A Grip on Sports: Hey, it’s spring, so don’t worry, be happy – unless it’s about the transfer portal or some such

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Is it time to start worrying? About what, you may ask? Everything, really, but there are a few specific areas which might be more relevant than others.

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• I’ve always been something of a worry-wart. For that, baseball gets the blame. Or my dad. They are interrelated in this regard.

Captain Sunshine, as he was affectionately called by my peer group, emphasized the way to be successful in the game was to limit mistakes. Anticipate them. Be ready. Which led to one of my strengths as a player. Worrying. Between ever pitch. Spending the time anticipating what could go wrong and devising a plan to deal with it if – OK, when – it happened.

Great for the game. Not the greatest way to live. But here we are, deep into April, and the Gonzaga men have yet to join the transfer portal recruitment parade. Is it time to start worrying?

It depends on the basis of your worries. Do they concern missing out on the best players? Or is it more about money?

The former isn’t really a worry. For Mark Few’s program, fit is more important than star ratings or reputation. Always has been. Michael Ajayi wasn’t a perfect fit. Khalif Battle was a better one.

There are enough players remaining in the 2,000 or so folks who entered the portal thus far that are fits for what Gonzaga needs. Whether the Zags can entice enough of them to Spokane is another story.

Is there plenty of name, image and likeness money in the coffers? That’s unknowable. There are rumors and leaks, of course, on either side of the financial bubble. But there is no solid evidence either way. With no oversight or reporting requirement with NIL funds, it’s all conjecture.

It’s a worry, of course. A legitimate one for a school that doesn’t have unlimited media dollars to fall back upon. And has a couple of yet-to-enter-the-portal-but-could-do-it bigs, Graham Ike and Braden Huff, that have to be a priority. Fending off places with larger bank accounts isn’t always easy. There is no doubt both have large offers in place. Just like every player of their caliber in America.

And yes, of such things are worries born.

• Want another worry? No? OK. How about something that isn’t a worry?

About a dozen Washington State football players entered the portal when it opened this week. There probably will be more. With new roster limits coming in, it will be happening lots of places this spring. Besides, the now-former Cougs looking for new homes were not atop the depth charts. Most were in the position of having to wait for playing time, if it ever came at all. And one thing about football. It’s tough to sit and wait, especially when there is an alternative.

Putting in all the hours a player must invest to improve has to have a payoff. If that payoff looks elusive, there are places it may not be. It’s the good part of the portal. Allowing young athletes the opportunity to find their level easily. To play the game they love. To spend their college years seeing the field on Saturdays.

It’s not a worry. It’s an improvement from days gone by.

• You want another no-worries situation? Just look at the M’s. Not overall. Goodness no. Plenty of worries there. Drill down. To their catching.

Nothing to worry about there. Cal Raleigh is that good.

It hit us again Wednesday as we watched Raleigh and the M’s hold off – yes, the bullpen is something of a worry right now – the Reds 5-3 in Cincinnati.

And it wasn’t the two home runs, one from each side of the plate, that Raleigh supplied – though such power and the knowledge only Alex Rodriguez got to 100 career homers faster with the M’s, allows for some serenity now, doesn’t it?

None of that. It was a not-so-simple defensive play Raleigh made in the bottom of the second with no one out.

Austin Hays tapped a ball up the first-base line. Into no-man’s land. It had swinging-bunt-hit all over it. Rally starter. Except Raleigh took care of it. How? By getting to it faster than a man of his stature – he’s not called “The Big Dumper” lightly – should. And then making an impossible-to-fathom backhanded shovel toss to Rowdy Tellez at first base, getting Hays by a couple steps.

The shovel pass was Raleigh’s only chance. And it carried a probability of success of about 1%. He did it. Made it look, well, really hard. But pulled it off.

After my jaw up rose from the kitchen tile, I laughed. It was that good.

Thanks to his recent contract extension, Raleigh is locked into Seattle for at least six years. Which means we don’t have to start worrying about his leaving for three or four at least. About the time he hits his 200th career home run.

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WSU: Of course Greg Woods has a story on the transfer portal entrants from the first days of the spring period. And of course we link it. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we linked Jon Wilner’s column about fixing the transfer portal/NIL issues yesterday when it ran in the Mercury News. It is on the S-R website today. … John Canzano looks backward and forward concerning the chaos in college athletics. … Christian Caple details the Washington assistant coaches’ salaries. … This offseason, UW’s portal departures may also be about roster limits. … Oregon, which has holes to fill this spring, lost a cornerback to the portal that was somewhat unexpected. … The school administration is also suing a former assistant coach for what it terms an unpaid buyout. … Former Stanford coach Troy Taylor wanted to do two things with a statement yesterday. Rail at the circumstances behind his firing and to set the record straight. He got all his money from the school because it fired him without cause as defined by his contract. … Five California running backs have entered the portal. How many could be left? … One of them, Jaydn Ott, could help John Mateer and the rebuilt offensive line excel at Oklahoma. … Lincoln Riley is content with his USC roster. … UCLA has yet to announce an expected quarterback addition. … An Arizona State lineman is back from injury. … Arizona uses the same player to kick and punt. … San Diego State added a linebacker. … In basketball news, the Big 12’s commissioner, Brent Yormack, still sees hoops playing a big part in media rights deals down the road. … Utah added a player in the portal. … San Diego State is added a player who made two other announcements about his destination since June. … Colorado State continues to add to its roster. … Lute Olson’s granddaughter will be joining the new Arizona women’s staff. … It is official. Former WSU guard Astera Tuhina has signed with Oregon.

Gonzaga: A Bulldog walk-on, Graydon Lemke, entered the portal yesterday. Theo Lawson has this story about the fourth player to do that since the season ended. … We linked Theo’s WCC transfer portal tracker above. Here too.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, a former Washington basketball player is headed to Montana State. Is Christian King the player-to-be-named-later in the trade for coach Danny Sprinkle? Just kidding. … A Weber State player was named to an academic All-American team. …Portland State added a transfer from USD.

Preps: We can pass along Cheryl Nichols’ roundup of Wednesday’s action. … Cheney High diver Alma Smith will be representing the United States this year. That news leads off the S-R’s latest local briefs column.

Chiefs: Dave Nichols was busy yesterday. He had to cover Spokane’s slow start – again – and its rally. The visiting Chiefs fought back from three goals down, tied the score and then saw Victoria’s Teydon Trembecky score with 30 seconds left to give the Royals a 4-3 win and a 2-1 lead in the WHL playoff series. Game four is Friday, also in Victoria.

Indians: Dave also monitored Spokane’s game in Hillsboro, an 8-2 win, the Indians’ second to begin the six-game series. … One more thing. Dave has a feature on former Mt. Spokane pitcher Stu Flesland, now working out of the Indians’ bullpen.

Zephyr: Since returning from the winter hiatus, Spokane has been on a roll. The Zephyr are 5-0-1 in its last six matches, including last night’s 3-0 win in Lexington. John Allison has more in this story.

Mariners: If you want to watch Emerson Hancock’s second start of the season, better get over to Root. The final game of the series in Cincinnati starts at 9:40 a.m. … The bullpen was revamped a little Wednesday.

Seahawks: Yes, there are offensive questions that need to be answered through the draft. … If the Hawks draft a receiver, who might it be? … The first pick is always what folks focus upon.

Kraken: How does Seattle build a relevant team in the offseason?

Sounders: Another week, another injury.

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• Anybody else look outside yesterday afternoon and say a few bad words? The wind wreaked havoc with my nice clean yard. Guess what I’ll be doing today? Yep, going to Costco. What, you thought I was going to say “picking up the debris?” No way. If I wait long enough, the woman I am related to by marriage will probably do it. Until later …