A GRIP ON SPORTS • Let’s say it. A hot, dry day at the end of June isn’t conducive to doing a lot outside. Or to a lot of local news stories. Read on.

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• Hoopfest. Ironman. Not only do they test the mettle of every participant (especially the subject of this Jim Allen feature), they also test the depth of local news organizations. So I didn’t expect a lot of new stories around here today and, surprisingly, I was right about something. Heck, Mondays are usually a bit quieter anyway, but throw in a debilitating weekend and on off-day for the Mariners and what do you have? Not much. If Russell Wilson had only said something controversial on his national interview last night, we might have had more. But hoping for Wilson to say something controversial is like hoping for it to snow today. You’re going to come up empty.

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• Gonzaga: Former Gonzaga women’s coach and player, Jennifer Mountain, was named head coach at Pacific University in Oregon. ... Mountain’s last head coaching gig was at Santa Clara, a place in a bit a turmoil recently.

• Indians: Spokane couldn’t keep up with Salem-Keiser on Monday night and lost 7-5.

• Chiefs: No games this time of year for Spokane, just roster moves and transactions.

• Preps: Greg Lee has a youth sports notebook in today’s paper.

• Seahawks: Wilson spoke for about 30 minutes last night on SportsCenter. He didn’t say much, but he did mention $25 million in passing and social media went bonkers. ... Jimmy Graham looked pretty good yesterday in his new Seahawk uniform. ... Michael Bennett is still talking holdout.

• Mariners: An off-day still means there can be news. Just not this one, though the Angels made some. Anyhow, back to the M’s, there is a decision coming up, one we talked about last week. ... Mike Montgomery (pictured) shouldn’t be leaving the rotation any time soon. ... Nelson Cruz is back in the lead as the A.L. All-Star DH. So his bat turns cold and his voting numbers go up? Fans, you’ve got to love them.

• Sounders: Give this to the Sounders: They saw a need at midfield and they went out and made a deal to get one. Erik Friberg, who played in Seattle in 2011, will return to the club in July. He’s been playing in Europe since he went home to Sweden back then. ... One guy the Sounders would love to have is homegrown talent Jordan Morris. But he may never play in the MLS, instead going directly to a top club in Europe. He may be that good. ... Seattle learned the dates of its Champions League matches yesterday.

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• That’s it for this morning. The summer heat seems to be sapping the news sources. That’s OK. It’s starting to really sap me. Time to take a quiet day. And then watch the U.S. Women play their World Cup semifinal against Germany later. Until tomorrow ...

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