A Grip on Sports: Saturday was a fine day on the West Coast, if you are focused on sports and not the weather

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It seemed like a good day for the West Coast on Saturday. A Heisman Trophy. Big college basketball wins. No major stars leaving the region. These days, that adds up to a win.

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• College football’s transfer portal has become so overwhelming, no news is seen as huge news. An outstanding player decides to stay at a school, either not transferring or entering the NFL draft, it earns headlines. Nothing wrong with that. It does seem a bit weird though.

There are analogies, we guess.

“Mayor decides to finish term.”

“Trash pickup scheduled for Tuesday happens on Tuesday.”

“Plane arrives on time.”

Ok, that last one might deserve a headline. But you get the picture.

• We had some time last evening so we decided to watch Arizona play Indiana from Las Vegas. Our take? It was so refreshing to see Gonzaga’s free-flowing offense actually working again. And the Zags’ fastbreak in fine form.

We are joking, of course. But only a little.

Tommy Lloyd left Spokane last year and established a Gonzaga-esque beachhead in Tucson. This season, with the Zags’ fastbreak on something of a hiatus and the offense sputtering often, the Wildcats have become even better at it than their Northern cousins.

Nothing odd about that. Lloyd has an experienced point guard running the show and two bigs who fit in well with the continuity ball-screen action for which the Zags have become known.

That one of those bigs, Oumar Ballo, began his college career at Gonzaga – and would be playing a huge role for the Bulldogs this season – is material, of course. Lloyd being able to entice the 7-footer from Mali to follow him to the desert was a key element in setting up the Wildcats for long-term success.

• Hey, more transfer news. As in Caleb Williams, who followed Lincoln Riley from Norman, Oklahoma to Los Angeles, California, winning the Heisman Trophy in a semi-landslide as a sophomore.

That’s impressive. Not as impressive as the turnaround USC made as a team but impressive nonetheless.

But don’t be surprised if such things happen more and more often. All the changes in college athletics, from liberalized transfer rules to players receiving money legally for use of their name or image or likeness, have opened the front door for Mr. Quickturnaround to enter the house. Used to be, for such folks to visit, they had to sneak in the back or over the transom, usually boosted by illegal means.

The next magical mystery tour revival in the West? More than likely it will happen in Boulder, as Deion Sanders sells his program to recruits, transfers and the public like a modern-day P.T. Barnum.

• We remember when Troy Taylor passed through Cheney for a year. Left a high school position. Joined Beau Baldwin’s staff. Learned a few things and moved up the ladder, on to Salt Lake City where he worked for Kyle Whittingham. Now he’ll be in the same conference as those two as Stanford’s newest head coach.

Whittingham has been in the Pac-12 for more than a decade, of course, and is at the pinnacle of the conference. His Utah Utes have won the last two league titles.

Baldwin, who matched wits with Taylor the last couple seasons (if not talent) when Baldwin’s Cal Poly team was blown out by Sacramento State, will do it again as Arizona State’s offensive coordinator.

And Taylor? His multi-year journey from high school to college assistant to Big Sky head coach to Stanford’s leader, is over.

And just like when he took over at Sacramento, he faces a rebuilding effort. But the rules are different today. Even Stanford understands that. And seems at least somewhat willing to help.

We’ll see. If it is true, and the Cardinal can return to a Jim Harbaugh-like run of success, it is good for West Coast football.

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WSU: No football news out of Pullman yesterday but there was a basketball game. In Las Vegas. Colton Clark has the coverage as the Cougars generously handed the ball, and the game, to UNLV, 74-72. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, Jon Wilner delves into all the conference football news of the past week in the Mercury News. There has been a bunch. And looks at what has to happen at Stanford for the Cardinal to be successful. It’s not just the coach. … Washington’s big defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa, will return next season. … Sanders is already making a difference at Colorado. For more of one, some university policies must change. … Oregon State is headed to Las Vegas for a bowl game. How did the Beavers get there? … The Bruins will be at near full-strength in their bowl game. … Williams is USC’s eighth Heisman winner, though one is still trying to get his trophy back. … Arizona lost its most sure-handed receiver. … In basketball news, Oregon’s Will Richardson posted the school’s first triple-double in two decades. … UCLA had little trouble with Denver on an emotional day in Westwood. … Washington learned some things in the loss at Gonzaga.

Gonzaga: The win over Washington was needed, though not unexpected. The ease was as was at least one of the main contributors. Theo Lawson delves into the 77-60 decision today. … The women host UC Davis this afternoon. We will be there. So will Jim Allen, who has this preview. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU broke out of its funk with a win over No. 21 Creighton in Las Vegas. … Saint Mary’s also defeated a ranked team, topping No. 22 San Diego State 68-61. … The BYU women lost to Utah.

EWU: Before we get to Dan Thompson’s story on Eastern’s long snapper headed to a showcase game – well, that’s our bad, we already did – we wanted to share the results of last night’s basketball game at South Dakota State. If you turned off the radio with the Eagles holding a 23-point lead and about 8 minutes left, you might be shocked to learn they lost 77-76. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky Conference, Sacramento State joins Weber State in looking for a football coach. … Northern Colorado should be happy with its new coach. … Montana State is back in the FCS semifinals. … In basketball news, Montana picked up its first road win of the season. … Montana State rolled again. … Weber State handled St. Martin’s. … Northern Colorado earned a road win. … Idaho State couldn’t get over the hump. … Neither could Northern Arizona.

Preps: This Sunday is the day the S-R publishes all the Fall all-league teams. Dave Nichols made sure they were available and also has this column on the Fall seasons. … Dave put together a roundup of local prep action as well. … The best game in the area last night? Defending Idaho 5A champion Owyhee matched up with this season’s 5A favorite Lake City at NIC. The Timberwolves, behind Kolton Mitchell’s 39 points, won handily.

Chiefs: Brandon dominated the power play and thus earned the win over visiting Spokane, 2-1 last night.

Seahawks: DK Metcalf was fined again after the Ram game but even he felt he deserved it. … Will Travis Homer be the lead back today when the Hawks welcome Carolina to Seattle?

Kraken: A Seattle player will be sitting for a trio of games for an illegal hit. … The franchise has a new co-owner.

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• Already purchased our Carolina barbecue for today. But we won’t be watching the game. There is a conflict with the Gonzaga women’s game and we’ve paid for those tickets. We’ll have to catch up on the Hawks via the DVR. Until later …