Northwest Notes June 5, 2011

NIC to hold wrestling camps in June and July

North Idaho College will host several wrestling camps in June and July at Christianson Gym for wrestlers of all ages.

The first camp will be offered June 18-22 for high school students. This session will include technique instruction in the morning and two duals in the afternoon and evening. Teams will consist of approximately 15 weight classes and a team champions will be determined following pool competition.

The second camp for high school students will comprise the same instruction and be offered from June 25-29, with the final camp from July 5-8 for kindergarten through eighth graders and female wrestlers.

NIC wrestling coach Pat Whitcomb heads the instructional staff, which includes former Olympians Kevin Jackson, Justin Abdou, Heinrich Barnes, Shaun Williams and Clarissa Chun.

Cost is $330 for high school camps, which includes a T-shirt and room and board. The commuter rate is $230. Cost for the kindergarten through eight grade camp is $275, or $175 for commuters.

Information: 769-7870

Shock bobble heads available Monday

SPOKANE - The second series of Spokane Shock bobble heads will be released on Monday and available exclusively at Divine's Conoco locations.

Wide receiver Markee White and quarterback Kyle Rowley are the latest additions to the Shock series and are $6.99 each with a minimum purchase of eight gallons of gas, or $9.99 without gas.

Both will be available to autograph the bobbles at various Divine's locations. They will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. on June 8 (White), June 30 (Rowley), July 8 (White) and July 15 (Rowley). Exact locations will be released the morning of each on the Shock Facebook page.

Spokane returns to action on Friday at home against the Philadelphia Soul.

Skateboard competition set for Rathdrum Skate Park

RATHDRUM - The Rathdrum Parks and Recreation Department will hold a skateboard competition on June 18 at the Rathdrum Skate Park on Main Street.

Practice starts at 10 a.m., with the competition at 11.

The competition is open to kids age 5 and older and has three different divisions for the competition. The first (beginner) is open to skaters under 12 and haven't skated for more than one year. The second (intermediate), the skater must have more than one year of experience and cannot be sponsored. The last division (expert), skaters must be a pro or sponsored.

Skaters at intermediate and expert can be any age.

All competitors must wear helmets.

Registration is $10.

Information: Lance at 687-2399

Dickau ends charity events after seven years

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Former NBA player and Gonzaga star Dan Dickau has decided to step away from the summer charity events he has been hosting in Spokane since 2004.

This includes discontinuing the Northern Quest Celebrity Poker event that was slated for this August. With the growth of the Dan Dickau Basketball Academy and his dedication to his family, Dan felt it was best for the events to come to a close.

"Over the past six years it has been exciting and rewarding to give back to the Spokane community after they supported me through my Gonzaga and professional playing career," Dickau said. "I look forward to continuing other ventures in Spokane in the near future."

He started fundraising with the Dan Dickau Charity Classic, one of only 10 NBA sanctioned games in the nation in 2004. Over the next three years, Dan brought NBA players Jason Terry, Kyle Korver, Brian Scalabrine, Luke Ridnour, Rodney Stuckey and Luke Jackson to play alongside Gonzaga greats Adam Morrison, Casey Calvary, Matt Santangelo, Blake Stepp and Richie Frahm, plus dozens more.

The event morphed into the Northern Quest Celebrity Poker Event in 2005 that ran for five years with the help of World Series of Poker player Erick Lindgren and Gavin Smith.

Over the past three years, the $10,000 cash prize event continued once the basketball game ceased. Last year, players included two-time Super Bowl champion Clayton Holmes from the Dallas Cowboys, alongside former Seahawks Alonzo Mitz and Nesby Glasgow.

In the past six years, Dickau raised over $300,000 for Spokane charities that included the American Diabetes Association, Catholic Charities, MOBIUS Children's Museum, Coaches vs. Cancer, Spokane Hoopfest and Spokane Youth Sports Association.

Robertson to return to Indians booth for select games

SPOKANE - Legendary broadcaster Bob Robertson will return to the broadcast booth as a guest announcer for 20 Spokane Indians games throughout the season.

Robertson retired as the full-time announcer of the Indians at the end of the 2010 season, but will join new announcer Mike Boyle to call road games against the Vancouver Canadians, Everett Aquasox, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes and Eugene Emeralds.

Robertson will return to Pullman in the fall to call his 45th season of Washington State Cougars football. He was inducted into the WSU Hall of Fame in 2001 and is a 15-time Washington Broadcaster of the Year award recipient.

The Spokane Indians will honor Robertson in a pregame ceremony opening night on June 17 against Salem-Keizer at Avista Stadium.

Fans can listen to all 76 Indians radio broadcasts on KGA 1510 or online at www.spokaneindians.com.

Winston Jr. to transfer from WSU basketball program

PULLMAN - Rising sophomore Andre 'Dre' Winston, Jr. has been granted his release from the Washington State men's basketball team and will transfer, coach Ken Bone announced.

"Dre is a great young man and we appreciate the contributions he made to the team this past year," Bone said. "We wish him the best in his basketball career and will help him in any way we can."

Winston Jr. saw action in 26 games for the Cougars this season as a freshman. A native of Lakewood, Wash., he averaged 0.6 points and 0.5 rebounds in 6.2 minutes per game. He had a career-high four points in 21 minutes against Sacramento State Nov. 30, going 2-for-3 from the field.

Former coach Buck returns to Madison

REXBURG - 4A Madison High chose a familiar face in its search for a new football coach - Mitch Buck.

A search committee named Buck the candidate for its open football coaching job this week - pending school board approval - three years after Buck left the school for Bonneville High in Idaho Falls.

"His experience, his winning record spoke for itself," Madison athletic director Travis Schwab said. "What he's done for Madison High School while he was here - two state championships, two runner-ups, district titles. He was the last guy that got us to the playoffs, and we feel he can get us back there again."

Schwab said the opportunity to bring back Buck, who had only one losing season in 15 years and won more than 100 games at Madison, was too much to pass up for a school that hasn't made the playoffs since 2005.

"He knows the kids and what style of play it takes for Madison to be successful," Schwab said. "He's been there, done that. We wanted someone with proven track success."

Buck's return to Madison, where he coached for 15 years previously, closes a hectic circle that started when Buck left the program for Bonneville after the 2007 season.

First, Dale Anderson coached two years at the school, compiling a 7-11 record before the school fired him. Madison then hired Eric Eyre from Ogden, Utah. But Eyre bolted for a graduate assistant job at Weber State two months after taking the job. And finally, former Eagle High player Sherm Blaser coached the 2010 season, going 1-7 before resigning this spring due to family reasons.

Meanwhile, Buck spent the past three years at Bonneville. He led the Bees to a 9-15 record, but he missed the playoffs all three years and was fired this winter.

Buck said he couldn't believe the Madison job opened again, and he jumped at the chance to return.