John Blanchette

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Sports >  WSU football

John Blanchette: Hiring more about hope than home runs at Washington State

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 14, 2020

Time was, hiring a new coach began with winning the press conference. No more.

Sports >  WSU football

John Blanchette: Now Mike Leach can become Mississippi State’s Starkville reality

UPDATED: Thu., Jan. 9, 2020

Wonder if the folks at Mississippi State will enjoy discovering that their new coach considers the Egg Bowl to be just another game?

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

John Blanchette: Something’s afoul at the free-throw line for nation’s No. 1 team

UPDATED: Sat., Jan. 4, 2020

Not quite 7 minutes on the clock had elapsed Saturday night when a whistle sent Gonzaga to the foul line for the first time.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

John Blanchette: Peanut brittle, paydays make visit to Gonzaga worth the lopsided result for lesser-known nonconference foes

UPDATED: Mon., Dec. 30, 2019

Men of a certain age who as boys collected baseball cards – along with marbles and skinned knees – may recall the morbid fascination that came with opening another five-cent pack to discover what pedestrian catcher from the New York Mets would be included therein.

Sports >  Seattle Seahawks

John Blanchette: Seahawks know drama – win or lose, every time

UPDATED: Sun., Dec. 29, 2019

This was going to be Pete Carroll’s make-up gift to Marshawn Lynch. The shame is he took too long fussing with the wrapping paper and the bow. But this is what the Seattle Seahawks do, right? They manufacture all this theater -- farce, arias, pratfalls and always drama -- to the point where it almost seems an afterthought whether they win or lose.

Sports >  WSU football

John Blanchette: Sour Cheez-It Bowl epitomized how Washington State regressed this season

UPDATED: Sat., Dec. 28, 2019

Maybe it’s the regret of another defining moment slipping through the Washington State Cougars’ paws in Anthony Gordon’s finale – a 31-21 loss to Air Force on Friday night at Chase Field.

Sports >  WSU football

John Blanchette: Both Air Force, Washington State offenses prove balance is more about perception that percentages

UPDATED: Thu., Dec. 26, 2019

Even with Air Force’s beloved triple-option Flexbone offense pushing 40 years old, does anybody hit Troy Calhoun with, “Coach, why can’t you pass it even a little more?”

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

John Blanchette: Gonzaga not chicken when it comes to taking its spot atop the college basketball podium

Sat., Dec. 21, 2019

“Welcome to your worst nightmare Gonzaga: the #1 ranking,” came the blast over Twitter. From Buffalo bloody Wild Wings.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

John Blanchette: Win over North Carolina shows how much Gonzaga has grown

UPDATED: Wed., Dec. 18, 2019

Turns out the Gonzaga Bulldogs weren’t looking past North Carolina to Saturday night’s opponent after all.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

John Blanchette: Call the Gonzaga Bulldogs whatever you want, as long as you give them a call

UPDATED: Tue., Dec. 17, 2019

By now, you’re probably so sick of the descriptive “blue bloods” that you might even skip whatever moral tug-of-war embroils Tom Selleck on the tube come Friday night – or at least avoid the title sequence.

Sports >  WSU basketball

John Blanchette: Washington State sophomore CJ Elleby’s restraint a sign of maturity

UPDATED: Sat., Dec. 7, 2019

The game’s final pass went deep beyond the defensive pressure to CJ Elleby, all alone in the frontcourt with but a few unimpeded steps between himself and the ritualistic exclamation-point dunk.

Sports >  UW football

Chris Petersen thought ‘mind reader’ Mike Leach was on to him during pre-Apple Cup chat

UPDATED: Tue., Dec. 3, 2019

The University of Washington’s head football coach had decided to step down after six years “two or three days before we played Washington State.”

Sports >  Seattle Seahawks

John Blanchette: Seahawks show knack for making plays when it counts

UPDATED: Mon., Dec. 2, 2019

John Blanchette: So how does first place look on the Seattle Seahawks? Sharp. Smart. Sophisticated. “It’s a beautiful thing,” was tackle Duane Brown’s fashion review.

Sports >  WSU football

John Blanchette: Washington happy to let Mike Leach keep getting in Washington State’s way at Apple Cup

UPDATED: Fri., Nov. 29, 2019

Sometime in the second half of Friday’s Apple Cup, a Fox camera zeroed in on a couple in the stands, the female decked out in Husky purple, the male in all Coug attire.

Sports >  WSU football

John Blanchette: Max Borghi delivers on guaranteed satisfaction

UPDATED: Sun., Nov. 24, 2019

So, Max Borghi, any guarantees for the Apple Cup?

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

John Blanchette: Killian Tillie proves good things come to Zags who wait

Tue., Nov. 19, 2019

Killian Tillie’s belated entrée into the 2019-20 basketball season came at precisely 6:05 Tuesday evening, greeted with a clamor that made up in volume what it may have lacked in duration.

Sports >  WSU football

John Blanchette: Whatever you call them, Washington State’s players are one (guaranteed) win from bowl game

Sat., Nov. 16, 2019

The Cougars have at least put themselves in the conversation for one of college football’s many consolation prizes, though that’s barely a challenge with 39 bowls. And like every other Power 5 school, Wazzu gave itself a three-win head start with a squishy September schedule.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

John Blanchette: Grad transfers Admon Gilder, Ryan Woolridge more than final ingredients in Gonzaga’s recipe for success

Sat., Nov. 9, 2019

This grad transfer business – it’s a little like Christmas shopping, right?

Sports >  WSU basketball

John Blanchette: Kyle Smith’s new-look Cougars send clear message to fans, foes in season-opening romp

UPDATED: Fri., Nov. 8, 2019

Playing actual basketball at both ends. Guarding and everything. With a ... what do they call those again? Oh, right. A plan.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

John Blanchette: Gonzaga’s quiet cast must learn to chat, and in a snap

UPDATED: Tue., Nov. 5, 2019

There was a sitcom-worthy moment last week after Gonzaga’s exhibition game romp as a few young Bulldogs relaxed in their locker-room lounge, refueling on some grub and, well, doing what kids do.

Sports

John Blanchette: Time to change Hawks’ bird logo to yin/yang symbol

UPDATED: Sun., Nov. 3, 2019

John Blanchette: Perhaps it’s time for the Seattle Seahawks to ditch the beloved Haida eagle logo for something more befitting the 2019 season, like the tai chi symbol. You know. Yin and yang.

Sports >  Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks outlast Tampa Bay 40-34 in OT

UPDATED: Sun., Nov. 3, 2019

Russell Wilson hit Jacob Hollister on a 10-yard touchdown on the opening possession of overtime, and the Seattle Seahawks rallied for a 40-34 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

Sports >  Gonzaga basketball

John Blanchette: Ol’ Doc Basketball has a wonderful mix of ingredients in creating the perfect Gonzaga player

Thu., Oct. 31, 2019

Ol’ Doc Frankenstein – movie Frankenstein, anyway – had it easy.

Sports >  NCAA basketball

West Coast Conference men: Experienced Saint Mary’s, BYU nipping at Gonzaga’s heels

Thu., Oct. 31, 2019

The script is dog-eared, tattered and coffee-stained from two decades of re-use, as if plucked from the read-through table on the set of “Law & Order” or “Home Improvement.”

Sports >  NCAA basketball

Pac-12 men: Veteran Colorado squad will have to hold off youthful Washington, Oregon teams

Thu., Oct. 31, 2019

Well, the NCAA still hasn’t gone nuclear on Arizona and USC for transgressions that landed their assistant coaches in front of a judge. One of its teams even reached the second weekend of March Madness last spring.