A Grip on Sports: A delay of game flag seemed to be helping the Seahawks’ cause … until it wasn’t

A GRIP ON SPORTS • By the time the Seahawks get around to playing what-was-once-the-depleted Rams on Tuesday night, it might be impossible for Seattle to field a team. The trend has changed. Thanks NFL.

•••••••

• Yes, the National Football League – read that in a deep narrator’s voice please – announced over the summer there was going to be no wiggle room in its COVID-19 policy. It was time for the league’s teams to step up, follow the protocols and stay healthy.

Then a new variant appeared. One that spreads faster than DK Metcalf chasing down Budda Baker. It hit some marquee teams – like the one in the nation’s second-largest TV market – hard. And the league office caved.

Big time.

The Seahawks, who were relatively healthy, and the Rams, who were not, didn’t meet Sunday. Nope. They will play Tuesday night instead. By then Los Angeles could very well have back most of the more than 25 players it was missing. And Seattle could be down a dozen or more, if its recent trend holds.

Six more Hawks were placed on the COVID-19 reserve list Sunday, just as L.A. activated Jalen Ramsey and others. Momentum may not be real in competition but it certainly is in this case, mainly because the virus runs its course over a certain amount of time. And spreads in other places.

The Rams were hit and are getting better. The Hawks weren’t but are now.

The 50-hour postponement could only help one team. The one that just happened to be from the bigger market. There is no conspiracy here. Other games were postponed as well. If the cleat was on the other foot, the NFL would have done the same thing. We think.

• College basketball is being hit hard with COVID-19 as well. Some 32 D-1 teams are on pause. Games are being canceled. Schedules are being reworked. But not everywhere. Not at Gonzaga, at least not since the Zags lost the Washington game due to the Huskies’ problems.

The Bulldogs played Texas Tech on Saturday morning in Phoenix. Flew home. Tonight they will matchup with Northern Arizona, which also played in Phoenix about 48 hours ago. It will be GU’s penultimate nonconference game, with only a visit left from North Alabama next Tuesday afternoon before West Coast Conference play begins.

What do the last two nonconference games offer? The matchup with Northern Arizona doesn’t offer much in the way of a challenge. The Lumberjacks are 4-7, having lost five of six. Their Phoenix trip was a failure, as they lost by 10 to the University of San Diego.

But the game does offer Gonzaga fans one thing: A chance to measure Tommy Lloyd’s old team against his new one. NAU opened the season in Tucson and lost to Arizona 81-52. Can the Zags top that 29-point margin? The thought here is yes. (If you are wondering, the Bulldogs are favored by 35.)

North Alabama does offer Gonzaga something, though competition might not be part of it. The Lions may be 7-4 (they are at Central Florida on Wednesday) but the only two decent teams they have played, Mississippi State and Auburn, blew them out by 26 and 36 points, respectively.

Still, the game will be a chance for Gonzaga to shake off any rust accumulated over the holiday hiatus. That’s a good thing as the Zags visit San Diego two days later.

•••

Gonzaga: As we alluded to above, the Zags’ toughest part of their nonconference schedule is complete. Jim Meehan delves into that as he previews Northern Arizona’s visit to the Kennel. … Jim also has the key matchup. … Before we get too far away from it, however, Theo Lawson shared his takeaways from the win over Texas Tech. … The women hit the road Sunday and hit it hard, shooting seven percent from the floor – yes, you read that right, seven percent – in the fourth quarter as UC Davis rallied for a 69-66 victory. Jim Allen watched and has this story. … Around the WCC, the conference’s teams have done well against the Pac-12 this season. It got better last night, with USF handing Arizona State a home loss. … But it was only a 50/50 day against the Big Sky, with Santa Clara handling visiting Montana and Portland losing at Montana State. … Pacific also dropped a game with UC Davis, so Sunday was a wash overall. … BYU changed its lineup and it was a good thing.

WSU: New coach Jake Dickert wanted his own staff. That’s normal. The Cougars are going to a bowl game. Lately, that’s been normal too. But put the two together and the past month has been an abnormal one around the Washington State football team. Colton Clark looks into that today. … A receiver who never played a down for WSU is leaving. And a walk-on quarterback is headed in. Colton covers that news as well. … We wanted to pass along one last look on the hoops win over Northern Colorado. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, Oregon is going the transfer route at quarterback again. Bo Nix, who helped Auburn defeat the Ducks as a freshman, is headed to Eugene. There is a history tying him to the new coaching staff. … Oregon State has turned the page on 2021 and looking forward to next season. The L.A. Bowl showed the Beavers there is work to be done. … UCLA is headed to a bowl. It is a good thing. … After an awful year, Arizona had a successful recruiting season. … In basketball news, if UCLA is in COVID-19 protocols, then USC has to be, right? After all, if your rival is sick, you have to be sick too. The Trojans game with Oklahoma State was canceled. … Colorado is doing what it can to avoid the same fate. … California would be tough in the Ivy League. … Stanford probably wouldn’t do well in the Big 12. … Arizona State’s three-game winning streak ended with a close loss to San Francisco. … Gonzaga transfer Oumar Ballo has taken some strides recently, allowing Arizona to play a big lineup more.

Chiefs: The offense continues to struggle and the defense joined in as well yesterday in a 7-2 loss in Everett. … With the NHL stopping cross-border games for a while, will the WHL be next?

Seahawks: Want to travel to watch the home team play on the road? Why? It’s not good idea right now.

Mariners: The M’s best prospects include Julio Rodriguez, of course, and a whole bunch of pitchers.

•••       

• We breezed home last night across the mountains. The road was great, the doughnuts I bought in the morning were the perfect every-50-miles snack and the dog even slept most of the way. Now it’s back to the grind. It shouldn’t be a bad week through. … Wait. Christmas is when? Holy babe in a manger. I’m in a world of hurt. Until later …