There might be some relief in sight
A GRIP ON SPORTS
We have reached the dog days of winter, as far as breaking news is concerned. Oh sure, there is a little event going on in Russia, but that doesn't help around here. Read on.
• With the Olympics dominating the sports skyline this week, we are little bereft of news. But that's a good thing. Really. It allowed us to stumble over a piece of information we might not have even seen if we had been focusing on the Seahawks or the Mariners or one of our local colleges. The San Jose Mercury News' Jon Wilner sat down yesterday and shared the news the Pac-12 Conference is trying – trying, mind you – to get its television partners to ease up on the night football games. You remember college football don't you? That sport your granddads used to watch in the afternoons on Saturday? These days the games seem to be more of a Saturday Night Live type of event, though if you watch a game in Pullman live, you get back to Spokane a little too late to watch the NBC late-night comedy show. Wilner's blog post does a great job explaining the logistics behind the way-too-numerous night games last year and the stumbling blocks the conference must overcome to effect change. The irony of the situation is most of the late games were televised by the Pac-12's own broadcast network, which you would think the conference could control. But it can't. As part of its multi-billion dollar media deal with ESPN and Fox, the conference ceded some times on Saturday afternoon when no other conference games would be broadcast. That means its own network has to shoehorn games in before and after the exclusive window. As does the partner that doesn't have the exclusive time slot that Saturday. As Wilner's post explains, it's that exclusivity the conference is hoping to change a bit. If the Pac-12 can get the networks to ease up on the number of exclusive Saturdays, then the number of Saturday night games could shrink a little. And maybe there won't be a 7:30 start in Pullman in mid-November when the temperature is usually lower than it is right now at the Winter Olympics. Now that is change we all can get behind.
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• WSU: Yes, the news cycle is a bit slow. Jacob Thorpe has his usual morning post and not much else, which is fine as the guy needs a break after doing battle with the airlines just to get back from Salt Lake City. ... About the only other thing we could find was this piece on Gabe Marks' arrest.
• Gonzaga: The Zags are at home this week for the final time this season. Ya, I know. It is only Feb. 10. But that's the way the WCC works. After GU hosts Pepperdine on Thursday and Loyola-Marymount on Saturday, it spends the final two weeks of the WCC regular season on the road. How fun. Kevin Pangos' lower leg injuries this season haven't been fun either. The lingering nature of those injuries is the lead of Jim Meehan's Gonzaga notebook in today's paper.
• EWU: The Big Sky is playing one Monday night game each week. Last night it was in Sacramento, where the Hornets defeated woeful Southern Utah, 68-56. The Thunderbirds are 1-20 this season and winless in a dozen conference games.
• Chiefs: Spokane was not in action last night but Portland was and won its 13th consecutive game. ... The Winterhawks want to help out their fans that could not make last Saturday's game. ... Tri-City also played and won at Kamloops, though the headline has another British Columbia city mentioned.
• Preps: There was some prep basketball action last night and we have a roundup.
• Seahawks: The Michael Sam news has reached the point at which local columnists are weighing in, including Dave Boling and Larry Stone from the West Side. ... The Hawks added a trio of players to their roster for offseason workouts. ... Malcolm Smith had a bit more to say on the Seahawks' ability to read Peyton Manning's signals.
• Mariners: Spring training is just around the corner. (Can a warmer Inland Northwest be far behind? Yes, it can.) Ryan Divish posted this piece on his way to sunny Arizona. It includes the news the team's signing of Nelson Cruz (pictured) seems to be on the verge of happening. Such a deal could mean one of the other slow-footed DH-types on the roster would have to go.
• Sounders: The broadcast schedule is out as are the start times for the Sounders' matches. And it may come as no surprise the Sounders are the most popular MLS team in its local market.
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• That's our report for this – hopefully – fine Tuesday. (It is Tuesday, isn't it?) We'll be back here tomorrow. Until then ...
