The University of Idaho football team held its final scrimmage with good results.

You can link to my story here.

COUGARS

Paul Wulff didn't mind the 103-degree heat Sunday. He didn't mind the light showers yesterday. He mentioned that a football team has to be prepared in all types of the weather. So if he wants his Cougars to be ready to play in a constant downpour, he's getting his wish today. If WSU had a morning practice scheduled today, it would be in a steady rain, that's for sure.

As for stories about WSU this morning? That's more of a light drizzle. Read on.

Tuesday afternoon’s football practice at Eastern Washington was conducted in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts, and didn’t give much in the way of an insight into what EWU fans might expect in the Eagles’ Aug. 30 season opener at Texas Tech, a team that is expected to be a Big 12 Conference title contender and one of the top 10 teams in the country.

Still, I had a chance to talk to first-year head coach Beau Baldwin and several of his players after the workout and have transcribed some of their comments below.

And Baldwin also told me that freshman recruit Jamar Smith, a highly touted running back out of Berkeley (Calif.) High School is no longer in Eastern’s immediate plans after having been arrested last month on suspicion of burglary and receiving stolen property.

“We’re not going anything with him this year,” Baldwin said of Smith, a 5-foot-11, 180-pounder, who rushed for 1,170 yards and seven touchdowns last fall despite missing three games because of an injury. “He’s a good player, and we thought he was a good person, too, We had him in for a visit and everything seemed fine, but if anything else happens, it’s going to be a next-year deal.”

It was less than three months ago that the Chiefs returned to Spokane as Western Hockey League and Memorial Cup champions.

Seems like it was five minutes ago. And now, it's baaaaaack. Time for training camp. Time for hockey. Below you'll find a story on a little bit of what you can expect as camp begins. I'll be writing about camp throughout the week, so check back.

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Rain drops, and an occasional boom of thunder, interrupted two spirited practice sessions Tuesday. For the unedited versions of my practice summary and the daily story on the defensive backs, read on.

The United States sweeps the medals in the men's 400-meter hurdles. U.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson wins gold in the women's balance beam competition. And wrestler Henry Cejudo takes a victory lap after beating Japan to win gold in the men's 55-kilogram freestyle finals.

Click here to view a slideshow of this and other Olympics action from today.

The Sports Network has released its first Football Championship Subdivision top-25 poll, and Eastern Washington University is ranked 7th, on spot ahead of Big Sky Conference rival Montana.

You can read the story here and check out the complete rankings here.

COUGARS

If Washington State's no-huddle offense can match last night's pyrotechnics on the Palouse, it will be an exciting year in Pullman. The lightning flashed, the thunder roared, the rain bounced on the parking lot. Heck, it seemed a lot like every time I've been in Oklahoma.

Let's move on to the links we have this morning.

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It's after 5, so here's the unedited version of tomorrow's S-R story on the linebackers, the most experienced of the WSU positions. Read on.

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We started looking at the defense this morning, so we have links to our stories, plus one other WSU piece. Then we'll ask a couple of questions and answer them. Read on.

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Paul Wulff wasn't a happy man after Sunday's second practice. There is less than two weeks left until WSU opens with Oklahoma State in Seattle and that looming first test might have something to do with Wulff's mood. He knows WSU has work to do and he feels there is one thing limiting the Cougars preparation. Read on.

COUGARS

There's a quick turnaround today for WSU, what with yesterday afternoon's scrimmage and then a 9 a.m. practice – to be followed by an afternoon one in which the temperature should hit, what, the same number as John F. Kennedy's PT boat (look it up if you have to)?

What there was out there on the scrimmage is available on the link. Read on.

On a night when the conference title was on the line, he scored the first and the last touchdown.

In a season where the second league championship is on the line, Raul Vijil and the Spokane Shock have just one goal left this season.

If the Spokane Shock can do once more what they’ve done 18 times already this season, they’ll be ArenaCup champions. They earned to right to host the arenafootball2 league’s ninth championship game with a 79-49 National Conference championship victory over the upset-minded Amarillo Dusters on Saturday night at the Arena.

More on the game below...

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As I promised earlier, here are some thoughts about today's intrasquad scrimmage at Martin Stadium.

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WSU passed the halfway point of fall camp with their first Martin Stadium scrimmage Saturday. Read on for the unedited version of my story and summary for tomorrow's S-R. After I catch some dinner, I'll add some more thoughts.

Just thought the Western Hockey League fans who have been following the shaky situation of the Spokane Chiefs' U.S. Division rivals - the Portland Winter Hawks - would be interested to know that subject to league approval, the Winter Hawks will be sold.

Gregg Drinnan has the scoop here.

By the way, less than a week and counting until the Chiefs open training camp. Ice sessions begin Thursday and are open to the public. Thursday and Friday's sessions are at the Arena and Saturday's practice will be at Eagles Ice-A-Rena. The annual Red-White scrimmage will be on Sunday back at the Arena.

Also, Chiefs defenseman Jared Cowen, former Chiefs coach Bill Peters and Team Canada struck gold at the men's Under-18 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka tournament following a 6-3 win over Russia on Saturday in Piestany, Slovakia. More on that here.

Jannero Pargo, GU point guard Jeremy Pargo's older brother, has signed with a Russian team, becoming part of a growing trend of ex-NBA players heading overseas. (Former Zag Dan Dickau previously accepted an offer to play with an Italian team).

More on Pargo here.

COUGARS • UPDATED: 1:50 P.M.

The Cougars will scrimmage this afternoon and we'll be there, sunscreen on. I recommend the same if you're coming out to watch. We'll post afterward, but here's links to today's stories.

• UPDATE: Skyline High's Gino Simone, who is visiting the WSU campus with a couple other high school players this weekend, has committed to the Cougars. The receiver, a three-star prospect according to Scout.com, told WSU coaches Saturday. He also thinks WSU could add another commitment or two this weekend. Simone caught 70 passes last season for 1,417 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Five photos show Michael Phelps hair-breadth victory for his Olympic-record-tying seventh gold medal. Pole vaulters propel themselves in track and field competition. And men's and women's U.S. rowers pull themselves to medals. View a slideshow of this Olympics action and more.

Click here to see the slideshow.

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It's time for our afternoon post. It contains the unedited versions of the stories appearing in tomorrow's S-R. By the way, don't forget tomorrow is the first scrimmage of the fall, though it may not be a long one. For more, read through the camp notes.

U.S. gymnast Nastia Liukin wins gold in the women's all-around competition. Michael Phelps takes his sixth gold medal of the games. And the U.S. women's soccer team beats Canada in extra-time play. View a slideshow of this and other action from the Olympics.

Click here to view the slideshow.

Like what you see? Here are slideshows for the other days this week:

Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

COUGARS

Good morning. As we reach the midpoint of fall practice – that will come with Saturday's scrimmage – let's take a little time to figure out where the Cougars stand, at least in the positional makeup. And we'll check out a couple links.

The Spokane Shock have been busy this week making sure they aren't one of those teams that goes home upset by the Amarillo Dusters.

It's already happened to two teams - the second-ranked Tulsa Talons (who were the defending ArenaCup champions) and the No. 3 Bossier-Shreveport Battlewings.

Here's a Shock notebook that ran today and a story from amarillo.com on why the Dusters' coach isn't surprised his team has made it this far. There was also this story on the Dusters on amarillo.com.

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If you're wondering why I didn't post after the first practice this morning, the answer is simple: There just wasn't much to report. A typical mid-August practice long on fundamentals and short on news. The afternoon practice was short, about an hour, and also …

Read on for the unedited versions of my preview story for tomorrow's S-R – covering running backs – and the practice summary. We'll be catching up on the laundry tonight and be back tomorrow morning with our links.

Chinese gymnast Yang Wei wins gold in the men's all-around gymnastics competition. American James Blake upsets Roger Federer, the top-ranked men's tennis player in the world. And Chinese national basketball team and Houston Rockets player Yao Ming goes high for a dunk against Angola.

Click here to view a slideshow of this and other Olympics action.