A GRIP ON SPORTS

It can be dangerous to be Italian. No, I'm not making a Mafia reference or anything like that. That would be wrong. It's just that, for some reason, Italians like to talk with their hands. I know, strange. But there I was yesterday, channeling my inner Sicilian, talking with my hands – in a radio studio no less, where no one can see me – and my right one just happens to collide with part of the decorations. My hand got the worst of it. After cleaning up the blood (and no, I am proud to say, I didn't faint), we were able to continue. What is it coaches always say? You have to play through adversity? Just like a couple of our local college basketball teams did last night. Bloodied, sure. Bowed, maybe. But not beaten. Read on.

••••••••••

• I guess it's a sign of getting old (fill in the blank). For me, I realize it not when I bleed profusely because of a scrape (wait, that does make me feel old) but when I watch a college basketball game and one team wins at the buzzer. I used to be all "take that," and "you mama," '70s versions of trash talking. But these days I feel bad for the losing team. More so than I feel good for the winning one. All that effort, all that hope, stolen away in a flash. And it's even worse, as it was last night, when the teams competing have local ties. Take last night in Cheney for instance. Gonzaga's women traveled to Reese Court to take on Eastern. A road trip the male teams in the region wouldn't think of taking. For good reason. The Eagles are tough. And tough to beat at home. Gonzaga, playing its first game without starter Lindsay Sherbert, found that out. GU would take a lead. Eastern would fight back. The Bulldogs would stretch it out again. EWU would pull them in. With 5 minutes or so left, Gonzaga led by 10. With just seconds left, Eastern had a one-point lead and the ball. But Elle Tinkle, who started in Sherbert's spot, fought through an Eastern player and tied up an inbounds pass. The arrow pointed GU's way. The Zags inbounded the ball to Sunny Greinacher, the games' leading scorer with 22 points. The Eagles collapsed on Greinacher and, as she turned away from the pressure, the ball was poked away from the back side. But there was Tinkle, a coach's kid seemingly always in the right spot. The ball found her, she grabbed it and turned over her right shoulder as time ran down. Her shot found nothing but net and Gonzaga had a 61-60 win. After the obligatory – and not-needed – check of the replay, the GU players erupted. The Eagles? Their downcast eyes and slumped shoulders told the story. They had played hard, in truth harder than their opponent. They were the aggressor. They had battled against a bigger foe. They had done just about everything they needed to do to win. Except execute one in-bounds pass. Corral one last loose ball. And keep Elle Tinkle from taking one last shot.

• Speaking of local matchups, the Cougars hosted Idaho in the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi or the Rockies or Lolo Pass or something. But rivalry implies not just geographic closeness but also competition as well. And lately, though the Vandals had been competitive on occasion, they haven't won against WSU much. They took care of that last night, holding the Cougars at arms-length the entire game and winning, 77-71. It sure seems as if it's going to be a long year for Washington State.

•••

• WSU: Jacob Thorpe has switched over to basketball mode – as evidenced by this live chat yesterday – and he has the game story from last night's defeat. He also has a morning post with links. ... Two WSU soccer players were honored yesterday. ... If the Cougars' loss was the worst game the Pac-12 played yesterday, then Utah's overtime win against eighth-ranked Wichita State was the best one. ... Ryan Leaf has been released from prison. ... The Pac-12 South got the better of the North this year. ... ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog has its midweek mailbag.

• Gonzaga: Jim Meehan took one last look at Tuesday's win over Southeastern Louisiana.

• EWU: Tom Clouse was in Cheney last night and has this game story. ... Montana returns to the Inferno on Saturday, but as Jim Allen's notebook explains, this isn't the same Montana team. The Griz have changed since the 36-26 loss about a month ago.

• Idaho: Jacob wasn't alone in Beasley last night, though some pictures of the stands almost made it look otherwise. Sean Kramer was there as well and he has this blog post focusing on the Vandals.

• Chiefs: Spokane traveled across the state but came up short against Everett, 4-2.

• Preps: The fall all-league teams are featured in today's S-R, filling up two full pages, but Greg Lee also has a story on a Mt. Spokane runner picking a college. ... We also can pass along this basketball roundup.

• Seahawks: With the Hawks traveling to Philadelphia this week, there is no shortage of subplots to explore. One of the more interesting is Eagle quarterback Mark Sanchez's relationship with his former college coach Pete Carroll. If you remember, Carroll wasn't happy when Sanchez left USC a year early, saying his quarterback wasn't ready for the NFL. Carroll, it seems, was proved right when Sanchez struggled with the Jets. We'll see if there are really any hard feelings this weekend. ... A lot of people thought Chip Kelly wasn't ready for the NFL either. They were wrong. ... The Eagles will challenge the Seattle offense according to coordinator Darrell Bevell. ... The Hawks seem pretty healthy. ... Richard Sherman, the NFC defensive player of the week, says he's been getting good feedback from his skit last week. Is there an EGOT in his future?

• Mariners: On the day the M's wanted to celebrate signing their third $100-million man, third baseman Kyle Seager, they got in their own way. They also announced a trade, sending popular – and oft-injured – outfielder Michael Saunders to Toronto for left-handed starting pitcher J.A. Happ. The trade probably portends another move for an outfield bat. ... Saunders wanted to say goodbye. ... There isn't any pressure on Seager or anything. ... The M's also made some roster moves yesterday.

• Sounders: Though the Sounders had the best record in the MLS' regular season, they didn't have the league's MVP playing for them. Obafemi Martins finished second in the voting to Los Angeles' Robbie Keane.

•••

• And that's our Thursday. I hope you have a great day. I will. Until later ...

---

---