A Grip on Sports: It’s going to be a long day waiting for the prize at 5, the NFC West showdown between the Seahawks and host 49ers

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We have to wait until 5 tonight? That’s like, what, all day? In this “I-want-it-now” society? What will we ever do before the Seahawks and the 49ers meet in the Super Bowl (site) to decide the NFC West. And the NFC bye. And the chance to be the team heading into the playoffs with the biggest target. We have an answer. How about read what we have here? My contribution will burn off at least five minutes. The rest is on you.

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• No, I don’t have a pick. Other than to say it will probably rain a bit in the second half. It is January. Winter. And winter in Northern California is usually quite wet. At least in La Niña years, as this one is. Will the weather have an impact? Sure, but not as big a one as both team missing their starting left tackles.

There, that’s the extent of my X and O breakdown. You want more? I can help.

There are stories and columns and picks and the like just about everywhere. The game seems to be pretty impactful. Even nationally. Not enough, though, to merit being televised on Sunday night. Nope. That spot is reserved for an over-the-hill quarterback, two mediocre teams and two coaches who may just be ex-coaches in a few days.

• I didn’t have a pick in last night’s WCC game at the McCarthey Athletic Center. A few bones to pick, sure, but mainly, pregame, I was only sure of one thing. Seattle U. would perform better than the betting line indicated. Twenty-four and a half points? Even someone who doesn’t bet – that would be me – was tempted to download an app and put a few bucks on the Redhawks. That, of course, is the reason for lines. To entice folks to open their wallets.

I wonder what I could have gotten in the way of odds the game, played in the usual early January quiet Kennel, would go to overtime? That seventh-ranked Gonzaga would shoot layups like a youth team? That now backup point guard Mario Saint-Supery would post a plus/minus of -8? That he, Steele Venters, Emmanuel Innocenti and Jalen Worley would divide almost 60 minutes of game time and not score? And that the Zags would still win by eight?

Would you have thought the odds on that parley good enough to bet your apartment? If so, time to start looking for a new place.

It’s also time for the Bulldogs to snap out of their funk. And to thank the basketball deities for the offensive efficiency of Braden Huff (28 points on 11-of-14 shooting) and Tyon Grant Foster (19, 7-of-9).

• Speaking of betting, I’ve read a lot of commentary recently about the CFP format. The number of teams. The byes and their impact. The future of it all.

It seems pretty clear there will be expansion. Probably to 16 teams for next season, maybe 24 – as the FCS has – in the next go-round. And the first and second rounds have a chance to be played at the higher seeds’ home stadiums.

What are the odds such things happen? Better today, now that we have two years of data. And the most-glaring data input is 1-7. That’s the record of the higher seeds, the teams with a bye, in the quarterfinals.

If I had paid better attention in my statistics class freshman year, I might understand better that outlier numbers like that are made up of lot of smaller data points, all of which could change quickly as the years go by.

Which means making an argument for change based on what’s happened so far seems to be the usual knee-jerk reaction those who run college football – and college sports in general – love to have.

There are good reasons to expand. Financial ones. Competitive ones. Inclusion. Opportunity. Just good old-fashioned fun for the fans. That the teams with byes lost seven of the first eight times? Maybe not. But it will be cited, that’s for sure.

• By the way, using one data point – the betting favorite is 5-2 in the seven losses – isn’t a valid argument for downgrading the 1-7 record. For saying the bye isn’t as big a factor fans think it is.

Why not?

As I mentioned a while ago, betting lines are used to entice people to, you know, bet their money. The folks that set the lines use every bit of data, including the impact of a 25-day layoff, when doing their job. And try to figure out the best number to make their bosses the most money.

In other words, a favorite could just be the favorite, in part, because the higher-seeded team is coming off a bye. Using the number to argue the bye is not as impactful as thought is specious at best.

• One last thought to help you while away the hours before tonight’s game.

There is one other NFL game (1:30 p.m., ABC and ESPN). Carolina at Tampa Bay. The winner may get to host the Seattle/San Francisco loser next weekend. “Get” might not be the right way to express the outcome. Using the phrase “have to” is probably better.

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WSU: The Cougar men had their hands full against visiting Loyola Marymount last night in Pullman. But Ace Glass’ and-one layup with 10 seconds left lifted them to a 78-76 WCC victory. Greg Woods was in Beasley and has this game story. … Actually, though, Greg spent more time keeping up with the opening day of football’s transfer portal. Rightfully so, as new coach Kirby Moore scored a couple more wins. Receiver Tony Freeman decided to not enter the portal and to stay in Pullman. So did tight end Trey Leckner. … There were some defections, though, as Greg covers in his transfer portal tracker. … Back to basketball, the women played well in the first half, not-so well in the second and fell to host Portland 62-49. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his winners and losers from recent college football action. … One of the winners Friday just happened to be former WSU coach Jake Dickert, who finished up a 9-3 season for Wake Forest by being coated with mayonnaise. … John Canzano has his thoughts about Oregon and the upcoming CFP semifinals. … The Ducks may have a shot at meeting their old coach with a semifinal win, though there aren’t many players who were in Eugene with Mario Cristobal. Dan Lanning has been UO’s head coach for four years now. He is 48-7 with the Ducks. … Oregon State is hemorrhaging players to the portal. Maybe that’s by design for the new staff. … Utah has promoted from within for its defensive coordinator. … New UCLA coach Bob Chesney seems to have filled out his staff. … Former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt seems to be headed to Kentucky, not LSU. The Sun Devils are looking for his replacement. … The Holiday Bowl was a bummer for Arizona. Not only did it lose 24-19 but three key defensive players opted out, seemingly on game day. … San Diego State has some time to mine the portal before schools begins again. 

• In basketball news, Oregon, without its starting point guard, hosted Maryland in Big Ten men’s action. The Ducks won 64-54. … Oregon State got boat-raced in Stockton by Pacific. … The same thing happened to No. 24 USC at No. 2 Michigan. … Colorado travels to Arizona State this afternoon. … No.1-ranked Arizona is at Utah. … Stanford scored 40 points at home the other day against Notre Dame. The Cardinal doubled that total Friday to upset No. 16 Louisville. … Speaking of Notre Dame, its coach may be out a while after his outburst following a controversial loss at California. … Two Boise State freshmen are having an impact. … Utah State looks to get to 12-1 today aginst San Jose State. … On the women’s side, Oregon State hammered the Tigers in Corvallis to stay perfect in WCC play. … No. 4 UCLA and No. 17 USC are set to meet. … The newest starter for Colorado is making her voice heard. 

Gonzaga: Theo Lawson focused on Friday night’s Big Three in his game analysis of GU’s 80-72 comeback victory. … He also worked with the folks in the office on this recap with highlights. … Jim Meehan focused on the defense, which the players felt was really good. He also had three takeaways from the contest. … Tyler Tjomsland has the photo gallery from McCarthey. … Lisa Fortier has been the head coach at Gonzaga for 12 years. For 379 games. That she has won 300 of them ties her with LSU’s Kim Mulkey as the fastest to 300 wins among active coaches. The 300th came last night at Seattle University, an 85-59 win over the Redhawks. Greg Lee watched and has this game story.

EWU: As we said, the transfer portal is officially open. Dan Thompson has a story on the first-day’s impact in Cheney. … Former Eastern receiver Efton Chism III had his first NFL touchdown catch last week. How that came to be is an interesting story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, … In football news, Montana State’s star defensive back has gone through a lot to be able to play. … It looks as if Montana is being hit hard by portal defections. … Weber State has an inexperienced (on the college level) new head coach. The new staff is that way as well. … Cal Poly is adding to its staff and roster. … On the basketball front, the two wins for Idaho State over Sacramento State was a good way for the Bengals to begin conference. … The NAU women posted a revenge win over Montana on Thursday.

Whitworth: The Pirates opened Northwest Conference play Friday night by hosting Willamette. They won 80-67.

Preps: Dave Nichols traveled to North Central last night and covered the Wolfpack boys’ 69-63 victory over Rogers. … There is also a roundup of other action to pass along.

Chiefs: After the basketball game, Dave headed over to the Arena – it’s a short walk or drive – to cover Spokane’s game with Vancouver. The Chiefs scored late and held on to top the Giants 3-2.

Seahawks: We linked some coverage of tonight’s showdown above. Bob Condotta’s preview is in the S-R as well. As is Tim Booth’s story on the teams’ rivalry. … We have more, of course, including how to watch. … It is not how a season starts, sometimes, as how it finishes. Ask Riq Woolen. … Tory Horton may not play again this season.

Kraken: Shootouts are, well, crapshoots. And Seattle hasn’t rolled a seven all that often lately. They did last night, with Matty Beniers’ goal giving the Kraken a win over host Vancouver.

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• I have plans to keep myself busy today. None of them involve work – after this column and the accompanying links are done. But between now and 5, I’ll be busy. Part of the time will be spent watching Kim cook her homemade clam chowder. And prepping the chicken for the sandwiches that will serve as the side dish. She does the tough work. I have the simply tasks. Seems appropriate. Until later …