A SPORT CATCH • Snow helps keep coming. Thumb after thumb. That’s not bad in Western New York, but it’s enough to close Spokane-area schools and assure frame shop workers a Christmas bonus. The unforgiving nature of white matter mirrors that of sports news in those regions.
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• We will start back in Gonzaga, where this week the afterlife is offered. The school announced some new numbers aimed at the rafters, those of Dan Dickau and Kelly Olynyk, and reiterated that Courtney Vandersloot’s rite of withdrawal of numbers occurs at some point. .
We are coming to this phase of the blue blood experience of school basketball. A school begins to have such a long history of excellence that players want to be identified by their role in expanding the program.
The next big step, of course, if Gonzaga needs to enter the capital territory of Blue Blood, it is a national name or two. But even if it doesn’t come, the Bulldogs have a long legacy of stars who deserve recognition. It’s great to see that when the former players are young enough to enjoy the honor.
• Before we leave the Zags, we want to point out something that happened last night that probably went unnoticed in Spokane, on the Twitter feed of a local television news director.
Marquette, classified Array. . . oh wait, the Golden Eagles were not qualified, they took Baylor sixth, winning 96-70. Yes, 96-70. Baylor scored 25 points in the first half. This is not smart for the GU resume.
The Zags’ two-game game will begin to rehabilitate a bit Friday night when they face the Bears in South Dakota. Now the game has lost some luster. And it opened a Pandora’s box for GU.
The bears are going to get furious. Enclosed. Ready to, well, bear.
Also, if Gonzaga wins a team 5-2 with a 26-point loss on his resume, he devalues himself a bit. A defeat, for the same reasons, is a little worse.
Just some other speed bump in a season than with some.
• It turns out everyone and their aunt are in the U. S. World Cup bandwagon. U. S. What is the occasion if not a birthday party of chauvinism?
Add to that the fact that the organization’s key point opposed Iran — did we mention chauvinism? — added a point of anxiety to the all-out effort.
And also designed to captivate television for those of us who enjoy gaming, if you don’t fully perceive its global fascination. As a true American, or do we deserve to say Hollywood?-style, our sole star sacrificed his frame to give America its sole purpose.
And while Christian Pulisic rushed to the hospital, the rest of the U. S. cavalry was still in charge. The U. S. came to their defense, avoiding Iran’s belated efforts to tie up and move on.
It seems that Pulisic, the closest thing the U. S. has. UU. al world-class talent will play on Saturday in the knockout match against the Netherlands. At least he broke the news to American enthusiasts in a social media post from his hospital bed.
Yes, Hollywood. If the ending includes a shattered victory.
• Finally, the FCS playoffs are taking place, the nearest “home” team is in Missoula, probably 11 hours away today. But the strange way the NCAA selects shots on the field near their homes each season.
The variety procedure has been a bit this year, due to some minor controversies over the places of the first round. This led to deep dives in the country’s newspapers.
The result? The NCAA will do what the NCAA has to do. And cash is the main driving force behind all decisions, including but not limited to which of the last possible options will end up in the tournament.
Great, but surprising. Not even a little. Remember, the next time you hear an NCAA official in an adapted suit, communicate poetically about the glories of amateur competition.
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WSU: The normal season is over. It’s time for players to evaluate their future. And you will see more entries in the movement portal. Colton Clark has that play on a reserve running back who goes that way. . . . The volleyball team, led to the NCAA Tournament this week, won many honors. They are covered in the last column of S’s local memories
Gonzaga: We plugged the retirement story of Theo Lawson’s troubles above and do it again here. . . . Jim Meehan saw the winner of Andrew Nembhard’s attack the other night and wrote about it. . . . Elsewhere in WCC, Mark Pope earned his 150th victory last night while sailing BYU.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky Conference, we connected the history of the FCS playoffs above and remade it here. . . Montana will change to the state of North Dakota, which is never easy. But the Bisons have problems with the movement portal. . . . . Just like the state of Idaho. . . . The state of Montana faces another kind of problem. . . . In basketball news, Weber State lost again. Mountain too.
Preparations: Finally, it’s basketball season. We can Dave Nichols’ summary percentage of Tuesday night’s games.
Seahawks: The recent slide of Kenneth Walker III. Disc. . . . Geno Smith how to lead.
Kraken: Did you see last night? We did, at least the last part and the extra time. That’s laughing hockey. And the 9-8 overtime win over Los Angeles was a record. . . Will Seattle make the playoffs?
Sounders: If you’re wondering why Garth Lagerwey left the organization, this story explains.
World Cup: We connect some of the previous stories that took a stand in the S-R. Want to know more?We still love football politics at the L. A. Times, basically because the protagonist is an old friend and former colleague of the S-R and the Orange County Register.
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• We have errands to do today. Thank God, we have a truck reminiscent of M. Plough; try not to let Linda Ronstadt’s tinkling go through your head all day, which can give us some things we couldn’t otherwise. In addition, we reflect on Tiger Woods’ comments yesterday. He has become the oldest statesman in the game overnight. See you later. . .