A Grip on Sports: Little notes are fine, especially when the big news is overwhelming everything else

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Gone are the days when there used to be Post-it notes all over our home. Little yellow (at first) reminders of this and that, aimed at everything from school events to bills due. Which reminds me, for those of us who pay estimate taxes, the government needs its dues today. Is there a Post-it note about that on the fridge? Nope. Everything is in the phone these days.

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• The transformation from sticky notes to the phone version makes life less colorful, doesn’t it? Cleaner. Less cluttered (looking), sure. Just another change in a lifetime of them.

But if the delivery system is different, the need for reminders hasn’t diminished. In my case, it’s actually grown geometrically in relationship to the number of birthdays – though math aficionados may tell me geometrically isn’t the right word. It sounds cool though. Just like aficionados.

Once again, though, I’ve taken the long-way around. Authors call it stream-of- consciousness. Editors, at least those I worked for over the years, just called it “wordy.” Or “overwrought.” Can’t remember. I’ll have to make a note to look that up. On a Post-it.

Right next to the note I should have made concerning my column topic today. Had it all planned out 12 hours ago. A note about the Seahawks. One about college hoop. Another concerning the transfer portal and football. Baseball being around the corner. What week we put out the recycling.

No, wait. I made a note about the last one. But it really doesn’t help here, does it? Time to grab another cup of coffee and see if I can’t remember what I wanted to chat with you about.

• We’re back. No luck. But I have a strategy I’ve used for the past 15 years. When in doubt, write about what’s in the S-R’s sports section this morning.

The top-of-the-front-page? A basketball game in Pullman tonight. The renewal of a rivalry that renewed for real last season. Gonzaga, ranked ninth nationally – the Zags didn’t drop a spot in the polls while I was downstairs getting coffee, did they? – vs. host Washington State, last ranked in March of 2024. (As an aside, Kyle Smith really can mine underrated gem-like players, can’t he? He’s doing the same thing at Stanford, which upset No. 14 North Carolina last night.) Before those six weeks in the A.P. Top 25, the Cougs were last ranked in 2008.

They are not ranked today. Not with an 8-10 record. After all, only Duke gets ranked with a mark like that. But that doesn’t mean the Cougars don’t pose some challenges.

Guard Ace Glass seems to be on the top of the list. The freshman likes to come off ball screens and create offense for himself and his teammates. Which means it will be a focus of the Zags’ defense. And will probably be something you’ll watch when you tune in (7 p.m., CBS Sports).

• The dominating element? A picture of Lauren Whittaker, the Zags’ standout freshman post. Who just happens to hit more than a third of her 3-point shots.

Whittaker has been around the Gonzaga program for a long time, arriving on campus in December of 2023 after graduating high school in New Zealand. It was a great time to acclimate, as the Bulldogs, en route to a 32-4 season, didn’t need help.

As Greg Lee shares, last season was supposed to feature her U.S. debut. It didn’t, thanks to a meniscus injury that finally required surgery. It became a redshirt year. She officially made her Gonzaga debut in Fargo, N.D. of all places in the fall, scoring 13 points, grabbing nine rebounds and helping the Zags to a 15-point win over North Dakota State.

Since then, she’s only made a bigger splash.

• The third front-page subject? The start of something new. High school flag football. For girls.

Yes, it’s not new-new around the nation. The NFL has been pushing the sport for a while. It’s been adopted around the country, mostly in warm-weather states that can avoid playing in 30-degree weather.

For some places – cough, cough, Spokane – that’s unavoidable if Washington schools want to play the sport outside of fall (in which volleyball and soccer, two of the top-three most-popular girls sports, already exist) and spring (with at least seven sports on the calendar).

Gonzaga Prep hosted East Valley on Wednesday afternoon. Dave Nichols was there to document, as he described it, “what Greater Spokane League officials are calling a ‘trial period’ leading up to potentially adopting it as a varsity sport next year.”

Who won? Everyone.

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WSU: Greg Woods has a preview of tonight’s game, a story we linked above and do so again here. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, something odd is going on at St. John’s. … The basketball transfer portal window is shrinking. … So is the number of undefeated teams. … The Washington men filled Hec Ed last night. The fans saw another Michigan win. … Oregon State hosted Loyola Marymount and picked up a needed win. … Host California was holding its own with Duke in the second half. Then Cameron Boozer took over. … We mentioned Stanford’s big win above. And here again. …Colorado could not handle the Cincinnati inside attack. … Utah could not handle No. 15 Texas Tech. … Utah State stayed hot, stopping visiting Nevada. … USC has had to reinvent itself often this season. … UCLA found a way to win at Penn State. … Rivalry games are usually fun. Not for No. 1 Arizona last night, though. Arizona State made it ugly and almost won in Tucson. … San Diego State made its final trip to Wyoming. And won. … The Oregon women play another ranked team. … Colorado upset No. 19 Iowa State. … Utah did not upset Baylor. … California may not make the NCAA tourney. … San Diego State defeated New Mexico in front of its largest home crowd ever.

• In football news, it is going to be almost impossible to enforce the new recruiting rules, such as they are, until schools sign the College Sports Commission’s contract. And most do not want to do that. … Not surprisingly, there is transfer portal news everywhere, and there will be for a while. Comings. Goings. And, more importantly, players deciding to stay at their school. Here is a smattering of the coverage, starting with Washington, as Jedd Fisch talked about the Demond Williams Jr. debacle that made the Huskies the center of the portal debate. … There is lots of news from Oregon, and from Colorado. … John Canzano has a bunch of columns, including one on Indiana dominating college football, Dante Moore and his decision to return to Oregon for another year and the shoe game. … Speaking of Moore, his mature decision is national news, mainly because it impacts the NFL draft. … Oregon State will have brothers playing on its offensive line next season. … Utah quarterback Devon Dampier had hand surgery recently. … Another former USC quarterback will play for Lane Kiffin. … Chris Petersen is headed to the College Football Hall of Fame. Kellen Moore is not.

Gonzaga: Theo Lawson also has a preview of the game in Pullman, which starts a two-game road trip through the state for the Zags. Theo has the key matchup, which just happens to feature Glass. Both are linked above and here. … We linked Greg Lee’s Whittaker story above and do so again.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana State won the big prize but it was not easy on its football fans. … Northern Arizona added to its staff. … The Weber State men feel ready for the tests ahead. …There is one Portland State player everyone must focus on. … Sacramento State has not played at home in almost two months.

Preps: Besides the flag football story from Dave we mentioned above, we can also link Dave’s roundup of wrestling action.

Seahawks: There were no Hawk stories on the sports section front page today but that doesn’t mean their NFC playoff matchup with San Francisco was ignored. We have links to a piece on Devon Witherspoon and one on Ernest Jones IV that are in the S-R. … From other sources, just how did the Hawks transform into a Super Bowl favorite so quickly? The 49ers may like to know. This was supposed to be their year for a home title game. …  The injury to Fred Warner did not help. … Who has the edge at every position? … How healthy are the Seahawks? How about San Francisco? … The trash talking is picking up. As is the advice from the older players. …So has Riq Woolen’s play.

Sounders and Reign: I was almost finished before remembering one of the news stories I wanted to write about today. Did you hear my hand hitting my forehead? The Sounders and Reign have to vacate Lumen Field for a while this summer. It has to be transformed for the World Cup. Signage, seating and, most importantly, grass installed for the playing surface. That means other events, such as a CONCACAF Champions Cup match, had to find a new home. Enter Spokane. ONE Spokane Stadium is the only other FIFA certified stadium in the state. And a logical place for the Sounders to host their Champions Cup match on March 18. The Reign will play regular-season NWSL matches in Spokane as well.

Mariners: The Times’ story on possible moves still to come? It is on the S-R site today. … It is almost Hall of Fame voting announcement time. Jayson Stark explains his ballot every year. … A Mariner pitcher has been picked to be on the U.S. WBC team. Gabe Speier may not have been the first name to pop into your head. 

Kraken: The surging Kraken met the slumping Devils last night in New Jersey. Of course, the Devils won, 3-2 in overtime. Sports are weird.

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• Thanks for putting up with me today. And for the better part of almost 15 years. I wish I could remember it. Until later …