Grip on Sports: The new look doesn’t change what’s contained within

A GRIP ON SPORTS • You know how the Oregon Ducks have a “new look” just about every football game? Or how, when NFL teams play on Thursday nights, they throw on a different uniform to spice things up? Change is inevitable, right? So the new format here at the S-R is not surprising. Read on.

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• Let’s be clear. The changes are cosmetic, not in content, though there is more to be found. This feature may look different. Heck, the whole website looks different. But if you liked what you’ve been getting from this column the past five years, it isn’t really different.

(The opposite of that is true as well. If you’ve hated what you’ve been getting here, then you will still hate it, no matter what new color of lipstick the pig is using.)

The S-R’s sports website looks different because it needed to look different. It was time to put a greater emphasis on local stories of interest to folks.

There will always be seven stories at the top of the page. They are new. This column will show up there every morning.

But as the day rolls on, and new stories of interest appear, it will move down the list. Finally, it will drop off all together.

That’s when you’ll have to scroll down to find it. Hopefully there will be a Grip on Sports label some day, where you can find that day’s column and the most recent ones.

Right now we will include it in the Columnists section, which is lower down the page.

That’s your Cliff’s Notes version of what’s going on here. Got it? There will be a quiz later.

• I made a concentrated effort to watch the Cougars’ game at USC last night but just couldn’t stay focused. Sort of like WSU’s transition defense.

How many times do you have to get beat down the court for a layup or a dunk before you get ticked off and sprint? Asking for me, actually, not a friend. You can be the worst athlete in America and still run back on defense, right?

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Gonzaga: So, was the Zags’ loss to BYU a good thing or a bad thing? (Whenever I write something like that, I think of Glinda quizzing Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz.” Sorry, but this representative of the Lollipop Guild has watched that movie a hundred times.) Jim Meehan tries to answer that unanswerable question today. … Nigel Williams-Goss is a semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy. He also was on my award ballots this week. … BYU coach Dave Rose is asking the same question in relationship to his team. … The Gonzaga women are also favored to win the WCC tournament in Las Vegas.

WSU: Before we get to the basketball items for the day, let’s check in with Jacob Thorpe concerning the NFL combine in Indianapolis. Jacob teamed with Jim Allen to examine the local players who will be in attendance. … WSU yesterday released the report on the investigation into the student conduct board. Though some flaws were pointed out, the investigators didn’t find any evidence of racial bias. Chad Sokol has the story. … Back to basketball, USC needed to win. The Trojans did, easily, handing Washington State another lopsided loss, 87-64. … The WSU women will open Pac-12 tournament play today at Key Arena with the seventh seed, matching their best ever. That’s pretty remarkable considering the injuries they have suffered. … Around the conference yesterday, UCLA had little trouble with a Markelle Fultz-less Washington team, winning 98-66. … The Bruins, who are the trendy Pac-12 pick these days, are trying to catch Oregon and Arizona before the tournament. It isn’t going to happen. … Utah and California are battling for the fourth spot in the standings, which include a huge gap between the top three and everyone else. … On the football side of things, Washington poached an assistant coach from Boise State’s staff and Oregon State is deep into spring practice. … UCLA coach Jim Mora is climbing a mountain. Literally, not figuratively.

EWU: The next road trip the Eagles take could either last about 10 days or it could last a lot longer. It all depends on how Eastern does. That’s the thrust of Jim Allen’s story today. … Both the Eagles and the Vandals will face Northern Arizona and Southern Utah this final weekend. … North Dakota just needs a couple wins against the Big Sky’s lower end to clinch the top seed and the regular season title. … Northern Colorado, Montana State and Idaho State hope to build momentum heading into the tournament.

Idaho: The Vandals released their 2017 football schedule yesterday.

Preps: The Washington state basketball tournaments began Wednesday from Tacoma to Spokane. Greg Lee is on the other side of the state and he has this preview of today’s games featuring 4A powers Central Valley – on the girls side – and Gonzaga Prep – on the boys. … Over at the Arena, the B tournaments were in action, with the 2B boys covered by Jim Allen and Tyler Tjomsland (with photos), the 2B girls by Kevin Dudley, the 1B girls by Steve Christilaw and Jesse Tinsley (with photos) and the 1B boys by Mike Vlahovich. … East Valley’s girls fell in a 2A loser-out game in Yakima. … There have been rumblings of the state legislature getting involved with high school athletics in Washington. It is already happening in Utah.

Mariners: Break up the M’s. They just keep winning. Wednesday, it was 7-4 over the Indians behind Drew Smyly. … Jerry Dipoto made another trade yesterday to add pitching. … The M’s want to get better on the basepaths.

Seahawks: John Schneider talked with the media yesterday at the combine and he admitted his reaction to the young nature of the Hawks’ offensive line last year was pretty similar to every fans’ reaction. … Former Hawk assistant Dan Quinn also talked about the Super Bowl.

Sounders: The Portland Timbers starting lineup should be pretty good.

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• We have a surprise for you. The next couple afternoons I’m making an appearance on the radio, filling in for my friend Dennis Patchin on 700 ESPN, which is also broadcast on 105.3 FM. I’ll join Rick Lukens for two hours today, starting at 3 p.m. You can listen here if you like. I’ll try not to misspeak too often. Until then …