Northwest Notes Jan. 11, 2013

Vandal kicker Farquhar

invited to all-star game

Trey Farquhar, Idaho's record-setting kicker, has been invited to play in the Texas vs. the Nation All-Star game. The game is Feb. 2 at Eagle Stadium at Allen, Texas.

During his Vandal career, Farquhar set career records for field goal percentage (71.4), field goal attempts (84), field goals made (60) and field goals of 50 or more yards (11). Included in his 50 yard-plus kicks were two of 55 yards, one of 54, two of 53, three of 52, one of 51 and two of 50.

Additionally, he wound up second on the conversions attempted (135) and made (132) lists. He also is Idaho's single-season record-holder for field goals made (19 in 2011).

Farquhar was a two-time Lou Groza Award Watch List honoree and was a semifinalist for the award in 2012.

Cougars announce

2013 football schedule

PULLMAN - The Pac-12 Conference has released its 2013 schedule and Washington State will host four conference games, highlighted by a meeting with Stanford in Seattle and a Dad's Weekend contest against Oregon State.

The Apple Cup game with Washington is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 29, the day after Thanksgiving.

The Cougars open their 2013 schedule at Auburn (Aug. 31), the second time since the 2006 season WSU has opened at Auburn. The following week Pac-12 play begins as WSU travels to USC (Sept. 7). The Cougars have not faced the Trojans since the 2010 season.

The home schedule begins Sept. 14 with a nonconference game against Southern Utah, the first of three straight home contests for the Cougars. Sept. 21 marks the return of Idaho to Martin Stadium for the first time since the 2007 season. The Idaho game will be WSU's homecoming game.

The first Pac-12 home contest will be The Seattle Game against Stanford (Sept. 28), at CenturyLink Field.

Following the game at Cal (Oct. 5),WSU hosts Oregon State (Oct. 12), which will highlight the annual Dad's Weekend on the Pullman campus. The Cougars then travel to Eugene for a Pac-12 North meeting against the Oregon Ducks (Oct. 19).

The Cougars will sandwich their two bye weeks around a Halloween night matchup against Arizona State in Martin Stadium (Thursday, Oct. 31).

Following their second bye WSU travels to Tucson to face Arizona (Nov. 16) before closing out the 2013 home schedule by hosting Utah (Nov. 23).

The complete 2013 football schedule for Washington State follows (home games in CAPS):

AUGUST

31 - at Auburn

SEPTEMBER

7 - at USC. 14 - SOUTHERN UTAH. 21 - IDAHO. 28 - STANFORD (at Seattle.

OCTOBER

5 - at California. 12 - OREGON STATE. 19 - at Oregon. 31 - ARIZONA STATE.

NOVEMBER

16 - at Arizona. 23 - UTAH. 19 - at Washington.

Author of M's book

to sign at Hastings

Brutally honest, he says.

There's more to come from Jon Wells in his new book, "SHIPWRECKED: A Peoples' History of the Seattle Mariners."

Wells will be at Hastings, 101 East Best Ave., Coeur d'Alene, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

The book was recently published by Epicenter Press. He will read from Shipwrecked, and take questions from baseball fans and sign copies of the book.

Overall, he believes money is at the center of the Mariners' woes.

"Prioritizing profits over pennants - mix in top-level management's breathtaking arrogance and baseball ignorance - add in some bad breaks, and the result is an owner-imposed ceiling on the team's success," says Wells.

"Since the M's record-setting season at the turn of the century, optimistic fans have continued to buy tickets and pricey souvenirs, but the team's owners have repeatedly chosen to pocket the money instead of investing more on players."

In Shipwrecked, Wells describes the shortsightedness and stubbornness that upper-level executives have consistently repeated, even when the results have failed both their fans and the team's own bottom line.

Despite that, Wells has optimism for the team's future.

He'll talk about why the Mariners have it better than many other major league teams and why there is still hope for the M's and their fans.

Chiefs trade Valcourt,

acquire Bertaggia

The Spokane Chiefs have traded 19-year-old forward Collin Valcourt to the Saskatoon Blades in exchange for a first-round selection in 2015 and a fifth-round selection in the 2013 WHL Bantam Drafts.

Valcourt played 163 games in Spokane, scoring 37 goals and 78 points. In 39 games this season he has scored 13 goals and 23 points.

"We looked at our numbers and had a surplus of forwards and 19-year-olds. Our younger players have earned the chance to take a bigger role on this team," Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz said.

Eighteen-year-old Adam Smith, who was added to the Chiefs roster on a tryout basis at the beginning of the week, will remain with the organization for the rest of the season.

The Spokane Chiefs also reassigned two players, defenseman Adam Power to the Spokane Braves of the KIJHL and forward Tyson Predinchuk to the Melville Millionaires of the SJHL.

Power, a 17-year-old from Post Falls, played eight games for the Chiefs. He has recently returned after missing five weeks due to an upper body injury.

Predinchuk, also 17, appeared in 25 games and registered five points in his first season in Spokane.

Earlier Thursday, the Chiefs acquired 19-year-old forward Alessio Bertaggia from the Brandon Wheat Kings in exchange for 19-year-old forward Marek Kalus, prospect Rhett Gardner, a third round pick in 2013 and a fifth round pick in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft.

Bertaggia was the leading scorer with the Brandon Wheat Kings this season with 16 goals, 18 assists and 34 points in 30 games. He has played for Switzerland in the last two World Junior Hockey Championships totaling 12 games and six points. In 94 career games in Brandon, Bertaggia has 40 goals and 84 points. He was Brandon's first-round selection, 33rd overall, in the 2011 CHL Import Draft.

As a Chief, Kalus recorded a career-high 20 goals and 42 points in 68 games last season. Due to injury, he has been limited to just 11 games this season. He had played 101 career games in Spokane and another 12 in the playoffs.

Gardner was Spokane's second-round selection in the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft.

"Obviously with the WHL rules limiting each team to two import players, if you acquire one you have to lose one and that is the case with Marek," Speltz said.