Wildfires force Cougars to move fall practice back to Pullman

Fall camp gets monotonous -- and quickly. It's the same thing day after day after day, and coaches will often try to break up the grind of camp by finding an activity to break the routine. WSU's coaching staff didn't have to come up with anything on Monday, as the weather did it for them.

Smoke from wildfires created poor air quality in Lewiston, so instead of cancelling practice, WSU bused everyone back up to Pullman to practice in the bubble. Not only was the schedule and routine thrown off, but one of the buses broke down on the way. For a day of fall camp, that's about as eventful as it gets.

Andy will have much more on the sudden change including quotes from Mike Leach a little later this morning. His report from practice also includes some details of what happened when the players finally arrived inside the bubble. Position battles continue to be the main focus with two of them possibly gaining some clarity.

Football:

Pac-12 rivalry heat meter - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
Have you stopped and pondered just how fun this one might get if Petersen and Mike Leach get their programs' performances to match their respective coaching reputations? For one, in terms of the media, it could be a Don James-Jim Walden deal where Petersen is a "2,000-word underdog" to the loquacious Leach. As it is at present, the Cougars really, really hate the entitled Huskies but the Huskies reserve their most bitter disdain for Oregon.

Washington State depending on offense
Washington State rode the arm of quarterback Connor Halliday to its first bowl game in a decade last year, and Cougar fans can expect more of the same this season.

Washington State coach Mike Leach learned a lot in one hot year at College of the Desert - Press Enterprise
Washington State coach Mike Leach didn’t stay in Palm Desert very long.

Weather chases Cougars to Pullman - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - Aug. 11, 2014
We received word near Uniontown (which had basically no Civil War presence) that wildfires near Washington State's fall camp home of Lewiston, Idaho were causing an air quality problem and practice was delayed.

Washington State forced to move camp back to Pullman after fire south of Lewiston, Idaho | Cougar Football | The Seattle Times
It probably wasn’t a lot of consolation to the Washington State football team that their fall-camp inconvenience Monday was caused by the Big Cougar Fire south of Lewiston, Idaho.

WSU's Brown new leader of the backs - Spokesman.com - Aug. 11, 2014

Sometime during the night before last year’s New Mexico Bowl, before the Arizona Cardinals made Deone Bucannon a first-round NFL draft pick, the Washington State safety planned his succession.

Baseball:

Nick Tanielu Named to All-Star Team - Washington State University Official Athletic Site

Former Washington State infielder Nick Tanielu has been named to the 2014 New York-Penn League All-Star Game.

Volleyball:

Volleyball 2014 Preparation Well Underway - Washington State University Official Athletic Site

Fourth-year Washington State volleyball Head Coach Jen Greeny welcomed 16 Cougars to the Bohler Gym court Aug. 9, for the first of two weeks of practice sessions.

Soccer:

Nicole Setterlund Named Preseason All-American - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Washington State senior midfielder Nicole Setterlund has been named a soccer preseason All-American by College Sports Madness.