One of these years, it will be corrected
A GRIP ON SPORTS
It's time. It's past time, actually. Read on.
• The Pac-12 has a problem. A credibility problem. A late-night credibility problem. It reared its Shrek-sized head again in the final hours of Saturday and people all over the country, the ones that were still awake anyway, just shook theirs and said, basically, "it's the Pac-12, what do you expect?" And that's the problem. A game between No. 2-ranked Oregon and upset-driven Washington State was coming down to the final minutes. It should have been a celebration of the balance of the nation's second-best conference. A game West Coast football supporters could point to as typical of the competition in the Pac-12. Instead they have to point to an area of turf where a flag should have been, but wasn't. Again. This isn't about who won or loss. It's about credibility. And Pac-12 officiating still doesn't have any. That's sad. If you are wondering what I'm referring to, you didn't see the end of the game last night. Maybe it was past your bedtime or you were wrapping up a "Roosevelts" binge. So let me set the scene for you. WSU had given the playoff-bound – maybe – Ducks all they could handle for more than 54 minutes. But Marcus Mariota (pictured), the best player in the nation, had just led Oregon on a 79-yard scoring drive that had given them a 38-31 lead. No problem. Connor Halliday, the most prolific passing quarterback in the nation, brought WSU back down the field, teaming with Vince Mayle for a 34-yard pass-and-run that was a textbook Air Raid offensive play. That put the ball at the Oregon 35 with plenty of time left. Then two plays went backward and the Cougars faced a crucial third-and-13. Again, no problem. Given time by an offensive line that came of age last night, Halliday lofted an on-target pass to Isiah Myers beyond the first-down marker. Except Myers didn't catch it. He couldn't. He was wrapped up by Dior Mathis while the ball was about two yards from them. OK, it wasn't all that obvious. Except it was. Really. The 15-yard pass interference penalty would have put the ball on the Oregon 23 and the Cougars would have had almost 4 minutes to punch in the tying score. Would they have done it? Who cares? OK, about every Cougar fan in the world, sure. But that's not the point. This isn't about winning or losing. It's about what the play represents. Commissioner Larry Scott has made it his mission to improve conference officiating, throwing everything but his own flag at the problem. He's directed his minions to hire new officials, offer more training, build alliances with other conferences. And the officiating has improved. Incrementally. But the conference's reputation in this area has been so poor for so long, incremental improvement isn't cutting it. Instead of talking about Washington State's seven sacks or Mariota's power-filled scrambles or River Cracraft's eight catches, college fans all over the country this week will be wondering if the Pac-12 was trying to protect Oregon's place among the nation's unbeatens. It's possible spot in the first Final Four. The call was that egregious. But those of us who have been watching Pac-12 football since it was Pac-8 football know that isn't the case. There isn't any conspiracy. But there isn't any credibility, either. And that's unacceptable.
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• WSU: Jacob Thorpe went up against a nearly unbeatable foe last night – deadline, which hasn't lost since a 1-0 defeat to Gutenberg Tech – and came away with a tie. He has the game story, a couple of keys to the game, statistics and scoring. And that's just what he had in the newspaper today. He also has some items on this blog, including post-game video from Xavier Cooper, Halliday and Mike Leach. That's not all, however. He posted some thoughts early this morning and also had his usual morning post with links. ... John Blanchette battled deadline as well and produced this column about another Cougar close call (cue Glenn Johnson voice) while Jim Meehan put together this notebook. ... Tyler Tjomsland put more photos here than is typical contained in a wedding album – and these are much more exciting. ... The Register-Guard has a game story and couple of interesting stories as its journalists rightfully saw the outcome of the game as more of a Duck problem. ... ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog does what it does on Sunday mornings, telling us what we learned from the weekend and handing out helmet stickers. ... Bud Withers has his late-night thoughts on the game.
• Gonzaga: It was a decent day for the Zag cross country teams.
• EWU: When is a typical old-school Big Sky game not a Big Sky game? When it's a 52-51 Eastern victory in Bozeman on Vernon Adams' two-point conversion with seconds left. That was yesterday, of course, and Jim Allen was at Montana State for the non-conference (don't ask) shootout. He has a game story and a notebook and we can also link you up with the box score, which is taller than Pearce Hall.
• Idaho: The Vandals fell to 0-3 with a 36-24 loss at Ohio. John put up a summary on the blog after watching the Cougars and Ducks.
• Whitworth: I thought about heading down the freeway yesterday and taking in part of the Pirates' game with LaVerne but I'm glad I didn't. I like defense. Just kidding. But I wouldn't have seen much of that if I had gone, as there were 1,323 yards of total offense in the Pirates' record-setting 50-48 victory. ... Times columnist Bill Plaschke did attend, looking for a college football game from back in the day. He found a season's worth of yardage for a team in the 1950s.
• Chiefs: That's the way to open the Western Hockey League season, with a workmanlike 4-2 victory over Tri-City. Chris Derrick was in Kennewick and has this game story and blog post.
• Preps: We can offer this roundup of the prep action Saturday, dominated by cross country meets.
• Seahawks: If you have been waiting for a Super Bowl rematch, you really aren't getting one today. Though it's been less than nine months since that game, these teams, especially the Broncos, aren't the same. ... But it is what we have and the Hawks are looking forward to it after the San Diego debacle. ... Call Russell Wilson a game manager if you must, as long as you also call him a winner. ... Who's going to win today? ... What should you watch today?
• Mariners: Another blown opportunity in a season of them. That's one way you could look at yesterday's 10-1 loss to the Astros. (Or you could see it as just more evidence Chris Young needs to only pitch in Safeco.) After all, Oakland lost, Kansas City lost and, if they had won, the M's would have been atop the wild card standings. But they are still in the hunt, so don't jump ship yet. ... Dustin Ackley likes Houston's ball park. ... Ryan Divish and John McGrath like the Angels.
• Sounders: So the Sounders tried to see if its B team could defeat New York yesterday. It couldn't, as Seattle fell to the Red Bulls 4-1. After a week of intense play, Sigi Schmid gave his best players much of the day off and it cost the Sounders in this MLS game. ... The Red Bulls were not unhappy to win, of course, and the Sounders knew what was their biggest problem.
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• OK, I couldn't sleep. I woke up around 6 and decided to start working. I know, I warned you this would be late. But it isn't. I'm done now and going back to bed. I'll get up in time to continue my reunion weekend activities, this time meeting my high school journalism teacher for lunch. Yes, all the grammar and spelling mistakes are his fault. The sarcasm and cynical attitude? That you can blame on the Irish priests. Until later ...
