Summer is upon us in a few ways

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Welcome to summer, albeit a couple weeks early. Sunshine, highs in the 80s and a dearth of stories to pass along. Read on.

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• Another thing that happens this time of year? The sun begins streaming in the windows well before 5 a.m., making it tough to finish off a night’s sleep with any satisfaction. All that means is my search for stories to link begins a bit earlier, as does breakfast. Today, neither was too satisfying. Thank goodness the M’s won. And the Hawks have a handful of outspoken players. Without that, today might have been a total bust.

• For your enjoymen t – and enlightenment – I bring you a couple of interesting thoughts on the NCAA’s proposed changes in the shot clock. I agree with both of these articles, mainly because I love that college basketball is different and the changes won’t make it better .

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• WSU: The Cougars aren’t anyone’s idea of a Pac-12 favorite going into next college basketball season.

• Gonzaga: Former GU catcher Mike Redmond is no longer the manager of the Florida Marlins.

• CCS: The CCS track teams have been the gold standard for Northwest junior colleges for a long time. Now Lane College wants to assume that mantle.

• Seahawks: No, really. Bruce Irvin was misinterpreted . He wants to be in Seattle. Yep, that’s Pete Carroll’s take and he’s sticking to it.

• Mariners: Want to know the two worst words an athlete can tell his or her coach during a competition? “I thought.” Thinking only gets in the way of doing. At least in Brad Miller’s case . … James Paxton must not have thought too much yesterday, as his strong eight innings of work helped the M’s to a 5-0 win over the Red Sox and a series split. … Now, this is funny . … Felix Hernandez will be fine for his next start .

• Sounders: The MLS’ Western Conference standings are pretty interesting.

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• And if you are wondering what I had for breakfast today, I’ll spill the contents. A banana, a hard-boiled egg, some cottage cheese and some celery. I’m hoping if you see me at a Washington State football game in the fall, you won’t recognize me. Until later …