A Grip on Sports: The next four days your TV will be filled with championship basketball and, if you want, another chance to see if the M’s power hitters can actually supply some power
A GRIP ON SPORTS • What’s on tap for this weekend? Besides the first warm days of the spring, of course? Basketball, basketball and more basketball. And, lest we forget, baseball – on TV and in person if you wish.
•••••••
• Let’s start with the behemoth that will dominate the weekend’s TV ratings. The men’s Final Four. From, as those iconic Charles Barkley, Samuel L. Jackson and Spike Lee commercials from yesteryear once mispronounced as “in-the-Annapolis,” Indianapolis.
Remember the last time the men were there to decide the NCAA championship? The waning days of our pandemic nightmare. The bubble. The Bruins. And most importantly around these parts, the undefeated Zags. All it took to keep the zero in the loss column? A Jalen Suggs half-court shot and an overtime semifinal win over UCLA.
Those were the days, huh?
No Gonzaga this time around. But someone who was watching intently, then GU head-coach-in-waiting Tommy Lloyd, will be on the sidelines Saturday night (5:50, TBS) for the second semifinal. His Arizona Wildcats will take on Michigan in a matchup of No. 1 seeds – and this year’s favorites.
How did Lloyd get to this exalted position? We have shared quite a bit of the origin story in this space before. But not to the extent Theo Lawson does in today’s S-R. Theo’s piece covers everything from before his start at Gonzaga to college basketball’s biggest stage.
The first game on that stage, pitting the two Cinderellas – if Cinderella was a fable about a billionaire’s twin daughters – Connecticut and Illinois, begins the festivities at 3:10, also on TBS.
• By tip time Saturday, we will already know the two women’s teams will vie for the national title on Sunday. The women begin tonight in Phoenix, with UConn facing South Carolina (tips at 4) and UCLA trying to get some payback against Texas (6:30). Both will be on ESPN and both pit No. 1 seeds against each other.
The national championship is set for 12:30 p.m. Sunday on ABC.
• If you enjoy engorging yourself on baseball while doing the weeding or fertilizing, then the weekend has you covered as well. The Mariners are on the Best Coast, visiting Anaheim for their first look at a revitalized Mike Trout and the Angels. Uh-oh.
Did you know Trout has hit 56 home runs against the M’s in his career? That’s more than any other team. Heck, it’s more than he’s hit against the entire National League. And it is 13.8% of his 406 career bombs.
The series begins tonight (6:35). Saturday’s start time is the same while Sunday’s first pitch will come at 1:05. All of the games – thankfully – will be on Mariners TV, which is the easiest of the multiple choices these days. No searching for one of the multitude of baseball’s streaming options. One stop shopping. Don’t get used to it.
• By the way, the shattered sports broadcast landscape is about to get another makeover, courtesy of another big merger in the entertainment world. Jon Wilner examines in the Mercury News how the proposed melding of Paramount and Warner Brothers Discovery could impact our viewing options – and college athletics’ pocketbook.
Spoiler alert: If the Justice Dept. approves the new conglomerate, the Pac-12 might just get more run on TBS and TNT down the road.
• One more TV-related story, this one on ESPN’s NFL coverage. The new contract with new games and new locations means the network will have to revamp its broadcast teams. The lead dogs, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, will stay just that. But the second team will probably be completely different.
• Back to baseball. Expect fireworks tonight. No, really. Real fireworks. From Avista Stadium. It’s opening night for the Spokane Indians. The 6:35 game won’t be on TV – if you are in need of a local game to watch from the comfort of your living room, SWX has Gonzaga hosting Pepperdine at 6 – but a packed stadium will be treated to a postgame light show. With a lot of bangs that may just be audible at our home five miles away.
We’ll have to make sure the dog is distracted by whatever is happening in Anaheim. He’s always been a big Angels’ fan. He loves trout. And Trout.
•••
WSU: The Cougars are practicing in Spokane on Saturday. There’s no TV from the workout at Union Stadium in Mead, but there is a kid’s clinic. Greg Woods has all the information in this story. … As for the developments thus far in Kirby Moore’s first few practices as the helm, Greg has another story focused on the offense. And the most-important position on any football team: quarterback. The Cougs seem pretty set there. … Not sure this will mean anything to many of you, but former WSU basketball assistant John Andrzejek, once Kyle Smith’s top recruiter and quite popular in Pullman, has resigned as the head coach at Campbell University. He’s accepted an assistant position at Louisville. Just found his reasoning for leaving his first head coaching gig interesting. And the fact it might be easier for Andrzeiek to move quickly if an unexpected head coaching position were to open. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, it seems so weird there is men’s college hoop still going on outside the NCAA and NIT tournaments. Not for Stanford, though. The Cardinal’s season ended with a loss to West Virginia in Las Vegas. No Crown title for the West Coast this year. … Oregon State is losing a couple players off its roster, including a starter. But there has been a new assistant added. … We mentioned Lloyd above and included a link to Theo’s story on his journey. Lloyd hasn’t categorically ruled out leaving for North Carolina. Which means Arizona has to do whatever it has to keep him happy. … Boise State’s roster thinned a little more. … Colorado State kept one star but lost another as the portal bus made a stop in Fort Collins. … The Oregon State women lost a reserve to the portal. … Washington gave its coach a contract extension after it made the NCAA tourney. … Colorado was able to announce a player is staying. … There are a few seniors at UCLA for which this weekend is glory’s final chance.
• In football news, Washington returned to the practice field Thursday. It may surprise you, but it rained in Seattle. And the Huskies still were outside. … Oregon is overhauling most of its offensive line. … So is Colorado. … Utah’s offense will be different this season. The defense? More of the same. With a twist. … UCLA’s new staff is focused more on effort than anything else. … There is a new tight end ready to shine for Boise State. … San Diego State has new assistants ready to shine as well.
Idaho: The Vandals also are pretty happy with their quarterback situation. The return of starter Joshua Woods has allowed UI to pick up the offensive tempo from the first moment practice started. Peter Harriman has this look at how it has gone during the first two workouts. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the Montana men’s basketball program didn’t lose any players to the portal Thursday, but did lose a longtime assistant coach. … Just how much are the Griz paying new football coach Bobby Kennedy?
Chiefs: The big news? They are alive. The Chiefs came back from the brink of elimination Thursday night – down two goals in the third period – with an overtime 4-3 home win over Prince George. The victory cut the Cougars’ best-of-seven series lead to 3-2. Dave Nichols was in the Spokane Memorial Arena and has this coverage. The series heads back to Canada for game six on Saturday night.
Preps: It was a packed Thursday around the area. Today’s roundup covers competition in five sports. … That’s not all, either. Madison McCord has a softball notebook, leading off with something that hasn’t happened in a couple years.
Indians: With Spokane’s season beginning tonight, there are a couple stories to get you bought in, even if you don’t have plans to watch any of the three games against the M’s Northwest League affiliate, Everett. Dave begins his coverage with an overview of the season ahead, from the new manager to the new roster with a few familiar faces. … There is also a new video board in left-centerfield, a behemoth that is larger than every scoreboard the venerable stadium has featured before. Dave has more on that and other changes fans will see.
Seahawks: John Schneider knew it was coming. Some day. “Hard Knocks.” He did his homework. And the Hawks will be on this summer. … Will there be a new running back on the roster by then?
Mariners: What the heck is going on with the middle of the lineup? Not much, actually. At the plate, for sure. Though, as Matt Calkins sees it, they should not be on the list of worries the Seattle faithful has already put together after the first homestand. … Could the issues be related to the WBC? … J.P. Crawford returns to the lineup tonight in Anaheim. His shoulder is healed. … The ABS system is healing baseball. And causing wacky things to happen.
Kraken: The postseason chances seem to be slipping away like so many April showers. Or all those Easter eggs that fell off our spoon over the years en route from the hot water to the dye. Wasn’t there some vinegar involved? Anyhow, the Utah Mammoth poured vinegar on Seattle’s hopes last night, handing the Kraken a 6-2 loss.
Storm: The WNBA expansion draft is coming. Quickly. It is this afternoon, actually. Seattle has to figure out who it can afford to lose.
Golf: The Masters of 2026 will be nothing like the Masters of 2006. Remember those good old days? Phil Mickelson won his second green jacket. Tiger Woods finished in a tie for third with Seattle legend Fred Couples. Who would have thought just a couple decades later the only one of that trio that will tee it up Thursday is the 66-year-old Couples. No Woods, 50, after his well-documented arrest this week. No Mickelson, 55, who pulled out Thursday due to an undisclosed family health issue. … We have another Masters-related story to pass along. It’s worth your time.
•••
• This is later than we usually tell you, but we won’t be here tomorrow morning. There is a packed day on the horizon and it starts too early for us to get this done. We will be back here Sunday though, and maybe we’ll try to hide a few Easter eggs in the column for your enjoyment. Until later …