Grip on Sports: As March’s madness ramps up, the M’s begin another quest to end their postseason drought

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Gonzaga has its opponent. The NCAA Tournament is underway. And so is the Major League Baseball season. Have you reserved your World Series tickets yet? Read on.

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• While most of us were doing the wise thing, sleeping, the Mariners and the A’s opened the 2019 baseball season in Japan.

Marco Gonzales is the early Cy Young favorite, Tim Beckham opened his MVP season with three hits and Seattle picked up a 9-7 win. Only 161 more games to go and we can start the darn postseason.

As long as Domingo Santana continues to hit grand slams every game, then maybe the Mariners will be part of it this season. After all, it’s about time. It’s only been a high school junior’s entire lifetime since it happened last.

And for those of you worried because the M’s said they were, you know, taking a “step back” this season, they only gave Ichiro two at-bats yesterday. Then he came out to a standing ovation. Oh, by the way, he actually walked in one of those plate appearances. Age does change a man.

• We were asked to watch the play-in game last night and write something for the paper, so we did. The early part of Fairleigh Dickinson’s comeback win over Prairie View A&M was about as bad of postseason basketball as one could ever want, what with the turnovers, the missed shots and the sparse crowd in Dayton.

But the second half was different. As the Knights rallied, there were enough big plays from both sides to keep the viewers’ attention – until the Panthers just quit making any.

So FDU was able to celebrate its first NCAA Tournament win ever, then get on a bus for an airplane ride to Salt Lake City. They will face the fourth-ranked Zags early Thursday evening, hoping to become the second 16th-seed to shock the world.

To do that, the Knights will need to hold on to the ball better. They had eight turnovers in the first 10 minutes last night and 17 overall. That’s not good – and a recipe for disaster against Gonzaga’s efficient offense. Give the Zags that many more possessions and there is no chance for an upset.

(Don’t tell anybody, because, you know, we don’t want to ruin the surprise, but there is virtually no chance for an upset anyhow. Gonzaga is that much better than Fairleigh Dickinson.)

• Has Washington State hired a new basketball coach yet? Or are the Cougars waiting for spring football to get out of the way first before they announce the new person? After all, we all know WSU is a football school.

Mike Leach has a date with the media today in front of Thursday’s opening of spring practice. A week ago it looked as if the Cougars would be holding spring drills in Canada Goose jackets. Now they may be wearing shorts and T-shirts.

Leach is not only an offensive savant, but he may be a weather manipulator as well. Not that we are adverse to that.

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Gonzaga: There are two transfers who have helped make a difference with this year’s GU squad, Brandon Clarke and Geno Crandall. Jim Meehan and John Blanchette open more doors with them, with Jim covering Clarke and John taking Crandall. … If you are into fantasy teams, you can make your own with sports editor Ralph Walter’s pick-one-from-each-category story. I tried to put together a team that includes only alums who still live in Spokane, but with Dan Dickau, Adam Morrison, Matt Santangelo, Cory Violette and Casey Calvary, I went over my $15 limit. Too bad. You have to get a 20-percent hometown discount, right? If not, I could substitute Richie Frahm for Morrison, pick Blake Stepp instead of Santangelo and still hit the limit. … We also have a lot to offer concerning FDU, including this graphical presentation, Theo Lawson’s trivia about the Salt Lake City pod and my look at the Knights’ win last night. … Former Eastern coach and Gonzaga assistant Ray Giacoletti talked with Larry Weir for the most recent Press Box pod. … The women don’t get started until Saturday, but that doesn’t mean Jim Allen is waiting on the coverage. He has a feature on the Wirth twins as well as one on Jesse Loera, who will be carrying a bigger load with Laura Stockton’s injury. … Jimmy Kimmel went for the big laugh the other night when talking about Gonzaga. Editor Rob Curley decided to fire back. … The Athletic’s senior writer Dana O’Neil took an in-depth look at how the Bulldogs recruit. Just one thing. Cory Kispert does not contribute “valuable minutes off the bench.” He’s started 32 of 33 games. … Around the WCC, BYU hasn’t seen the success it thought it would have when it joined the conference.

WSU: Around the Pac-12, Washington will emphasize its stars in the NCAA Tournament. … Oregon has emphasized defense in its run to the tournament and a date with Wisconsin. … Arizona State has superstitions it counts on. … Oregon State may have just worn out down the stretch. … Colorado opened the conference’s postseason with an NIT win. … There is also football news, with stories from Utah, Arizona, Oregon and USC.

Preps: Montana-Western, paced by MVP Brianna King from North Central High, won the NAIA Division I national title Tuesday.

Mariners: The real cool kids stayed up and watched the M’s win their opener from Japan. And some of us woke up early enough to catch Hunter Strickland’s last couple pitches. … There should be more fan engagement in the second game of the series. … The M’s didn’t enter this part of the season completely healthy.

Seahawks: Free agency has been better for the Hawks than you might think.

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• How far do you have the Zags going in your bracket? Some national writers, including Andy Katz, have them winning it all. It’s possible, just as it’s possible for maybe 10 teams. As good as Duke has been with Zion Williamson healthy, the Blue Devils also have a couple weaknesses that could bite them – the most glaring of which is their outside shooting. The same can be said of everyone, including GU. If the Zags lose, my guess it will be because they were killed on the glass. And, lest we forget, go Eaters. Until later …