rlk My long 17-year, drawn out and seemingly never-ending school career will cease Saturday morning when I accept my diploma at Beasley Coliseum. And – after that – I’ll start working toward my Sunday hangover. Or so I thought. Thanks to an odd quirk in WSU’s schedule…

This is supposed to be the down year. After back-to-back trips to the NCAA tournament, media experts and analysts have predicted the 2008-09 WSU men’s basketball team will fall back to reality. It’s not hard to blame them. The Cougars lost three key components – and about 50 percent of their offensive repertoire – when Derrick Low…

The 2008 Apple Cup had less hype than my second-grade spelling bee.For this Apple Cup, all hypothetical barking, woofing, scratching and clawing would be replaced with puppy whines and kitty meows. I would have guessed ESPN could start an impromptu reality series…

Here we are entering week 12 of the NFL season. We have seen a great deal of surprises so far. I’ll be honest. I’ve been mathematically eliminated from my league playoffs, meaning my two-year reign as champion has come to an end. Injuries and poor performance from a few early picks (see Larry Johnson…

Desperate times call for desperate measures. At least that’s the impression I got when I received an e-mail from the WSU Athletic Department announcing that Apple Cup tickets were half off the original price. Despite the desperate measure, more than 1,000 tickets were still available as of Monday afternoon when I placed a call to the ticket office…

It’s nitty-gritty time. Most fantasy playoffs start around week 13 and week 14. And here we are in week 11. Now is the time to solidify your hold on a spot or make a few final attempts to grab someone else’s. I’ll cut right to the chase. Here’s who I like and dislike for this week…

The WSU community lost a family member, friend and teammate last week when Rafael Bolton was killed in a car accident near his home in Los Angeles. Bolton graduated from University High School in 2001 and came to WSU as a walk-on running back for the Cougar football team from 2001 to 2004…

The WSU men’s basketball team was greeted by about 5,000 fans who came out Monday evening, ready to support the 2008-09 Cougars. The Cougars responded by greeting fans with a resounding 76-31 victory over the Lewis-Clark State College Warriors. What a breath of fresh air…

Week 10 of the NFL is here. We saw the debut of Brady Quinn, which is bad for those who own Derek Anderson. But let’s be honest, Anderson has been riding your bench half the year anyway. When it comes to colossal fantasy bust, he takes the cake. Anyway…

This weekend will be my final Dad’s Weekend at WSU. And I’m very thankful for the opportunity to spend time with my dad in the college setting for one last weekend. My dad never had the opportunity to attend college, nor did he ever have the majority of the material things he has provided me during my 22 years…

Before this nightmare of a football season began, I was assigned to write the preseason preview for the Cougars. I trudged out to practice in 90-some-odd degree weather in early August and eagerly watched the beginning of the Paul Wulff era. I knew what national media pundits had written about the Cougars…

Another week is in the books. In case you were wondering the outcome of the Arlington A-Holes and Pullman Possums matchup mentioned last week – it was the A-Holes who came out victorious. The theory held strong as yet another bottom team had a spectacular day against the Possums…

WSU quarterback J.T. Levenseller is no stranger to pressure. The redshirt freshman led Pullman High School to a perfect 14-0 season, capped by a 2A state title in 2005. On Saturday afternoon, Levenseller will face pressure once again when he lines up under center for the first time in Palo Alto…

Ah yes, the thrill of victory. Soak it up. Breathe it in. Embrace it. Winning just feels so good. The thrill of victory has nearly escaped Washington in the midst of arguably the worst sports year the state has ever seen. So when the Seattle Seahawks pulled out an unexpected win in San Francisco on Sunday afternoon…

Last week, my predictions made it to the Life section when Sports Weekend was full. That was either a bad thing if you missed out on Dominic Rhodes and Chris Johnson or a good thing if you missed benching Steven Jackson (that did come with a warning). Nonetheless…