A GRIP ON SPORTS • Around the sporting world, you will find a lot of nice words said about one trait: consistency. And rightfully so. We have a great example in our backyard. Read on.

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• The Gonzaga Bulldogs are headed to their 17th consecutive NCAA tournament. Think about that. There are high school seniors in Spokane who have been able to watch the local basketball school every March in the best tournament of them all. Heck, if you can remember a time Gonzaga wasn't in the tournament, you are officially old – and should get some sort of discount at IHOP. Say what you will about Gonzaga's path to the NCAAs each season – and they are many around here who are quick to disparage the WCC – but no one else in the conference has been able to do that. Or in this state for that matter. Gonzaga is so consistent Selection Sunday is just another day to get yard work done or play golf. We know in September the Zags will be in, it's just a matter of their seeding. But it's not easy being the top Bulldog. Playing at a high level week in and week out is nearly impossible. So is doing it year in and year out. Yet Mark Few's Zags are able to do it. So what if they don't always meet our expectations in the tournament itself. If they did, Gonzaga would be the second coming of John Wooden's UCLA, and no is doing that again. As easy as it is to expect an NCAA berth – and these days, a high seed – it is just as easy to dismiss it because of what happens next. Sorry, but we're not into taking the easy path here. The NCAA tournament is a whole different animal. It's populated by underdogs the first week and dominated by the elite of the elite on championship Monday. Yes, a Butler can build a team that goes to the title game in back-to-back years, but the winner is usually one of the nation's basketball glitterati. Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, Connecticut, these are the schools that show up on the podium seemingly each season. Schools with a lot of money and a tradition unlike any other. But even the best of the best have fallen on hard times now and again. Heck, Kentucky didn't play in the tournament in 2013 – or 2009. Arizona, currently the gold standard big school on the West Coast, missed out in 2010 and 2012. Yes, Duke and Kansas seem to be in every year, but Florida, which won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007, wasn't in the tournament in 2008 or 2009. A school with unlimited resources, a winning resume and a coach who is recognizable throughout the basketball world misses back-to-back tournaments? How does that happen? It's simple. No matter what league you play in, no matter how many advantages you have, it isn't easy to be good every freakin' year. That's what Few and the Zags have been able to do. Yes, we understand the WCC isn't the Big Ten or the SEC, but though there are a bunch of conferences around the nation on par with Gonzaga's, there isn’t a program who has done what GU has. Heck, only North Carolina (under Dean Smith and others), Kansas, Duke, Indiana (under Bobby Knight and his successor) and, when it earns a berth this season, Michigan State, have ever had longer consecutive NCAA streaks. What do those schools have that Gonzaga doesn't? Got a couple hours, because it would take that long to enumerate them. But those programs in those years also share one trait with Few's GU teams. Yep, you guessed it. Consistency. 

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• WSU: The Cougars' goal this week isn't to win an NCAA berth. At least not at first. Their goal is to win a Pac-12 tournament game, something they haven't done since Tony Bennett was coach – and I was living in Pullman. Jacob Thorpe has an advance of the tournament and today's early afternoon game against California. ... Jacob also had some football recruiting news yesterday. ... The Pac-12 is going to have to deal with a bump in each school's expenses soon. ... The returning running backs in the North are a varied lot. ... Finally, I pass along this column from Eugene with a recommendation you read it but without comment. Other than to say student tickets should be free or athletic fees should disappear. There shouldn't be both at any college.

• Gonzaga: The GU team that showed up last night in the 91-75 win over BYU had a lot in common with the GU team that took the floor in the non-conference portion of the year. You know, the GU team that defeated St. John's in New York, or Georgia or UCLA or SMU. The Zags were aggressive, physical and determined. They played harder than the Cougars, something that couldn't be said of the last matchup between the schools. John Blanchette catches the essence of that in this column, while Jim Meehan takes care of the nuts and bolts in this game story and blog post. He'll also be back with a post today. ... Colin Mulvany has the photo report. ... Bud Withers has a column in the Times. ... The BYU side of things is covered by the two Salt Lake City-based newspapers. Will BYU get an NCAA berth? ... The Cougar women, who upset Gonzaga on Tuesday, claimed the conference's automatic NCAA berth with a win over USF. ... The Gonzaga baseball team won a game at an SEC school for the first time ever. ... We can't leave without passing along the news of a special feature we have in the Review the next week. John has the particulars.

• EWU: Eastern Washington coach Jim Hayford takes his Eagles into Missoula this week with an award in tow. Hayford was named Big Sky co-coach of the year, sharing the award with Sacramento State's Brian Katz. As the Hornets finished a game behind co-champion Eastern, we'll posit Hayford actually won the award by a game. But getting to this point hasn't been easy. Jim Allen details the Eagles' rise under Hayford in this story. ... The tournament will be in Missoula because the Griz earned a tie-breaker edge over EWU. ... The Eastern women are also headed to Missoula. Tom Clouse has an advance of their Big Sky tourney.

• Chiefs: Spokane is inching closer to clinching a postseason berth, moving ever so close last night with a 4-3 win in Vancouver. ... Everett and Portland both will be in the postseason. They meet tonight with a lot on the line.

• Shock: This could be considered a rebuilding year for the Shock, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Tom has a story on what Spokane, preparing for the start of the Arena season, has to replace.

• Seahawks: If you thought the Hawks would make a big splash in free agency Tuesday, you would have been half-wrong. They made a big splash, but it wasn't with a free-agent signing. It was with a trade. The deal for tight end Jimmy Graham shocked the NFL yesterday and led to a lot of analysis of what is going on here. The simple answer: The Hawks feel if they stand still they are falling behind. And they don't want to fall behind. John Schneider and Pete Carroll had a lot to say after the trade was made official, thankfully. ... There were other changes made yesterday, though nothing so splashy. However, Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith is gone, headed to the Raiders.

• Mariners: Felix Hernandez made his debut yesterday and was nearly perfect. The same couldn't be said of the pitchers who followed, however, as the M's lost to the Rockies, 9-3. ... Felix was happy with his outing, though he seemed to lobby to stay on the mound a little longer. ... Though he and Clayton Kershaw are on the same schedule, they won't matchup when their teams meet Sunday. ... Dustin Ackley had a big day yesterday, collecting three hits.

• Sounders: Brad Evans has switched positions this season and seems to be doing fine. In fact, he's everything the Sounders seem to want in a centerback. ... A 3-0 win must not have had too many flaws, right? Wrong.

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• I could have spent another hour on breaking down the Hawks big move yesterday but it seems odd to be talking pro football as March Madness looms. So we went another direction. There will be plenty of time to figure out how Jimmy Graham will fit in. Until later ...

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