Monthly Archives: December 2014

The DIRT on Washington State

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HAPPY GAME DAY! Everyone’s favorite game on the non-conference schedule… The day every year we get to bash our in-state rivals!

If you grew up anywhere in the Northwest OUTSIDE of Eastern Washington, there’s one way to describe the Cougars: “They suck.” I learned it, you learned it, everyone did. Even those who root for the Cougs have that teeny little bit of regret every time they shout “GO COUGS!” because, well, “Cougin’ It” is a real thing.

Our friendly neighbors to the south have been busy busy this season, opening a two game road trip in Texas (and losing both) before traveling to ALASKA (that’s kind of exciting – honestly, didn’t know there were early-season basketball tournaments in Alaska. Learn something new every blog!) and going 2-1 in the Great Alaska Shootout, good for fifth place. They roll into Spokane with a 4-4 record: solid, admirable, and better than their football team.

Enough small talk. Here’s the good stuff:

The classic starting five for WSU are Junior Longrus, Josh Hawkinson, Ike Iroegbu, DeVonte Lacy and Ny Redding. Ny is the only player that hasn’t been through the Kennel before and has no idea what he’s getting himself into, so let’s give him a little special treatment.

Here he is:

Ny Redding

WAIT WAIT WAIT, is that… Jaden Smith?!

Jaden SmithNo? Dang. Really could have fooled me. Especially with this:

https://twitter.com/FlyxNy/status/540062241630851072

Like I’m expecting some super profound tweets about life or something, but I guess he’s actually Ny Redding, not Jaden Smith.

https://twitter.com/FlyxNy/status/535705012878319616

WHAT WHAT DON’T WE KNOW?!

https://twitter.com/FlyxNy/status/502699527728824320

Whatever.

So we’ve got Will Smith’s son, who else? DeVonte Lacy… He’s been somewhat of a star for WSU over the past couple years, let’s check him out.

Let’s see. “youngsimba253” on Instagram, let’s take a quick look at his bio… Oh, it says he’s a professional photographer! That’s pretty cool I guess. Here’s some of his shots:

DeVonte Lacy1 DeVonte Lacy2 DeVonte Lacy3 DeVonte Lacy4

And that’s just a small sample of his “body of work”. Maybe he meant that he’s a profession photographer’s model, because I’m really not kidding, the dude has a LOT of professional pictures of himself:

DeVonte LacyAnd it really doesn’t get any better. A couple of insights from his day to day life:

I don’t know when I could have missed that but duly noted and I will make sure to remember that.

Deep. Eat those feelings man, never hurt anyone.

……I can’t. I can’t make this up.

Okay, let’s head to the bench.

First up: Jordan Railey, who had this:

https://vine.co/v/OrZjgtXOOzr/embed/postcard

And, you know, I’m not gonna lie. That was pretty sweet. It was good enough for #1 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 for a little bit. He did have a lot to do with it, as it seems that roughly 87% of his tweets have been retweets of that video trying to get it on TV. There’s also this:

https://twitter.com/Bone_Capone/status/519024504778293248

Which is probably NOT the thing you wanna put on the internet if you’re a guy in a relationship and went and saw Gone Girl because, well, now we all know.

We’ve got Valentine Izundu, offering up this brilliant observation:

https://twitter.com/Valentine_II/status/538873706706006016

YOU DON’T SAY?! I never would have guessed…. And, for further proof:

Valentine1  Well….. Yeah there’s that. He’s gonna help us get into the finals spirit as well:

Valentine3 In fact, that seems to be a common thing among WSU players. If we move to Marcus Graham, we see a lot of the same thing:

Yes

YES

YES

YAAAAAAAAAAAS

I get it. Really. This is the kind of stuff that really gets to me and hits home. Please, if someone brings a sign of the GPA emoji, I will reward you handsomely.

Just a last few things:

Trevor Dunbar has a few words of wisdom going into tonight’s game:

Really? Shoutout to the pear? That’s all you’ve got to say?

Okay well that’s cool I guess. More impressive is that his “Yup” tweet got 100+ retweets… NO IDEA HOW IT’S ONE SIMPLE WORD

To finalize, here’s the general representation of Washington State basketball:

Yeah. Justin Bieber in the top five. To follow that up, here’s our response to WSU after tomorrow night:

DUECES! See ya WSU, hope you enjoy your time in the Kennel, and we will definitely enjoy sending you back to Pullman.

WSU in the Arena: Where To Go & What To Do

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Hey ya’ll! Night before the big Arena game of the year, and we’re hoping you’re all excited! now, though the comfines of the Kennel are close and comfortable, keep in mind that the Spokane Arena is a little different… Like 14,000 people different. Yeah, basically this is a double Kennel, and with Pullman so close to Gonzaga, expect to see a LOT of Crimson in the seats tomorrow night.

NOT A PROBLEM! We know how to make an arena rock, and I expect ALL of you on your loudest, proudest, GonSWAGiest behavior!

Here a quick little rundown of how things are going to go:

First off, the line. Yes, there are multiple entrances to the Spokane Arena. No, we are not using all of them and starting a free-for-all for seats once inside. Though your ticket has a seat assignment on it, the student section (sections 121 and 122) is general admission – this means first come, first served. There will be ONE line into the Arena for students, and we will be actively patrolling the doors prior to opening to ensure that ONE student line is forming.

Where is this student entrance? It’s the southeast corner, at the bottom of the stairs, right off of Cataldo. Here’s a handy dandy little map to show you:

Where to go for WSU entrance

Paint is such a marvelous invention. Circled in yellow are Dussault and Tilford – the road in yellow is Cataldo, which will literally take you right to the student entrance.

Second: transport. You are free to drive yourselves to the game – duh. HOWEVER, parking is $6 per vehicle, CASH ONLY. This is the Arena’s parking fee, we have nothing to do with it. There will be busses running back and forth from Desmet Circle to the student entrance, beginning at 6:00 pm tomorrow. If you do not want to pay the parking fee or don’t have a car, this is your option. They will also be available once the game is over for the return to campus.

Third: GAME TIME. The Arena is a great venue and should provide a lot of great opportunities to get the big stadium feel the cozy Kennel often lacks. To get into the game, you will need two things:

  1. Your physical ticket. I know we get caught up with our tickets being on our ID cards, but yeah you actually need to bring the paper ticket to the game in order to get in.
  2. Your student ID card. You’ve gotta prove that you’re a student to have a student ticket and sit in the student section – just saying.

Also, for those of you that are of legal drinking age, plan ahead – the beer gardens in the Arena will be open. Yes, this means alcohol will be available at the game. NO, you will not be able to drink it anywhere except the beer gardens – no buying and taking it to your seat, to your underage friends, none of that. What is purchased in the beer gardens stays in the beer gardens. Also, just because there will be alcohol available does not mean the student section can turn into a mess. If you are too drunk, you will be asked to leave. PLEASE represent not only the Kennel, but our University as a whole in the best way possible. This is a huge opportunity for us in the city of Spokane, and want to prove that Zags truly are the best!

Check back tomorrow morning for the DIRT ON WASHINGTON STATE, and come ready to show the Cougs what we’re all about! See you tomorrow night!

Everything you Need to Know for Battle in Seattle

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With Finals Week right around the corner, let’s provide something to look forward to – CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER! AND, before that, BATTLE IN SEATTLE!

So, did you get your ticket? If you didn’t, make sure to head to the Ticket Office this week to pick yours up! They’re only ten dollars, cash or card, and will be available for the rest of the week!

So, once you’re in Seattle, wondering where you’re gonna stay, what else is going on, what time the game is… We’ve got you covered!

Need a hotel for Battle in Seattle? Check out the Hampton Inn & Suites in Downtown Seattle – they’re having a special deal for GU students that are coming over for Battle! For $109 a night, you can get a Standard Single King or Double Queen guest room. This rate will be honored if you stay any time between December 17 and December 23 in case you need extra time in Seattle!
If you want to use this to make a reservation, you MUST email or call in and ask for Rebecca Peck by December 19. Her email address is Rebecca.peck@hilton.com, and the phone number for the hotel is 206-282-7700.

Now, for game day…. 

Before the game, the Alumni Association is hosting a pre-game social at Exhibition Hal in the Seattle Center. THIS IS NOT IN KEY ARENA, but it is only a few blocks away. The pre-game begins at 5:00 pm, and tip off in Key Arena is at 7:00. More information, including registration details, can be found here: http://www.zagsonline.org/s/829/index.aspx?sid=829&gid=1&pgid=3754&cid=7070&ecid=7070&crid=0&calpgid=475&calcid=1404. There is a $10 cost, but it is open to all Gonzaga students, alumni, family and friends!

Then, after the game, there will be a 21+ Kennel Club Social Club in downtown Seattle! It will be at Ozzie’s, just a few blocks away from the arena and hotel at 105 W Mercer St. Since it is so close to the hotel and arena, there will not be transportation provided. There will be an early drink ticket distribution, as well as a social club jersey pick up, during finals week – more information on this will be coming next week!

Hopefully this helps lift all of your spirits with so much stress coming in the next couple weeks! Finish strong and, as always, ZAG UP!