While You Were Sleeping, Gonzaga's Steven Gray Portrayed a Gay Baseball Player

With a blizzard of on-court action to get to, let's start on the stage, where Gonzaga guard Steven Gray portrayed a gay baseball player in a reading of the Tony-award-winning Take Me Out. (You can do play about a gay dude at a Jesuit school now? Times are 'a changin'.)

Said Gray of the experience: "It's helped me realize that if I want to do something, why not just go ahead and do it?" Why not indeed! I'm hoping Grey brings this new-found spontaneity to the court, in the form of the bucket of confetti trick. Hey, when the Zags are beating yet another WCC opponent by 50, you gotta keep the people entertained! (h/t @larevblog)

Rejuvenated Ducks
"We're going to win more than eight games," said Oregon's Joevan Catron after the Ducks' win Sunday. Looking that way. After sweeping a three-game weekend tourney, Oregon is more than a third of their way to last year's win total. And looky here, they found a point guard in sophomore Teondre Williams, who scored in double-digits in all three games.

Dejuvenated Beavers
Oregon State. Lost their opener. To Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. By 25 points! Thoughts, Coach Craig Robinson? "This is what happens when you've never had expectations and suddenly you do. That has to be it. There's no other explanation." For the Beavers' sake, we hope Robinson's right -- though a loss on Sunday to Big 12 bottomfeeders Texas Tech did not instill much confidence.

Tweet of the Week
"Friend told me I was a heavy breather on the radio. Good feedback." -- University of Portland head coach Eric Reveno. (@CoachReveno)

Is John Wooden Available?
The UCLA Bruins looked atrocious in a double-OT home loss to Cal State Fullerton. They couldn't keep the Titans out of the lane -- supposedly a point of emphasis -- and were 5-29 from three. Wrote Mark Whicker of the OC Register: "Ray of hope: It doesn't appear many of these Bruins will be leaving early for the NBA."   

Just as Advertised
UC Santa Barbara guard Orlando Johnson, who made the preseason All Big West team despite sitting out last season as a transfer, started the season with 19 points on 7-7 shooting in UCSB's opening game win over Cal State LA. Johnson's presence is a main reason the Gauchos are picked 2nd in the league. UCSB faces a tougher test tonight when Big Sky favorites Weber State visit. 

Wazzu's Scorekeeper Wants a Raise
New coach Ken Bone has loosened the reigns at Washington State, and the Cougs scored 94 points in an opening-game win over Mississippi Valley State. It was the most points for a Wazzu team since in six seasons -- the six seasons under the thumb of BennettBall Hegemony.

Do Cowboys Give Refunds?
If you dropped a couple of Benjamins on Wyoming season tix, you may be reconsidering after the Cowboys dropped their home opener to South Dakota State, a 20-game loser last year. The Jackrabbits led by as many as 28 in the second half.

Vikings' Ship Still in Drydock
The Tyler Geving Era of Portland State basketball could've started better. The two-time defending Big Sky champ Vikings went 0-fer in a three-game round robin tourney in Seattle, bottoming out with a 56-point loss to Washington (a team they lost to by just one point last year). I saw PSU on Friday, and their offense was terrible -- all one-on-one play resulting in terrible shots.

Jim Boylen, Eat Your Words
Utah coach Boylen called his Utes' visit to Idaho "Idaho's Super Bowl." Idaho's coaches and players took offense. Said coach Don Verlin: "We have a lot of pride in our program and being in the WAC. I have some players with a lot of pride. I thank him for saying it, it was all the motivation we needed. I didn't have to say a lot in pregame." Idaho won the game 94-87, and Verlin came out for post-game interviews wearing a Super Bowl XL hat.

If Only They Could Reinstate the Lopez Twins
Stanford reinstated suspected domestic abuser Jeremy Green over the weekend, but that didn't help them win at San Diego. The Cardinal were outrebounded 38-28 by the WCC Toreros in a 77-64 loss, which does not bode well for their chances against Pac-10 bigs. Green was arrested at a Stanford dorms in late October, but hasn't yet (and may never) be charged with anything. 

The week's best games (times PST):
Tuesday: Gonzaga @ Michigan St., 5 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday: Utah St. @ Utah, 5 p.m., The Mtn.
Thursday: Syracuse vs. Cal (NIT), 4 p.m., ESPN2
Friday: San Jose St. @ Washington, 8 p.m., FSN-NW
Saturday: Oregon @ Portland, 7 p.m., No TV
Sunday: Watch Football
Monday: San Diego St. @ Fresno St., 7 p.m., No TV

Honorable Mention:
Long Beach St. @ Notre Dame, Thursday, 4:30 p.m.