In completely not-shocking news, Tony Bennett is your 2008 winner for Coug of the Year. Defeating #2 seed Kyle Weaver in the finals, 66-43.

Congrats, Tony. It's another trophy for your mantle, although judging by the picture I wish the trophymakers had put a little more effort into it.

Congratulations. Tony certainly deserves it for his commitment to WSU.

And thanks to all of you out there who voted, and for your continued support of CougCenter.

It's up to you, Coug Nation. Who wins Coug of the Year for 2008?

No campaigning by me this time. No bios, no YouTube videos. I leave the award in your capable hands. Both are deserving.

This is the matchup I've been dreading since I came up with the Coug of the Year bracket. I imagine that if you have two children, and someone asks you which one is your favorite, this is pretty much how you feel.

Good luck. Polls are open for 72 hours.

I think that pretty much sums it up. And then, to cheer you up (h/t to Dancing football for reminding me of this):

Coug of the Year has reached the semi-finals. First, a bracket check:

(click to enlarge)

It's an all Cougar basketball final four - and, just like you'd expect in real life, Tony Bennett put on a defensive clinic to defeat eight-seed Matt Potter, 54 to 4. Wow.

Can he stop upstart center Aron Baynes, who carries the hopes of the entire nation of Australia with him? Can you hear, can you hear the thunder?

#1 Tony Bennett

Argument for: Coached the Cougars to the Sweet Sixteen and their second straight NCAA tournament. Responsible in many ways for turning WSU from perennial doormat to Top 25 team and successful, sustainable program. Clearly not motivated by money or "prestige" jobs, Tony turned down Indiana and a host of other schools to remain the coach of the Cougars. Followed last season up with the arrival of the best recruiting class to hit Pullman in at least a decade, headed by Klay Thompson and DeAngelo Casto.

Argument against: Is there one?

---

#12 Aron Baynes

Arugument for:

Argument against: No Bennett, No Baynes.

The final matchup of the Coug of the Year Elite Eight just isn't fair.

You're being asked to choose between this season's team leader or last season's. It's a choice between a young man from Hawai'i who was the leading scorer of our Sweet Sixteen team, or a kid from California who led the Pac-10 in assist to turnover ratio and was willing to give up his scholarship for the good of the program.

Both are worthy of the COTY title, so I should remind you that the competition only covers 2008. Meaning you can't factor in Taylor's incredible games at the start of this year, 2009. It also means, though, that you have to include Taylor's ridiculous passing stats from the Pac-10 slate last spring. It also means you have to include what Derrick low did in that same amount of time, which was equally, if not more so, impressive (who do you think helped Taylor get all those assists?).

It's an impossible decision, which is why we have to make it as a group. I give the edge to Low; partly because Taylor has a good shot at COTY in 2009, and when Low and Weaver were absent this fall we started to see just how much they meant to this team. On the other hand, Rochestie nearly made a sacrifice of thousands of dollars just to help out his team. It wasn't his choice to get his scholarship back, either, it was Tony's. So, honestly, either choice is a good one. Good luck coming to a conclusion.

#3 Derrick Low

[Hat tip: kapoleicoug]

#6 Taylor Rochestie

[Hat tip: KXLY]

Today is a great day in American history.

I'm talking, of course, about our opportunity to put Kyle Weaver in the Final Four of the Coug of the Year competition.

Your votes make the difference.

#2 Kyle Weaver

[Hat tip BHarmon1975]

Remember folks, that's OJ Mayo on defense.

#7 Jim Sterk

• Helped keep Tony in Pullman
• Hired Andrew Palileo (volleyball)
• Previously hired Dick Bennett, Tony Bennett, June Daugherty and Paul Wulff

Rick Neuheisal Regional Final

Good luck with this one. On one side, a two-sport athlete who is a national champion and one of our best wide receivers. On the other, the incomparable Aron Baynes, who added the element of perimeter shooting to his game yesterday.

#12 Aron Baynes

#13 Jeshua Anderson

NCAA Champion.

USA Junior Champion.

World Junior Champion.

33 receptions for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns.

First, how's about a bracket check? (click to enlarge)

We're down to eight. On the right side of the bracket, things went pretty much as expected - all of the top seeds advanced. On the left, we had three upsets, including a 12/13 pairing in the Rick Neuheisal Regional final. The winner of that one will play the winner of tonight's matchup for a shot at Coug of the Year.

First things first though. Thanks to some vigorous campaigning by Jo-Jo, Matt Potter came through with a first round upset of fellow under-appreciated Cougar women's coach Jane LaRiviere. Potter's reward - a potential drubbing at the hands of Mr. Anthony G. Bennett.

Does Matt Potter have enough momentum to pull off the biggest upset of the tournament? Is Tony Bennett truly unstoppable? Was Kurt Cobain actually murdered by Courtney Love?

Your votes will determine the answer to two of those three questions.

#1 Tony Bennett

• Led the Cougars to the Sweet Sixteen
• Led the Cougars to their second straight NCAA tournament
• Led the Cougars to their sixth and seventh consecutive wins over Washington
• Turned down a more money, more fame and more warm weather to stay in Pullman
• Made the jacket and no tie look more popular than the sweater vest

#9 Matt Potter

• Led the Cougar women's soccer team to a NCAA tournament appearance
• Is British
• Led the Cougs to a win over #13 California
• Son Harry attends the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
• I may have to double check that last statement

Polls are open for 72 hours.