| 28 July 2010
Happy Hump Day Cougar fans!
Unfortunately, we have to lead with the bad news, so, continue reading for more......
Yesterday the Cougs received a couple of bad news items, as two players were suspended from the team. First, Dan Spitz was suspended for the first 9 games of the season for violating the NCAA's Substance Abuse Policy. No, not Dan Spitz the guitar player for the heavy metal band Anthrax, I'm talking about the RS Sophomore who was going to be competing for some serious playing time this season.
Spitz would likely have been in the mix for the #3 DT slot behind Brandon Rankin and Bernard Wolfgramm. Said coach Wulff:
"Dan made a mistake and he is paying a very large price for that. Our athletic administration takes these issues very seriously and student-athletes are encouraged to consult with our athletic medicine, nutrition and strength and conditioning staffs with questions regarding any products. While that did not occur in this case, it will hopefully serve as a lesson for all our student-athletes in the future.”
Also on the bad news front, RS Frosh linebacker Andre Barrington was ruled academically ineligible for the upcoming season. Barrington was expecting to back up both starting outside LBs, with more likely his time coming at the strongside linebacker position. If there is good news here, it's that both Barrington and Spitz will remain with the team and continue practicing. They just can't play, Spitz not until late in the year, Barrington not at all for 2010.
It's good to see the substance issue being handled, and while disappointing on Barrington, I am excited to see some of the other players step right in and fill the gap (CJ Mizell anyone?). What a mess this would have been if it happened to the team last year!......you know, with all that depth we had on defense (dripping with sarcasm).
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News wrote a nice little feature on the Pride of Burien, Nolan Washington.
You gotta love to hear this:
"I'm not much of a talker. I'm not going to throw out wins and losses, but from a team standing, where we are now and last year, this team has transformed," he said. "(Will) that show up on the field in wins and losses? I can't say. As much as I want to say we're going to win eight games and go to a bowl ... but a team standing, you will see a team compete in all 60 minutes. You'll see a team getting swagger back and a team that is hungry. You will see young guys that are exciting and hungry."
"I'm not much of a talker. I'm not going to throw out wins and losses, but from a team standing, where we are now and last year, this team has transformed," he said. "(Will) that show up on the field in wins and losses? I can't say. As much as I want to say we're going to win eight games and go to a bowl ... but a team standing, you will see a team compete in all 60 minutes. You'll see a team getting swagger back and a team that is hungry. You will see young guys that are exciting and hungry."
Yeah right, not much of a talker!?! Gotta like the attitude and confidence, and Lord knows it starts between the ears before it translates to the field. Reggie Moore said he is going to make sure Nolan gets a Twitter account soon, when I posted part of that quote on our Twitter yesterday. If you don't follow us yet, you're missing out on lots of good stuff!
Next, the bi-coastal media tour for the Pac 10 rolled into New York City and Bristol, CT yesterday. Per the school's official release, Coach Wulff as well as the other Pac-10 coaches will help ring the NASDAQ bell at 6:15 AM. Then it's back to Bristol, CT, for more with ESPN. Finally on Thursday, Kevin Kooyman will accompany Wulff to Pasadena and the Rose Bowl for the west coast leg of the trip. More can be found here and here. Oh, and as part of the new Larry Scott era of branding and marketing, the Pac 10 also launched a new website and Twitter account!
A pretty sweet promo video was just released for the new-look Pac 10. I've gotta say I am enjoying Larry Scott more and more.
On Monday, Cougfan posted an awesome article, that is free for all readers. It is the All-Cougar "Name Team."
Samoa Samoa, Kevin Stiffarm, and Benton Bangs to name a few.
Finally, a rumored 2010-2011 Men's Basketball made the rounds yesterday, but nothing has officially been confirmed over at the main WSU athletics site. IN fact, the schedule was released - briefly - before word got out that it wasn't exactly accurate. Apparently you should keep an eye out for that schedule to be released, probably next week.
Interesting stuff all around. Have a great day!
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