A Grip on Sports: This isn’t the usual Tuesday, with way too much to report from Monday and another key WCC game in the Kennel tonight

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There is a certain rhythm to this column, especially from late August to mid-April. That time, of course, correlates to the major college sports, football and basketball. And one aspect of that rhythm is simple: Tuesdays are a quiet day. Not this week.

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• Part of the change in the week’s beat comes from Gonzaga’s men playing a rare conference home game on a Tuesday night. So rare, in fact, we struggle to remember the last one. Then again, we struggle to remember where the car keys are on a daily basis, even though we put them in the same place every time.

Still, the Zags hosting Loyola Marymount on a night usually reserved for a taco feast has thrown everything a little off-schedule.

Add in the Mariners actually making a late-offseason trade aimed at bolstering their offense, without sacrificing one of their young starting pitchers, just throws off our timetable that much more.

Oh, sure, we looked at the rankings. The weekend just finished. The week ahead. All that. And more.

• Loyola comes into the Kennel on one “streak.” The last time the Lions played here, they won. Overpowered GU, actually, knocking the Zags around en route to a 68-67 victory. Tonight is a chance for those Bulldogs still on the roster to exact some revenge. It might be a bit easier if one of them wasn’t wearing a Loyola uniform, though.

Dominick Harris came to Spokane as part of the tricky trio, a moniker aimed at three recruits in the same class. The other two? Current NBA players Jaylen Suggs and Julian Strawther. Only Harris didn’t blossom with Gonzaga, for a variety of reasons, the most obvious of which were a series of injuries. He’s blossomed in Westchester, that’s for sure. The razor-thin guard brings a team-high 14.7 scoring average with him, built in large part by shooting 43.3% beyond the arc. That couldn’t help GU’s often poor outside attack, could it?

Of course it could. But tonight (8, ESPN) he’ll be part of a group trying to extend Gonzaga’s home losing streak against the Lions to two.

• The Mariners are throwing dice again. Adding an older (30) player who has been handcuffed by injuries (80 games last season) in the hope he’ll bounce back and give the lineup some pop.

No, not Mitch Haniger. That roll-the-dice addition was earlier. This time it is former Twins second baseman Jorge Polanco, a switch hitter who has been an all-star in the recent past.

Not that he was an all-star last season, though he did hit 14 home runs and drive in 48 in his limited time. That pencils out to about 30 and near 100 in a full season, numbers Seattle certainly needs.

That’s about the best the M’s can do these days, though. Project. Hope. Find a piece or two that just might hit it big. Oh, sure, at the basis of baseball evaluation, that’s all anyone does. Some players, however, are less a gamble than others. And the more players who must hit historical heights (or close to them) to assure success, the less chance it will happen. But … someday it just might.

• Hey, you wonder why there are so many shots of Taylor Swift and the Kelces – would that be a good working title for a new CBS comedy series? – during games? Here’s your answer: According to the network’s publicity machine, more people watched Sunday’s AFC title game on CBS than ever have before.

There were 55.47 million viewers. That’s 17% better than last season. At its peak 64 million people were watching quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson do their thing.

Or, maybe, some of those millions tuned in to see their hero. We’re sure of one thing. CBS doesn’t care what the reason was. The numbers matter. As they will for the Super Bowl, which is also on CBS. By the way, the NFC game drew 56.6 million viewers – without Swift, but with a better time slot.

• Still no Gonzaga men in the latest AP rankings. The women, despite being on a heater, boasting a 20-2 record and a No. 13 NET ranking, have also been falling, dropping two spots to 19th, despite two blowout road wins.

As for the Cougar women, Sunday’s upset, on the road, of then-second-ranked UCLA earned them more a few more votes. But not enough to get into the top 25.  

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WSU: Myles Rice may not be the most highly touted freshman in the Pac-12 (or the West Coast), but he may just be the best. He won his fourth Freshman of the Week award after leading the Cougars to two home wins. Greg Woods has all the details in this story. … The Cougars are third in Jon Wilner’s latest conference power rankings, the beginning of which you can read in the S-R and the entire list available in the Mercury News. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, we can pass along a roundup of the women’s weekend in the Mercury News. There is also a power ranking from Eugene. …Oregon State zoomed up the top 25 rankings after making a big statement. … Colorado dropped three spots. … Tara VanDerveer has more to say. … On the men’s side, how does Oregon’s resume stand up among the NCAA’s hopefuls? … Late-game execution hasn’t been a Colorado strong point. … Arizona fell out of the top 10 in the men’s poll though one Oregon State player earned some accolades in helping that to happen. … In the midst of a disappointing season – is that strong enough? – USC’s culture is being questioned. … We can pass along another power ranking. … In football news, Washington’s crippling offseason turnover has dropped the Huskies from this early top 25. … Christian Caple talked with one of the outgoing offensive linemen. … The Huskies had a good day yesterday, part of it at Arizona’s expense. … John Canzano has some thoughts on fourth down and other subjects in this mailbag. … The Oregon State offense will look different in 2024. … Oregon has made a deal with the City of Eugene for land needed to expand its football indoor complex. … Colorado has added an Arizona State transfer. … Finally, the Beavers are among the nation’s best baseball teams, despite a bunch of conference-caused distractions.

Gonzaga: Jim Meehan has the preview of tonight’s game in McCarthey – we were gifted tickets from a friend and will be in attendance – as well as a look at the key matchup. … Jim also sat down with Richard Fox for their Zags Basketball Insiders Podcast, which you can listen to here. … Yvonne Ejim won the Ejim Award this week. Wait, no, that’s not right. She won the WCC’s Player of the Week award for the fifth time this season. … Graham Ike won the men’s version of that, his first, something Theo Lawson covers in this story. … The Zag men are still on the bubble according to national writers.

Idaho: College football is different these days. You either accept that, or go a little bonkers. Vandal coach Jason Eck is the former category, despite huge losses over the offseason. He spoke with Colton Clark, who delves into the changes in this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana women’s basketball coach Brian Holsinger has changed his approach recently. It seems to be working. … A Montana men’s player is in legal trouble.

Mariners: We linked Ryan Divish’s story on the Polanco trade above. Of course, we do it again here.

Seahawks: Ben Johnson. Mike Macdonald. Young, wanted coordinators. Will one be the next Seattle head coach? And who will he play at quarterback? … Johnson’s boss, Dan Campbell, is under the microscope after the come-from-way-ahead loss to the 49ers. … Former UW head coach Jimmy Lake is the new defensive coordinator for Atlanta.

Kraken: Last year’s production was not a fluke for Eeli Tolvanen. … The trade deadline is looming.

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• We reached our goal yesterday. Actually, every goal, from doughnuts in the belly to Donut in the park. It was a beautiful day, though the pickleball courts were surprisingly quiet. Until later …