A Grip on Sports: As Kupp rises to the top, some can remember the first time the Super Bowl MVP came from the area
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Some of us have been around long enough to remember when Mark Rypien led Washington to a Super Bowl victory and was named the Most Valuable Player. That was 30 years ago. Now the Inland Northwest can claim another. And claiming him, it is.
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• We can guarantee we were working Jan. 26, 1992. Not sure exactly what we did, though we know it had something to do with the graphic presentation. That was our job at the time.
Now, 30 years later – give or take a few days – here we are again. This time we’re writing about Cooper Kupp, the Yakima product who blossomed at Eastern Washington University. And our words about Kupp and his accomplishment are available through the Internet, something that wasn’t all that available in the Rypien era.
So are thousands of other words. Jim Allen’s story from Disneyland, where the MVP and his family made the required visit. Editor Rob Curley’s piece about that tradition and how Kupp’s family played into that highlight. Dave Cook, who was the sports information director at Eastern Washington when Kupp starred there, explains his importance to the university – and vice versa.
All that on top of what was written Sunday as the Rams, riding Kupp, rallied past the Bengals to win 23-20. At home in Southern California.
We’re not sure how many words were written about Rypien’s efforts. The Super Bowl wasn’t in a nice warm-weather city. Minneapolis was the host and there were Olympic ice skaters featured at halftime. Try that in L.A.
But Rypien was Spokane. Through and through. Shadle Park High. Washington State University. Family and friends throughout the city. His importance to the community was well-documented in these pages. Heck, the Chronicle was still being printed then and Dave Boling’s Rypien story – live from Minneapolis – was on its front page that Monday.
And get this. The picture of Rypien on the Chronicle’s cover that day showed him holding his daughter Ambre. The more things change, the more the core values stay the same.
And here we are. Thirty years later. Another Super Bowl MVP with local ties celebrating at the self-proclaimed happiest place on earth. The wheel of time just keeps on turning.
• Washington State’s at-large NCAA hopes have been taking a few hits recently. The Cougar men continually put themselves into position to vault up the NET rankings and then stumble when other chances present themselves.
Earlier this month, WSU finished up a five-game conference winning streak with a 68-64 victory at California. It was a struggle, sure, but the win put it at 14-7 overall and 7-3 in the Pac-12, firmly in the upper half of a muddled conference race.
The big stage beckoned. And the Cougars tripped coming out of the wings. A home face-plant against Arizona is one thing – UA is ranked third and deserves it – but losing back-to-back games to up-and-down Arizona State (by three at home) and up-and-down Oregon (by three on the road Monday night) are different.
Both were there to be had. And both slipped away.
The NCAA chances? They are slipping away as well. This weekend the Cougars are in Los Angeles to face No. 13 UCLA (Thursday) and No. 17 (USC). A win in either game would stop the free fall. And burnish the resume.
After that, only two contests with Washington, two with Oregon State and a regular-season ending game with Oregon remain before the Pac-12 tournament.
It’s time for Washington State to step up.
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Gonzaga: After a short stint out of the top spot, the Bulldogs returned to the top of the rankings yesterday. Jim Meehan covers their rise back to No. 1 with this piece. … Is Sean Farnham the Davenport Hotel’s No. 1 fan? Yes. Is he Gonzaga basketball’s? No. But he sees things he likes in both. Justin Reed has more in this story. … Jim, John Blanchette and Richard Fox are back with another Zag Basketball Insiders podcast. … Around the WCC, Portland’s Tyler Robertson, an EWU transfer, earned player of the week honors after a triple double. … Alex Barcello is doing everything for BYU.
WSU: We mentioned last night’s loss in Eugene above. We link the Associated Press story here. And a few stories from Oregon. … Charlisse Leger-Walker is a finalist for the premier award in women’s college hoops. That news leads off our local briefs column. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college basketball, Washington’s issues were exposed by Arizona. … Another three-game road trip is an opportunity for Colorado. … Arizona took advantage of the same opportunity. … Stanford just continues to roll on the women’s side of the conference. … In football news, who has the conference’s top proven depth at the quarterback spot? Not WSU, that’s for sure. … Colorado has a new offensive line coach. … A former Arizona State staffer, implicated in its NCAA issues, is headed back to the NFL. … Will someone win the starting quarterback spot at Oregon during spring practice?
EWU: The Eastern women welcomed Montana onto Reese Court and sent it home with a loss. … Around the Big Sky, Montana State has picked up a football transfer from Air Force. … Weber State’s new offensive coordinator is supposed to “let it rip.” … In basketball news, Northern Colorado turned up the heat and defeated Southern Utah 100-95.
Seahawks: The Super Bowl was good and all but the games leading up to it were better.
Kraken: Toronto came into Seattle and rolled over the Kraken 6-2.
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• High school basketball state playoffs are always interesting. Especially when they involve a long road trip. Add in having to cross state lines for the game and it gets even more interesting. And odd. Welcome to prep hoops in 2022. Until later …