A Grip on Sports: At least there are some sporting events today to divert the laser-sharp focus, and even sharper anxiety, we have on the Super Bowl
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It would be nice if Saturday would hold a gift for every Seahawk fan. A calm day before the storm of Sunday night. Not sure it will happen though. In fact, it’s going to be another nerve-wracking one.
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• How can I be so positive about something most would see as a negative? Blame the folks who put together today’s college basketball schedule.
The Gonzaga men, coming off the worst defeat of the season, albeit by opponent not margin, need to right the ship this afternoon. But Oregon State in Corvallis could be a tough place to do it. The Beavers’ home court, where they are 10-4 this season, can be a tsunami or a placid pond. Sometimes both. In the same game. No team in the conference has been harder to predict.
Washington State has an ever tougher task. The Cougs host the conference leaders. And, yes, I know. Gonzaga is playing in Oregon and Saint Mary’s hosts Bay Area rival San Francisco on the last Saturday of the NFL season. For most of the past decade or so, those were they only choices. Not this season.
Santa Clara, whose only loss in conference play came at Gonzaga in early January, is 11-1, a half-game ahead of the Zags. And in Pullman this afternoon.
The Gonzaga women, coming off their most-impressive win of the season, by margin and opponent, have to avoid a letdown this afternoon against middle-of-the-pack Pacific in the Kennel. The Zags are not the only area team on top of their conference. Idaho ascended to that spot in the Big Sky this week with its win over Montana State. The Vandals will try to keep it going today when they host Montana.
It seems as if no matter what school the local Seahawk fans follow, today’s games will present a unique challenge. Though that comes with a benefit. For at least a couple hours this afternoon your mind may not even think about tomorrow at all. You’ll be too involved in the now. That could carry worry enough.
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WSU: Around in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has a mailbag in the Mercury News, with a couple questions on the rebuilding Pac-12. … John Canzano takes a stand today, telling Oregon to keep Dana Altman around and give him more help. … Altman’s Ducks are at No. 12 Purdue today. … Colorado is not doing well on the court. Or at the box office. … UCLA is getting healthier and better, which in the odd way the NCAA works, helps Gonzaga in the NET rankings. … Colorado State has a chance to get back on the winning track today. … Utah State is at Wyoming tonight.
• In football news, Wilner has a column in the Mercury News on UCLA’s 2025 finances. The Bruins made more money and spent a lot more. … He also passes along the weekly football recruiting roundup. … Just how much money are Washington’s football assistants making these days? … FCS power North Dakota State and the Mountain West Conference are talking about the school joining in football only. … Oregon is raising its ticket prices. … San Diego State has rebuilt its roster.
Gonzaga: Worried the Zags’ Oregon trip could be a complete bummer? It’s possible, though, as Theo Lawson tells us in his game preview, Graham Ike has already guaranteed success. “I can promise it won’t happen again,” Ike said after the Portland loss. Ike has a chance to make that promise come true today against Josiah Lake II, Theo’s choice for the key matchup, and the Beavers. … I always love it when these stories about conference-by-conference NCAA Tournament prospects begin to appear. I am sure there will be more of them as the season comes to a close.
EWU: Around the Big Sky, Montana has begun to rebuild its football coaching staff. … Recruiting just never stops, does it? … The Idaho State women continue to win despite losing four players to injury. … The Bengal men are going the opposite direction. … Weber State is struggling defensively.
Whitworth: The Pirate men extended their Northwest Conference lead with a 67-58 home win over Linfield.
Preps: Dave Nichols was in the Valley for the Greater Spokane League’s final night of the regular season. He covered Ridgeline’s intradistrict rivalry game wins over Central Valley. … There is also a roundup to pass along. It includes coverage of Gonzaga Prep finishing off undefeated title seasons and an overtime thriller in the 2A girls’ ranks.
Chiefs: Spokane’s big win this week over second-place Penticton was followed by a 3-1 loss Friday night at last-place Vancouver.
Seahawks: In a former life, I sat in my Spokesman-Review office all day and interacted with the then-young writers and editors who also worked for the newspaper. None of them were nicer than Janie McCauley. It’s nice to see one of the S-R’s Super Bowl stories, by Garrett Cabeza, is about McCauley’s sportswriting journey. … There is another Seahawk story from a younger S-R reporter. Mathew Callaghan was at Avista Stadium for a gathering of local 12s. … Are there other stories about Sunday’s Big Game – as the reader board at your favorite watering hole advertises – to pass along? There sure is. And some of them are even Super, like the Bowl the place uses to hold the beer nuts or popcorn. Being that I could link stories about the same subjects over and over, I just decided today I would ramble a bit and throw in links willy nilly. The first five come from the S-R. Read those for sure. The rest are from all over. … And, of course, we still had to link a Sam Darnold story. We did promise.
Olympics: Yes, I did watch some of the Opening Ceremonies yesterday. And it took me a while to realize the athletes were not all marching in the same venue. Or city. Or weather. It was sort of weird. I thought they were emerging from an Olympics’ version of the transfer portal. … There is a local Olympics story too, from the S-R’s Michael Wright. … And a figure skating story, which is always nice. … Lindsey Vonn is a madwomen, in the best possible sense. And if she can win the downhill on a bum ACL, then, maybe, someone like Indiana could win the NCAA football national title. Oh, wait.
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• Enjoy your day before the day. And say thank you to whomever it is in your family is preparing the feast for tomorrow. It’s almost as big a deal in our abode as Thanksgiving. Until later …