A GRIP ON SPORTS • Opening Day has taken on a momentum of its own, or so it seems. Capitalizing the name? Really? What's the big deal? So baseball is back. Does that mean all is right in the world again? Well, honestly, yes. Read on.

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• First off, can there be a better confluence of sporting events than the Mondays when baseball's opening day coincides with the NCAA title game? Talk about near-perfection. It just cries out for a hot dog or a related type of sausage for dinner, right? At least that's how I viewed it. A cold adult beverage, hot dogs, a soft spot to sit. What could be better? That was our Monday. I could pull a Norman Chad and give you a minute-by-minute recap of the day, but that's so 1990s. In our modern world, we do everything in 140 characters, so we'll try to keep it to that.

• The snow yesterday morning in Spokane reminded me of a story Ken Brett used to love to tell about pitching opening day in Toronto. Sorry, I can't type out the punch line here but suffice to say it had to do with snow, the commissioner, a lack-of-a-coat and a few adult-rated words.

• I'm not sure what I like less, ESPN having the strike zone box on the screen for every pitch or ROOT only showing the box on replay, seemingly, when it was in the Mariners' favor. I guess I wish it were in the corner or something on every pitch.

• Felix Hernandez is something special, isn't he? Not only is he a top-of-the-line starting pitcher in the prime of his career, but he is a top-of-the-line starting pitcher in the prime of his career who actually wants to be in Seattle. Yes, Ken Griffey is going to be the first Mariner in the Hall of Fame. But unless Edgar makes it someday (and that seems unlikely at this point), Felix will be the first Hall of Famer who actually seemed to enjoy his time in the Northwest.

• Seth Smith had himself a day. And that's great. But when Lloyd McClendon made a change late in the game to keep the platoon system in order, Twitter wasn't pleased. Calm down folks. Smith had three extra-base hits, sure. They came against a right-handed pitcher. It's what he does best. It's not wise to change a plan because of one day that actually illustrated the soundness of the plan.

• When there is an inversion layer in Seattle, fireworks are not a great idea. The smoke following Dustin Ackley's home run made it tough to see the plate for about a half inning.

• Speaking of Ackley and Smith, it is guys like that who may just decide the American League title. For the M's to win, they have to get contributions up and down the lineup. A breakout year for Ackley may just be the boost that gets them over the top.

• Finally, I spent more time listening to the game yesterday than watching it. There is something soothing, something nostalgic, something just right about listening to a baseball game on the radio. I worked on the computer, listened to the game and, if something big happened, walked downstairs to catch the replay on TV. The best of both worlds. And a perfect Monday.

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• WSU: Jacob Thorpe was all over the blog yesterday and then spent the morning today with a post notable mainly for the begging. Nope, Jacob, no free golf for you. At least none paid for by this retired guy. ... Yesterday's posts included one on a basketball commit and a live chat Jacob held, the last half of which you can read here. ... Oregon had a visitor at spring practice yesterday, a guy with an Inland Northwest connection. ... The Duke win over Wisconsin was not only a great college basketball game, it also included enough controversial calls to keep social media humming for hours. We aren't going to get into it because we don't have enough space on the unlimited Internet to answer such questions as why is there replay and how can a foot be out-of-bounds and be missed by everyone, so we'll just pass along stories from the bigger newspapers in America and leave it at that.

• Gonzaga: John Blanchette's column from the Mariner game yesterday focused on Gonzaga graduate Tyler Olson, whose Spokane roots run deep. ... Women's coach Lisa Fortier earned a big honor yesterday.

• EWU: Speaking of the guy we mentioned in the WSU section above, the race is on to replace him in the Eagles' starting lineup. Jim Allen has his first installment of spring position stories, covering the quarterbacks, in today's paper.

• Chiefs: Win tonight in the Arena or the season is over. That, in a sentence, is the Chiefs' task. Of course, Chris Derrick has a few more sentences covering that goal, with a story and a blog post. ... There is also a story from the Everett perspective.

• Indians: Kenny Merkel, who spent years as a fixture with the Indians and the Spokane sports scene, died recently. We have an obituary to pass along.

• Seahawks: You have more questions? We know where you can find some answers.

• Mariners: Opening Day is capitalized for a reason. Everyone who is anyone is in a press box somewhere. In Seattle, every columnist in the Puget Sounds – and beyond – was in attendance, including one who is moving to Washington, D.C. soon. They had different views of the 4-1 win over the Angels. ... The story of the game was Felix's dominating performance, of course, though newcomer Seth Smith and Carson Smith also had supporting roles. ... Oops, can't forget Ackley's big fly. ... Or stories from Southern California.

• Sounders: The surprise of the early MLS season is the Vancouver Whitecaps.

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• The M's are 1-0. Only 161 regular season games to go. See many of you again when – OK, if – they make the playoffs. Until later ...

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