A Grip on Sports: Our heads are in the trees today as the Masters begins but that doesn’t stop us from marveling at the M’s marvelous comeback

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Please be forgiving today. It’s Thursday. The Masters is underway. And, while I’m working, for you, I’m also watching, for me. I can’t remember how many years ago I discovered Masters.org and started streaming the tournament, but it was long ago. The increased number of errors creeping into this column during the Masters? It’s a tradition unlike any other.

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• Yes, my focus is a little split this morning. I mean, who would have expected to pull up the leaderboard and see Zach Johnson’s name atop it? What, I fell asleep in 2025 and awoke in 2007? Why couldn’t I have woken up in 1986 to watch Jack Nicklaus prowl the back nine once more? Or 1997, so I could see Augusta National before the guys in the green coats tried, unsuccessfully, to Tiger-proof the place? Heck, if it were 1997, I not only could watch Tiger tee off on the first day of his 12-stroke win but I could also buy Apple stock at 17-cents a share.

Even after the past few days that would make me a rich man in 2025. Though maybe not rich enough to be one of the folks wearing a green jacket and deciding what changes will get made at Augusta National.

None were planned over the winter this year but Hurricane Helene hit Georgia in September and did her own pruning.

Will the course play differently for Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and the rest this week? Maybe. There are fewer trees to cut the wind, especially around the keystone hole of Amen Corner, the par-3 12th. Many of the larger trees surrounding the hole were lost, allowing less in the way of protection from breezes that have swirled around the stretch for decades. But fewer obstructions might also mean more consistency in judging how the wind will impact the flight of the ball. And make the hole a bit easier.

We will see.

As we will see if the players are right and the reduced canopy allows sound to travel with greater reverberation. Remember how intense the roars were in 1986 as Jack was making his back-nine charge? Or those in 2019, when Tiger stalked his final Masters’ win? Now turn the volume up to 11. Maybe that will happen this weekend.

And maybe I’ll get everything right today and this weekend. 

I’m buying stock in Scheffler again. Who wouldn’t after he won his second green jacket last year? As long as he doesn’t try to make ravioli for dinner one night. Or his putter balks, as it does from time to time. After that? Maybe Brian Harman, Max Homa or, in the dark-horse category, Britian’s Tommy Fleetwood, this generation’s version of Johnson.

• Not sure what happened late Wednesday afternoon – yard work called me to duty on such a nice day – but as someone who follows the Mariners on a day-to-day basis, I wasn’t all that surprised.

It’s a team that does the unexpected often enough to expect it. Remember the series with the Tigers? When the M’s couldn’t do a thing at the plate the first two games? I do. Game three was against Tarik Skubel, the Seattle U. grad with the 2024 American League Cy Young Award on his mantle.

It seemed just so Mariner like if they won, something I wrote that morning. They did. So it is surprising that a team that couldn’t get a hit with runners in scoring position for most of its first dozen games would get two huge ones Wednesday? An eighth-inning Randy Arozarena grand slam to erase nearly all of a 5-0 Astros’ lead and a Julio Rodriguez double an inning later? Anyone surprised? OK, I was. But the fact Arozarena walked with the bases loaded to force in the winning run seemed inappropriately appropriate.

I wasn’t sure the M’s newest leftfielder could take four pitches outside the strike zone. That he did, with the game on the line and one at-bat after crushing a ball into the left-field seats, fits the Mariners’ M.O. as well as anything. They do the unexpected, even when you expect it.

That the team’s first series win wouldn’t come until April 9? Unexpected, yet expected. After all, the win lifted the M’s record to 5-8 after 13 games. Can you guess what their record was after 13 games in 2024? In 2023? Yes, 5-8. How perfectly symmetrical.

Bad news though. As we all know, the 2023 and 2024 M’s missed the postseason by a hair each time. Can we expect a repeat? Hey, have faith. This franchise never does what’s expected. It’s the only thing we can count on.

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WSU: Nate Calmese, Isaiah Watts, Marcus Wilson, LeJuan Watts. All in the transfer portal. Oh, add Cedric Coward’s name to the list. Coward, who was injured much of last season after following coach David Riley from Eastern Washington, had already made it clear he was focusing on the NBA draft. But he hedged his bets a bit this week by putting his name in the NCAA’s database. It looks as if the Cougars will have an all-new lineup this fall. Greg Woods has more in this story. … Former WSU big man Mouhamed Gueye has seen a huge jump during his second season in the NBA. … Washington State senior Emily Lundgren was named the Mountain West Conference Swimmer of the Year yesterday. That news leads off the S-R’s latest local briefs column. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, there is a danger for Olympic sports inherent in the House settlement. … John Canzano gave some time to our U.S. congressman, WSU grad Michael Baumgartner, and his proposal to re-work college sports. … We linked this story about WSU transfer Taariq Al-Uqdah when it ran in the Times yesterday. And we link it again today in the S-R. … An Oregon State assistant has switched positions. … Is there a quarterback competition at Oregon? … A Stanford receiver would love to be drafted by the 49ers. … A former Arizona State quarterback stayed around to coach. … Arizona has at least one tight end with elite skills. … Could Ashton Jeanty end up in Las Vegas? … San Diego State is adding wrinkles to spring. … Last year’s leading rusher is no longer at Colorado. … In men’s basketball news, who will be the best team in the Big 12 next season? BYU? Houston? … Arizona’s hopes were boosted by a high school player saying he’s headed to Tucson. … Boise State seems to be a big player in the transfer pool. … Colorado State had a great year with great players. The Rams will be challenged a bit more next season. … Oregon has added a guard. … In the women’s game, Becky Burke said hello to Arizona. The former Buffalo coach was hired yesterday to replace Adia Barnes. … Colorado’s roster, like just about everyone’s, is under reconstruction. … Same with California.

Gonzaga: Theo Lawson must not have enough to do. Just kidding. He has plenty. It is just he’s added a transfer tracker for the entire WCC to his plate.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, a Montana player has stepped up at a new position. … Both Montana and Montana State players have a good shot at being drafted. … The Griz men added a basketball transfer.

Preps: Greg Lee has a track and field notebook that leads off with Mead’s Simon Rosselli breaking the state discus record by more than four inches.

Indians: Wednesday’s game against visiting Vancouver started well. But after McCade Brown left, the Spokane bullpen fell apart and the Canadians posted an 8-4 victory. Dave Nichols has more in this story.

Velocity and Zephyr: John Allison has a notebook that covers Spokane’s two USL squads.

Mariners: That M’s 7-6 comeback win featured a key hit from Rodriguez, that may just be a catalyst for the outfielder emerging from his usual slow start. … Starting second baseman Ryan Bliss, who won the job in spring training, will miss awhile. He’s on the injured list after tearing his left biceps on Tuesday night. … The Cal Raleigh extension was one of the best of the offseason.

Seahawks: The Hawks have a lot of needs in the draft.

Masters: One of the changes with the Masters this year? No Verne Lundquist. He retired after 40 years. Frank Nobilo takes over the 16th hole. … If you believe you can win Sunday, what color shirt should you wear? Whatever goes well with green.

Kraken: A brass band? In this economy?

Storm: There seems to be a consensus on whom Seattle will draft with the second pick.

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• Hopefully, this was pretty clean. If not, I’ve already made my excuses. Now excuse me, I have to head downstairs to the TV room. And watch more golf. How do I get to Peacock again? Until later …