THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Using crutches for injuries, or injuries as a crutch

Team X lost a key player midway through the season, bowed out in the second round of the NCAA tournament to a much lower seed, then its fans complained their team would still be playing if said key player wasn’t hurt. 

Team Y lost a key player — a second-team All-American, in fact — minutes into its first NCAA tournament game. Its fans groaned, but the rest of the team sucked it up and made it to the Sweet 16. 

LOOK, I get it.  

Gonzaga is obviously a better team with Braden Huff on the floor. But it’s not like the Zags played with four without him.

Gonzaga basically had eight or nine starters anyway — several of the guys they brought in played key roles for their old teams. But the rules say you can only start five guys (unless you’re Nebraska, and you only have four out there during a key moment), so some of these guys had to come off the bench. 

But it was a better chance for them to play in an NCAA tournament, and a chance to be part of the lovable culture which is Gonzaga, so they accepted it. 

The Zags fell short of the Sweet 16 for other reasons as well, including not shooting the 3-pointer very well. 

Even with a healthy Huff early in the season, the Lovables got destroyed by Michigan.

Meanwhile, Iowa State lost Justin Jefferson in its first NCAA game and soldiered on without complaint — though the Cyclones ultimately fell short of reaching the Elite Eight. 

So if you want to say injuries were the reason both teams bowed out before they should have, go for it. 

I’m saying both groups still had plenty of folks; they just reacted to the adversity differently. 

ANYWAY, IT’S fair to wonder if the past two years — where the Zags failed to reach the second weekend — are a two-year blip or the start of a trend.  

Granted, most teams would kill to play in 27 consecutive NCAA tournaments, as the Zags have. 

A few years ago, pre-NIL, the Zags had an advantage in that they seemed to keep their players longer than other schools, where kids leave as soon as they can — often after their freshman season — so they can (hopefully) make some money. 

During that stretch, the Zags made the national title game in 2017 and 2021. 

In 2017, that was the Zags’ best chance for a championship, but they lost to a rather ordinary (for that era) North Carolina squad. (The Tar Heels wish they were that good now.)

In 2021, there was no shame for being the second-best team in college basketball — Baylor was just a little bit better.

In the current college basketball landscape, many kids can make more money by staying — either at their school or at another school. That means more older talent at the other schools, which cut into the Zags’ advantage. 

But I also think that at least as long as Mark Few is coach, and the Zags continue to bring in the talent they have for year after year after year after year after year ... they will always be in the national title conversation. 

No matter the landscape. 

SWITCHING TO baseball (if you can) ... 

It might be easier for the Mariners to finally reach their first World Series than for their fans to figure out how to watch their games. 

How much fun has it been the past few days, trying to figure out how to watch your favorite major league baseball team? 

Folks we heard from used a word other than “fun.” 

For those who simply think the Dodgers will three-peat because they spend the most money, remember the Blue Jays had L.A. beaten in the World Series but couldn't finish the job, so Miguel Rojas — who is not one of the Dodgers’ deferred-salary darlings, just a journeyman infielder — and Will Smith stepped up in clutch moments. 

And if Seattle had been able to finish off Toronto after leading 2-0 and 3-2 in the ALCS, it would have been the Mariners against the Mighty Dodgers in the Fall Classic. 

Which, if it happens this year, you should be able to find your local FOX station on the dial. 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 1205, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.