John Blanchette

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Opinion >  Syndicated columns

John Blanchette: Robert Barber not about sports? Don’t kid yourself

Fri., Nov. 4, 2016

This really shouldn’t be on the sports page, you know. Because it has nothing to do with football.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

John Blanchette: West Georgia coach Michael Cooney has fond memories of Gonzaga hoops

Fri., Nov. 4, 2016

Some of those ghosts will be with Michael Cooney on Saturday night when he returns to the GU campus with a basketball team of his own – the University of West Georgia Wolves – to take on the Zags in an exhibition game.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

John Blanchette: Transfers are everywhere, but it’s really not such a bad thing

Thu., Nov. 3, 2016

TRANSFER EPIDEMIC! Surely it deserves all caps and an exclamation point, just like the routine alarmism which attends the reporting of each new front by the TV weather clarions, who sometime this winter will marshal the resources of their station’s STORMTEAM and bring us “SNOWMAGEDDON 2017!”

Sports

WCC preview: Notable coaching changes suggest a strong desire to catch Big Three

Thu., Nov. 3, 2016

Is the West Coast Conference actually getting serious about basketball? Four head coaches were axed at the end of the 2016 season – the biggest churn in the league in 45 years – and now 60 percent of the programs have turned over head coaches in three years. It seems the league’s underclass is getting a little tired of the Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s-Brigham Young dominance at the top.

Sports

Pac-12 preview: There’s Oregon and everyone else

Thu., Nov. 3, 2016

Pac-12 fan bases tired of Oregon’s reign atop the football hierarchy may be getting a little relief this fall –and a dose of the same old medicine in basketball.

Sports

John Blanchette: Eagles-Griz rivalry built on respect

Sat., Oct. 29, 2016

Where is the Big Sky we used to know?

Sports >  Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks rally, then hold on to defeat Falcons 26-24

Sun., Oct. 16, 2016

Steven Hauschka kicked a 44-yard field goal with just over two minutes remaining and the Seattle Seahawks held on to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 26-24 on Sunday in Seattle.

Opinion >  Syndicated columns

John Blanchette: Upset Sherman reaches hurricane force

Sun., Oct. 16, 2016

Richard Sherman wasn’t himself Sunday afternoon. The Seattle Seahawks’ singular cornerback was nature’s fury – the crackle of random lightning bolts, the centripetal madness of a tornado and all the gusty anger Seattle was supposed to endure over the weekend but didn’t.

Sports

John Blanchette: Lets not get ahead of ourselves, Cougs still have a lot to learn before Apple Cup

Sat., Oct. 15, 2016

It’s been suggested we fast-forward this football runoff directly to the Apple Cup, given the early returns from Pac-12 precincts.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

Blanchette: Heavy dose of new players contributes to Zags’ season of intrigue

Sat., Oct. 8, 2016

Welcome to the most anticipated Gonzaga basketball season since ... well, let’s put at end to that now.

Sports

John Blanchette: Former Gonzaga Prep grad Dan Cozzetto has coached in all kinds of places

Tue., Oct. 4, 2016

Here’s what Dan Cozzetto’s been up to the last couple of years:

Sports

John Blanchette: Cougars show talent gap with Oregon has been reversed

Sat., Oct. 1, 2016

Surely it will be some consolation to the University of Oregon to keep winning all those track meets they love so much. And maybe some Saturday the Ducks will make football at their school relevant again. But not yesterday Saturday.

Sports

Roos’ football journey brings him back to Cheney as Hall of Famer

Fri., Sept. 30, 2016

Michael Roos admits he’s a numbers guy. Finance and economics major in college at Eastern Washington. Knows the power of a well-invested dollar. Big on probabilities. And mathematical coincidence.

Sports >  Seattle Seahawks

Russell Wilson injures knee in Seahawks’ blowout win over 49ers

Sun., Sept. 25, 2016

Seattle’s 37-18 victory over San Francisco at Century Link Field may have come with a hefty price.

Sports >  Seattle Seahawks

Blanchette: Seahawks handle Niners but bigger concern is Russell Wilson’s legs

Sun., Sept. 25, 2016

What happened to Russell Wilson a few moments before backup QB Trevone Boykin hustled onto the field on Sunday afternoon against the San Francisco 49ers had receiver Doug Baldwin thinking very bad thoughts. “My heart dropped,” admitted Baldwin. “It was weird, because I haven’t felt like that in a long time – my heart just dropping out of my chest like that.”

Sports

Blanchette: New GM Scott Carter hits ground running for Chiefs

Wed., Sept. 21, 2016

Businessman, scout, entrepreneur, administrator, creator, even historian – Scott Carter’s many hats can make for some confusion in assessing his strengths and talents.

Sports

Blanchette: For first time all week, Cougars learn some lessons

Sat., Sept. 17, 2016

And in a fitting end to the week that was, Washington State had a player ejected from Saturday’s game against Idaho for throwing a punch.

Opinion >  Syndicated columns

John Blanchette: New WSU Hall of Famer Hendrickson was an uncommon talent

Fri., Sept. 16, 2016

Hours before tipoff, a long line of students snaked around the exterior of Beasley Coliseum, and when he saw it Mark Hendrickson grasped the transformative effect of sports – even beyond what they’d already done for him.

Opinion >  Syndicated columns

John Blanchette: Leach draws up some misdirection in defending players

Wed., Sept. 14, 2016

Never say Mike Leach doesn’t have open-field moves.

Sports

Blanchette: Colton’s Josh Straughan overcame obstacles to be D-I QB

Tue., Sept. 13, 2016

When Josh Straughan talks about his football odyssey being on the road less traveled, he’s not kidding. Makes the sleepy state highway that runs past his old high school look like the China 110.

Opinion >  Syndicated columns

John Blanchette: The demonstration that distressed Seahawks fans the most was the one turned in by offense

Sun., Sept. 11, 2016

As the Miami Dolphins slashed and gashed their way downfield toward what loomed as the winning touchdown Sunday, it may have been indelicate to think that perhaps the Seattle Seahawks had linked arms in solidarity a few hours prematurely.

Sports

Blanchette: Huskies already look fine-tuned, if not appreciated

Sat., Sept. 10, 2016

Like opening weekend of March Madness, the fun in the first couple of weeks of college football is discovering who isn’t who we thought they were.

Sports

Jake Browning leads No. 18 Washington past Idaho, 59-14

Sat., Sept. 10, 2016

The contract payout was the only consolation for the Vandals on Saturday afternoon after they endured a 59-14 stoning at the hands of No. 8 Washington at Husky Stadium – keeping in tact streaks that go back a decade for Chris Petersen and 111 years for the Huskies.

Sports

Blanchette: Brett Rypien can’t escape the ties to Washington State

Tue., Sept. 6, 2016

Brett Rypien quarterbacked the process to decide his college destination the same way he does an offense headed for the end zone. Campus visits to five schools his junior year – all “unofficial,” as they had to be by rule. A decision by May. And later, enrollment over Christmas of what was supposed to be his senior year.

Sports

John Blanchette: A four-step program for Washington State Cougar football fans

Sun., Sept. 4, 2016

If you’ve followed Washington State football for the previous four seasons, you know there’s only one thing to do with the hangover from Saturday’s ambush at the hands of Eastern Washington.