Grip on Sports: A late rainy night in Pullman is followed by a short Sunday summary
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It was a rainstorm that would have been at home in Noah’s time. From south of Rosalia to just north of Spangle, between the hours of 2 and 3 a.m., it was raining hard enough on U.S. 195 to make the lane lines disappear. Read on.
••••••••••
• How do I know? That’s when I was trying to row my way back from Pullman following Washington State’s 28-0 slog past Colorado. The game was done, the writing was done, the postgame show was done and I was almost done in. By water, the wellspring of life.
Ironic.
Long story short, which is frowned upon here, I made it home. Barely. It was exactly 3 in the morning. And that’s when the Diet Coke and sugar I downed to make sure I stayed awake while driving really kicked in. Sleep didn’t come until well after 4. So we’re late getting to this column, I’m afraid everything is going to come off reading like a bad James Joyce novel and there isn’t going to be the usual depth of linkage. Sorry.
Let’s summarize yesterday anyway. The Cougars won. Eastern lost in Utah. Idaho got run over in Missouri. Whitworth won. The Huskies had a bye. And the Astros are headed to the World Series.
That’s the nutshell version. We have some links.
•••
WSU: The rain came down. So did the punts. So much for the first quarter. After that, the Cougars dominated. Theo Lawson has the game story, John Blanchette examines the new normal in his column, I took a look at the firsts around Washington State and Tyler Tjomsland did his best imitation of a golden retriever after his master had downed two dozen ducks – in the middle of Lake Pend Oreille. Yes, Tyler was wet, but his camera wasn’t. Josh Wright came over from Moscow and helped out with stories about the difference makers, a couple of young wideouts stepping up and Colorado pulling its quarterback. Theo also had stories on the Mike Leach protest in Texas, Gabe Marks making a Homecoming trip to Pullman and middle linebacker Isaac Dotson missing another game. … The bright folks in the office, which includes someone I know very well, put together all the highlights you would ever need. … All that and more can be found on our Washington State football page. … Guess what? Winter is coming and so is basketball. Theo posted an interview with Viont’e Daniels. … Though Stefanie Loh wasn’t able to get to Pullman yesterday, she has thoughts on the win in the Times this morning. … Colorado has a quarterback battle on its hands after the two it used against the Cougars didn’t battle the WSU defense very well.
Elsewhere in the Pac-12, we have a conference-wide roundup in the S-R. It wasn’t a good day for the conference nationally, highlighted by USC’s thumping in South Bend. … The Cougars travel to Tucson next week where Arizona has become the favorite to win the South. If it isn’t Arizona State.
Gonzaga: The volleyball team just keeps rolling along in WCC play.
EWU: The trip to Cedar City wasn’t bountiful for Eastern in the fourth quarter. Jim Allen was there and he chronicles how Southern Utah scored the final 21 points in a 46-28 loss to the Thunderbirds. Jim also has a difference maker and a look at the turnovers. … Around the Big Sky, we can pass along a roundup of action from Saturday.
Idaho: The Vandals were run over, past and by in the first half en route to a 68-21 loss at Missouri.
Whitworth: Quarterback Ian Kolste returned from injury and led the Pirates past Puget Sound 38-23 at the Pine Bowl. Whitney Ogden was there and she has the game story.
Preps: Idaho’s playoffs are in full swing, with state soccer titles decided Saturday and other state tournaments getting underway. We can pass along roundups covering volleyball, girls’ soccer and boys’ soccer.
Seahawks: In case you didn’t know exactly what to watch today against the Giants, we pass on some help. The game kicks at 1 p.m. or so our time.
•••
• We will be back this evening with our thoughts on the Seahawks’ win. Or loss. Whatever. Though if it is the latter, this season may not end well. Until later …