A Grip on Sports: On this Father’s Day, we share what we’ve learned in this shorter-than-normal column

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Being that it is Father’s Day and we happen to be a father, twice-over, one could speculate that we would write a sports-related column today about being a dad. Or our sports-fanatical dad. Or other sports dads. That speculation would be …

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• Sorry to leave you hanging. We had to spend a moment deciding. After all, we’ve written about our dad so many times in this space, we’re not sure if we’ve gone to that well too often. As for our personal experiences with the boys growing up, we’re pretty sure we made every mistake possible, so trying to draw conclusions from that would be a fool’s errand.

Which just means we’re perfect for the job.

Are there rules for being a sports dad? Nope. A playbook? Maybe, though what worked for Earl Woods may not work for you or anyone you know. Certainly, what Todd Marinovich’s did or Baby Gronk’s father is doing isn’t a blueprint we would want to emulate.

Which brings us to our main thesis. Love is all that matters.

Love of your children, first and foremost. Love for whatever sport you hope they want to play. Love for the time you have helping them develop and thrive.

That’s the bottom line. Share your love and you’ll be just fine.

Are their other side dishes to that tasty main course? Sure. Respect, patience, empathy, support, availability, discipline. You know the drill. Being a great sports dad has everything in common with being a great dad.

And that can vary from person to person. What was it Shakespeare wrote? To thine own self be true? Actually, that can be awful advice for a sports dad. You might have been able to throw the football over those mountains, or run the bases like Jackie Robinson, but Junior is always different.

Take your children for who they are – not who you were. Help them discover their love and passion, whether it is with the sport you excelled in, a sport diametrically different than yours or it is not a sport at all.

When we realized our boys loved soccer, we didn’t lecture them about how un-American we thought they were. We tried to learn about the sport the best we could.

And we let them teach us. We asked a million questions. Gave them the opportunity to cement their relationship with the sport through coaching us – intellectually. There was no way we were running around the pitch – see, we learned something – but as we watched the game together, we soaked in their knowledge. And love.

And that is what being a sports dad really is about. Sharing love in many ways.

• We love golf. Watching it more than playing it, we fear. What’s the saying? The mind is willing but the flesh is weak? We can always visualize what we want to do on a golf course, but darn it, our body never seems to cooperate.

So, we watch. And live vicariously through the play of others at this year’s U.S. Open.

Which is why we nearly jumped out of our chair yesterday. Oh, we wanted to. But jumping is another thing we can’t do anymore. Just like we can’t hit a 7-iron 196 yards and have it roll off a little rise and into the cup on the 17th at Los Angeles Country Club. For so many reasons.

But Scottie Scheffler can. And did. As we set the DVR to record today’s round – we have other obligations – we are hoping Scheffler can ride that crest of confidence into another major title.

We’re pretty sure golf won’t produce another Bobby Jones or Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods soon, dominating presences that other players fear. But it needs someone who can win about one major a year, someone who becomes the face of the game – and be the guy who sets the game’s tone.

We’ve always had a soft spot in our heart for those players who just go about their business. Who aren’t flashy or mercurial. Just get it done. Maybe it’s because we were – and still am – the opposite. Or maybe it’s because we feel comfort in watching true professionalism. Not sure. But we’ve attached ourselves recently to Scheffler. We root and respect many others, sure, but it is golf’s version of Jimmy Stewart we want to win.

We believe he is, on a course right down the road from Hollywood, the perfect leading man.

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WSU: John Olerud had what was, arguably, the best season ever for a college baseball player. Shohai Otani three decades before Otani came around. In 1988, Olerud was the best hitter and pitcher in college baseball. Colton Clark takes a walk down memory lane with his teammates in today’s paper. … That Washington State team came up short of its World Series quest. This year, Stanford made it but the Cardinal came up short, 3-2, in their opener with top-ranked Wake Forest. … Colton also shares the news the Cougars have seemingly settled on their next baseball coach. Considering Nathan Choate has a year at UC Irvine on his resume, we are inclined to believe they made the right choice. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, the NCAA is in the midst of negotiating a media-rights deal of its own. Like the Pac-12, the organization is dealing with a new reality. … With the rosters pretty much solidified, Jon Wilner shares his latest basketball top 25 in the Maercury News. … Colorado is included and one player’s decision played a key role. … Oregon State rescinded a scholarship offer to a JC running back who was arrested for a felony. … Is this the year Arizona heads to a bowl game?

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Weber State held a basketball alumni game last night and Damian Lillard dominated the show, as always.

Indians: Dave Nichols said it all. “The Spokane Indians picked the wrong time to go in a slump.” The Indians lost their fourth consecutive game Saturday, this one 11-4 to Eugene at Avista. With just four games to play in the first half, Spokane is three games behind leader Vancouver.

Hoopfest: We remember that day 30 years ago with eerie clarity. Robert Martin certainly does. That’s the day his heart stopped while playing and he was lucky enough there was someone nearby who was able to bring him back. We were down at Hoopfest that day, playing, watching, wrangling Jack and heard the news. Jim Allen has this story on how Martin’s life continued and how he has lived it. It made us happy this morning. … Spokane’s courts are packed a week before this year’s event. Kip Hill shares that news with words and Dan Pelle does the same visually.

Golf: Rickie Fowler is still tied for the U.S. Open lead, despite an up-and-down day that included a three-putt bogey on 18. He goes into today’s final round as the sentimental favorite. … Hey, the merger is still news, right?

Mariners: Ryan Divish wrote a story yesterday about the M’s woes hitting with runner’s in scoring position. Then the team took the field at T-Mobile and showed how topical the piece was. They lost 4-3 to the White Sox in 11 innings. … Kendall Graveman is still a bit shocked by his trade from the M’s. … Hey, Rob Manfred is rich. And there is a little Marie “let them eat cake” Antoinette in him. Maybe a lot.

Storm: It took a career-high 39 points from Jewell Loyd but Seattle picked up another WNBA win. This one was 109-103 over the visiting Dallas Wings.

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• We’ve been a father for almost four decades. We’re still not sure we get any of it right. But we keep plugging away. It’s one of those fabled life-long learning things. We wonder, though, why there has to be tests about once a week? By the way, Happy Father’s Day to those of you in the classroom with us. Until later …