Are the Hawks part of your plans for today?
A GRIP ON SPORTS
What are your plans for this fine, pre-Christmas, December Sunday? Shopping? Cleaning? Cooking? OK, I'm guessing not. I'm guessing you have some plans that are, at least, a little sports related. Read on.
• I can't believe many readers of this column are not planning on watching the Seahawks this morning. Yep, the Hawks have a 10 a.m. game from the East Coast. New Jersey to be precise, where the up-and-down Giants await. Because I have some other, sports-related commitments this morning, my DVR is already set (or at least I think it is; I better check before I leave the house). But that isn't the only sporting event on our agenda today. As you may know, my wife Kim is a proud alum of the UC Irvine basketball program, though when she played for the Anteaters the women still used the regular-sized basketball and were overseen by an organization that wasn't the NCAA. So when the UCI basketball team plays in the area, she pulls on her old jersey and we make the trip to watch the Eaters. I'm kidding of course. The jersey never left the equipment cage. Kim was too ethical to take a souvenir. The same cannot be said of her husband and his baseball jersey, though the chances of it ever fitting again are somewhere between fat and slim, if you get my drift. Still, it hangs in my closest, a reminder of younger days. It will remain there today but Kim and I will be in Cheney this afternoon to watch the Eaters play Eastern Washington in a rematch of an earlier season game. Don't let Kim know, but then I'm planning on a romantic dinner downtown before we head home for an evening of ... watching the Seahawk game. What? You were expecting something else? After all these years, I'm surprised. OK, we may watch the Hobbit or something on the TV in prep for the new movie, but I guarantee you I'll have sped through the Seahawk win – or loss; I'm not that dumb to presume anything – before the night is over.
• I don't know about you, but I love watching an NFL game on the DVR. A 3-plus-hour game takes about 90 minutes, even with the stop-and-rewind aspect. You know what I mean. Almost every big play has to be dissected three or four times to determine who made the great block or whether the officials actually should have thrown the flag. What suffers is all the dollars advertisers spend on trying to influence my buying habits. Unless, of course, a camel is involved.
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• WSU: Bowl preparation continues for the Cougars, both on the field – Jacob Thorpe has a practice report on the blog from yesterday – and off – Jacob has a story on the weight room's importance on the football program and a look back on another WSU bowl game. Jacob also has his usual morning post with links. ... Colorado State has an award-winning running back.
• Gonzaga: After a whirlwind Gonzaga start, the Battle in Seattle turned out to be just that, a battle. And it was in Seattle, so there was some truth in advertising there. Jim Meehan was in Key Arena and has this game story and blog post following the 68-59 GU win over South Alabama. ... The Times Bud Withers also has a game story. ... The Gonzaga women were part of history yesterday, as Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer won her 900th game. Six of those, in six tries, have come against GU. The final Saturday was 73-45. ... Either Utah is better than we thought or BYU isn't as good. Whatever, the host Utes walloped the Cougars 81-64, snapping a seven-game losing streak in the series. ... USF had little trouble with Nicholls State last night while USD hopes to make a statement today against UCSB.
• EWU: There are only four teams left in the FCS football playoffs and one of them is Eastern Washington. The Eagles ensured another semifinal trip, which will be a short one as the game will be in Cheney, with a 35-24 victory over Jacksonville State. Once again Eastern dominated the second half. Jim Allen has a game story and a notebook following the win while John Blanchette explains how the Eagles had to go to Plan B in this column. Tyler Tjomsland also has a photo story from Cheney. ... The Eagle women capped off the day with an exciting 85-84 win over Idaho. ... Southern Utah couldn't handle UNLV.
• Idaho: The Vandals traveled to Portland and edged Portland State, 76-75, Saturday night. Josh Wright has more in this blog post.
• Chiefs: The Spokane Chiefs posted their 20th win of the season, 6-3 at Prince George last night. Chris Derrick has more in this blog post. ... Portland tossed the Teddy Bears and the Winterhawks tossed Seattle, 5-3.
• Preps: Weekends are also the time for wrestling tournaments. Mike Vlahovich has the story on this weekend's, the Inland Empire at Central Valley High. ... John Dressel finished second in the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in San Diego (pictured). ... We can also offer girls and boys basketball roundups from last night.
• Seahawks: There are a lot of possibilities today for the Hawks. If they win, they could possibly clinch the NFC West and home field advantage in the playoffs. Possibly is a much different thing than likely, however. ... While you are watching today's game, you can notice a couple players from this year's draft class on the field. But only a couple.
• Mariners: There is always more to write when it comes to baseball, so Ryan Divish writes more on the Times' blog today. ... Larry Stone recounts Robinson Cano's long journey to stardom – and financial security. ... The stars are out in Seattle these days.
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• Do you think the Hawks will be able to handle the early hour in New Jersey and the Giants? I think so (as does the Times' Bob Condotta). If they can't, maybe we all should pare back out expectations a bit. Until later ...
