A Grip on Sports: Saturday was great even if the L.A. Bowl wasn’t WSU’s finest hour

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Fall Sundays mean one thing. The NFL. Today is a fall Sunday. But it doesn’t feel as if it fills the bill. The Seahawks are off and the best football available is of the international variety.

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• Being we aren’t a bettor, an NFL Sunday without the Seahawks doesn’t seem like a Sunday at all. Oh, we will probably turn on RedZone for a bit. Not that there are a lot of games available. With games on Thursday and Saturday this week, the NFL has diluted its Sunday product like so much light beer.

We would love to be watching France and Argentina play for the World Cup title but we’re busy pounding on our computer keyboard. Which leaves us with most the day to … well, things the average, non-football fan does on a Sunday afternoon.

What is that exactly? We have a pretty good idea of what to do during, say, spring, when the grass is green, flowers are blooming and the sun actually warms the air instead of just teasing everyone. But in the late fall, with snow covering everything, ice threatening to break your left hip and exposed skin turns blue in about 27 seconds, we’re at a loss.

• Speaking of losses, we mentioned our loss of desire concerning bowl games yesterday. Then Washington State took the field without many of the kids who helped build a seven-win season through hard work, leadership and effort. The results were, well, predictable. The offense sputtered, the defense battled but yielded and the Cougars lost a snooze-fest of a Jimmy Kimmel L.A. Bowl 23-6.

Early on, we mentioned on Twitter we weren’t working. Our buddy Jacob Thorpe noticed, asked if it was OK then to write about the broadcast and we gave our blessing. (Not as if he needed it.)

The result was this column that closely paralleled our thoughts from Saturday morning. But with better examples. Including the host, who realized bowl season has been hit by a drought of Dust Bowl proportions. The whole system is in danger of drying up and blowing away – at least for Power Five schools.

We can debate the merits of that happenstance. Whether it would be a good thing or bad when the playoffs expand to 12 teams. But for now, the best course of action is to lament the loss of something that filled our holiday time with joy, the presents that arrived via cable instead of Santa’s sleigh, and hold our nose while watching the Holiday Bowl.

• Luckily yesterday was filled with enough great college basketball matchups to salve the wound.

We watched one in the morning at home, as Gonzaga played its best game of the season – at least its most polished offensive one – in a 100-90 win over fourth-ranked Alabama at a site that was anything but neutral. Local product Anton Watson was a senior, in the best sense of the word, and, while maybe a bit underappreciated, the difference in the game.

We then left our hearth and home to venture down the hill to GU, where we watched the Zag women battle archrival BYU in the Kennel for the final time. And come away victorious.

The game itself was less art than one may want, lacking flow due to the physical nature of both team’s defense. The term “freedom of movement” seems to have been locked in a vault somewhere, not to be seen again until maybe next October. Anyhow, it was still a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

But not as nice as watching the grudge match that was held in Tucson last night.

Before that one tipped, however, we were able to catch just enough of UCLA’s win over Kentucky in Madison Square Garden to realize the Pac-12 is going to miss the Bruins in a couple years – and the school’s decision to change conferences may be the most misguided one in the history of college athletics.

But enough with hyperbole about such things. Let’s get back to where the hyperbole belongs. On the court.

Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona team met Tennessee’s bullying with some of its own, winning a game that overpowered the three men who were tasked with officiating it. Not because John Higgins, Vern Harris and Tony Padilla, aren’t good referees, but because the way the teams decided to treat each other was beyond their control – unless they wanted to assess 147 fouls.

Predictably, after Arizona’s 75-70 win, there was a bit of an ugly scene postgame, which fit right in to the persona of the contest.

But even that couldn’t mar the memory of a top-flight Saturday of college basketball. The sport always seems to come through when you need it the most.

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WSU: Nothing went according to plan this postseason for the Cougars, culminated by Saturday’s defeat. Colton Clark was in Los Angeles and has the game story, another on Renard Bell making one last appearance in a Washington State uniform and another on the Cougars’ tribute to former coach Mike Leach. … Colton also has the difference makers. … As we mentioned (and linked) above, Jacob’s column focused on what the game was lacking. … Tyler Tjomsland didn’t lack photographs on anything that mattered. He has a complete photo report. … The folks in the office put together a recap with highlights. … Back to Leach, we can offer this story from the Seattle Times about Leach and Bill Moos. There is a small factual error, though. Moos had not officially fired Paul Wulff when he met with Leach in Key West in November of 2011. … And another story of Leach and the place he loved best. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, there was one other bowl game yesterday. Oregon State dominated Florida from the beginning, winning 30-3 in Las Vegas. It was such a rout the Gators had to connect on a 40-yard field goal with less than a minute left to keep their scoring streak alive. … The Beavers also received some good news after the game. … A Seattle receiver that once committed to Washington has decided to return home and play for the Huskies. … Bo Nix is preparing for Oregon’s bowl game. … UCLA has found a senior transfer quarterback for next season. … In basketball news, Washington finally had an easy win, blowing out visiting Idaho State. … Oregon did the same to visiting Portland. … Visiting Utah was ambushed by BYU. … UCLA picked up the win in a blue-blooded battle. … USC has a chance to make a statement today when Auburn visits. … Arizona’s win was important for the Wildcats and the conference.

Gonzaga: The game in Birmingham was sold out, with only a handful of folks there to support the Bulldogs. Jim Meehan was in the building to document their effort and he does that with his game story and the difference makers. … Theo Lawson adds a story on Drew Timme’s outstanding game while Colin Mulvany pulls it all together with this photo gallery. … The folks in the office put together a recap with highlights. … From the Kennel, Jim Allen has a story on the Zags’ 67-58 conference-opening win. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Portland couldn’t hang with Oregon in Eugene. … BYU took care of Utah at home. … USF handed UNLV its first loss. … Pacific picked up a win. … Pepperdine lost at Grand Canyon.

EWU: The Eagles helped the Big Sky have a decent day, welcoming UC Davis to Cheney and sending the Aggies home with a 79-68 loss. Dan Thompson was there and has this game story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky Conference, despite Eastern’s win, the day was more down than up for conference schools. Portland State lost at home to UC Santa Barbara, Idaho State was blown out by Washington and Southern Utah defeated Northern Arizona. … On the up side, Montana State set a scoring record and Sacramento State handled Fresno State. … In football news, the season ended as fourth-ranked Montana State lost at No. 1 South Dakota State 39-18 in the FCS semifinals.

Preps: There was a lot going on yesterday and Dave Nichols does his best to cover it all in this roundup.

Chiefs: Spokane lost 5-3 on the road in Prince Albert.

Kraken: Seattle actually leads the NHL in something. Something you don’t want to lead in.

World Cup: Crotia finished third Saturday by handling Morocco, the first African nation to make the final four.

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• We were unable to see Argentina build a 2-0 halftime lead in the World Cup final. But we did see the highlights. And what a second goal. Exquisite. Until later …