A Grip on Sports: There was so much going on yesterday we had trouble stepping up
A GRIP ON SPORTS • We love Sunday morning comics. The laughs. The bright colors. The ability to cater to our short attent … oh, squirrel.
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• Sorry. We’re back. With a bunch of thoughts from a Saturday that was so full we didn’t come close to getting our steps in.
• They were sacrificed for such things as watching bits and pieces of ESPN’s GameDay, as the network’s younger brother to its seminal college pregame show originated in Spokane. From McCarthey, actually. A McCarthey filled with the Kennel Club’s best and brightest and loudest.
There is one thing you can always say about our city. It turns out for big events. And puts on its best face. That face showed yesterday morning.
“The best one of the year,” host Rece Davis said of Saturday’s show. “Best one of the year, and probably the best one of the past several years, to be honest. The noise, the energy, the fact they cared enough to come out so long before the game. It’s still a long time until the game.”
• Yes, the game. Another steps eater. The Zags dominated the first 30 minutes, just as they did in Moraga. The difference this time? They made enough plays down the stretch (more than enough, actually) to hold on, 77-68.
The seniors, Drew Timme, Anton Watson, Rasir Bolton, all contributed in ways big and small. That Saint Mary’s relies on a freshman, Aiden Mahaney, for a large chunk of its scoring and it took him a while to get going, was a huge difference.
The win gives the Zags another WCC regular-season title, though they share it with the Gaels. And, unless some big changes occur around the nation, Saint Mary’s will wear the home whites throughout the conference’s tournament next week. That’s because the tiebreaker’s first criteria, basically worst loss, is a wash too, with each losing to Loyola Marymount. The next? The NCAA’s maligned NET ranking. The Gaels are seventh this morning, the Zags’ ninth. Gonzaga has one regular season game left, home Wednesday vs. 7-18 Chicago State on Senior Night. Even a huge win won’t help GU, as the Cougars are 282 in the rankings.
Could other results change it a bit? Sure. But probably not enough for the Gaels to avoid a semifinal matchup with Loyola and the Zags a showdown with the league’s hottest team, Santa Clara.
• The Zags are perennial NCAA tourney participants. So is Whitworth. But the Pirates’ usual place in the even-harder-to-get-into Division III playoffs seemed out of reach this season, what with their third-place Northwest Conference finish. But here we are, the Sunday morning following the NWC’s tournament and Whitworth wakes up with the conference’s automatic berth once again.
The Pirates (18-9) had to win two games this weekend in Walla Walla. They did, finishing off their run to the postseason with a 78-65 victory on rival Whitman’s home court.
The 22-5 Blues had run through the NWC’s regular season with one major blemish. Whitworth had won in Walla Walla earlier this season. It did it again last night with everything on the line.
• We drove out to Cheney yesterday afternoon. Sat in whatever they are calling Reese Court these days and watched Eastern demolish Idaho State in women’s basketball. But the game’s outcome was immaterial to our purpose. Along with about a hundred family and friends, we were there to support a Bengal player from Spokane, Kacey Spink.
We mentioned why we were doing it yesterday. But sitting there, we reflected on the importance of athletics in developing the fabric of our society. At its best, it reflects our better angels, such things as camaraderie, inclusion, working together to meet challenges and reach goals. There are more positives, sure, and there is the flip-side as well. Sports isn’t always at its best.
Yesterday, for us at least, it was.
• We walked the concourse of Eastern’s facility as often as we could to get our steps up. We walked some more at home. And told ourselves more than once spring is just around the corner. But, as we contemplating heading out into the neighborhood and giving the dog some exercise, we wondered why the path to that corner have to include an icy sidewalk and a snow berm?
For some reason this winter just seems to be dragging on. It isn’t. Not really. That doesn’t stop us from complaining, though. It’s what we do.
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WSU: Sometimes the easiest game is the hardest. Of the Cougars’ final six regular season Pac-12 contests, the one that should have been a walkover happened yesterday in Berkeley. Except it wasn’t. Washington State prevailed, 63-57, over last-place California, but its fifth-consecutive win was anything but easy. Colton Clark has the game story. … The women struggled shooting in stretches and it cost them in a 68-65 loss at USC. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college basketball, the last game for WSU before the tournament will be at Washington, which heads into its Stanford game with a coach on the hot seat. Again. … Jon Wilner’s latest in the Mercury News covers the soon-to-be-finished media-rights deal. Again. It’s a big deal. Just ask Florida State, which is not happy in the ACC’s finances. The Pac-12 is talking about it, which is good, and sticking together, for now. … Arizona State hit a ¾-court shot at the buzzer and took down No. 7 Arizona in Tucson. It was tough way for the Wildcats to lose a Senior Day game. … Oregon also scored the last bucket and edged host Oregon State in a game the Ducks couldn’t afford to lose. But the Beavers scared them. … Colorado hopes to put at least a scare into No. 4 UCLA. … Nothing scary about USC’s 62-49 win at Utah. … In the women’s games, Utah defeated Stanford 84-78 to grab a share of the regular season title. … Oregon State handed Arizona another loss on the weekend and snapped its own long losing streak. … Oregon may have to win just one more game to ensure an at-large NCAA spot after running past Arizona State. … Third-place Colorado routed California in Boulder. … In football news, another Colorado coach welcomes the opportunity.
Gonzaga: Where do we start? The game. Jim Meehan has the coverage, which isn’t the first big one between Saint Mary’s and GU he’s covered over the years. … Theo Lawson has the difference makers and a story on Malachi Smith, who is filling in admirably for Bolton, whose wrapped right thumb seems to be impacting his shooting. … Tyler Tjomsland has the photo report and the guys in the office put together a recap with highlights. … We can pass along two stories from GameDay’s visit. Theo covers the 94 feet Jay Bilas and Timme covered together (and more) while Justin Reed focused more on the crowd. … Tyler also has a photo gallery from the morning. … We can pass along coverage from the Bay Area as well. … The women made sure they didn’t have to share the WCC regular-season title with Portland, courtesy of a 58-51 win at BYU. Jim Allen has coverage of that game. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU won its last regular season game, defeating USF and secured the fifth seed.
EWU: Eastern is no longer perfect in the conference. And it was a Central Valley High kid’s team who handed the Eagles their first loss. Idaho State, coached by Ryan Looney, finished off a perfect weekend by ending EWU’s perfect conference run 71-63 in Pocatello. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana State defeated Portland State on Senior Day. … Montana edged Sacramento State in Missoula.
Idaho: The Vandals struggled in Ogden and lost 67-53 to Weber State.
Whitworth: As we linked above, the Pirates are headed to the NCAA Division III tournament once again.
Preps: The fourth-seeded Mead girls are headed to the Tacoma Dome once again as well, as their 80-68 victory over fifth-seeded Lincoln of Tacoma ensured they would get the first day of 3A State off. Dave Nichols has that as part of his roundup of all the girls’ action. … Dave also covered top-seed Mount Spokane’s hard-fought win over Rainier Beach 64-61 as part of his boys’ roundup.
Chiefs: Spokane continued its strong play with a 4-2 win over Tri-City in the Arena on Saturday. Kevin Dudley has the coverage.
Mariners: Marco Gonzales got knocked around a bit in his second inning of work and the M’s fell 5-1 to the Angels. … Evan White is healthy and ready to contribute. … Scott Servais is a known entity as the M’s manager. … The feud between Cardinals manager Oli Marmol and umpire C.B. Bucknor seems to be getting worse.
Sounders: Seattle opens the MLS season today against the Colorado Rapids. There are a few things you might want to know.
Kraken: There has been an earthquake among regional sports broadcast companies recently due to declining revenue. But Seattle won’t be impacted. … A trip made a bad impact on a Kraken player and he’s ticked about it.
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• Have a great Sunday. We will. We are paying bills today. How fun. But, after the way things have been over the years, we will never take for granted the ability to pay them on time. Until later …