INW Sports

Hall of Fame

Even before she was Spokane's first basketball player to reach the WNBA, she had established herself as one of the city's most accomplished athletes. At Mead High School, she led the Panthers to the 1996 State AAA basketball title and repeated as the state's Player of the Year in the process. Three times All-Greater Spokane League in basketball, she doubled up as the league's player of the year -- twice -- in both that sport (Mead was 78-9 during her three years) and soccer, scoring 60 career goals in the latter. As a collegian, she was three times All-Big West Conference and helped UC Santa Barbara win four Big West tournaments (the last as MVP) and NCAA berths. Selected in the second round of the 2000 WNBA draft by Sacramento, she played two seasons with the Monarchs and the Detroit Shock and later turned to coaching, joining the Gonzaga University staff in 2014.

In his second basketball game at Washington State, the sturdy 6-foot-4 guard erupted for 33 points against Michigan State in the San Juan Shootout -- a portent of a lot of fireworks to come. By the time he left Pullman, he was the all-time men's scoring leader with 2,003 points and also remains the school's career leader in 3-point shooting (45.7 percent). In fact, each of his individual seasons, from 1994-97, rank among the school's top 10 in long-distance shooting. That marksmanship helped the Sacramento sharpshooter earn All-Pac-10 honors during each of his four years, making the first team as a junior and senior. A charismatic figure with an entertaining style, he's one of just eight Cougars to play in three postseason tournaments, and had 17 points as a freshman in an NCAA loss to Boston College. In his final year, he was a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award and WSU's Pac-10 medal winner.

It's difficult to find someone whose excellence has stretched to so many facets of Inland Northwest athletics. As a high school star at Davenport, she led the Gorillas to two state basketball titles and finished as the state's all-time scoring leader, girls or boys, with 2,881 points, a record that stood for 25 years. There was also a state volleyball championship, and three individual crowns as a high jumper -- honors that led to her induction in the WIAA Hall of Fame in 2023. Moving to Washington State on a volleyball scholarship, she was an All-Pac-10 selection and played on three NCAA tournament teams, becoming a part of both of WSU's Elite Eight teams as a player and an assistant coach. Since then, she's rocketed to success as a head coach at Pullman High School (84-12, 2005 state title), Lewis-Clark State (112-24, four NAIA tournament appearances) and WSU (235-175, 8 NCAA trips) before tackling a new challenge at West Virginia.

In 26 years in the National Hockey League, the Gonzaga Prep graduate established himself as arguably the best U.S. referee in history. That career track began after playing for Spokane Braves, when he made the natural progression into officiating, working in the Kootenay International League, Western Hockey League and the pro AHL and IHL before moving to the NHL in 1990-91 when there were only 11 referees in the league. He had his first Stanley Cup final in 2009, making him only the second American referee (after Hockey Hall of Famer Bill Chadwick) so honored. He also drew assignments to the 2012 NHL Winter Classic and the 2003 NHL All-Star Game. He is one of only two NHL referees to be selected to work four Olympics, and did the gold medal game in Vancouver in 2010. In all, he worked 1,222 NHL games, retiring in 2016 at No. 8 on the all-time list and tops among American-born officials.

A steady, welcoming presence at the anchor desk -- and on the radio -- he ushered in a new era in Spokane sports television upon joining KXLY in 1982. In 13 years as the station's sports director, he won an Emmy and later was twice named state sportscaster of the year (in 1994 and 2008) by the National Sports Media Association, and is a charter member of the Washington State Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. With cohorts Dennis Patchin and Rick Lukens, he launched the soon-imitated Friday Night Sports Extra prep football show featuring video highlights from as many as 20 games, with reporters on the road to towns in a 100-mile radius. The radio voice of Washington State basketball and on the football broadcast team for 22 years, he innovated the popular pre-game Cougar Road Show on football game days. Now handling Whitworth play-by-play, he remains active in many community causes including the Rosauers Open fundraiser for the Vanessa Behan and The Fitz basketball tournament.