THE MORNING PAPER: Wulff speaks, track wraps up championships
Moving at the speed of the Internet, a lot of people have been quick to judge the recent run-ins with the law by a handful of football players over the past couple of weeks.
Not so fast, said Paul Wulff in an extended interview last night with KCPQ in Seattle.
On Tyree Toomer and LeAndre Daniels:
First of all, it's a mistake, and a poor choice by a couple young guys that have never been in trouble prior to Washington State or in their first year. Both have been done very well academically as well. I think when it's all said and done, there's a question mark on whether the charges will even be filed. There are some issues there behind the scenes that look favorable for the players.
And on Xavier Hicks:
Xavier's done a great job. He really had. What occurred was he had a traffic ticket in 2007 in Othello and it wasn't paid. And college students move around -- his address -- he didn't receive any of the information that it was suspended. And then he got pulled over and then he found out then. So, that's the offense. It's something he has to learn from, obviously, but those mistakes are going to occur.
Are there any repercussions?
We've got a few things we'll do to handle that, but for the most part, at this point, he's not going to be suspended.
So there you have it. All of you clamoring for justice to be swift and without mercy are going to be sorely disappointed.
The stuff with Hicks sounds plausible -- I had something come back to me from the people that run CCN after I moved a couple of times in college that took a letter from a lawyer to get sorted out. However, Hicks really might want to consider investing in some driving classes; he got pulled over after leaving jail, got a ticket in Othello that led to this license suspension, and had to be doing something he shouldn't have to be pulled over this time. The guy's been pulled over more times in the past few months than I have in my life. Perhaps he should just be a better driver.
I'm truly curious to see how the situation with Toomer and Daniels turns out, becuase I want to see just how what was reported can be chalked up to a misunderstanding. Makes me wonder if it wasn't them trying to play some kind of ill-conceived prank on some people who didn't think it was very funny. But, of course, that's just speculation.
Wulff talks about a lot of other stuff, too -- you can find the video from the three segments here. I put it on a separate page because of long load times.
Wrapping up the NCAA track championship from the weekend, Matt Lamb ended up finishing fifth in the discus competition. Pretty good showing for a guy who, by his own assessment, has been pretty off kilter all year long:
"All things considered, this was a pretty good way to end a mediocre season so I'll take it," Lamb said. "I'm about 30 to 35 pounds heavier than I was a year ago so I don't feel like I'm in the same throwing shape. I'm a lot stronger but I'm having a hard time transferring it into the discus. If I don't go to the USA nationals I'm going to relax and stay out of the weight room and get away from throwing for a little bit and focus on next season. I still have one more year and if I don't end up on the top of the podium I will be disappointed."
Marissa Tschida placed sixth in the javelin as well.
Lastly a couple of football notes:
- ESPN is continuing its slow march toward world domination, securing broadcast rights to the Rose Bowl in 2011. Beginning that year, all five BCS games will be broadcast on cable. I hold little doubt that in my lifetime pretty much all events such as these will be available only on pay-per-view; it's really the only way these ever increasing broadcast rights will be able to keep up, and taking major championship events off over-the-air broadcasts is the first step.
- Lew Wright over at Examiner.com has a cool little countdown of the top 10 most important Cougar football players for 2009. The latest installment places running back James Montgomery at No. 7.
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Funny you say that Nuss...
Because when the story about Toomer and Daniels first came out, I immediately thought to myself, “Sounds like a prank gone wrong…” And Hicks just needs to come up with some cash to pay that darn traffic violation!
This is why we all need to wait for due process to take its course, as I alluded to on this site when the initial story developed. I am glad to hear that Coach Wulff doesn’t think the offenses of Toomer and Daniels are serious enough for charges to be filed. Then again, last I checked Paul Wulff doesn’t have Esquire after his name. We shall see.
At any rate, I sure hope that all three players face appropriate consequences for their actions and that this will all be forgotten by the start of fall camp.
by '03CouveCoug on Jun 15, 2009 12:51 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Re: Rose Bowl
I hold little doubt that in my lifetime pretty much all events such as these will be available only on pay-per-view; it’s really the only way these ever increasing broadcast rights will be able to keep up, and taking major championship events off over-the-air broadcasts is the first step.
Not sure I agree with you there, Nuss (since I agree with you on most things I feel the need to point out on occasion when I don’t).
Are events like the Super Bowl or the World Series ever heading to Cable or Pay-per-view? I doubt it. The lost exposure would hurt the major leagues way too much. People hate paying for something they’ve always had for free, which is why as TV heads on to the internet (Hulu, TV.com, etc), they aren’t charging for it. Whether that’s a good business strategy or not remains to be seen (for example, I’d probably pay for Hulu if I had to), but the fact remains leagues need exposure and ratings so they can get money from people at the arenas themselves.
This, to me, says more about the behemoth that is the ESPN family of networks. They are taking over sports programming and a virtually going unchallenged in doing so. And their biggest weakness (analysis of regional teams) isn’t being fully exploited by FSN or anyone else. ESPN is the most profitable basic cable venture ever – in some ways events like the BCS get bigger exposure to their target audiences by moving away from the networks.
by Grady. on Jun 15, 2009 2:45 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Not to mention
There’s a need to watch sports programming live – which makes it different from comedies and dramas where I simply TiVo them and just watch them later in the evening without commercials.
by Grady. on Jun 15, 2009 2:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
20 years ago, would it have even been thinkable that your biggest bowl games would only be available on cable?
The BCS is now conceding that their brand will not be damaged by the sport’s biggest games not being available to roughly 10 percent of U.S. households that don’t subscribe to cable or satellite television. Now, whether that segment cares is debatable; you could make an argument that the vast majority of sports fans already have cable because of all the specialized sports programming available there. But a sport’s biggest games don’t make their money on the hardcore fans; they make their money from casual fans who tune in a few times a year. They’ve now cut out a huge number of people, and are banking that it won’t hurt financially.
Will it cause a dip in ratings? We’ll see. If not, this could be a slippery slope. Look at how much they just paid for the broadcast rights. There’s going to come a point where they’ve exhausted every possible revenue stream from major networks and cable. It will happen. So what happens after that? ESPN raises their rates to the cable companies, and you have to subscribe to a specialized tier of sports programming if you want the ESPN family. There’s an influx of cash to continue their programming. Then, the revenue stream is exhausted once again. What’s left? UFC-style pay-per-view. It’s inevitable.
Once you’ve created a culture where the only way to see the games is to pay for them, it eventually won’t matter how you have to pay for them.
by Nuss on Jun 15, 2009 3:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sorry Nuss.
I’m just not seeing it either. At least not in the near future.
by cfred on Jun 15, 2009 7:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I didn't say in the near future
I said in my lifetime. I’m hoping I have a while left …
by Nuss on Jun 15, 2009 8:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Next time I will just smack myself on the forehead with the heel of my hand....
Just kids doing stupid stuff.
by SW WA Coug on Jun 15, 2009 3:07 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

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