A Grip on Sports: You could spend your Saturday flying around the Inland Northwest watching college football, but you would probably have to actually fly
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Want to watch all the area’s college football teams today? Even with the Cougars taking the weekend off, you would need a really tricked up DeLorean complete, maybe, with Doc Brown’s modifications, to do it. All three teams playing are at home and all start within an hour of each other.
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• Eastern Washington and Whitworth start at 1 p.m. (or 1:05, to be more precise for the Eagles) today, hosting Northern Arizona and Pacific Lutheran, respectively. Idaho kicks off in the Kibbie Dome at 2:05 against Cal Poly.
It would be a pretty fun deal to try to make at least part of all three games, though there’s a good chance it could get expensive.
Oh, the game tickets aren’t that much. But if you hit 88 between Cheney and Moscow at some point trying to catch the last few minutes of the Vandal game, you’re bound to be pulled over. And that ticket would cost a lot.
The first quarter at the Pine Bowl. A hot dog, halftime and a few minutes of the third at Roos Field. The fourth in Moscow. That’s about the best that could happen.
If anyone does it, let me know. I’ll even throw in 25 cents for gas.
• The Gonzaga Bulldogs never let up on the gas pedal last night in their 116-61 exhibition victory over Lewis-Clark State.
It’s hard to do when your inside players played as well as GU’s did last night. Let’s see. Filip Petrusev, the only healthy returning big, scored 22 points in less than 20 minutes, showing increased quickness in the process. Newcomers Anton Watson (28 points, nine rebounds) and Drew Timme (18 points, nine rebounds) each missed just one shot.
The Zags towered over the Warrior counterparts and it showed.
The games start for real Tuesday night, when GU hosts Alabama State.
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Gonzaga: The Zags’ opening exhibition – OK, their only exhibition – turned out to be a lot easier than it might have been. After all, Lewis-Clark State already had a road win against Idaho. Jim Meehan tells us how simple it was in this analysis. … Freshman guard Brock Ravet, who led Kittitas to back-to-back-to-back 2B titles, is back home. He’s taking an indefinite leave from the program. Jim has more in this story. … Colin Mulvany was on the baseline last night and has this photo gallery. … Jim Allen takes a look at the long history of international recruiting with the women’s program. They have an exhibition today as well. … Larry Weir’s most-recent Press Box pod included some thoughts prior to last night’s exhibition win. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU routed Texas-Tyler in the first exhibition of the Mark Pope era.
WSU: Around the Pac-12, Washington will do its best to ruin Utah’s season. A Husky win will make it tough for the Utes to win the South. … Unless, of course, Oregon takes care of USC in Los Angeles. Then the race would be pretty much back to where it started when the day began. … Speaking of the Trojans, they have made their choice for athletic director. It’s an interesting one. … UCLA could be tied atop the South standings this evening if things break right. But the Bruins have to defeat visiting Colorado for that to happen. … Oregon State must stop Arizona’s rushing attack to have a chance today. … There is basketball news from Arizona and Washington.
EWU: The Eagles host Northern Arizona and the nation’s leading passer, Case Cookus, today. Ryan Collingwood will be there and he has this preview. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky today, Weber State travels to Sacramento State in a matchup of top-10 ranked teams. … Southern Utah faces off with Montana State, which has lost two consecutive games. … Montana travels to Portland State, trying to keep alive postseason hopes. … Idaho State hosts Northern Colorado.
Idaho: The Vandals will host Cal Poly and its triple-option offense today. Peter Harriman has a preview. … The Vandal women won their basketball exhibition last night.
Whitworth: The Pirates need to win out to have a shot at the Division III playoffs. Reaching that goal begins today at the Pine Bowl as they host Pacific Lutheran. Dan Thompson previews the game.
Preps: Football’s regular season ended last night in Washington, with Mead defeating Ferris to tie Gonzaga Prep atop the GSL 4A standings. Dave Nichols was at Albi and has the story. … Dave also covered the late game as Mt. Spokane won the 3A title with a win over Shadle Park. … Libby Kamrowski has photo galleries from the Mead and Mt. Spokane wins. … Post Falls fell in the Idaho 5A playoffs. Ryan was there and has this story along with summaries of the rest of the local State playoff games. … We also have a roundup of the rest of the area football action as well as from the Washington State slowpitch tournament and State volleyball in Idaho.
Shock: Yes, we can pass along a story about the once-and-future Spokane Shock. The old name is back, and the franchise will begin play in the Indoor Football League in March. Ryan Collingwood has this story from the team’s press conference yesterday.
Seahawks: The big news yesterday was the team signing free agent receiver Josh Gordon. Gordon’s track record is spotty at best. Can it work in Seattle? … Before Gordon plays, however, the Hawks face Tampa Bay.
Sounders: The MLS Cup is sold out. Expect a full CenturyLink next week.
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• Don’t forget. You get an extra hour of sleep tonight. It’s payback for the one you lost in the spring. Who says the government doesn’t pay its debts? Until later …