THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: A lot on Wazzu (sorry, Jack), and some on Vandals

Apologies to all who find this troublesome, but …

Today’s notes and quotes goes pretty heavy on Washington State (with a nod to Idaho), so if some other team or program floats your boat, well, please wait just a day or two.

That’s another way of saying that our weekly Zags Tracker — curious along with the fan base about Gonzaga’s disjointed early play against Duke, Tarleton State and Alabama — has a microscope ready to see what’s up.

That Zags Tracker will run in The Press on Thursday, just ahead of Gonzaga’s game against Merrimack in the Kennel the same evening.

Meanwhile, though, so many interesting things are happening down at Wazzu that they absolutely deserve our attention.

We could theoretically roll along slow and easy, but that’s not how sports works these days.

Just a few days ago, the Cougs had no head football coach and were saddled with a seven-game losing streak to U-Dub, and Mario Cristobal was content to make $8 million per year coaching at Oregon — instead of preparing to face Washington State in the Sun Bowl as the boss at Miami.

Wow!

Elsewhere, Gonzaga was unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in every poll imaginable; the Seahawks were hopeless and unable to find a win anyplace; the thought of the Kraken suddenly going 5-2-1 against some of the NHL’s best teams was laughable; and — oh, yeah — Major League Baseball was open for business.

Now everything has turned upside down.

So …

Let’s move on to some new reality.

ITEM: I’ve gotten some fascinating correspondence lately (more on that momentarily), but since we’re going a bit Coug-heavy today, I need to mention an email from a gentleman named Jack Domit.

Jack objects to anyone calling the school “Wazzu.”

He wrote: “Why do you and a few other writers still use this offensive term?”

More …

“I do like to read your column, (but) boil when I see that term used, when a simple WSU would suffice.”

Jack Domit has been a self-admitted Cougar fan forever, and there was another sentence in the email in which he complimented my writing again.


So it’s not personal.

It’s Wazzu.

Right now, for Jack and all the rest of the Crimson Nation, let me just say this …

I don’t mean Wazzu in any derogatory way. I’ve heard it used over and over by students, by fans, and by Coug athletes.

In fact, I think the term Wazzu is pretty damn cool.

Maybe we’ve just reached a new world in 2021, swamped by social media, and some old words have turned into endearments.

I hope that explanation is good enough for Jack and the WSU community, because in this newspaper …

Wazzu means we like you.

ITEM: It’s just plain weird that the Cougs drew the Sun Bowl and a New Year’s Eve date to play Miami — and then had Oregon coach Mario Cristobal suddenly abandon a recruiting trip (for the Ducks) and agree to take the Miami job.

Yes, Mario played at Miami and his family is there, but the manner of his leaving was nothing less than stunning.

With Phil Knight’s checkbook still available, and the 82-year-old Nike founder desperate to see Oregon play for a national championship in his lifetime, the Ducks surely will be swinging big in the search for Cristobal’s successor.

What’s kind of funny is that Washington State, which seemed to be in such a state of chaos at midseason (Rolo, no vaccine, out the door) now looks like a calm, stable outfit with Jake Dickert leading the gang to the bowl in El Paso.

Also …

Never underestimate what a solid program can profit from any bowl assignment.

WSU will be sending the entire squad to the game, arriving Dec. 26.

“From a future standpoint, we get relatively young really fast after this football season, so these 15 practices (are meaningful),” said AD Pat Chun.

“There’s a reason why teams that typically get to bowl games always stay in bowl games.

“December is a month used for player development.”

ITEM: Cougar hoops coach Kyle Smith can already see the mountaintop in just his third season on the Palouse.

So far, though, his troops can’t quite make those final few steps.

The frustration of being so close to that elite tier, then being turned away, struck again last weekend when WSU lost 63-61 to nationally ranked USC.

The Cougs led a few times down the stretch and had the Trojans on the ropes, but couldn’t make the big stop or hit a dagger shot at the end.

After USC took the lead on a bucket by Chevez Goodwin inside the last 10 seconds, Wazzu’s Noah Williams — the leading scorer and the guy you want with the ball — had one shot blocked.

The Cougs quickly fouled, though, and got another chance after a missed free throw.

Williams fired up a decent 3-pointer ahead of the buzzer, but it wouldn’t fall.

“We were smart enough to foul and give ourselves six seconds there,” Smith said. (USC) missed and we still had a shot in Noah’s hands.

“He’s made a lot of big ones, like in the Stanford game (last season). He just wasn’t as fortunate tonight.”

Thus, USC remained unbeaten and the Cougs will have to wait — perhaps not too long — for a true signature victory.

ITEM: It’s possible one of our readers has more clout with the Idaho athletic program than I would ever have suspected.

On Nov. 18, Fred Gabourie sent this …

“Please do an in-depth on Petrino. Why the Vandals continued to the basement of Big Sky football. Look at the past five years. No QB has been all-league. Attendance cratered. Money disaster. We are at all-time low. Need lightning in a bottle. A new Dennis Erickson type. FAST!”

So, was Fred just another typical fan grousing about his team’s lack of success?

Uh, well …

About two hours after I received that email, Idaho coach Paul Petrino was fired after nine seasons (with a record of 34-66).

On Nov. 19, Fred sent another email, with the heading: “Only one way to go.”

The complete body of the message …

“UP!”

I’m not sure the connection here, but I’ll definitely be paying attention to Fred Gabourie’s correspondence in the future.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

He also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which is published weekly during the season.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”