Moving quickly into a slow day
A GRIP ON SPORTS • UPDATED: 11:25 A.M.
When you are trying to cover the whole spectrum of the Inland Northwest sports scene, there is no such thing as a slow day. Even the sluggish ones move pretty quickly. Take today, for instance. Besides the BCS title game – a once-a-year occurrence – there is news related to Gonzaga, WSU, the preps and more. Read on.
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• I don't know about you, but I checked in-and-out with the BCS title game last night, hoping beyond hope that I would get to see a touchdown. And, yes, there was one ... though I missed it. In the half or so of the game I watched, I couldn't determine if the Alabama defense was playing that well or if the LSU offense was just WSU-circa-2008 bad. A little of both I imagine, but what did you see? And, if you had a vote, would you have voted Alabama No. 1, or someone else? One thing was obvious. According to our poll, almost 65 percent of you would have rather watched LSU take on Oklahoma State for the title, which would have been a much more exciting game I'm sure.
• Gonzaga: The Zags are moving closer to Thursday's first West Coast Conference showdown of the season, against St. Mary's in the Bay Area. Gonzaga will take an improved defense into the game, as our Jim Meehan delves into here and with his blog post from yesterday. ... The Gaels will take momentum into the contest, having hammered USF 87-72 on Monday night. ... The Gonzaga women joined the 21st-ranked men in the Associated Press poll, checking in at 23rd. ... UPDATE: Found this piece on ESPN.com and thought I would pass it along. It is not only complimentary about the Zags, but there's a note about former Bulldog Grant Gibbs as well.
• Washington State: Christian Caple reports on the four players who entered school at the start of second semester Monday in this blog post from yesterday. ... The Cougars' football coaching staff is about filled, something that can't be said for every Pac-12 team that made a head coaching change this offseason. ... The bowl season was, as always, filled with silly occurrences, according to Bud Withers. ... And it might get sillier, if the BCS poobahs have their way. ... ESPN.com's Ted Miller closes the book on 2011. ... USC says goodbye to a couple players while UCLA says hello to a former lineman. ... The Huskies basketball team says hello to a football player, who may be in uniform tonight against Seattle U but for certain against WSU on Sunday. ... And, after a decent home weekend, Utah – still at the bottom of these Pac-12 rankings – tries to improve on the road.
• Preps: It was about 25 years ago when Bill Ames was pounding down the football fields and the hardwood around the Spokane area, but Mike Vlahovich was able to catch up with the former U-Hi standout. ... The area lost a longtime coach recently. ... The week ahead will be interesting.
• Mariners: Edgar Martinez didn't make the Hall of Fame again – only former Red Barry Larkin was voted in Monday – and his election not only will take time, but patience as well.
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• That's what we have this morning. Until later ...
