What a roller coaster ride the last week has been. Thursday through Tuesday was a terrible stretch for Cougar sports, or as Craig put it, a crap sundae with a rotten cherry on top. Then yesterday happened and well...MIKE LEACH!
Trying to stick with Craig's food themed analogy, I couldn't help but think back the times in college when you are living off campus but haven't gone grocery shopping in a really long time. We've all been there. You search the cupboards, but come up empty and before you know it you are attempting to make tuna with a combination of ranch dressing and tartar sauce because you have no mayo. You would love to put it on bread, but you have none, so you end up eating this disgusting mixture with stale crackers left by the previous renter. You are miserable eating it, but hey it's food and you're hungry.
Then, the next day comes and you finally go grocery shopping. You stock your refrigerator and fill the cupboards. You have so much food that you can't decide what to make so you end up baking a pizza and making tacos. You eat until you can eat no more and although you are so full you can't move, it is a great feeling. Mike Leach is that first meal after grocery shopping.
I'm guessing I've read at least 500,000 words on Leach over the last two days and there are a few of them linked below. If you are looking for non Mike Leach news (why would you be?) there are also two basketball related links.
Steve Kelley | Mike Leach is the perfect coach for Washington State | Seattle Times Newspaper
Flash back a mere four seasons ago. The 2008 Apple Cup in Pullman. Washington and Washington State came in with a combined one win in 21 games and this game, and these programs were the sources of derision around the nation. That is, if anybody was paying attention.
Leach to WSU: Moos shoots... he scores - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
At least in terms of name recognition, the Pac-12 is ramping up with its coaches. First, Arizona hired former Michigan and West Virginia coach Rick Rodriguez. Now Washington State has perhaps trumped that by hiring former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach, the pirate himself, to replace Paul Wulff, who was fired only Tuesday.
Cougars land their big fish - Spokesman.com - Dec. 1, 2011
On Tuesday, Washington State – in the view of one of its old guard – lost its innocence. On Wednesday, the Cougars lost their minds.
A combo post from WSU - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Nov. 30, 2011
We're in Beasley, so we could watch the men's 67-39 beatdown of a depleted Grambling State team and as much of the women's game I can see while still writing. Read on.
It's official: WSU hires Leach as football coach - Spokesman.com - Nov. 30, 2011
PULLMAN – Nov. 16 was one of the most important dates in Washington State’s more than 100-year football history, and only two men knew it.
Cougar quarterbacks excited about future with Leach - Spokesman.com - Nov. 30, 2011
PULLMAN – Ask quarterback Jeff Tuel about Wednesday hiring of Mike Leach as Washington State’s head football coach and he just smiles. “I might have to ice my arm after a football game, which will be a change,” Tuel said, smiling.
Pac-12’s have-nots to become haves with TV deal | | The Bulletin
While Friday’s Pac-12 championship football game is one of the outgrowths of league expansion, the conference’s dramatic makeover will really take shape next season. That’s when the Pac-12’s $3 billion television deal takes off. Because of equal revenue sharing, each of the league’s schools will eventually reap more than $20 million annually from the 12-year contract with Fox and ESPN.
3-point stance: Good fit for Leach - College Football Nation Blog - ESPN
1. It’s not a surprise that Mike Leach ended up at Washington State. It’s a surprise that it took so long for the two of them to find one another. Leach is an iconoclast who is most comfortable when he is off the beaten path. Pullman makes Lubbock look like Times Square. Mike Price lasted only five months when he left Washington State for Alabama because he went from zero scrutiny to a fishbowl. Leach can be his own very different man with the Cougars. The fans will love him for it as long as the team is respectable.
WSU’s (Pirate) Ship Has Come In | Undrafted Free Agent - seattlepi.com
Just yesterday I didn’t think that Mike Leach would come to WSU because I thought he’d have better offers. And what I meant by better was more money because WSU was paying Paul Wulff 650k to run its football program and there is no way Leach would come to a place that would pay him $1M or even $1.5M…
Washington State Hires Mike Leach as Football Coach - NYTimes.com
Mike Leach, one of college football’s most colorful characters before his controversial firing two years ago, was named the coach at Washington State on Wednesday. Leach’s deal, worth more than $11 million over five years, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, will put him in the top echelon of Pacific-12 Conference coaches by salary.
WSU Players Excited to Work With Mike Leach - SWX Right Now-Sports for Spokane, CdA, Tri-Cities, WA
PULLMAN, Wash. - By late afternoon on Wednesday, everyone knew Mike Leach would be the new football coach at Washington State. So, Bill Moos' meeting with the team at 4 p.m. (PT) didn't reveal anything new to the players, most of whom had been recruited by outgoing coach Paul Wulff, who had been fired a little more than 24-hours earlier.
Mike Leach at WSU: Go 2 Guy's pipedream comes true - WSU Blog articles - MyNorthwest.com
I can't remember the last time I was this excited about Cougar football. Well, yes I can, it was probably in the 2007 Apple Cup when Alex Brink found Brandon Gibson all alone for the game-winning touchdown.
Cougars | Washington State dominates Grambling State 69-37 | Seattle Times Newspaper
PULLMAN — Faisal Aden scored 12 points to lead Washington State to a 69-37 victory over Grambling State on Wednesday night.
Gonzaga women edge Washington State 71-69 - seattlepi.com
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Taelor Karr finished with 13 points, none bigger than her final four in the last 18 seconds, pushing Gonzaga past Washington State 71-69 on Wednesday night.