Inland Northwest’s Best: Most passionate fans, best venues and more
Best fans
Gonzaga University men’s basketball student section. The omnipassionate GU students get more TV time than the vast majority of college sports fans. Let’s not overlook the nonstudents (read: paying spectators) who have helped fill virtually every seat since the 6,000-seat McCarthey Athletic Center was built in 2004.
Honorable mention: Spokane Indians baseball. The Indians often draw 5,000-plus when the weather cooperates. A ball game, a hot dog and a cold beverage on a warm summer night: Does life get any better?
Also: Spokane Chiefs major junior hockey. Do you realize the Chiefs averaged 5,842 fans last season – second in the Western Hockey League – despite the club’s ghastly 15-43-4-6 record? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
Stadiums/arenas
Martin Stadium (Washington State football). The stadium, the smallest in the Pac-12, is an absolute gem. The surrounding Palouse hills add to the allure of a beautiful stadium and the glitzy Football Operations Building behind one end zone. Today’s recruits want the bling, baby.
Honorable mention: Avista Stadium (Spokane Indians baseball). Triple-A baseball, one notch below the major leagues, is long gone from Spokane. However, fans continue to enjoy the same beautiful ballpark that has been home to minor league baseball since the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and shifted their PCL farm club from L.A. to Spokane in 1958.
Also: Spokane Arena (Spokane Chiefs major junior hockey is the primary tenant). A bargain in 1995 at $62.5 million. The arena is still lookin’ good inside and out, particularly when 10,000-plus hockey fans pack the place.
Sportscasters
Bob Robertson, WSU football and men’s basketball. The man was a delight in his prime. Always seemed so comfortable calling a game. Akin to listening to your grandfather tell a bedtime story.
Honorable mention: Dennis Patchin, KXLY television and radio, SWX and KHQ television. We’d call the guy a workaholic, but are you truly working all that hard if you’re having that much fun?
Also: Bud Nameck, KXLY television and radio. Nameck, the longtime sports director at KXLY, called play-by-play for WSU and Whitworth basketball and also did football work on WSU and Whitworth broadcasts.
Sports writers
John Blanchette, The Spokesman-Review. Blanchette is a masterful wordsmith who – like all great journalists – does not hesitate to criticize when necessary, but does not hesitate to praise when appropriate. I cherished him as a colleague, admired him as a rival and still appreciate him when he writes the occasional S-R freelance article as a supposed retiree.
Honorable mention: Dave Boling, The Spokesman-Review, Coeur d’Alene Press. Boling’s interesting life – he played football at Louisville and worked as an ironworker, logger, bartender, cook and God knows what else – somehow led to a career in sports writing. Lucky us, he still freelances for The Spokesman-Review.
Also: Dale Grummert, the Lewiston Morning Tribune, Coeur d’Alene Press. Don’t let his quiet manner and long hair fool you. The man types loud. A terrific interviewer and brilliant story teller.