John Blanchette

In his self-assumed role as Zorro for higher education in Washington, Sen. Michael Baumgartner (R-Grandstanding) could be content with simply leading the charge for lower tuition in the war on college debt. But he’s not just looking out for students who will be selling blood into their 90s to pay off all those loans they took out to enroll in Getting Dressed 101 or Medieval Syrupmaking.

LAS VEGAS – Behold, the Sweeter 16. In time, talk will quickly turn to the NCAA tournament, and what will inevitably roil to the top is the usual nonsense that reaching the second weekend and beyond is the only barometer of worth.

LAS VEGAS – Say, didn’t you used to be Gonzaga versus Saint Mary’s? Where’s the heat? Didn’t the Zags’ Robert Sacre once call this a love-to-hate-them relationship? Wasn’t the Gaels’ Omar Samham a villain of WWE proportions?

There’s something about the return of Liberty High School to the bracket that puts the B back in the Tournaments B. When it came time decades ago for a new campus to serve the villages of Spangle, Waverly, Latah, Fairfield, Plaza and Mt. Hope, the school fathers picked none of them and settled on a field of dreams in the stubble out beyond Google Street View.

When the clock hit :00 and the confetti rained down at MetLife Stadium two weeks ago, the Seattle Seahawks had finally distanced themselves from 37 seasons of near-misses, franchise flops and general NFL anonymity. Back home in Spokane, David Brooks decided to part with some history, too – a slice of Seahawks history, and his own.

In their latest narrow escape over Portland the other night, the Gonzaga Bulldogs sliced themselves a wedge of basketball as absorbing as any dunk-3-pointer-dunk sequence cluttering up SportsCenter. It came in the game’s early stages, the score tied at 5. The Zags had been unable to corral a missed Pilots free throw before it bounced out of bounds, so the visitors had a second chance to take the lead again.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The problem with the inevitable debate of Who’s No. 1 is that somebody’s already No. 1. Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali may have both been undefeated when they stepped through the ropes, but Frazier had the belts and Ali was simply the “people’s champ.”

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The 12th Man? All-in on the Seattle Seahawks. But deep down, there’s a sense that everyone is still holding back a few chips when it comes to Pete Carroll.

The 12th Man? All-in on the Seattle Seahawks. But deep down, there’s a sense that everyone is still holding back a few chips when it comes to Pete Carroll.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Football coaches love to replicate game conditions in practice, even atmospheric ones. And Pete Carroll buys in – to a point. The weather outside is frosty if not frightful, and will be for Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday. But Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks have been practicing indoors at the New York Giants’ facility, which would seem to give the edge in acclimatization to the Denver Broncos, who are going outdoors at the New York Jets’ field in Florham Park.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Somewhere between easy conclusion and uneasy reality is the notion that some great assistant coaches should never become the boss. It’s rather shallow, vaguely insulting and never 100 percent true. And there are more spot-on examples than you can count.

NEWARK, N.J. – Last week, it was all about the Seahawk Who Talks Too Much. But come the sociological hot mess that is Super Bowl Media Day, everyone wanted it to be about the Seahawk Who Doesn’t Talk Enough.

NEWARK, N.J. – Brock Osweiler has a reputation for early exits. But when it comes to being the apprentice until Peyton Manning decides to call it a career with the Denver Broncos – and there’s been speculation that could happen if they beat Seattle on Sunday in Super Bowl XLVIII – Osweiler seems to be in it for the long haul.

Last week, it was all about the Seahawk Who Talks Too Much. But come the sociological hot mess that is Super Bowl Media Day, everyone wanted it to be about the Seahawk Who Doesn’t Talk Enough.