Today exceeds expectations

• OK, an obscure reference to a non-American holiday is probably not the best way to start a post. But I’m hoping it got you over to Wikipedia to figure out what the hell I was talking about. And that I could cleanse my system, ensuring I don’t reference such weird things for the next 12 months. We’ll see. Anyway, where was I? Oh ya, expecting an easy day. Those expectations were trashed when I realized Christian Caple was off today and I had to pick up the Pac-12 links. It was almost as if the past year hadn’t happened. Am I caught in some weird “Twilight Zone” episode? Or am I just being melodramatic? It’s the latter, of course – I am always melodramatic and the “Twilight Zone” is not reality, except, of course, the one with the Captain Kirk on the airplane (or the one where he is in a diner with his new wife). Anyway, where was I? Oh ya, expecting an easy day. Well, I went through my old sources around the conference and pulled together a few links. Not as many as Christian would have found, I’m sure, but enough to keep you from storming the castle until he gets back. Hey, wasn’t there a “Twilight Zone” about storming a castle? Maybe I’m thinking of the one with a spaceship and a bunch of little people worshiping the astronaut. I guess there wasn’t a castle.

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• Washington State: There is actually a Cougar story in today’s S-R, though Christian didn’t write it. Chris Derrick leads his women’s basketball notebook with a conversation with Tia Presley (pictured), WSU’s sophomore guard. … The biggest news around the conference came from Hawaii, where No. 3 Arizona broke the Pac-12’s long losing streak to San Diego State, defeating the 17th-ranked Aztecs 68-67. The Wildcats RPI is going to be high enough going into conference play, anyone who can upset them, especially in Tucson, will earn a big boost to their NCAA hopes. … Bob Clark previews the conference today in the Register-Guard and wonders who will be Arizona’s main challengers. … Will the Fiesta Bowl, played at the same site as one of Chip Kelly’s most disappointing games , be Kelly’s last at Oregon ? … The Huskies have lost two offensive assistants since the end of the season. … The father of one of UW’s basketball players has a long Seattle history – and is still involved with the city.

• Gonzaga: If there is one guy in the WCC Zag fans love to dislike (hate is such a strong word), it is Matthew Dellavedova, St. Mary’s star guard. But if you want to know more about him, read this . … USF won its last game in Hawaii. … Brandon Davies is having a heck of a senior year for BYU.

• Idaho: The WAC basketball season is about ready to begin and Utah State, the favorite, will open on the road in Texas.

• Chiefs: Nothing from Spokane, but we found this Christmas feature on Portland’s announcers.

• Seahawks: Anyone who saw Mario Manningham go down in the Hawks’ game Sunday night (pictured) knew the 49er receiver was severely injured . … The talk around the NFL right now is the Seattle offense, quarterback Russell Wilson and what’s been going on recently . So what’s been going on recently? … The Rams come to town this weekend. Are they carrying a trap ?

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• That’s it for today. I hope you received everything you needed on Christmas, whether that be a new iPad or just the smiles of loved ones. I was lucky enough to get both. Until later …