Grip on Sports: Gonzaga rolls, sure, but Eastern, Idaho and WSU games had more drama

A GRIP ON SPORTS • You know what makes life more exciting? Little surprises. An unexpected bill in the mail, or, on a happier note, an unexpected check. A wink from that certain someone you’ve had your eye on for a while. Or your team winning a game you never expected them to. Heck even coming close. Read on.

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• That is what’s missing with Gonzaga games this season. No, I don’t believe Zag fans are complaining, mind you, but it does get a little boring winning by 30 every single game.

To paraphrase that noted philosopher Crash Davis, routs are fascist. Throw in a close game once in a while, it’s more democratic.

Heck, even BYU is losing a game or two just to keep its fans interested.

Of course we are being a bit facetious, but, honestly, going into every game knowing the outcome – and just trying to avoid injury – doesn’t seem the American Way.

Wait, maybe it is. Superman and all that. The truth of it is, there is no justice in playing down to your competition. The Zags aren’t. If they are 30 points better than Santa Clara or Pacific or San Diego, then they are defeating them by that margin.

Besides, I’m sure such dominance is a lot easier on everyone’s constitution. Including Mark Few’s.

• That being said, the guess here is Washington State and Eastern Washington fans enjoyed themselves just as much last night. The Vandal faithful? Probably not so much.

Do you think any Cougar fan went into last night’s game at No. 7 Arizona believing WSU had a decent chance? Yet Ernie Kent’s team hung tough for most of the contest in one of the toughest venues on the West Coast.

That they ultimately fell 17-points short is not immaterial to Kent. But the hour or hour-and-a-half they supplied their fans with hope was more than most expected.

The Eagles knew they had a shot against the Griz in Missoula last night. After all, only an odd whistle at the end of the matchup in Cheney allowed UM to escape with a win.

And when the game started and two of Montana’s better players were on the bench in street clothes – courtesy of the catch-all “coach’s decision” – the odds went up quite a bit.

But the tension supplied by a tight game made it even more worthwhile to listen to, especially considering the Eagles held on for a crucial Big Sky road win.

Contrast that to the Vandals’ travails in Bozeman. In an injury-riddled, up-and-down season, UI has won games it may have been supposed to lose and lost games it probably should have won. Last night was the latter.

If that’s your cup of tea, then you’re drinking it twice a week. If not, then maybe you should start rooting for Gonzaga.

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Gonzaga: Where to begin? At the beginning. The Zags’ 79-43 shellacking (or was it a blowout?) of the University of San Diego came without the services of Killian Tillie. The freshman big has a sprained ankle, though looked to be walking decently before the game. … Jim Meehan has the game coverage, along with the keys to the win and the stars of the game. … John Blanchette has a column full of things Zags fans can ponder over the next few days. … Whitney Ogden has a story on the two-man battle that unfolded early while Michael Gulledge covered Brett Bailey’s last college game in Spokane. And there are stories on GU’s defense, the numbers from the contest and the Zags’ crowded schedule. … Colin Mulvany and Dan Pelle have the game covered in photographs. … Finally, I watched like most of you, from the living room. Here are my thoughts. … The Gonzaga women found a way to win on the road. A Jill Barta last-second shot did the trick. … John Stockton will be inducted into the West Coast Conference Hall of Honor. He hasn’t been inducted already? … Around the WCC last night, there was one upset. Santa Clara hit about a zillion 3-pointers and shot down visiting BYU, 76-68, in the Leavey Center. The teams are tied for third. … Second-place Saint Mary’s held Australia Day festivities and then used its Australian players to help roll over USF, 66-46. … Pepperdine, who hosts GU on Saturday, tuned up with a 78-60 home win over Portland. … Loyola-Marymount held off Pacific in L.A., 79-73.

WSU: With a little more than 7 minutes left, the Cougars trailed the seventh-ranked Wildcats by three. Then it all went south in Tucson. Jacob Thorpe has a story on the game. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Dillon Brooks led Oregon past host Utah, 73-67, with 19 points and the worst flop in the history of collegiate sports. No lie. Watch it. Even Lionel Messi was disgusted. … Colorado finally won a conference game, getting past woeful Oregon State, 85-78.

EWU: Bogdan Bliznyuk scored 28 points in Eastern’s 72-60 road win. … Tisha Phillips had 26 to lead the Eastern women past Montana. … Around the Big Sky yesterday, North Dakota made it official. It is leaving the conference as soon as it can. That leaves Northern Colorado sort of out on its own. … The Bears couldn’t score in a 63-50 loss at Northern Arizona. … UND figured out a way to get past Southern Utah, 91-89 on a last-second shot.

Idaho: It took two overtimes but Montana State got past the Vandals, 94-91, last night. … The Vandal women also lost.

Empire: Spokane signed a former Eastern Washington lineman yesterday along with making a few other roster moves.

Preps: Mead won the GSL wrestling crown last night with an easy win over Mt. Spokane. Greg Lee was there and has this story. … We can also pass along a girls’ basketball roundup.

Seahawks: The Legion of Boom isn’t immune to needing help. … General manager John Schneider makes his case why the Hawks should avoid punishment in the Richard Sherman injury situation.

Mariners: The M’s held a preseason media event yesterday. James Paxton talked. Felix Hernandez was mentioned. And then Jerry Dipoto excused himself so he could, just for the fun of it, make a couple trades. Seriously, the guy has a problem. He needs help.

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• A couple of house-cleaning items to end with the morning. We’ll be on the radio this afternoon from 3 to just after 5, filling in for Dennis Patchin. I’ll join Rick Lukens on 700 ESPN. You can listen here if you like. Also, another reminder we have personal duties tomorrow morning so we won’t have a post. We’ll be back late in the evening with a Gonzaga TV Take and with this column on Sunday. Until then …