A Grip on Sports: Thanks to a lack of just a few inches, Seahawks will have to make a lengthy journey to reach Super Bowl

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The Seattle Seahawks will make a 2,400-mile flight this weekend to play a playoff football game. All because they couldn’t move the football two or three more inches last night.

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• Jacob Hollister was stopped that short of the goal line on the game’s last play. Two or three inches. Somewhere between a hard-boiled egg and a carrot.

That’s the distance between NFC West champions – as the San Francisco 49ers are this morning – and a wild-card team – as the Seahawks ended up.

The 49ers started the game looking like the best team in the conference – by a wide margin. Then they didn’t.

The Seahawks never looked like top-seed material (thanks to results earlier in the day, the highest they could rise was third anyway) but they did look as if they could win Sunday night, as long as Russell Wilson kept pulling off miracles. He came up one short.

And, hey, who would have known Marshawn Lynch was more than just a decoy or a physiological ploy from that master manipulator Pete Carroll. He actually made an impact on the game. The prodigal son returned to gain 34 yards on 12 carries. His evening included a touchdown and a 15-yard run, both of which made a difference.

To be fair, however, the biggest impact on the running game (and in pass protection), what there was of it, came from Travis Homer, who has been around all season, albeit in an observer’s role.

Truth of the matter, the Hawks don’t have enough healthy weapons on either side of the ball to advance far in the playoffs, home-field advantage or not. All that Sunday really did is give the 49ers a shot at another Super Bowl, thanks to earning the conference’s top seed.

And those two or three inches probably meant more to New Orleans and Green Bay than Seattle. The Saints, who won in the Northwest without Drew Brees, would have earned a bye if Hollister had been able to manipulate the football a few more inches. Now they host Minnesota and, winning that, head to the frozen tundra to face the Packers.

Green Bay is a flawed team – like everyone else – and certainly could have used a little Wisconsin magic if a showdown with San Francisco determines which heads to the Super Bowl.

All that changed last night thanks to two or three inches.

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WSU: The Cougars finished up their nonconference schedule yesterday with a win. We have this Associated Press game story to pass along. … The women lost to Washington in their Pac-12 opener. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, what type of gifts are out there this bowl season? Glad you asked. … Jon Wilner has named an All-Decade team and there is one Washington State player on the first time. Oddly, it’s a Paul Wulff recruit, safety Deone Bucannon. … The Oregon Ducks have a tough running back of their own. … Texas’ defense should be better against Utah. … Arizona State has made an addition to its coaching staff. … In basketball news, Oregon romped past Alabama State. … Oregon State rebounded with a home win over North Dakota. … Tad Boyle has won 200 games at Colorado. … USC played coach Andy Enfeld’s old school and won.

Gonzaga: The wife came home gushing over Portland’s effort yesterday in McCarthey. The Pilots, not expected to make much noise in the WCC, almost pulled off an upset that would have reverberated throughout the conference. But they didn’t. Jim Allen tells us how the Zag women were able to tough out the victory. … The men play tonight, hosting Detroit Mercy in their final nonconference game. Jim Meehan has a preview and the key matchup for the game. We hope to have a TV Take for you later this evening.  … Around the WCC, BYU feels it is ready for conference play.

EWU: It has been a productive and successful decade for the Eagles, starting with a FCS title. Ryan Collingwood looks back at all the highlights of the past 10 years.

Seahawks: Yes, John Blanchette was in Seattle yesterday and has a column from the disappointing loss. … The abrupt ending just inches short of success is, of course, the key point to be made. But there are also stories about the mixup that caused the late delay-of-game penalty and a look at the key injuries. … If you thought there was PI late, you are entitled to that opinion.

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• Sorry to say we took a disappointing turn for the worse yesterday afternoon. After starting the morning feeling almost normal, we ended the day as bad as we’ve been in the past week. The goal today? To find out what’s really wrong, because this isn’t the flu. Or just the flu. If you are my doctor and are reading this, you will be receiving a call this morning. Until later …