The Cougar Women's basketball team continued its impressive run through the non-conference schedule Saturday, defeating Montana State 82-61 at Beasley Coliseum. The Cougs were a bit shorthanded due to illness that took down a couple players, but Lia Galdeira picked up the slack for nearly everyone, scoring 26 points and collecting five rebounds, five steals and three assists. The announced crowd was 942, which is probably pretty decent for a women's game during Christmas break.
Given the current state of the two basketball programs, with the women becoming a legitimate NCAA tournament threat and the men in the early stages of, to put it nicely, a serious rebuild, I'm curious if and when the women will outdraw the men for a game this season. If it does happen, my guess is that it will be on January 11 against Stanford or February 22 against Washington. Thankfully, both of those games are on Sunday. I hope the women begin to see some big crowds at Beasley, as they deserve some recognition for how far they've come in the last few years. The Cougar women finish up their non-conference schedule Monday at Loyola Marymount.
On the men's side, the Cougars host San Jose State Sunday afternoon. This isn't exactly the Kentucky Wildcats rolling into town, as the Spartans are depleted by injury and suspensions. The lack of depth has reached the point that they've had to enlist the help of a couple football players just to maintain a decent rotation.
That got me wondering about which players from WSU's football team might be passable basketball players, should it become necessary. I figure Vince Mayle would be a decent wing player, as he has good size, athleticism, and actually played some JUCO ball. Also, Robert Lewis might be a decent fill-in at point guard. He is extremely quick, and would probably give teams fits on the defensive end. Looking at WSU's current roster, I'm pretty sure the addition of these two wouldn't exactly diminish the quality of the bench. The men will conclude their non-conference schedule at home next Sunday against UC Davis.
Basketball
WSU women off to best start since '95-96 - Spokesman.com - Dec. 20, 2014
The holiday doldrums had no visible effect on the Washington State women’s basketball team, which overcame finals, sickness and the holiday season to beat Montana State 82-61 on Saturday afternoon in front of 942 fans at Beasley Coliseum.
Cougars Pull Away From Montana State, Win 82-61 - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Washington State withstood an early Bobcat run, using a 6-0 steak before junior guard Taylor Edmondson knocked down a three and a baseline jumper on back-to-back possessions to give WSU a 18-15 lead at the 10:44 mark.
Cougars host San Jose State on Sunday - Spokesman.com - Dec. 21, 2014
Washington State will play in Pullman for the first time in more than two weeks today when the Cougars host San Jose State, a team that would love to have only finals to worry about.
San Jose State basketball team gets help from football players - San Jose Mercury News
Wide receiver Tyler Winston and tight end Andrew Vollert logged major minutes for the Spartans basketball team in a 54-38 loss to Seattle last weekend. In doing so, they became the first football players at SJSU to also play basketball in the same season since 1989.
Football
Pac-12 football: Championship game ratings and the top-25 metered markets – College Hotline
ESPN has the rights to the Pac-12 title game next year and has not yet determined which night, Friday or Saturday. Saturday is better for the fans and, consequently, makes for a better in-stadium atmosphere. Friday means higher ratings.
Beer
Best Holiday Beers: Most Have Too Much Christmas Spirit, or Too Little | BostInno
Out of the eight, three beers impressed at least one of us. Only the last beer, a stout from a brewery near San Diego, Calif., got two thumbs up. It was a crowd favorite as well. Read on to find the inside track on these eight holiday-seasonal beer bottles.
Non-Sports
Frank Sinatra Letter to the LA Times, 1990
This is so good. Sinatra >>>> George Michael
Newtown Weighs What to Do With Adam Lanza’s Home - NYTimes.com
Randall Bell makes house calls in some of the world’s most forbidding places. And not just any houses, but properties touched by carnage, natural disasters and other headline-grabbing tragedies.