A Grip on Sports: What does 2024 hold? We’re not sure as our crystal bowl seems a bit cloudy
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Think about where you were the first week of 2023. Not physically. Mentally. How did you perceive the sports year ahead? Optimistically, right? After all, the region’s sports teams, professionally or not, seemed to be trending up. Boy, were we wrong.
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• We mention it just to illustrate how messy it is to pick an arbitrary point, say the first week of a new calendar year, and try to divine what’s ahead. Especially in the sports arena.
The Mariners looked to be on an upward trajectory a year ago. Uh, about that. Have you heard about the troubles regional cable networks are having?
The Seahawks seemed on the same path. But we’ve concluded as long as Pete Carroll is in charge, the team’s issues won’t change because Carroll won’t change. So don’t expect them to magically begin tackling folks or be aggressive on fourth down or play with poise.
Fifty-two weeks ago, Washington State seemed well-positioned to compete in a Pac-12 in just about every sport as the Conference of Champions headed into a new decade with new TV partners and without the L.A. giants dominating every discussion. How did that go?
And Gonzaga? The Bulldogs were once again among the nation’s elite. They were on the Big 12’s wish list. The transfer portal was their friend, the recruiting landscape well in hand and the road to (and through) the NCAA tourney was paved with gold.
Not anymore. For all of it. And more.
Which brings us to our crystal ball, a paperweight of sorts, about as useful as the one Professor Marvel peered into at the beginning of the Wizard of Oz. Still, we are obligated to try. It’s buried in our code of ethics somewhere.
The M’s? Their pitching will keep them in games – and the playoff hunt. Their lineup? Unless something unforeseen happens between now and March, it won’t be good enough to keep anyone north of the Columbia River happy.
After the Seahawks miss the playoffs – yes, we’re calling it, mainly because we feel the Cardinals will win Sunday in the desert – they’ll face a crossroads of sorts. The head coach is 72 years old. A young 72 in some ways, an old one in others. Can Carroll adapt to the needs of the modern NFL? Our crystal ball seems to indicate he won’t get the chance, not after the way the 2023 season unfolded.
The piece of junk isn’t working, however, when it comes to WSU. How could it? The variables for the Cougars outweigh the certainties by 200-pounds-a-man up front. Yes, we know they (and Oregon State) have a football schedule plan with the Mountain West for this fall. And the next. We also know they have plotted a course for other sports with the WCC, which makes sense financially.
But where does all that planning lead? We’re certain of one thing: 2024 will be a year of change – again. And Washington State doesn’t control its fate. Not by a long shot. A courtroom in Florida (or a nearby state) might have more influence, as Florida State seeks to break from the ACC – and the long-term media rights the Seminoles entered into willingly in a different era. You know, just a few years ago. No matter what happens, we see 2024 as another step in the long-term remodeling of college athletics’ mansion.
All that hammering and banging should impact our local college hoop powerhouse as well. Maybe even more than we anticipated in the past. The foundational aspects Gonzaga’s program has been built upon are threatened by a rot outside Mark Few’s control.
Recruiting these days presents financial challenges even the most accomplished of seers could not have foreseen. Getting the best American players takes Wall Street money. Attracting foreign players has more competition than ever. More and more programs have evolved offensively, chipping away at another edge GU used to hold tight.
The Zags are challenged this season. It looks as if winning the WCC may not just be a goal but a necessity – if the NCAA-related streaks are to continue. And we’ve sort of thought they would – forever.
Then again, one thing the past has taught us. Nothing lasts forever. Except the tradition of trying to guess what will happen the next 51 weeks.
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WSU: The first weekend of Pac-12 play didn’t turn out the way the Cougars hoped, what with their second consecutive loss in the mountains. Sunday, Colorado took advantage of a huge gap at the free throw line to hold off fumble-fingered Washington State 74-67. Greg Woods has the game story. … There are stories from Colorado as well. … Jake Dickert added another transfer to his signing class of 23 high school players. Greg has this story on former Portland State linebacker Parker McKenna heading to Pullman. … Gardner Minshew and the Colts are in the playoffs. For now. He helped them defeat the Raiders yesterday, as Taylor Newquist relays in his column on NFL locals. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, John Canzano does what we did, looking ahead to 2024. … The year begins with the last four-team playoff. The Rose Bowl hosts the first game, pitting Michigan (a Rose Bowl perennial) and Alabama (not so much). … The nightcap, at the Sugar Bowl, features Washington, the undefeated Pac-12 champions, against Texas, which won a weaker Big 12. There is a history between the schools. … Before those games, Oregon takes the field in the Fiesta Bowl, trying to hand Liberty its first loss of the season. The Ducks offense should have its way against the Flames’ middling defense – if Oregon can get the ball. … In basketball news, there was one big upset Sunday. It happened in Stanford, as the Cardinal pounded fourth-ranked Arizona 100-82. It was the third time in four years Stanford has defeated the Wildcats at home. … Utah is 2-0 after the Utes rode Branden Carlson to a 95-90 win over 0-2 Washington. … The way to defeat Arizona State? Don’t build a big lead. The Sun Devils rallied once more, this time from 16 down, and topped California. … Oregon State’s women remained undefeated as they blew out Oregon 62-41 in Corvallis. … The win over Utah was good but Colorado is already ready to move on. … Stanford ended its nonconference schedule with a rout of visiting Morgan State. … Arizona won a nonconference game as well, topping Seattle U. by 47.
Gonzaga: The road to 1999’s breakthrough success wasn’t without its potholes. Dave Boling continues his look at the path today with two stories in the S-R, one from December of 1998 and another from a few years earlier.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana’s women shot well and defeated visiting Idaho State 66-55. … Montana State had little trouble with Weber State.
Chiefs: The venue changed but the result did not. Spokane defeated Tri-City for the second consecutive time, this one 11-3 on the Americans’ home ice.
Seahawks: Dave Boling returns to the pages of the S-R with his Seahawk thoughts. They center round tackling. A lost art. And an art that the Hawks performed poorly in the 30-23 home loss to Pittsburgh, a loss that means the Hawks must win in Arizona and then hope for a Green Bay loss against Chicago to make the playoffs. … Pete Carroll is adamant Jamal Adams will be back next season. … There are always grades. And things to learn.
Kraken: The Winter Classic is today at T-Mobile, pitting Seattle with Las Vegas.
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• We are ready to settle in and watch football. After our mother-in-law relinquishes the television following her annual Rose Parade fix. We’re all in with the Fiesta Bowl, the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. Though nine hours (or more) of football seems excessive, even for us. We’ll be back tomorrow to go over it all for you. However, we will not be here Wednesday morning. We’re heading home. Leaving as early as possible, trying to get over the mountains into Oregon before the weather makes it tougher. Until later …