A few items to start off the Father's Day Weekend

This weekend has a lot of distractions that are likely to keep sports fans busy.

Sunday is Father's Day. World Cup 2014 has kicked off in Brazil with several qualifier matches that will keep soccer fanatics glued to their TV. For those that follow golf, the US Open is taking place in Pinehurst, North Carolina. And to cap it off, there in an NBA Finals game scheduled for Father's Day evening.

Father's Day Weekend is a weekend that seems to fly by faster than we want it to. If you're spending time reading this links post, you're  probably just wanting a quick summary of events so you can get back to doing what you ought to be doing, spending time with family. For the sake of your precious time, here's a quick summary of WSU sports related items from Friday.

SOCCER

Soccer is the sport that will be dominating international sporting news for the next few weeks. New WSU Women's Soccer head coach Steve Nugent gave his thoughts on things fans should expect to see at World Cup 2014. In reference to Team USA, Nugent puts a lot of weight on Monday's opening match versus Ghana. If Team USA can start off with a win, he feels they have an excellent chance to win in their second match against Portugal a week later. Pulling out two wins would likely put team USA in the Round of 16. That would be a major event given the difficulty of their Group G Bracket the Americans play in that also includes Germany.

Coach Steve Nugent Talks World Cup - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
The Washington State University Official Athletic Site, partner of NeuLion, Inc. The most comprehensive coverage of Washington State University Athletics on the web.

FOOTBALL

Jacob Thorpe took a look back at last season's 10-7 upset victory over USC. The anomalous lowing scoring affair was decided by a Damante Horton pick six into the Trojan end zone.  Horton recorded two interceptions in the game. The loss all but sealed the fate of USC head coach Lane Kiffin, who would be eventually fired four weeks later after a blowout loss to Arizona State.

Friday flashback: USC - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - June 13, 2014
(Cornerback Damante Horton had a pair of picks in WSU's 10-7 upset of USC) The Cougars may have played better than expected in their season-opening loss at Auburn, but they were still 0-1 as most analysts had predicted they would be. As if Washington State's foray into SEC country wasn't ...

Mike Leach and his coaching staff news a few days ago with this years' outdoor coaching adventure by catching a large sturgeon and putting up a picture of the huge fish on the internet to circulate. Past Leach staff summer adventures have involved fishing and bear hunting. The big catch topped this week's College Football social news for NFL.com.

CFB Social: Mike Leach's colossal catch highlights week - NFL.com
Mike Leach and his staff reel in a huge fish, Connor Cook reacts to the World Cup and Jon Gruden gets involved in Tennessee's recruiting efforts -- all that and more highlight the week in social media around college football.

Here is a retweet by ESPN's Ted Miller from the Athletic Department that I liked. It posterizes the work Deone Bucannon put in the weight room in a before and after like way.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>&amp; gets you paid. RT <a href="https://twitter.com/WSUCougars">@WSUCougars</a>: This is what commitment to weight room looks like. <a href="https://twitter.com/deonebucannon20">@deonebucannon20</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23GoCougs&amp;src=hash">#GoCougs</a> <a href="http://t.co/5v1LjBut6G">pic.twitter.com/5v1LjBut6G</a></p>&mdash; Ted Miller (@TedMillerRK) <a href="https://twitter.com/TedMillerRK/statuses/476513449988460544">June 10, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Sage Romberg will be able to realize her dream of turning pro by going to play abroad in Spain. The small forward from McKinleyville, CA finished her career at WSU sixth in all time school starts and 14th in scoring with 1,033 points. Romberg will play for C.R.E.F, Hola Madrid, a second division Spanish League team.

Sage Romberg Inks Pro Contract To Play in Spain - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Romberg will play for C.R.E.F. Hola Madrid out of Madrid, Spain next fall.

PAC-12 SPORTS

The Pac-12 presidents and chancellors ended their summer meeting by reiterating the need to move forward with NCAA reforms they sent out to the presidents of other major football conferences several weeks ago.

Pac-12 presidents restate call for reform at end of meetings - ESPN
Pac-12 university presidents and chancellors reiterated the conference's call for reform in college athletics at the conclusion of its summer meetings.