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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Snow? C’mon man, I thought we were done with that

In a Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 photo, a snow sculpture of Olaf from the Disney movie, "Frozen" and a replica of the family cat in the background draws lots of attention from passerbys in High Point, N.C.. The snow creations were created by Frank Martinez in his front yard after a winter storm left several inches of snow in the High Point area. (Laura Greene / The High Point Enterprise)
In a Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015 photo, a snow sculpture of Olaf from the Disney movie, "Frozen" and a replica of the family cat in the background draws lots of attention from passerbys in High Point, N.C.. The snow creations were created by Frank Martinez in his front yard after a winter storm left several inches of snow in the High Point area. (Laura Greene / The High Point Enterprise)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • After a bunch of 50-degree days, we wake up this morning to snow on the ground? If I wanted to live in Denver, I would move there. Take care of it, will you. Read on.

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• OK, so it snowed last night. We shouldn't get our pants in a bunch about it. After all, high school spring sports began around here yesterday, so a little snow is to be expected. It's how the system works. Nice weather until the baseball and track and tennis teams need to get outside and get ready for their seasons. Then – boom. Snow. Hail. Wind. Rain. Heck, frogs might just start falling before the first pitch of the softball season. It's just the way it is.

• If you love tennis, as I used to, then this story about major championships is worth reading.

•••

• WSU: Not a lot going on in Cougville, but Jacob Thorpe did pass along the news yesterday WSU signed another defensive back from the South to bolster its secondary.

• Gonzaga: The Zags' loss to BYU cost them a handful of spots in both major polls, as they fell to seventh overall – and a lot lower on this person's ballot. ... A GU freshman was the WCC's player of the week in baseball.

• EWU: "The award for the most stories on this Tuesday goes to ... the Eastern Eagles!" Yep, there are stories galore about Eastern today, starting with Jim Allen's piece on the Big Sky basketball race (spoiler alert: it's not good for EWU). Jim also has a blog post on the same subject. ... Staying with basketball, ESPN's Jeff Goodman profiles Tyler Harvey, the nation's leading scorer and mentions Harvey as one of 12 players to watch at conference tournaments. ... And in the story-that-everyone-has-to-write category, George Schroeder of USA Today has this piece on Vernon Adams.

• Idaho: Thanks to some hard work on academics, the NCAA has lifted its limits on postseason play and practice time leveled against the UI football team. Now it just has to win six games to go to a bowl. Sean Kramer has the story.

• Whitworth: The Pirates found out where they are heading for the NCAA playoffs: Atlanta. Tom Clouse has more in this story.

• Chiefs: Nothing from Spokane, but we do have some WHL news from Everett.

• Seahawks: The Hawks and every other NFL team found out they will have $143 million to work with for next year's salary cap. Seattle used a little of that money to sign a linebacker while the 49ers are earmarking some of it toward a rugby star. ... The Lions aren't using the franchise designation on their best defensive lineman. The Hawks didn't use it on anyone. ... Warren Moon had some interesting things to say about Marshawn Lynch.

• Mariners: Rain hit Arizona yesterday – something the area always needs – and that was disruptive of the M's workout schedule. An intrasquad game was cancelled and many pitchers and hitters worked inside. ... J.A. Happ is working on a changeup while James Paxton finally got on a mound. ... Yes, there will be a platoon in leftfield, even if Lloyd McClendon is loath to use that word. Dustin Ackley knows.

• Sounders: There is still a pretty good chance the MLS season will be disrupted by a labor action.

•••

• One nice thing about early March snow: You don't have to shovel it. It will be above freezing later today and into the mid-50s by Thursday. Until later ...



Vince Grippi
Vince Grippi is a freelance local sports blogger for spokesman.com. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.

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