Tag: Washington State Cougars

The NCAA Women’s Championship picks Cinderella: Watch out for the Princeton Brackets

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After months of speculation, the class of 2023 NCAA Tournament is now complete. But before you start filling them with reckless abandon, hoping to outsmart your co-workers in the office suite or outsmart your friends for bragging rights and free drinks, keep in mind that bracket busters are common. Every year, at least one team breaks chalk. Looking at women’s college basketball arc, I highlighted one prospect from each region with surprising potential as well as four dark horse teams that could make it to the Final Four. This season,…

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Big 12 looking west, Pac-12 looking for TV deal: What we’re hearing about the realignment

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This past July, weeks after the stunning Big Ten announcement of USC and UCLA, Pac-12 Commissioner George Klyafkov made a bold realignment prediction: “No Pac-12 school is going to the Big 12.” After eight months, we may finally learn whether his confidence was warranted or a feigned bravado. Kliavkoff is under pressure to offer its members a new media rights deal by the end of the month. If the dollar numbers or the details disappoint, March could be the moment when the Big 12 finally hits. Sources familiar with the…

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Pac-12 recruiting thoughts: Oregon’s flurry, USC’s star power, Utah’s foundation

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With all of the coaching hires in the Pac-12 over the past year and change, it’s clear that the recruiting outlook across the league has been on an upswing. Now that the three-day early signing period has come to an end, let’s sort through some recruiting takeaways from across the Pac-12. Note: All rankings per the 247Sports Composite. Oregon (11th nationally, 1st in the Pac-12) The Ducks started last week by losing five-star quarterback Dante Moore, who had been committed to Oregon since July, to UCLA. It didn’t matter much…

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Former Washington State coach Nick Rolovich is suing over his expulsion

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Former Washington State head coach Nick Rolovich has sued the university, athletic director Pat Chun and Washington Governor Jay Inslee, seeking compensation for his dismissal last year over his refusal to take a COVID-19 vaccine. Here’s what you need to know. The 32-page lawsuit, which was first reported by ESPN, was filed on Friday. Rolovich and four assistants were fired for some reason on October 19, 2021, with the school indicating their refusal to follow the government’s vaccination mandate for public servants. Rolovich applied for religious exemption, which was denied,…

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College football picks against spread: Bruce Feldman’s Week 4 picks

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I had the worst week of picks I think since I was at The Athletic in Week 3, going 1-7 against the number, putting me in eighth for the junior season. So, I guess that means I’m due? The good: Pennsylvania’s choice to deal with Auburn on the road. The Bad: BYU’s choice to beat Oregon. The Ugly: Choosing Nebraska to Give Oklahoma a Game. Here are the guesses for this week. (All spreads come from BetMGM, click here For live odds, all kickoff times are Eastern.) Maryland at No.…

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Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Notre Dame, Texas A&M and Florida go the way of the Big Ten West

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Three Sun Belt wins over Power 5 opponents, including two in the Top 10. The No. 1 team in the country very nearly loses to a 20-point underdog. Kansas is 2-0. Notre Dame is 0-2. Here are 23 Final Thoughts from a spectacularly upside-down Week 2. 1. Well, when I boarded the plane to Austin on Friday I was reasonably certain three things would happen on my trip: 1) I was going to eat barbecue at some point (check); 2) I was going to get to Torchy’s at some point…

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College football picks against spread: Bruce Feldman’s second week picks

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I had 1 week average, going 5-5-1 against the spread. The Good: Pick Penn State to win at Purdue. The Bad: Choosing LSU to do business with FSU. The Ugly: Choosing Oregon to keep it close to Georgia. Here are the guesses for this week. (All spreads come from BetMGM, click here For live odds, all kickoff times are Eastern.) 1 Alabama (-20.5) in Texas, Saturday, noon (Fox) Steve Sarkissian has an inexperienced QB and doesn’t have enough athletes in defense to keep up with his old boss, Nick Saban.…

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Mike Leach first impressions: ‘Yo, what did we get ourselves into?!’

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Anthony Gordon cleared his throat. When called upon to do your best impersonation of Mike Leach, you have to nail it. So, through the phone, the former Washington State quarterback took a couple of seconds to properly prepare to relive one of the — if not the — most momentous days of his life. In May 2016, Gordon was home in Pacifica, Calif., assuming he was going to return for another year of junior college football at City College of San Francisco. All the dream scenarios of getting his shot…

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