Grip on Sports: Is there a health risk involved with sitting in front of your TV set for 12 hours every day?

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Why is it there are some nights when the only thing available to watch on the TV even remotely related to sports is reruns of “Blue Bloods,” and former USC JV basketball player Tom Selleck? And other nights, like the last one, there is so much on the remote burns red-hot in your hand? It’s a question right up there with the forest/tree one. Read on.

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• We don’t have too many free Thursday nights around these parts, mainly because when you are “retired,” everyone wants to fill up your supposed free time with tasks that are suspiciously like work.

But we had a free evening last night. And there was a lot to watch. There was college basketball all over the channel guide, including an early game from Gonzaga. There was football, with southern bowl games galore, from Birmingham to Charlotte. And don’t forget the Alamo.

We did.

Luckily, we didn’t miss much. The Pac-12 took it on the chin again, this time a 38-8 punch from Oklahoma State. Wasn’t the Big 12 supposed to be down this season? Colorado must have been lost without former defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt, who bailed on the team to accept more than a million dollars a year from Oregon. As an assistant. The price of loyalty is sure going up.

And, man, the defense in Eugene better get better in a hurry.

Instead of watching the Buffalos’ stampede, we watched the Zags open West Coast Conference play against a game-but-overmatched Pepperdine team.

(By the way, save the phrase “game-but-overmatched” on a hot key somewhere Vince. You will use it a lot over the next few weeks.)

Gonzaga didn’t play all that well. At least compared to most of its non-conference games. And yet it ended up winning by 30. All it took was one half of better concentration. That may not be the dictionary definition of dominance, but it’s close enough.

The Zags don’t return to the airwaves until tomorrow, when the TV schedule will be overflowing again. There will be bowl games, playoff games and pro games. And that’s just football. The basketball schedule will be packed as well.

Today? Is it a desert? Well, no. There are, by my count of the main sports channels, 14 college basketball games available – 15 if you want to watch Stanford’s women take on ASU – and five bowl games.

Of course, the bowl games are “meaningless,” unless of course you happen to be a fan of Michigan, Florida State or khakis. Then the Orange Bowl has some meaning.

Let’s hope it’s decided early, though. We want to watch undefeated USC – yes, in basketball – try to get past upset-hungover Oregon in Eugene.

Maybe Jim Leavitt will coordinate the Ducks’ defense.

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Gonzaga: The Zags are 1-0 in WCC play. How? Jim Meehan tells you with his game story and notebook. … John Blanchette changes gears a bit with his column on a former GU walk-on who will play football for Washington against Alabama this Saturday. … Whitney Ogden’s story examines the atmosphere in the student-less Kennel. … And yes, I had my media column, which highlighted one of the nicer aspects of watching at home. And no, I don’t mean cheaper food. … Colin Mulvany has a photo report from the game as well. … Around the WCC last night, Portland picked up a win in Stockton against Pacific while BYU ho-hummed its way past Santa Clara in Provo. … Saint Mary’s had little trouble with Loyola-Marymount and USF shot down San Diego. … The Gonzaga women opened conference play on a down note, losing at woeful Pepperdine.

WSU: It’s that time of the year again. The Cougar football season is over, the basketball season is probably not going to be all that memorable, so we drop Washington State’s – and by extension, the Pac-12 – links into the second spot in the lineup. Hey, I always liked to hit second. Anyhow, around the Pac-12 in football, cripes. Colorado played awful. That is all. … USC and one of its few healthy defensive linemen, will try to salvage the conference’s reputation in Monday’s Rose Bowl. … Between then and now, Stanford will play in El Paso against North Carolina and Washington will show up in Atlanta. Will the Huskies give Alabama a game? Could be. After all, the icon of Tuscaloosa, Nick Saban, owes his career to the Dawgfather, Don James. Saban has to throw the Huskies a bone, doesn’t he? It’s probably more important Jake Browning plays well. … Oregon also hired a new running backs coach. … The conference’s basketball schedule gets back on track with the aforementioned USC/Oregon showdown topping the list. … UCLA has a must-win game. Luckily it’s against Oregon State. … Stanford and California host Arizona State and Arizona tonight in the conference openers for all four schools. … Scott Barnes, who was born in Spokane and attended Kennewick High for a while, was introduced as Oregon State’s newest athletic director. … Todd Milles of the News Tribune has this nice story on WSU’s Curtis Allen’s return to the bench. The basketball assistant suffered a heart attack while the Cougars were on the road earlier this year.

EWU: The Eagles’ Big Sky Conference opener tonight is a tough one. Local rival Idaho is up first and the game is in Moscow. Jim Allen has an advance. … Elsewhere in Big Sky hoops, Weber State picked up a road win in Bozeman against Montana State while Montana held serve with a home victory over Idaho State. … Portland State stayed hot by beating North Dakota at home while Northern Colorado was picking up a road win at Sacramento State.

Idaho: Answer this one question: If Idaho were to stay in the FBS ranks, which conference would they play? The Mountain West? Nope, there is no interest from the league. The Pac-12? Hah. Some conference in the Midwest or East? No one wants the Vandals. Sorry. So this petition Josh Wright describes in this story today is a waste of time. Unless there is a way to force some conference to take them. BYU, with a mammoth built-in fan base, has been trying to get out of the independent football business since it became one, so that option isn’t viable either.

Whitworth: The women lost a close game in Southern California.

Preps: High school basketball tournament are all the rage around Christmas time, as are big non-league games. We have both covered in these boys and girls roundups.

Seahawks: So what’s the big deal with the offensive line? Russell Wilson has complete faith in it. At least publicly. … Michael Bennett is done dancing after sacks. The boss told him to stop. … Other than the players out for the rest of the season, the Hawks are pretty healthy.

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• Will the Pac-12 salvage its bowl season? We start finding out today. Except it might be too late. Until later …