THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: April 24, 2014

This 'n that between snow flurries, rain showers, hail storms and sunshine - in other words, a typical spring day in North Idaho:

THE JOY of realizing your dream of a Division I basketball scholarship intersected recently with the reality of the coaching business at that level for North Idaho College point guard Georgia Stirton.

The native of Australia, who played for the Cardinals the past two seasons, verbally committed last fall to Gonzaga, then signed a letter of intent with the Bulldogs.

So imagine her surprise - as well as nearly everybody else's - when she learned that Kelly Graves, the Zag women's coach the past 14 seasons, was leaving to take the head coaching job at Oregon.

"At first it was obviously a bit of a shock," Stirton said recently. "I wasn't expecting him to leave anytime soon. You kind of get to know the person recruiting you ... so that was a bit of a shock. But I'm not disappointed or anything - I guess you have to do what you have to do."

Stirton said she's still a Zag - though she was told by Gonzaga assistants after the news broke that, because the head coach had left, she could have asked to be released from her letter of intent.

She said that thought "crossed my mind," but "not really."

"A big reason why I signed there was because of him," she said. "But either way, if he's there or not, it's a great program. I know the assistant coaches are great.

"I've really gotten to know the girls and the other coaches," she added. "I really like the area, I went to junior college in this area. I know a ton of people."

Stirton spoke before the Zags announced that longtime assistant Lisa Fortier had been promoted to head coach, as well as the news that Graves was taking two of the other GU assistants with him to Oregon.

Stirton said Graves had a "big impact" in her signing with the Zags.

"I knew he had been very successful, and he had really built that program up to be a great program, so to be honest a big reason I did sign there was because of him - because I knew he was a great coach," she said. "But I also knew the assistant coaches are great coaches. They've learned from him ... so I know everything will be fine."

A REVISION to the 45-point mercy rule in eight-man football was approved as a final reading earlier this month by the Idaho High School Activities Association board of control.

In the past, if one team led by 45 or more at halftime, or in the second half, the game was over.

Now, once a team goes up 45 at the half or in the second half, there will be a running clock for the rest of the game, stopped only after conversions, team timeouts and officials' timeouts.

THIS SCHOOL year still has a few weeks remaining, but sites for next year's state high school tournaments have been confirmed.

The north gets one state tourney in the fall - 4A boys and girls soccer will be at Coeur d'Alene and Lake City high schools.

State golf will be in the north in 2015. The 5As will be at Avondale Golf Club, Lakeland will host the 4As, Timberlake the 3As and Lewiston the 2As (sites to be determined).

State 5A softball next spring will be at Post Falls. Coeur d'Alene will host state 4A and 3A softball.

AN OPEN house for the public to see the new June Ford Fieldhouse at Coeur d'Alene High is scheduled for next Tuesday at 3 p.m. Coeur d'Alene plays host to Post Falls in baseball and softball at 4 p.m., and the fieldhouse will be open until those games are completed.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.