A Grip on Sports: We’re hot under the collar about some things but playing it cool about the weather

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Ever hear the saying “freezing cold takes?” We have. And we’re ready to deliver some. Oh, it’s not because our opinions are nowhere near the mark. At least not solely. Nope. It’s partly because we thought of some of these as we were standing outside in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, waiting for our little dog to, well, you know. And it was about -1,000,000 degrees outside. If you factor in the wind.

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• We thought about the Zags and how Mark Few’s team is slowly becoming just that, a team. Do they have issues? Sure. Every NCAA team does.

The defense isn’t where Few would like – Gonzaga is 57th in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive metric, about 40 spots lower than it needs to be to make a deep March run – nor is the offense hitting on all cylinders.

And yet the Bulldogs are second – behind Arizona – in Pomeroy’s adjusted offensive metric, an analytical stat that puts a lot of weight on opponents. And that’s where this team is shining. The Zags have played the eighth-toughest schedule thus far, at least according to Pomeroy. And that schedule has been highlighted by teams with outstanding offenses.

Was last night’s 85-75 win over Montana in the Kennel Gonzaga’s best effort of the season? No. But after playing a bunch of modern Blue Bloods over the past month and a half, it wasn’t surprising the Bulldogs let down a bit. Besides, they have Drew Timme and that’s a great safety net.

What may be interesting is how many times this group does the same in West Coast Conference play. There are a couple teams not named Saint Mary’s or BYU that can get GU if a letdown happens on the wrong night, say Jan. 5 on the Hilltop or two nights later at Santa Clara or even Jan. 28 in Portland.

• As we mentioned – ranted about? – yesterday, this is signing day for high school senior football players. The NCAA put in an early period a few years ago, tweaked with the date recently and has settled on maybe the worst possible day of the winter.

That being said, we don’t want to take anything away from the young people who will be fulfilling a dream this week. We have been lucky enough to have crossed paths, albeit on a basketball journey, with many who are contemplating their choice of which college to attend and play football.

We know how much this means to them. How proud their families will be when they sign a letter of intent, no matter which school they decide upon. It’s a big day and we should never lose sight of that.

• To use a term once more that is all the rage right now, that being said … we still believe the NCAA has to get a handle on transfers, NIL as inducements and other game-changing aspects of the recruiting process. Yet we have no faith that organization will and for that we are not blaming the folks in Indianapolis.

The NCAA is a member-driven organization. And those members, especially at the top rung with the most power and loudest voices, really don’t want rules to be enforced. If they did – we’re looking at you SEC and Big Ten – they would give the NCAA the money and power – and a directive – to enforce them.

Such things haven’t happened recently. And we’re pretty sure, barring an earth-shaking scandal or congressional intervention, it will never happen.

• The best day of the year is nigh. No, not Christmas, though that’s always really cool, especially when you have young kids running around the house. Nope. We’re talking about the Winter Solstice. It’s always been our favorite day. When the world turns and our daylight hours begin to stretch again.

For some reason we’ve always lived our life looking down the road. Anticipating how great it will be – or awful – in two or three months. It’s a great attitude to have when winter weather begins to grind everyone down. Just think, in three months spring will be here. Before you know it we’ll be missing 3-foot putts and straining back muscles pulling weeds.

That’s the definition of happiness folks. And another freezing cold take.

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WSU: A transfer from the University of Texas, where he was a reserve, announced yesterday he was headed to Pullman, filling a big need. Colton Clark has the news about linebacker Devin Richardson. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, Jon Wilner has his thoughts in the Mercury News on such things throughout the conference. … It used to be this time of year was all about the bowl games. Now it is transfer portal and recruiting rankings. … It is possible the Pac-12 is going to go all-in with Amazon Prime. … Washington has enticed many key players to return for next season. There is unfinished business. … Same with Oregon, but there have been more comings and goings for the Ducks. … Oregon State should parlay its success into a good class. … Colorado has its first signing day under its new coach, some guy with an NFL past. … The Rose Bowl isn’t new for Utah fans but they are still making plans to attend. There are a lot of reasons why. … USC and UCLA should have strong recruiting classes as they prepare to leave. … Arizona State is building a revamped roster. … Arizona is ready to sign about 20 players. … In basketball news, Wilner has his power rankings for the Pac-12. … Tad Boyle is about to set a record at Colorado. … Both USC and UCLA play at home today. … Arizona picked up the pace in the second half to run away from visiting Montana State 85-64. … Oregon lost handily to visiting Utah Valley.

Gonzaga: Before he headed to Texas for the holidays, Timme had one more item on his Christmas list. He delivered it last night, scoring a season-high 32 points to lead the Zags past visiting Montana. Jim Meehan has the game story. … Theo Lawson has the difference makers and a notebook that leads off with the Zags’ record home winning streak. … Tyler Tjomsland has his photo gallery. … The folks in the office put together this recap. … We also have a story from Missoula. … The women will host the same school tonight, putting their 22nd national ranking on the line. Jim Allen has a preview and this story on the Zags injured players. … He also has the news Kaylynne Truong was named WCC player of the week for the first time. … There is also a preview of the game from Montana. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU had little trouble with overmatched Lindenwood. Ya, we hadn’t heard of the school either. … The BYU women do not have a lot of depth.

EWU: There was a doubleheader in Cheney yesterday with Dan Thompson putting his focus on the women’s team 85-54 victory over Utah State. … Dan also mentions the men romping past Northwest Indian College 130-54. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Northern Colorado lost to Air Force 67-65. … In football news, Montana State’s success keeps attracting new players.

Whitworth: The Pirates picked up a big win over visiting Saint John’s in the Whitworth Quality Inn Classic last night. Dave Nichols has the coverage.

Preps: Dave also put together this roundup of Tuesday’s action, a slate winnowed a bit by the weather.

Seahawks: If you are wondering, here’s a look at the Hawks’ postseason possibilities. … After “perfect” surgery, Tyler Lockett may be back to help in the season’s final two weeks. … Kenneth Walker III is beat up so the Seahawks made a roster addition. … DK Metcalf can’t get any officials to talk with him.

Kraken: Seattle is picking up its first wins against many franchises this season. Last night, thanks to the strong play of Ryan Donato, it was St. Louis.

Sounders: The schedule for next MLS season is out.

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• We get up early every day to do this column. Which means this time of year most of our work is done while it is still pitch black outside. You can call us the Vin Diesel of sports writing if you want. In fact, we encourage it. Our builds are so similar. Hey, quit laughing. Until later …