A GRIP ON SPORTS • It's a done deal. Vernon Adams Jr. has announced his decision. He will graduate from Eastern Washington University  in June and transfer to Oregon the day after. So what's the problem? Read on.

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• Really, I mean that. Think about this. Just before Adams was approached about taking his talents to Eugene, there were a couple of head coaching openings in the West. Colorado State and Oregon State were looking to make hires. Guess who was probably those schools' No. 1 choice if they were going to dip into the FCS ranks? If they were smart, it was Beau Baldwin, Eastern Washington's coach. Does he have a contract with Eastern? Sure he does. He has a real long one now, an extension he signed recently. But would that stop him from leaving Eastern tomorrow if, say, Washington came a calling with a $5.5 million a year offer to be the head man in Montlake? I'm guessing not. Same with athletic director Bill Chaves. If Baylor called tomorrow, offered to quadruple his salary and make him its athletic director, don't you think he would listen? Nothing against either man. They are fine gentlemen who are easy to like. They do their jobs well. Really well. But Eastern isn't Washington or Baylor or Oregon. When a coach or administrator leaves after excelling for many years, taking what is considered a better job, we all say dang it, express the hope they would stay but wish them the best when they don't. It's expected anyone would make the best decision for their career. So why should Vernon Adams be treated differently? Because he's a student/athlete? Really? What is the expressed purpose of going to college? If you say to get your degree, you're missing the point. Yes, a degree is a goal – and Adams will have to get his if he wants to move on – but growing as a person, learning, maturing, preparing for the rest of your life and career should be at the center of the discussion. If any student has done that, then their college has served them well. So simply said, Eastern has served Adams well. He's better prepared for his life today than he was when he stepped on campus nearly four years ago. But he wants to be as well prepared as he can be in his chosen career field. He sees a chance to get a masters degree. Though it may actually be in football, and not some academic pursuit. But that's the highly competitive professional field he hopes to crack when his college days are finished. Maybe it won't work out for him. Not all decisions do. (That's part of the learning process as well, isn't it?) He may not be able to wrest the starting quarterback position at Nike U. away from one of the other highly sought-after QBs already on campus. That, in itself, should tell Adams he's not capable of playing in the NFL at that point in his life. Then he will have to alter his plan. But what if it does work out and he shows the ability to step up and play at the level Oregon sees day in and day out? Our more doors open to him? Sure. It would be hard to argue that such a result would hurt his chances professionally. So let Adams go. Let him take a chance, see what the future holds, let him try and either succeed or fail. Isn't that also part of the college experience?

• If you've read this space any time over the past decade, you would know I've always been an advocate of giving college athletes as much freedom as possible. The NCAA has tried to loosen the reins a bit over that stretch, with some unintended consequences showing up here and there. The organization will probably be adjusting the rules again in the near future, maybe even the graduate-degree rule that allows Adams to play right away. But let's hope it doesn't decide to tighten the screws, because every time it does, some young man or woman gets, well, you know. If Adams' case seems, on the surface, to be a distortion of a well-meaning rule, that's just too bad. For every one of these high-profile changes, there are two or three under-the-radar switches that have turned out well for all parties. And allowed athletes, who have fulfilled their obligations academically, to make a decision with some personal freedom. How is that bad?

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• WSU: Jacob Thorpe took some time yesterday to look back at the Oregon debacle. If you didn't watch – I did – then you may be wondering what happened. No matter what, it wasn't pretty. ... Jacob also has a morning post with links. ... ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog has a look back at turnovers and how each North Division school's defense handled them. WSU wasn't very good.

• Gonzaga: The Zags are no longer No. 2 in the nation. In one poll. The Associated Press poll dropped them to No. 3, though this voter has them even lower. ... BYU has given basketball coach Dave Rose an extension. Guess he didn't have to win the WCC title to be a winner. ... Stewart Mandel thinks GU is the team than can bring down Kentucky. ... Bud Withers has a feature on Domantas Sabonis.

• EWU: Jim Allen has been all over the Adams situation since the beginning. He had a couple of quick posts yesterday when Adams made his decision, then followed up with this news story, a morning post and a look at the quarterback position at Eastern for next season. ... John Blanchette weighed in on Adams and Oregon and the NCAA rule. ... There are also stories and columns in the Oregon papers and elsewhere as well. ... Jim spent some time on basketball too, with this story on Tyler Harvey and his injured leg. ... Drew Brandon was once again the Big Sky player of the week.

• Preps: There were some playoff basketball games played last night. We have a roundup.

• Chiefs: Nothing from Spokane but we can pass along a WHL notebook from Everett.

• Seahawks: The Hawks made Kris Richard's hiring official yesterday as well as making other coaching hires. A couple intriguing moves: Lofa Tatupu returns to Seattle as a coach and Pete Carroll has added another of his sons to the staff. ... The Hawks also signed some free agents yesterday. And they have a few to worry about. ... It doesn't look as if Richard Sherman is going to need surgery after all.

• Mariners: Spring training is inching closer, as is the M's arbitration hearing with Tom Wilhelmsen. ... Can Logan Morrison be an everyday first baseman?

• Sounders: Osvaldo Alonso's groin surgery seemingly went well but he will miss six-to-eight weeks, which means he will probably be out of the first couple of MLS matches. ... A couple of Sounders talked after their workout yesterday.

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• Sorry this is a bit late today. It took me a while to pull my thoughts together on Vernon Adams. Some mornings it's just not all that easy. As a reward for sticking around, I will pass along this Tiger Woods column from Dave Boling. Until later ...

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