Grip on Sports: Today is Gonzaga and Spokane’s shining moment, though Monday may even be brighter

A GRIP ON SPORTS • If Gonzaga wins this afternoon, will they burn Bernhardt couches up at the Manito Center? Or will they think it’s just an elaborate April Fools’ Joke over at the corner of Boone and Hamilton? Will there be a wild parade down Sprague in the Valley? Or celebratory fireworks on Five Mile? Whatever happens today, all of Spokane will join in, either smiling or crying. We guarantee it. Read on.

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• There is a story in today’s S-R wondering if Spokane is a college town. The simple answer is no. Not like Pullman or Cheney, where the college is the daily focus of the community.

Spokane is too big and too diverse for that to be the case.

But the real answer is a bit more complicated.

On days like today, Spokane is a college town. And that college is represented by its men’s basketball team in the Final Four.

Saying that yesterday made me laugh. A Spokane team is one win away from playing for a national championship. In one of the two biggest sports.

Think about that for a moment. If Gonzaga wins tonight, the nation’s eyes will be on the little university from down by the river. And the city that surrounds it.

This isn’t Terre Haute, Indiana (pop. 61,025). There is no Larry Bird. And it’s not 1979.

Gonzaga has been knocking on the door for almost two decades. The country has come to know the school. The program. The community.

But today is different. This is our area’s one shining moment. And there might be an even shinier one on Monday.

Admit it. Even if you live in Spokane and are not a Gonzaga fan – and there are more of those in this area than outsiders might think – you are happy to have the national attention.

It’s never bad, right?

So when the lights go on in Glendale, Arizona this evening, there will be a large contingent of Spokane residents in the building. But they are not alone. They will be joined, in spirit, by another 300,000 or so around here.

• Even if it is April 1, South Carolina is no joke. The Gamecock team of late March bears little resemblance to the one that lost three consecutive times in February. Just ask Florida.

The Gators pounded South Carolina at home late in that month, winning by 15. But last weekend in the East Region final, USC prevailed by seven, rallying from a seven-point halftime deficit.

And the Gamecocks pose some interesting matchup problems for the Zags. Their bigs are quick. Their backcourt features two guards who are taller than anyone GU starts there. And 6-foot-5 Sindarius Thornwell is playing like Kawhi Leonard, averaging 25.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and two steals in four NCAA games.

They have depth, have been shooting well recently and play with passion. So don’t expect another Xavier-like blowout. This one should be more like the West Virginia MMA battle. They will trade blows until someone taps out.

All that being said, Gonzaga has the defensive intensity to deal with the Gamecocks’ weapons. It won’t surprise me at all if we have another day of dissecting the Bulldogs’ season and their next opponent.

You know, on Monday night.

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Gonzaga: Every morning I get up figuring there is nothing more that can be written about the Zags, their opponent or their journey. And I am proven wrong. Today, Jim Meehan covers the basketball aspects of the matchup with South Carolina as well as delving into the thoughts of athletic director Mike Roth and a couple of the players. … John Blanchette looks at the key player for GU: Nigel Williams-Goss. … Jacob Thorpe focuses more on the Gamecocks and their players but takes the time to preview each of the Final Four teams: Gonzaga, South Carolina, Oregon and North Carolina. He also has a story on Jerry Krause, who may be retired but is still around. … Whitney Ogden goes a bit deeper into the Gonzaga bench and academics, with awards in that latter area as well. … Dan Pelle and Colin Mulvany have two photo galleries from yesterday, one from inside the arena and one from outside. … Colin also put together this video of the GU season. … Paul Turner stands at the intersection of spiritual and sports. … Music and sports goes together as well, maybe too well for one Spokane resident. Azaria Podplesky has that piece. … Getting to Phoenix by car wasn’t fun. Josh Horton has a story and I had texts from friends who experienced the ice and snow. … Finding a place to watch around here takes planning. It also may take planning to avoid the Zags. Pia Hallenberg has a story that might help . … Ya, everyone wants to get involved, even politicians. Jim Camden has the story. … Nina Culver examines the economic impact on the area’s street corners. … ESPN’s Neil Everett has deep ties to Gonzaga – and Oregon for that matter. … Alex Hernandez has been around Gonzaga for years. But he won’t be at the Final Four. … This is a really good piece on Gonzaga’s impact at other schools. … If you have a connection to the Bulldogs, someone will write a story about you this week. Even places that don’t write much about the Zags are writing about them. … We also have some stories about South Carolina to pass along.

WSU: The Cougars opened a three-game Pac-12 baseball series at California yesterday on a sour note. … Around the conference, Oregon has its hands full with North Carolina, last year’s runner-up. But the Ducks hope to run the Tar Heels down. And continue doing it for years, maybe even against Gonzaga. … Stanford’s NCAA run on the women’s side ended in an oddly officiated second half against South Carolina. But that story is lost in the refuse of Connecticut’s 111-game winning streak being snapped by Mississippi State. … Utah is losing two players. … There is Pac-12 football news as well, with Washington in the midst of spring practice along with Arizona and Arizona State. And will Las Vegas become a football destination for the conference as well?

EWU: The Eagles are about ready to begin spring football practice under new head coach Aaron Best. Jim Allen has this story on the practices and a look at the positions.

Empire: Spokane will host Nebraska in the Arena this evening.

Chiefs: Josh Horton moves on in his series on the Chiefs, today looking at the team’s leaders.

Mariners: Dave Nichols moves to the outfield as his series on the M’s rolls on. … Two months is a long time, even in the slog that is a major league baseball season. But two months is how long the M’s could be without starting pitcher Drew Smyly. … The Mariners and Rockies tied at 5 after the M’s defense departed in the eighth inning. … The 25-man roster is basically set. … The M’s signed a veteran infielder for insurance.

Seahawks: Pete Carroll is always optimistic. If Jimmy Graham and Thomas Rawls are healthy, he’ll be even more so.

Sounders: Seattle was a bit shorthanded yesterday, with two key players not starting after national team duty. Which might explain the scoreless draw with Atlanta.

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• Today is a first for me today as well. I get a chance to listen to Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery and Grant Hill call a Gonzaga game. And then write about it. We will be back this evening with our TV Take on the semifinal. We promise we will write “the kiss off the glass” at some point. That’s Raftery’s signature term, after all. Until then …