• Twitter
• Facebook
• Reddit

• OK, so we don't (usually) post cat videos. And we also don’t usually post at around 10 a.m. Today is special, though, as we got in from the late night in Pullman at around 2:30 a.m. Our plan was to get the work done then, post it so that appeared on the blog at 8 and be done with it. Except the drive had driven me into submission, so a "short" nap was in order. My head hit the pillow at 3 a.m. and got off it at, surprisingly, a little after 9. Oops. Like a lot of us, I use my phone as my alarm clock these days. And it helps if it is not on vibrate – and I actually turn the little red bar to green. Oh, well. I blame the Apple Cup. It was not so invigorating as to keep me awake into the wee hours of the morning. In fact, no matter what color you bleed, purple or crimson, I'm pretty sure you found Saturday night's game rather pedestrian. That's what happens when one defense dominates, the other does a pretty good job except for a play or two or three and neither quarterback is throwing darts with precision. I guess you could blame it on the cold. I know quite a few fans had aches or pains after the game they were blaming on the temperatures that dipped into single digits by the end. Of course, they had to wait until they thawed out – it probably didn't occur until somewhere around Plaza – to realize they even had aches and pains.

•••

• WSU: There was a pretty hefty contingent of S-R talent assembled last night, including some never-weres like yours truly, who wrote the story for the early edition of the paper. Jacob Thorpe took care of most of the rest, putting together a solid report on the blog (you can either stroll down to access all of it our use the links in Jacob's morning post) as well as the game story. He had his keys to the game and also teamed with Jim Allen on a notebook while Jim has this story on the UW defense. And then there is John Blanchette's postgame column. ... We can't forget the scoring, put together by sports editor Joe Palmquist, and the statistics either. ... We can also pass along game stories from Christian Caple in the News Tribune and Adam Jude in the Times as well as Larry Stone's column. ... ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog has the lessons learned this weekend as well as a look at the playoff picture. ... Both the men's and the women's basketball teams posted victories yesterday, with the women upsetting highly ranked Maryland.

• Gonzaga: Jim Meehan made his way back across the country but before he did, he took one last look back at the St. John's game. ... The GU women lost their second consecutive game in Las Vegas. That doesn't happen often.

• Idaho: Northern Kentucky didn't show much in last week's loss to Eastern Washington. But maybe the Norse got acclimated to the Inland Northwest or maybe they had one heck of a Thanksgiving dinner. Either way, they did a number on Idaho, defeating the Vandals 79-74. Sean Kramer has the story. ... Idaho finished the football season 1-10 after a 45-28 loss to Appalachian State. Only a storm-lost game at Florida probably saved UI from an 11-loss season.

• Whitworth: The Pirate men finished up their Southern California trip with a 76-48 win over Caltech. ... The women held off the College of Idaho 57-54 to remain unbeaten.

• Chiefs: Spokane is on a hot streak. The Chiefs won their fifth consecutive game, 2-1 over Lethbridge at the Arena. Chris Derrick was there and has this story and blog post.

• Preps: Chris was also in Moses Lake and has this story of Lind/Ritzville-Sprague's first defeat in a couple years. ... Greg Lee was at Albi and covered Colville's semifinal 20-14 win over Cascade (pictured) and Mt. Spokane's 42-24 loss to Eastside Catholic. Colin Mulvany was also at Albi and has this photographic report. ... Undefeated Liberty Christian defeated Republic 46-20.

• Seahawks: With the Hawks off today, there isn't a lot to pass along, though we did find this Russell Wilson story. That makes it a good day.

• Mariners: The A's changed the face of the American League West a bit yesterday with a surprising trade. ... John McGrath thinks it is about time the M's made a big trade as well.

• Sounders: The Sounders have to win tonight. And they have to either score a whole bunch of goals (three or more would be preferred) or shut out Los Angeles. If they don't pair a win with one of those other things, they may not move on into the MLS title match. ... The winner of tonight's second leg will more than likely advance to the host New England for the championship.

•••

• Sorry this is so late. Though I'm not sorry I got some sleep. At my age, any bit of shut eye is appreciated. As is any time the eyes pop open again. Until later ...