Grip on Sports: It’s another Thursday with the Cougars and the rest of the Inland Northwest sports scene

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Every day. Well, almost every day. That’s how often we put together this column. Most days are pretty easy. But Thursdays? Those are tough. So what’s your Thursday column? Today it’s a little of everything. Read on.

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• If you love high school football, Saturday at Gonzaga Prep is made for you. A rare playoff tripleheader.

Sure, it’s not going to be all that warm. And it might rain a bit. The Cougars are on TV and so are the Huskies. And there are probably lots of other things vying for you time.

But if you are looking for something to do, then, to paraphrase my friend Will Shakespeare, the game’s the thing. Three of them in fact.

Deer Park vs. Zillah at noon. West Valley vs. Lynden at 3 p.m. And A/C-H vs. Odessa/Harrington in the nightcap at 6.

About nine hours of football. In November. With the winner moving on and the loser seeing their season end. That’s drama.

• Whitman County judge David Frazier ruled yesterday Washington State University’s Student Conduct Board had made too many mistakes in the Robert Barber case to let the suspension stand for now. He issued a stay, allowing Barber to return to class and the football practice field.

And the senior defensive lineman will, as Jacob Thorpe details below.

The ruling was a victory for those who supported Barber recently, not only in court but in the court of public opinion. The group, including former WSU quarterback Jack Thompson, have been loud and vociferous in that support, saying Barber didn’t get a fair deal. The judge agreed.

But honestly, there are no winners here. Not Barber, who has lost class time, games and, to some degree, his reputation. Not the others involved in that June fight, including anyone who was injured no matter who was at fault. Not WSU’s Conduct Board, which has been the focus of past criticism for lacking certain legal safeguards that are available to students at the University of Washington. And certainly not new Washington State president Kirk Schulz, who had this whole rotten situation thrown in his lap in his first few months on the job.

The ramifications of yesterday’s ruling, both good and bad, will be with us for a while. And the legal system is not done with those involved in the brouhaha. There will be reviews and recriminations.

But the football season will roll on. So will the school year. For now, Barber will be part of both.

• Friday nights usually are reserved for high school football games. Not this week. There is a lot more than that around here.

Eastern Washington finishes up its regular season at Portland State, trying to avoid a huge upset and win the Big Sky title on the same day.

Gonzaga returns to the McCarthey Athletic Center court, hosting Bryant in a battle of Bulldogs.

And not too far away, the Chiefs play host to Calgary in the Arena.

As Fridays go, this one is pretty packed.

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WSU: Jacob was in Colfax for the Barber hearing and has the coverage of the court proceedings and the football program’s response to a teammate’s return. He also talked with Alex Grinch and Mike Leach after practice and got their thoughts on how Barber will be used. … Guard Cody O’Connell is an Outland Trophy semifinalist. Jacob has that story as well. … And, being it’s Thursday, he has his Pac-12 picks. … There is other coverage of the Barber ruling as well. … Colorado wasn’t very good last season. But the pieces were nearly in place. This year they are.

Elsewhere in Pac-12 football, it isn’t hard to pick winners this week, mainly because other than the WSU/Colorado game, there are mismatches. … The Big Game shouldn’t be that way as Stanford should handle California easily. And the battle for Los Angeles looks to be a blowout too, with USC playing better than UCLA. But rivalry games, right? … There is no rivalry between Utah and Oregon, just a history. … Arizona State has to go into Seattle and deal with an angry Washington team and Arizona has to travel to Corvallis to face Oregon State.

Gonzaga: The two big threats to the Zags in WCC play are doing what we expected. BYU is playing well and, after last night’s win, Saint Mary’s is 2-0.

EWU: Despite the difference in records, Portland State always seems to play Eastern tough. Which makes Beau Baldwin and the Eagles wary. Jim Allen has this story on the Vikings and their tough season. … Jim will host a live chat today at noon. … Around the Big Sky in football, the best rivalry game in the conference occurs Saturday in Missoula. Montana and Montana State. … Beau Baldwin may win the Big Sky title this season, but he won’t win the FCS coaching award. North Dakota’s coach may, however. … Despite being in the postseason picture, Northern Colorado isn’t drawing big crowds.

Idaho: For the third consecutive season, the Vandals lost a basketball game to Northern Illinois.

Chiefs: Portland picked up a big win against Calgary.

Preps: Greg Lee takes care of the football playoff games this week, with a story on Deer Park and its quarterback, another on the offensive linemen at Northwest Christian and a third on St. Maries, which will play for the Idaho 2A title Friday in Moscow. There is also a roundup of all the playoff action in the area. … Jim Allen has a story on the St. George’s girls, who are making school soccer history.

Seahawks: It’s pretty obvious, now, Christine Michael was a stopgap running back for the Hawks. Pete Carroll wasn’t all that positive when asked about him yesterday and, basically, just said he didn’t fit in. Michael signed with the Packers. … George Fant, the college basketball player, has won the left tackle job, mainly because he gets better every week. … The Hawks are as healthy as they’ve been for a while, especially at running back, which hastened Michael’s departure. … Jon Ryan, Mr. Dependable. … Doug Pederson is not only the Eagles’ coach, he’s a Western Washington guy.

Mariners: The Rule 5 draft is coming soon. The M’s are getting ready. … Spokane’s Mike Redmond is back in the bigs.

Sounders: No matter who is in goal, the defensive-minded Rapids will be a tough out for the Sounders.

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• An early heads up. We won’t be here on Saturday morning. I know, it’s a big day. But life sometimes intervenes and this week I need to be somewhere early Saturday. And, yes, I know, I’m about to break a Joe DiMaggio-length streak of days doing this. It can’t be helped. Until later …