A Grip on Sports: From Pac-12 basketball to golf to track, we cover a lot of ground in the middle of the week
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s the middle of the week. Three days down, three more to go. Let’s use that number, three, as our baseline for talking about news items. We’ll cover Pac-12 basketball, golf and college track. And maybe a bonus one. OK with you?
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• For some weird reason, the Pac-12 Conference yesterday announced part of its basketball schedule for next season. On the last Tuesday in May. And not the entire schedule, though everyone now knows what teams they will play only once.
What a masterstroke of marketing. I’m sure ESPN broke into PTI to share the news. What, they didn’t? Well I never.
Honestly, even Pac-12 basketball fans probably didn’t spend much time thinking about the schedule yesterday. Looked at it, said “OK” and went back to weeding or playing tennis or walking the dog.
The two schools Washington State will play only once next season? UCLA, one of the preseason favorites not only for the conference title but a national one as well, and Arizona, where former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd came this close to doing what GU does every year, not playing the Cougars.
• When my dad bought me golf clubs and lessons for my birthday a little more than 50 years ago, he told me one thing about the sport. It was one I could play my entire life.
Like a lot of things he said back then, he was right.
And a guy born that year, Phil Mickelson, proved him right over last weekend. Want to know something weird about Mickelson, who was born that year about 130 miles south of our home? He’s won six majors, is considered the second-best player of his generation and has never been ranked No. 1 in the world. His best ranking? No. 2, for 270 weeks.
Thanks, Tiger.
Anyhow, Mickelson somehow found the fountain of youth in South Carolina – take that Ponce deLeon – last weekend, winning the PGA after turning 50 almost a year ago. It’s a pretty remarkable achievement. Winning? No. Making me acknowledge one of may dad’s true statements more than a decade after he passed.
• Speaking of my dad, he was one of the biggest track fans you’ll ever meet. He loved to sit in the stands at UCLA and time races, seeing how close he could get to the official time. And he told stories of watching Jackie Robinson and his brother Mack run for Pasadena Junior College.
All of which would have had him reaching for today’s S-R sports section. Why? There is a story today about local track athletes competing at the college level. And another about Eastern’s star hurdler Parker Bowden.
Such achievements, and such coverage, were important to my father. He always thought track was under-covered until the Olympics. He would grumble every four years when American television would acknowledge the greatness of Bob Beamon or Carl Lewis or Renaldo Nehemiah, wondering why they weren’t more in the spotlight for the four years in-between.
Today, in the S-R, they are.
• OK, we’re stretching our focus to four items this morning. We want to pass along Kip Hill’s story on the legacy of our friend, John Oakley. It’s part of series on people or places the Spokane School Board is considering honoring by naming one of the new schools after.
Whether they pick Oakley, the former teacher and coach who died from ALS a few years, as the namesake for a new middle school is somewhat immaterial. The discussion of his impact on our area’s youth is not. It was immense.
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WSU: As we mentioned above, the Pac-12 released the early part of the basketball schedule. Theo Lawson goes into more detail in this story. … Larry Weir someone roped in Dennis Patchin, Rick Luken and Keith Osso together for the latest Press Box podcast. They spoke about the Cougars to the Mariners and everything in between. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college sports, is Amazon going to deliver good news to the conference when its media rights are for sale again? … Former Washington quarterback Jacob Eason is a key part of the Colts’ roster. … No one thinks there is much talent at Arizona. … A UCLA linebacker is embracing change. … Does Utah have enough depth at receiver? … Colorado’s offensive coordinator hopes to take the Buffs to new heights. … Oregon has rescheduled a 2020 canceled game. … A former Oregon State defensive tackle is headed to Michigan.
Gonzaga: Rui Hachimura is neck-deep in the NBA playoffs. But he can’t help thinking back to his college days.
EWU: Parker Bowden is preparing for the NCAA regional after winning the Big Sky 110-meter hurdle championship. And Ryan Collingwood delves into his long road to get there, one that started a little slower than usual at Central Valley High.
Preps: Yesterday was all about slowpitch softball. Dave Nichols has a roundup of GSL action.
Indians: Dave also put together this story concerning Spokane’s 7-4 loss at Eugene, though he wasn’t in the Oregon city.
Mariners: The M’s won again in Oakland, holding on to top the once red-hot A’s 4-3. … Hey, another Jarred Kelenic story. And one about Ty France, who is back from an injury.
Seahawks: Russell Wilson made waves early in the offseason, using the national media to make people believe he was headed elsewhere. He wasn’t. And now he’s using the same folks to rehab his image a bit. … Are the Hawks any better than they were heading into the offseason? At a few positions, yes. … Don’t worry about the OTAs. Or training camp practices. Things are changing.
Storm: Seattle made a Sue Bird-led run in overtime and handed visiting Connecticut its first loss of the season, 90-87.
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• There was a popular song when I was young about a morning in May. One of those earworm-type songs. For some reason it hit me this morning – maybe because it’s a morning in May? – and I can’t stop singing it. Darn you Three Dog Night. By the way, in typical strange Three Dog Night fashion, the name of the song, written by Dave Loggins, is “Pieces of April.” Ya, weird. Here’s the chorus: “It’s a mornin’, It’s a mornin’ in May, Just a mornin’, Just a mornin’, Just a mornin’, Mornin’ in May, It’s a mornin’ in May.” My word. Until later …