A Grip on Sports: Buckle in. Today could be a wild day for the Seahawks and their fans

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Our predictions for Saturday came true. We watched some – a lot might be more accurate – college basketball. A little NFL. Then spent the late evening catching up on one of our streaming stories. Pretty perfect. There is only one way Sunday could be better.

•••••••

• We have to count on the Detroit Lions to win a football game today. No one since the 1950s probably said that with any confidence. But that’s the spot the Seattle Seahawks have put us in on this 8th day of January in 2023. We are forced to depend on a franchise that has, not that long ago, lost every single regular season game it played.

Ooh boy. We’re not confident. Partly because the Lions’ game isn’t at some run-of-the-mill place. Not in, say, New Jersey or Cleveland or even Michigan. It’s at Lambeau Field, the place from whence Vince Lombardi and the Packer championship legacy sprung.

That the current caretaker of Lambeau is one Aaron Rodgers, a guy who looks as if he spent Saturday night in an RV outside the stadium, doesn’t detractor from the legacy at all. It may, in fact, enhance it. The guy just doesn’t give a rat’s behind for anyone or anything others might think. Bad for his health, maybe, but great for a quarterback with an accurate arm and a quick release.

Chances of Detroit overcoming Rodgers and the Packers in Green Bay tonight? We put it at 17.3%.

In other words, don’t bet the house.

Then again, it might not even matter. Yep, for every 12 to don that recently purchased Jared Goff Detroit jersey, the Hawks have to defeat the Los Angeles Rams today. The defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, to be precise.

OK, we admit this season’s Rams, with a 5-11 record, hardly resemble the Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, Matt Stafford group that took home the, wait for it, Lombardi Trophy last winter. Those guys are all injured. But there have been some pretty weak Rams teams that have come into Lumen Field in the past and put out Seattle’s lights.

No matter. We’re counting on the carrot of a playoff spot to overcome any sticks Sean McVay can wield. We believe the Seahawks will win. In fact, we put the chance of it happening at 82.7%. Add that to the Lions’ odds and we have a 100% probability. Too bad we have to divide by two, making Seattle’s playoff chances about 50/50.

Just like everything else in life.

• Going into Saturday we gave Washington State less than a 50/50 chance of winning in Tucson. After all, the Wildcats are ranked fifth in the nation. Their only previous loss came on the road, at Utah, and they carried a 28-game home winning streak into the contest.

But we forgot there were only two outcomes: Either the Cougars would win or UA would.

The former happened. And it wasn’t all that close, with WSU prevailing 74-61.

Washington State shot the lights out from long range (hitting 12 of 28 3-pointers), sure, but the Cougars won this one on the defensive end, holding Arizona’s usually potent offense to season lows in points and shooting percentage (31.7%).

Exactly where tough road games are always won.

In the last four games, WSU has lost to 11th-ranked UCLA by a point, defeated USC in Beasley, stayed close in a loss at Arizona State and now have defeated a top-five-ranked team in its place for the first time in school history.

That’s not just a good stretch for Kyle Smith’s finally healthy squad, it’s one that can propel them to even more wins down the road. The Cougars should believe in themselves now. And that means a lot.

•••

WSU: Colton Clark has the game story which includes Smith’s thoughts on the unprecedented victory. … That wasn’t the only win on Saturday though. The football program had four. Three FBS receivers and a linebacker all announced they would be transferring to Washington State. Colton has those stories as well. … The Cougar and Husky women meet today in Seattle. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college basketball, Oregon saved its season, in a way, by finding a way to defeat Utah 70-60 in Salt Lake City. The Ducks have done this before. … Oregon State’s offense disappeared in Boulder, as the Beavers fell 62-42 to Colorado. … Washington plays at Arizona today. … In football news, a former Oregon quarterback found a home. … A lot of players have found new homes at Colorado. … Dan Lanning has really made a commitment to his spouse. … Sonny Dykes was considered a failure at California. Now he’s got TCU in the national title game. … The CFP has good news for the Rose Bowl.

Gonzaga: We have to get used to this. Mainly because success even for the best college basketball programs isn’t always guaranteed. There are going to be up-and-down years, though GU hasn’t had many of the latter lately. And this one may not be either, but winning, especially on the road in conference, won’t be as easy as it’s been for the past few seasons. Santa Clara was the latest home team to illustrate that point, giving the Zags fits before falling under Nolan Hickman’s late onslaught, 81-76. Jim Meehan has the game story. … Theo Lawson adds a story on Drew Timme breaking out of the offensive shackles he’s been wearing lately as well as a look at the difference makers. … Tyler Tjomsland has the visual story from the Leavey Center. … The folks in the office put together the recap with highlights. … We were in the Kennel yesterday as the 20th-ranked women raced out to an early lead and handled every blow Santa Clara threw at them in a 78-61 win. Jim Allen has the coverage. … James Snook has a photo gallery as well. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU put its defense on display in a 68-48 victory over San Diego. … Pacific is 3-1 in conference after winning at Pepperdine 80-75. … Saint Mary’s destroyed Portland 85-43 in Moraga. … San Francisco got its first win, 72-70 over host Loyola Marymount.

EWU: Steele Venters has always had a penchant for hitting big shots. Even when he was young. That hasn’t changed since he’s emerged as a key player for Eastern. His reputation earned another boost yesterday afternoon in Cheney as his 3-pointer with just seconds left lifted the Eagles to a 78-75 win over Sacramento State. Eastern is 4-0 in conference. Dan Thompson has the story. … The women lost at Portland State, a result that leads off the S-R’s women’s basketball roundup. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana State figured out a way to win 69-54 at Northern Arizona. … Montana did the same at Northern Colorado, winning 79-74. … Idaho State went into Ogden and handled Weber State 67-57. The Bengals are the only other undefeated team in conference play. … In football news, Montana State’s coach talked with the local newspaper. … A former Montana quarterback is headed to Northern Arizona.

Idaho: Portland State dominated the second half and earned a 74-58 conference win in Moscow. Peter Harriman has the game story.

Whitworth: The Pirates routed Pacific in a Northwest Conference contest.

Preps: Dave Nichols has a roundup of Saturday’s prep action.

Chiefs: It’s only two games into the second half of the WHL schedule but it looks as if Seattle’s chances of moving up the standings are slim. The Chiefs fell again, this time 2-1, to Vancouver at home. Kevin Dudley has the coverage.

Seahawks: We mentioned it before. The Hawks have to win. So does Detroit. Then Seattle is in the playoffs.

Kraken: The Kraken, who boast one of the more potent offenses in the NHL, put it on display last night. It resulted in an 8-4 victory, the franchise’s first in Ottawa.

Sounders: Training camp opened yesterday and the new Brazilian striker wowed the crowd. That’s good, right?

Mariners: We’re not going to try to get you excited. But the M’s did agree to terms with a right-handed hitting outfielder who should bolster the offense yesterday. That is, if A.J. Pollock can return to the form he showed with the Dodgers a couple years ago.

•••       

• If it were up to us, we would just skip all the NFL drama today. Too nerve wracking. Possibly having to depend on Detroit to earn a playoff spot? That just seems silly. And gut-wrenching. Until later …