A Grip on Sports: What better way to start a wintry-wonderland of a workweek than with thoughts on spring training, hoops and more?
A GRIP ON SPORTS • We’re a bit tired. Not sleepy, mind you. The other type of tired. The type that weighs you down, slows your mind, keeps you from enjoying each day. All because of what is outside. Can spring show up already?
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• More snow to start a workweek? It’s March for goodness sake. On the weekend, that’s OK. But during commute time? Even if that commute is from the bedroom to the office, with a detour for a cup of coffee, as ours is these days, it’s still annoying to still be dealing with snow.
After all, we could be outside, prepping flower beds, cleaning up the flotsam from fall and repairing winter’s damage. Or hitting golf balls, walking through the Dishman Hills and sitting in the backyard just soaking up rays. We’ve done such many times over in early March. Not this year. Not yet.
Instead, we peruse the Web, check out air fares to warm spots and dream. As we did in December, January and February. Oh well. It’s not changing. Our attitude must. So, let’s delve into the climate around the world of sports.
• It’s warm enough in Arizona. That’s for sure. As the M’s stable of starting pitchers prepare for the Atlas-like load they’ll have to carry this season, they seem to have enough strength to tote Seattle into the postseason. All they need is a healthy bullpen (a worry right now) and decent hitting (another worry).
What us pessimists fail to take into account oftentimes is players can have breakthrough years. From middling to marvelous in 400 at-bats.
Why do we miss it? We dwell on the usual Mariner path. Incredible to outstanding short spurts, followed by long, slow descents into mediocrity. The Ty France syndrome, to give it an up-to-the-minute name.
For Seattle to reach unprecedented heights this season, it will need one or two players to break out, whether for the entire season or for large chunks of it.
• It’s also warmer in local college basketball practice facilities.
Everywhere, maybe, except Moscow. But in Cheney, Pullman and Spokane, six teams are prepping for either the final gasps of the regular season or their conference tournaments, all with the thought they have a good shot – or are assured – of playing in March Madness.
That’s a warm feeling. Work to do, sure, but the Gonzaga men and women and the WSU men are locks. The WSU women have an opportunity, if they play well in the Pac-12’s last big tourney. And Eastern, with the men having clinched the regular season crown and the women one win tonight away from the same, will be favorites in Boise.
• Speaking of hoops, Caitlin Clark bumped past Pete Maravich and into first place atop the NCAA’s scoring list, regardless of gender, Sunday. And once again put into focus something we’ve felt for more than 20 years.
Did you know the NCAA keeps records for 3-point shooting percentage based on how far from the basket the line was painted? It’s a good idea. A 19-foot, 9-inch shot is easier, theoretically, than a 20-9 or 22-1¾-inch one. And if it moves back in the future, which it may, then it gets harder still.
And scoring marks, whether career or seasonal, are different with or without the line. It’s impossible to determine how many points Maravich, or Lynette Woodard, would have added to their totals with the 3-point line in play. But we can estimate how many fewer Clark would have. Something in the neighborhood of 509, as that’s how many 3-pointers she’s made, though being completely accurate would take a deep dive into how many free throws she’s added from beyond the arc.
Games evolve. Record-keeping sometimes doesn’t.
• Sports reporting lost another icon yesterday with the death of Chris Mortensen, who everyone just called Mort.
You can read a lot of tributes today, with most dwelling on how he helped changed ESPN with his excellent NFL reporting. That’s great. He did. But we remember Mort as one of a group of young L.A.-area reporters we admired as we started our career.
Mort, who worked for the Daily Breeze out of his hometown of Torrance, joined guys like Tracy Ringolsby and Larry LaRue (Long Beach), John Strege (Orange County Register) and others who were folks we wanted to emulate when we started out. Young, brash, seemingly confident, they brought new ideas to the profession, changing it in many ways. And changing us as well, though they never knew.
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WSU: Toughness is a skill that can take a basketball player further than most others. The Cougars’ Andrej Jakimovski certainly has used it this season to help his team reach new heights. Greg Woods delves into that today. … The changes headed Washington State’s way had nothing to do with the plans of a couple Cougars at the NFL Draft Combine. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner rewinds the week just past in the Mercury News. … We want to pass along this top 25 just because of where the Cougars are located (18th). … There were games Sunday, with Colorado holding Senior Night and handing Stanford another loss. … Utah continued its mini-roll, handing California another road loss. … Despite a great game Saturday at home, Arizona has to be perfect on the road in Los Angeles to ensure a regular season title. … We wonder who we would vote for if we had a vote for Pac-12 women’s player of the year. Probably Cameron Brink as it may be her final chance at the award. But voting for JuJu Watkins wouldn’t be wrong either. … The conference tourney gives Colorado time to turn the ship around before the NCAAs. … Arizona has added some walk-ons to the roster. … In football news, Washington has given a walk-on a scholarship. … Rome Odunze impressed at the Combine.
Gonzaga: Theo Lawson took some time Sunday to rewind the Zags’ big Saturday night win at Saint Mary’s. It also gave him some time to recount how Graham Ike dominated up front. … Jim Meehan looked ahead at the upcoming WCC tourney in Las Vegas. The Zags are the second seed. … We pass along the NCAA NET rankings for the men – GU is up to 16 – and women – the Zags are 11 – as well as this women’s power ranking – Gonzaga is 14th. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Saint Mary’s, which dropped to 17th in the NET, would have loved to go through the regular season undefeated. The Gaels did not.
Idaho: Quinn Denker is in Moscow because he wanted to be part of changing the Vandals’ culture. It seems to be working. Peter Harriman has this story on the guard’s season.
Mariners: Dominic Canzone. He may be one of this year’s breakout guys. … The M’s lost to San Diego, which opens its season early in Korea and is at least a week ahead in prep.
Kraken: Seattle has to keep winning. And a few more regulation wins would help its playoff push.
Seahawks: It seems likely Seattle will take a quarterback in the draft. One has to wonder if Michael Penix Jr. is the choice. He did better at the Combine than expected.
Sounders: Have you watched an MLS game this season? It’s almost like watching a high school game, what with replacement officials on the turf as the league and the union battle. Problem is, the announcers for Apple TV+ have been instructed not to talk much about it.
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• One thing that we deal with each Monday? The week’s basketball polls come out just after we are done. We wonder where the Cougs and both Zag teams will land this week. Move up? Pretty sure WSU will pop up one spot, the Bulldog men maybe one or two and the GU women two spots. But in this regard we’ve been wildly wrong before. Until later …