A Grip on Sports: The new isn’t always better and that was defined for us again last night through a sitcom and another Pac-12 basketball game
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It was turn-back-the-clock time in our home yesterday. We played a few video games and then watched Frasier (fixed from earlier) for a few hours. No, not the new one. The classic. Mainly because we didn’t want to watch sports.
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• We’ll get to why there was nothing that interested us – other than one notable exception – in the sporting realm in a minute. Before then, however, we wanted to play TV critic.
Our love of the Cheers/Frasier universe is deep enough for us we gave the new Frasier a chance. Oh, sure, Kelsey Grammer is old enough to play Martin, which made the premise solid. But we couldn’t stick with it.
The reason was simple, and highlighted for us last night after we finished about the first half dozen episodes of the original series. The new show feels cliché-ridden. As if the writers took every sitcom joke ever, filtered through them and pulled out what they thought were the best for the script. And chose poorly.
The original? We won’t deny there were not a cliché or two early on. But, wow, did the writing-room hit its stride right away. Frasier, of course, was a fully functioning character from the get-go. Niles? A unique persnickety perspective. Martin? From angry old man to wise sage in about 47 minutes of screen time. Daphne and Roz? Actual people who play an actual role in moving the story forward.
The contrast between the old and new is not just a trick of memory. It is reality. And, even better, the series, on Paramount+, doesn’t have commercials. Talk about a blessing. Thirty years ago, we were a young pup who could still hit a driver about 250 yards. Those days are long gone. Thankfully, the Frasier reruns still hit it right down the middle.
• We took a break for a while and watched the end of Oregon State’s wild 79-77 victory over ninth-ranked UCLA in Corvallis last night. Why? The buzz on X or Twitter or whatever you want to call it. Another reason why video clips on such platforms are worth pushing out as quickly as possible. It drew us in. And we stayed with it until Chiawana High grad Talia von Oelhoffen’s 3-pointer at the buzzer lifted the 11th-ranked Beavers over the Bruins.
Before then, though, we saw two “game-winning” shots that weren’t.
A great finish to a great basketball game. And not the only one in the soon-to-be-defunct Pac-12 last night. No. 22 Utah also scored at the buzzer to win 77-76 over eighth-ranked Colorado and send the Salt Lake City fans into delirium.
When half of your 12 teams are ranked, when the NCAA NET rankings have the same six in the top 18 spots, when each night features at least one matchup between ranked foes, your conference is pretty darn good. Too darn good to be going away, right? Nope.
Another nail was pounded into the coffin Friday, when a small note was released by the conference office. Commissioner George Kliavkoff and the conference board – WSU and Oregon State – had mutually agreed to part ways. His last day is Feb. 29. Inevitable and not surprising, sure, but another step toward the end of a conference we’ve followed and competed against and covered and just plain known for going on parts of eight decades. Sad. So sad we wanted to laugh last night after watching the ending of another exceptional athletic event.
We went back to the Frasier reruns.
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WSU: Another sad tale? What’s happened to the Cougar women. Losing star guard Charlisse Leger-Walker to a season-ending knee injury, during a road upset of UCLA no less, has torpedoed their hopes. They haven’t won since. They won’t be appearing in another NCAA tournament. They lost 64-45 at Arizona last night, with the Wildcats featuring only seven healthy players. … The happy tale from Pullman? The men. They are on a six-game winning streak. They are just a half-game behind fifth-ranked Arizona in the conference standings. They are just a couple win from clinching an NCAA at-large berth. One of those could come today when they host reeling Stanford (3 p.m., Pac-12 Networks). If they follow this blueprint from Greg Woods. Or, probably more importantly, the one Kyle Smith draws up. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, before we get to the conference-specific stories, we want to take a moment to note the passing of Lefty Driesell, the former Maryland (and other places) coach who tried to turn the Terps into the home of the UCLA of the East. He was a showman, a recruiter and a great basketball coach. He died today at age 92. … John Canzano spoke with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey on Friday. … Arizona State’s women haven’t won many games this season. They got another one last night, topping visiting Washington 73-66 in double overtime. … Oregon’s long slide continued with its eight consecutive defeat, this one 88-51 to JuJu Watkins and No. 10 USC at home. … Third-ranked Stanford won the Bay Area rivalry game, routing California 84-49. … The Oregon and Oregon State men meet today. … The desert teams also meet, with Arizona State driving down to face fifth-ranked Arizona. … Colorado is sliding. The Buffs hope to get right today against USC. The Trojans defeated Utah already this week. … In football news, Jon Wilner passes along a recruiting update in the Mercury News. … Will an Oregon offensive lineman go in the first round of the draft?
Gonzaga: The Zags are back in town, hosting the league’s favorite foil, Pacific (6 p.m., KHQ). The Tigers have been the victim of some extraordinary blowouts, two at the hands of 18th-ranked Saint Mary’s. The Zags, however, didn’t blow them off the floor in Stockton recently, pulling away late for an 82-73 victory. Theo Lawson has a preview of tonight’s game as well as the key matchup. … Jim Meehan gives us one last look at the road win over Loyola Marymount on Thursday night. … The women also play today, facing Pacific in Stockton, a team they crushed by 65 points in Spokane. … As we mentioned yesterday, college baseball season began Friday. The Zags started in L.A., losing 8-7 to No. 22 UCLA. Washington State rolled over host Utah Tech 12-6. All the local games are included in this roundup.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Portland State’s Thursday night win over Northern Colorado included the Vikings blowing a 21-point lead in regulation but racing away in overtime.
Whitworth: The Pirates had a chance last night to clinch the top spot in the Northwest Conference regular season standings. More importantly, though, that distinction also came with the host role in the conference’s postseason tournament. They couldn’t get it done, though, losing at Pacific Lutheran 75-72. However, the same prize is on the line tonight. Win at Puget Sound and Whitworth will still host next weekend. Lose and everyone plays in Walla Walla.
Preps: The State wrestling tournament got underway Friday in Tacoma. Madison McCord was there. He has this roundup of the small school action. … Dave Nichols covers Friday night’s basketball games in this roundup. Included is a look at the Idaho girls’ State semifinals, with wins by Coeur d’Alene and Lake City setting up a championship game that might as well be played at NIC.
Chiefs: As the WHL regular season winds down, Spokane needs to pick up every win possible for playoff consideration. But the Chiefs lost 6-3 last in Kennewick. Dave has that story as well.
Mariners: Logan Gilbert hasn’t added new pitches. Nope. He’s trying to throw the ones he has better. … Have the M’s gotten better?
Seahawks: Mike Macdonald added more assistants. He’ll work most-closely with Aden Durde though.
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• We wanted to laugh last night. We also wanted to be able to shut off the TV at any time and head to bed. We accomplished the first. The last one, though, was difficult. Another late night – and no, we don’t mean we stayed up after 9, which is the cliché for someone our age. We actually woke up this morning with steps already recorded for Saturday, if that gives you an idea when we finally stopped chuckling and retired for the, well, morning. You would think we would learn. Until later …