Cougar Baseball defeats USC

Good morning, Cougar fans. I’m going to play the percentages here, and assume that the vast majority of people reading this are guys. So make sure you contact mom today and tell her how much you appreciate her. If you are a mom, Happy Mother’s Day.

The players and coaches on the Washington State Cougar baseball team hope to give their mothers an additional gift on Sunday, in the form of a series win over the USC Trojans. After losing a lead and dropping the series opener Friday, the Cougs bounced back behind a strong effort at the plate and another great outing by Scotty Sunitsch to beat USC 8-4.

WSU jumped out early, scoring six runs in the first three innings, capped by a Danny Sinatro two-run homer. They made it an even snowman in the sixth, when shortstop Andres Alvares smacked a pitch over the left field wall for his first home run as a Cougar. All along the way, Scotty Sunitsch was busy locking down the USC bats.

Sunitsch went seven strong innings, scattering six hits while not allowing a run. Collin Maier relieved Sunitsch and didn’t exactly shut things down, allowing three runs while recording just two outs. After a very brief Nick Strange appearance that added a little lighter fluid to the situation, A.J. Block was able to ease the Cougs into victory lane, allowing one run over 1¹⁄₃ innings.

So we’re on to the rubber match on Sunday. Aside: Did you know that the term “rubber match” has been around since the 16th Century, and has nothing to do with actual rubber? Either way, Go Cougs.

Pac-12 Revenue

Aside from his nonsensical opinions about why the Pac-12 should give scheduling advantages to its top teams (seriously, Jon, get over it), Jon Wilner is the best Pac-12 writer out there. This week, he shined a light on some incredibly shadowy conference bookkeeping.

I won’t profess to know the ins and outs of how conferences coalesce and distribute revenue from several sources, but my instincts tell me that something is rotten in the state of Denmark. The conference’s refusal to itemize and disclose expenses, including a whopping $3.9 million in legal fees that was not categorized under “fees for services” seems shady, at best. For the Pac-12 to compete with its Power Five peers, it needs to distribute as much money as possible to the schools, and it increasingly appears that Larry Scott and his (vastly overpaid) executives have some explaining to do.

Pac-12 finances: Record revenue, hidden expenses and unanswered questions
The Pac-12's refusal to provide transparency with regard to expenses leaves unanswered questions regarding the whereabouts of tens of millions of dollars in its tax filings.

Baseball

Bats Back Sunitsch, Cougars Beat USC to Even Series - Washington State University
Scotty Sunitsch fired seven shutout innings and Washington State scored in each of the first four innings in an 8-4 victory over USC at Bailey-Brayton Field Saturday afternoon.

Beer

Best beer I had this week: Bought a 4-pack of Wisconsin’s own Untitled Art Milkshake IPA this week. I’m already down to one. Apparently Untitled Art isn’t into petty things like websites that contain information about their beer.

Additionally, since many of you probably live in the Seattle area, I thought I’d let you know that it’s Seattle Craft Beer Week (it’s also American Craft Beer Week!). I’m sure there are events going on all around the metro area, so enjoy!

Seattle Beer Week
You know craft beer good when beer week lasts 11 days.

Non-Sports

CIA Put Propaganda in Miami Herald, JFK Documents Show | Miami New Times
Herald reporter Alvin Burt and editor Don Bohning were CIA informants.