A Grip on Sports: Now that the NFL is over until September, maybe we can grab a nap in front of the TV this weekend

A GRIP ON SPORTS • What’s the first sound that comes out of your mouth as you realize football is completely done, at all levels, until late August? OK, the first sound we can print in this space? Our thought? A yawn. Not because it is no big deal. But because we’ll have trouble staying awake this weekend while watching televised sports.

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• Are you anything like us when it comes to memories of your dad watching sports on Saturday or Sunday afternoons? We can’t actually enumerate how many times we walked into the room that held our old Zenith or RCA and heard snoring. More than likely a grainy golf tournament was on, and Captain Sunshine (patent still pending) was sawing logs so loudly we had trouble hearing Chris Schenkel’s voice as he described another Billy Casper made putt.

Funny thing, though. If we wanted to turn the channel to Soul Train or cartoons or whatever, we didn’t dare. Tip-toe up to the TV, move the dial one iota and, like a bear in spring, the Captain woke up. Angry. And the first words were always something like “Hey, I was watching that!”

Sure you were.

We can guarantee you one thing. Those scenes occurred much more often between February and September. You know, the period we just entered.

Golf is probably the best televised sport to catch 40 winks while it’s on. What else? Baseball? Heck, if our dad could fall asleep while Vin Scully or Dick Enberg was talking, then anyone could – and can. Then, in order, tennis, auto racing and probably curling take the next few spots. Followed by, in a fact that doesn’t bode well for this weekend, the NBA All-Star game (Sunday, 5 p.m., TBS and TNT).

The NFL ends its season with the most-watched Super Bowl – and TV show, period – of all time and we get a bunch of guys who couldn’t care less, sleep-walking through 48 minutes of dunks, 54-foot 3-pointers and absolutely no defense? On two channels? Ok, then.

Yep, this weekend kicks off our long national no-football nightmare with a uvula-revealing yawn, doesn’t it?

Oh, sure, the Cougars have another must-pass test Saturday with Stanford in Pullman (3 p.m., Pac-12 Networks), after acing their quiz again Cal on Thursday night. And Gonzaga better blow out Pacific (6 p.m., KHQ) as well, or some national pundit will declare their NCAA hopes DOA. But other than EWU facing the Big Sky’s hottest team, Weber State (2 p.m., SWX), Saturday’s college basketball schedule doesn’t include many can’t-miss matchups.

OK, No. 4 Marquette is at top-ranked Connecticut (Noon, Fox) Saturday, which may or may not be an upset opportunity. But other than that, our best description of this weekend’s college hoop schedule is meeh.

What else? NBA All-Star stuff. Golf from Riviera (Noon Saturday and Sunday, CBS). The Daytona 500 (11:30 a.m., FOX). NHL (but no Kraken). Soccer from around the world. Otherwise, you might as well get outside and enjoy the – checks forecast – 40-degree weather. If it doesn’t snow Sunday.

• We braved the roads last night and trekked out to Cheney to watch the Eagles host Idaho State. Boots were mandatory for making the walk from the parking lot. Defensive intensity in the gym? At times it seemed optional.

Eastern shot almost 65% from the floor. The Bengals nearly 54%. Neither team turned it over much. No wonder the final was 88-82, which seems entertaining – it actually was, mainly because David Riley’s squad couldn’t string together enough stops to keep a comfortable lead – but put into context of what Eastern wants to accomplish this season, seemed a step back.

To win the Big Sky tournament, and grab the conference’s lone NCAA berth, the Eagles will have to string together not just good defensive possessions, but good defensive games. At least three of them. They couldn’t last season.

You can’t count on Casey Jones (a career-high 26 points) and the offense bailing you out every night. But they’ve shown they can defend. It’s just a matter of getting it done. Might as well wake up, turn the channel and do it better Saturday.

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WSU: We mentioned in passing the Cougars’ 84-65 win last night in Pullman. The snow that made getting to Cheney something of a chore probably played a role in limiting the home crowd but certainly didn’t slow Myles Rice and his teammates. Greg Woods was in Beasley and has this coverage. … We can also pass along Geoff Crimmins’ photo gallery. … If you are wondering, the Cougars moved up a few spots in the NCAA’s NET rankings and held steady in KenPom’s ratings. … For the first time in more than a decade, a healthy Klay Thompson did not start for the Warriors. He did come off the bench and score 35 points in 27 minutes. … Sad news from Kenya. Henry Rono, who dominated the mid-1970s as a WSU distance runner, died Thursday at age 72. John Blanchette has his obituary. From our perspective, as someone who shared a college dorm suite with American miler Steve Scott at the time and heard he and his teammates’ conversations, what Rono accomplished in his prime was respected beyond belief. … There is football news out of Pullman as well, with two assistant coaches leaving for new jobs. Cornerbacks coach Ray Brown is headed to Boston College and offensive line coach Clay McGuire is headed back to his alma mater Texas Tech, again. Greg has both those stories. … The women are headed to Arizona in dire need of a victory. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, Washington played maybe its best game of the season and routed Stanford 85-65 in Seattle. … Nate Bittle, who has missed games due to an illness, is undergoing tests and his Oregon future is to be determined. … UCLA held off Colorado in a game that was tight throughout the second half. … USC hasn’t played well this season. But the Trojans got past Utah, who can’t seem to win on the road. … Arizona State won last season in Tucson. Will Arizona let it happen again? … We delve into the NCAA women’s bracket reveal more in the Gonzaga section, but the Pac-12 did well. Oregon State, UCLA, Stanford, USC, Colorado all were included. … Oregon’s women are at USC tonight. … Utah and Colorado meet tonight as well. … Caitlan Clark set the NCAA women’s scoring record last night. Good for her. What we can’t understand, however, is how the organization recognizes wins from the pre-NCAA days – example, winningest coach Tara VanDerveer has some AIAW numbers from her Idaho days – but not points scored. As someone who was paid to keep stats back then, we take that as a personal afront. … In football news, Jon Wilner looks at the Big Ten football race for next season in the Mercury News and ranks each team. We’re not sure how often we’re going to delve into this stuff, but with the two outgoing Northwest schools involved, we decided to keep our hand in for now. The Big 12? ACC? Not as convinced it’s necessary, but we’ll see. … Michael Penix Jr. won big at Seattle’s sports awards banquet. … Utah has some holes to fill but should be good again. … USC has a bunch of new defensive assistants. … Arizona officially decided on an offensive coordinator. … Finally, college baseball season opens today. In warmer climes, sure. But everywhere on the same day.

Gonzaga: A hot shooter. Some defensive lapses. Halfway through the second half, the Zags were in a tight one against shorthanded Loyola Marymount. But it didn’t end that way as they asserted their will, went on a 19-3 run and grabbed an 87-71 victory in Los Angeles. Jim Meehan has the game story. … Theo Lawson has this story on the Lions’ hot shooter, Will Johnson. He also names the difference makers. … Tyler Tjomsland has the photo gallery. … The folks in the office put together the recap with highlights. … The NCAA Tournament selection committee posted their first preliminary list of the top-16 seeds last night and the 17th-ranked Bulldogs were not on it. Despite a NET ranking of 11th. No. 16 was Louisville (NET ranking: 22) and one of two teams to defeat the Zags. That was the difference, according to committee chair Lisa Peterson. No matter. Gonzaga still went out and hammered host Saint Mary’s after a slow start, winning their 25th game of the season, 96-68. Greg Lee has the game story. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Saint Mary’s continued to hammer conference foes.

EWU: We had our thoughts about Eastern’s win last night. Dan Thompson has the coverage in the S-R. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, The Eastern women won and moved back into a first-place tie when Sacramento State hammered Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. … Northern Colorado picked up an easy win. … The Brawl is Saturday in Missoula and it always is a good matchup for the Montana and Montana State men and women.

Idaho: The Vandals led red-hot Weber State by seven with less than 90 seconds left. They didn’t score again and lost 70-69 in Moscow. Peter Harriman has the story of the late collapse.

Preps: Rogers is off to the boys’ 2A State basketball tournament after their 65-63 victory over visiting West Valley last night. That and the rest of Friday’s action can be found in Dave Nichols’ roundup. … The State wrestling championships are this weekend in Tacoma and Madison McCord has you covered with this preview.

Mariners: Gregory Santos not only brings an electric arm to the M’s bullpen, he also gives Scott Servais another closer option. … The players are determined not to miss the playoffs again. Ownership? We’ll see.

Seahawks: Geno Smith woke up Thursday not knowing his future. He woke up today knowing he’s the Hawks’ No. 1 quarterback and he’ll be some $12.7 million richer. … Ryan Grubb’s road to the Seahawks OC spot is interesting. … If you were wondering what happened in Kansas City, the police think they know.

Kraken: Boston is never the place to get healthy, at least not the past few years. But it’s where Seattle has found key wins, including Friday’s 4-1 decision, ending a four-game road trip with a split. … Joey Daccord was in goal in his home town.

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• We’re a golf fan. That’s no surprise, right? But pro golf right now is in as much mud as college sports, politics and international relations combined. Which makes our enjoyment less. We just want to be able to turn on CBS or NBC or ABC on a typical Saturday afternoon, focus on the world’s best all playing in a tournament from a scenic golf course and fall sound asleep. You know, like our father did. Is that too much to ask? Until later …