A Grip on Sports: In both instances it took a lot longer than it should have but there were a couple clear winners Monday
A GRIP ON SPORTS • There were wins. There were losses. There was a stretch Monday afternoon that lasted almost until Tuesday morning in which something significant happened on an hourly basis. What’s the rest of the week going to be like?
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• A scheduled one-hour hearing in a Spokane courtroom that lasted more than twice that tipped it all off yesterday afternoon. An 18th-inning home run walked us all to bed minutes before the clock struck midnight.
In between? Let’s check.
• Tyon Grant-Foster had his day in court. And, ultimately, was granted what he, and the Gonzaga men’s basketball program, wanted. A preliminary injunction allowing the transfer wing to play in the upcoming season.
Spokane County Judge Marla Polin listened to arguments from Grant-Foster’s attorneys detailing why the 25-year-old should be allowed to play this season, despite having first begun his college career seven years ago. She heard counter-arguments from the NCAA’s attorney about the organization’s role in policing athletic eligibility and the rules it uses to accomplish that. Weighed those words and the written ones submitted previously.
She decided to grant Grant-Foster’s request. The 6-foot-7 wing would be allowed to play for the Bulldogs, something he did less than two-hours later in their 111-53 exhibition victory over Western Oregon.
One player won. One multi-million-dollar bureaucracy lost. Again.
The winner? Grant-Foster, who has averaged 13.8 points per game while playing two seasons at Indian Hills Community College, one at Kansas, half of a game at DePaul and the last two seasons at Grand Canyon University.
It was his health-limited time in Chicago that was at issue here, though the two JC seasons also played a role. The argument at the front of the line? The NCAA’s five-year clock for athletes, one that starts the minute an athletic begins his college career. They are allowed four years of competition within that span.
Courts have ruled in these times when athletes can effectively be paid for playing, JC years should be treated differently. The NCAA also allows numerous stoppages of the clock, for such things as military service, religious missions and pregnancy.
Because Grant-Foster’s two years at DePaul were decimated by a heart condition that left him unable to play, and with his JC years factored in, it seemed when he filed for an NCAA waiver in early June for an additional year of eligibility with Gonzaga, and the accompanying NIL compensation, it would be slam dunk.
After all, why would the organization that oversees college athletics risk another loss, one that might poke further holes in its already-in-flux five-year competition timeframe?
Ultimately, it decided to risk it. After waiting until the last minute to rule on Grant-Foster’s appeal of an initial denial. Which, of course, the nearly five-month-long process left Grant-Foster up against a deadline of sorts. He had to be cleared to be able to accept an athletic scholarship at GU by the end of this month.
That deadline? The NCAA’s attorney used it in court Monday to decry Grant-Foster “waiting until the last minute to sue.”
What, he was supposed to file suit while the NCAA was still deciding on the merits of his appeal? Noted for further reference. The NCAA’s representative, in court, has just encouraged every athlete in an eligibility dispute to not wait for the molasses-slow process to play out.
In the end, Grant-Foster, and Gonzaga, won in court. And then the Zags won at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
• Anyone who didn’t have a strict bedtime won later as well. Even those folks who attended Grant-Foster’s court hearing and the Zags win were able to watch a full nine-inning World Series game. That’s a win, isn’t it?
Especially when it included another record-setting night at the plate from Shohei Ohtani, a more-than-ceremonial one-out stint from future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw and a game-winning home run from Freddie Freeman. And more heroics.
In the bottom of the 18th inning.
The losers? The Blue Jays, of course. They squandered a lead, lost George Springer to another injury, saw their offense disappear in the late – either way you want to define that – innings and fell 6-5 on Freeman’s second career World Series walk-off home run.
Oh, and any baseball fan who had an early wakeup call.
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WSU: Can the Cougars pick up another win this Saturday in Corvallis? Greg Woods takes his first look at the nonconference game between the Pac-12 duo. The conference one will be in Pullman next month. … There is a similar story in the Oregonian covering Oregon State. … Greg also has Jimmy Rogers’ injury update in this notebook. The Cougs have wins and loss in that department as well. … Former Washington State quarterback Luke Falk returned to Pullman last weekend not just as a football alum but as an author promoting a book. Nick Gibson has this story that delves into that aspect of Falk’s life. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, it’s Tuesday so we pass along Jon Wilner’s Big Ten and Big 12 power rankings from the Mercury News. … There is also John Canzano’s mailbag on his website. … Canzano also has coverage of the athletic administration turmoil in Corvallis, as does the Oregonian. Is it possible the Beavers could enter the new-look Pac-12 without Scott Barnes, the athletic director who guided the school through the wilderness? … How important is the quarterback position when teams rebuild through the portal? … Back to the West Coast, Washington is getting healthier. Just in time for the Big Ten stretch run. … It was bound to happen. UCLA broke down under the strain last week. … Utah State has a lot of questions during its second bye week. … We pass along one more look back at the Oregon win over Wisconsin.
• Here are the rest of the (current, old and future) Pac-12 games this week, listed chronologically. All are on Saturday unless noted. The schedule below also includes any game in which finding news turned out to be nearly impossible.
– James Madison at Texas State (tonight, 5 p.m., ESPN2): The Bobcats hope they can turn around a tough Sun Belt Conference season.
– Arizona State at Iowa State (10 a.m., TNT): It doesn’t help the Sun Devils that their coach is mentioned in connection to every big-name opening.
– Pittsburgh at Stanford (12:30 p.m., ACC): The Panthers are heavily favored this week but have to travel a long ways to play.
– Fresno State at Boise State (12:30, FS1): Despite their continued success on the field, the Broncos are having a few issues off it.
– No. 15 Virginia at California (12:45, ESPN2): Despite being unbeaten in the ACC, the Cavaliers are not highly rated in some quarters.
– Arizona at Colorado (4, FS1): The Buffs’ defensive issues didn’t just start in last week’s blowout.
– Wyoming at San Diego State (4, CBS Sports): The Aztecs have climbed to the top of all but one mountain thus far.
– No. 23 USC at Nebraska (4:30, NBC): The Huskers have a better record this season. But are they better?
– No. 17 Cincinnati at No. 24 Utah (7:15, ESPN): There shouldn’t be a quarterback controversy for the Utes, though quarterback Byrd Ficklin’s performance in Boulder does give them more leeway.
• In basketball news, there are many paths to college coaching these days. … Arizona’s men rolled to an exhibition win at home. … Utah State won both of its exhibitions.
Gonzaga: Of course we linked Theo Lawson’s coverage of Grant-Foster’s eligibility hearing and subsequent victory above. And link it again here. Theo has covered this saga better than anyone since it began. … Jim Meehan was back in the Kennel last night and has the coverage of the exhibition win. … Colin Mulvany has the visual coverage in this photo gallery. … Back to Theo, who once again proved our adage recruiting never stops. A highly sought-after 2026 recruit, Dooney Johnson, was in Spokane yesterday and at the game…. Gonzaga is mentioned prominently in this Yahoo look at non-Power-conference teams. … Same in this one from CBS Sports.
Idaho: The Vandals are a different team with quarterback Joshua Woods in control of the offense. Peter Harriman tells us how different. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, who are the frontrunners for the conference’s postseason awards? … Montana State wants to limit Northern Colorado’s explosive plays. … Sacramento State’s high-profile president has upset the apple cart. And some folks are upset.
Sounders: The MLS playoffs opened for Seattle on the road. After 120-plus minutes, the match against Minnesota finished without anyone scoring. It had to be decided in penalty kicks. The Loons earned the win.
Mariners: Payroll is always an important aspect of Seattle’s success. And every other franchise’s, of course. It is no surprise that two top-five payroll teams are playing in the World Series. Adam Jude looks at where the M’s stand in that regard heading into the offseason. There is a little wiggle room, but not all that much unless ownership decides to open the vault a bit.
Seahawks: Even if there isn’t a major trade, the Hawks probably have enough needs and are close enough to being a major playoff contender to add a piece or two before the deadline. … The rushing game? Seattle is optimistic about it. … Has Sam Darnold played well enough to be in the MVP discussion? Matt Calkins says yes. … How will the Hawks’ secondary change now that Devin Witherspoon is on the way back?
Kraken: Adversity hits every athlete. How they respond to it defines who they are. And how their teammates feel about them.
Bloomsday: I have tried to link Nina Culver’s stories on Bloomsday perennials, those who have run all 49 races, whenever we find them. Today’s story is on Mike Tobey, who was inspired to run back while I was still in high school.
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• I don’t work all that well on short sleep. And the amount I got last night qualifies as short. Sorry in advance for however that manifested itself above. Maybe tonight’s game will go 20 innings. Without me. Until later …