A GRIP ON SPORTS • Clear your mind. A beautiful weekend is ahead, full of exciting possibilities. Looking behind isn’t worth as much effort. Read on.

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• It seems kind of odd to have a Memorial Day weekend without rain in the forecast. So it is a bit comforting to see a decent chance in Spokane on Monday. But what is odder still is a Memorial Day weekend without state championships. Yep, Washington won’t crown its spring state titlists until next week. Having spent a decent part of the early 21st Century in Tacoma for softball and/or Tri-Cities for golf, it seems strange to have the state tournaments so late in the year. But you can blame the calendar. Memorial Day falls on the 25th, the earliest day that’s possible (it’s always the last Monday of May). Because of that, another week is needed to get the championships in, so they will come as close as possible to bleeding into June without actually doing it. That means Memorial Day weekend this year is reserved for regional action. Next year, when the holiday is on the 30th? Yep, the state championships will be back on their rightful weekend.

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• WSU: ESPN.com’s Pac-12 blog has a preview of Washington State’s upcoming football season. It also has a rating of the conference’s receiving corps, but the logical used to drop the Cougars into the bottom half escapes me. ... The logic behind Connor Halliday’s decision escapes Jim Moore as well. ... Bob De Carolis was nudged out the door a bit at Oregon State.

• Shock: The Shock travel to Las Vegas this weekend and they will have a familiar face with them. Jim Meehan has more in this notebook.

• Preps: A busy weekend means a lot of stories. The weekend got underway with Central Valley moving on in soccer after a 3-1 win over Davis. Jim Allen has the story. ... Greg Lee gets you ready for regional track with a feature, a notebook and the area leaders. ... Greg also has a notebook with some news about coaching hires around the area.

• Seahawks: Russell Wilson may just be the most popular athlete this area’s ever seen. At least one poll says he is. ... Did you know he’s got a small part in the “Entourage” movie? The film was screened for the Hawks yesterday. ... It’s official. Just about everyone is concerned about traffic in the Sodo area if a new arena is built. ... The new point-after rules may not affect the Hawks but the timing just seems odd to Dave Boling. ... The Hawks are still favorites in Vegas.

• Mariners: Despite the best efforts (best-ever effort?) of Roenis Elias, the M’s still had to endure the full Fernando Rodney Experience to gain a 4-2 win at Baltimore last night. As Lloyd McClendon said, that’s just the way it is. ... McClendon believes the M’s just need to stay the course. Of course he does. He’s on the tiller for now. ... The M's play an early game in Baltimore today, weather permitting. Wellington Castillo is expected to be in the lineup.

• Sounders: The Sounders have been ball hogs this season. That’s a good thing.

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• You ever notice that hardly a day goes by in your neighborhood this time of year without someone mowing their lawn? I’m joining the chorus this afternoon so I have the weekend free. Until later ...

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