King For A Day, Plump For A Lifetime...

I guess people forgot about this great annual event...



Morning practice concluded with a punt-catching competition between linemen. Holmgren picked five offensive linemen and five defensive linemen. Whichever side fielded the most punts successfully won an extra hour of curfew, pushing it back to about midnight.

The defense led 2-1 after Marcus Tubbs and Rashad Moore successfully fielded kicks. Grant Wistrom missed a chance to clinch it, but on the final attempt for the offensive linemen, Holmgren changed the rules: If this kick was caught, everyone got the extra hour.

That put the pressure on Andy King, a fourth-year offensive lineman, who made a diving catch. King got up, celebrating as if he had scored a touchdown.

Nightlife in Cheney is pretty close to being an oxymoron. So what's an extra hour of curfew?

"A lot of them go into Spokane, get a bite to eat and go to a movie," Holmgren said. "That is their big deal. Believe it or not, I try to coincide the schedule with the movie schedule."

It's worth noting the most entertaining punt-fielding effort was by Chuck Darby, whose attempt produced more laughs than results. The punter didn't help as the kick was short, and Darby looked as graceful as an elephant on ice skates running to get under the ball. He tried to dive, but it ended up more like a stumble. He never did touch leather.