A GRIP ON SPORTS • With the Apple Cup week upon us, and Washington State ranked this late in the season since the end of their 10-win-seasons run, we thought we would look back at those three Apple Cups. Sorry, Cougar fans. We had sort-of forgotten. Read on.

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• A lot is made in Pullman of Washington State’s three-year stretch to begin the century. And rightfully so. It was the best stretch of football in the school's history. You know what I mean. When the Cougars won 10 games each year under Mike Price and Bill Doba. When they defeated UCLA and USC with regularity. When they were on top of the football world, ranked as high as third nationally. And when, for some odd reason, couldn’t defeat the Huskies. Yep, in that incredible stretch in which WSU was 30-8, three of their defeats came at the hands of UW. The first year, 2001, it was understandable. The Huskies, under Rick Neuheisel, finished 8-4 and ranked. They won in Seattle 26-14 in a battle of two decent teams. Those things happen. But 2002 wasn’t the same scenario. The Cougars were ranked third nationally. The Huskies weren’t very good. Neither were referee Gordon Riese and his crew. Sorry, UW fans, but Matt Kegel’s pass was forward. But there was no replay then and the overtime game hinged on the missed call. Well, either that or the fact Jason Gesser, one of the nation’s best quarterbacks, was out and Kegel was forced to fill in. Either way, the Cougars shouldn’t have left themselves in such a late-game, do-or-die position against a Husky team that would finish 7-6. The next season, back in Seattle, new coaches were in place at both schools, though each, Keith Gilbertson and Doba, had long-time ties to their schools. The Cougars were 9-2 and ranked ninth. The Huskies were 5-6 and just rank. This was a WSU team that had lost in overtime at Notre Dame, had routed 10th-ranked Oregon in Autzen, and whose only other loss was to USC, just beginning its national runs under Pete Carroll. The Huskies were beginning a different type of run, headed for consecutive seasons in which they would win just three times total. But in 2003 they had five wins going into the Apple Cup – WSU had nine – and found a way to pull off the 27-19 upset. Even after they trailed 19-14 with just over a minute left. Since then, the Cougars have not been ranked on the eve of the rivalry game. Until this year. This is the best Washington State team since that incredibly run. Can it stay on a 10-win path? And, probably even more importantly to WSU fans, can it do something those teams could not, defeat the Huskies?

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• WSU: Jacob Thorpe is back at it, filling up the blog with new-fangled videos, links to notes and the like. He also has a notebook from Monday’s interview sessions, and like just everybody else he focuses on Mike Leach’s reluctance to talk about injuries. Leach gave his reasons yesterday and Jacob relates them. Of course, it all has to do with whether quarterback Luke Falk will play Friday, something that seems pretty out of the question today. ... Jacob also has his first look at Washington and video of interviews with seniors Dom Williams, Gunnar Eklund and Jeremiah Allison and junior (though probably headed to the NFL draft) receiver Gabe Marks as well as Leach. ... Jacob also has a video of basketball coach Ernie Kent’s media session, an advance of tonight’s game and a morning post with links. ... Back to football, the Everett Herald has a feature on Gunnar Eklund while a huge high school offensive lineman committed to WSU. ... Luke Falk stays in the quarterback rankings of ESPN.com’s Pac-12 blog. His health was also addressed a bit by Bill Moos. ... If you were wondering, Oregon does believe it will be all right at the quarterback position after this season. I wonder which FCS star is lined up to transfer in.

• Gonzaga: The Zag women are in the midst of three games in three nights. They won handily over Grand Canyon last night despite resting senior Elle Tinkle. ... Speaking of women’s play, it looks as if Santa Clara may be ready to challenge the Zags atop the WCC. ... Domantas Sabonis is the WCC player of the week. ... The volleyball team ended its season with a win at Portland.

• EWU: The Eagles traveled to Seattle for an odd back-to-back rematch with Seattle U. This time Eastern couldn’t find the range from outside and fell, 58-52. ... The football season may have been a winning one, but as Jim Allen writes, no one in Cheney thinks it was a successful one. ... Portland’s Bruce Barnum is up for the national coach of the year award and rightfully so. ... Two of the better Big Sky schools are playing quarterbacks who began their college career at BYU. ... Weber State picked up a basketball win last night.

• Idaho: The Vandals rallied past North Texas on the road last night, winning 65-63.

• Chiefs: The Everett Silvertips’ road swing ended badly.

• Preps: The sites and times for the state football semifinals are set.

• Seahawks: Marshawn Lynch’s status, for this week against Pittsburgh but for the rest of the season and his career, is up in the air right now. The running back faces more doctor’s visits to determine the extent of his abdominal injury. ... Without Lynch, can Thomas Rawls carry the load? ... The Steelers come to town off a bye week. ... The offensive line seemed to find itself a bit against the 49ers.

• Mariners: The M’s signed veteran catcher Chris Iannetta to supplement the depth at the position – and to help Mike Zunino reach his potential. ... The team also added two coaches.

• Sounders: Sigi Schmid is never at a loss for words.

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• There is snow on the ground. Not a lot, but enough to make me a little fearful of driving around. The first snow of the year, and the slippery nature of the roads, etc. You know. Until later ...

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