A Grip on Sports: Rory McIlroy and the Mariners’ offense both fly higher Friday than anyone could have forseen

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Modern miracles never cease to amaze me. Yesterday, on my way to Salt Lake City, encased in a steel tube some six miles in the air, I watched Rory McIlroy take apart Augusta National for the second consecutive day. And I tried to remember if 10-year-old Vince ever envisioned anything like this in his future.

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• Well, the Jetsons had flying cars. Dick Tracy sort of had an iWatch. And there was golf being played at the then-35-year-old course by guys like Jack and Arnie. Nothing imaged in the 1960s, though, correlates. Not even the golf.

It was about then when Masters’ founder and Augusta National architect Bobby Jones, the greatest amateur ever, watched Jack Nicklaus win on his course and told everyone, “He plays a game with which I am not familiar.”

I wonder if Nicklaus thought the same thing Friday. He must have watched as McIlroy piped 300-yard drives and lofted wedges a mile high, backing up his opening round 67 with a seven-under 65. His first two-day total of 12 under has never been done before. Not by Jones. Not by Nicklaus. Not by Tiger Woods.

He birdied six of the last seven holes for goodness sake.

And it all unfolded on a small screen in front of me while traveling from Point A to Point B. Heck, when Vince was 10, he couldn’t even watch an event like the Masters while traveling from the living room to the dining room. And they were next to each other.

Heck, when arriving at my final destination, if I wanted, I could have pulled up the Mariners’ game on my phone and watched as the offense … wait, the M’s did what?

Yep, I have to admit I didn’t pay much attention last night. After watching the Ichiro statue unveiling on my phone in the airport, I figured I had expended enough energy on the franchise for one busy Friday. I had no need to watch them flail away for a couple hours in the evening.

After all, the metaphor with Ichiro’s broken bat seemed way-too perfect for the way this season started.

Then again, maybe such thoughts were not original. Nor escaped the M’s clubhouse. Something revved them up as they pounded out nine hits, waited patiently enough for 10 walks and waded through the Astros’ bullpen for a 9-6 homestand-opening victory.

Forget 10-year-old Vince. The Vince this-many-years old didn’t imagine such a thing happening.

Maybe a flying car will be in his driveway when his trip is over.

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WSU: Around the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner passes along the weekly West Coast recruiting roundup in the Mercury News. … There is also his weekly mailbag to pass along. … The Athletic has a piece on the best lower division players moving up to the FBS ranks. I’m a bit surprised the Cougar quarterback Caden Pinnick, the Big Sky’s top freshman last season at UC Davis, wasn’t included. … An Oregon State cornerback knows he has a lot to learn. … A new Oregon player has an interesting connection to the program. … It’s been a year since Colorado coach Deion Sanders was diagnosed with cancer. … A Utah player is loved in Salt Lake City. … Colorado State will hold its spring game today.

• In basketball news, John Canzano shares his thoughts about Dana Altman’s comments concerning the Oregon roster changes. And adds Altman’s pronouncement he has plenty of NIL money available. Which is crucial in these times. … Oregon State added a couple players, one of which we list in the Idaho section below and one from BYU. … New Arizona State coach Randy Bennett still hasn’t met with the Phoenix media. … Arizona is losing a backup to the portal. … San Diego State released some schedule news. … The Washington women are adding a UW legacy to their roster. … Arizona lost another player and added one yesterday.

Gonzaga: Most of the transfer-portal energy around the GU basketball offices has been focused on the men, as their roster thinned a bit in the first few days of the process. The women? Greg Lee checked in Friday and found two guards had entered. One of them, freshman Paige Lofing, was a bit unexpected after her playing time, and success, grew throughout the season. … There was some news from the men’s offices too, as Theo Lawson shares the nonconference game with Michigan State will be held Dec. 19 in Palm Desert. Considering the age of Mark Few and MSU coach Tom Izzo, one of California’s prime retirement communities seems appropriate. … Elsewhere in the WCC (a phrase I won’t be writing about the conference much longer, no matter what, as the Bulldogs end their ties June 30), the conference will have a new member in a little more than a year. UC Santa Barbara. My eldest son’s alma mater. He came this close to being able to root on the Gauchos in the Kennel.

Idaho: The Big Sky Freshman of the Year, Jackson Rasmussen, has found a new home for next season. He’ll leave the transfer portal and materialize in Corvallis, joining the Pac-12 with Oregon State. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana held its spring game Friday. … Montana State has all its assistants under contract. … Northern Arizona is still looking for a permanent athletic director.

Indians: The rain was falling in Hillsboro last night. So were the Hops’ hits, as they rallied against Spokane’s bullpen to earn an 11-9 victory. Dave Nichols has the coverage.

Mariners: I covered the two big stories from Friday above (and linked them as well). The win and the statute’s unveiling. … A story I didn’t link above? Kade Anderson had a great second start.

Storm: Yesterday I said it looked as if Seattle would lose one of its key inside players via free agency. That wasn’t all. The roster is undergoing a major reboot. Is there a WNBA transfer portal or something?

Seahawks: The story on the draft we linked a while back in the Times? It is on the S-R site this morning. … Mike Vorel makes a case for the Hawks to pick former UW running back Jonah Coleman. … Their draft position has mixed results.

Golf: McIlroy seems relaxed. Appropriate, considering how much relief he showed last year when he won at Augusta for the first time. That completed the career Grand Slam, something Nicklaus did but not Arnold Palmer, the two icons 10-year-old Vince thought were the best. … It’s going to take something historic to catch McIlroy now.

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• Thanks to everyone who shared their input about the coverage here come the summer. We would still like to hear thoughts. The impetus for this reflection? The rebirth of the Pac-12 on July 1. How should the legacy conference schools be covered here? Let me know what you think. Until later …