A Grip on Sports: Coughing and sneezing aside, Sunday was a great day and a great way to start a great week

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Sneaky crowded. That seems to be the best description of Sunday’s sports late. Though “sneaky” might be underselling it a little.

•••••••

• An hour of the afternoon was already locked in. And maybe another hour a bit later. The selection part of Selection Sunday took care of that for college basketball fans in this area. At least those with Gonzaga or Idaho gear in the closet.

The nighttime hours were dominated by spring ball. No, not Alabama or LSU’s spring football game – that’s coming soon – but by a baseball game in March that was played with more fervor and energy than anything seen this side of October. That the final out of the U.S.’s 2-1 World Baseball Classic semifinal win over the Dominican Republic came courtesy of a way-too-low strike call couldn’t even diminish it. In actuality, it may have even added another layer of luster to the event.

That is if you saw it. If your TV wasn’t commandeered by other family members who just had to see if the latest K-Pop song was in-line for an Oscar (yes) or if a movie including vampires could win the biggest award (no).

A whole different demographic was probably asleep in their chair earlier in the day watching golf’s first semi-major of the season, waking occasionally to watch replays of Ludvig Aberg hitting another ball in a man-made Florida lake.

All in all a pretty busy day even without factoring in the usual NBA tanking displays and the Kraken’s late-season push to make the NHL playoffs.

• Wait, I buried the lede. Again. It has to be Gonzaga’s men actually being given the seed they earned. The third one. In the west. With a Final Four path that could – should? – include some old friends.

Kennesaw State is the first-round opponent, and if this matchup had come last season, the Owls would have also had one two. Jamil Miller, who played at Gonzaga Prep, started off and on last season for KSU, but left the team before the season and is expected to transfer.

Not even his high-flying dunks would probably make a difference in Thursday night’s game (7, TBS), which brings us to Saturday’s second round. Where any of three teams could await. The favorite? Sixth-seed BYU, the beat-up and battered Big 12 contender who feature the NBA’s upcoming No. 1 draft pick – if whichever team wins the lottery is smart – in AJ Dybantsa. The 6-foot-9 guard is a bracket destroyer all by himself but when point guard Rob Wright is locked in, the Cougars score enough to scare anyone.

The final friend? That would be Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd. He and Mark Few have avoided meeting in the regular season in the five years since Lloyd became a snow bird, but the NCAA doesn’t allow such sentimentality. But before that unwanted matchup can happen, the Zags would have to get past second-seed Purdue. And guess what? The Boilermakers feature a local connection as well.

Oscar Cluff, who used to throw his body around in Pullman under Kyle Smith, is in his second year of doing the same in West Lafayette.

It’s a gantlet all right. But then again, that’s what the NCAA tourney is about. Well, that and bracket pools.

If you want to win yours, then maybe avoid the sentimental upset pick in the South Regional. Don’t pick against second-seed Houston in its first-round game against the 21-14 Idaho men Thursday (7:10, TruTV). Sure it could happen. The Vandals are rolling, having won five consecutive games. The Cougars are dealing with some injuries. And there is precedent. Eleven of them, actually. That’s how many times a two seed has lost to a 15.

The total record since the tourney has gone to its current format: 11-149.

For the Vandals to make it a dozen upsets, well, pretty much everything everywhere every possession would have to break right.

As for the women, neither Gonzaga, winner of the West Coast Conference automatic bid, nor Idaho, same with the Big Sky, have an easy first-round matchup.

The 12th-seeded Zags are headed to Minneapolis, where they will face the fifth seed and 19th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels (Friday, 12:30 p.m., ESPN2). It’s a rematch of sorts, as the schools met in 2023, when one of Lisa Fortier’s better teams struggled against Mississippi’s defense and fell 71-48.

The 13-seeded Vandals, 29-5 and winners of 18 consecutive games, face a tough assignment to extend the streak. They were giving the task of facing fourth seed Oklahoma on the Sooners’ home court (Friday, 7 p.m., ESPN).

•••

WSU: The Cougar men, 2025-26 variety, are no longer playing. But there will be many former Washington State players playing this week – a growing trend in college basketball. Colton Clark put together this story highlighting the players in action with high school or college connections to the Spokane area. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, the four top seeds for the men? Duke (overall No. 1), former Pac-12 member Arizona, Michigan and Florida. … Jon Wilner was pleasantly surprised in the Mercury News. The committee did a great job. … Wayne Tinkle once again showed his character as he bid adieu to Oregon State on Sunday. He took out a full-page ad in the Oregonian to thank everyone and to wish his successor all the best. … Washington is hoping for a berth in the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas. That field will be announced this evening. … Arizona has suffered some shocking NCAA upsets but one thing it hasn’t done is lose as a No. 1. … UCLA is the only other Pac-12 legacy school in the field. The Bruins have a seven seed. … Utah State was upset by being seeded ninth after winning the Mountain West Conference title. … San Diego State, left out of the NCAAs, decided not to play in another tournament. … Colorado State is playing in the NIT. … The top four seeds among the women are defending champion UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina. That result did not sit well in Los Angeles. … UCLA had a case for the No. 1 seed and a case is enough to engender a lively debate. … Oregon, Washington, Colorado, USC and Arizona State are all headed to the NCAA tourney as at-large invitees. The Trojans’ first-round task may just be the toughest. … Colorado State earned the MWC’s automatic berth. … Oregon State will host a WBIT game. Meanwhile, the Bay Area is sending three teams to that tournament. Utah was also invited. … In football news, Oregon’s defense is loaded. And it wants to dominate. There are new coordinators on both sides of the ball though.

Gonzaga: The Zag men knew they were in. And they were playing in Portland. But the number next to their name and the opponent? Those were up for grabs. Theo Lawson has their reaction in this story. … Dave Boling wonders just how far the Bulldogs can travel down the bracket without Braden Huff. … Here is a look at Kennesaw State in graphic form. … Because a play-in game matching two 11 seeds is included, there are five teams covered in this look at GU’s pod. … Greg Lee has this coverage of the women’s bracket reveal. … The pod features four teams with at least 22 wins. … If you want to travel to watch either Gonzaga squad or either of the two Idaho teams, it will cost you. Mathew Callaghan breaks it all down. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Saint Mary’s is a perennial participant in the NCAAs these days. … Not Santa Clara. The Broncos first berth since 1996 was greeted with jubilation. … Seattle U. is headed to the NIT.

Idaho: It’s been 36 years since the Vandal men have heard their name called for the NCAA Tournament. It happened Sunday. And Madison McCord was in Moscow to cover the response. … Houston is the headliner but there are three other teams in the pod. … The Vandal women have been in the tournament more recently than the men but, as Peter Harriman relays, they were just as excited to find out where and when they play. … There is also this look at the pod to pass along. … And other coverage of the Vandals’ postseason games. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the Montana State women are headed to the WNIT. So are Pepperdine, San Francisco and Portland out of the WCC.

Velocity: The defense dominated in Spokane’s home opener Sunday at ONE Spokane Stadium. So it is probably appropriate an own goal by Union Omaha Owls decided the 1-0 match. John Allison was there and has this coverage.

Seahawks: The free agent sweepstakes this offseason seems to be about Seattle finding good, inexpensive fits to plug small holes.  

Sounders: Seattle was without seven starters in its lineup Sunday for its MLS game against San Jose. But Paul Rothrock scored and the Sounders handed the Earthquake their first loss, 1-0.

Mariners: Yes spring training is still going on. And it includes a scorching start for the M’s new third baseman. But most of the baseball world’s eyes were focused on Miami and the semifinal between the United States and the Dominican Republic. It was worth watching.

Kraken: Bobby McMann is paying off in a big way. His goal helped the Kraken roll over the Panthers.  

Reign: The weather was awful but the result was great for Seattle. The Reign topped the Orlando Pride in their season opener.

Sonics: I am not sure of the significance of this, other than it is another step, but the NBA is supposed to hold a vote about Seattle and Las Vegas as expansion candidates.

•••       

• The nice thing about being married for – let’s see, subtract 1979 from 2026 – almost 47 years, is the consistency. Case in point. Kim had a bad cold last week. I knew what was coming. Always does. Thank goodness for modern drugs. Until later …