A Grip on Sports: Not sure there could be better weather out there, so we’ll get you started quickly on this fine Saturday

A GRIP ON SPORTS • As far as I can tell, spring football is just about over all around the country. It certainly is in the Inland Northwest after Eastern Washington and Idaho finished up Friday. Next stop: the regular season.

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• It’s funny how spring practices are almost a mirror image of their fall counterparts. As in a backward image.

The spring workouts begin with everyone wearing every piece of warm clothing they can find in the equipment room. And end with the stands filled with folks worried about sunburn and cold drinks.

The regular season? Training camp opens with tan bodies, cooling fans and shorts. By the time the rivalry games roll around, it’s hard to hold a play-call sheet with inch-thick gloves on.

The football? It’s a bit more leisurely in the spring, though not by much. The pressure to end each week with a win isn’t there. Except in the individual battles.

In the irony of ironies for the ultimate team sport, spring is all about how each player performed individually as they battle for lineup spots and playing time.

And it’s all about the film. Or video. Or tape. Or clips. Whatever the product the cameras produce is referred to this week. Or however the coaching staff labels it. The moniker doesn’t matter. What does is it does not lie.

A lot goes into the decision at right guard and middle linebacker and the like. Fit. Numbers. Intuition. Team chemistry. Maybe even these days financial investment. But the ultimate tiebreaker is the film.

The person who shows the most in the film room has the upper hand. And probably will be introduced to the crowd before the game that first Saturday in September.

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WSU: Around the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, John Canzano emptied his notebook, something we all do every once in a while. … Jon Wilner has a mailbag in the Mercury News that begins with the Big Ten, the SEC and the major media players who really run everything. … Washington finished up its spring workouts with little decided. Except, maybe, the entire season could very well rest on the shoulders of a quarterback who tried to leave. And was reeled back in due to a contract. … Oregon had a lot of questions to answer on offense. Did the Ducks get that done during the spring? … Recruiting never stops. Even, as in Arizona State’s case, when all you are recruiting is money. … Arizona was a little more normal in that regard this week. … Basketball success runs in a San Diego State player’s family but he’s a football guy. … In basketball news, there has been a change on the Colorado men’s coaching staff. … Utah State took a different approach to portal shopping.

Gonzaga: Even in, say, March, it was a given Graham Ike would be spending his spring going through the NBA pre-draft steps. What wasn’t, however, is two players who may hold the key to the Zags success next season would as well. Theo Lawson has this story on what’s ahead of Ike, Houston transfer Isiah Harwell and incoming international recruit Jack Kayil.

EWU: After another tough fall, the Eagles entered spring looking for answers at a lot of lineup spots. Dan Thompson focused at the top of the receiver food chain in his coverage of Friday’s Red-White Game. … Tyler Tjomsland was also in Cheney and has this photo report. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, there was a lot of recruiting going on at Montana football. … The reason Idaho State won the softball regular season title? It had the best pitcher.

Idaho: Unlike a lot of schools, the Vandals didn’t have to use its spring to evaluate the starting quarterback spot. Joshua Wood has that locked down. But, as Peter Harriman tells us, there were other determinations that had to be made as spring ended in a Friday scrimmage.

Preps: Dave Nichols has a long roundup of Friday’s action in multiple sports, including track and field.

Indians: Dave also has coverage of Spokane’s 7-1 win over Northwest League-leading Eugene in Oregon.

Mariners: What’s up with Bryan Woo? The righthander, who was the M’s best starter last year until an injury limited him down the stretch and in the postseason, was knocked around for a second consecutive game Friday night. And yet, when Julio Rodriguez launched his second home run of the game in the seventh inning, Seattle had worked its way back into a tie. The bullpen, however, faltered and the M’s fell 7-6 to the Royals. … Matt Brash went on the 15-day injured list. He’s got a lat issue. … It’s Randy Johnson’s night. He came to Seattle via a trade. And left the same way. How quaint.

Seahawks: The day after Jadarian Price was introduced to the media, every other rookie was given the chance to get to know the Seattle scene. A famous alum, Richard Sherman, was in town to greet them. … The group has some key pieces, even if the draft grades may not reflect that. … Speaking of Hawk alums, Russell Wilson may finally take the step from the field to the broadcast booth.

Reign: It was raining in Houston. Not shocking. And the match ended in a draw. Also not a shock.

Horse racing: The Derby is this afternoon. It’s a lot easier to place a bet these days. Want a longshot? Here are a few thoughts.

Storm: It seems everything about the franchise is new. Most, sure. But not everything. … The WNBA’s players union is led by a player with a familiar name.

Sounders: With the World Cup forcing a June hiatus, Seattle has a crowded May schedule.  

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• A lot of mornings I begin by saying I’m going to keep the column short. Then run on and on and on. I didn’t write that this morning. But then I did it. For a lot of reasons. I did, however, run down all the interesting links I could find. As the PTI guys say, we’ll try to do better tomorrow. Until later …