A Grip on Sports: The cast of characters has changed over the years but the Gonzaga women are still entertaining – and highly ranked

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Time has a way of mixing together like eggs, oil and water in a brownie mx. What you thought was just a month ago might have happened last year. And events from the past turn out to be, actually, ancient history. Which is another reason why I am love with the Internet.

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• Kim and I were talking the other night about Courtney Vandersloot. Her name had come up in connection with Sabrina Ionescu. As you may know, Vandersloot, while at Gonzaga, was the first player in college basketball history to record 2,000 points and 1,000 assists, an historic mark that went virtually unnoticed nine years ago. Oregon’s Ionescu joined Vandersloot this year and then did her one better, adding 1,000 career rebounds, reaching the mark against Stanford the other night.

My guess is, and it’s only a guess, is Kim saw at least half of Vandersloot’s points and assists live in the McCarthey Athletic Center.

And she blames Vandersloot for changing the entire atmosphere. Not entirely of course. Others deserve part of the blame, including then coach Kelly Graves (now, in one of those odd convergences, Ionescu’s coach in Eugene), and players like Heather Bowman, Jami Bjorkland and on and on.

See, there was a time, when Kim first bought her season tickets to Gonzaga women’s games, when she could sit and watch them play at the Martin Centre in utter and complete quiet. Well, not exactly, but it was quiet enough her and I could sit in her seats and hear what the opposing coach was saying to her or his team. We were just four rows from the visiting bench, sure, but timeouts were educational back then.

Now, with McCarthey packed with nearly 6,000 people every game, it’s hard to hear each other, let alone what Jeff Judkins is telling the BYU team – or yelling at the officials.

Back at the turn of the century, with our kids either in high school or near that line of demarcation, we started having some free time. Why not attend Gonzaga games? The men were out of our price range but the women, at $5 a game (at least that’s what I remember but, you know, memory), were not.

Besides, Kim had played at UC Irvine (back when the women still used the men’s ball, the shorts were, well, short and the varsity team had one – yes, one – paid coach) and her and I had always enjoyed watching basketball together.

As a legacy season-ticket holder, we had the opportunity to move seats when the Zags opened McCarthey, but we liked where we were. There were seats open in nearly the same spot behind the Gonzaga bench. Nope. As I told Graves back then, why should I listen to what he has to say 20 times a year when I can listen to 20 other coaches once a season?

We’ve never regretted it.

Kim has a great group of friends who she’s come to know in our little section, some who have been there nearly as long as she has. (My attendance is much more spotty, what with the five years in Pullman and other duties that take my attention often at the same exact time.)

The tickets aren’t $5 apiece anymore. And, to stay in the section, Kim makes a donation to the program. She’s good with all of it. Not only does she get to see great basketball, she also has the opportunity to support another generation of players, as her then boyfriend (me) used to do in Crawford Hall back in the day.

At least that’s how I remember it.

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Gonzaga: The women have reached another milestone this season. Yesterday, they were ranked 10th nationally in the coaches’ poll. Jim Allen has more on their first top-10 appearance. … Jim Meehan looks at the West Coast Conference awards and wonders where the Gonzaga players (and Mark Few) might fit in. I wonder if they might get shut out this season. … Larry Weir’s latest Press Box pod features Steven Karr of the website Slipper Still Fits. … ESPN did a story on Tommy Lloyd.

WSU: It’s rivalry week for the Cougars, the second of the season. With Washington State playing Washington on Friday, Theo Lawson looks back on some of the best performances in the rivalry games this century. As I mentioned to him last night on Twitter, he forgot one. Dick Bennett’s performance in 2005 at Hec Ed. … With the NFL scouting combine underway in Indianapolis, Bob Condotta of the Times looks at the WSU and UW players attending.

Idaho: Zac Claus is no longer the Vandals’ interim basketball coach. Yesterday, athletic director Terry Gawlik named him the permanent coach. Peter Harriman has more in this story.

NIC: Another long-time local community college women’s basketball coach is retiring. Chris Carlson, who will turn 60 soon, is stepping down at North Idaho. Ryan Collingwood has all the information in this story.

Preps: We can pass along another roundup of boys basketball action in Idaho.

Mariners: Kyle Lewis is no longer the M’s injured prospect. He’s just another of the M’s prospects. … The Mariners won yesterday, 2-1 over the Brewers.

Seahawks: The Hawks will meet with Jadeveon Clowney’s agent this week. … Could Marshawn Lynch actually be around?

Sounders: There is a new collective bargaining agreement between the MLS and the players. Harry Shipp talks about it.

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• Sorry about the truncated report this morning. I have a doctor’s appointment and had to be out of here early. We will be back tomorrow with more. Until then …