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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Grip on Sports: We won’t make you hunt for news on this Easter Sunday

Villanova’s Omari Spellman  blocks a shot by Kansas’ Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk during the second half  Saturday. (Chris Steppig / AP)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s Easter Sunday and all that entails, so we won’t force you to sit here all that long. Call it our Easter basket for you. Read on.

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• Not only is it Easter, it is also April Fool’s Day, so we’re a bit torn. We don’t want to take too much of your time, because it is always precious on holidays, bt being that we are the Inland Northwest’s premier fool, we should be removing all doubt, as my dad used to say.

You know the quote I’m referring to, right? Every dad has used it as some point. It’s about keeping quiet and allowing people to think you are a fool or opening your mouth and removing the doubt.

Today, we will let you think we’re foolish. You’ll have to wait for some other day for any certainty in that regard.

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WSU: The Cougars practiced that football sport yesterday, using the nice spring weather for another spring practice. Theo Lawson was there and he noticed something: Trey Tinsley is playing the quarterback position pretty well. Theo talked with Tinsley and Nick Begg and Mike Leach. … June Daugherty has retired as Washington State’s basketball coach following some health problems this winter. She wrote an open letter to Cougar fans. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the cost of keeping talented assistant football coaches just keeps going up. Which is a problem. … USC held a scrimmage yesterday. … Washington and Colorado are at different ends of the spring schedule. … Will Arizona feel like Deandre Ayton’s year was wasted? 

Gonzaga: When the WCC announced its recent accommodations for the Zags, we hypothesized the move to the Mountain West wouldn’t happen. Now the MWC commissioner agrees. Jim Meehan has a story and so does the San Diego Union-Tribune, where this story began. … If you watched Central Valley High win a prestigious tournament in New York yesterday (see below) on ESPNU and then moved over to ESPN, you saw a Gonzaga signee help Montverde Academy win on the boys’ side. Jim has a story about Filip Petrusev’s performance. … A 12-inning baseball victory gave Saint Mary’s a 2-1 series win over the Zags. … Around the WCC, San Diego is still looking for a coach.

EWU: Eastern opens spring football practice Tuesday. Jim Allen previews the start by the numbers.

CCS: The Sasquatch baseball team is on a roll.

Chiefs: Spokane stayed alive in its first-round WHL playoff series with Portland thanks to Kailer Yamamoto. The star forward scored in overtime to give Spokane a 5-4 victory over the host Winterhawks. The series returns to the Arena tomorrow night. … Everett shut out Seattle to finish out that series.

Preps: The big news yesterday was Central Valley’s 66-61 win over Tennessee’s Hamilton Heights, giving the Bears a perfect season and the Geico Nationals tournament title. Dave Nichols has the story. … There is also other coverage. … Around the area on the beautiful Saturday, there were competitions in baseball, soccer and softball. … Nike’s headquarters are in Oregon. So it may not come as a surprise how much the company values its high school contracts in the state.

Mariners: James Paxton got rocked in the first inning by a guy who should probably still be in an M’s uniform, the offense came up a run short and, to add injury to an insulting day, Nelson Cruz slipped in the dugout and “sprained” his ankle. Baseball can be a cruel game. … The injury is the subject of Gene Warnick’s Out of Right Field piece

Seahawks: Bob Condotta has some thoughts on the NFL’s meetings. 

Sounders: Seattle has had more players ejected in MLS play than it has goals. Being it hasn’t scored yet, that isn’t too impressive. The Sounders lost 1-0 to Montreal yesterday. 

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• The Final Four can oftentimes feel a bit anti-climatic. Yesterday’s two national semifinals did in a way, with Loyola Chicago’s Cinderella run ending against Michigan and my pick to win, Villanova, routing Kansas via some exceptional early long-range shooting. Let’s hope Monday night’s title game is a bit more dramatic. Until later …