Just a few things to get your Tuesday going.
After the Sunday story in the Times, Paul Wulff came on KJR with Ian Furness and talked about the aftermath. Wulff did his best to explain the different issues he had with the story. Give it a listen. I thought he came out of it fine in how he continually stated that they are moving on and the positive changes are in place and already working. I also like how he stated at the end that this isn’t just a WSU, UW, Oregon or Oregon State issue. It’s about all college kids making mistakes at all programs, and the things that they can do to help correct the issues. It will take some time to “flip this program” but it will happen if Wulff gets the chance.
Interesting read from Cougfan regarding former O’Dea and Cal defensive back Brandon Jones. Jones was regarded as one of the top corners in the northwest in 2005, and he chose Cal over many schools, including UW and WSU, out of high school.
What’s cool though is that he made a strong connection with Wulff while he was back at EWU during the recruiting process. But even though he was regarded by some as one of the fastest players on Cal’s roster for the upcoming year, things didn’t quite work out for him in Berkeley and he has now shown up in Pullman. He’ll sit out 2008, but like fellow Cal transfer James Montgomery, he can play in 2009 and will have two years of eligibility. When you consider that Alfonso Jackson is slated to start at one corner as a senior this year, you can see there will be an opening to start next year.
I can’t help but notice that’s now two players from Cal who have both transferred and will be eligible to play in ’09. This is like getting two impact JC transfers to help immediately next season, a year in which there will be plenty of chances to play for these guys. But the best thing is that both have been in D-1 Pac-10 programs. And unlike your typical JC guy, they won’t need half the season to break into the program. They’ll already be practicing for a full YEAR with the coaches to get ready for ’09. Sounds good to me!
Someone at the Cougfan.com forums found this old article on Timm Rosenbach from the NY Times.
It’s from shortly after Rosey retired from the NFL to pursue other interests, and some of the controversy. The theme that Rosey touched on speaks volumes for what players have to do to get ready to play the game:
But there was more to it than just the bruises of the business. “I thought I was turning into some kind of animal,” Rosenbach said in a recent interview. “You go through a week getting yourself up for a game by hating the other team, the other players. You’re so mean and hateful, you want to kill somebody. Football’s so aggressive. Things get done by force. And then you come home, you’re supposed to turn it off? ‘Oh, here’s your lovin’ daddy.’ It’s not that easy. It was like I was an idiot. I felt programmed. I had become a machine. I became sick of it.”
And this is coming from a QB. Imagine what a linebacker or defensive lineman thinks during a game? Hooty spoke to this on Sunday, about what it actually takes in terms of aggression to get up for the actual games. And sometimes we forget about what happens on the field, the nature of the game itself, how brutal it can be, yet we expect them to grab a halo and angel wings once the game is over?
Finally, the Go-2-Guy caught some crap from UW’ers at the Detlef Golf Tournament. Detlef even yelled “wear it with pride!” when spying Moore wearing his WSU windbreaker. Whatever Det. Moore should have yelled back “play some defense for once!” While everyone loved Det during his Sonics glory days as the third wheel to GP and Shawn, I remember him as the weakest link in the otherwise nasty pressure SOS defense employed by Bob Kloppenberg on George Karl’s staff. Anyway, hat tip to Moore for having the stones to wear the colors to a UW event like that the day after the big story.
ENJOY YOUR TUESDAY!
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