A Grip on Sports: As Thursday’s meal prep rolls on, there is one more thing you should prep as well – your sports thankfullness list
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s time to begin putting together your list. No, not the Christmas one. That better have been finished – some assembled is always required – weeks ago. Your Thanksgiving list. The things for which you are thankful. No one wants to be tongue-tied as everyone from Uncle Ron to little Navaeh stares at you.
•••••••
• After all, no one can delve into the pumpkin or sweet potato pie until the ritual is over. So don’t blow it. Or get in the way of grandpa’s annual whipped-cream mustache.
If most everyone at the table is a sports fan, can we offer a few suggestions to get you started?
• How about the year-in, year-out excellence of the Gonzaga men’s basketball program? Even as everything else in college sports transforms, the Zags roll along. After a quarter-decade, Mark Few shows every year he can adjust to the changing times.
Case in point, last night’s 95-85 win over No. 8 Alabama in something titled the Players Era Festival. A convoluted holiday tournament in Las Vegas – doesn’t that just scream Thanksgiving? – powered by nothing more than a huge payout to the teams purporting to be NIL funds.
The off-court detritus aside, on the court Few’s team showed another attribute it will need to be successful in what promises to be a wide-open March Madness. What’s that? Defensive toughness.
How’s that again? The Crimson Tide scored 85 points. That doesn’t scream toughness. But the final few minutes did. When the Bulldogs finally clamped down on Alabama point guard Labaran Philon Jr. When they went from down two to up 12 in less than 5 minutes. When they put the game away by forcing Philon, a wizard on ball screens, into two key turnovers. When they forced tough shots, sealed off the boards and finished on a 26-14 run.
The entire 40 minutes might not have been a let’s-give-thanks performance, but the final 7 certainly were.
• You want to know another item you can mention? College football rivalry games. Another part of the changing landscape, sure, but still worth a sky point or two.
Heck, Cougar fans can even be a little grateful, despite the 59-24 home shellacking their team took in the Apple Cup.
After all, thanks to the new world order, that blowout came three months ago. And who among us remembers that long ago these days? Ancient history. All the changes have given Washington State another opportunity Saturday. A new rival, Oregon State. A second chance – literally.
When the two Pac-12 holdovers meet in Pullman, it will be a rematch of the Beavers’ ugly 10-7 win in Corvallis to start this month. It is also another chance for the 5-6 Cougs to clinch a bowl berth. Their last chance, actually. Win, celebrate and give thanks twice in one weekend.
•••
WSU: That bowl eligibility opportunity? It’s the thrust of Greg Woods’ first look at Saturday afternoon’s contest at Gesa Field. … For Washington State to win, however, it will have to succeed without its rock in the middle of the offensive line. Center Brock Dieu has a foot injury and will not play. … Greg also has basketball coverage as the Cougar men rallied in the second half to win their opener in the Maui Invitational. … Robb Akey’s time as OSU’s interim coach is coming to an end as the Beavers prep for WSU. He is going out quotable. As always. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner shares his thoughts in the Mercury News on California firing longtime coach Justin Wilcox over the weekend. He also has his weekly Big Ten and Big 12 power rankings. … Coaching changes also play a big part in John Canzano’s mailbag from Monday. And in his second post on the day, adding Wilcox’s name to the Oregon State mix. The Oregonian does too. … The CFP bracket reveal this evening should be a pretty set-in-stone roadmap for the real one in a couple weeks. Then again, upsets happen.
• Here are the rest of the (current, old and future) Pac-12 games this week, listed chronologically and including the latest Associated Press rankings if applicable. All are on Saturday unless noted. The schedule below also includes any game in which finding news turned out to be nearly impossible.
– No. 14 Utah at Kansas (9 a.m. Friday, ESPN): The Utes, still holding out hope for a CFP berth, will be missing a defense stalwart going forward.
– Air Force at Colorado State (noon Friday, FS1): The Rams may just start their fourth different quarterback this week.
– San Diego State at New Mexico (12:30 p.m. Friday, CBS Sports): The Aztecs want to end the regular season with a strong showing on the road.
– Boise State at Utah State (1 p.m. Friday, CBS): Bronco Mendenhall’s first season in Logan can be considered a success. All it took was one road win for the Aggies to go bowling. … If the Broncos win, they still have an outside chance to make the MWC title game.
– Arizona at Arizona State (6 p.m. Friday, Fox): This is quietly one of the week’s best rivalry matchups. But the way the Sun Devils and Wildcats feel about it, this game will also be anything but quiet.
– Colorado at Kansas State (9 a.m., FS1): The Buffs hope to put together a momentum-building performance on the road. Signing day is almost upon us.
– South Alabama at Texas State (noon, ESPN+): Could a win help the Bobcats retain their best players?
– No. 5 Oregon at Washington (12:30 p.m., CBS): The Huskies may just be a medical case study this week. How many players are suddenly healthy for a rivalry game? … A freshman linebacker who is healthy won’t be playing to preserve his redshirt. … The Ducks, looking to lock up a CFP spot, probably won’t have a key offensive lineman available due to injury.
– UCLA at No. 19 USC (1:30, NBC): Lincoln Riley is still optimistic about the Trojans’ future, despite last week’s loss in Oregon.
– SMU at California (5, ESPN2): Wondering who may be Cal’s next coach? Here are a few names to ponder.
– No. 9 Notre Dame at Stanford (7:30, ESPN): One thing in the Cardinal’s favor? Notre Dame has a lot of injuries.
– Fresno State at San Jose State (7:30, FS1)
• In basketball news, Oregon’s men are at the Players in Vegas as well. The defending champions lost to Auburn. … San Diego State is also in Vegas, where it was rolled by Michigan. … USC is in Maui, where it topped Boise State. … Arizona State is there too and upset Texas in the first round. … Oregon State is elsewhere but the Beavers lost their fourth-consecutive game. … Arizona is hosting a tournament and routed Denver to open the proceedings. … Utah needs to show growth this week as its competition improves. … The Oregon State women are winning, but their defense needs shoring up. … Colorado picked up another win last night. … Arizona State is trying to rebuild quickly.
Gonzaga: Theo Lawson is spending the week in Las Vegas. I’m guessing he’s feasting at the baccarat tables, like all high rollers. And covering the Zags’ games. He has his analysis of the GU win and well as working with the folks in the office on the recap with highlights. … Jim Meehan is also there and has this story on the strange nature of the multiple-team event. He also has his three takeaways. … Prior to the game, Jim put together this story on the Zags’ zooming up the Associated Press poll, all the way from 13 to 12. … Dave Boling adds a column on the game. … Tyler Tjomsland supplies the usual complete photo report. … The Zags face Maryland tonight. The Terps topped UNLV last night, with former WSU point guard Myles Rice returning from the injury list to supply eight points and six assists.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, we can pass along a little more on Cal Poly firing football coach Paul Wulff after three seasons. … We can also send you to this story on Montana State and Montana’s seeds in the FCS playoffs. … In basketball news, the Portland State men are at Utah Tech.
Seahawks: Snap counts can be instructive. Bob Condotta explains what Sunday’s mean. … Jaxon Smith-Njigba is special. He’s the focal point for Seattle. But the Hawks need to diversify their offense more. … This Washington Post analysis of playoff chances is pretty interesting. According to its numbers, the Hawks have the second-best chance to win the Super Bowl. … To ensure that, the Seattle defense has to get healthy.
Reign: The team’s longest-tenured player signed an extension.
Bloomsday: Hey, we found another Nina Culver story on the race’s perennial finishers. It is about Jeff Snow, who never expected to run in 50 races. Heck, he was surprised when there was a second one in 1978.
•••
• Why is it Thanksgiving week always seems so busy? I would give thanks if you could explain it to me. Until later …