A Grip on Sports: Every year Gonzaga fans head to Las Vegas, take over the Orleans Arena and help their Zags start their annual postseason run

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There is something oddly attracting about the bright lights of Las Vegas in early March. At least there is for Gonzaga basketball fans. Most years they light their way to a fun-filled, net-cutting couple days. Occasionally, the lights act more like a zapper to their WCC title hopes. Either way, it’s just the first stop on the March Madness highway.

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• There are three types of Gonzaga basketball fans of which I can identify.

The first? They head to Las Vegas every year for the West Coast Conference tournament. They have their favorite places to stay. They have their favorite places to play – golf and other things. And they have their favorite players from the past appearances. They may or may not follow the Zags to the wherever they end up in the NCAA Tournament – this year, with GU probably headed to Spokane, my guess is most of them will be there – but they’ll always have Vegas. Baby. (I’m pretty sure that last word is required to follow “Vegas” by a Nevada statute.)

There is another group of Bulldog fans who have made one or two trips south this time of year, enjoyed it but don’t need to go again. They wanted to see what all their friends were talking about and they did that. It was fun (or, after a night that morphed into morning too quickly, it wasn’t) but there is no need to do it again. Besides, they want to save their hard-earned cash for a possible Final Four trip.

And then there is the third group. The aspirational group. They want to spend a few days in the Orleans, rooting for their team, but it’s just never worked out. Kids, jobs, funds, obligations, something has always gotten in the way. Seeing the Zags run Saint Mary’s out of the arena in Vegas (baby) is on their bucket list, sure, but it’s going to have to wait until life slows down a bit.

Each year the S-R tries to cater to all three groups with its tournament preview section. If you are going, there is something for you. For example, this year there is a restaurant review from Don Chareunsy. It covers a steakhouse, Alder & Birch, located in the Orleans – of all places. And if you are staying home? There are stories galore.

So take a little time today (or tomorrow or the next day, the Zags don’t play until next week) to read it. We link the individual stories below in the Gonzaga section but all of them are here as well. Have fun.

• Speaking of fun, the past couple days we’ve had on SWX’s raw feed from the B basketball tournaments in our house during the day. We haven’t really sat and watched a whole game yet, but as we do this-and-that around the place, we’ve caught quite a bit of a bunch of contests.

It’s nice that it’s available for those of us who haven’t had a chance to hit the Arena (or are avoiding crowds for whatever reason). The station has done this for a while now and every year we marvel at what a good idea it is.

Thanks.

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Gonzaga: Man, there are a lot of stories. Jim Meehan starts it off with a tournament preview that also serves as a valedictory to the unexpected success of the regular season just finished. … He also has a look back at the highs and lows of Vegas tournaments past. … (This isn’t in the special section, but Jim shares the news Killian Tillie is one of the five finalists for the Karl Malone Award.) … John Blanchette chips in by picking Gonzaga’s female and male all-Vegas teams, covering the dozen years the tournament has been in Southern Nevada. … Justin Reed asked the men what they take with them for their long plane flights. … Jim Allen not only looks at what’s ahead for the women, but also introduces us to one of GU’s biggest Vegas-based fans. … Oh, he also looks back at the highs and lows at the Orleans. … Larry Weir spoke with Tom Hudson yesterday about the upcoming tournament. The conversation is part of the latest Press Box pod. … Elsewhere in the WCC, we have a roundup of the men and women and their first-round action in Las Vegas. Neither GU team plays until Monday’s semifinals. … Santa Clara defeated Portland, ending the Pilots’ season. … San Diego’s season also ended with a loss to Loyola Marymount. … Like Gonzaga, BYU’s men don’t play until the semifinals.

WSU: The Cougars were grinding away in Tucson last night, leading the host Wildcats by a half-dozen in the second half. Then the McKale Center roof caved in, metaphorically speaking. UA scored 26 consecutive points – yes, two more than two dozen – and pulled away for an 83-62 victory. … The women, playing in Las Vegas in the Pac-12 Tournament, saw their season end with an 82-55 loss to Oregon State. … At least the baseball team won. … Around the Pac-12, the conference has some really good teams that no one knows too much about nationally. … Washington won a road game for the first time this conference season. And the win at Arizona State could hurt the Sun Devils a lot. … Oregon clinched a first-round tournament bye with a rout of California in Eugene. … Oregon State held off Stanford, maybe dealing a death blow to the Cardinal’s NCAA hopes. … Colorado is still looking for a shooting guard. … Utah still has confidence in a little-used player. … A freshman in name only is leading UCLA. … In football news, Utah expects a newcomer to play a big role. … Continuity is a big reason why UCLA kept its defensive coordinator.

EWU: Somehow, someway, the Eagles are one win – Saturday at home against Weber State – from a solo Big Sky regular season title. They avenged their most shocking conference defeat (at Idaho State) last night by blowing out the last-place Bengals at Reese Court. Ryan Collingwood was in Cheney and has this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the most important, and maybe shocking, outcome came in Missoula, where Northern Colorado upset the Griz and moved into a tie for second place with the hosts. … Portland State stayed hot, defeating Northern Arizona. … Montana State clinched a first-round bye with a home win over Southern Utah.

Idaho: As the season winds down, so do the Vandals hopes for another win. Weber State was a decent bet, but the Wildcats pulled away late. Peter Harriman was there and has this game story.

Whitworth: The Pirates are in Texas for the first weekend of the NCAA Division III basketball tournament. LeTourneau will present some challenges, including one of the better players in the Division III ranks, Nate West. But Whitworth has its star too, Ben College. Dan Thompson talked with College as part of his preview.

Preps: There are six State basketball tournaments going on around Washington (and five for Idaho boys) this weekend. Dave Nichols is in Tacoma for the bigger schools and has coverage of Central Valley’s wins in 4A girls and 4A boys action. He also has a story from Mt. Spokane’s loss in the 3A girls tournament. … The 2A and 1A tournaments are ongoing in Yakima. … Over at the Arena, Dan watched as top-ranked Liberty suffered its first loss of the season in the 2B boys quarterfinals. … Justin has the coverage of Northwest Christian’s win over Ilwaco in 2B girls play. … Jason Shoot has stories from the 1B girls and 1B boys quarterfinal action.

Mariners: Yes, the M’s lost again yesterday. But there is more. Mallex Smith was unhappy with his performance in 2019. … Is Evan White the real deal?

Seahawks: The proposed CBA seems to be unpopular with the more well-paid players.

Sounders: Seattle is still playing despite coronavirus concerns, but other events could be imperiled soon. There is a CenturyLink employee that has fallen ill.

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• According to my weather app, it is supposed to begin raining this afternoon and continue through Saturday afternoon. Which means there is no chance for me to work around the yard today or tomorrow. Oh, darn. Until later …