Grip on Sports: Hype is sometimes the common thread amongst big stories

A GRIP ON SPORTS • My goodness, a lot went on yesterday. One of the Pac-12’s coaches who had won the most games over the past four years was fired, the conference announced its all-snubbed team and the M’s decided to run a campaign for one of their own. Read on.

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• The University of Oregon did something yesterday it hasn’t done in 40 years. It made its fans happy.

No, that’s not it. The Ducks fired their football coach. They did both, actually.

Mark Helfrich, he of a 37-16 record the past four years, was let go, replaced by … well, we don’t know for sure just yet. But we do know it won’t be Mark Helfrich, and that’s all that matters to the Oregon, ahem, faithful.

The Ducks were in the national championship game about five minutes ago, sure, but that doesn’t matter. The program has been leaking anti-freeze for a while now and the mechanic in charge decided it was time to change the radiator.

Think about these numbers, though. Over his four-year tenure as Oregon’s football coach, Helfrich was 37-16. There are eight other Pac-12 coaches who have been at their school the entire period. How many of them have a better record than Helfrich?

One. David Shaw (40-13) at Stanford.

Mike Leach (26-24 in the same period), Jim Mora (32-19), Sonny Dykes (19-30), none of them have a better record than Helfrich in that time frame. If college football is a bottom-line business, and it is, you might think Helfrich was still OK despite a bad year.

But the trend line, as Nate Silver might say, wasn’t good. As was the attendance at Autzen. So Helfrich is out. To be replaced by? Whomever Phil Knight wants, probably.

• The Pac-12 announced its all-conference football teams yesterday. What was notable about the first- and second-team selections – honorable mention is a place for the players each coach wants honored on their own team – is the notable lack of WSU offensive linemen.

What’s the big deal, you might ask. The conference coaches vote on these awards, right, and they are the guys who watch film, so they know, right? Ya, right.

Let’s not get into how often head coaches fill they are “too busy” to make picks like that – and delegate it to the sports information director or a graduate assistant – and just dwell on the reality of “watching film.” We will use Mike Leach as an example, just because he works nearby.

Leach is also the Cougars offensive coordinator. So is, in reality, guys like Shaw and Rich Rodriguez at Arizona. Every head coach, really, concentrates on one side of the ball. So Leach and his offensive-minded brethren, watch lots of film. Of Pac-12 defenses.

Is he the best judge of the offensive linemen at California or Utah or USC? No way. He has to take someone else’s word for it. And he’s not alone. Every coach in the conference is similar.

So when a guy like tackle Cole Madison is rated by Pro Football Focus, a website that has graded players’ performance for more than a decade, as the top performing college tackle, you know that someone is actually watching his film. Judging it. And assigning a grade. That grade is the best any player at his position received this year. In the nation.

But Madison’s performance this season wasn’t good enough to earn him first- or second-team honors. Neither was Cody O’Connell’s. Not that O’Connell’s play has earned any sort of recognition, though.

Oh, wait. It has. He’s one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy, given to the best interior lineman in college each year.

So there is a group of folks who believe O’Connell is one of the three best offensive linemen in America – all three finalists are offensive linemen this season – but the Pac-12 coaches don’t think he is one of the 10 best in their conference.

If the coaches are right, then the award may mean nothing. What do you think about that Rien Long? Oh, right, you won the Outland in 2002 while at WSU. Or how about you, Steve Emtman? Didn’t you win the Outland in 1991 for Washington?

Those honors must have been all about the hype.

• The Mariners are hyping Edgar Martinez’s Hall of Fame election bona fides this year. The team sent out an email this week to members of the Baseball Writers of America, many of whom vote on the Hall of Fame selections.

The M’s pointed out stats. They used player quotes. And they linked articles by the organization’s members who believe Edgar belongs.

It may help. It can’t hurt. After all, Martinez has yet to get 50 percent of the vote. He needs 75 percent either this year or the next or the next. After that, he’s off the ballot and it’s up to the veteran’s committee. And, I hear, that group is made up of Pac-12 football coaches.

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WSU: Jacob Thorpe has a couple of stories today, the first on the All-Pac-12 selections. The Cougars had two first team picks: Gabe Marks and Shalom Luani. (UCLA, which had more trouble running the ball than any other conference team, had that many offensive linemen make first or second team.) … Jacob also talked with assistant coach Jim Mastro, who said he is not going to Nevada as the head coach.

Elsewhere in Pac-12 football, Washington was fourth in the latest college football playoff rankings so if the Huskies defeat Colorado on Friday, they should be in the playoffs. Unless something odd were to happen. … The Huskies and the Buffs have something in common:  great secondaries. … Oregon’s unsettled coaching situation may have led to a recruit’s decommittment. … USC is losing a young defensive linemen. Arizona is losing an experienced linebacker. And California may be losing its coach.

Gonzaga: For some college basketball teams, stopping one player means you stop the offense. That’s not true of GU this season. Jim Meehan has this story on the Zags’ offensive balance. … Thursday’s opponent, Mississippi Valley State, is on the road, making money for its athletic department. It’s done this before. … As we noted last weekend, Dick Vitale really likes Gonzaga this season.

EWU: More coaching news. Beau Baldwin is now being mentioned in the Nevada search. Jim Allen has this story on what’s becoming a yearly piece. A Mountain West school has an opening and Baldwin’s name is floated. The Eagles, who host Central Arkansas this Saturday in the FCS playoffs, have other focuses. Jim has that story as well. … Jim also has a story on two of the three Walter Payton finalists being from Eastern. … Speaking of awards, a couple Eagle basketball players earned awards from the Big Sky this week.

Idaho: San Jose State’s basketball team finished off its Palouse trip with another win, defeating the Vandals last night in Moscow.

Preps: Though there are no stories to pass along, we do have photographs by Colin Mulvany from the first night of prep basketball in the area.

Seahawks: The Hawks may have lost last week, but they have one thing going for them: the NFL’s easiest remaining schedule among playoff contenders. … Pete Carroll is, as we’ve said before, Mr. Positive. But even Mr. Positive has an undercurrent of dissatisfaction occasionally. … The Hawks made some roster moves yesterday.

Mariners: The M’s need starting pitching. They seem to be targeting one of their former players to help fill the void.

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• By the way, Mike MacIntyre at Colorado is the Pac-12’s coach of the year. He deserves it. He helped orchestrate the biggest one-year turnaround in conference history. But remember, he’s been in Boulder as long as Helfrich was in Eugene. MacIntyre’s four-year record? It’s 20-29. Yes, it’s trending up. But still, there was some patience displayed there. Until later …