A Grip on Sports: As we say goodbye to April and its crowded days, our view of the future has been made a little brighter as always

A GRIP ON SPORTS • December and Christmas. July and the Fourth. May and Mothers. Every month is tied in with a single, maybe a couple, events that define it. Except one. If Steve Harvey ever asked, “Name something associated with April,” the Feud board’s list would be at least a dozen long.

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• Heck, limit it to sports and the 30-day month would still yield way too many options. Masters. Final Four. Portal. Spring football. Manager firings.

The one thing you can count on? The Anderson family is stealing the money.

We bid adieu to April again today. And that makes me sad. Not because the Grippis couldn’t come up with all eight answers and lost the $20,000. Sad because April is the best month of the year, sports and all the other what-not that makes life fun.

What other month allows us to dream so big? Spring football is a win for everyone. So is college basketball’s portal. Even a cruddy start to the MLB season doesn’t derail those World Series ring dreams, outside of Denver, maybe. And, heck, the Rockies have already won 14 games. They won their 14th last season on June 15. The Impossible Dream, 2026 version, is still alive. On April 30.

• Let’s use Washington State’s athletic fortunes to illustrate our point.

When the month began, no one was sure what the Cougar football program was going to look like in the fall. Now? There are more than a few positive signs after the first spring under new coach Kirby Moore.

Men’s basketball? The prevailing thought? The portal loomed and it could get ugly. It did. The Cougars lost 10 players. Basically the entire roster. But this morning David Riley has reloaded with nine incoming ones. Better? Worse? Who knows? The good news is the eclectic group will wear the Crimson and Gray next season. And, in a rebuilt Pac-12, saved by WSU and Oregon State, will actually be part of its traditional conference.

The most positive event to come out of the month? The April 7 announcement Jon Haarlow would be the full-time athletic director. The alignment between Haarlow and WSU president Betsy Cantwell was on full display a few days later at his introductory media event, meaning the athletic department will venture into the brave new world with unified leadership.

Nothing says April more than an optimistic beginning to a long-term business relationship.

• Oh, sure, there have been showers this month. Always. The Mariners rained on our “we’re-going-to-win-the-Series” parade by starting glacially slow – as per their recent tradition.

Wait, is “recent tradition” an oxymoron? Probably. But everything about the M’s right now screams oxymoron. How else can one explain a starting lineup with key hitters – Cal Raleigh, J.P. Crawford, and Josh Naylor, three of the top four in Wednesday’s win over the Twins – hitting .212 or less and Seattle still sporting a 16-16 record?

That the sample is just 32 games? Maybe. But, hey, that’s basically one-fifth of the regular season.

Yes, May looms. The month of flowers. And maybe Raleigh’s bat will bloom. There seemed to be a few buds on it this week. Heck, Naylor’s has begun to blossom. As for Crawford, he’s basically in a salary drive already – his contract is up at the end of the season and Colt Emerson is waiting in Tacoma’s wings – so he better starting budding all over a few fastballs soon. If he wants to be in someone’s flower garden this time next year.

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WSU: There are a couple links above. One of them is to Greg Woods’ main story today. Five things we learned from spring football. … One other thing we would love to know? What did we learn about Moore and how the first-time head coach will run the program? Cougar football fans have been through this before – breaking in a first-time head coach – a couple times this century. And if Bill Doba and Jake Dickert’s tenures has shown them anything, it’s shown the honeymoon period can gloss over questions that come up as the marriage wears on. Best to get them answered up front so they don’t surprise later. … ESPN’s Unlimited streaming service will include all the CW’s events. That’s good news for Pac-12 football and basketball fans. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, the Oregon State athletic program might be in for a rough ride the next few years. John Canzano reported on a lawsuit that potentially could impact the Beavers’ fortunes. There is more to pass along as well. … How did the Oregon defense answer its questions during the spring? … Boise State has replaced its blue turf and there have been a few changes. … Fresno State needs to pick a quarterback who will cut into the three-and-outs. … In basketball news, Jon Wilner’s column on NCAA expansion we linked yesterday? It is on the S-R site today. As is Wilner’s story on which “western” city might host the expanded opening-round games. The money is on Las Vegas. Wilner has a dark horse candidate. … Why the expansion? We touched on that yesterday. Money. And power. The former may just be headed to a different spot. … Oregon added a point guard to its men’s roster. … Boise State grabbed a big man from the portal. … The Arizona women see their roster in a positive light.

Gonzaga: The addition of Massamba Diop to the roster jumped the Zags three spots in CBS’ always-available top 25 and 1.

Idaho: The Vandals added a couple of local men’s basketball players Wednesday, one officially, the other via an Instagram announcement. The official one is from the portal, with former Mt. Spokane guard Ryan Lafferty leaving St. Thomas and signing on with Idaho. The unofficial one? Gonzaga Prep guard Ryan Carney announced he’s headed to Moscow as well.

Preps: The weather is turning warm. Not just Spokane warm but warm-warm. That’s good news for the spring sports athletes. And their events, which Dave Nichols covers in today’s roundup.

Indians: Spokane’s latest loss, 3-1 in Eugene, dropped the Indians into last place in the Northwest League standings. Dave has more in this story.

Mariners: One hitter whose bat is on fire? That would be Cole Young, the second baseman whose stature doesn’t scream danger to most opposing pitchers. But he certainly has been recently. He drove in three runs in the late innings to lift Seattle to a 5-3 victory. The M’s head home after a 5-1 road trip one game behind the A’s in the West. … The role players are playing a big role. … Matt Brash had a problem. Left the game after two pitches. He will be evaluated. 

Seahawks: Mike Macdonald had some laughs yesterday. And covered some ground in an interview. … The Hawks signed another tight end. … What will the roster look like to open the season?

Storm: Portland’s new WNBA franchise came to Climate Pledge Arena on Wednesday. The Storm was ready, winning the preseason contest 91-81.

Reign: Jess Fishlock’s leg injury will force her to miss some time but not the entire season.

World Cup: Expect Mo Salah to be at full strength by the time Egypt gets to Spokane to prep for group play.

Youth sports: It’s that time of the year. Time for news from around the community. We can pass along a local roundup on the S-R site today.

Golf: The Saudi benefactors are pulling their money from the LIV Tour at the end of the year. A tournament has been postponed. The main stars are examining their options. But, ya, the tour will continue on under new money management. Right.

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• It’s not often my alma mater makes hoops news. But UC Irvine certainly did yesterday. Big news. The tallest player to ever play in an NCAA game, 7-foot-9 Olivier Rioux, is leaving Florida for the beaches of Southern California. Smart. Until later …