THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Not always easy to look on the bright side at WSU

There’s no other answer.

I’m convinced that every athletic employee contract and sports scholarship agreement at Washington State contains some fine print at the bottom.

It says…

Must believe glass is half full.

Pessimists need not apply on the Palouse, which makes Nick Rolovich the perfect hire as football coach.

Same thing for AD Pat Chun, the man who lured Rolo here from Hawaii.

If you want evidence that you can’t be a moaner and work in Pullman, consider the past week.

Right off the bat, basketball coach Kyle Smith – who’s sitting on an exciting young team in just his second year at WSU – tests positive for COVID-19.

Bang.

Smith will miss the Cougars opener Wednesday night against Texas Southern, and likely the bout with Eastern Washington on Saturday.

And on Sunday, it was announced the Apple Cup wasn't going to happen this year — at least this weekend.

How’s that for the perfect start?

But hey, glass half full and all that…

At least no one else in the hoops program has tested positive.

Yet.

MEANWHILE, Rolovich started the week with the challenge of lifting up his troops after a dispiriting loss to No. 11 Oregon — a game Wazzu could have won.

By midweek, Rolo was convinced that everyone was fired up again, and ready to go tackle Stanford on the road.

He was confident enough to get on a Zoom call with the media and mention how good he felt about preparation for the Cardinal game.

Except, then…

Freshman quarterback Jayden de Laura, who’s been so impressive in the Cougs’ first two games, tested positive for the virus.

Against Oregon State and Oregon, de Laura hit 43 of 72 passes for 548 yards, while rushing for 54 yards on 16 carries.

Even more than that, though, Rolovich and everyone in the program was impressed with de Laura’s poise, as the young man from Honolulu was simply taking charge of the offense.

So, buckle up, and watch backup Gunner Cruz taking his first college snaps at Stanford.

Except, then…

Suddenly, there were more positive COVID tests — despite the fact that WSU had seen just a few in months among the football and men’s and women’s basketball programs.

And so…

By Friday, the Cougs couldn’t meet the Pac-12 minimum of 53 available scholarship players, and the game at Stanford had to called off.

FIGHTING fires is nothing new for Chun, who actually had his bag in the car for the flight to the Bay Area when he learned that the game had been scratched.

We’ve mentioned before that Chun is up against brutal budget issues at Washington State.

He probably had mixed feelings when the Pac-12 — far later than any other Power Five conference — decided to play an abbreviated fall football schedule.

No doubt Chun worried about putting his athletes at risk, but at the same time, Wazzu needs that conference TV money.

Desperately, in fact.

AT LEAST over on the basketball side, Smith’s young warriors SHOULD be able to open their season on Wednesday evening.

But this is Pullman in the age of COVID-19, so it’s never quite a lock.

Remember, though…

Optimism is mandatory at Washington State.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “Moments, Memories and Madness,” his reminiscences from several decades as a sports journalist, runs each Sunday.

Steve also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball, which is published every Tuesday.