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Hey, it’s the Easter bunny. And he has links

A GRIP ON SPORTS

Happy Easter. Read on.

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• Because it is Easter Sunday, we’re not going to delve into a subject in any depth. I know you have more important things to do. So enjoy the links, enjoy the day and we’ll see you Monday.

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• WSU: The football team held its first official scrimmage of the spring (pictured) – they kept stats and everything – but let’s don’t fool ourselves. The Cougars scrimmage nearly every practice. But this one was for real, or as real as a scrimmage can get, so there’s that. Jacob Thorpe was there and has this story and blog post . He also has a morning post with links. … Speaking of scrimmages, or as they are known at the end of spring practice, “The Spring Game,” Utah held its yesterday and a former WSU running back commit had a great day . Wouldn’t it be ironic if, for the second consecutive year, a former WSU commit is among the best in the Pac-12 at running back? Well, ironic is probably not the right word. … The Cougars were swept at Oregon in baseball. … Mark Emmert decided to respond to a John McGrath column in the News Tribune.

• Gonzaga: Lost in the hoo-ha about the WSU scheduling, the same story in the Gonzaga Bulletin outlined a tougher-than-last-season non-conference schedule . The highlight? GU will be playing at Pauley Pavilion. … The Zags swept Portland in baseball.

• EWU: The Eagles scrimmaged on the red turf yesterday and Jim Allen has the story .

• Idaho: Speaking of scrimmages, the Vandals held their third yesterday. It wasn’t as long as the other two but still contained quite a few plays. Josh Wright has the story as well as video of Paul Petrino’s assessment of how it went.

• Chiefs: Portland evened the WHL’s Western Conference final with a win at Kelowna.

• Shock: The Mariners have suffered some awful losses. So have the Cougars. But Saturday night’s 52-50 home loss to Cleveland has to be a deflating as they come for the Shock. Not only had they scored in the final minute to take a lead, Spokane had played decent defense on the Gladiator’s last drive – until the final play. And, with the clock problems in the final minute – it didn’t seem to start on time on more than one play – we’ll never even know if that final play should have occurred. Well, Jim Meehan has the gory details in his game story and blog post . Dan Pelle adds the photographs from the game.

• Preps: The Mead Panther boys came this close to once again winning the Pasco Invite. Greg Lee has the story .

• Mariners: It’s now five consecutive losses , but who’s counting? Oh yeah, every single Mariner fan. As the streak lengthens, visions of another summer lost in mediocrity – or worse – begin to take shape. Hope is a boat with a lot of rust right now. The fifth consecutive loss came courtesy of an impotent offense last night – two hits for Seattle – and 7-0 at the hands of the Marlins. At least there were no replay arguments . … Brandon Maurer will start for the M’s today a bit different person than he was last season.

• Sounders: When the opponent, Chivas USA , is called for a Sounders’ record 26 fouls – including a red card – then it seems in poor taste to complain about a bad call. But if it weren’t for an unfortunate early penalty kick erroneously awarded Chivas, the Sounders may have had a shutout. As it was, the call allowed the Sounders to rally once again . Obafemi Martins’ late goal helped Seattle to a 2-1 victory and kept them undefeated on the road this season . … Speaking of this season, the arch-rival Portland Timbers have yet to win a game .

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• And that’s that. Forget everything else, spend this Sunday basking in the glory of a late April Easter. They always have nicer weather. Until tomorrow …

* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "SportsLink." Read all stories from this blog