A Grip on Sports: The Seahawks make the smart choice Thursday, as did Cam Ward when he decided to transfer to WSU a couple years ago

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Thankfully, the weather has finally turned. At least in Spokane. Sunshine and warmth. No need to stay inside. No need to waste time trying to find some sort of sporting competition on the TV to fill your weekend.

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• The pursuit might just be fruitless. Unless you enjoy baseball. Or the NBA playoffs. Or the NHL’s. Or a bunch of guys in suits manning telephones.

OK, maybe I was too quick to judge. Maybe there is more on than first glance would have indicated.

Heck, there is even college football. With pads and everything. If you don’t mind mining the streaming services for glorified scrimmages on Saturday. I guess it would be a welcome break from scanning the portal wire, hoping your team can add that much-coveted linebacker who stepped on the field 17 times last season for Rutgers. Or, as the car-rental companies say, something similar.

• Forget the weekend’s TV landscape. When the top PGA tournament is the weirdly named Zurich Classic of New Orleans – where is it, Zurich or New Orleans? – it’s easy to forget.

Let’s do some weeding concerning sports news.

The biggest tangle grew in Green Bay, where Thursday the NFL held the first round of its annual draft extravaganza. The seven-round event continues Friday (rounds two and three, starting at 4 p.m. on ESPN and the NFL Network) and finishes Saturday (rounds four through seven begin at 9 a.m. on the same channels).

The first round was filled with drama – a daring trade to move up for Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders’ free fall out of the first round – and some universally praised picks – including the Seahawks at No. 18, which is sort of shocking.

After all, John Schneider took an interior offensive lineman. The three positions aren’t the game’s glamour ones. But North Dakota State’s Grey Zabel is not only attractive enough on his own (6-foot-6 and an athletic 316 pounds), he is also fills a glaring need for Seattle.

That combination usually produces draft night success. High grades. Anticipation. Pressure. And, hopefully, a player who can shore up the inside of the Hawks’ offense.  

Remember all those times the past couple years Geno Smith tried to step in the pocket to deliver the ball downfield, and didn’t have any space to do it? Me too. In theory, Zabel will help create enough space for Sam Darnold to do just that.

In practice? We’ll see.

It always cracks me up to see stories filled with draft night opinions on the selections. A player is picked that aligns with the writer’s mocks? Great choice. Outside that box? Uh, maybe they shouldn’t have “reached” there.

Zabel wasn’t a reach. Though, if any one wants to say he was, ironically, it’s because his arms are too short. With only a 32-inch measurement, that was the one knock on the FCS standout. Well, that and the fact he played in the second-division his entire collegiate career.

But if there is a positive coming from college football’s newfound player mobility, it’s the growing understanding FCS stars, like Zabel, can be stars at the FBS level too. There have been many examples, including the two top picks Thursday night, former Washington State (and Miami) quarterback Cam Ward, who started his college journey at Incarnate Word, and Travis Hunter, a two-year standout at Jackson State before winning the Heisman Trophy for Colorado.

• It seemed pretty obvious when leadoff hitter Victor Robles joined starting pitcher George Kirby on the injured list earlier this month. The Mariners would be treading water for a while, waiting for the injuries to heal.

Obvious. But not true. Instead the M’s have heated up. Won again Thursday, 4-3, in Boston. Took their fifth consecutive series. Posted a 6-3 record on the road trip. Heck, won a series in Fenway for the first time in 11 years.

If there is one road-trip fact that should elicit a bit of optimism, though, it concerns the three losses. Each led off a series. Put Seattle in a hole. But didn’t bury them.

Each was followed by two consecutive wins, not an easy feat in Cincinnati or Toronto or Boston.

The M’s took a late-night flight home and will open a three-game series with Miami at T-Mobile tonight (6:40, Root). The Marlins didn’t play Thursday, giving them an edge. It may not matter. At least when it comes to winning the series.   

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WSU: Does Cam Ward reach the pinnacle he hit last night without his two years in Pullman? Maybe. But there is no doubt the sojourn north helped his chances considerably. And was a big step in his development, in part because Washington State has always valued development, no matter who was in charge of the football program. It’s the only way the Cougars survive. Greg Woods witnessed the second year of Ward’s WSU tenure and has coverage of his selection. … There are other stories to pass along as well. … A couple more football players signed on for current coach Jimmy Rogers’ developmental courses, as Greg tells us in this story. … Former Washington State and Central Valley High basketball player Dylan Darling, who blossomed last season at Idaho State, earning Big Sky MVP honors, will play next season at St. John’s. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, we linked this Washington Post story about the House settlement issues yesterday. It is available on the S-R website this morning. … John Canzano has some thoughts on how the new financials of college football impacts the NFL draft. … Washington practiced Thursday and Christian Caple has coverage. … Recruiting never stops. Ask Washington and Oregon. … Oregon State lost a backup receiver to the portal. … How did the Beavers’ spring game go? And how will the Ducks? … Former USC quarterback Jaxson Dart was drafted in the first round. Colorado’s Sanders was not. At least one person believes that was a big mistake. … Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty was expected to go in the first round. He did. To Pete Carroll and the Raiders at No. 6. … Utah lost a tight end and added a defensive back. … New Arizona State receivers coach Hines Ward is excited to be working with one tall player. … UCLA picked up a high-profile Oregon transfer.  … In basketball news, USC men’s signee Alijah Arenas was in an early morning crash Thursday, one that destroyed his cyber truck and left Arenas in a medically-induced coma. … Washington coach Danny Sprinkle has rebuilt the Huskies roster following a plan. … Arizona officially has a staff opening. … The Utah women welcomed back a player who transferred and played elsewhere last season.

Gonzaga: Transfer Jun Seok Yeo has found a new home. In the same state. And, next season, in the same conference. Theo Lawson tells us Yeo landed at Seattle U, which joins the WCC in the fall. … Jon Wilner evaluates the spring transfer window and decides who won and who lost. In the former category is WSU football. The latter? Gonzaga basketball, which has yet to attract anyone. As we mentioned yesterday, the Zags don’t have huge needs. … The GU baseball team had its worst nonconference start under Mark Machtolf. The Zags began the season 2-12. Now? They lead the WCC. Again. Justin Reed delves into the turnaround.

Idaho: Former Vandal quarterback Gevani McCoy is headed to Temple. He spent last season at Oregon State and the spring with Texas State. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, recruiting never rests. Ask Montana football. … Montana State’s new defensive line coach is fitting in.  … A former Montana State women’s basketball player, who has a son playing at UCLA, is headed to the Big Sky Hall of Fame. … The Bobcats added twins to their roster. … Idaho State added three players to its roster. … Weber State picked up one.

Preps: We played fastpitch softball for more than a decade. And understand one truism of the sport. To win at a high level, a team must have a high-level pitcher. Madison McCord took in the GSL first-place showdown Thursday between undefeated Mt. Spokane and district rival Mead. The Wildcats cruised 10-0, to open a two-game lead over the Panthers. The main reason? Addison Jay. The junior right-hander threw a complete game, gave up just three hits and struck out 10. … Besides that softball coverage, we can also pass along Cheryl Nichols’ roundup of other sun-drenched action.

Chiefs: No sun inside the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena tonight. Though visiting Portland has been white hot. Dave Nichols previews the WHL Western Conference finals between Spokane and the Winterhawks. Portland comes in having knocked top-seed Everett out of the postseason, winning on the road in game seven.

Indians: Dave was out at Avista last night, covering Spokane’s 9-5 loss to Eugene.

Mariners: We linked the M’s game story above. We do it again here. … It’s never easy to be a reliever.

Seahawks: When it comes to evaluating line play, we always defer to Dave Boling. After all, only one of us played center in college. To me, this is the most-telling sentence in Dave’s positive assessment of the Zabel selection: “He doesn’t score touchdowns, but there’s nobody they could have added at that point of the first round who could improve the quality of the Seahawks’ offense more when the 2025 season rolls around.” … Seattle didn’t get too cute with the pick. Which is a good thing. … Before the Hawks took Zabel, they asked the best guard in the team’s history, Steve Hutchinson, to check him out. … The grades were universally good. And the pick showed common sense. … Hey, Sanders is still available today.

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• A busy day ahead. Which is one reason we finished early today. The other? I washed our windows Wednesday and the sun’s arrival seemed to be a bit brighter this morning. Until later …