliate members​

Greg WoodsApril 16, 2024 at 12:47 pm
By
The Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN — Washington State’s baseball and women’s swimming teams have a conference home, at least temporarily.

Those programs are joining the Mountain West Conference as affiliate members for the next two seasons, per a news release, providing a landing spot for two of the last WSU programs to find one. The agreement goes into effect on July 1.

“Finding a home for our baseball and women’s swimming programs has been a top priority for our athletic department and we appreciate the efforts of so many to get to this point,” WSU interim athletics director Anne McCoy said via release. “This agreement offers both programs a competitive schedule in a west coast-based conference while providing a championship path for coming seasons.”

As Washington State and Oregon State — the two Pac-12 schools left behind in conference realignment — attempt to rebuild the conference, the schools are using a two-year grace period to enter agreements with other conferences. The Cougars’ football team utilized a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West to provide them with six opponents next fall, while their basketball teams are joining the West Coast Conference on an affiliate basis.

Affiliate status through the NCAA allows for member affiliates to compete for conference and national championships.

Membership fees for WSU were not immediately clear.

Oregon State is going independent in baseball next year, largely thanks to its long history of success — including a national title in 2018 — which gives the program the ability to schedule teams and bring them to campus. WSU doesn’t have that luxury, which is why it’s entering an agreement with the Mountain West.

In total, 10 WSU programs are joining the WCC as affiliate members next season: Men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, rowing, soccer, tennis and volleyball.

Greg Woods Washington State beat writer for The Spokesman-Review

Signs with UCLA

Maybe this will be a conference game in ‘31?

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I am not here to defend Chun...or even Smith....I think sometimes you have to look at a situation and say I need to step up, and not out. I know this will bug people, but in 1981 I sat in a cafeteria wondering why we were in the Pac 10 and not the WAC. One third of the football season was over by the time our students were on campus. UCLA, UW and USC would not come to our campus. Our cross state rivals had ten times the football recruiting budget we had, and also at the same time had the richest radio contract in the country.

We just had four head football coaches in four years. Walden wanted something more for WSU. Yeah he irritates people, but when the ship hit the iceberg he didn't pull a Jonathan Smith, a Kyle Smith or Pat Chun. He put his own interests second to that of a great university. Was he completely successful? No, but the constant turnover was put behind us, USC, UCLA, and Washington had to come to Pullman. It changed the trajectory of our football program.

I am not going to comment on the job Chun did in terms of accomplishments, but WSU and the people who support the program have to decide what we want in the athletic department. Chun seemed cold and aloof, didn't communicate or thank coaches enough. Covid hurt WSU more than probably any school in the country. We were the titanic and hit the iceberg, and from 2020 to this date we have been bailing water just to keep our heads above water. There probably has been more on the AD plate than we can imagine.

Chun was an outsider. He wasn't one of us. WSU thinks they have to be a Coug to help run the Cougs. Worked out well for Doba. Chun was highly respected. He had some good training at Ohio State. I believe he was hired to help give us that Ohio State "gloss" and do some of the things that made OSU successful.

The problem is the locals, the people who would say "that's not how we do it around here" . That is such small thinking. In the "real world" that isn't how it works. When a President of a company is blown out, guess what, so goes his entire management team. I saw that happen personally probably five times. Many good people were asked to leave. Why? Cause the new person wanted complete buy in.

That doesn't happen in Pullman. We want to be big time athletics but want that homey feel in the department. Stuff I heard people complain about literally blows my mind.

So to Socal, how do they remake themselves? How does the department move forward with the constraints of needing teh small town , always a coug vibe?

Compliments of our future conference mates on the Mtn West site. Helluva lot of info for when you are bored and want to drill down.

Former WSU guard Jabe Mullins announces commitment to Montana State​

Greg WoodsApril 19, 2024 at 7:00 pm
By
The Spokesman-Review
PULLMAN — Former WSU guard Jabe Mullins is on the move again.

Mullins has committed to Montana State, he shared on social media Friday, heading to the third school of his career. He played his first two seasons at Saint Mary’s.

Mullins, a Snoqualmie native, averaged 1.6 points in nine minutes last season, taking a lesser role as WSU broke its 16-year NCAA tournament drought. After starting eight of 30 games as a junior, Mullins saw limited action as a senior, playing his most minutes in Pac-12 with a 17-minute outing in Washington State’s win over USC on Jan. 10.

At Saint Mary’s, where he played the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, Mullins started 11 of 53 games, all his starts coming as a freshman.

Mullins, who entered the transfer portal in late March, is the fifth former Cougar to find a new home this offseason: Star guard Myles Rice landed at Indiana, center Rueben Chinyelu transferred to Florida, fellow center Oscar Cluff moved on to South Dakota State and guard Dylan Darling traveled south to Idaho State.

That leaves six Cougs in the portal: Senior wing Andrej Jakimovski, senior guard Joseph Yesufu, sophomore wing Kymany Houinsou, forward AJ Rohosy, walk-on forward AJ LeBeau and sophomore forward Spencer Mahoney, who entered the portal on Thursday.

Holdovers from last season still on the WSU roster are rising sophomore guards Isaiah Watts and Parker Gerrits, plus rising senior wing Jaylen Wells, who has until May 29 to decide whether to stay in the NBA draft pool or return to school.

This week, WSU also secured two commitments from new coach David Riley’s former squad at Eastern Washington: Center Ethan Price and wing LeJuan Watts.

Greg Woods Washington State beat writer for The Spokesman-Review