We’ve streamlined all of our blog content so that you can view it all in one spot. The SportsLink blog gives readers sports news updates, notes and opinion and allows readers to give feedback.

Save SportsLink on your favorites list. When you get to SportsLink you specify the team you wish to read about.

The WCC has released its 2007 commissioner's honor roll, which requires a 3.0 GPA or higher. GU had 141 student-athletes make the list including Sean Mallon and David Pendergraft from men's basketball.

Here's a link.

We begin with an S-R article on the WCC considering Las Vegas as a site for future conference men's and women's basketball tournaments.

It's not a done deal, but it sounds like it's on track to happen.

Here's a link to the S-R article. And here's a link to the Orleans Hotel (nearly 1,900 rooms) and Casino Web site. There, you can find more info about the Orleans Arena (seating, events, etc.) by hitting the arena icon on the left side).

--The coaches-vs.-cancer event hosted by Mark and Marcy Few raised more than $750,000 over the weekend. It is believed to be the most successful fundraiser of the numerous coaches-vs.-cancer events held across the country.

--It was mentioned at the Dickau/Morrison charity game last week that ex-Zag Alex Hernandez would be joining GU's coaching staff. His role hasn't been defined, but Hernandez will be helping the Zags while he finishes up some school work. Hernandez, by the way, scored 21 points in 17 minutes in the charity game.

Gonzaga will face Western Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 22 (ESPNU) in the opening round of the Great Alaska Shootout. The pairings were released Friday.

The Hilltoppers were 22-11 last season, losing to Arkansas State in the Sun Belt tournament semifinals.

The other half of GU's bracket has Texas Tech vs. Alaska-Anchorage. It's winners-vs.-winners, losers-vs.-losers on Nov. 23.

On the opposite side of GU's bracket on Nov. 21, Eastern Washington meets Virginia Tech and Michigan takes on Butler. The title game is Nov. 24.

Here's a link with games/times/TV info.

--It's been an interesting week for ex-Zag Dan Dickau. Since arriving in Spokane earlier this week for the Dickau/Adam Morrison charity classic, Dickau was aware of media reports that the New York Knicks are planning on releasing him.

That unsettling piece of news had zero impact on Dickau, who posed for photos, signed countless autographs and deftly handled a Q & A session with about 100 about an hour before tipoff Thursday.

Then, he scored 39 points and walked off with MVP honors, which he discussed, along with his uncertain future in the S-R game recap.

At one time, 10 ex-Zags were on the court. The 3,527 fans (smaller than anticipated) seemed to thoroughly enjoy the events of the evening.

Sonics center Robert Swift was a no show (he missed his flight). Fred Jones and Ime Udoka were in attendance, but neither suited up. Ex-Zag Mike Nilson wasn't going to play, but buckled to pressure from teammates and played 12 minutes.

Derek Raivio also didn't play, but he informed Dickau that he was leaving to pursue a professional opportunity overseas. Ex-Zag Winston Brooks is planning on playing in Germany and Errol Knight is heading to Israel.

It appears Dan Dickau won't be heading to New York after all.

The New York Post is reporting that Dickau, who is in Spokane for a charity poker tournament tonight and charity basketball game Thursday, will be released by the Knicks within the next three weeks.

Dickau was the subject of a feature in Wednesday's S-R. As pointed out in a previous post, the interview was conducted last week.

New York acquired Dickau, Fred Jones and Zach Randolph from Portland in a draft-day trade.

As mentioned last week, we caught up with ex-Zag Dan Dickau, who is in town for Thursday's charity basketball at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Dickau discussed his pending move to New York, the team he was traded to on draft day in June. Here's a link.

Elsewhere, Gonzaga and Arizona are among schools under consideration when Oregon stages its first game in a new arena planned for 2010, according to the Oregonian.

A couple of events on tap this week.
First, the Toyota All-American's Charity Classic, featuring ex-Zags Dan Dickau and Adam Morrison, is Thursday at 7 at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Event officials expect a crowd in the 5,000 range. About 2,500 tickets still available.

Mark and Marcy Few's Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Classic and BasketBALL Gala is this weekend. Here's an update that ran in Tuesday's S-R.

Here's a link to the update in Friday's S-R on the Dan Dickau/Adam Morrison charity basketball game that will take place Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

Programming note: A feature on the well-traveled Dickau is scheduled for early next week.

Elsewhere, Marshall is thrilled with the arrival of ex-Zag Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes, who is expected to handle the point guard spot and play as much as 30 minutes per game.

Theo Davis and Team Canada fell to Lithuania 79-64 in the semifinals of the FISU Games tournament in Thailand.

Canada will play Japan for the bronze.

--DePaul coach Jerry Wainright, who guided the U.S. team to a second-place finish at U-19 World Championships, discusses the players on that squad, including GU's Matt Bouldin.

--Ticket sales have been steady for the Toyota All American's Charity Classic (featuring Dan Dickau and Adam Morrison) next Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Event promoter John Hines estimated about 2,500 remain and he expects that with a strong walk-up the game could become a sellout.

We'll have an update on the charity game in Friday's S-R.

Eastern Washington is expected to replace Liberty to complete the eight-team field at the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage.

There's more here.

Gonzaga and EWU weren't scheduled to meet this season, but the addition of the Eagles to the Alaska tournament means there's a possibility (Pairings haven't been released). The two schools have played at least once every season since 1978.

GU is 51-7 vs. EWU and has won 21 straight in the series.

Not a day, and sometimes not an hour, goes by without an e-mailer asking for an update on Josh Heytvelt and Theo Davis. I checked on their status while meeting with GU officials Thursday and it remains unchanged. They remain suspended indefinitely.

I was also told the two appear to be on course for reinstatement to the team, but must continue to meet team, university and legal provisions.

Some reading material:

--Theo Davis had 10 points and 12 boards for Canada in a victory over host Thailand. Canada also won its second game at the tourney, but the report didn't mention Davis.

--Liberty became the latest team to pull out of the Great Alaska Shootout. That makes four. Tournament officials weren't exactly pleased with Liberty's decision.

Gonzaga will play in the Alaska tournament, but pairings haven't been announced.

--Bulldogs assistant Tommy Lloyd got some ink in the Longview (Wash.) Daily News.

--Robert 'Pudgy' Hunt, a Zag in 1961-62, according to GU's media guide, will be inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.

--Utah, which is tentatively scheduled to visit Gonzaga on New Year's Eve, opened an Australian exhibition tour with a win against the Perth Wildcats and former Zag center Paul Rogers. The Utes were young last season under Ray Giacoletti, the newest member of the GU's coaching staff, but have a potential NBA center in Luke Nevill. He scored 16 points and had eight boards against Perth. Rogers countered with 12 and 10, respectively.

Greetings Zags fans and followers. This introductory post is a little late as I've been squeezing in vacation before football/fall sports hit.

I'm new to the GU beat, but not completely new to Zags basketball. I've assisted on S-R coverage of perhaps 12-15 of GU's NCAA tournament games (including the magical run to the Elite Eight in '99) and also worked the WCC tourney in Spokane a couple years ago.

On my previous beat, Idaho, I saw the Zags essentially on a yearly basis, too, dating back to Dan Fitzgerald's tenure. I still recall Fitz putting a positive spin on a dismal Kibbie Dome loss, politely noting that the band was excellent.

In addition to covering Idaho for roughly 17 years, I've also covered North Idaho College athletics, numerous WSU football/basketball games, the Seahawks for 10 years, Shock football and EWU basketball when Ray Giacoletti, now a GU assistant, guided the Eags to their first NCAA tournament.

My duties are changing this fall. While keeping an eye on GU hoops, I'll probably be covering Whitworth football and volleyball. I'll also probably help with our coverage of WSU football on occasion.

I'm spending most of my time trying to get up to speed with GU basketball. To help with the process, I've been in contact with several assistant coaches and other athletic department personnel in hopes of setting up meetings in the near future. I'm devouring GU/WCC media guides the way my kids went through the latest Harry Potter book.

My goal is simple: I hope this blog, the S-R website and the newspaper itself continues to be the spot you turn to for GU news.

With that, we're off... Many of you probably read today's S-R to discover GU will play the Oklahoma Sooners in Oklahoma City in December in the nightcap of an ESPN doubleheader. The story is sourced, according to this release from OU, this article in the Tulsa World, which cites an event organizer; and the Daily Oklahoman.

However, nowhere in these reports will you see Gonzaga confirming its participation. That's because the game isn't a done deal in GU's eyes. GU officials said the game hasn't been completely agreed upon and that there is no signed contract. They're not saying it won't happen, but they feel Oklahoma and the event organizer jumped the gun a little bit.

We'll update as necessary.

Some reading material. Here's an article on GU's Jerry Krause, who is assisting at the Pleasant Valley Saints Snoball Basketball Camp in Vernon, B.C., and an update on Zag forward Theo Davis, who made the developmental Canadian national team that will play at the FISU Games in Thailand later this month. There is more on Davis here.

One of Davis' teammates is Pepperdine forward Willie Galick.

Leon Rice, Gonzaga University’s associate head men’s basketball coach, confirmed Tuesday morning that part-time starter Pierre Marie Altidor-Cespedes and little-used backup center David Burgess will not return to the team next season.

Neither player could be immediately reached for comment, but Rice said it was his understanding that the 22-year-old Altidor-Cespedes, a 6-foot-1 guard who averaged 3.2 points and 1.24 assists as a junior last winter, is exploring the option of playing professionally overseas.

If either player decides to enroll at another Division I school, they will have to sit out a year under the NCAA’s transfer rule. They would be eligible to play immediately, however, at a Division II or Division III school.

Altidor-Cespedes, from Montreal, started 31 games for the Bulldogs as a sophomore and averaged 4.2 points and 1.9 assists. He started 14 games last season, but saw his playing time drop considerably during the second half of the season – due, in part, to the emergence of freshman guard Matt Bouldin – and ended up averaging only 16.4 minutes per game.

Burgess, a 6-10, 270-pound sophomore who transferred from Brigham Young University during the middle of the 2005-06 season, played in only six games last winter after becoming eligible in early December. He was also hampered most of the year by an early season knee injury and played only 23 minutes, scoring just six points.

Gonzaga head coach Mark Few did not immediately return phone messages asking for comments on the two players’ planned departures.

Bill Grier is out as Mark Few's top assistant on Gonzaga University's men's basketball coaching staff and former Eastern Washington and Utah head coach Ray Giacoletti is in.

You can read more about Grier's decision to take the head coaching job at San Diego here and more on Few's decision to bring Giacoletti on board here.

Losing Grier will hurt, but I can't imagine a better replacement than Giacoletti -- a nice, knowledgeable guy with 10 years of college coaching experience and all kinds of ties to the
Northwest.

Reactions, please.

The University of San Diego will hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. on Monday to introduce former Gonzaga assistant Bill Grier as its new head men's basketball coach.

According to a press release issued Sunday, Grier will replace Brad Holland, who was fired earlier this month, and become only the school's fourth head coach since the Toreros moved to the NCAA Division I basketball ranks prior to the start of the 1979-80.

USD officials said neither Grier nor Toreros executive director of athletics Ky Snyder would be available for comment until Monday's press conference, which will be held in the Warren Hospitality Suite of the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

I will post details on the press conference as soon as they become available.

Gonzaga's top assistant, Bill Grier, has apparently been offered the head coaching job at the University of San Diego and is currently going over contract details with his agent.

You can read more about it here.

If Grier leaves, it will be the first change on Mark Few's staff since the beginning of the 2001-02 season when administrative assistant Tommy Lloyd was promoted to an assistant coach, replacing Scott Snider.

Few has long credited much of GU's success for the quality his assitants and the stability on his staff -- which would suggest that Grier's departure could have a major impact.

I would be interested to hear how you readers feel, so please feel free to express your opinions.

The coaching dominoes have started to tumble, which apparently puts Gonzaga coach Mark Few on the Wish List at Kentucky -- although no one in a position of authority has confirmed as much.

AOL blogger Ryan Ferguson weighs in on some possible replacement for Tubby Smith -- including Few -- here and here.

I have also heard that Bill Grier, the Bulldogs' top assistant and heir apparent to GU head coaching job should Few leave, will get an interview at Santa Clara -- maybe as early as today.

Grier has not returned phone calls, but is thought to be at the NCAA West Regional in San Jose, which would make it handy for him to talk with SCU officials, who are looking to replace Dick Davey.

On a slightly different topic, I ran this story on GU's recently completed season, along with some players' opinions on what the future holds, in this morning's S-R.

For only the second time in their nine-year NCAA Tournament run, the Gonzaga Bulldogs suffered a first-round loss -- this one by a 70-57 margin to Indiana in a ragged game with no flow.

You can read about it below. And don't hesitate to check in here with comments on how your read on the game compares with those of GU coach Mark Few and his players.

Read full entry »

Hey, I'm back.

No posts yesterday because of a major laptop meltdown, but I'm back up and running. And our tech support people have promised a major overhaul once I get back to Spokane.

It's halftime and the Zags are donw 34-29 after shooting only 33.3 perecent from the field against a good Indiana defense.

If you have some thoughts on the opening 20 minutes, post there here. I'll post my game story as soon as possible, but feel free to weigh in on this post about the eventual outcome.

Although David Pendergraft seems to have firmly established himself as the fans' favorite during Gonzaga's post-Josh Heytvelt run, just how far the Zags go in the NCAA tournament probably depends more on the contributions of Micah Downs.

The much-traveled Downs has emerged as a potential star, despite some personal problems he discussed in this feature story that ran in this morning's S-R.

In addition, columnist John Blanchette analyzed the job the NCAA's Selection Committee did with this year's tournament seedings and brackets here, and Dave Trimmer detailed the Gonzaga women's NCAA tournament draw here and here.

In off-the-court news, Heytvelt, the Zags' suspended sophomore forward cut a deal in his felony drug possession case that could leave him with a clean criminal record. You can read more here.

The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee surprised a lot of people, including several members of the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team, on Sunday by awarding the West Coast Conference champion Bulldogs a No. 10 seed in the West Region of this year’s post-season spectacle.

The unranked Zags (23-10) locked down a ninth-consecutive NCAA berth last Monday by downing Santa Clara 77-68 in the finals of the WCC Tournament, but weren’t expecting to garner much respect from the NCAA following an inconsistent regular season that saw them lose four straight non-conference games during one demanding stretch and then drop three more to league opponents.

Read full entry »

Just settling in to watch the NCAA Tournament Selection Show -- still with no idea where the Zags might be sent.

I will be posting stories on the reactions of Mark Few and his players to their seeding and first-round opponent, along with a brief breakdown of their bracket here later tonight.

But for now, let's use this post as a place to leave comments on whether you readers feel like the Selection Committee gave the Bulldogs a fair shake.

On thing is for certain, however. There will be no surprise return Josh Heytvelt during the tournament. I spoke with Few about the status of his suspended sophomore forward and filed this story in this morning's S-R.

The University of San Diego has announced that men's basketball coach Brad Holland will not be back next season.

You can read the school's official statement here.

After returning from Portland and the WCC Tournaments, I am trying to take a couple of days off before heading out next week with the Zags to wherever (please, don't let it be Buffalo) the NCAA Selection Committee sends them.

But before shutting down the laptop, I had to pass on this wonderfully timed Joe Canzano column that ran in The Oregonian Tuesday morning while most GU fans were getting out of town.

Obviously, it was a major topic of conversation at the airport -- especially among travelers wearing Bulldogs apparel and standing in line to board planes headed for Spokane. And why not?

Canzano suggests that Oregon's decision to hire Pat Kilkenny as its new athletic director could be bad news for Gonzaga fans, considering his close relationship with Mark Few and ties to the Zags. As Canzano points out, there is still a lot basketball to be played before any wild speculation of Few replacing Ernie Kent as UO’s head coach can be labeled anything other than simply that.

But the seed has been planted.

Should Zag fans be worried?

Derek Raivio, according to Gonzaga coach Mark Few, strapped the Bulldogs on his back and carried them Monday night's 77-68 win over Santa Clara in the title game of the West Coast Conference Tournament.

The game story I filed for Tuesday's S-R is posted as part of the full entry below and deals mainly with Raivio's performance.

From where I sat, if was one of the best I witnessed. But I'm interested in hearing what it looked like on TV, so those of you watch watched in ESPN, let me know what you thought -- not only of Raivio, but the Zags, in general.

Read full entry »