A Grip on Sports: At least the Hawks were nice enough to give us time to focus on their neighbors at T-Mobile
A GRIP ON SPORTS • We’ll say this for the Seahawks and John Schneider. The lack of draft choices Thursday and Friday – one each day – gave us plenty of time to do other things. Pity those poor fans whose teams had five or so picks in the NFL draft’s first three rounds.
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• Yesterday, we had time to drive across the state. Take in the scenic views between Moses Lake and Vantage. Cross the pass. Check into the hotel. Head to T-Mobile. Watch Emerson Hancock deliver another stellar performance. Clap after a couple of Mariner home runs.
And then check the phone to find out the Hawks had drafted a UConn guard. Hear he can really shoot the 3.
Wait, wrong sport. And there is no longer a hoop in the Seattle media room. Oh well, at least he’s supposed to be a road-grader on the inside. The next coming of John Hannah or someone. Oh, look. Mitch Haniger just hit a grand slam.
We know your experience may vary but unless you’re all in with the NFL and its bingo calls, the Hawks’ lack of draft depth had to free up some time this weekend.
Schneider and Crew, however, have five selections to make in the final four rounds today. You know, when hidden gems are unearthed – hello Mr. Brady – and one guy gets a parade for just being picked last – hello Mr. Irrelevant.
You go ahead and watch. We have things to do.
• Funny thing about the Seahawks’ first two picks. Both fill needs. Needs that have been around the Hawks for a few years. Inside presence. Line of scrimmage dudes. Big bodies. It’s not as if Schneider and former coach Pete Carroll haven’t earmarked picks inside before. It’s just they haven’t worked out all that well. Let’s hope 2024 is different.
• The T-Mobile experience is different, that’s for sure. And not completely in a good way.
No, we’re not complaining about how loud the place is between every inning. We’ve grown accustomed to the din sports venues feel you must have, probably to cover up any yelling the fans might decide to engage in. Nor are we talking about the second mortgage you need to park your car. If a Big Mac can cost almost $10, then spending $30 or $40 to keep your vehicle safe seems, if not reasonable, at least expected.
We do have some complaints, sure – we’re 67 years-old after all, that’s what we do – but they are limited to such things as the disappearance of raw onions to put on the Mariner dog, something that seems so important it sort of ruined our dining experience.
The product on the field? For one night, anyway, in a contest with more interconnections between the combatants than you see in a rural Appalachian county, the M’s played like a first-place team.
Hey, that’s what they are.
Hancock was special. Against the most-potent offense in baseball – believe it or not, the Diamondbacks came in with more runs scored than anyone – the right-hander gave up just a solo home run in six innings. Mainly because he came up with big pitches in big times, getting Arizona to hit into a trio of double plays.
The offense, while overly reliant on the long ball, was good enough. Especially when Arizona starter Zac Gallen, trailing by a run, had to leave with a tight hamstring. A couple batters later, Haniger made it a five-run deficit and the M’s were on their way to the 6-1 victory.
Seattle’s 8-2 record in its last 10 games is the best mark in baseball this side of the National League East. And has allowed the team to bury the memories of another slow start.
• By the way, we are all in with thanking former players for their service, but to salute Eugenio Suarez when he was in the on-deck circle before his first at-bat? That seemed a little over the top. He must have appreciated the love, though, as he once again contributed to a Mariner win. After receiving an ovation before every at-bat – really? – he pitched in with a couple strike outs in a 0-for-4 night.
Good vibes indeed.
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WSU: The Cougars finish spring football practice today in Pullman. They will hold a scrimmage. Greg Woods has three things you should watch for if you attend or watch (3 p.m.) on the Pac-12 Networks. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has a mailbag in the Mercury News today that focuses mainly on the departing members. He also passes along a recruiting summary. … Washington had four more players picked in the draft Friday, while also losing a quarterback to the portal. … The Huskies had a big first round Thursday. … The Chicago Bears took two Pac-12 players in the first round and will pair them on the offensive side of the ball. We guess Michael Wilbon is ecstatic. … Oregon will play its spring game today with celebrity coaches and a split roster. Dan Lanning and his Ducks have some goals today. … Colorado also has its spring game today and we will guess it will be some sort of over-the-top production. … There is also a game of sorts in Tucson today as Arizona celebrates the end of spring practice. … A Utah player with a Moscow connection was drafted by Denver. … In basketball news, Washington will add a guard to its men’s roster. … USC gave women’s coach Lindsay Gottlieb an extension after a great season. … Finally, Stanford always seems to have some player who doubles up with football and baseball.
Gonzaga: Just before the season began, the Zags added Pavle Stosic from Serbia to the roster. He didn’t play much. Now, as Jim Meehan passes along, he is reportedly in the transfer portal. Hope you didn’t invest in a Stosic jersey. … The baseball team dropped the opener of a key WCC series, falling 5-4 in San Diego. The teams are tied atop the conference standings with 12-4 marks.
EWU: The Eagles finished up spring with their Red-White Game on Friday night. The defense put up a bunch of stop signs and won 41-20. Dan Thompson was at Roos Field and has this story. … Colin Mulvany has 20 photos in this gallery. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, there will be 16 seeds in next year’s FCS playoffs. … Weber State football players visited schools in recent road trips put together by the NIL collective. … A Montana State women’s player has found a new home.
Idaho: OK, we’re going to share a personal note here. We were thrilled to read the Vandals’ scrimmage story this morning from Peter Harriman. Mainly because Zach Johnson, from Lake City High, was mentioned as a defensive standout. We’ve were lucky to be given the opportunity to coach Johnson in basketball for a couple years and still count him among our favorite players ever. Hopefully, we helped him in some small way as he’s worked to reach his goal of being a college football player.
Preps: Dave Nichols has a roundup of Friday’s action.
Indians: For the second consecutive day, the weather in Vancouver wasn’t conducive to playing baseball. A doubleheader is on tap for today, but there is a good chance it will be wet. As in 100% chance, with a half-an-inch expected. Sunday? There is only a 90% chance. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Hillsboro edged Eugene 5-4, allowing the Indians to move into first place by percentage points. … Tri-City handled visiting Everett 4-1.
Seahawks: Of course, we have a bunch of stories to pass along on guard Christian Haynes, selected with the 81st pick. Every draft choice is discussed with the gravitas of a 1976 Harvard philosophy roundtable. … Want to watch today? Here is how.
Mariners: We have Ryan Divish’s coverage of last night’s victory to pass along. … He also has this story on Suarez’s return to Seattle.
Sounders: Seattle is a mess. How do the Sounders fix their problems, considering management stayed relatively pat over the offseason and the first transfer window? … They will face D.C. United today and do it without two defenders.
Kraken: There needs to be major repairs to the roster. Can Seattle get it done? … Now that the Kraken have ditched Root Sports, can the Blazers be far behind?
Reign: Another tough match is on the slate today as Seattle tries to snap a losing streak.
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• At least we can say we attended a game this season in which the Mariners won, hit a grand slam and, most importantly, kept their hold on first in the A.L. West. No one can take that away from us. Oh, and we picked up a free T-shirt that we will pass along to some lucky fan we run into when we get home. Until later …