CRAWFACTS, EDITION 11

Well it is almost Labor Day, actually will we be celebrating Labor Day in years to come, since by real stats, 45 percent of America's labor force does not have full time jobs, seems like the holiday has run its course to myself, but for those who do have a job, enjoy the day off if you have it off.

Crawfacts, is news, notes and whatever else you wish to call it, go right ahead.

WCC---In the West Coast Conference, as I have pointed out has the best group of mens basketball coaches for a league its size in the country, just remember you heard it here first, we might have another good one joining the group. Marty Wilson the new coach at Pepperdine, in my opinion given a little time, might have an impact on the league. The basketball people I know, who understand the college game tell me Wilsonis really good and can get the job done at Pepperdine, which it has been a long time for success on the gorgeous campus. I have had some brief communication with Coach Wilson in the past couple of days, so I really am hoping for a good year for him and I am impressed.

Reveno---Sticking in the WCC, as I have mentioned before, Eric Reveno is a gem of a coach at U of Portland. He is so good that I recently asked a top NBA executive to give me five coaches he liked as people to watch in the coaching ranks, both college and NBA, Reveno was in the top five. Now true that is just one person's opinion, but I am sure it is shared by many other people that know the game. I truly admire the great job he had done with the Pilots to turn a stale program into a winner, the big issue like all rising coaching stars is that U. of Portland will never be able to keep him around long enough to win the WCC championship. Too many quality programs will come calling when they see the job he has done at a school that had fallen deep into woods and didn't appear to have a way out, until Reveno arrive. He is one of the best in the business right now.

Oregon State---The Beavers just picked up recently another top flight recruit in Jarmal Reid. Reid is a versatile player, out of Georgia, who will be able to help the Beavers greatly when he arrives in the 2012-13 season. It is obvious, Craig Robinson can recruit, now that has to translate becoming a good bench coach, something I have yet to see out of him. Full disclosure, I kind of grew up as far back as the 50s, yes in the 50s, liking Oregon State basketball, so it has been so sad to see how far it has fallen. As a matter of fact, not the case anymore, but at one time the Beavers had more wins than any team in college basketball, west of the Mississippi. So sad they have not been to the NCAA tournament since 1990, you talk about a program that has fallen on hard times, as well as attendance is at an all time low.

I actually do root for any teams, but at least I can pull for the Beavers to rebound. It is time for the all the talk that comes out of Corvallis to end and action on the floor needs to take place. Do I dare say, "Go Beavs".

Interesting---Good question to think about on holiday weekend. Of the basketball players, not that you know, but you can actually call friends, what is your all-time starting five of those friends. I would really be interested in you sending me your all time friends basketball team, I will even do a column on that subject. Remember, not players you see or know of, these have to be actual friends of yours, send me the top five. which will be tough decisions for many.

Twitter---Have to admit, I resisted for long time to set up a twitter account. Now I can't do without it, great tool for communication and for people who want to improve their life and improve their business dealings it is a must. It took me way too long to come around, I am really kicking myself why it took me so long and why I was so stubborn. Shame on me. By the way, follow me @wchoops.

Golf----Getting a little tired of all the jerks who are attacking Jack Nicklaus for his ideas about how to grow the game, which has sadly lost so many players due to the economy in the past few years. Nicklaus has suggested and is promoting, golf courses that have 12 holes and making the hole much bigger that it is at present, so people will make more putts. I love any ideas to grow the game and get people interested in golf. It is a tremendous game, you can play it until your 100 and please tell me, is there another sport in the world (I am sure there might be), where you call penalties on yourself? Yau, sure, I can just see the mouthy Coach K, calling a technical foul on himself. You bet.

So Jack, you still are the greatest player ever in the game and my hat is off to you for thinking outside the box, creating a buzz and hopefully more players. But in fairness, it was my good friend Gordon Kiyokawa, who first told me there should be 7 hole golf courses available to people, so Jack, even though you were late to the party, the party is still rolling.

Lastly---Please on this holiday weekend, do not forget all the people on the east coast who are still suffering from hurricane damage, the state of Lousiana, which is soaked, the state of Texas that is baked and the heros who are fighting the wildland fires on the west coast. Many people are suffering, please, please never forget these people. While many other countries are now hiding under rocks, Americans always will and always have reached out to help our fellow Americans in a time of great hardship. Thank you for reading, greatly appreciated.

Do not forget to check out http://parsingthewac.blogspot.com and www.bigskybball.com

email me your best friend five please at crawscorner@gmail.com, follow on twitter @wchoops