WSU Cougar football and the Pac-12 get lots of air time

Good morning. With Pac-12 Media Days in the rear-view mirror, and fall camp just over the horizon, the amount of WSU Football-related news is starting to increase dramatically. A big part of the increase is interviews with players and coaches, as well as Pac-12 previews via podcast.

Jeff Nusser touched on Gabe Marks' appearance on KJR in his media days roundup. Mike Leach made an appearance on the same program, and he and host Dave Mahler talked about a range of topics.

My favorite exchange occurred when Mahler tried to bait Leach into admitting that the Apple Cup loss hurt more than the other losses. Leach's response was perfect, "We have to take comfort in the fact that we had a better season than Washington." Point - Leach.

Mahler tried to do the same with Marks, and Marks said that the losses to Portland State, Cal and Stanford were just as painful, and that WSU isn't drawing any extra motivation from the Apple Cup loss. It's funny how the Husky fan wants to make a bigger deal of the Apple Cup result than WSU players and coaches.

Leach also made an appearance on John Clayton's show, and barely let Clayton get a word in edgewise. That's a good thing. Leach told a pretty funny story about taking a couple of his kids miles into the hills of Kauai while his wife and daughter waited at a picnic bench. Also, Clayton apparently thought Bill Belichick consulted Leach before signing Wes Welker. Leach said that never happened. Good job, John.

Finally, Lindsay Schnell of si.com had Mike Yam of the Pac-12 Networks on her podcast to preview the Pac-12. They do think highly of WSU, and Schnell admitted that Gabe Marks is one of her favorite players. There wasn't a lot of ground-breaking news, and their thoughts echo those of many others, but it's still worth a listen to whet the appetite for the upcoming season.

Football

Mike Leach's Pac-12 media day press conference in haiku form
Mike Leach is a man of many words.

Mike Leach quotes get their own book | News OK
Alan Burton has written a book on Leach’s best quotes: Squib-Kick It To A Fat Guy. The book consists of 700 Leach quotes.

Beer

Best beer I had this week: Went with a summer theme and got a six-pack of Big Top Brewing's Conch Republic Key Lime Wheat. If you like key lime pie, this beer is sublime. I love key lime pie.

Hopportunity Cost: Craft Brewers Brawl Over Catchy Names as Puns Run Dry - WSJ
"Craft Beer Attorney..." Why didn't I go to law school?

Non-Sports

Why One Woman Pretended to Be a High-School Cheerleader - The Atlantic
The only part of high school that Wendy Brown enjoyed, except for the final bell, was long-distance running. It was the summer of 1990. The Berlin Wall was being demolished, and New Kids on the Block topped the Hot 100.