Dave Boling

Are you sitting down? Better get one of those glycerin tablets ready to put under your tongue in case the shock is too great. Here goes: Idaho pulled out a men's basketball win over Eastern Washington on Friday night.

Scott Snider (34) fakes out several Toreros, including Andre Speech, right. Snider scored just four points as GU struggled to find mark. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

For Gonzaga, "off-guard" was not a position. It was a description. In fact, the Bulldogs had several "way-off" guards.

Santa Clara's Steve Nash is considered WCC's top player. Photo by Associated Press

Following is staff writer Dave Boling's predicted order of finish and a brief summary of the men's basketball prospects of each West Coast school: 1. Santa Clara 1995-96 record: 9-3 1994-95 record: 21-7, 12-2 (1st).

The phrase "We will, we will, rock you ... rock you," mysteriously keeps coming to mind. I've also been walking around with this urge - at sporadic intervals - to shout the word "HEY!" And dancing before my eyes are armies of towel-wielding ball-boys, on all fours, wiping gallons of player sweat off the court - like a legion of little human Zambonis.

In an unusual development for a college basketball team, the Gonzaga Bulldogs received some of their best offensive production from their leftfielder. That's Scott Morgan, a senior forward who has recently rejoined the team after spending the summer and fall playing minor-league baseball in the Cleveland organization. In Sunday's non-suspenseful, non-conference 66-44 win over Sacramento State, the Bulldogs got 11 points in 17 minutes from Morgan.

Scott Snider had just run what amounted to a series of 94-foot sprints - with 35-second wrestling matches at each end of the court. He had force-fed a couple of Spalding sandwiches to University of Washington players. And while his Gonzaga University teammates were double-clutching to find second gear in the title game of UW's men's basketball tournament, the high-revving Snider prodded them into contention.

Here's how the Gonzaga Bulldogs rid themselves of the mysterious affliction that caused a bout of sickly shooting last week. . . By contaminating Boise State. Bouncing out of the shooting slump that led to Saturday's loss to Washington, the Bulldogs freed themselves of tight Boise State pressure long enough to dump the Broncos 83-68 Wednesday at the Martin Centre.

For Gonzaga, the problems started when the bus driver didn't show up. He got confused about the schedule, and the Bulldogs arrived at Hec Edmundson Pavilion shortly before they were to meet the Washington Huskies in the title game of the U.S. West Cellular Air Time Tournament.

South Alabama didn't do enough double-teaming to keep Paul Rogers and GU from victory Friday. Photo by Associated Press

The Seattle Seahawks engaged in more than 2,000 offensive and defensive plays this season. They covered the usual range of brilliant to boneheaded, inspiring to wretched. And maybe it's reaching too far for the sake of symbolism to pluck one from the pack and suggest it stands as an icon for the season.

Rick Mirer will not be on the bench next fall. Photo by Associated Press

Gonzaga point guard Kyle Dixon (10) draws offensive foul against Eastern Washington point guard Travis King. Dixon scored 14 points. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Antonio Edwards puts the hurt on Oakland quarterback Jeff Hostetler. Photo by Associated Press

Dana LeDuc, right, hasn't reached everyone. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review

1. Although Rick Mirer, right, has taken a back seat to John Friesz, the move has not created a controversy. Photo by Christopher Anderson/The Spokesman-Review 2. John Friesz always wanted to be the No. 1 quarterback in Seattle, but not at Rick Mirer's expense. File/Associated Press

1. The inspired play of Seahawks like running back Chris Warren has Seattle in the NFL wild-card playoff hunt. Photo by Associated Press 2. Erickson

This one game, so devastating, so unexpected, so satisfying in its dominance of a hated rival, served as an almost immeasurable step for the Seattle Seahawks. It meant - in the wake of several other credible victories - that the difficult trek from laughable to respectable was complete.

1. In their first meeting this year, wide receiver Tim Brown and the Oakland Raiders left the Seattle Seahawks in the dust. Photo by Associated Press 2. Harvey Williams went over and through the Seahawks defense the last time the two teams met. Photo by Associated Press

PLAYER MATCHUPS Passing PC-PA Yds. TD Int. John Friesz, Seattle 38-69 495 5 3 Jeff Hostetler, Oak. 162-266 1,928 12 9 Rushing Att. Yds. Avg. TD Chris Warren, Seattle 282 1,234 4.4 12 Steve Broussard, Seattle 43 205 4.8 1 Harvey Williams, Oak. 221 960 4.3 9 Napoleon Kaufman, Oak. 92 448 4.9 1 Receiving Rec. Yds. AVG. TD Brian Blades, Seattle 71 938 13.1 4 Joey Galloway, Seattle 57 881 15.5 6 Tim Brown, Oak. 78 1,113 14.3 7 Harvey Williams, Oak. 49 335 6.8 0 INJURIES Seahawks: RB Steve Smith (back) is out. WR Ronnie Harris (back), QB Rick Mirer (shoulder) are questionable; S Robert Blackmon (ankle) is probable.

Yes, the score finished up a lopsided 90-65 in favor of Gonzaga. But the GU men's non-conference basketball win over Western Montana was not entirely devoid of drama. For instance, fans might have wondered:

Cue the theme to Bonanza. Because "Hoss" is back in the saddle and ready to ride to the rescue. Hoss, of course, is Jeff Hostetler, quarterback of the Oakland Raiders, whose absence because of injury coincided with the team's four-game losing streak.

John Friesz finds himself No. 1 for Seahawks. Photo by Associated Press