A Grip on Sports: When a game goes off as scheduled these days, we should all give thanks instead of complaining about what’s missing

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Everywhere we turn, we see anger. Text messages. Social media. On TV. All because of circumstances that we feel we should be able to control but we can’t. Or maybe it’s because we feel it should have been under control by now but isn’t. Yes sir, it is really way too cold outside.

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• What, you thought we were going to rail about COVID-19 and its impact on the sporting events that mean so much to each of us? Actually, we are. But the point is made, isn’t it? The pandemic has become as ingrained in our daily live as the weather and we, as individuals, seemingly have as much control over it.

Some days are sunny and mild. Others are cloudy and blustery. And a few, like those recently, are filled with storms, ice, lightning, tornadoes and just about every other awful thing you can imagine.

It’s not as if we have any control. We wish we did, but we don’t. The virus moves through society at its own speed. It spits on our puny attempts to limit its spread. It blows in, like a cold north wind, and freezes us in our tracks. This is, as Shakespeare sort of said, our second consecutive winter of discontent. And there is no glorious summer anywhere to be seen.

So we take to our soapboxes and rail about it. Some, like North Carolina State football coach Dave Doeren, have a tall one courtesy of ESPN. He used it to tell the world he felt UCLA lied to them about its COVID-19 issues. As if the Bruins didn’t want to play Tuesday night’s canceled Holiday Bowl. Coaches are the first one to stand up in front of their team and preach that they can only control what they can control. To not let extenuating circumstances lead them astray. And here Doeren is, bitching and moaning about something he – and UCLA – doesn’t have control over.

If this pandemic’s latest tidal wave has taught us anything, it’s taught our illusion of control is just that, an illusion. Oh, we can do all we should to limit exposure and contact, but if we want to have sports, there are going to be problems. And out-of-the-clear-blue-sky cancellations. The new variant is that potent.

Wear your mask. Wear two if you feel you must. Get vaccinated. Boosted. Try to keep your distance when possible. But if you are playing basketball or football or hockey or whatever, getting through the next month without an infection may be akin to seeing a unicorn.

It hit us this morning as we were sweeping the driveway and putting out the trash. We had layer after layer on. Heavy gloves, wool cap, everything. And we still got cold. Funny, though. We didn’t rush in, pull out the phone and rail about it on Twitter or Instagram. Blame Canada. Curse out Tom Sherry. Shake our fist at the weather gods. It wouldn’t have done any good. Or made it any warmer outside.

Though, to be honest, a couple hundred likes might have made us feel better.

• We always loved watching and listening to John Madden. He was an exceptional coach with the Raiders. He was even better as a football analyst.

That’s how we will remember him following his death yesterday at 85. But the next generation, my kids’ generation, remember him as the face of the best football video game on the market.

Madden was a crossover celebrity before such things were popular. He reached my generation (and those even older) through his football prowess. He reached the next through marketing.

He never changed. The circumstances around him did. He was who he seemed to be. Outgoing, garrulous, fun-loving, dedicated.

When people die, the one phrase that comes to mind quickly is that he or she will be missed. In Madden’s case, that has already been true. He had been out of the spotlight for a long time. And he had been missed. He will always be missed.

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Gonzaga: The Zags were able to play Tuesday, in something of a minor miracle these days. But they won’t be playing Thursday, which was supposed to be their West Coast Conference opening game at the University of San Diego. Jim Meehan has more on that. … Back to Tuesday afternoon, Jim was in the Kennel as North Alabama visited again. And the result, a 93-63 Gonzaga victory, was similar to the first meeting. Jim has the game story and the difference makers. … Colin Mulvany was on the baseline and put together this photo gallery. … The folks in the office covered the recap with highlights. … Around the WCC, Santa Clara’s COVID-19 issues have sent the Broncos to the sidelines. … BYU has had to remake itself due to season-ending injuries.

WSU: Down in the West Texas town of El Paso, Colton Clark had a minor miracle of his own. He was able to get there. Considering the issues with air travel these days – a combination of the virus and the weather, which brings twice the anger out in folks – he has to be happy to be someplace where the lows aren’t in the single digits. He has a notebook from the Cougars’ somewhat normal practice as well as a feature on a couple players reflecting back on the season. … Larry Stone uses the Cougars’ Sun Bowl experience as a metaphor for all that is happening around college football’s bowl season. … Washington State will host Washington tonight (ahem, is scheduled to host) in the Pac-12 opener for the Huskies. UW has missed a lot of time due to COVID-19 issues and is still being impacted. The game will be on ESPNU at 8 p.m. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, Jon Wilner examines the conference race in this story appearing in the S-R and predicts the awards in this Mercury News piece. … Yes, the Holiday Bowl was canceled just hours before kickoff in San Diego. What a pain. … If it comes off, Oregon and Oklahoma, both with interim coaches, will face off in tonight’s Alamo Bowl (6:15 p.m., ESPN). The Ducks are also filling out their staff for next season. … No matter the outcome of the Rose Bowl against Ohio State, it is an important milestone for Utah. The Utes hope to build off it for the future. … Should Urban Meyer have stayed in Salt Lake City? … Arizona State is in for a Las Vegas Bowl brawl with Wisconsin. … In basketball news, Oregon and Colorado will play on Monday, making up a virus-postponed game. … Is UCLA the team to beat? … The virus may be everyone’s toughest opponent in 2022.

EWU: The Eastern women are part of the COVID-19 cancellation brigade, postponing two games this weekend to the virus. Jim Allen covers that in this story. … Around the Big Sky, the conference has a policy in place to deal with the issues this basketball season. … In football news, Montana State has been preparing for the FCS title game, which is still more than a week away.

Idaho: Northern Arizona is scheduled to host the Vandals tonight in the Lumberjacks first home game since November.

Preps: We watched parts of four high school basketball games last night. All without leaving our office, thanks to video feeds from various gyms. Yes, we pay for it but these days it seems worth it. Dave Nichols probably has the same setup, though he has to write a roundup of the night’s action, something we get to avoid.

Seahawks: Carlos Dunlap is on a roll. In past times, we would have termed it “a salary drive.” … Next up for Seattle are the Detroit Lions, who are playing better these days. … The NFL playoffs seem as if they will be disrupted by omicron, though they are a few weeks away. Who knows where we will be then.

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• If my parents were still with us, and they had stayed married (both big ifs, I know), then today would have been their 75th wedding anniversary. I’m sure my dad would have made a big deal of it, possibly even springing for a super-sized meal at McDonald’s. Unless the Social Security check was late. … Today is also my old friend – I mean that in two ways – Tom Engdahl’s birthday. Happy birthday Tommy and may your day be filled with the best of puns – if there is such a thing. Until later …