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Another June, another championship for former Coug Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors. Thompson had 10 points in Game 4, a 108-85 thundering of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
That’s two titles in a row for Thompson and three in the past four years. Thompson joined Destiny Vaeao as former Cougs who won professional championships this year. Vaeao was on the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
In fact, Washington State was one of six schools that had alums win the Super Bowl and NBA Finals:
6 universities had former players win both the #SuperBowl and #NBAFinals this year: Arizona, Oregon, Texas, UCLA, USC, and Washington State.
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) June 9, 2018
Conference of Champions*!
*at the professional level
Question: Who are the three former Cougs to win NBA titles?
Answer: Thompson, Aron Baynes and Gene Conley.
Congrats to Thompson on his third title. It was a joy watching him for three seasons in Pullman, and it’s great to see him have success in the pros.
Research
Hey, WSU is a research institution, and doggone it but it doesn’t get enough attention on this site. So let’s give it some love!
A WSU researcher played a role in Major League Baseball’s study looking at why it’s seeing home runs at a higher rate. Lloyd Smith, the leader of the Sports Science Lab on campus in Pullman, was part of a team of 10 researches tasked with looking for explanations for the uptick in home runs.
While nothing major was discovered, Smith and the team did determine that the drag of the balls tested was different. Why that was the case is still to be determined.
So, enjoy the home runs you see this summer, and know that a researcher at our beloved Washington State University is relied upon to study the issue.
$$$
WSU regents approve plan to balance athletics budget | The Spokesman-Review
The Washington State University regents unanimously approved a plan to balance the school’s athletics department budget.
Football
Washington State spring football game returning to Pullman in 2019 | The Spokesman-Review
WSU will use the spring scrimmage as a platform to promote suicide prevention and mental health awareness – two areas near and dear to Cougar players and fans following the suicide of quarterback Tyler Hilinski in January.
Ranking college football’s 92 games in 2018’s opening weekend - SBNation.com
WSU at Wyoming is no. 10 on this list, which tells you something about the first week of college football.
Track and Field
Brooks-Johnson 11th after four evens in heptathlon at NCAA T&F Championships | Washington State University Athletics
Brooks-Johnson, a redshirt senior from Doty, Wash., scored 3,419 points, which is 11th place among the 23 remaining competitors. Her first-day total is the second-highest in her career.