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Feb06
As expected, Gonzaga dropped out of the A.P. Top 25 when the newest poll was released earlier today. GU is 30th (fifth in receiving votes), 27th in ESPN/USA Today's Top 25. Gonzaga was No. 24 entering last week but lost to BYU on Thursday. Here's a link to both polls.
Saint Mary's climbed up a couple more spots and sits at No. ...
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A GRIP ON SPORTS • UPDATED: 10:20 A.M.
Super Bowl Sunday is usually a day of fun for the American sports fan. Gather with friends or sit with family and watch the game (and commercials). Yesterday was no different for most of you, I'm sure. And it was a game worth watching, with the Giants scoring late, Tom Brady trying to drive the Patriots down the field as time expired and a Hail Mary to end it all. ...
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Feb05
Made it home for the Super Bowl and got my homework done on the plane -- just didn't have a chance to post it until now with a quick connection in Portland.
You know the routine. The links: S-R game story and another from A.P. Elsewhere, BYU and LMU stayed right on GU's heels. ...
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A GRIP ON SPORTS
When I awoke this morning, something felt different. No, the knees still hurt. And the waistline hadn't shrunk. But something was strange. Was the sun actually brighter? Were the birds really chirping louder? Did the air seem fresher? Yes. It is Super Bowl Sunday, when a Disney-like aura surrounds everyone in the world. I almost broke into song. Read on.
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Head coach Kelly Graves’ unhurried tempo and ease in tone was contrary to his team’s delivery of an adrenaline rush to the fifth-largest Gonzaga women’s basketball crowd in McCarthey Athletic Center history. That’s the thing about grind-it-out victories – the bigger the risk, the greater the reward.
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MALIBU, Calif. – Just when you thought Gonzaga was cruising toward a feel-good bounce-back win, Pepperdine started making every shot it attempted. And just when you thought the eighth-place Waves might actually pull off an improbable rally, Gonzaga steadied itself with key contributions from Kevin Pangos and Guy Landry Edi and finished off a 72-60 West Coast Conference men’s basketball victory Saturday in front of 2,120 at Firestone Fieldhouse.
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Steal, pass, layup. It can still be that elementary. In the deciding moments of Gonzaga’s 69-58 women’s basketball victory over San Diego on Saturday, it happened twice in the space of maybe 30 seconds – guard Taelor Karr picking the pocket of the Toreros’ Amy Kame, and then locating a teammate flashing down court. Not unlike a ratty security blanket fetched from a closet shelf, because of these easy points the Zags would be less vulnerable at the finish to whatever long 3s USD might wing in late, or even their own frailties.
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Feb04
Gonzaga got back on the winning track, but it wasn't easy. The Bulldogs let a 15-point lead dwindle to 2 before going on a decisive 10-0 run in the second half. Gonzaga's 72-60 victory keeps the Bulldogs in second place in the WCC. Saint Mary's is 11-0, GU 8-2 and LMU and BYU are at 8-3.
Gonzaga returns home to face Saint Mary's on Thursday and LMU on Saturday.
Here's a link to my game story that will run in Sunday's S-R (I left the unedited version below because it has a few more details/quotes).
Check back tomorrow for a day-after post.
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Steal, pass, layup. It can still be that elementary.
In the deciding moments of Gonzaga’s 69-58 women’s basketball victory over San Diego on Saturday, it happened twice in the space of maybe 30 seconds – guard Taelor Karr picking the pocket of the Toreros’ Amy Kame, and then locating a teammate flashing down court. Not unlike a ratty security blanket fetched from a closet shelf, because of these easy points the Zags would be less vulnerable at the finish to whatever long 3s USD might wing in late, or even their own frailties.
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Head coach Kelly Graves’ unhurried tempo and ease in tone was contrary to his team’s delivery of an adrenaline rush to the fifth-largest Gonzaga women’s basketball crowd in McCarthey Athletic Center history.
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A GRIP ON SPORTS
The weekend. Super Bowl weekend. College basketball weekend. Enough said. Read on.
Who will win the Super Bowl and by how much?
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Feb03
Not sure if I actually slept last night or if I simply dreamed that I slept for a couple hours. I’m guessing Gonzaga’s staff and players were pretty restless after a disappointing 83-73 setback to BYU last night at the Marriott Center. ...
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A GRIP ON SPORTS
So we are supposed to have six more weeks of winter, right? Well if it's anything like the preceding six weeks, I'm fine with that. Other than a couple days, this has been an easy winter to navigate in the Inland Northwest. Now for the basketball around the area, that hasn't been as warm. Read on.
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PROVO, Utah – Gonzaga set up for its final possession of an ugly first half, but the Bulldogs weren’t lined up correctly. Head coach Mark Few frantically shouted directions, but his players couldn’t hear him at the opposite end of the floor. Kevin Pangos tried to throw a long cross-court pass and it was easily picked off, leading to yet another BYU basket at the other end.
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You hate to consider any game a gimme. In fact, you’ll never hear a coach – and rarely a player – even consider making such a statement.
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Feb02
BYU, which ended GU's season last year in the NCAA Tournament, handed the Bulldogs another lopsided defeat Thursday that will make Gonzaga's bid for a 12th straight WCC title even more difficult.
BYU rolled to an 83-73 win, dropping GU to 17-4, 7-2 in the WCC. Saint Mary's is 11-0 after knocking off San Diego.
You can read my game story here. Check back tomorrow for a day-after post.
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A GRIP ON SPORTS
Last year I trekked up U.S. 195 to Northern Quest Casino for Washington State's signing day get-together. This year all I had to do was drive from home. But there was a lot more that was different to the event than just a much shorter drive. Read on.
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Good morning. I was a little surprised -- and not just because it was 5-something in the morning -- when I saw the odds in the S-R and BYU was listed as a 3.5-point favorite over visiting Gonzaga tonight. Figured it'd be a toss-up or 1-point either way.
Lots of coverage of the first GU-BYU WCC matchup, beginning with my game preview, GU-portion of S-R basketball notebook, glance and John Blanchette's column. ...
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PROVO, Utah – Gonzaga is catching BYU at the perfect time. The reeling Cougars have dropped two consecutive home games for the first time since the 2004-05 season and their prolific offense has hit a speed bump. Gonzaga is catching BYU at the worst possible time. The Cougars are highly motivated to get back into the WCC men’s basketball race and enhance their NCAA tournament résumé with a win against the 24th-ranked Bulldogs.
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RECORD: 17-3 overall, 7-1 WCC COMING UP: Tonight at BYU, 8 (ESPN2); Saturday at Pepperdine, 7 (KHQ)
