A Grip on Sports: Life’s little mysteries extend to sports more often than we might want to admit

A GRIP ON SPORTS • A file disappeared off our computer overnight. Just another mystery for our age-addled brain to solve in a week full of them. Let’s get started Detective Bosch. And bring Mo along as well.

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• The file can wait. What really piques our interest is in Las Vegas. No, not the artist’s renderings of the never-to-be-built Athletics’ ballpark. Those flights of fancy can stay there. We’re interested in the college basketball tournaments, starting today with the Pac-12’s women at one of the seemingly dozens of indoor arenas adjacent to gambling dens.

Specifically, Washington State is on the clock. We’re pretty sure the Cougars, who won the whole shebang last season to earn an NCAA berth, has a one-win ceiling, considering top-seeded Stanford looms in round two. But Kamie Ethridge’s squad needs to reach its potential this afternoon (2:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks) and find a way to get by California.

Why is that so important? The Cougs are riding on a bubble. An NCAA bubble. It’s not out of the question today’s game will either earn them an at-large bid or end their season – though a minor postseason tournament is a possibility.

• We have fewer questions about the other two outstanding women’s team within the sound of our voice.

Gonzaga is headed to the NCAAs. Again. There is no mystery what the Zags are playing for in Vegas starting next Monday. Win the WCC’s auto berth, host the first two rounds of the tournament in the McCarthey Athletic Center. That’s a huge advantage they don’t want to throw away.

Eastern Washington has a different task in Boise, starting Sunday. They have to win the Big Sky tournament title. That’s the minimum needed to gain entry into the magic kingdom. It’s not fair, of course, considering how successful the Eagles have been – a school-record 26-win season – but there is never any ambiguity with the NCAA. Who you are and which conference you play in matters.

• Even Inspector Clouseau knew the Seahawks were going to make huge changes in the offseason. Especially after Pete Carroll was shown the door. Now players who fit his way of playing are being winnowed as well.

Though even if Carroll and his pristine white Nikes had returned, we would wager Jamal Adams would not have. Too big a contract, too little return. One of John Schneider’s worst trades finally acknowledged as such the same week his best, an over-the-hill Russell Wilson to Denver for an Italian Job haul, dominated the news cycle once again.

Joining Adams in the free agent pool will be fellow safety Quandre Diggs and tight end Will Dissly. Others should follow, either by choice or not, as the Hawks search for salary cap flexibility.

You didn’t have to read between the lines in this space to discern our ambivalence – to put it mildly – about Adams over his tenure. But we’re not about to kick a guy as he’s leaving. Though we really want to.

• The next crime happens to be something of a RICO violation. At least to Gonzaga men’s fans. How could the league coaches ignore their guys when it comes to the top individual basketball awards?

Simple. The Bulldogs have dominated the awards the past 20 years. A “down-year” is a chance to spread the hardware around. Well, that and the coaches may have actually believed in their choices. Wait, no way. It’s a conspiracy.

But proof? How about Augustas Marciulionis was the key player on the title-winning team. That is enough to make him player of the year. Or USF’s Jonathan Mogbo dominated the lower-end of the conference to such a degree he earned the newcomer of the year award. Zag fans were sure Graham Ike was going to take home at least one of those trophies. They had a good case.

However, we’ve heard little in the way of outrage about the award we thought missed the mark the most. Saint Mary’s Mitchell Saxen named defensive player of the year over GU’s Anton Watson. We’re sure there is some analytics that support Saxen’s case, which is all well and good, but one would think coaches would observe and honor the big little things Watson supplies. He’s the anchor of the Zags’ team-oriented defensive approach, which has improved over last season and was a key element in their late-season surge.

Oh, well. There will be at least two new voters next season. Maybe they’ll have better vision. And find a clue.

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WSU: Have some time this morning? Good. Grab a glass of water or a cup of coffee and read Greg Woods’ story on Donald Watts and his new outlook and many things, not the least of which is Washington State. … Will Kyle Smith ride the Cougars’ excellent adventure into a new job? We don’t know but what he had to say yesterday certainly didn’t help those fans on the ledge already. Heck, his admission he’s waiting until the end of the season to talk extension probably had them searching for a parachute. Greg has that story as well. And, by the way, we knew making a joke about his status was third-rail territory, but grabbed the chance anyway on X yesterday. We weren’t wrong. … Greg Lee delves into the women’s Pac-12 tourney challenges in this preview. As we said, California is the first test. … Jake Dickert isn’t going anywhere for now. That’s the positive from the Cougs’ tough finish to their season. The football program has figured out its spring plans and it all starts at the end of March. Greg shares what he knows. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, we start with Jon Wilner’s raking George Kliavkoff over the coals. Rightfully so. The math equation is obvious. ESPN/Fox greed x (oblivious CEOs x Larry Scott + Kliavkoff) = Pac-12 demise. As always, solve inside the paratheses first. … But don’t worry. College sports is still in the early stages of its 21st Century evolution. Case in point: Dartmouth and union representation. … Another case in point: How Arizona State is searching for a new athletic director. … How about one more? Washington is spending a boatload of money on a basketball practice facility. … Dana Altman made it clear yesterday he’s not retiring as Oregon’s coach. … In the back from the past file, we offer this new book on UCLA’s dynasty. In the how far they have fallen one, UCLA this year. … A rivalry going away makes its last stand in Los Angeles, with Arizona visiting the Bruins. … Senior Night meant something special for Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley. … Colorado is better defensively. Good enough? We will see. … We mentioned the women’s awards. We can pass along stories covering Stanford, Colorado, Oregon State, USC and UCLA. … We also can pass along these tournament picks from the Mercury News and Jeff Metcalfe. … Washington knows it needs to make a splash this week to keep playing. … Colorado has some points to make as well. … Let’s include Arizona in that too. … USC and UCLA are not in that mode. … We have some football news to pass along as well, including the answer to questions you may not have known you had. … How are Washington and Oregon positioned for the Big Ten move? … Washington has lost another key starter. … Oregon State began spring practices yesterday in Corvallis with a lot to get done. … Man, Oregon is spending a lot of money on assistant coaches. … Chip Kelly was tired of being UCLA’s coach. That’s so clear now. … Finally, the Pac-12 Networks are going off the air soon. The story of what went on in San Francisco is worth reading.

Gonzaga: Yes, Theo Lawson begins his story about the men’s awards pointing out what didn’t happen. But he spends a majority of it showcasing what did. Three first-team selections, a second-team one and a freshman selection. … There was no controversy around Gonzaga concerning the women’s WCC awards, as Greg Lee shares. Lisa Fortier was coach of the year, Yvonne Ejim was the player of the year and the defensive player of the year, plus the undefeated Zags had three other starters on the first team and their fifth on second. Maud Huijbens also was named sixth woman of the year. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Saint Mary’s awards haul was well earned.

EWU: The Eagle women have to change gears. Put their record-setting regular season in the rearview mirror and prepare for the key week in Boise. Greg has a preview of what’s ahead. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, being a college coach means all too often missing your kids’ competitions. … Montana has made some football staff adjustments.

Chiefs: If you haven’t seen Berkly Catton play, what have you been waiting for? Spokane’s best player showed once again his tremendous upside in the Chiefs 6-3 win over Victoria last night at the Arena. How about a hat trick and two assists? Dave Nichols covers the key Tuesday night win.

Hoopfest: Team registration is open for the end-of-June 3-on-3 tourney. As is court monitor registration. The former won’t have a place to play without the latter. That news is part of the S-R’s latest local briefs column.

Kraken: Andre Burakovsky was Seattle’s savior last night, scoring late to lift the Kraken to a 4-3 road win over Winnipeg. … Vince Dunn is out after the vicious hit in Calgary. … Should the Kraken start dealing now?

Seahawks: The roster changes were yesterday’s big news as well it should be. The Hawks are taking a hit now for flexibility’s sake. … Just how should the team deal with the safety situation? … And just how will Seattle play it in the NFL draft’s first round?

Mariners: Matt Brash is back throwing but is taking it slowly. … The M’s also lost two games yesterday. … Nelson Cruz, who rarely threw a baseball in his time in Seattle, will toss the first pitch on opening day. Irony anyone?

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• We opened up our work file this morning and our Saturday column showed up. We were stumped for a moment or two, until we realized we did some game playing on our laptop yesterday. We’re guessing the column from Saturday, which the Cloud had installed on the desktop as we were working, reasserted itself somehow and over wrote Tuesday’s effort. Shouldn’t happen, should it? Until later …