Solving a Palouse mystery
A GRIP ON SPORTS
Mondays are never easy. It's a day of searching, especially this time of year. Trying to find enough to link is pretty dang hard. But thanks to a guy we've known – and learned from – for years, we have a great piece of reporting to pass along. Read on.
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• Sometime in the not-so-distant past I received a phone call from a former Spokesman-Review colleague. Retired reporter Bill Morlin was looking for a vanished Washington State athlete and he wanted some background information. I was happy to oblige. See, in the newspaper business, it is the responsibility of more experienced reporters and editors to pass along their knowledge to the next generation. Bill did that for me. When I was working as the S-R's graphics editor, I often had to do my own reporting. And when I ran up against a brick wall trying to find information, most often stonewalled by government agencies, I would walk across the newsroom and ask Bill how to proceed. He always had a worthwhile piece of advice. It was similar to having a professor of investigative journalism available each day. Bill retired from the paper after I headed down to Pullman to cover the Cougars but much of what I know about reporting came from him. So when he called, I tried to return the multiple favors. And I figured sooner or later Bill would find Dale Ford. He did. The result is this story for Cougfan that appeared on its website this morning. It's worth your time. And makes your Monday that much more interesting.
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• Washington State: Other than the Dale Ford story above, we can offer you Christian Caple's coverage of Sunday's 7-5 loss to Oregon State, a loss that puts a nail in this year's NCAA baseball hopes. ... Around the Pac-12, Utah struggled at quarterback last season. Next season the Utes should be stacked. ... USA Today looks at what the Pac-12's media network could worth and Jon Wilner comments on the report. Bud Withers also has some thoughts on the new network.
• Gonzaga: The Zags finished a three-game series sweep against Portland with a 7-6 win Sunday.
• Idaho: Probably won't be linking much more from Utah State, as the Aggies are leaving Idaho and the WAC behind for the Mountain West. But before they go, there's this.
• Preps: The state 4A and 3A golf championships will be contested in Spokane this week (we'll be covering the 4A boys). Jim Meehan has an advance.
• Mariners: When asked Friday on the radio if the Mariners would win two or more games in Denver this weekend, I laughed. Oh ye of little faith. The M's didn't win two, they won them all, finishing off the sweep Sunday with a 6-4 win over the Rockies, pounding Colorado's Jeremy Guthrie for six runs on seven hits. Included in that total were back-to-back dingers from Jesus Montero and Justin Smoak in the third inning and Mike Carp's homer in the sixth. Yep, three home runs. ... Brendan Ryan has been somewhat rejuvenated. ... There's a big matchup tonight at Safeco as the M's return home to face Yu Darvish and the Rangers. Felix will be on the bump for the Mariners.
• Sounders: Seattle used a new formation Sunday that coach Sigi Schmid drew up on the fly. It worked.
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• It always seems appropriate for it to rain on a Monday (and it's doing just that in Spokane), don't you think? It sort of matches the mood about the start of the work week. Until later ...
