A Grip on Sports: Yes, Northwestern State is playing a lot of games in a short time, which is exactly the fun of it
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Have basketball, will travel. And play on back-to-back-to-back days. College hoops, circa 2020 mid-majors. You know, it actually sounds fun.
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• Northwestern State left its Natchitoches, La., campus last week, headed for Tulsa, Okla., and a long road trip.
Friday night in Tulsa. Saturday night in Springfield, Mo., for a game against Missouri State. A plane trip to Spokane on Sunday. Games against the Zags on Monday and Tuesday night. Today, the last of five games in six days, an early afternoon matchup with Washington State in Pullman.
Through it all, through the airports and buses and locker rooms and fast-food meals, the Demons will have also played 200 minutes of basketball. That’s what makes the travel worth it. Playing a game they all love. Together. But there is so much more.
If you never had to opportunity to makes such a trip, you missed something. The one my UC Irvine baseball team made my freshman year in college, busing from Southern California to Las Vegas, flying to Reno, busing across Northern California for games in Davis and at Stanford before flying home, still sticks in my memory 45 years later.
Playing gin on the bus. Losing my meal money in 20 minutes playing blackjack in Vegas. One player, who would end up pitching a month in the big leagues, bringing his wife on the trip. Watching an umpire toss our coach at UNLV. A so-cold April night in Reno we had to run down to the right-field foul pole between innings to stay loose. Bored, walking the Reno streets and, out of the blue, being propositioned. An all-night gin game, with our Oklahoma-bred shortstop keeping score – with a pen on the bed sheet. Stopping the bus for a snowball fight by Lake Tahoe. The wind blowing so hard in Davis a pop up to left was caught by our first baseman. Sunken Diamond. Running into a high school friend in the Stanford locker room as he was finishing up a spring football practice.
A week of memories, fun and a whole bunch of losing games. We weren’t very good. But, today, I could care less. It was the fun. The joy of being with a group of like-minded individuals with one goal: To figure out a way to get out after curfew and not get caught.
Good times.
• The Demons may have felt a bit at home last night, though. They passed through Colfax en route to Pullman, and that had to seem familiar. There’s a small town of Colfax about 40 miles south of Natchitoches, hard by the Red River and just off U.S. Highway 71. Because the highway bypassed the town, though, my guess is the traffic patrol isn’t nearly as busy as the one in the Palouse. And, more than likely, after the productive second half against GU, the Demons slept through the crawl through Washington’s Colfax.
Slept well, probably.
• By the way, don’t miss John Blanchette’s column in the Gonzaga section below. He talked with the Northwestern State coach about some of the themes.
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WSU: Awards’ season can make one’s blood boil. There are always guys left out who you feel should have been included. Such is the case this season when the Cougars’ Abe Lucas was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection and not one of two first-team tackles. Ah, well. He’ll always be first team in my book. Theo Lawson has a story that details all the Washington State selections. … In a battle of local schools, the Cougar women handled Eastern Washington easily, winning 73-52 in Pullman. … Around the Pac-12 and college football, Jon Wilner ranks the teams one last time. Wait, he may do it after the bowl season. … We have Washington’s all-conference performers and one Husky who says he won’t be back. … Oregon had a lot of players honored. It should. It is headed to the Fiesta Bowl. … After a season of improvement, Oregon State will lose some of its better players. … Colorado had a great season and was rewarded. … Another UCLA player is headed to the NFL. … Recruiting is never easy at Utah. … The Arizona coaching search is getting interesting. But it also ended, with the Wildcats hiring an NFL assistant. … In basketball news, the best game tonight pits Oregon against UCLA in Eugene. There are good, athletic players on both sides. It’s early but this one might decide the conference title. … Oregon State held off Portland State down the stretch. The Beavers are struggling to win. … Colorado is winning a lot and did again last night in Las Vegas. … Turns out Utah had a false positive test, so the Utes are back at it. … California got past Seattle U. … Arizona did the same with Montana, though the Wildcats struggled.
Gonzaga: The late schedule change meant some of us weren’t available to watch Northwestern State claw back against the Bulldogs in the second half last night. John did and he takes into the mind of Demons’ coach Mike McConathy and why his team played GU again on this long trip. He has interesting reasons. And all the right ones. … Jim Meehan has the game analysis, telling us why it was a lot closer than Monday’s game. … Jim also has the difference makers and some recruiting news. … Dan Pelle had his camera at both games as well. Here is his photo gallery from Tuesday night. … There is a recap with highlights from the contest. … We have a couple of Larry Weir’s Press Box podcasts to pass along, because we missed Monday’s with Jim Meehan. On Tuesday, Larry talked with Tom Hudson. … Elsewhere in the WCC, big, athletic teams seem to give Saint Mary’s fits. The Gaels had their winning streak snapped emphatically by San Diego State. … BYU will host Weber State tonight. … Portland picked up another win, rallying to get past Montana State. … Santa Clara lost for the first time this year, getting thumped by Colorado State.
EWU: The Eagles have yet to play their 2020 football season. Those six games are scheduled to happen in the spring. But yesterday the school announced its 2021 fall schedule. Ryan Collingwood has that information. … Around the Big Sky, as we linked in the paragraphs above, Montana lost at Arizona and Montana State lost at Portland. … In a conference matchup, Northern Colorado defeated Idaho State in Greeley. … Northern Arizona won its first game of the season.
Seahawks: No, Josh Gordon will not be streaking deep to catch a Russell Wilson pass against the Rams on Sunday. The troubled receiver seems to have a setback. The NFL pulled the rug yesterday. And he may not get another chance. … Of course the Hawks are built for nothing less than a Super Bowl. That’s their goal every year. Every thing else is a failure. The franchise is consistent enough for that. … There is a chance there will be a new offensive coordinator next year and not because anyone is unhappy with the current OC. … D.J. Reed has been the secondary’s savior this season. … Michael Dickson’s Pro Bowl snub is hard to swallow.
Mariners: The M’s lost a couple players off waivers, including Tim Lopes.
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• No white Christmas in Spokane this year. Personally, I’m not a fan of snow – as if you didn’t know that. Anyhow, if it could snow lustily on Dec. 23, stay cold for a few days but hit 50 on Dec. 27, I would be OK with that. You know, in the spirit of keeping everyone else happy. But bare and dry roads are fine with me. Especially today, as I race around town picking up last-minute gifts. I need to get a PS5. That shouldn’t be a problem, should it? Until later …