A Grip on Sports: No matter how much water drops from the sky today, it can’t compare with the amount of hoops available on the TV
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It is wet outside. The good type of wet. Rain showers. Sprinkles really. Good for the plants and good for plans to watch sports on TV this Saturday. A win-win.
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• If you don’t want to go outdoors, for whatever reason, today’s televised sports schedule is a good reason not to.
There is so much to watch, there isn’t enough time, or TVs, available. But we’ll make do.
This time of year, March, televised sports always begin and end with college basketball. We mean that literally. Games start at 9 this morning, with three ranked teams (Wisconsin, Auburn and Villanova) playing in that time slot. The games end sometime near midnight, with the last game scheduled tonight the WCC quarterfinal between Pepperdine and Saint Mary’s (the winner facing BYU in Monday’s semifinal).
In between there are games featuring ranked teams and games featuring teams with local interest. And a couple NCAA Tournament berths handed out. Heck, they might even overlap.
How? The winner of tonight’s Ohio Valley championship (Murray State and Belmont meeting at 5 p.m. on ESPN2) could play its first-round game in Spokane. You never know.
Before that game, however, there are a bunch of games I want to watch. How about you?
On my list is No. 1 Kansas at Texas Tech (11 a.m. on ESPN), No. 10 Louisville at No. 22 Virginia (also ESPN, at 1 p.m.), WSU at Arizona State (3:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network), Oregon women vs. Arizona (6 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network) and Pacific vs. USF (7 p.m. on ESPN2), with the winner to play Gonzaga on Monday night.
But, honestly, wherever the remote takes me, I’m pretty sure I’ll enjoy the basketball. I always do.
• It might even land me on SWX, where I can sit and watch B basketball all day.
It starts early this morning (so early, it might already be on when you are reading this) and runs throughout the day. Much of it is without announcers, so you can even sit with the mute button on and read or knit or whatever while you glance at the action.
Or you can turn the volume up real high, pull out your foam finger, pick a team to root for and pretend you are in section 115 of the Arena. Without the worry of the person next to you spreading their sniffles.
• Basketball isn’t the only thing on, of course, and TV isn’t the only way to ingest hoops either. There is always radio, from Eastern – the Eagles are trying to clinch at least an NIT berth today with a win – and Idaho as well as Washington State’s game.
In the other sports category, among many choices there is football (the XFL is still in business), golf (Florida looks really nice this time of year) and baseball (so does Arizona for spring training).
You can’t go wrong with any of that.
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Gonzaga: All week finalists for major college basketball awards have been announced and rarely does one not include a Zag. Yesterday, the five Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award finalists and the 10 for the Naismith coach of the year award dropped. Filip Petrusev was one the former and Mark Few among the latter. Jim Meehan has stories on both. … There are many Gonzaga fans in the community, but few that are better connected than Jon Heimbigner. Jim Allen has this story on Jon and his wife Karen, familiar faces at just about every Spokane sporting event. … Nigel Williams-Goss is splitting his time this season between Utah and the Jazz’s G League affiliate. … The baseball team played their first home game last night. It also picked up its first home defeat. … Elsewhere in the WCC, we have roundups of the men and women and their second-round action in Las Vegas. … USF had little trouble with Loyola Marymount. … The BYU women are about to start tournament play. The men want to make a deep NCAA run.
WSU: Did you see what Aron Baynes did last night? The former back-to-basket, set-a-mean-screen Washington State player hit nine 3-pointers and scored 37 points for the Phoenix Suns. Yes, I predicted that back in 2009. (No, I did not.) … The Cougars have a chance to ruin Arizona State’s NCAA chances today. … Around the Pac-12, the best basketball family on the West Coast? It may just be the Tinkles, a family with roots in Spokane. … If Colorado defeats Utah today, it earns a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament. … The battle for L.A. has special meaning today. … The women’s tournament continues to highlight some of the nation’s best teams. … Washington will try to get a winning streak going today in Tucson against Arizona. … In football news, the Colorado coaching staff is now full. … Utah has added a couple games to its schedule. … Arizona State has finished its first week of spring drill.
EWU: A win today against lowly Weber State (the Wildcats are 12-18 this season) and Eastern not only wins the Big Sky regular season crown and the top seed in the conference tournament, the Eagles are assured of playing in the NIT at least. Ryan Collingwood has that and more in this preview of today’s game. … Ryan also talked with Larry Weir yesterday and that conversation is part of the latest Press Box pod. … The women rallied to force overtime but lost last night at Weber State. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky,
Whitworth: Lewis and Clark High graduate Isaiah Hernandez has had some big moments in his four years with the Pirates. But nothing can top his near coast-to-coast drive and score that lifted Whitworth to an 88-86 NCAA Division III first-round victory last night in Texas. The Pirates will play host Texas-Dallas tonight with a berth in the Sweet 16 on the line.
Preps: As we mentioned yesterday, there are six State basketball tournaments going on around Washington (and five for Idaho boys) this weekend. In many of them, there is an Inland Northwest school in the finals. Over in Tacoma, where Dave Nichols is, Central Valley is in the title game in 4A girls and 4A boys. He has stories on each of their semifinal wins. He also has a story from Mt. Spokane’s bounce-back win in the 3A girls tournament. … The 2A and 1A tournaments are ongoing in Yakima, with West Valley’s girls and Clarkston’s boys playing for 2A titles tonight. … Over at the Arena, Dan Thompson has the story of Brewster’s tight win over St. George’s in the 2B boys semifinals and top-ranked Liberty’s win over Northwest Christian in the 2B girls semis. … Jason Shoot has stories from the 1B girls and 1B boys semifinal action. … In Idaho, Post Falls will play for another 5A boys title tonight, among other State action. … Finally, we leave the prep ranks with a smile, thanks to Ryan Collingwood’s story on Colfax’s JonJon Kinley, an athlete in every sense of the word.
Chiefs: Spokane just keeps winning in Canada, adding a 5-1 victory at Red Deer to the list last night.
Shock: Practice begins today for the reborn Shock. They will play their first game March 22 on the road. Ryan has more in this story.
Mariners: Could the M’s have to open the season on the road? … They won yesterday as Kyle Lewis hit a grand slam.
Sounders: The depth will be better at midfield today against Columbus thanks to the return of Gustav Svensson.
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• I may have stretched the truth a bit earlier. All those games I said I would be watching? I may be sitting in front of the TV set while they are on, but watching? It just depends how often my eyes close for a well-deserved Saturday nap (or three). It’s just the best way to spend a rainy day, right? Until later …