A Grip on Sports: Like some of our favorite old movies, this weekend’s entertainment includes a plot hole or two but a lot of varied action

A GRIP ON SPORTS • What’s all this crud about no Seahawk game this weekend? Whose idea was this? A bye? These guys are professionals. They don’t need no stinkin’ bye. So what do we do on Sunday, then? Maybe watch a bunch of old films on Turner Classic Movies? And come up with some new old lines for next Friday’s column.

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• Did you happen to notice how TMC showed a bunch of old black and white monster flicks around Halloween? I did. Mainly because quite possibly my favorite movie of my youth, “The Wolf Man,” was on. I can’t tell you how many times the Lon Chaney Jr. vehicle ran me over on late-night TV as a kid. How I discovered Claude Rains and Bela Lugosi and Ralph Bellamy through the story of an English aristocrat bitten by a werewolf.

Watching it last week was not a mistake. But it did point out some truths. A movie made in 1941 about monsters and hatred and societal norms shouldn’t age well. It doesn’t. It also was still fun as heck, though.

Sort of like a weekend dominated by college sports. And that’s what we have.

Yes, I know, you NFL fantasy players will need to stay focused Sunday. But if Joe Burrow and Lamar Chase already ensured your team’s defeat, then why not spend Sunday locked in on college hoop?

Not that there are a lot of games of national interest – the NFL owns Sunday, remember – but there are three of local import.

At noon, the Gonzaga women visit Stanford, where Thursday night Washington State lost to the Cardinal for the 75th consecutive time. The Zags’ attempt to post their second consecutive win against Stanford is on ESPN2. However, if your eyes are more focused on the Palouse, the Cougars’ will attempt to bounce back against Idaho at Beasley, with that ESPN+ contest tipping at noon as well.

As soon as those games finish, the Gonzaga men take over ESPN, hosting Bobby Hurley and Arizona State in the Kennel at 2.

No Seahawks? No problem.

Then again, if the NFL is your thing – and, judging by the ratings, it’s just about everyone’s thing – you can watch games from 6:30 a.m. – the NFL Network’s broadcast of the Giants vs. the Panthers from Germany – to sometime around 8:30 p.m. – when the Lions’ NBC test in Houston ends.

Of course, there is the usual palette of college football pageantry Saturday. The best of the games? The 20th-ranked Cougars’ rout of Utah State (7:30 p.m., The CW), the last game of the evening. Well, that’s if you are a WSU fan.

For everyone else? Second-ranked Georgia at No. 16 Ole Miss (12:30 p.m., ABC), maybe? Or No. 6 Penn State hosting Washington (5 p.m., Peacock)? Unranked Michigan at No. 9 Indiana (12:30, CBS)?  Probably not any of those. No. 11 Alabama at No. 14 LSU (4:30, ABC). That’s the ticket. A playoff elimination game. And, oh boy, if it’s the Crimson Tide, Kalen DeBoer may just wish he had stayed at the University of Sioux Falls – though his financial planner is happy he didn’t. It won’t be the humidity in Baton Rouge that will have DeBoer sweating, it will be his seat’s heat.

Actually, the best game of the day may just be in Salt Lake City. The Holy War between ninth-ranked (and undefeated) BYU and host Utah (7:15, ESPN), possibly the biggest disappointment of the season. The other disappointment? The game runs roughly parallel to Washington State’s, so it will be tough to stay up on the action.

• What else is there? Well, if you want to watch college hoop, No. 8 Baylor will try to rinse the taste of its humiliation in Spokane by upsetting John Calipari’s 16th-ranked Arkansas team on the road Saturday (4:30 p.m., ESPNU). That’s followed by an even better game at 6:30, No. 11 Auburn at fourth-ranked Houston.

Or, if the women’s game is more on your radar, Sunday brings you a couple great matchups.

No. 9 North Carolina State is at top-ranked, and defending champion, South Carolina at noon (ESPN), competing with the three local teams and maybe forcing the Gonzaga men to start a bit later.

Unranked Oregon, trying to bounce back after a couple down seasons, has a chance to make some national noise at 7 p.m., as the Ducks host 12th-ranked Baylor on the Big Ten Network.

No Seahawks? No problem. Right?

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WSU: Greg Woods preps you for Saturday night’s game with this feature on linebacker Keith Brown and his long journey to key playing time. … The Times’ Mike Vorel has some thoughts on the conundrum the Cougars have handed the CFP committee with their good, but not overwhelming, play. … As we alluded to above, the Cougar women lost last night at Stanford, 94-65. That’s 75 defeats against zero wins against the Cardinal over the years. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner has his picks of the weekend’s games, including taking the Cougars to cover the 20.5-point spread over Utah State. … John Canzano agrees on that game. … We are getting late enough in the season there are playoff elimination games happening. … Oregon State has four games left. The Beavers are focused on them and only them. San Jose State is first up. … Washington has played against Penn State before. … Colorado’s matchup at Texas Tech is important to the Buffs’ playoff chances. And, in a peripheral way, WSU’s as well. … Oregon will have a new starter upfront on offense as the Ducks try to manhandle visiting Maryland. … The weekend football schedule starts in earnest tonight, with one of the more interesting games California’s visit to Wake Forest. … Utah vs. BYU is one of those rivalries that exist for about 50 reasons. … USC is spending $200 million on a new football facility. Maybe eliminate a couple bathrooms and there will be enough money left over to get a new coach? … In the Mountain West, the weekend slate begins tonight with San Diego State hosting New Mexico. … It can be hard to stay motivated in a losing season. … Jeff Choate brings his Nevada team into Boise, where he started a tradition long ago. … UNLV will be a challenge for Hawaii. … In basketball news, it was an interesting first week of the college season, highlighted in some ways by Gonzaga’s rout. … Washington’s Jon Brockman is on my list of favorite college players of all time. … The Washington women routed Pacific last night. … Finally, I found out this week one of my favorite basketball officials, Tucson’s Chris Rastatter, is the NCAA’s coordinator of officials. And has been for a while.

Gonzaga: The Naismith Award nominees were announced Thursday for the men and women. Yvonne Ejim, the all-everything Zag star, earned the accolade for the women, while Graham Ike and Ryan Nembhard were named for the men as well. Jim Meehan has the latter story.

EWU: In a football season filled with disappointments, especially on the scoreboard, there has been one bright spot for the Eagles. Dan Thompson points it out today. It’s the play of the veteran offensive line. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, a Montana State running back is finally healthy. … Recruiting never stops. Ask Montana. … Northern Colorado is still in a win-now mode. … So is Northern Arizona but it is seeking its third consecutive victory this week at Cal Poly. … In basketball news, the Idaho State men came close again but USC pulled it out in Los Angeles. … Sacramento State travels down the freeway to Fresno State tonight. … Weber State’s women were overwhelmed by Utah. … Northern Colorado fell at Colorado.

Idaho: Freshman running back Deshaun Buchanan has stood out for the Vandals recently, given the opportunity due to others’ injuries. Peter Harriman has more in this story. … The men’s basketball team led much of the game last night in Moscow, but UC Davis rallied down the stretch for a 79-75 victory.

Preps: Yes, the football playoffs begin tonight. Dave Nichols has that schedule. And a roundup of other playoff action Thursday night. … But Saturday is the culmination of the cross country season. Greg Lee has everything you need to know about the State races in Pasco as well as a story on Mt. Spokane star Jane Wycoff.

Chiefs: Dave returns with a story from off-the-ice. The NCAA decided Thursday to extend college eligibility to major junior players, including those from Spokane’s league, the WHL. It might seem like a mundane move but it’s a big deal for the players in the league. The change goes into effect in 2025.

Seahawks: Hey, there are always grades. Even semester ones.

Kraken: Some of the lineup changes recently seem a little odd.

Reign: Seattle is keeping one of its few stars under contract.

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• Have a good weekend. And enjoy the extra time without a Hawk game. We’ll be working. Until later …