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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Will tonight be another of those epic Apple Cups?

A GRIP ON SPORTS

It's Apple Cup Saturday, which is sort of a big deal around here. That it might possibly bleed into Apple Cup Sunday, well, that's not such a big deal, is it? Read on.

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• Before we move on to the Apple Cup on-the-field noise, let's take one quick look at the off-the-field stuff. As in the starting time. Just one last note, OK? One of the biggest arguments given for the Pac-12's games spread out all over the day is the networks don't want two games on at the same time. They don't want people interested in the conference to be divided. That's why, according to this argument, the networks scheduled five games today between 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. And don't tell me this is a straw man, because I've heard or read the argument often from administrators and network folks. Too bad the two most important games of the weekend, Arizona State at Arizona and Stanford at UCLA, were both scheduled for the exact same time yesterday, the former on Fox and the latter on ABC. As I was flipping back-and-forth, I realized it sort of made a mockery of the networks' argument. And proved it at the same time. Yes, playing two games at once makes it hard to watch both. But, yes, the networks have no problem doing it if they feel it is in their best interest. So don't ever buy that baloney again. It's rotten.

• OK, back to the game at hand tonight. My prediction: cold. I get it, it’s an old joke. But the temperature, still expected to drop into the high teens by the end of the game, won't be a joke to the folks sitting in Martin Stadium watching the action. I'll be warm, of course, but some of the people most important to me won't be. How about the players? I'm thinking the emotion of the moments – and the heaters behind the benches – will be enough for them. Apple Cup games seem to be fraught with tension – and momentum swings. And that's where Washington just has the edge. The Huskies have one guy, John Ross (pictured), who has the ability to turn the game on his own. Whether it is returning the second-half kickoff for a score or a running past the young WSU secondary on a deep pass, Ross may just be the difference tonight. The sophomore is a burner who has two 100-yard kickoff returns in his career (including one against UCLA this year) and has touchdown receptions of 91, 86, and 75 yards this season. He's been playing cornerback the last few games, while still returning kicks, but my guess is we'll see him on the offensive side of the ball at least once or twice today, as was the case against UCLA earlier. Washington State has been vulnerable to kick returns – six for touchdowns when you count punts and kickoffs – and deep throws – it started with the first play of the season – all year, so Ross, at the very least, will be a good barometer of how much the Cougars have improved through the course of 12 games. We know their offensive line is better, and it better be today against a Washington front four that rivals the best in the conference. And we know the Cougar secondary has been leaky, as well as basically turnover-free, all season. Though UW's Cyler Miles hasn't passed much, he still has to be excited to get a chance to test WSU downfield at least a few times tonight. Everyone else has. Taking all of this into account, and adding a weather co-efficient I learned while shoveling piles of snow off my Honda in a Pullman apartment complex, I am picking the Huskies to win, 28-20. The margin of victory? A Ross kickoff return.

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• WSU: Jacob Thorpe picks the Cougars' offense vs. the Huskies' defense (pictured) as the key matchup in tonight's game and writes this story about it. ... He also has his two-minute drill, starters for WSU and UW and a blog post this morning with links. ... John Blanchette has a column today imagining a conversation between the two coaches, both of whom have had some criticism for their late-game clock management. ... The Cougar basketball team bounced back with a win in Anchorage, defeating Rice 76-74 behind Josh Hawkinson's career-high 27 points. ... Jacob also has a blog post about the hoop win. ... The UW volleyball team began Apple Cup weekend with a win in Pullman. ... Art Thiel wonders when it gets Rose Bowl-good again for the Huskies and the Cougars. ... Bud Withers thinks Mike Leach could sure use another Apple Cup win. ... John McGrath isn't a big fan of the start time.

• Gonzaga: The Zags had to face St. John's on one of its home courts last night to win the preseason NIT. They accomplished that with a hard-earned 73-66 victory. Jim Meehan was in Madison Square Garden and has the game story and this blog post. He'll also be back sometime today with a day-after post. ... The Gonzaga women didn't enjoy their Thanksgiving tournament as much, losing the opener in Las Vegas, 59-56, to an American team that had yet to win a game. ... The Portland Pilots have yet to lose this season, moving to 4-0 last night with a 64-61 win over Murray State.

• EWU: Jim Allen has a feature today on former Eastern quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who has led Calgary into the Grey Cup. ... The winner of the Montana-USD game today in Missoula will face Eastern next Saturday in Cheney.

• Chiefs: Spokane wasn't in action last night, but Portland won its fourth consecutive game and both Seattle and Tri-City also won.

• Preps: There are four prep football games today featuring local schools and Greg Lee has advances on all of them. Yep, he's a got a story on Mt. Spokane, Lind-Ritzville/Sprague, Colville and Republic as they face semifinal matchups today.

• Seahawks: If you are wondering how the Seattle defense has been able to return to 2013 (or better) form recently, take a look at the snap counts from the 49er game. The Hawks are relying on their starters to take almost every snap, something they didn't have to do as much last season when the depth was prominent. Can that continue? ... The guys who did play earned pretty good marks. ... The Hawks made a roster move yesterday to bolster the secondary. ... The 49er game was popular around the nation.

• Mariners: The Oakland A's sent their best offensive player to Toronto as Billy Beane again remakes the roster.

• Sounders: It was miserable in the Puget Sound area yesterday, which cut short the Sounders' training. Will the tough weather be an advantage Sunday? And will anyone be watching? ... Los Angeles wants to do something no other MLS team has done.

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• That's it for this morning. I recommend not starting your Apple Cup pregame preparations until at least after noon today, or by the time the game kicks off you might not be able to find FoxSports1 on your cable lineup. Enjoy the day. We will be back here tomorrow. Until then ... 



Vince Grippi

Vince Grippi is a freelance local sports blogger for spokesman.com. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.

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