A GRIP ON SPORTS • Just imagine you are in a Hollywood writers' room. You and a couple fellow screenwriters are trying to flesh out a character, an iconoclastic NFL player who goes by his own rules. He needs to say something important. One guy pitches this thought: The guy makes the pronouncement on Turkish television. Everyone else stops. Then they start to laugh. Read on.

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• Suspending disbelief is one thing. But who would believe that? Even if it is true? Yep, our own regional iconoclast, Marshawn Lynch, finally talked, really talked, about the Hawks' final Super Bowl offensive play. And he did it in an interview with Turkish television. Here's what he had to say, courtesy of Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times:

“To be honest with you, I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I was expecting the ball. Yes, I was expecting the ball. But in life, these things happen. Like I told a reporter after the game, it’s a team sport. I had no problem with the decision of the playcalling. I mean, you know, I think it was more of a, how do I say this? When you look at me, and you let me run that ball in (then) I am the face of the nation. You know, MVP of the Super Bowl. That’s pretty much the face of the nation at that point of time. I don’t know what went into that call. I mean, maybe it was a good thing that I didn’t get the ball. I mean, you know, it cost us the Super Bowl. I mean, I have full, I have full confidence in my teammates to execute that plan because we’ve done it so many more times. But would I love to had the ball there? Yes, I would have. I would have. But the game is over, and I am in Turkey.”

Now I would be lying if I didn't admit my favorite part of his comment is the end. "But the game is over, and I am in Turkey." Is that Marshawn at his essence or what? But I know some of the things he had to say, like maybe no one wanted him to be the "face of the nation" or whatever, will be what people remember. Only problem with that, as Condotta points out, it didn't matter whether Lynch had scored or not, Tom Brady was the MVP. The ballots had already been collected, the award decided. Still, Lynch mentioned it, so the discussion will be back on ESPN for another round this week. Lost in the shuffle – probably – will be Lynch's reiterating how much he trusts his teammates and his thoughts about it being a team game. Did he want the ball? Yes. Did he expect the ball? Yes. Did he get it and is he disappointed with that? No and yes. Which makes his answers exactly the same as 99.7 percent of all Seahawk fans.

• Want to restore your faith in humanity after that bummer of a ticket story I passed along yesterday? Read Art Thiel's column today. Just don't quit on it too early or you will be mad all day. There is a happy ending.

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• WSU: The Cougars had every opportunity to earn their third-ever win over UCLA in Los Angeles and let it slip away yesterday evening. Jacob Thorpe was at Pauley and has this game story and the box score. The way interviews are held in the iconic arena precluded any video – and makes it hard to decipher recordings afterward. Of this, I speak with experience. ... Jacob also has a morning post with links. ... We can offer coverage of the game from a couple of L.A.-area newspapers. ... Former Washington star Christian Welp, the Huskies all-time leading scorer, died Sunday at the much-too-young age of 51. ... The Cougar baseball team won, taking three of four over the weekend from lowly UC Riverside. (And, if you are wondering, the adjective was chosen with care to tweak a friend.)

• Gonzaga: We're getting down to it. Crunch time. The GU men and women will head to Las Vegas this week for the WCC postseason tournament. On the line, for the women especially, is a trip to the NCAA tournament. ... Jim Meehan returned to the blog yesterday with this day-after look at the BYU game. The loss to BYU not only cost the Zags the top line in most bracket speculations, but also cost them a possible trip to Los Angeles in this one. Even worse, Joe Lunardi puts the Zags in with Kentucky. ... The Cougars credit their defense for the victory. Now that's different for BYU.

• Preps: The state basketball tournament pairings were announced yesterday. Greg Lee has a story. By the way, there was the typical moaning about the matchups. It's nice to now some things never change.

• Seahawks: Besides the Lynch interview, there is little news concerning the Hawks. But Condotta was able to put together a blog post of items.

• Mariners: The practice sessions are about over. It's almost time to begin playing practice games. Lloyd McClendon talked about his rotation yesterday and who would get the first shot to win the fifth starter spot. That would be Taijuan Walker. ... John Baker is a baseball lifer. We like those type of guys. So we pass along this piece on the catcher. ... Austin Jackson is not just the M's leadoff hitter. He's supposed to be the offensive sparkplug.

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• Monday again? Darn it. I was just getting used to the weekend. Can we have a do-over? Until later ...

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