A Grip on Sports: It doesn’t matter how long or how frayed they are, connections built through sports last

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There was an Associated Press story recently about golf and connections. How the game allows those who play a shared experience. It was pegged on the PGA Tour/LIV merger, but its underlying theme transcended it. And, we believe, the theme also spreads quite a bit further than golf.

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• That believe comes from a lifetime of being connected to sports. And sports connecting us to the most important people in our journey.

We are reminded of this every morning, when we awake next to the best person in the world, someone we met through college athletics. And we were reminded last night as we reconnected with an old friend for dinner, a friend made, as most of our friends have been, through sports.

If you are of a certain age, you might occasionally mumble a verse or two of Bruce Springsteen’s early-1980s anthem “Glory Days.” Possibly the one about his buddy who could “throw that speed ball by you.” The song was all about not romancing the past, sure, but the past always informs the present. And fuels the future.

It certainly can fuel laughter. And that’s just another part of why sports are so important in our life – and maybe yours as well.

As we sat, sweating, around an outdoor Boise-area dining table with our friend Joe, with Kim and Amy sharing another conversation of their own, our mind wandered a bit. Back to games we coached together. Times our sons interacted. Shared experiences. Shared memories.

Some of them were a bit embarrassing. Some worth celebrating now and forever. Some just mundane. But all part of the foundation of a friendship that transcends distance and time.

Not too long ago a former teammate moved from a lifetime spent in Southern California to Spokane. We hadn’t really connected often since those two years of college baseball, most of it spent dealing with defeat more often than victory. But, due to those moments of agony, joy and, often, everyday conversation, we were able to re-connect. And, seemingly, just pick up where we left off. After almost 50 years.

Though only one of us is still in as good a shape as he was then. Ya, you know which.

Think about the people you competed with. Against. Those you may have met in the stands as your children did the same. Folks who shared the terror of watching your offspring tries to make a play. Or the joy when they succeed. Of such strings are life tied together, no matter how ancient they become.

Sure, other events and associations tie together people in similar ways. Work. Church. Hobbies. Heck, in this age of social media, movies, books and TV.

But few ties come close to being pulled as tight as those knotted by the physical nature of athletics. Perspiration seems to shrink bonds and keep them strong over the years, long after the pores stop working.

We have a friend who played college football more than 50 years ago in the Midwest. It ended badly. He cut all ties with everyone involved. Lamented, over the years, the physical sacrifice he gave to the team and the coaches.

A year or so ago, we were together for the first time in a while celebrating a co-worker’s retirement. We started chatting. Was he still ticked off? No, he said. Someone reached out a while back. They talked. He re-connected. And talked it out. Now he’s in a good place. Has a different view of those years.

The ties frayed. Atrophied. Then proved to be as supple as a 12-year-old’s ligaments.

We are heading up the interstate today. Another dinner. Connecting with a couple players we had the privilege of assisting on their athletic journey, albeit only slightly. No matter. The time together built a connection.

A strong one? Who knows. But we know it will always be there in some way. That’s just how such relationships work.

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WSU: Cameron Ward came to Pullman last year from San Antonio, where he was one of the best quarterbacks in the FCS. His first year with the Cougars didn’t meet his, or the program’s expectations, though it was still darn good considering. He has different developmental goals this season and he shared those with Greg Woods at the Pac-12’s media day in Las Vegas. Greg shares them with us. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, Larry Stone has his thoughts on Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff’s statements at media day. … Maybe the best story of the day to share concerns the Oregon beach volleyball team and possible Title IX violations. … Colorado athletic director Rick George has been on the job for 10 years. … Utah feels it can win three consecutive football titles. … Standing in the way is USC, which may just end up in the playoffs. … Arizona has changed its narrative.

Gonzaga: Drew Timme had the most prolific college basketball career of anyone who wore the Bulldog uniform. Better than some of the NBA’s best players. And yet he wasn’t considered good enough to be drafted. Theo Lawson delves into that hard-to-balance truth, letting Timme share his thoughts on the snub and the journey he’s beginning. … Timme is no longer at GU. But highly coveted recruit Marcus Adams will be, if the former Kansas signee follows through with what he professed yesterday. Theo has that story as well.

EWU: The Big Sky Conference held it second Hall of Fame induction ceremony last night in Spokane and Dan Thompson was there. He has this coverage of the inductions of the Eagles’ Michael Roos and Kim Exner. … Elsewhere from the Big Sky, a Northern Colorado football assistant has a long history with coach Ed Lamb.

Indians: Another game, another loss to Vancouver. Spokane fell 4-2 Saturday. Dave Nichols has the coverage. And, yes, we pretty much just copied what we wrote yesterday. Why not? The score was different. The result the same.

Mariners: Could it be? For the second consecutive game, Teoscar Hernandez keyed a comeback against his former team, as the M’s rallied from a three-run deficit in the seventh for a 9-8 victory over visiting Toronto. … Despite the T-Mobile takeover by Jays fans, the Mariners may be using the series to jumpstart their season. … If not, they may not be able to be buyers at the deadline. … We once watched Bruce Bochte, then an Angel, do an offseason workout at UC Irvine with Olympic decathlon champion Bill Toomey. That memory, or what Toomey shared with his track athletes after, will never leave us. He was different than most baseball players we knew. In a lot of ways. … There were roster moves made yesterday due to an injury.

Seahawks: Another roster look, this time at the players rated 45-31 by Bob Condotta.

Storm: Seattle is on a record losing streak, having lost its ninth consecutive game Saturday.

Sounders: The struggle continued with a 3-0 loss to Real Salt Lake in the Leagues Cup. Seattle played some of the match with a man advantage.

Golf: We don’t really want to delve too deeply into the Open, as it will be decided not too long after we finish today. But Jon Rahm was magnificent yesterday. The question today is can Brian Harman hang on?

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• We’re not sure we connected today as well as we would have liked. We were swinging for the fences with our column and feel as if we just flared a ball down the right-field line that, hopefully, will land fair. Maybe we can stretch into a double. Until later …