Grip on Sports: There is a lot to like about winter and winter sports, but snow messing with schedules isn’t one of them

A GRIP ON SPORTS • As the seasons wear on (us), there are a few thoughts that come to mind about winter. We decided to share them, without some of the adjectives we would like to use. Read on.

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• Is it true if there were no skiers or snowboarders in an area, it would never snow? Seemed that way when I was growing up in the L.A. area, but a 12-year-old’s logic may have been a bit faulty.

Fifty years later I wish it were true, though, because election day yesterday would have featured an initiative to run such folks out of town – and it would have won handily.

Those of us with no access to a snowblower this week – it’s a long, sad story revolving round a bad decision made in November – would have been 100 percent behind exiling such folks north to Canada.

Who cares if the good-old U.S. of A never wins another Winter Olympics medal? That’s a decent tradeoff for never having to apply ice to my lower back again.

• No snow, no snow days. Easy. And no high school sports postponements.

Let’s take a moment to tip a bit of our coffee out into the street, in memory of those high school administrators who have lost their personal lives to the snow this week.

Who do you think scrambles at the last minute and prepares facilities for the hundreds of games and matches that need to be rescheduled. There is no algorithm for this stuff. Figuring out the new schedule is all done by hand – and it takes time. Then there is the prep work at the sites, as well as making sure all the people behind the scenes can be there.

The more snow that falls, the harder it gets.

So if you want to join our campaign to shoo north those folks who cause it to snow, just dial 612 on your phone. Operators are standing by.

• What was it Omar said? If you come for the king, you best not miss? Louisville missed a lot down the stretch last night – on both ends – and because of it King K and his Duke minions pulled out an amazing comeback win.

Down more than 20 with less than 10 minutes left and the Dukies won? How does that happen?

Part of it is talent. Duke may have more of that than anyone. Part of it is youth. Young players don’t know impossible. Part of it is a lack of discipline. Louisville shot its way to a big lead, making some low-percentage shots. When it came time to let the offense evolve into something a little-more sloth-like, the Cardinals couldn’t. Or wouldn’t.

At least LSU went into Kentucky and upset the fifth-ranked Wildcats last night. That helps Gonzaga in its drive for a No. 1 seed come March.

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Gonzaga: Speaking of the Zags, who knew they have the No. 1 women’s tennis player in all the NCAA? John Blanchette did, and he has a column about Sophie Whittle. … GU also has a huge hole in its bench right now, what with Killian Tillie suffering another injury. Jim Meehan delves into the injury (one I suffered while I was a younger man roaming the streets of Baltimore with Stringer and the guys) and its ramifications in this story. … A player Gonzaga would like to have on its bench in the near-future has the Zags in his top 10. Jim has more on that. … Around the WCC, BYU has a new starting lineup as it heads to San Diego.

WSU: If Mike Leach can pull himself away from his syllabus planning – Kip Hill tells us his class seems to be moving forward – he will be running spring football drills from March 21 to April 23. Yep, the schedule for spring practices is out. Theo Lawson has more in this story. … Theo also covers another award Robert Franks picked up and talks with Larry Weir for the latest Press Box pod. Larry and I are talking later today. I wonder if snow will be a topic? Or maybe “The Wire?” … Where does Robert Franks rank as a one-man show in Pac-12 history? … Elsewhere in the conference, Arizona’s struggles are made up of many things. … Oregon State has a chance to sweep Oregon for the first time in years. … Colorado is looking forward to hosting Arizona State. … Utah has to put the comeback win at UCLA in the rearview mirror. … Kevin Porter Jr. isn’t having the season he wanted at USC. … In football, Washington is attractive to some players even without a scholarship attached. … Arizona State has lost some players recently even though a scholarship was attached.

EWU: Everyone could see, when he was leading Eastern to the NCAA Tournament, Tyler Harvey could score. Now he’s doing more in the G-League. We have a story on his season to pass along. (By the way, the picture that accompanies this story? Look at where Harvey’s hand is on the ball. I know this is an old guy complaining, but if that was called a carry when you were playing, raise your hand. No wonder it is so hard to guard dribble penetration these days.) … Aaron Best is losing another assistant coach. Ryan Collingwood has a story covering multiple reports offensive coordinator Bodie Miller is headed to North Texas State. … Around the Big Sky, it isn’t easy to win the conference title in consecutive years. … Next year’s schedule is out and it is good news for Northern Colorado. … Northern Arizona will have to try to snap its losing streak on the road.

Chiefs: The long homestand continues, as does the winning streak. Kevin Dudley was in the Arena last night to document Spokane’s 4-3 overtime win over Red Deer.

Preps: Dave Nichols has been trying to keep up with all the schedule changes, but if he missed one or two, don’t be too upset. It’s not easy for him either. … There were some basketball games played last night. We have roundups of girls and boys action.

Mariners: Yes, spring training is underway. And Felix Hernandez is ready for his final year – probably – in a Mariner uniform.

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• I’m thinking of having one of those elevator seats installed in the house. Yogi needs it to get up and down the stairs. Too much for a dog? Until later …