A Grip on Sports activities: Mondays are something however manic for essentially the most half, although yesterday was an exception

A GRIP ON SPORT • On Mondays, the Pac-12 is usually quite calm overall, and the Pacific Northwest in particular. Not much happens, especially in the evening. As the past year has shown us, no day can be taken for granted, including the quiet days.

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• Just look in the past 48 hours in the Pac-12 and beyond.

Sunday morning broke over in Seattle with the Mariners’ biggest questions about the opening of spring training. Less than 48 hours later, the organization wavered after losing its president and CEO, as well as everything that was left of its good name. It’s a wild weekend. Kind of reminds me of a Ray Milland movie (take a look kids).

However, the Pac-12 decided 48 hours was too much time. In the past 24 hours, it has shrunk a whole bag of messages into a lunch box. From changes to the basketball schedule to two showdowns (one for each gender), Monday brought a whole lot of news to the conference.

On the pitch, both leaders won home games against energetic opponents. USC scored the first 15 points, made Oregon look like it was stuck in the mud – Dana Altman’s point of view, not just mine – and got the Ducks to stay on the men’s rankings. Stanford welcomed Arizona to its pastoral campus and buried the Wildcats, earning the program’s first conference title in a long time.

But it was outside of the court where the biggest news was made. The conference bureau announced a variety of makeup games and then sent a jet to Pullman to pick up the cougars. At least in a figurative sense.

Your upcoming Arizona road trip will now include three games: two with Arizona State and one with Arizona. See, avoiding COVID-19 (we admit, a crapshoot at best) is its own (and only) reward – at least in Pac-12.

WSU missed a home game with ASU because of the Sun Devils’ coronavirus problems. After the game in Tempe is postponed, Washington state will end conference season after playing 11 of 20 games on the street. (The state of Arizona, which has been hit by virus-ridden breaks several times, may only have 10 home games and seven street games.)

It really is the only choice the Pac-12 had, but it made the road to seriousness even more difficult for the Cougars. The bright side? A few more days in Arizona with In-n-Out and Chick-Fil-A walking around.

• Speaking of respect, Howie Stalwick compiled a list of 10 teams, seasons or people who had just as bad years athletically as they did in 2020. His Sad Sack group is a walk back in time – if the memory trail resembles the smallpox-marked Spokane streets in March.

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Gonzaga: Speaking of lots of news (and it was us), the same goes for the Zags. Jim Meehan, who took the time yesterday to record the latest Press Box podcast with personable host Larry Weir, starts our morning with a story about Mark Few, who tops the list of winners among college coaches stands. Ever. Given how many years it has been a few, this is a hell of a feat. … Or maybe Jim’s first story is about Few’s persistent feeling that Las Vegas is not the right place to host the West Coast Conference tournament. … On the other hand, it could be Jalen Suggs and the Cousy Award or yesterday’s poll results. Make your choice. … Jill Townsend is a finalist for the prestigious CLASS Award. Jim Allen has this story as well as one about the fall of Zag women in polls after the BYU loss. … However, you are still represented in these power rankings. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Saint Mary’s won an important victory over Pepperdine. … Is BYU ready for the NCAA tournament? … The Cougars will let a few fans into their final games.

WSU: We joked that Noah Williams’ 72 points over the weekend wasn’t enough to win the Pac-12 Player of the Week. Fortunately they were. Theo Lawson has the story. … And yes, Theo has a story about the Washington State revised schedule. … With regard to Pac-12 and college basketball, a recent decision by the NCAA selection committee is helping not only Stanford but the conference as well. … USC seemed to be part of the best team at the conference, especially with a 15-0 lead over Oregon. The ducks’ winning streak in five games is over. … The game changes will give Washington a busy week ahead. Just what the huskies didn’t need. … The state of Oregon will also adapt. … Arizona State invented most of the games, including one with Colorado. … Maybe UCLA and Oregon can actually play. … Arizona may just be finishing a whole schedule. … On the football news, Elijah Molden always played his senior season for Washington. … The state of Oregon has filled a hole in its coaching staff. … Former Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough is joining Texas Tech.

Seafarers: Yes, there are thoughts about Kevin Mather’s “resignation”. (If you think Mather stepped down, I have a baseball card I can sell you. It was made by me in an Oakland A uniform. From an A. Fantasy camp. All I want is 1.3 Millions of dollars for it. It’s definitely worth it. Almost everyone who’s someone in the Seattle area media has weighed in again. The main push? The Ms need to rebuild trust. … In another incident involving a franchisee Eye, the Mariners and Lorena Martin have resolved their wrongful termination case.

Sounder: Jordan Morris’ injury will result in him missing out on all that 2021 has to offer. How does his injury affect the national team, the Sounders, and especially him?

Seahawks: KJ Wright is a free agent. And he won’t give any discounts. … Chris Carson belongs to a large group of free agent running backs. How do the Hawks see the free agency? … The SR report that Mike Iupati is retiring was confirmed and confirmed yesterday.

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• It’s amazing how 24 hours Temperatures well above freezing can alter the Spokane landscape. Most of the snow has not only disappeared from the roads – the stakes built by snow plows are still there, of course – but it is also melting from the grass, except in the extremely shady spots. The angle of the sun gives the whole area a different look. The world doesn’t seem to be projecting too much, happy. See you later …