One of our favorite days looms
A GRIP ON SPORTS
Once a year it's fun to watch adults act like children. And I'm not talking about Christmas. Read on.
• Yep, once a year the guys I used to work with (aka, the sports folks) get together and hold a, well, what loosely could be described as a golf "tournament." It's not really, not in a U.S. Open or U.S. Amateur or even the East Bayside Resort Open type of way. It's more akin to the Alex Karras Golf Classic (and believe me, you will want to read George Plimpton's description of Karras' tournament on the link). Today, a bunch of grown men will get together and act like, well, grown men without a care in the world. Which is a good thing. No, it's a great thing. I have had the honor of winning this "prestigious" scramble tournament five times. In fact, the coat that goes to the winning captain is hanging in my laundry room as we speak. Yep, the team I weighed down with my presence happened to win last year, helped by a near hole-in-one by one of Spokane's more prominent media folks, who will remain nameless as he has a reputation to maintain. After that stellar performance, I am making a Joe Namath guarantee right now. The team I am on won't win this year. No chance. Not enough experience. But I can also guarantee we will have fun. The day will fly by. The strokes will add up and we won't care. It's golf, sort of. Actually, it's my favorite day on a golf course all year and I love every day I get a chance to play the game. So there's that.
• By the way, not a lot a sports today. The Heat won. So did the M's. The NCAA is on trial starting this morning and I'm not driving to Omaha. The vote was 5-1 for (I received an e-mail from a relative imploring me not to make the trip in a vain attempt, I think, to use reverse psychology on me; it didn't work) but, after a day of contemplation I decided if I drove that far to watch my alma mater play baseball, how many times would I have to harangue WSU alums for not taking the short trip over the mountains for a 7 p.m. November football game? A thousand? A million? I don't think I could take the pressure.
• It's getting closer. And we have received a lot more of your memories of your dad and sports. Of times good – and bad – you spent with your father playing catch, watching golf, running Bloomsday. Whatever. The time he yelled at an umpire or told you he was proud of you or embarrassed the heck out of your brother. We'll put them together and run them in their entirety here on SportsLink. Some might even be featured in the Review. Don't worry about polish, just share what's in your heart. Send them to me at vincegrippi55@yahoo.com. I'll take care of the rest. Make sure to include your name, as the newspaper needs it for confirmation purposes.
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• WSU: The Pac-12 conference announced some hoped for reforms yesterday and Jacob Thorpe went over them in this blog post – instead of spending his time working on his putting stroke. Yes, I am playing golf with Jacob today. We're doomed. ... One of the highlights of the Pac-12 announcement was a new 11 a.m. football game time this season, hopefully cutting into the number of night games. ... As we said, Ed O'Bannon's lawsuit against the NCAA finally gets underway today.
• Seahawks: One of the first thoughts everyone had when Colin Kaepernick signed his extension with the 49ers was, how would it affect Russell Wilson's next contract. ... The News Tribune has another post-draft depth chart, this time on the defensive backs. ... Pete Carroll is still defending USC and his time there.
• Mariners: How Mariner was Sunday's game? Felix Hernandez went seven scoreless innings, struck out a career-high 15 Rays and didn't get a win. That's so Mariner. Except one thing. The M's scored five times with two outs in the top of the ninth and won 5-0. Maybe that's the hallmark of the new M's? They are four games over .500 for the first time this season. ... Lloyd McClendon gives some of the credit to catcher Mike Zunino. ... Michael Saunders is expected back soon.
• Sounders: Though the season isn't halfway over, the World Cup break seems like a good time to do a retrospective. ... The Times has a nice World Cup preview.
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• I'm done here. Don't worry about my golf game today. I'm not. Until later ...
