Robert Franks goes out on top, despite final score

Despite a career high 37 points from Robert Franks, the Washington State Cougars couldn’t overcome yet another inept defensive effort on Saturday as they lost to the Oregon State Beavers, 85-77. While Franks was once again a one-man team, Oregon State got big games from the trio of Tres Tinkle (26 points and 12 rebounds), Stephen Thompson Jr. (26 points) and Ethan Thompson (17 points and 11 assists).

While three Beavers overwhelmed WSU, Cougars freshman C.J. Elleby struggled once again, scoring just six points and turning the ball over five times before fouling out. With Elleby struggling, the onus fell upon the rest of the Cougars to pick up the slack. You’ll be stunned to learn that nobody else was able to do so.

Besides Franks, the only other Cougar to break double digits was Jeff Pollard, who chipped in 13 points in 24 minutes. In the end, it was the same old, same old for the Cougars. They turned the ball over far too much, but they made up for it by surrendering 47 second-half points. On the bright side, WSU’s bench outscored OSU’s bench 30-3. Don’t ever let anyone tell you Ernie Kent’s team lacks depth! MORAL VICTORY!

Now that Ernie Kent has completed the same number of seasons that Ken Bone had at the helm, we can evenly compare their conference records and finishes:

• Ken Bone: 29-61, DFL/6th/T-8th/T-11th/11th - After being handed an absurdly one-sided contract by a (luckily) former AD, Bone took WSU to an NIT Semifinal and was a misplaced iPod away from possibly having an NCAA Tournament team. Also nearly won a lifetime supply of Zebra Pens before Tony Bennett’s recruits all moved on and everything fell apart. Deservedly fired.
• Ernie Kent: 22-68, T-8th/DFL/T-9th/11th/11th - After being handed an absurdly one-sided contract by a (luckily) former AD, Kent continues to steal millions of dollars from WSU. Deserves to be fired.

The only thing that has prevented Ernie Kent from three DFL finishes in the last four seasons is a historically inept Cal Golden Bears team. You’ll recall that the historically inept Golden Bears defeated WSU last week.

WSU Athletic Director Pat Chun appeared on KJR this week, for an extended interview with Ian Furness. When Furness asked whether Chun could make a change, Chun said this:

(Ernie Kent) wants what’s best for Washington State University.

If that’s the case, Ernie Kent will do the right thing and resign, absolving WSU of the rest of the money owed. I’m all but certain that Ernie Kent won’t do the right thing, and will continue to fool only himself when it comes to whether or not WSU Basketball will ever be anything but terrible under his watch.

Basketball

Robert Franks buries eight 3-pointers for career-high 37 points, but Washington State bows to Oregon State on Senior Day | The Spokesman-Review
A vintage scoring effort from Robert Franks, who was marvelous on his Senior Day, scoring 37 points on eight 3-pointers, couldn’t rescue the Cougars from another lackluster Pac-12 performance as the Beavers pulled away late for an 85-77 victory at Beasley Coliseum.

Football

Evaluating Washington State’s NFL Combine participants with draft evaluator Rob Rang | The Spokesman-Review
A trio of Washington State players took on the NFL Scouting Combine’s gantlet of strength tests, agility drills and private interviews last weekend, completing what most might argue is the most vital stage of the pre-NFL Draft process.

This Week in Parenting

The boys and I were in the car Saturday as I began listening to a Gardner Minshew interview. As soon as the host mentioned his name, the boys asked me if I could play “Mississippi Mustache.” When I said I could not, they decided to start singing it themselves. Soon, they arrived at “Wanna beat the Huskies, he’s the man who can.” Then they stopped and the seven year-old blurted out, “BUT DAD HE DIDN’T BEAT THE HUSKIES! WHY NOT?!” I had no answer. I still have no answer. Pretty sure I’ll never have the answer.

Beer

Best beer I had this week: Thanks to the trip home, this week was plentiful on the beer front. I headed back over the Atlantic with selections such as Breakside Barrel-Aged Salted Caramel Stout, Avery Rumpkin, Bellevue Double Red IPA and a couple others. They were all very good-to-great. But the best, by far, was one of my all-time favorites. Ballast Point Victory at Sea will always be the best porter ever made. This is not disputable.

And yes, Craig and Jeff, I did indeed consume the entire thing.

Also, much to my surprise and delight, the base liquor store got a ton of new beers in stock this week. My credit card was not as happy as I was.

Beer bottles went down with the ship. A scuba-diving brewer brought them up and back to life. | Newsday
Saint James Brewery New York in Holbrook is debuting a beer made entirely from yeast inside bottles found in the SS Oregon, which sank in 1886 near Fire Island.

Non-Sports

The True Story Behind an Iconic Vietnam War Photo Was Nearly Erased — Until Now - The New York Times
A celebrated book and a major museum exhibition revealed the harrowing tale behind the image of a wounded Marine. Their version was wrong.