Sports

Julius Halaifonua, a 7-foot, 290-pound center, is on Gonzaga’s radar in the 2025 recruiting class.

The field for the 12-team College Football Playoff will comprise five conference champions and seven at-large selections after the university presidents who oversee the CFP voted unanimously Tuesday to tweak the format.

BILLINGS – Amid concerns of economic impacts and with problems mainly focused in northeastern Montana, the Fish and Wildlife Commission voted against delaying the nonresident upland game bird hunting season by two weeks this fall.

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We sat down this morning and realized we were suffering from an illness there usually is no coming back from. Writer’s block. Facing a blank slate that won’t fill itself. What to do? Follow Hemingway’s advice. No, not to have a stiff drink. To just start typing. And see what happens.

As the factory workers on the assembly line utter in regard to the mundane grind of earning a routine paycheck: “Another day, another dollar.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – William Byron has won the Daytona 500.

PEORIA, Ariz. – “Whosoever is delighted in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.”

The Spokane Velocity’s roster is beginning to take shape as its inaugural season draws closer.

SEATTLE – The Seattle Kraken forced overtime but surrendered the extra point, falling to the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 on Monday afternoon at Climate Pledge Arena.

From staff reports

Guard Ryan Nembhard has never been better for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. That's a big reason why the Gonzaga Bulldogs are back in the NCAA Tournament at-large picture.

Gould is well-versed in the inner-workings of college sports.

Gonzaga continues to move up, ever so slightly, in the eyes of AP Top 25 voters and NCAA Tournament bracket gurus.The Zags weren’t in the field of 68 in bracket projections two weeks ago after falling to Saint Mary’s 64-62 at home. A four-game winning streak has the Zags showing up in an increasing number of brackets and nearing a return to the AP Top 25.

PULLMAN – Washington State no longer needs to imagine being ranked.

A GRIP ON SPORTS • When we were young, kids, there wasn’t a Presidents’ Day. We had Washington’s birthday and Lincoln’s birthday to celebrate. But some time, a long, long time ago, in a Washington D.C., far, far away, the two holidays were shrunk into one. Sort of like what’s happened with ice cream.

RENTON, Wash. – Instead of getting a season preview, the Sounders technical staff were left with more questions Saturday.

SEATTLE – It took a long time for the Kraken to find their footing, and to date they’ve only been able to keep it from mid-December to mid-January. They gave up a lot of points in the standings and are feeling the effects.