A Grip on Sports: Though it’s going to be cold this week, one Northwest pro sports team is red hot

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Another Wednesday. A day of getting ready for the deep freeze ahead. It’s sort of scary. Let’s hope the cable doesn’t go out.

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• It’s time to hunker down. With college football over, the local NFL franchise finished and Alaska-like temperatures on the way, we have to plan. Not just how to make sure the pipes don’t freeze and the car will start. We also have to plan what to watch.

Going outdoors won’t be a big option for the next few days. Which puts the pressure on. College basketball, you better deliver.

Though there are other sports that fit the weather pattern even more. No, we’re not talking about skiing or dog sledding. Might even be too cold for such things. We’re talking about hockey.

And the streaky team that is the Seattle Kraken.

Not all that long ago, the Pacific Northwest’s youngest major pro franchise was falling through the cracks. Sinking into the ice, so to speak, victims of injuries, ineptitude and, most importantly, suspect goalie play. No more. The long losing streak of last year, calendar-wise, is long gone, replaced by 11 consecutive games earning at least a point in the standings.

Was it the Winter Classic that got them going? Or was it the rise of Joey Daccord as the goaltender? Something else? Yes.

Like all mercurial swings in the middle of any season, one thing doesn’t make the complete difference. Though, in Daccord’s case, his emergence as the top guy has changed the equation by a factor of 10.

Take last night, for instance. Buffalo was making mincemeat of the Kraken defense, peppering Daccord with shot after shot early on. And the Sabres only got one of their 19 them, which included two breakaways, through. Momentum was stonewalled early. Often. The Kraken still had a chance.

Seattle figured it out, changed the script and went on to another win, this one 5-2. That makes the Kraken 9-0-2 in their last 11 games, a streak unparalleled in the franchise’s admittedly short history. The last seven? All wins.

Improved health has played a factor. So has the glow that came from playing well in front of more than 40,000 fans in the New Year’s Day outdoor game at T-Mobile. But the Kraken were moving forward long before those two occurred.

They are in the playoff picture, though that’s still a long way down the road. But, with the way the weather is starting to turn, any warm glow from a Pacific Northwest professional franchise needs to be appreciated.

• As cold as it is going to be in the region, no one needs to venture outside to watch the regional NHL team play. The Kraken’s lengthy road trip continues – they aren’t back in Seattle until Jan. 21 – with a game in D.C. on Thursday. Then it’s off to Columbus, Pittsburgh, New York and Edmonton. We’re guessing that last stop will be the coldest, but who knows? Maybe the Kraken will supply the heat.

• Remember when the Pac-12 used to play a consistent basketball schedule? For the men, that meant every Thursday and Saturday, a two-game trip somewhere or a weekend at home. The women did the same, albeit on Friday and Sunday.

No more.

Tonight, Washington State is at USC. A Wednesday night game on the road in L.A. No big deal, right? Stay in the sun and play another. Uh, no. The Cougars head back to Pullman. And Arizona heads north. Tommy Lloyd returns to the Inland Northwest for a game Saturday afternoon. And that’s all. Just one game this week for the Wildcats. Advantage, UA? Or will it seem weird to leave Tucson, where it will be sunny and mild, and head to a place where the high will be less than 10 degrees?

Let’s just say Oumar Ballo will have to search a bunch of boxes for the old coat he wore while playing for Gonzaga and make sure it still fits. Which has to give the Cougars a bit of an edge, right?

Well, it would. If the game were outdoors. On ice.

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WSU: Speaking of the Cougars, Greg Woods has a story this morning on a player who could have been ice cold when he checked into the Oregon game last week. But Isaiah Watts kept himself warm. Ready. And he produced big numbers in big minutes. … The Oregonian’s Nick Daschel obtained the financial documents between the Pac-2 and Mountain West. The agreement includes the cost of rebuilding the Pac-whatever if MWC schools are used. … The Athletic ranked every FBS team from 2023. The Cougars checked in at No. 70. Not the best. But there were 63 other schools worse. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, we wanted to pass along this ode to what’s still the best part of college sports. When coaches and players click, it is special for both. … Of course, it’s already time to look toward next football season. And who will be the best. Georgia? Ohio State? Alabama? Oregon? Yep, the Big Ten and SEC will probably dominate. … Will the loss to Jim Harbaugh and Michigan serve as a jumping-off point for Washington? It’s happened before for a Kalen DeBoer-coached school. … No matter what, it was a special season for the Huskies. … And a special one for Michigan. … Oregon was special on offense – and on defense, which is more surprising. In a change, the Ducks won’t play 13 games next year. … Oregon State has picked up a baker’s dozen of transfers. … Of course, Colorado has attracted another one. … So has Utah. … Former UCLA defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn is now at USC, another step in a long journey. … How will the Bruins fill the quarterback spot next season? How about the Trojans? … There is one big question still looming at Arizona. When will Jedd Fisch’s contract extension be finished? … In basketball news, Colorado is getting healthier. So is Oregon. … UCLA’s Mick Cronin skipped the last post-game press conference. Yesterday, he shared his reasons. … How has Arizona State pulled it together to start the conference season?

Gonzaga: Steele Venters knew his knee injury was bad when it happened. But the torn ACL hasn’t torn his connections to the rest of the Bulldogs. You can see him on the bench most every game. Jim Meehan talked with the Eastern transfer about what he’s gone through since the injury.

EWU: It was a high-Wattage sports section today. OK, sorry, we couldn’t resist. We already linked a story about WSU’s Isaiah Watts and now we head out to Eastern, for Dan Thompson’s story about LeJuan Watts. There is no relation, we believe, though they have a lot in common. Especially basketball heritage, as both are from a long line of players. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, welcome to college football in 2024. Montana loses in the FCS finals and then, less than a week later, loses its starting quarterback to the transfer portal. … A former WSU player has decided to transfer to Montana State. … In basketball news, what’s ahead for Northern Colorado? … If you want to make book on who will win this season’s player of the year in the men’s ranks, you might as well put your money on Weber State’s Dillon Jones. … Portland State will host Idaho State tomorrow night, while Sacramento State entertains Jones and Weber.

Preps: It’s not only the deep, dark depths of winter, it’s also rivalry time in high school hoops. Up first in the Spokane Arena games this year last night were North Central and Shadle Park. Dave Nichols was there and he reports on the Wolfpack’s clean sweep. He was joined by Colin Mulvany, who has this photo gallery. … Dave also has this roundup of the rest of the area games.  

Chiefs: Spokane is out of town this week, of course, as the Arena is booked for the basketball. Lethbridge was the destination Tuesday night and, despite Berkly Catton’s two goals, the Chiefs fell 3-2 in overtime. Dave has that story as well.

Seahawks: Pete Carroll wants to be back. It looks pretty certain he will be. But will there be changes elsewhere on the staff? That’s pretty certain as well. May we suggest Mike Vrabel as defensive coordinator and coach in waiting?

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• Being out of town for most of December was a blessing and a curse. The latter comes into play today as we have to wander the perimeter of the house and make sure everything is ready for the big freeze. We usually do that a lot sooner but in the rush to head south, it slipped through the cracks. Now we have to make sure every crack is filled. Until later …