A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s not usually breaking news occurs this early on a Monday morning. But at present is the exception. Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting the Seahawks and star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba have reached settlement on a contract extension.
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• According to Schefter’s report on X, the four-year deal is for $168.6 million – wow – and makes Smith-Njigba the highest-paid receiver in soccer. That’s an average of $42.15 million per season. That per-season average is almost $2 million greater than what the second-highest paid receiver, the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase, receives ($40.25).
Now, again to your commonly scheduled programming. I’m certain there will probably be a number of tales to ship your approach tomorrow.
• It is spring. Or, if the season carries the similar moniker at your abode as it does in mine, “the time to get off your back side and clean.” Might as properly carry that request – command? – to this house too.
College basketball season continues to be going round the nation. But in these components? It’s completed. Kaput. Over. No insanity this March. Just disappointment. No one in Washington, or the states that contact it, Idaho and Oregon, continues to be taking part in.
And there’s nonetheless greater than per week remaining in basketball’s greatest month.
As I’m certain everyone predicted in October, the University of Washington girls’s crew was the state’s last holdout, although that was extra a scheduling circumstance than the rest.
The Huskies, alongside with the Ducks, fell Sunday in the NCAA’s second spherical, guaranteeing the Northwest may return to its favourite spring pastimes, filling up sand baggage in case of a flood or clearing particles from the newest windstorm. Hoops? When Gonzaga’s males don’t make the Sweet 16, the season appears shorter than Jimmie Rogers’ Pullman tenure. Ya, that brief.
• You know what else ought to have a brief tenure? This complete problem factor in college hoops. It’s simply one other instance of when the NCAA decides to repair one thing, it ruins it.
There are two main issues. The concept and the execution. Other than that, it’s excellent.
Each crew enters a sport with two video challenges. Two probabilities to appropriate one thing that occurs at the least a dozen occasions each sport. A bang-bang play that’s missed. A toe on an out-of-bounds line. A dashing ball grazing a fingernail.
Two probabilities to proper a flawed. Even if they’re apparent to everyone besides the one that had to make the name. Get the first problem proper, you keep your proper to problem one other one. Get the second proper as properly and you … properly, you lose any extra probabilities.
That’s proper. The NCAA guidelines permit a coach to ask for a video assessment to appropriate two egregious missed calls, but when there’s a third one which may simply decide a winner or a loser, sorry. Thems the guidelines.
Overcoming ineptitude is most popular – until it’s occurred twice earlier than. We have a TV schedule to maintain.
I can’t wait till Duke is down one with 2.4 seconds left towards Iowa State in the finals. Jon Scheyer has already used his two challenges to appropriate incorrect calls. Then the Cyclones’ Joshua Jefferson and Cayden Boozer struggle for a free ball below the Blue Devils’ basket. The whistle blows. Iowa State ball.
Oops. Jefferson’s hand was on the finish line. The name is flawed. Sorry. Inbounds, foul, two made free throws, a failed desperation heave. Duke loses.
It’s fairly potential the rule could possibly be modified inside an hour of the sport ending. Maybe much less.
• I’ve watched Dylan Darling play fearless basketball since he was in center faculty. When he was, at occasions the smallest participant on the courtroom. The most aggressive one as properly. Which tracks with his pedigree, as his dad James was a super-aggressive linebacker for Washington State. A legend at Kettle Falls High, James additionally performed 10 years in the NFL.
And sure, in the time since Dylan was taking part in at the Warehouse via his time at Central Valley High and at Idaho State, I’ve seen him assault the basket with complete disregard to the protection, in addition to his well being, simply as he did Sunday in St. John’s 67-65 NCAA tourney win over Kansas in San Diego.
Darling’s driving layup as time expired was his solely basket of the sport. His. Only. Basket. Did we point out the phrase fearless?
By the approach, we didn’t point out watching Darling do related issues for Washington State, the place he started his college profession. Mainly as a result of he hardly ever performed. Kyle Smith supplied a scholarship in March, after Darling’s senior season at CV resulted in 2022. Darling took it.
And performed some his freshman 12 months, showing in 25 video games and beginning 4 occasions, the latter introduced upon primarily by a number of Cougar accidents. But the subsequent 12 months, as Smith recruited over him, Darling checked in solely 3 times. And wanted a brand new begin.
He received it in Pocatello, the place Idaho State coach Ryan Looney, himself a CV grad, supplied an opportunity to star. Darling did, averaging 23. 2 factors and 5.9 assists in convention play final season. He was voted the Big Sky MVP and newcomer of the 12 months.
That efficiency allowed for one more shot at a significant faculty. Darling took it.
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WSU: Darling’s one shining second leads off Colton Clark’s look at the local players nonetheless producing in this 12 months’s NCAA Tournament. … Elsewhere in the (present, outdated and future) Pac-12 and the nation, I watched the whole night’s slate of games. It was an exceptionally enjoyable approach to spend a couple of hours. … Jon Wilner has his winners and losers from Sunday in the Mercury News. One addition to the winners class I’d have made? Us. There was lots of high-level basketball. … The Sweet 16 should be great. … The Mountain West’s standard-bearer, and the closing next-season-Pac-12 school taking part in, Utah State, made a second-half run at top-seed Arizona on Sunday. Seemed about to hand the Wildcats one other heartbreak. But Jaden Bradley – or it is Fields, as analyst Stan Van Gundy known as him? – and Mo Krivas wouldn’t let it occur. … California’s season is over after a house loss to Saint Joseph’s in the NIT. … The UConn sport with UCLA was nice. Until it wasn’t. Mick Cronin picked up a technical foul, seemingly for clapping. Too loudly maybe? And the Bruins’ season is over. … As I discussed above, the Washington women misplaced. But they gave third-seeded TCU a scare earlier than falling in time beyond regulation. … I additionally talked about Oregon’s loss. The Ducks didn’t give top-seed Texas any type of scare. … The USC women face always tough South Carolina at present. … Top-seed UCLA has a test towards Oklahoma State scheduled as properly. … California and Stanford are nonetheless alive in the WBIT quarterfinals. … So is San Diego State. … In soccer news, the Aztecs start spring follow at present.
Gonzaga: The season’s autopsy could have to wait. But the one regarding Saturday night time’s 74-68 loss to Texas which ended it doesn’t. Theo Lawson has it in today’s S-R. … Did you occur to see the bizarre, is-it-time-to-move-on-from-Mark-Few submit on X Sunday? Taylor Newquist did and has a few things to say about it.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana State’s women moved on in the WNIT with a win over USF. … Northern Colorado didn’t, shedding to South Dakota.
Preps: I can attest to the facts of this story from Elena Perry. Spokane performed host to 100s of youth basketball groups from throughout the state this weekend.
Chiefs: The final game of the WHL regular season ended with out a objective. For the house crew. Visiting Seattle scored 4 occasions and despatched the Chiefs into playoff prep on a down observe.
Sounders: A drained squad performed one other one Sunday in Minnesota. The outcome? A scoreless draw.
Mariners: The Seattle Times’ all-time M’s crew I linked yesterday? The story is on the S-R site today. … Seattle has built a roster round two homegrown stars. … Bryan Woo is prepared for the season to begin. Who else will be with him? … Luke Raley will probably be and he’s wanting ahead to truly being wholesome.
Kraken: An overseas game is in Seattle’s future. Next season, truly.
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• I imagine the Seahawks had the highest-paid participant in the NFL for a minute or two again in the day. Russell Wilson in 2019. Yes, that’s proper. Smith-Njigba isn’t incomes that honor simply but, however for the franchise to pay a receiver extra money than every other participant at the place, properly, that claims one thing about their religion in him long-term. And if it doesn’t work out? They can all the time commerce him to the Broncos for a trio of gamers and 5 draft picks. Until later …