A Grip on Sports: No scorecard this morning but we do have a few notes to pass along

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We realized something today. We haven’t had a real notes column in a while. The kind we used to read as a kid, with a whole bunch of subjects covered in a short space. Well, darn it, it’s about time we had one again.

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• When we were young, Allan Malamud of the L.A. Herald Examiner wrote a almost daily column titled “Notes on a Scorecard.” Wait, who is that, a whole generation (or two) asks?

Watch “White Men Can’t Jump.” He’s the heavyset, curly haired guy on Jeopardy. The rocket scientist. Turns out he was a friend of Ron Shelton, the writer/director of the movie.

See, even print journalists can be “stars.”

• Speaking of Los Angeles, Tiger Woods returns to the scene of his near-fatal accident this weekend. It was just two years ago, after doing some work for the Genesis Open tournament he hosts, Woods suffered extensive injuries in a one-car crash. Now he’s back, not only playing host but competitor as well.

We’ll watch. How about you?

• There are a couple columns today on the Seattle Times website dealing with Russell Wilson, either directly or indirectly. You remember him, right? The former Seahawks’ quarterback? Ring a bell?

Anyhow, Matt Calkins wonders if new Denver coach Sean Payton can really turn around Wilson’s career. And Larry Stone focuses on one play Wilson made – or didn’t make, if that’s your perspective – at the Super Bowl goal line eight years ago and how it changed the franchise’s trajectory.

We wracked our brain and can’t recall if such a thing ever occurred after Ken Griffey Jr. or Alex Rodriguez or any other star left Seattle. Can’t recall. But we’re sure Wilson still has quite a pull on the city.

• We hated roundabouts when they first started to pop up. Now we realize they are so much better than stop signs. We also couldn’t stand the new light bulbs when we were forced to start using them. Now we wonder how we ever lived without them.

The new baseball rules seem to be the roundabouts and light bulbs of this decade. We hate the idea of them. And realize, in the dim recesses of our mind, we’ll come to love them. At least that is our hope.

• Yes, spring training is beginning. Just in time for the weather around here to turn really cold – again – and for snow to blanket the area – again. C’mon spring. It’s early, we know, but it’s also about darn time for you to take over.

• Oregon State is at Washington State tonight. Big game for the Cougars if they want to build on the momentum from defending their way past UW last weekend. Also, it’s a homecoming of sorts for Gonzaga Prep grad Jayden Stevens, who is a freshman reserve for the Beavers.

Just up the road, in Cheney, there is another former G-Prep player coming “home,” even if Liam Lloyd’s family doesn’t live in their former home overlooking Glenrose Prairie anymore. He’ll be with his Northern Arizona teammates as they try to snap Eastern Washington’s 15-game winning streak. Of course, Lloyd’s father, Tommy, has left his GU assistant spot and is now Arizona’s head coach.

• In a year or so, USC and UCLA will be in the Big Ten. Their football teams will play at least two games a season in the Eastern Time Zone. Pretty tough travel.

How do we know? Ohio State decided yesterday to cancel a home-and-home series with Washington, set to begin in 2024. The Buckeyes, it seems, don’t want to have to come out to the West Coast twice in that season.

Let us see if we have this right. USC and UCLA have agreed to enter a conference which will force them to play at least two games every season on the other side of the country. It’s a given. Ohio State, faced with the possibility of having to play one of those two out here in 2024, but only a possibility, decided to avoid any chance their players would have to deal with that cruddy experience. Ya, USC and UCLA players are being treated great.

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WSU: The Oregon State game was on Colton Clark’s mind. So are some other things. He covers all in this notebook, which also serves as a preview of tonight’s game. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college basketball, is the conference the nation’s best for the women? There is a good chance that’s so. … Back to the men, where Oregon can’t really afford any bad losses down the stretch. Too late. The Ducks fell 72-71 in overtime at Washington last night. … Where the heck did Colorado go wrong? … Utah will play big when it tries to get past Arizona for a second time tonight. The Wildcats have been up and down lately. … The nation’s longest home winning streak currently resides in Westwood. UCLA will try to build on it against Stanford. … USC hosts California. … Arizona State has a key section of its schedule ahead. … In football news, Oregon kicked off an Alabama transfer after the player was arrested in Eugene. … There is another NIL collective serving USC.

Gonzaga: It’s time for revenge. Maybe. The Zags head to the L.A. beaches to face Loyola Marymount, trying to avenge their lone conference home defeat. The Lions won’t be an easy out, as Theo Lawson tells us in this preview. Mainly thanks to guard Cam Shelton, Theo’s key matchup. … The women will face the conference school with the current longest winning streak, Pacific, tonight in the Kennel. Jim Allen has a preview and a story on Lisa Fortier being included in a national coach of the year watch list. … Elsewhere in the WCC, the best men’s college players in the Bay Area are led by a Santa Clara transfer. … Yes, BYU has had a few bright spots this season.

EWU: We linked Dan Thompson’s Lloyd story above and do it again here. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, this is Northern Arizona’s final road trip of the regular season. … Montana and Montana State meet Saturday in Bozeman. … In football news, Weber State has promoted an assistant coach.

Preps: It’s time for State wrestling. Madison McCord has a preview of the Mat Classic in today’s paper. He focuses on a quartet of Rogers girls who have the opportunity to win State trophies. … There was 1A District basketball last night at West Valley. Dave Nichols was there and has this coverage of the Deer Park girls and Freeman boys winning titles.

Chiefs: When the last-place team defeats one of the better teams in any sport, the storyline will be simple. The last-place team, in this case Spokane, entering having lost nine consecutive games, had its best game of the year. And the better team? Portland had its worst. Kevin Dudley has the coverage of the Chiefs’ 6-2 victory at the Arena.

Seahawks: Besides the two columns we linked above, the Hawks also lost the longest-serving member of the coaching staff to Tampa. Dave Canales has been with Pete Carroll since their USC days. Could Drew Lock join him in Florida?

Mariners: Paul Sewald has been the centerpiece of the bullpen for the past two years. … Taylor Trammell is already injured again. He’ll undergo surgery on a broken bone in his hand.

Kraken: Hey, games will be on in our area soon. Root and the Kraken have reached an agreement. … Seattle may need to make an addition or two at the trade deadline.

Storm: After her Russian legal troubles, Brittney Griner can’t fly commercial right now. Will this be the impetus to allow WNBA teams to charter? Or will tight budgets win out?

Sounders: Seattle has new secondary kits, as uniforms are called in this sport. They honor Bruce Lee. Cool.

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• We’ll be back tomorrow. No notes (column). Until later …