Cougar Football game week is upon us

Game week is once again upon us. In less than seven days, the 2018 version of the Washington State Cougars football team will lift the lid in Laramie, Wyoming. Who will be behind center for the first snap? While Mike Leach has yet to announce it, for some reason, it’s a near certainty that Gardner Minshew will be the guy.

By the way, would anyone be surprised if this week’s depth chart listed “Gardner Minshew -or- Trey Tinsley -or- Anthony Gordon”? That would be straight out of the Leach playbook, and it still wouldn’t make a difference in Saturday’s result.

The Cougars will face the Wyoming Cowboys next week, and Wyoming has a game under its belt already. The Pokes defeated the New Mexico State Aggies Saturday night, 29-7, and judging by the statistics, it wasn’t that close. NMSU didn’t score until the 59th minute, and tallied only 135 total yards and seven first downs. Ghastly.

On offense, Wyoming averaged 5.5 yards per carry, and primary back Nico Evans had 190 yards rushing on just 24 carries. They didn’t need to throw much, as quarterback Tyler Vander Waal attempted just 22 passes. The Cowboys also held the ball for a whopping 42:27.

So, does the result mean Wyoming is a really good team? Maybe. Did Wyoming open the season against a really terrible team? That appears likely. Either way, the Cougs have a tall task in front of them next Saturday. They’re playing an opening game, on the road, against a good team from the Mountain West. That hasn’t exactly been Mike Leach’s wheelhouse during his WSU tenure.

Either way, we’re less than a week from real live Cougar Football. Hip hip, hooray!

Football

A self-proclaimed “slow guy,” Kyle Sweet has ascended Washington State’s receiver ranks by perfecting his route running | The Spokesman-Review
“Of our group, he’s one of the slowest guys,” the WSU coach said, “but he’s always one of them that’s the most open.”

Where in the world is Mike Leach? Inside the WSU coach’s multi-country summer vacation | The Seattle Times
The coach describes his preference for "expedition travel, where you learn as much as you can as fast as you can." He's recently done that in Cambodia and Croatia, among other places.

Washington State takes different route in hopes of moving past Tyler Hilinski's suicide - CBSSports.com
Modern recovery after such a tragedy, according to those same professionals, includes buzzwords like "clusters" and "contagion."

Basketball

If you’re an Ernie Kent believer - yes I’m talking to the four of you left - maybe don’t click on this link.

Pac-12 aims to improve upon poor postseason performance in 2018-19
Good luck trying to find a reason Year 5 of the Ernie Kent era in Pullman will be any different than the first four.

This Week in Parenting

Beer

Best beer I had this week: Ventured into a tiny, and I mean t-i-n-y beer store downtown. Luckily, size didn’t matter, as there were several good selections within. Among them was Liquid Confidence, courtesy of To Øl Brewing. Best Chili Stout I’ve had since Green Flash (RIP) put out Dia de Los Serranos. And shoutout to my man Toby, owner of the beer store, for having high standards regarding his inventory, and for giving me a free draft!

Craft Beer Was Built on an Us-Versus-Them Ethos. Now It's Tearing Us Apart. | VinePair
The modern craft beer revolution was founded on an “us against them” mentality, explains Aaron Goldfarb, but that dichotomy is creating a rift in the industry as it grows.

Non-Sports

Where even Walmart won't go: how Dollar General took over rural America | Business | The Guardian
As the chain opens stores at the rate of three a day across the US, often in the heart of ‘food deserts’, some see Dollar General as an admission that a town is failing.