TIGERS, 78-77Gonzaga did everything it could to help its NCAA hopes Saturday - except win.The Bulldogs battled eight-ranked Memphis to the wire and beyond. They rallied from a 13-point deficit to tie the game and earn a chance to win at the end of regulation.They…
Folks, I'm sorry there are no posts this morning, but I'm on the way back to the hospital to be with my son, who was in an accident yesterday and spent the night at Sacred Heart.He should be OK, but there isn't much time for…
MARINERS, BASEBALLAfter being outside for a while, I have to write something about baseball. Anything. The weather is too nice not to at least think about it.And I'm sure the weather is even better in Arizona, and a lot warmer.Just ask Mike Hargrove.The M's veteran…
PREPSWent to watch the first half of the University vs. Mead girls game last night and intended to head to the second half of the District 8 boys' game, but never left Central Valley.The game was that good, even though Mead was playing without 6-foot-5…
PRO FOOTBALLI just downloaded an Excel file from Mike Sando's Seahawks' blog that contains the names of all the NFL draft combine invitees.My first search covered the word Washington, and four Cougar names came up: defensive backs Tyron Brackenridge and Eric Frampton; defensive end Mkristo…
PREPSI have a little time this evening, so Kim and I were trying to decide which of the District 8 5:45 p.m. basketball playoff games to see.Should we go to the Shadle Park vs. Mead boys game at U-Hi or the Mead vs. U-Hi girls…
EAGLESEastern takes a break from Big Sky Conference play this week to rest, regroup and travel … to Santa Barbara, Calif., for Saturday's BracketBuster game with UCSB.I know there will be at least one person in Santa Barbara's gym who knows where Cheney is: my…
BULLDOGSWith a weekend from hell behind them, the Zags now have a weekend with 40 minutes of hell ahead of them.At least Saturday's date with eighth-ranked Memphis (22-3 and winners of 14 consecutive games) in the Arena (3 p.m.; ESPN; 1510-KGA) is about basketball and…
COUGARS, 65-61When Washington's Justin Dentmon drove the baseline with 23 seconds left and the Huskies trailing WSU 62-61 I figured he would either score or a whistle would blow.And he would walk to the line. After all, the Huskies had walked there enough for 21…
COUGARS, 51-48When teaching post defense, every coach in America instructs in the use of the arm bar, that is, using a forearm on the back of a post player as a way to deny the offensive player the ability to back you down.As long as…
COUGARS, 26-25The WSU defense tonight isn't up to its usual standard, yielding easy shots and second-chance opportunities. Part of that is the Huskies are playing more unselfishly than they usually do (six assists on their first nine baskets). But part of it is WSU's slower-than-normal…
COUGARS, PREGAMEThere are two faces to the Husky basketball team, almost as diametrically opposed as the faces of Janus.There is the Huskies' road face, headed south, just like their postseason hopes. In eight road games – it is Valentine's Day and UW has played just…
PREPSA couple of stories that I didn't link to earlier.The first comes from the Vancouver Columbian, and it's on girls' wrestling, which will have its first state tournament this weekend.The next advances the protest at Lincoln High in Tacoma over the suspension of girls' basketball…
PREPSThe first-ever Hoopfest sportsmanship of the year award was given to Shea Vucinich, Coeur d'Alene High quarterback whose display of sportsmanship after a defeat to Lake City was behind the honor. The junior female team of the year was won for the third consecutive year…
PREPSThe senior awards, which have already been in the paper, have been acknowledged, including Becca Noble, Adam Morrison, the Spokane Shock and Brad Walker.The first junior award is the male athlete winner Adam Hall, state champion wrestler from Bonners Ferry who is now at Boise…
PREPSThe awards are about to be handed out and thank goodness, I'm afraid we are going to be killed by a falling food tray. Back here by the kitchen, it's a real possibility.There's been ice spilled, a tray went flying by our table, just barely…
PREPSI'm wearing a tie right now.Yes a tie. And tying it was easy. Sort of like that old saying about riding a bike. Once you learn, no matter how many years you go without doing it, you still can.And it's been years since I rode…
PREPSI remember walking into The Spokesman-Review sports department years ago and mentioning something about USA Today's national poll to long-time S-R prep reporter Merle Derrick.I was met with a withering stare from over his glasses and a well-thought-out lecture from the man everyone called Doc…
PREPSGreg Lee is either down south or on his way, ready to cover the week of Idaho state girls basketball tournaments.He kicks off the coverage today with an advance of the 1A tournament, which has two local representatives, Wallace and Kootenai and begins Wednesday. The…
BRONCOS, 84-73It's over.Gonzaga University's longest-in-the-nation 50-game home winning streak ended Monday night, shot down by a Santa Clara University team that hardly missed a shot. The Broncos won 84-73, before another sellout crowd of 6,000 at the McCarthey Athletic Center. You can read the game…
BULLDOGSIt's just a symptom of our society, I guess.It's the Nancy-Grace-who's-at-fault-rush-to-judgment culture we live in now.It's the way we react to bad news. Bad news like the news that hit Friday night and Saturday morning about Gonzaga basketball players Josh Heytvelt and Theo Davis arrested…
PREPSThe next four weekend's in Washington will be filled with state tournaments, starting with wrestling and gymnastics this weekend, then moving on with three consecutive basketball weekends.Mike Vlahovich looks ahead to all the fun (or in his case, work) in his Monday morning notebook.• For…
MARINERSWith spring training beginning in some voluntary form this week, it seemed like a good time to start paying a little more attention to the M's.The much-improved M's.Just kidding.• The Seattle Times' Geoff Baker tried to figure out if they are any better today and…
VANDALS, EAGLESThe Portland State Vikings are a flawed team. Their 16-11 overall record and 7-7 mark in Big Sky play doesn't scream perfection.But Saturday night in Cheney they were nearly flawless in two areas: offensive rebounds (grabbing 16 and turning them into 22 points) and…
COUGARSIt's hard to write any more superlatives about how WSU plays defense, so I'll just write a number: 91.That's how many points the Cougars yielded in two Pac-10 games against the Bay Area teams in Pullman this weekend.Ninety-one.I know, a lot of that has to…
SportsLink is your portal into sports news around the Inland Northwest and beyond. You'll find updates, notes and opinions, and plenty of reader feedback.
Vince Grippi's daily take on all things regional sports has been moved to our main sports section online. You can find a collection of these columns here.
