A Grip on Sports: Sure, there were a lot of presents over Christmas, but not many in the sports sense

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? Oh, yes. Getting ready for Christmas. Well, that’s over. What’s next?

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• Christmas was great. Expensive – in a lot of different ways – but great. Though, honestly, the sports aspect seemed a little barren.

NBA games on Christmas Day used to be a big deal. But the league seems less important when there is no overarching superstar or super team, as is the case currently. Part of that can be traced to a larger pool of great players, any one of which would have been atop the food chain in years gone past. And part of it is injuries, with some of the top names out of commission over the holidays.

But the league’s biggest shortcoming is the lack of a headline team from a big city. New York? Nope. Los Angeles? Nope. Chicago? Nope. Boston? Well, maybe, but not exactly.

Parity is fine in the NFL but not in professional basketball. The powers need to be the powers. The closest thing currently is Golden State but the Warriors aren’t even the Warriors of last season, meaning the top spots in the West have been ceded to teams in out-of-the-way places. Memphis. Denver. New Orleans. Good, solid teams all. But needle movers? Nope.

Boston has the league’s best record and the best ensemble. That’s cool, but what we wouldn’t give for an in-his-prime LeBron James leading someone, anyone, to the top of the NBA mountain. Maybe there are just too many great players right now for anyone to stand out to that degree.

Admirable, sure. But not as fun.

The same can be said of the NFL over the weekend. Not a lot of fun – especially for Seahawks fans. Their team is the essence of mediocrity. Not bad enough to be vying for a top draft pick – thankfully Denver is taking care of that aspect – and not good enough to actually make the playoffs.

Really, how many of you feel Seattle will win its final two games, get the help it needs and sneak in? Not us. In fact, we will be a little surprised if the Hawks stop the Jets on New Year’s Day, despite Vegas making them a two-point favorite.

For some reason we have succumbed to the inevitability the Packers will find a way into the postseason and then, as the seventh (and last) seed, upset the 49ers in the first round.

Occasionally college basketball saves the Christmas season but not this year. Not even with Washington State playing in Hawaii.

The Cougars won once in Honolulu, holding off last-place finisher George Washington 66-64 on Thursday, losing to eventual champion Hawaii by 11 Friday and then falling to Utah State by nine on Christmas Day. That last one wasn’t really that close, as the WSU defense was in a giving mood for much of the second half.

In the parts we watched, we were surprised how often Washington State defenders were guarding no one, whether the Cougars were in a zone or playing man. Yes, Utah State is a great shooting, unselfish offensive team – as the announcing team continually reminded us – but the Aggies sets were nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, they seemed to confuse WSU and led, in large part, to USU’s 11-of-17 shooting from beyond the arc.

It doesn’t get easier for 5-8 Washington State. The Cougars host No. 13 UCLA (11-2) on Friday and underrated USC (10-3) on Sunday. Then it’s a trip to the desert where 25th-ranked Arizona State (11-2) and No. 5 Arizona (12-1) await.

We could wake up Jan. 8 and WSU could easily be 5-12 overall – and 0-6 in the Pac-12. A week into the New Year and any chance of a postseason tournament only possible with an incredible turnaround.

And with that we will wish you all a happy New Year.

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WSU: Colton Clark wasn’t in the warmth of the Islands but he does have the game story from yesterday’s basketball defeat. … While he was in Pullman, Gardner Minshew learned a lot from Mike Leach. One lesson? There are no moral victories. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, Jon Wilner posted a mailbag on the Mercury News site over the weekend as well as rating the conference schools by their success with the transfer portal. … Washington has been successful in that regard by keeping its players. … Oregon has a great recruiting class coming in. Looking at the Holiday Bowl depth chart, the Ducks need it. … Oregon State received a declaration from the quarterback it needs, former Clemson starter D.J. Uiagalelei. … Colorado coach Deion Sanders has been in the headlines for most of his life. … In basketball news, winning takes contributions from more than stars. … Tommy Lloyd is off to a great start at Arizona and has received quite a few honors because of it.

Gonzaga: The S-R’s big Christmas story? No, it’s not Anton Watson playing Santa. It’s Theo Lawson’s definitive work on Hunter Sallis, Gonzaga’s first big-time recruit from Nebraska. And a key contributor recently.

EWU: Kendrick Bourne had a huge game for New England over the weekend. But no one will say why it took the Pats so long to utilize one of last year’s best receivers. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Northern Arizona has hired a new football assistant. … In basketball news, Montana State has received contributions from deep down its roster.

Idaho: Jason Eck’s first season in Moscow as the head football coach turned out to be more successful than most probably hoped. What’s ahead? Peter Harriman tries to find out in this story.

Seahawks: The Hawks played, and lost, Saturday. But we didn’t want to miss linking Dave Boling’s column from the 24-10 decision in Kansas City. … There were signs of improvement, according to Larry Stone, but not enough. … Jim Moore delves into the area we’ve been exploring all season, winning vs. tanking and getting the best draft choice possible. … Kenneth Walker III had his best game in a while.

Mariners: What have the M’s done thus far this offseason and what do they have left to do?

Kraken: Alex Ovechkin is on his way to breaking what seemed to be an unbreakable record, Wayne Gretzky’s career goal-scoring mark. Which brings up other seemingly unbreakable professional records, including John Stockton’s assist mark.

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• We don’t ride bicycles anymore. Pretty fond of our appendages and have had too many friends and neighbors injured in late-in-life crashes. But we know if we decided to get on one, we could do it. After all, the term “just like riding a bike” does apply. And applies when you take a couple days off from writing this feature. Yep, we fell once and injured our arm. But we got it done. Until later …