A Grip on Sports: The ongoing showers have nothing on the flood of April sports stories, including another sloppy M’s defeat
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Remember when a rain storm was called, well, a rain storm. Not an atmospheric river? Those were the days. Like three years ago. What’s next? An atmospheric aquifer? We don’t want to be around for one of those.
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• The incessant showers that occurred over night, and their description on the local weather reports, got us thinking about what April brings us. Showers, sure. That’s been a given since Ben Franklin wore short pants. But we’re focused on the sports aspect. April is a month of incessant news. And some real droughts.
The NCAA basketball finals pours over us. The beginning of baseball season. NFL draft prep. NBA and NHL stretch runs and then the start of the postseason. The WNBA draft. We could drown in that news alone. But then there is the drips and drabs of transfer portal news – like atmospheric rivers, the transfer portal is something we didn’t hear about just a few years ago, mainly because it didn’t exist – and college coaching changes.
Heck, around here, throw in the earlier start of the Indians’ season – tonight, raindrops willing, is the opener at Avista – and high school sports, and you have even more to worry about. Spring football, from Cheney to Pullman and Moscow, is also in there somewhere. Oops. We almost forgot. There is also the usual flood of Gonzaga players headed to the NBA draft.
Waves and waves of news.
But there are also short times of drought. The few-and-far-between windows when the sun peeks out, the grass dries and we can catch our breath. Before we have to reach for the umbrella once again.
• One April tradition? Frustration with the Mariners.
OK, some years they have started quickly. Not last year. Not this one.
Last season the M’s were a game over .500 at the end of April. Then were awful most of May. It didn’t cost them anything more than, maybe, hosting a wild-card game.
Such a scenario could happen again. Right now, with the Little League nature of their recent play, it doesn’t feel like it. OK, recency bias. But the past couple days, the extra-inning losses in Cleveland and Chicago, seem fraught with mistakes we wouldn’t want to see at the high school level.
Case in point, both defeats could have been avoided, for an inning at least, if the M’s pitchers – Penn Murfee and Matt Brash, respectively – could have executed a simple pick-off play. Monday’s mistake, when Brash had pinch-runner Nick Madrigal dead to rights but made an off-balance, off-line, too-late throw to third, was especially hurtful. And frustrating.
With the 3-2 10-inning loss to the Cubs, the Mariners dropped to 4-7 overall. They are fourth in the American League West. Yes, it’s early. And yes, this group has a bit of a resume to draw upon. Panic isn’t necessary.
But never forget, losses in April are counted exactly the same in the standings as losses in September. They aren’t weighted differently.
• The least surprising piece of news to come out of the Kennel this month? Julian Strawther is headed to the NBA draft. And, unlike last year when he made the same declaration only to return after gathering input, this time it seems as if the 6-foot-7 wing will actually leave.
The junior is as ready as he will ever be for the next step. His draft stock may not be Corey Kispert-high right now, but getting it to that point may be difficult next season. He would have to play at an even higher level than he did down the stretch, when he was not only a legitimate second-scoring option (behind Drew Timme) but was also clutch in crunch time.
His social media posts Monday certainly sounded like a person who won’t be returning, using the past tense to describe his Gonzaga tenure and adding lengthy thank-you wishes to his goodbyes.
Strawther’s departure is just part of a deluge of changes coming the Zags’ way via graduations, transfers and the coaching carousel. The forecast may not be bleak but it is certainly cloudy.
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WSU: Around the Pac-12 and the country in football news, Washington’s transfer linebacker will knock your socks off. … A veteran receiver is trying to set a good example for Oregon State’s newcomers. … There is plenty of competition at Colorado this spring. … USC has added Kliff Kingsbury to its staff. … Arizona State has added a defensive back to its roster. … Thirteen practices in, Arizona decided to cut it short, giving the players a little break. … In basketball news, Oregon is losing another player, Rivaldo Soares, to the portal. Also, the Ducks’ former center is headed to Indiana. … Oregon State has landed a junior college transfer. … Utah has another transfer coming in. … Big news for USC. Boogie Ellis is coming back. … From the women’s game, Stanford’s Hailey Jones led the way among conference players in the WNBA draft, going sixth to Atlanta. … Another Oregon State player is in the portal. … An Arizona guard, who grew up in the Seattle area, was drafted late by the Storm.
Gonzaga: The Strawther news, while not surprising, was still the biggest piece from the Zags on Monday. Theo Lawson has that story and another on graduating senior Rasir Bolton being invited to Portsmouth, Virginia, for the annual pre-draft tournament. … Jim Meehan has a piece on the Bulldogs in the NBA, leading off with the two still playing this season, Domantas Sabonis and Rui Hachimura. … The baseball team’s game at Oregon State was rained out.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, former Montana State coach Danny Sprinkle was introduced at Utah State. His departure from the conference illustrates the problems of being on the lower end of Division I hoops.
Preps: Despite yesterday’s showers, there were still a handful of events, all covered in this roundup.
Indians: If the rain holds off tonight, Dave Nichols will be at Avista for the home opener. To get you prepared, Dave has this column, which rounds up the talent Colorado has put on the roster.
Chiefs: A couple Spokane players are up for major awards. That news leads off the S-R’s latest local briefs column.
Mariners: The latest loss overshadowed something really positive. Trailing by a run heading into the top of the ninth, the M’s needed something big. Jarred Kelenic delivered. His long home run tied the game and led to some of the better smiles you will ever see in a dugout. … Andres Munoz’s injury list stint has a big impact on the bullpen.
Storm: Seattle drafted ninth Monday and was surprised to find Tennessee point guard Jordan Horston still available. She wasn’t for the team drafting 10th.
Seahawks: Dre’Mont Jones thought he might have been included in the Russell Wilson trade but the Broncos said no to Seattle’s request. Instead, he signed with the Hawks as a free agent this offseason. … There might be another quarterback available for the Hawks with the fifth pick. Whether they would want Kentucky’s Will Levis is a good question. … Jalen Carter, the defensive lineman from Georgia with some baggage, will be in town today for job interviews.
Kraken: A vocal group of Seattle supporters showed up in Phoenix for the 4-1 road win over the Coyotes. It was the Kraken’s fifth consecutive victory.
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• Another squall rolled through as we were finishing up. It might be a great day, between the showers, to throw fertilizer on the grass. It couldn’t hurt. Unless it all gets washed away. Until later …