A Grip on Sports: Christmas, Christmas time is here, time for bowls and polls and to cheer … the Seahawks to an NFC title

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Just realized Christmas is just around the corner. What was my first clue? When I turned the corner into the cul-de-sac last night and was hit with the bright lights of Broadway. In Spokane. So that’s what the cherry picker was doing on the block over the weekend.

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• There is a great divide on our block. The youngsters’ homes are decorated to the nines. Maybe even the tens. The old folks’ homes? Not so much. As in a few with nothing in the way of higher Avista bills. We’re somewhere in-between. As always.

Anyhow, the lights and blowup dolls – saw a pair of Minion ones a couple blocks over, which made me smile – and the rest means one thing. College basketball is in full swing. Bowl season too. And the Seahawks are one of the best teams in the NFL. All is right with the Northwest’s world.

• That last one is kind of shock isn’t it? No, not that all is right with the Northwest’s world. But that the Hawks have jumped so quickly from the mid-rung of the NFL to the heights.

Four years seems like a long time in many ways – since their 2020 12-4 season, Seattle posted a 35-33 record coming into the year – but it’s all in the rearview mirror now. Along with Russell Wilson, Pete Carroll and a bunch of nondescript offensive linemen – with “offensive” describing a few guys on both sides of the ball.

Mike Macdonald’s second group is also listed second this week in just about every NFL power ranking I can find. Or third. That’s good, isn’t it?

One issue though. The No. 1 team on those lists also plays in the NFC West. And the L.A. Rams holds the tiebreaker over the Seahawks. There are four games left. How that race, and the race to keep San Francisco boxed out, will be fun to watch.

• The latest college basketball polls were released Monday. And I noticed something weird about the top teams. Well, not weird, really. Notable might be a better word. Notable for this area at least.

Three of the top eight teams – No. 1 Arizona, No. 7 Houston and No. 8 Gonzaga – have something in common. Those schools’ coaches all have deep roots in the Inland Northwest.

Probably don’t have to tell you the particulars but for the uninitiated, here they are: The Wildcats’ Tommy Lloyd not only played at Whitman, he spent two decades as a Gonzaga assistant. Kelvin Sampson’s first Division I head coaching job came three decades ago in Pullman. And Mark Few’s resume needs no going over. The top line says it all. Twenty-seven seasons at GU, 750 wins.

Throw in the nugget fourth-ranked Iowa State, which ran former No. 1 Purdue out of its home gym over the weekend, is anchored in the middle by a player who might be more Inland Northwest than that trio. Blake Buchanan was born in Moscow – his mom Debbie was the long-time UI volleyball coach – and moved to Coeur d’Alene in his sophomore year. He was part of Lake City High’s special group that finished off by winning the 2023 State 6A title.

• Washington State’s football team is 6-6. So is Utah State’s. The schools will be Pac-12 companions in about 6½ months. Elizabeth Cantwell is the WSU president. Her previous job? Yep, in Logan.

So it’s about as fitting as it gets the two are meeting in their bowl game.

And the location fits too – except it’s not a warm-weather city. Instead the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl is in Boise on Dec. 22, a place in which the high temperature could hover around freezing at the 11 a.m. (PST) kickoff.

But then again Boise is about halfway between the two schools. It is some 220 air miles from Pullman and 257 from Logan.

It’s almost as if the two schools challenged each other to a rumble and tried to pick the perfect in-between spot to hold it.

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WSU: This football season is not over. But that doesn’t mean the transfer portal world isn’t heating up. Everywhere. Greg Woods is keeping track of the goings on in Pullman each day. … Not sure many Cougar fans were interested anymore in what Jimmy Rogers had to say as he was introduced at his new place of employment, Iowa State. But Greg listened in and has this story. I did a quick search. The word “loyal” was not used. At least in Greg’s story. … Utah State coach Bronco Mendenhall spoke about the bowl game and Washington State. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, the CFP selection fallout is about finished. Notre Dame’s outrage caught Jon Wilner’s eyes and ears, sure. And he used his fingers to write about it. … The Irish are special. If you don’t believe me, ask them. Or anyone else connected to college football. … How about the CFP matchups that are actually happening? Indiana seems to have the easiest path, Miami the hardest. … John Canzano touches on that, and WSU news, in his Monday mailbag. … The four Heisman Trophy finalists were announced. Three quarterbacks and a Notre Dame running back. Seems we are back to normal. … Washington is headed to the LA Bowl. Jedd Fisch is embracing it. So is Boise State coach Spencer Danielson. … Oregon’s CFP path seems easier than last year, even without a bye. … Colorado is following a longstanding tradition for the school’s coaching staff. … Isaac Wilson is leaving Utah. And this time the highly recruited quarterback seems to mean it. … Bob Chesney is still busy coaching James Madison. But then he’s headed to Westwood and a bigger challenge. … Kenny Dillingham has his hands full with Arizona State’s roster. Namely, the on-going Sam Leavitt drama. … Arizona is working to sign a couple assistant coaches to new contracts. … San Diego State has picked an interim defensive coordinator. … Is it time for another Jim Mora update from Fort Collins? Sure.

• In basketball news, Bobby Hurley says Arizona State’s defense has improved. … Colorado State will host Dartmouth tonight. … Yes, Utah State and WSU are meeting in a bowl game. But make no mistake. USU is a basketball school. … So is Arizona. The No. 1 basketball school right now, actually.

Gonzaga: I mentioned Few’s win total above. Theo Lawson highlights the 750 number in is look back at the rout of overmatched North Florida. … Want more about the Bulldogs? Well, Jim Meehan covers the poll news. And has a couple nuggets about the Zags’ ranking and their standing in many of the analytical formulas available.

Whitworth: The Pirate men pulled away in the second half to earn a 90-76 nonconference home win over Belhaven on Monday night.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, with the top seed sidelined already, there seems to be a more-open road for either No. 2-seed Montana State and No. 3 Montana to win a title. … The Bobcats have to be better, though, then they were last week. … UC Davis, seeded eighth, also has an easier path. … In basketball news, Idaho State’s men are about as good as they shoot from long range. The women need to get healthy again. … The Northern Arizona women are 1-9 for the first time in more than a decade. … Finally, something’s brewing at Northern Colorado. Literally.

Seahawks: The Hawks are really good. So good, in fact, there is still a decent chance they could finish with the NFC’s best record. And the NFC is the best conference this season. … Sam Darnold played an exceptional second half against the Falcons. … The next opponent, the Colts, could suit up a 44-year-old quarterback, Phillip Rivers, now that comeback player of the year candidate Daniel Jones is out. … Starting center Jalen Sundell is healthy again. Where will he play on the offensive line?

Kraken: Seattle is in a slump. It has lost five consecutive games in regulation. And Berkly Catton is injured. He’s not day-to-day, like all of us. He’s week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

Mariners: The high point of the Hot Stove League every offseason? The Winter Meetings, even if, technically, it is still autumn. The Mariners made one pre-meetings deal, sending catcher Harry Ford to Washington for a left-handed reliever, Jose Ferrer. (Ford was sad about leaving the only franchise he’s ever known, which is refreshing in a way.) Will they make more? Maybe even bring back another former Mariner-turned-Diamondback, a la the deal for Eugenio Suarez a few months ago? Or maybe re-sign Jorge Polanco?

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• Honestly, if WSU and Utah State wanted to meet in the middle, their bowl game should probably be on the runway at Mountain Home Air Force base. Problem is, besides the concrete and all, neither team uses the Air Raid offense anymore. Sorry, couldn’t resist. Until later …