Vince Grippi

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The expected happened Thursday. Or inevitable, depending on your point of view. Scott Servais is no longer the manager of the Seattle Mariners. Oops. Maybe we should have prefaced that with the cliché of clichés, “spoiler alert.” After all, maybe Servais still doesn’t know.

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Did we read that right? Is there a chance Spokane’s high temperature Saturday will not reach 70? That makes two things clear. We will need to figure out where we stashed our sweatshirts. But more importantly, football season is almost upon us.

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Is today the day? We’re not sure, but signs are becoming even clearer a change will be made. We will be trimming our mustache. Wait, you thought we were referring to Scott Servais’ job status or something? Ya, we were. Sorry for the awful attempt at misdirection.

A GRIP ON SPORTS • What type of animal would we be? If we were a salmon, we would be heading out to sea when our friends were trying to get past the Columbia River dams. A lemming? We would avoid any cliffs. A goose? We’re headed north this week. But we aren’t any of those things. Just like we aren’t someone who wants Scott Servais fired. Not now.

A GRIP ON SPORTS • This time of year we make a short journey. Drive five minutes, park in the shade and walk into our doctor’s office. Sit, wait, hear our name called. Head back, step on the scale, cringe and find our seat in a small room. Wait some more. Yep, it’s our annual physical. It happens today. The highlight? We have a new scar to share.

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It was great to see the NFL on our TV last night. To watch guys fly around. Make big plays. To notice new players and plays. To find some solace in, despite the regular season still being a few weeks away, the officials are in midseason form.

A GRIP ON SPORTS • No college football today. Just a smattering of games next Saturday. Then, boom. The most impactful season in our lifetime – and that’s a long time folks – begins in earnest as August exits the stage. We can wait. Heck, we wish we could go back a few years and ensure none of the changes we will see ever happened. We can’t. We can only lament them. And move on.

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The Olympics are already fading from memory. Except for the cringing we felt from watching that one Break competitor. Anyhow, we have time to fill this weekend. How do we do it?