A Grip on Sports: When the NFL gets to this point, every other sport needs to understand it’s not the time to fight the league’s viewing dominance

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The three days of the upcoming mid-January holiday weekend? Football, football and more football. Oh, and a smattering of basketball for those of you in need. Add in Thursday’s news and wow. Just wow.

•••••••

• Nothing says “wow” like bad news. There was some of that last night from Pullman. For both men’s basketball teams competing at Beasley.

The home team endured what even its coach termed a bit of regression and fell, 86-65 to No. 9 Gonzaga in a West Coast Conference game. The loss dropped Washington State to 8-11 overall and 3-3 in conference play.

But the visitors may have suffered the more-long-lasting blow and it came in the days leading up to Thursday’s showdown.

Braden Huff, one of the twins of GU’s towering front line, suffered an undisclosed left knee injury at practice. An injury the Zags said could keep him off the floor from four weeks – not too bad – to eight – that stretches to March Madness, right?

No matter how you try to splice it, which may not be the right word to use, considering Huff seems to have avoided surgery, it’s not good news for an 18-1 team that holds national title aspirations.

For most of the 6,439 folks in attendance wearing their Zag shirt, the Huff news immediately rode shotgun down to Pullman, with the game forced to the backseat.

That Graham Ike, the other towering figure inside, took over, scoring 23 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out five assists helped mitigate the anxiety. For one night anyway.

• The next test for the Zags comes Saturday in Seattle. At 7 p.m. In Climate Pledge Arena. Against host Seattle University. Why, exactly? Not the game itself. Or even the venue. That’s obvious.

But the Seahawks’ home playoff game against the 49ers kicks off at 5 p.m. on Fox. Anything – anything at all, including the opera or a lecture on the efficacy of traffic control – in Seattle during that game is facing stiff competition for eyeballs, feet, butts, whatever folks take with them when they make a decision to attend a sporting event.

The University of Washington understood that. So did 12th-ranked Michigan State and the Big Ten Conference. Instead of pitting their men’s basketball game up against the first choice of most casual fans, they moved the start time up to 3 p.m., meaning a Husky follower can attend, leave whenever the Spartans take control and still be home in time to watch at least ¾ of the playoff game.

I’m guessing that’s the downside of playing in Climate Pledge. The start time was locked in with no wiggle room. UW controls Hec Ed. And the game is only on the Big Ten Network. Making the change might not have been easy but it was possible. The Redhawks’ biggest home game of the WCC season? Not so much.

• Now you know the Hawks’ start time, what about the three other playoff games? The weekend slate kicks off Saturday with the AFC’s No. 1 seed, Denver, hosting Buffalo (1:30, CBS). Whatever the Rocky Mountain weather throws at these teams tomorrow – it is supposed to be clear and cold – both teams are used to it.

The same can’t be said for Sunday’s first game, Houston at New England (noon, ABC). The Texans not only live in a temperate climate, they play indoors. Where it never snows, which is in Boston’s forecast.

And in Chicago’s? Maybe not, though showers are possible. The weather highlight? Bitter cold, with a high of 19 and a low of 3. The Rams – again, temperate city, indoor arena – have to venture outdoors in their attempt to topple the seemingly impossible-to-kill Bears (3:30 p.m., NBC).

• What else is there on TV this weekend from the sports world?

Surprisingly, a tennis Grand Slam event. Though, of course, it is the Australian Open, as summer beats down in Melbourne (4 p.m. Sunday, ESPN2). And golf, with the PGA Tour’s new year really gets going in Hawaii with the Sony Open (4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday on the Golf Channel).

As for men’s college hoops, the slate is slim. Three matchups of ranked teams on Saturday (No. 19 Florida and No. 10 Vanderbilt, 11 a.m., ESPN, No. 21 Georgia hosting No. 17 Arkansas, 1 p.m., ESPN2 and No. 11 BYU at No. 15 Texas Tech, 5, ESPN). None on Sunday.

The women’s schedule is even lighter, with only No. 12 Maryland hosting No. 3 UCLA on Sunday at 1 p.m. (NBC) as a matchup with national interest. Big Ten games don’t get more traditional than that, right?

•••

WSU: Greg Woods watched the matchup with Gonzaga last night with a Cougar focus and has this game story. … The women toughed out a 68-64 win in Moraga last night, using a last-minute rally to force overtime against Saint Mary’s. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Thursday was filled with something that happens way too often. Another betting scandal, this one with college basketball at the center of it. … An Oregon State player is bringing balance to the Beaver offense. … Colorado needs someone to lead the way in the toughness categories. … Tommy Lloyd has that at top-ranked Arizona. … Boise State is still trying to find the key to success as it hosts Colorado State tonight. … San Diego State seems to have found it. … Arizona State needs more players to step up. … Oregon State’s women fell at Loyola Marymount, meaning the Zags and Beavers are tied atop the WCC standings. … With Oregon’s stars having an off night, the Ducks had little hope at No. 11 Iowa. … California fell in three overtimes in Syracuse. … USC lost its fourth consecutive game, despite showing well against 12th-ranked Maryland. … The new NCAA rules help some teams. Is Arizona State among them?… One player has found her dream school in Arizona.  

• In football news, John Canzano’s latest column focuses on the 2026 Pac-12 football schedule. He’s pretty sure what the conference is planning for an eighth game. … Jon Wilner feels Utah is poised to make a jump next season, even with a new head coach in place. … He also has his pick – Indiana wins, Miami covers – for Monday night’s CFP title game in Miami. … We have a few stories on that game to pass along from a variety of sources. … Washington coach Jedd Fisch and his quarterback will be working to mend their fences. … An Oregon receiver who missed last season is coming back for one more. Evan Stewart will have a new coordinator to work with. … Oregon State’s assistants will be making less money than their predecessors. But they seem to be recruiting just as hard. … Colorado State has mined the portal often under Jim Mora Jr.

Gonzaga: Theo Lawson, who lived in Pullman not that long ago, made the trip down again and put together this game analysis with an eye on the Zags. He also has a story on Huff’s injury (linked above as well) and worked with the folks in the office on the recap with highlights. … Dave Boling wasn’t on the Palouse, but he watched from home and has this column. … Jim Meehan has three takeaways from the game. … Tyler Tjomsland, who spends much of the fall focusing his camera on Cougar football, was back in Pullman and has this photo gallery. … The Bulldog women were are home last night, hosting a USF program that handed GU two regular-season losses just a year ago. This time Lauren Whittaker and Allie Turner wouldn’t let that happen. Greg Lee was in McCarthey and has this game story.

EWU: The Eagle men were rolling, leading Weber State by 10 points in the second half. And then, nothing. The host Wildcats caught up quickly and pulled away for a 91-80 win. … The women were rolling too, at home. And kept it up to earn a 73-58 home win over Weber. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana State’s women will be trying to continue its recent dominance over Montana this week. … The MSU men haven’t been as successful. … Sacramento State found a way to get a win. Come home. The Hornets topped Northern Arizona. … Portland State just continues to win, edging Northern Colorado 76-73. … There are still stories from Bozeman on the Bobcats FCS title win and its aftermath. … Cal Poly’s football staff is filling up.

Idaho: The Vandal men couldn’t find a way to wrest the “King Spud” trophy away from host Idaho State last night, with the Bengals taking a 76-68 victory. … The women had no such trouble, locking down ISU’s offense and winning 81-68.

Seahawks: Did we use the word “wow” above? Why yes we did. And that word can describe the depth of coverage for the Seahawks today. The S-R featured one story we linked yesterday in the Seattle Times on their ascendancy as well as a Times’ news story on Sam Darnold being added to Thursday’s injury list. An oblique issue that doesn’t seem to be much of a bother. … The game itself is also well covered from all over the country, either individually or as part of a look at the four-game weekend. The Times has traffic advice – how many of you are attending in person? – among its pages of guidance. … The 49ers are charged up to play through their multiple injuries. (Sorry for the bad pun, as if there is any other type.)

Reign: Coach Laura Harvey seems to becoming a Seattle lifer.

Mariners: It is the international signing period and Seattle spent big cash on a 16-year-old Dominican Republic centerfielder. … We like passing along Hall of Fame voting thoughts. … The Dodgers are playing with Monopoly money. And have taken another step toward monopolizing a third consecutive World Series by signing free agent Kyle Tucker to a four-year deal.

Kraken: Seattle fell behind early in Boston and never caught up.

NASCAR: We don’t often link motorsports stories, but the S-R has this Doug Pace piece on Vancouver’s Greg Biffle, who died with his family in a December plane crash. … There is also this news story on the change in the postseason competition once again.

•••       

• I feel sorry for anyone who has a conflict Saturday night. The biggest Seahawk game in years and you have to miss it? Hey, I am being sorry for myself. And anyone else, of course. Until later …