Happy Friday Cougs, and as always we hope all is well for you and yours as we wrap up the week. Things are pretty chilly around the great NW this morning, as this pic from Martin Stadium shows that the cold-n-snow-n-such has settled in typical January fashion. I don't know about you, but this week was a flippin' BLUR to yours truly. Work is work is work and all that, and that always makes time fly based on the size of the pile that you need to get through. But it was a busy week around the Coug universe too, as well as other "interests" we all seem to have around here. So let's take a look at what's up out there, shall we?
So the Cougs are reportedly moving towards a deal for a new offensive assistant to replace the departed Eric Morris, who headed down the road to Texas Tech. David Yost is the rumor, as the former offensive coordinator from Mizzou has reportedly interviewed with Mike Leach and is rumored to be intrigued by the idea of joining Leach and learning more about the Air Raid style of play.
Of course, we can all first "yuk it up" over the surfer hair style rocked by Yost. Or as one friend texted me when he saw Yost's picture….
I know, I know, REALLY ORIGINAL to poke fun at the hair. But that's just what we do, know what I mean? Anyway, Yost has been a part of some prolific spread offenses at Mizzou, and could be a perfect fit in Pullman. What's interesting is how Yost resigned from Mizzou in December citing personal reasons, and the Columbian article hints at the home responsibilities with his wife and three young kids as the primary reason.
I'm no coach, nor would I pretend to know what the grind those guys do is really all about. I'm just some schlub who helped start a blog back in 2004, and for some reason we are still here in 2013. But as to knowing what it's like to be a college coach or coordinate an offense??
But I can say this – I would imagine being a coordinator of a BCS program is a hell of a grind. We have an old friend of the blog who actually was a D-1 coordinator back in the day and is still a coach out there, somewhere, right now, and there were a lot of stories of 80-hour weeks and watching film until your eyes feel like they are going to bleed, etc. Yes, you get paid well to do that job at a high level, but there is definitely a price to pay.
Anyway, he sounds good to me if he's "all in" for what Leach will expect/demand from his coaches. And here's hoping we get the deal done soon, like, TODAY? I don't know if you've seen it, but recruiting is really heating up all of a sudden! Now that the dead period is winding down, per Cougfan's official visit list there are seven recruits coming to town this weekend to check out Pullman and see what's up out here. And there are at least seven more recruits coming the following weekend as well, so, we're clearly in the home stretch. You would hope that they can get Yost to town and out in front of some of these kids to help finish up this class!
By the way, after a week like this, I'm wiped. Can you remember a more distracting week around the NW than what we just had? Think about it:
Monday we had the post-Seahawks stuff going on from their first road playoff W since 1983. So there was plenty to read about and listen to in the post-Hawks glow from Sunday.
Then you had the LEACH CLEARED headline on Tuesday, as the Pac-12 report finally came in about a month after the internal WSU investigation.
Then you had the Kings-to-become-Sonics rumors on Wednesday, and that was distracting to say the least! Tweets and more tweets from every corner on that story, and it was pretty easy to waste a lot of time there. Of course now you have rumors that the thing may fall apart because the Maloof family wants to sell for $500 million, AND they want a big say in the future direction of the franchise!? Yeesh.
THEN you had the new Pac-12 football schedule released for Thursday! So there was that to roll around and bitch about how the Pac-12 hates WSU, the Seattle game is lame, etc. You know, the usual.
THEN the news came out that the M's were unloading some serious young talent to get Justin Upton from the AZ D-Backs, only to have the player pull the plug by exercising his no-trade clause! So there was that to read about and digest the tweets and such from the massive overreaction. Oh, and if you are holding out hope that Upton will reconsider? Don't get too excited, because it sure sounds as though he is dead set against playing at sea level in Seattle. This really doesn't sound like a negotiating ploy.
It all makes you wonder what's coming next? But this week, wow, it's got to be one of the craziest weeks I can recall as a sports fan who grew up in the NW!
Speaking of a busy week and Twitter and all that – some of you know this about me, but I work at home full time. It's a good setup here in my office, and I can plow through a lot of billable hours on a weekly basis without any problems. But this week? Well, I have to admit it……it's far, far too easy to at times reach for the iPhone and check that Twitter feed or email or text, just one more time. And MAYBE, just maybe I paid a little too much attention to those kinds of things when I should have been focused elsewhere during a meeting this week?
In all seriousness, I did some reading about online addiction and how your brain works with things like e-mail, Facebook and yes, Twitter. It turns out one study found that each time you check your e-mail, Twitter, etc, as you look for new information? Your brain can give you a quick "squirt" of dopamine, almost as a reward for seeking things out. And another study I read said that it can take upwards of 15 minutes to refocus back on work after you take time out to check an e-mail or refresh that Twitter feed! So after this week, yeah, I think I need help!
One word of advice I was given was to have the mobile device out of sight during work hours to eliminate the distraction, or to make sure you only reach for that device during a set break time during the day. I try to get up at least once an hour to get a drink or let the dogs out or use the bathroom or whatever for just a few minutes, so, I think that's what I'm going to do, like, TODAY! But weeks like this make it awfully hard to unplug when you are interested in this kind of "stuff".
All for now. Enjoy your Friday, and of course, GO COUGS!
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