Grip on Sports: The weekend gets off to a running start tonight
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s Thursday, which means, in sports-speak, the weekend begins. And it begins in Seattle, where the Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers get together for another night game. They’ve had some exciting ones in the past. But as we said, it’s only the beginning of the weekend fireworks. Read on.
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• If you look at the NFC standings, the Rams and the Saints are in a different area code, with 9-1 and 8-1 marks, respectively. After that, there is more than a half-dozen teams vying for four playoff berths.
Two win will division titles and slide in. Right now that looks to be the Redskins, at 6-3 holding a two-game lead in the East, and the … heck, who knows in the North? The Bears (6-3), Vikings (5-3-1) and Packers (4-4-1) are all in the mix.
Of the rest of the NFC wild-card contenders, only the Panthers (6-3) have any sort of edge on the field. Everyone else, including Seattle (4-5), is under .500.
As the season winds down, certain games serve as de facto elimination affairs. Tonight’s matchup is one of those.
Win, and the Seahawks’ chances of making the playoffs improve dramatically, according to one analytic I saw this week, better than 50 percent. Lose, however, and there is only about a 1-in-5 chance Seattle makes the postseason.
So it behooves the Hawks to win, right?
• Tonight Gonzaga will host Texas A&M, which lost recently to my alma mater, UC Irvine (I am contractually obligated, through a clause I agreed to when I received my diploma, to mention that). It’s the first time the Zags have hosted an SEC team in their history.
But, like the proverbial falling tree, if no one east of the Mississippi is awake to see it, does it really happen? The game will tip here at 8:30 at night, which is, according to an app I just downloaded, 11:30 p.m. in the Eastern time zone. That’s pretty late, especially when you consider it’s a school or work night.
Seems like you are eliminating quite a few potential viewers of the third-ranked team in the nation with the late start, but ESPN must know what it’s doing, right? It’s still the biggest thing in sports broadcasting, isn’t it?
• Along those same lines, and the same network, the Cougar football game Saturday is also another late-night start. Which shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering they are playing Arizona, the king of Pac-12 late-game scheduling.
If you are a west coast high school football player who lives to play under the lights, Tucson is for you.
• Before we get too far, we can’t forget a Friday night showdown. You would think we would be talking about high school football, wouldn’t you, but even though there are a lot of those, we are actually referring to the Darn (family friendly version) rivalry game in Portland that night.
Eastern faces off with Portland State. At least a piece of the Big Sky title is on the line for the Eagles. There is probably a playoff bye in it as well. A big college football game on a Friday. Who would have thought? Wait, there is another one in Pullman next week.
At least Whitworth’s Division III playoff game is Saturday afternoon at the Pine Bowl. There is something to be said for not having lights on your stadium.
• One last thought before we move on to the links. Alabama plays The Citadel at home this week. We’re not going to get into the nine-versus-eight conference games argument this morning, but we would like to point out this very easily could have been Gardner Minshew’s first start for the Crimson Tide.
Think about it.
Minshew was all set to go to Tuscaloosa until Mike Leach called last spring. What if they hadn’t made connections and Minshew had gone through with his first commitment? With Tua Tagovailoa dealing with a knee injury and Jaylen Hurts still unavailable due to recent ankle surgery, Minshew may have been making his starting debut for the unbeaten Tide this weekend.
With a player of Minshew’s talents available, Nick Saban would not have to rush Tagovailoa back into the lineup, as it seems Alabama is doing this week.
I can guarantee two things would have been in play if this scenario had played out: We would be reading “who is this Gardner Minshew guy?” stories this week and there would be no mustache mania. Not at Alabama, not with Saban.
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WSU: A lot to get to, not the least of which is Theo Lawson’s game picks. He is coming off a good week and is nearing the .500 mark against the spread. … Theo also held his weekly chat yesterday, passed along the news Minshew is a semifinalist for another award and posted videos of his conversations with Mike Leach and defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys. … It was signing day yesterday, so Theo has a story on WSU’s basketball signings. … He didn’t travel to Seattle, where the Cougars, without their best player, Robert Franks, lost to Seattle U. 78-69. … Larry Weir covers Washington State’s postseason scenarios with Paul Sorensen in the latest Press Box pod. … The NCAA women’s soccer tournament is still going on for the Cougars. William Brock takes a look at their season before tomorrow’s game at Georgetown. … Back to football, Arizona’s pass defense will be tested by the Cougars’ attack.
Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the storyline as Washington hosts Oregon State is about the prodigal son returning to Seattle and whether that helps the Beavers. … In Eugene, it is about the running games of Oregon and Arizona State and the opposing defenses. … The big storyline in the Bay Area is the Big Game between Stanford and California and all that entails. … Colorado and Utah meet in a budding rivalry game. … Nothing budding about UCLA and USC and their rivalry. This one has been around a long time. … In basketball, Arizona picked up a win. So did USC. As for the basketball signings, there were so many of them around the Pac-12 we are not covering them all here.
Gonzaga: Besides his preview of tonight’s game with Texas A&M and the key matchup, Jim has a story on the Zags’ academic success. … Around the WCC last night, Saint Mary’s left the state of California for a nonconference game. Not only that, the Gaels won.
EWU: The Eagles’ running game features a bunch of backs that can break a big play at anytime. Tops on that list is Ryan Collingwood’s subject today, Sam McPherson. … Not only will a revamped Portland State defense be waiting for the Eagles tomorrow night, there is the emotion of a special Senior Night in play. … Around the Big Sky, the Brawl in the Wild is one of the West’s best rivalry games. Montana State has held the edge over Montana recently. … Idaho State will try to shoot down Weber State’s title plans. … UC Davis still should make the postseason. … Montana State gave Colorado State’s basketball team all it could handle.
CCS: The unbeaten volleyball team has been through some adversity this season but hasn’t let it interfere with success or fun. Jim Meehan has that story.
Chiefs: In other WHL action last night, Everett grabbed a 3-2 shootout win against visiting Portland.
Preps: As their senior seasons begin, two local basketball players have signed letters of intent to continuing playing at two local colleges. Anton Watson, headed to GU, inked his LOI in a lunchtime ceremony at Gonzaga Prep. Justin Reed has that story. And Shadle Park’s Jake Groves signed with Eastern Washington as the centerpiece of their class. … There were a lot of other signings yesterday for a variety of sports. Dave Nichols passes along what the S-R received. … Justin took a quick look at this weekend’s playoff football games.
Seahawks: There are playoff implications, sure, but tonight’s game is also about who is healthy enough to play. Short weeks are like that. … The Hawks won’t be playing a Sunday Night game after all.
Mariners: Don’t be in a rush to judgment concerning the Lorena Martin accusations no matter which view you support.
Sounders: Somehow forgot to pass along the voters’ decision regarding the general manager. And a Stefan Frei save.
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• I better get a nap today. I have to work the Gonzaga game and let me tell you, with some of the ESPN guys doing color commentary, that’s not easy. But you probably already know that. Until later …