A Grip on Sports: There was a great appetizer last night in Las Vegas but the main course today is all about leftovers

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We usually have a night each week in which dinner is devoted to leftovers. Which is a nice way of saying we clean out whatever is left in the fridge and go to bed with a full, if occasionally gurgling, stomach. Today seems like a good day to clean out the fridge, A Grip on Sports style.

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• We mentioned yesterday how special the Pac-12 women’s semifinals were going to be. It was a subject that enthralled John Canzano as well, though he has the distinct advantage of being in Las Vegas and could watch the games. We had to filter them through the Pac-12 Networks, which has a tendency to put the best face on everything.

No need to worry about that last night. Each game was a masterpiece in a way. Top-seed (and second-ranked) Stanford falling behind by double digits against left-behind Oregon State, ranked 13th. The Cardinal rallying for a 66-57 victory. No. 7 UCLA and fifth-ranked USC, each school in line for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament but seeded third and second, respectively, in their final Pac-12 battle. A double overtime classic with the Trojans, led by the best player on the court, JuJu Watkins, moving on to Sunday’s final with an 80-70 decision.

It was everything we thought it would be – and more.

• The same could be said about Dune: Part Two. We caught a matinee yesterday. Found the film mesmerizing. Beautiful. And, ultimately, just another Hollywood tease for the inevitable sequel to come. Great.

Five Frank Herbert books left to mine, like so much spice. Which means we’ll have to sit through another 10 movies over, what, 20 years?

Did a quick check of our life calendar. Not sure we have the time. Literally.

• The Big Sky basketball tournament gets underway in Boise today. Hope everyone who is headed down wearing their Eastern sweatshirt enjoys themselves today. Because, starting tomorrow, it’s nail-biting time.

The top-seeded women should have a bit of an easier first game Sunday against the winner of today’s Weber State/Portland State game. Of course, Northern Arizona, which already owns a victory over the league champion Eagles may just await in Wednesday’s final.

The men, also carrying the top seed, may end up playing Idaho for a third time. The Vandals meet Sacramento State today. The last time the two teams met, in Cheney less than a month ago, it was a back-and-forth affair, with Eastern finally pulling away for an 87-79 victory. Win, move on and either Weber State, led by conference player of the year Dillon Jones, or Matt Logie’s Montana State team awaits in the semifinals. Not easy. But the reward is so great, the stakes so high, nothing is ever easy in Boise this time of year.

• It’s funny how the NCAA’s NET ranking work. We wondered yesterday of the Gonzaga women would earn a bit of a bump when Stanford won in the Pac-12 semifinal. After all, the Zags own a win over the Cardinal. Then we realized Louisville, one of two teams to hand GU a defeat (the other was Washington State, back when Charlisse Leger-Walker was healthy), lost to Notre Dame.

The opponent aspect had to balance out, right? In the end, the Bulldogs began today in the same place it did yesterday, 10th.

As for the Gonzaga men, their NET rankings moved yesterday – despite not playing. For the worse, actually. The Bulldogs fell from 17th to 18th, trading places with Saint Mary’s. The Cougars, who fell some after the loss to now-coach-less Washington, stayed steady in the 44th spot. Both numbers correspond pretty closely with Ken Pomeroy’s ratings. The Zags are 15th in those, the Cougars 42nd.

• Full yet? Well, there is one more large Pyrex container to clean out.

As alluded to above, Washington fired Mike Hopkins yesterday. He’ll coach through the Pac-12 tourney, lead the Huskies to the title and then a deep run in the NCAAs. Wait. No. Only the Pac-12 tourney, where the Huskies will lose and move on. To whom? The Athletic takes a swipe at that. Ends up landing on Utah State’s Danny Sprinkle. Or WSU alum Leon Rice. Or, yep, Kyle Smith. Here’s what Brian Hamilton has to say about that last possibility:

“Kyle Smith, Washington State head coach. Unless it’s high treason to leave for a rival that isn’t even in your conference anymore, the fit makes sense. Smith springboards from limbo into one of the two most stable leagues in the country. Washington gets a winner thoroughly familiar with the territory. The only question is whether Dannen gets to him first.”

In other words, Hamilton believes Smith won’t be back in Pullman next season, no matter what. Probably not what Cougar fans want to hear but, if the chatter on X is to be believed, what they expect. It’s not unusual or new, is it? But the new world order makes it even more likely.

Which makes us a bit sad. It’s why we believe Bill Moos made a huge mistake when he let Rice leave Pullman without a signed contract a decade ago. Moos was looking to replace Ken Bone, Rice was on shaky ground with the Broncos and they made a match. After his interview, the 1986 Washington State grad went back home to tell everyone he was going to take the job. Except he didn’t. His players pulled on his heartstrings and won the day. He stayed.

The Cougars entered purgatory, consigned there by Ernie Kent. If Rice, in his 40s at the time, had made the move, we’re certain success would have followed. He would be a Pullman legend by now. And with his deep roots, would have never left.

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WSU: Smith is still in charge for now, but what really would help is if he could magically heal Andrej Jakimovski’s right shoulder. It’s injured. And it’s impacting his shooting. Greg Woods has more in this story. … We found this Isaac Jones story from the Lewiston Tribune to pass along. … The baseball team opened Pac-12 play at home yesterday. Defeated Utah 7-1. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, we can pass along this Teresa Gould story that ran in the S-R. We linked it yesterday on the Washington Post site. … Jon Wilner has a mailbag in the Mercury News. … For men’s basketball, the Hopkins news is Page One, especially in the Seattle Times, but there is more, of course. There are games today, including No. 5 Arizona facing a maturity test at USC, a team that is getting healthy at the right time. … Oregon, with fading at-large hopes, hosts Utah, which also is clinging to the edge. … Colorado is a bit beat-up as it visits Oregon State. … Stanford coach Jerod Haase addressed the alumni revolt. … UCLA had a blah game against UA and has had a blah season. … On the women’s side, we covered the semifinals above. But there is more, as in Colorado still hoping to host in the NCAAs. A false hope. … Utah’s coach Lynne Roberts doesn’t feel her team, ranked 22nd, has ever been given the benefit of the doubt this injury-rattled season. … We have one football story, out of Oregon State.

Gonzaga: Here is what CBS Sports had to say about the women heading into the conference tournament: “Gonzaga (WCC): 29-2, NET 10, SOS 85 – The Bulldogs are, without a doubt, the best team in the West Coast Conference. If they can prove it one final time, they’ll host games in the NCAA Tournament. In the WCC’s gauntlet-style Tournament, the top two seeds get byes all the way to the semifinals. The No. 2 seed is Santa Clara, who Gonzaga beat by a combined 75 points in two regular-season meetings.”

EWU: Though neither Eagle team plays today, Dan Thompson has his previews of the tournament on the S-R website. The men are trying to avoid what happened last year (a one-game exit) while the women know NAU is looming. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, are the Montana women a true contender? … We know Northern Arizona certainly is. … The Montana men hope to build off its late-season momentum. … The Bobcats feel the same way.

Chiefs: Spokane fell behind by three goals early in the third period, rallied but came up short, losing 5-4 to Seattle on the road. Dave Nichols has the coverage.

Kraken: A quiet trade deadline must have drained the players. They couldn’t find the net, gave up three third-period goals and lost 3-0 to visiting Winnipeg.

Seahawks: Just where do the Hawks sit entering the free agent period?

Mariners: The M’s moved to bolster a beat-up bullpen yesterday, agreeing with former Astros reliever Ryne Stanek on a one-year, incentive-laded contract. … Emerson Hancock wasn’t as sharp Friday and the M’s lost.

Sounders: It will be a Sounders-lite team playing in Philadelphia this afternoon. The team is suffering from so many injuries to key players, this season’s start is bound to be disjointed.

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• A high in the 50s today? My goodness, were we teleported overnight to Phoenix? Until later …