A Grip on Sports: The Seahawks playing on a Tuesday night? Now we’ve seen everything

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The past couple years have opened some doors to all of us. I mean, did you ever in your life think the NFL would be out there promoting Tuesday Night Football? Me neither.

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• Yet, here we are. Tuesday, Dec. 21. The official first day of winter. Christmas so close the kids are either bouncing off the walls in anticipation or hunkering down to ensure Santa doesn’t skip the block. And the Seahawks are in Los Angeles to play the Rams.

What in the name of Jim Zorn is going on here?

A virus, of course. Just another disruption in, basically, two years of them.

Not the most important one the world has faced, sure. Heck, it’s not even in the top 5.4 million. But it’s also today’s issue in the world of sports – and the Northwest.

We’ll turn on Fox tonight. Watch the shorthanded Hawks play the getting-healthier Rams and wonder when we will be out of this mess. Maybe even wonder if we ever will be. Hope Los Angeles either figures out a way to win – and put Seattle followers out of this playoff limbo they’ve been sentenced to the past few weeks – or the Hawks dominate, making an undefeated run to end the season seem possible.

Either way, those of us watching in these parts come out winners. A loss means we don’t have a horse in the race anymore. We can focus on Washington State’s bowl game or the Zags’ upcoming WCC season or whether Pete Carroll will return for another year. Let the Packers and Chiefs fans worry about the playoffs. We will be free of that tyranny.

It’s a sort of freedom, isn’t it?

• We watched the Gonzaga game last night without having to write, which also was a sort of freedom. No pressure to pound out words on the computer. Just pure basketball.

All we had to worry about is whether or not the Bulldogs would cover the 35-point spread. They did, despite completely clearing the bench down the stretch. (As an aside, it’s really fun to see Will Graves and Joe Few, two young men who used to run around McCarthey in their AAU uniforms a decade or so ago, wearing the home whites and playing on the court for real.)

There was another spread we were watching as well. Northern Arizona opened the season by visiting Arizona. It was long before anyone knew former GU assistant Tommy Lloyd would be leading the 11-0 Wildcats to a No. 6 national ranking. That night his team put an 81-52 beating on the Lumberjacks, signaling something just may be up in McKale.

The fourth-ranked Zags’ 95-49 win last night exceeded that 29-point margin by seven points. For those of us who love to play the silly comparative-score game – it’s the world of sports’ version of Chutes and Ladders – we now have numerical proof the mentee’s team is still not up to the level of the mentor’s.

• The Bulldogs moved up a spot in the latest Associated Press basketball poll, jumping back ahead of 8-1 UCLA. It seems right, considering GU put a neutral-court double-digit loss on the Bruins’ resume.

And, for once, Gonzaga seems to have the potential to move up on the strength of its upcoming conference schedule.

For years, the Zags rose up the poll as others lost. They would blow out Pacific and Pepperdine and Portland while Duke was losing to UNC and Virginia. Before you knew it, GU’s record was so good it had risen to the top.

This season, the Bulldogs’ WCC schedule actually poses huge tests. According to Ken Pomeroy’s rating system, the conference has three other teams joining Gonzaga in the top 40: BYU (24), USF (34) and Saint Mary’s (39).

The Pac-12 has three teams among the top 40. The ACC has four. The Big East? Four as well. Only the Big Ten (nine), SEC (six) and Big 12 (six) have more than the WCC.

The road Gonzaga will have to navigate the next three months could be bumpier than a Spokane arterial in early spring, even if some national pundits will still compare it to a new stretch of interstate.

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Gonzaga: The Lumberjacks didn’t offer much resistance, especially after halftime. Even though the McCarthey Athletic Center was in Christmas break mode, aka about as loud as the Shadle Library on a Sunday, the Zags breezed. It was Jim Meehan’s night to handle the game story duties and the difference makers. … Theo Lawson took care of the news stories beforehand – Andrew Nembhard was named the WCC player of the week; Mark Few was officially named to USA Basketball’s coaching staff – as well as the poll story. … The photo gallery came courtesy of Jesse Tinsley. … The folks in the office took care of the recap with highlights. … Jim Allen has a preview of the women’s game tonight in Cheney, where the Zags hope to rebound after Sunday’s road loss in Davis.

WSU: Jake Dickert is putting his stamp on the football program’s future even as preparations for the Sun Bowl continue. The Cougars attracted a highly sought-after transfer linebacker to the Palouse yesterday, helping fill what will be a graduation-caused hole. And the coaching staff is almost complete with two more veterans heading to Pullman. Colton Clark has both of those stories. … Two Cougars and a Gonzaga player were selected in the NWSL draft Saturday. That news leads of a local briefs column. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, the conference announced a group of 20 former players tasked with explore ways to boost its image throughout the country. But the makeup seemed a bit weird as some schools have multiple representatives and some, cough, Washington State, cough, had but one. … Jon Wilner examines the COVID-19 problem in the Mercury News this morning and also rewinds the past week. … Christmas time is about memories. Right? So this Washington story is appropriate. … Utah’s Rose Bowl prep is in high gear. Will it be Kyle Whittingham’s final game? … Interim Oregon coach Bryan McClendon won’t say whether he is headed to Miami to join former coach Mario Cristobal but he probably is. No more of the Duck players are expected to opt-out of the bowl game. … Arizona State’s offense will be challenged by Wisconsin. … A former USC player was arrested for his alleged role in a scam. … In basketball news, the Stanford women have a big matchup with No. 1 South Carolina this week. … The Arizona men hope to be able to play its game with Tennessee tomorrow. … Utah is dealing with some more adversity. … Colorado is getting ready to deal with No. 7 Kansas. … Oregon has a matchup with Pepperdine.

Idaho: The Vandals gave a big ol’ Moscow welcome to new football coach Jason Eck yesterday. Not that Eck needed much in the way of introductions. He used to wander the halls not all that long ago when he worked for former coaches Nick Holt and Dennis Erickson. Peter Harriman has the coverage of Eck’s introductory press conference. … Around the Big Sky, Weber State had its first four-time All-American named yesterday. … Montana State is headed to the national title game but will lose its defensive coordinator. … Montana lost out on a legacy.

Preps: Dave Nichols has a roundup of Monday’s action.

Indians: Four former minor league teams, including Salem-Keizer, are suing baseball.

Horse racing: Longtime Thoroughbred trainer, owner and breeder Bruce Wagar died recently. Jim Price has his obituary.

Seahawks: Are playing games after COVID-19 postponements fair? They don’t appear that way when the rules are changed mid-week. But the NFL can do whatever it wants because there is no one to oversee the league. … The Hawks lost another player to the protocols yesterday as Los Angeles got healthier. 

Kraken: The NHL decided to take a break until after Christmas.

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• Today is one of my favorite days of the year. Every year. Right up there with Christmas and my birthday and baseball’s opening day. It’s the first day of winter. Why do I love it so (and hate winter)? Because instead of getting shorter, the “day” part of the day begins to get longer again. We made it. Before you know it, spring will be here. And then the long days of glorious summer. So mark the Winter Solstice with me, will you? Have a cup of warm mead, wear a garland of holly leaves atop your head and do a celebratory dance with me. That’s what I do. Until later …