It's Cougar Football Saturday in April

Good morning, Coug fans. The Cougar football team will take the field for their penultimate practice of the spring at one o'clock Saturday, when they stage their annual spring game. In what has been promoted as a battle between Team Crimson and and Team Gray, many new and semi-new faces will see their first extended time in the spotlight.

Our friends over at the ESPN Pac-12 Blog posted three things they'll be looking for in Saturday's game, and I will be interested in seeing each of those as well. Numero uno among the three is the running back situation, and I am really looking forward to seeing James Williams for the first time. It's just a shame that Keith Harrington has been out all spring, because he may well have been playing a new position. That will have to wait for the fall, assuming he is back to full health by then.

The other intriguing position experimentation that we may see in Shalom Luani at Nickel. If the secondary depth satisfies the coaches enough to try Luani at that spot, I think he could be a revelation. He's fast and physical, which is a must for a player expected to both play near the line and drop into pass coverage. I have a feeling he'll wind up back at his normal safety spot, but you never know.

I'm also eager to see Ngalu Tapa, Isaiah Johnson, Cody O'Connell, Jalen Thompson and Kaleb Fossum, since they're new and/or inexperienced players who are expected to step into bigger roles in 2016. The Hilinski/Bender competition for the backup quarterback position will also be interesting. That said, let's touch on the most important part of the spring game.

Before the game starts, many of us CougCenter authors will be holding a little tailgate near the stadium, as Jeff noted a couple days ago. Not only will (hopefully) many of you be meeting them for the first time, I've never met most of them either. So please stop by and introduce yourself if you have the chance. I can guarantee you that we have something you want. Hope to see you there. Go Cougs

Football

WSU coaches hope for evenly matched Crimson, Gray squads | The Spokesman-Review
The fans of Team Crimson and Team Gray drew lines of demarcation, traded barbs on social media and competed for prizes, all while awaiting the announcement of the respective rosters for WSU’s Crimson and Gray game, played on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Albi Stadium.

Top 10 players on Washington State Cougars depth chart
Washington State returns a lot of talent from a top offense, led by QB Luke Falk and WRs Gabe Marks and River Cracraft.

Votes, backtracking and more meetings -- resetting the news and future around satellite camps
Conference representatives initially voted 10-5 to implement the rule to ban college football coaches from conducting camps outside of their institution's campus. It also bans an institution's coach from being employed at another institution's camp.

Pac-12 Football: Best Player Drafted For Every Program | College Football News
Drew Bledsoe did some nice things with Buffalo and Dallas to end his career, and he’s most famous for getting hurt and allowing Tom Brady to be Tom Brady, but he still put up an amazing run for the Patriots, throwing for close to 30,000 yards and helping get them to two Super Bowls.

Ranking Pac-12 Football Programs As NFL Draft Factories | College Football News
Deone Bucannon in 2014 and Marcus Trufant in 2003 were the last two first-rounders since Ryan Leaf went in 1998 – defensive backs have been the main men coming from the Cougars.

Baseball

USC Takes Series-Opener in 10 innings - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Washington State suffered a tough 4-2 loss in 10 innings to the University of Southern California in the series-opener at Bailey-Brayton Field Friday afternoon.

Beer

Best Beer I had this week: Met up with Craig and Jeff Friday night at the Manito Tap House. Craig bought a bottle from the rare part of the menu, and was generous enough to share. 2014 Fremont Kentucky Dark Star Spice Wars may seem like a long name, but holy cow was it ever good. I also had a pint of Dark Persuasion from Icicle Brewing. If you've ever wanted to drink alcohol-infused German chocolate cake, this is the beer for you. I thought it was great.

The deal that shook craft beer five years ago is still reverberating - MarketWatch
On March 28, 2011, Goose Island announced that Anheuser-Busch InBev was buying not only the 42% stake in Goose Island owned by Craft Brew Alliance but the remaining 58%, for a reported $38.8 million.

Non-Sports

The deal that shook craft beer five years ago is still reverberating - MarketWatch
On March 28, 2011, Goose Island announced that Anheuser-Busch InBev was buying not only the 42% stake in Goose Island owned by Craft Brew Alliance but the remaining 58%, for a reported $38.8 million.