A Grip on Sports: It seemed like a great day to update a quaint tale or two from college sports’ long-gone past

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Quaint is a, well, quaint word. As change roils the waters of our world, anything 10 minutes old or older is considered quaint. Even in sports. Need an example? “Remember when college basketball teams used to have travel partners and spent a long weekend at home, playing a couple games? How quaint.”
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• Washington State played in San Diego on Thursday. Probably used Friday as a travel day. Hosts Portland today in Beasley. Another way to look at it? The Pilots, who played their Thursday game in Chiles Center, had an easier trip than the host Cougars – and had more time to prepare.
That’s not as much of a problem for the other local West Coast Conference school, Gonzaga. The Bulldogs have long chartered whenever traveling, so the trip back from Corvallis, though late, didn’t intrude into Friday. Much. This evening’s Kennel foe, Santa Clara, had to make the trip from Los Angeles after it loss Thursday, though at least Loyola Marymount is within spitting distance of LAX.
Nothing is within spitting distance for most of the Pac-12 defectors, scattered as they are between the Big Ten, the ACC and the Big 12, all of which are headquartered on the other side of a turbulent plane ride from the West Coast.
Heck, the other day UCLA’s men hosted Michigan. Turns out the Wolverines were more acclimated to L.A. than the Bruins. UM played at USC three days before, stayed around and welcomed Mick Cronin’s crew some 72 hours after UCLA played at Nebraska.
Back and forth across the Rockies on a weekend. That never would have happened in “the old days.” You know, back when schools actually cared about their athletes as students. Or at least paid lip service to caring about it. Those were certainly quaint times.
• Speaking of quaint, how about that whole transfer portal thing?
Turns out it really doesn’t exist. As the only way to change schools, we mean. A former Wisconsin defensive back, who decided to return home and play at Miami, revealed that truth recently. And with his move, threw another wrench into college athletics’ hope of building a more-dependable roster machine.
That’s what the settlement of the House lawsuit was supposed to do if it receives final approval from a federal judge in April. It may receive the approval but it won’t give the schools much in the way of clarity. Not after recent developments.
The Department of Education feels whatever money schools will be allowed to share with their athletes under the settlement terms must adhere to Title IX guidelines of gender equity. The Department of Justice added its two cents yesterday, decrying the limits on revenue sharing as anti-competitive and a probable antitrust violation. Yes, such thoughts could disappear with a new administration in Washington D.C., but there is no guarantee they will not return some day.
Meanwhile, Xavier Lucas just bypassed the whole transfer structure the NCAA has put into place, showing how the whole thing is a sham. In doing so, he may trigger another round of lawsuits between schools or between schools and players. Heck, we may even be closer to a different type of transfer free-for-all.
Lucas signed a two-year agreement with the Badgers, ceding his school-controlled NIL rights exclusively to UW. The agreement he signed is part of the Big Ten’s plan to deal with players and revenue sharing once House becomes official.
Right after signing, though, Lucas decided he wanted to move back closer to an ailing family member. He asked the Badgers to put his name in the portal. The school said no. He was told he had signed an agreement.
Turns out, all Lucas, or any athlete has to do, is just transfer the old way. Drop out, pick a new school, enroll. He is eligible to play for Miami football in 2025. Wisconsin can’t stop it, nor is there a penalty attached. The NCAA confirms it. And any NIL money he earns from outside interests, the current form of payments, is his to keep.
Anyone can do it. Just tell the world they want to transfer, skip the portal and move on. No deadlines, no restrictions, no rules. There are NCAA rules about tampering with another school’s athletes, but that’s already going on and nothing is being done about it anyway. What a joke.
Sure, Wisconsin may try to stop Lucas from earning NIL money or playing by suing him, citing the agreement he signed. But it is contingent on the House settlement being finalized. Or maybe the Badgers will sue Miami for some reason. Who knows? Lawsuits seem to be all the rage.
Not like the quaint old times when college sports were ancillary to a school, not controlling it. You know, back when everyone wore leather helmets. Raccoon coats. And drove a Model T.
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WSU: As Portland comes calling, David Riley knows his Cougars must be more consistent on the defensive end. That’s the thrust of Greg Woods’ preview of today’s game. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has this look in the Mercury News at what the Rose Bowl may mean down the road for Oregon. … He also has a mailbag in the Mercury News. … Nick Daschel has an Oregon State mailbag in the Oregonian. Those are the only two we’re passing along. Today at least. … Washington missed out on Taylor Mays once. Not this time. … Trent Bray shouldn’t be OSU’s defensive coordinator long. … In basketball news, John Canzano has a column on the Beavers’ win over Gonzaga – the postgame court storm cost Oregon State $5,000 – and what it means for the program. … Kelsey Plum meant a lot for the Washington women’s program. That’s why her No. 10 is being retired. … Back to the men, No. 13 Oregon hosts No. 17 Purdue today (noon, NBC). … Boise State was chewed up and spit out last night at The Pit. … Colorado State is getting more out of a sophomore forward this season. … There is a big rivalry game in Utah, with BYU and the Utes meeting today. … San Diego State and UNLV renew their rivalry game (5 p.m., CBS Sports). … Utah State can’t always rely on coming through in the clutch.
Gonzaga: The Zags’ overtime defeat – their third in five losses – has the potential to leave a scar. And that could impact tonight’s 6 p.m. game (KHQ) against the Broncos. But we’re betting Domantas Sabonis’ presence in the Kennel – his jersey is being raised to the rafters – will help supply the Bulldogs with a needed boost. Theo Lawson covers all those salient points in his preview. … He also has a look the at the key matchup, which is a huge problem – pun intended. … Jim Meehan closes the books on Thursday’s upset in Corvallis.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, not only has Montana State lost a bunch of players in the portal, three offensive assistant coaches are off to other schools. … Cal Poly has added a quarterback transfer from Pitt. … Idaho State has added a couple more in-state receivers. … In basketball news, Northern Colorado counts on some intangibles to keep its winning ways going.
Whitworth: Life on the Northwest Conference road is tough this season for the Pirates. The men lost at George Fox 87-81 last night.
Preps: Dave Nichols had a busy Friday night. His first stop? Gonzaga Prep, where he covered the Mead girls’ and the Bullpup boys’ wins. … Dave also put together two roundups, one covering the GSL games, another the smaller schools’ contests.
Chiefs: Dave’s second stop? The Spokane Memorial Arena, as he caught up with another offensive outbreak for Spokane. The Chiefs defeated the Prince George Cougars 5-2.
Seahawks: Once again, we link a position story, this time tight end, for the second consecutive day. It is on the S-R website. … There is a defensive line story on the Times’ website. … There is also a fifth candidate for the offensive coordinator position.
Kraken: Two No. 2 draft picks are bonding quickly.
Sounders: Jesus Ferreira is back with Seattle and rehabbing his hamstring.
Mariners: Yes, Ichiro may be a unanimous Hall of Fame choice. We will find out soon. But the other M’s player eligible for the first time, Felix Hernandez, aka King Felix, may struggle to stay on the ballot, as 95% of the voters may not have the box next to his name checked. That was not the case for Ryan Divish, who explains why he voted for the franchise’s best pitcher and why he will always vote for him. …The Dodgers seem to be able to sign everybody. The latest? Japanese starting pitcher Roki Sasaki.
Reign: An original franchise player is sticking around another year.
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• Enjoy the two NFL playoff games today. Houston is at Kansas City (1:30 p.m., ABC) and upstart Washington is at Detroit (5, Fox). We’ll be back here with our thoughts on them, and everything else, tomorrow. Until then …