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Morrow's Musings
By Jeff Morrow 509-582-1507	Posted Aug. 7, 2002 SI taps Cougars 7th in nation It's hard to believe football gets going in less than a month. The Seahawks play their first exhibition game Saturday in their new stadium. Almost all the Northwest college teams start play Aug. 31 or there about, and the high schools start practice Aug. 26. For Washington State University, the pre-season honors keep coming in. Last week, the Pac-10 writers picked the Cougars to finish first in the conference for the first time in the 41-year history of the poll. Now comes the news that Sports Illustrated, in its issue coming out later this week, has WSU ranked seventh in the nation. The Cougars report to camp this week to prepare for their season opener Aug. 31 against Nevada at the new Seahawks Stadium. Media day is Friday. Oklahoma is picked to win it all - although we should remember SI picked Oregon State to win it all last year. Colorado, which has Pasco High School grad Tyler Brayton - a senior this year - moving from defensive end to defensive tackle, is picked sixth. The Oregon Ducks are the other notable selection in the Top 10 at No. 9. Other football notes: Athlon Sports magazine projects five Mid-Columbians to start for the University of Idaho - DeSales product Brian Lindgren at quarterback, Richland's Josh Jelmberg at wide receiver, Kennewick's Jason Cobb on the offensive line, Pasco's Brandon Kania on the defensive line and Walla Walla's Nathan Nichols at free safety. ... The Vincent brothers, senior Luke and sophomore Doug, should be starting alongside each other at linebacker at Eastern Washington. I stopped by Edgar Brown Stadium to see the progress on the installation of the new Field Turf and came away mesmerized. It's going to turn Edgar Brown into one of the best stadiums in the state and gives the Tri-Cities two great stadiums with Lampson Stadium. For that matter, Fran Rish Stadium is still pretty good, too. But with the improvements to Edgar Brown, look for more state football playoff games to come to the Tri-Cities in November. Former Kennewick boys basketball coach Tim Swanson has landed at Northwest Nazarene University, where he'll be an assistant coach to Ed Weidenbach. Swanson used to play for Weidenbach, and now he'll be doing a lot of recruiting for the former CBC coach. Swanson just finished two seasons as the head coach of Eastern Nazarene in a suburb of Boston. "The first year we lost in the conference championship," Swanson said. For Swanson, though, the lure of coming back to the Northwest was too much. "Ed gave me a job," he said. "I'm going from a head coach to an assistant, but the level of play is higher here, too. My wife's family is from the Treasure Valley, and my family is in the Tri-Cities. It made too much sense." The passing of former Tri-Citian Al Robinson in June has resulted in about $2,000 in donations sent to the Kennewick National Youth baseball organization. Robinson helped get the field built in the 1950s, and the family had asked for donations in honor of Robinson's memory. "They've come from everywhere," said John Carlin, Kennewick National president. "From all over the country." Carlin said some of that money will be used to repaint the Al Robinson Field sign to be put back up. The United Way's 2002 campaign got off to a rousing start recently with its annual golf tournament in sweltering heat at Canyon Lakes. Duratek Federal Services helped sponsor the event and gave the United Way a $20,000 check. The United Way's campaign continues through the fall. Wenatchee Valley Community College has picked up some Mid-Columbians for its spring sports programs. Grandview's Eric Van Dornen and Moses Lake's Albert Garza - both pitchers - will play for the baseball team. Hanford pitcher/outfielder Michele Perkins and Othello outfielder Heather Hafer will play softball. Eisenhower cross country coach Phil English always seems to put together a powerhouse team every fall. So perhaps it comes as no surprise to see he was just named the National Girls Cross-Country Coach of the year by the National Federation of High Schools.
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