A Grip on Sports: After a day off, there are varied subjects to look back upon and to anticipate

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? Oh, ya. Wondering about the Zags. Washington State’s injuries. The Heisman Trophy. A rivalry game in the DMV. In other words, all over the place.

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• There were only a couple college football games my father never missed. USC-Notre Dame. UCLA-USC. But above all, Army-Navy. It was as close as a guy who didn’t graduate high school until he was 39 got to watching his alma mater play.

Dad didn’t attend the Naval Academy but after spending five years in that service during World War II, rooting for the Midshipmen was as important to him as any WSU or Oregon or Alabama grad’s devotion for their school.

And, of course, he had money or some other bauble on the game. He knew enough guys who were in the Army, including his older brother, that was mandatory.

He would have won a bottle of Canadian Club or $20 yesterday. And that would have made him smile. Plus given him bragging rights for the next 52 weeks.

• We watched a few minutes of that football game. Thought about how different college sports is these days, though not as much with the service academies. Wondered what John Mateer was going through this weekend. Then settled in to watch a top-20 basketball matchup.

Another one for Gonzaga. Another chance to help its resume come March, even if the opponent, 18th-ranked Connecticut, had lost three times in Maui over Thanksgiving week. After all, the Huskies have won the last two NCAA men’s Division I basketball titles. Haven’t lost since that week either. Were hosting the Zags in their home-away-from home, Madison Square Garden. A win last night would have gone a long way toward cementing a top seed for Mark Few’s squad. Cleared an easier path for a 10th-consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearance.

Alas, as was the case a week ago against Kentucky in Seattle, his team was not up to the task. Again, they were this far away – and to illustrate this, I should post a picture of two fingers an eighth-of-an-inch apart.

The Zags’ 77-71 defeat – after falling behind 13-2 at the start – can’t be laid at the feet of one or two players … well, yes it can. As can much of the angst about their 7-3 record.

Returning starters Nolan Hickman, who has been a mainstay for three seasons, and Graham Ike, who transferred in last year and was a revelation, are struggling. On both ends.

For Hickman, defensive struggles are nothing new. He’s always been a liability, despite physical gifts – height, length, quickness – that should allow him to be a lockdown defender. But the focus – especially off-the-ball – has never been there. Heck, his display last night was called out on national TV by Jim Jackson, something not often done by analysts.

Some nights Hickman’s offensive gifts have overridden his foibles on the other end. That was not the case against the Huskies.

Ike’s play is odd. It’s obvious he spent much of the offseason working hard to improve his strength and quickness. But something just feels off. His offensive decision-making is, well, hesitant. Against players of like ability, he doesn’t seem to have the confidence he showed throughout last season. Add in defensive reactions that are a half-step behind and he’s been a problem at times on both ends. And not for the opponents.

Gonzaga still has the pieces to be a national title contender. That hasn’t changed. But all of them, for one-through-eight, have to be clicking together. Right now two crucial parts aren’t.

• While Gonzaga was getting boat-raced to start its game, Travis Hunter was water-skiing to the podium at New York’s Downtown Athletic Club four miles away. The Colorado two-way star won the 2024 Heisman.

While it was nice to see a player who starred in the Pac-12 a year ago – as did another finalist, former WSU quarterback Cam Ward – win the coveted trophy, we would have voted for Ashton Jeanty, the Boise State running back who meant more for his playoff-bound team than any other player in the nation.

Jeanty, who has a chance to set an NCAA single-season rushing record, finished second, with Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel third.

• David Riley’s first Washington State basketball team isn’t in the national conversation. But it has been surprisingly good to open the season. The Cougars knocked off visiting Missouri State on Saturday 91-78, their third consecutive win. However, Riley revealed a big loss afterward. Cedric Coward, Riley’s Swiss Army Knife, will miss the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. It’s a big blow to the Cougars’ chances for a top-two finish in the more-competitive-than-ever WCC, which probably would carry with it an NCAA at-large berth.

And it’s not just Coward, who followed Riley from EWU, who is out. Freshman guard Marcus Wilson also had shoulder surgery and will redshirt. Transfer wing Rihards Vavers is also out, probably for the season.

A once-deep roster will exit Christmas season a little thin.

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WSU: Greg Woods wrote about Mateer’s decision-making process, which we also linked above. And he keeps you up-to-date every day with his football transfer tracker. … He also has this story on the Saturday basketball triumph. … It’s sort of ironic that California’s flagship university in Berkeley is where Nick Rolovich will return to college football. After all, Rolovich, fired by Washington State three years ago for refusing to follow the state’s vaccine mandate, will now be employed at a school that is a bastion of progressive thought. And it is pretty much guaranteed, if another pandemic occurs and necessitates a mandatory vaccine, the same narrative would play out. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner voted for the Heisman winner. … He also passes along, in the Mercury News, a West Coast football recruiting roundup. … As one would expect, Hunter’s win was covered extensively in Colorado, and not just in Boulder. … We’re not sure if the Bill Belichick hire will impact Washington football – probably – but we wanted to pass along this fun John Canzano column anyway. … Oregon State has lost its inside linebackers to the portal. … Oregon picked up a highly rated former Purdue safety from the portal. … And another top-three Heisman finish. … What does Utah need from the portal? … Quarterback Miller Moss left USC and landed at Louisville. … Receiver Duce Robinson left USC and may end up at Arizona State. … Arizona is adding to its decimated roster. … Among the future Pac-12 members in the Mountain West, Jeanty’s runner-up finish is the best Heisman showing ever for the Broncos. … San Diego State is having to revamp its football coaching staff. … In basketball news, Oregon State’s men are playing great defense. They have to be if they handed vaunted UC Irvine its first loss of the season, 67-55, Saturday in Corvallis. … Two former Pac-12 rivals, UCLA and Arizona, met in Phoenix yesterday. The Bruins rallied from a 13-point deficit to top the beat-up and rebuilding Wildcats 57-54. … Follow up is important to us. California blew out Stanford in women’s hoops Friday night, possibly signally a change in the Bay Area rivalry. … Washington couldn’t upset Utah on the road, despite Sayvia Sellers’ career-high 30 points.

Gonzaga: As per usual, we can pass along in-depth coverage from the Zag game last night. Theo Lawson covered the nuts and bolts in his game story while Jim Meehan added a story on Khalif Battle’s performance before his family and friends. Jim also has three quick thoughts in this buzzer breakdown. … Tyler Tjomsland made the trip to New York and has his photo gallery. … We watched in our home, like most of you, and put together this TV Take. … The GU women snapped their four-game losing streak, ending nonconference play with a 79-50 win over Eastern Washington in the McCarthey Athletic Center. Greg Lee was there and has this game story. … Elsewhere in the WCC, the Saint Mary’s men lost an overtime battle with Boise State in Idaho Falls. … Santa Clara picked up an 84-74 win over Bradley. … Pacific lost 72-65 at UNLV. … Loyola Marymount needed a last-second shot to top 1-9 Prairie View A&M at home 76-75.

Idaho: A day after the Vandals lost their chance at an FCS title, blown away by top-seed Montana State 52-19 in Bozeman, head coach Jason Eck blew out of town. After three years in Moscow, Eck accepted the New Mexico position, ending his stay with UI with a 10-4 season and a 26-13 overall record. Peter Harriman covers those stories. … We also can pass along coverage from Albuquerque. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, UC Davis’ FCS playoff run ended in a 35-21 loss to South Dakota on the road. … Northern Colorado extended the contract of coach Ed Lamb. … If Sacramento State wants to make its Pac-12 dreams come true, it will take a lot of change. … In basketball news, the Idaho State men crushed visiting Walla Walla. … Sacramento State lost its rivalry game with UC Davis, 69-62. … Portland State rolled over Northwest Indian 110-48. … The Weber State women topped Seattle U. on the road.

Preps: Not being here yesterday, we missed being able to pass along a couple Dave Nichols’ stories on a big night at Central Valley High. The Bears not only won their basketball game that night, they also honored their girls’ state title teams of 2016 and 2018, featuring the Hull twins, Lexie and Lacie. … Dave also passes along a roundup from Saturday’s prep action.

Zephyr: Spokane is not scheduled to play back in Spokane until 2025, a road slog of epic proportions. And it hasn’t been productive. The Zephyr haven’t won since late October. Their streak continued Saturday night in Tampa, with a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Sun.

Chiefs: Dave’s main assignment yesterday was covering the red-hot Chiefs at the Arena, hosting Prince George. The Cougars cooled off Spokane with a 3-1 win.

Seahawks: You have all day to anticipate another Packer showdown with, and in, Seattle. Green Bay is favored by a field goal. … Will punter Michael Dickson play a key role in what Mike Macdonald is trying to sell as “just another game?” Sure. … The Hawks made some roster moves to help cover injuries.

Mariners: It sure doesn’t seem as if Seattle is in a hurry to trade Luis Castillo. But most contending franchises wouldn’t have to. They would just spend some money in an attempt to improve the offense. Not the Mariners.

Kraken: Tampa came into Seattle and handed the host team a 5-1 setback Saturday, cooling off the Kraken’s recent hot streak.

Sounders: The franchise’s all-time leading scorer, Raul Ruidiaz, is leaving Seattle. He wanted to say thank you as he headed off.

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• There is a movement afoot to either get rid of Daylight Savings Time or to make it a year-round thing. The former will make summers less enjoyable, the latter will make winter even more of a bear. Who wants to see their kids head off to the bus stop in the dark in these parts for much of the late fall and winter? Yes, it’s a pain to go back and forth. But it’s worth it. As always, thanks for attending my TED talk. Until later …