Grip on Sports: It’s time to look ahead, not behind us

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Let’s start the workweek by looking forward, not back. By trying to figure out what’s going to happen, not what’s happened. Read on.

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• The first thing we will predict is there will be little to no Super Bowl interest in our corner of this great nation.

Philadelphia versus New England? About the only game that could hold less regional interest is the Giants facing the Patriots.

The two Super Bowls teams play about as far apart as Spokane and Seattle. (OK, it’s more like Liberty Lake and Seattle, but you get the picture.) So who would care in Delaware if the Seahawks met Spokane’s NFL franchise – hey, Green Bay is half the size of Spokane, so it could have happened – in the Super Bowl?

Nobody, right? Yes, the NFL is not the regional sport college football is. But still, the folks in the Interstate 95 corridor have to be excited. Those of us who live hard by the final western miles of Interstate 90, not so much.

• If you are a fan of tight high school basketball league races, the Greater Spokane hasn’t been your favorite this season.

The Gonzaga Prep Bullpups have a three-game lead in the boys race, and the Central Valley Bears have a two-game edge in the girls standings. Neither seem to have much to worry about when it comes to winning the league.

Of course, there are more leagues (with many sports) in our area, and the races there vary, but it’s nearly time to turn our attention toward the state playoffs with the biggest schools’ basketball teams.

• Washington State’s basketball program is not where any Cougar fan wants it to be. Then again, it rarely is.

In the past 40 years, there have been three golden ages of WSU hoop. Three. George Raveling’s latter years, a couple of seasons under Kelvin Sampson and a trio of years while Tony Bennett was in charge.

Since Bennett left, the wins and the interest have waned.

And it really doesn’t help Cougar fans in this area that a non-football playing school up the road in Spokane is a national power and has as many NCAA title game appearances as Washington State – though there may not be anyone around who actually saw the Cougars’.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of hope WSU will get it turned around anytime soon, either. This season seemed like it might be a surprise, what with the 6-0 start, but after last night’s loss in Salt Lake City, the Cougars are 1-6 in conference play and 9-10 overall. A losing record seems to be inevitable.

It’s another year of agony for the shrinking number of WSU basketball fans.

• Spring training begins next month. That is all.

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WSU: The Cougars lost again in the mountains, this time 82-69 to Utah. It is the sixth loss in the last seven games for Washington State. … Jeff Pollard returned home to play for WSU. … The women also lost, as Washington won its first conference game. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Oregon made the Jim Mastro hire official as it filled out its staff. … Stanford quarterback Keller Chryst will graduate and transfer for his last season. … The Arizona trip looms for George King and Colorado.

Gonzaga: Josh Perkins knows where he stands with GU’s fans. He also doesn’t care. It’s about his team. Jim Meehan spoke with Perkins after his bounce-back game against Santa Clara. … A Gonzaga soccer player, along with a former Post Falls High star, were chosen in the MLS SuperDraft yesterday. … Around the WCC, BYU is playing better but the next opponent is Saint Mary’s. On the road.

Seahawks: Kris Richard’s firing as defensive coordinator has never been explained. So that mean speculation is all we have.

Mariners: Will Edgar Martinez make the Hall of Fame? Larry Stone looks at how close it will be when the results are announced Wednesday.

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• Neither NFL game seemed in doubt yesterday, even when New England trailed. Tom Brady, at home, the Super Bowl on the line, ya, the Pats were winning. And after the Eagles got rolling, Minnesota seemed to roll over. Until later …