WSU student Todd Griffiths performing gymnastics atop a stationary, then a cantering, horse.
» More ...On a small boat with six other guys, with about two weeks to travel 2,300 nautical miles, you really want to be with agreeable people.
That was John Leitzinger’s philosophy when he was looking for teammates to sail with him in the 2006 Vic-Maui International Yacht Race, a trip between Victoria, Canada, and Lahaina, Maui.
Fortunately, he long ago found a good sailing partner in his college friend, Ken Marks. After finishing their education degrees from Washington State University in 1987, the pair moved to Tacoma, where they worked as substitute teachers, lived together, and bought a boat from another Cougar classmate’s dad. “It was … » More …
Despite the icy air of the late October afternoon, Todd Griffiths strips down to his skin-tight spandex uniform and lifts himself atop a bay horse named Darby. His legs move forward and in one fluid swing are back behind him, pulling him into a handstand, part of a warmup before he gives us a full display of his vaulting skills.
Vaulting is not a widely known sport in America. So tell an equestrian that you know a vaulter, and he’ll be impressed. The activity is a combination of gymnastics and dance performed atop a moving horse, so amazing, it’s hard to tear your eyes away. … » More …
Name: Robbie Cowgill
Position: Forward
Age: 20
Height: 6' 10"
Target weight: 210 pounds
Daily calories required to maintain weight: 6,000-7,000
Breakfast: Two or more biscuits with gravy, three scrambled eggs, three pieces of bacon, glass of milk, glass of water.
School-day snacks: Peanut butter crackers, cheese crackers, Ritz bits. They’re at the ready in his backpack so he can eat during class.
Lunch: Meat (“steak is good”), two or three baked potatoes with sour cream, butter, and cheese. Milk. No dessert if he has afternoon practice.
Emergency snack: Tray of cinnamon rolls or a Tony’s Frozen Pizza.
Dinner: … » More …
Cougar fans are still shaking themselves awake from the dream that was the 2006-07 basketball season.
The sweet reverie set in early this winter during a game against Gonzaga at Friel Court. For the first time in years, a scrappy bunch of mostly juniors and sophomores showed us that channeled energy, resiliency, and strategic coaching could add up to victory. The Washington State University win shattered a seven-game losing streak against the Zags and started a season loaded with ending streaks and broken records.
Sports analysts who predicted we’d finish at the back of the Pac-10 were forced to take a second look at Tony … » More …
The Cougar Etiquette Dinner
Skillfully sidestepping the busy wait staff, Mylene Barizo circulates among the 100 diners attending the Cougar Etiquette Dinner in the Todd Hall atrium. She stops, chats casually with student-athletes seated around tables for eight, then moves on. Members of the athletic department, other University units, and Pullman community leaders are table hosts.
Barizo encourages questions, offers advice. Trying to catch people between bites is tricky. The three-course meal includes grilled Coho salmon, mai-fun noodle lace, oven-roasted game hen, garlic potato puree, and sautéed seasonal vegetables. Dessert is raspberry sorbet.
Barizo is regional human resources manager for dinner … » More …
“Bobo’s my name, baseball’s my game,” says Frederick Charles “Bobo” Brayton as he sits down across from me. His face crinkles into a grin. “That’s what I tell everybody.”
At age 81, Brayton doesn’t appear intimidating–former Washington State University catcher Scott Hatteberg describes him as “a Yogi-Berra-type guy”–but Bobo’s career overwhelms me. Brayton won 1,162 games in his 33 years at WSU and was honored as the co-namesake of WSU’s baseball field.
Brayton played baseball with his father in Birdsview, Washington (near Mount Vernon), from the time he was eight years old–and not your everyday father-son game of catch. Dad pitched for a local team … » More …
Washington State’s Rien Long proved to be more than a “West Coast wonder.” The 6-6, 286-pound defensive tackle earned the Outland Trophy as college football’s top interior lineman for 2002.
“He put us on the map tonight,” coach Mike Price said of the junior from Anacortes. They attended the College Football Awards Show together December 12 in Orlando, Florida.
Long’s defensive prowess was recognized earlier in the season. He was picked to a number of All-America first teams, including those of the Associated Press and the Football Writers Association. His regular season statistics included 20.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, and three pass deflections.
Three … » More …
Washington State didn’t need to conduct a national search for a new head football coach when Mike Price resigned December 17. His successor was already on campus. He was familiar with WSU, Pullman, and the Pac-10.
Bill Doba, defensive coordinator at WSU since 1994, was introduced less than 24 hours after Price announced he had taken the top football coaching job at University of Alabama. Doba waited 41 years for his day to come.
“I could have gone to my grave and not missed a thing about my coaching experience, but this really is a coach’s dream,” Doba, 62, said at a campus media conference.
… » More …