A GRIP ON SPORTS • Isn't it appropriate the one major news event that occurred on the Valentine's Day holiday over the years was a bunch of guys being shot down in a garage? Or maybe it's just a coincidence. Read on.

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• Yep, guys have been getting shot down on Valentine's Day for years. That's why, as a prerequisite for a life partner, I decided said person had to have the same outlook on the day as I do, to whit, total disdain. I found just such a person. Which has made the almost 40 February 14s we have spent together quite relaxing. Of course, every once in a while I'll go bananas with flowers, cards, dinner, etc., then ask where my presents are, but that's too long a story. The reason I despise the day goes back to even before I met my wife, back into the dark ages, the early 1970s. Being a shy guy – hey, quit laughing, I was shy as a kid – I didn't even begin dating until I was 16. And didn't have a girlfriend until my junior year of high school. So Valentine's Day, 1974, was crucial for me. It was my first while in a relationship and the girl I was dating, Terry, was a hopeless romantic – favorite movie: Gone With the Wind; favorite type of movie: musicals. The night had to be perfect. I was excited. Challenged, even. I decided the perfect place for dinner was The Castaways restaurant in Burbank, a lovely place in the hills that looked out over the lights of the San Fernando Valley. OK, so it is romantic in a gauche L.A. sort of way. Anyhow, I made a reservation for 7 p.m. weeks and weeks in advance. I borrowed my dad's car, probably one of his ties and maybe even a jacket (if I recall, it was leather, light brown and really cool) and off we went. We arrived a few minutes early, used the valet parking and went inside. After checking in with a harried maître de, we sat down in a crowded hallway to wait for our table. You know, the one with a view I had reserved sometime in January. And waited. Being we were too young to go into the bar, we were sort of jammed in the entryway, jostled by people coming and going. It was hard to talk, it was hard to get comfortable, it was just hard to stomach. Especially when we were stuck there at 7:15, at 7:30, heck it might even have been 8 before we got seated. I had checked every 15 minutes or so and the rattled host hadn't been too happy with me. I had a reservation. For 7. But no table an hour later. Finally, the guy wandered over, took our sorry rear ends to a table in the back – no view, no quiet (it was near the kitchen), no romance. And scurried away as fast as he could. It was a disaster. The food was bad, the company disappointed, the wallet drained. And the last time I had an iota of excitement about Feb. 14. By the way, if you're wondering, the relationship lasted, off and on, for a couple more years. 

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• WSU: The Cougars celebrated with their fans a night early, riding the hot hand of Dexter Kernich-Drew to a 74-71 upset of Arizona State. Jacob Thorpe was in Pullman and he filled up the stat sheet with, well, the stat sheet, a game story, a video of Ernie Kent's postgame interview and a couple of highlights. This morning he added blog post with links. ... I thought this post from ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog was interesting. ... So is this L.A. Times story on letters-of-intent. ... The WSU women lost again, this time in Colorado. ... I just received an e-mail that former Cougar coach George Raveling has been elected to the Naismith basketball hall of fame as a contributor to the game. I have no story to link, but I thought I would pass the news along.

• Gonzaga: Jim returned to the blog yesterday with a look at the Loyola Marymount rout. He returned to the paper with an advance of this evening's Pepperdine game. ... San Diego hosts a reeling St. Mary's team tonight. ... BYU is coming off a big win over the Gaels. ... College baseball began yesterday and Gonzaga opened with a victory.

• EWU: No, the Vernon Adams transfer talk isn't going away anytime soon. Heck, it even made the mailbag on ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog.

• Whitworth: The Pirate women gave third-ranked George Fox all it could handle last night but came up just short in overtime. Tom Clouse has the story. ... The Whit men won. Tom also has that story.

• Chiefs: The Eastern swing continues for the Chiefs, who picked up a 5-4 win last night in Brandon. ... Portland put a hurt on Tri-City, winning 7-1. ... Everett shut out Vancouver, 6-0.

• Preps: The basketball playoffs continued Friday, with Rogers winning the boys' 3A District title with a 77-55 rout of Shadle Park. Chris Derrick has the story. ... Gonzaga Prep won the girls' 4A district title by edging Central Valley, 57-54. Greg Lee was at Prep and has this game story. ... Mead won the boys' 4A district crown after finishing fifth in the GSL regular season. ... We also have a roundup of other basketball action in the area.

• Seahawks: If Marshawn Lynch does decide to retire, he will have to cut a check for $1.5 million to the Hawks.

• Mariners: The M's made Rickie Weeks' signing official yesterday, then the career second baseman announced his willingness to play wherever the team needs him. We'll see. ... General manager Jack Zduriencik talked about that and other things on the radio. ... Mike Zunino wants to take the next step as a hitter. That is, hit better than .200.

• Sounders: Clint Dempsey is back with the Sounders and is more than ready to embrace the leadership role. He also is happy to enter a season relatively well-rested. ... Seattle will make some cuts before it heads to Tucson for more training and matches.

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• I know I'm an outlier when it comes to the importance of this day. And, truth be told, I bought Kim some flowers earlier this week to brighten up the dining room. They made her happy. Which is my goal, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Until later ...

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