A Grip on Sports: The U.S. flames out in Kansas City, Klay Thompson moves on to Dallas and we serve up a buffet of links
A GRIP ON SPORTS • You like taco bars? A buffet of ingredients to shove into a shell? If you do, you’ll love today’s column. Take a little for one pile, some from another and, before you know it, the tasty treat is done.
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• Throughout the world it is said the big guy upstairs in a soccer fan. If so, we had a glimpse Monday night of how he watches the game. The camera in the U.S.’s 1-0 defeat to Uruguay that ended its Copa America seemed to be somewhere in the clouds.
Too bad our vision isn’t anywhere as good as his. Maybe he has better optometrists, we don’t know. But watching the match from Kansas City was a tough ask. Even after the feed switched to a lower, easier-to-digest angle.
Turns out the broadcast was the least of the issues. There were other failures, from the U.S. men team’s inability to deal with the physicality of one more South American squad, the woefully overmatched match official and a VAR review that cemented every American soccer fan’s prior-held belief international soccer is akin to the 1919 World Series.
The last one is simple. Every reputable non-biased source we could access was clear. Uruguay’s goal should not have counted. The offsides was obvious, nearly 11 inches according to one soccer analytical site. Contrast that to a recent offsides ruling in the Euros in which a toenail was enough to disallow a key goal. The Euros, however, use the latest technology. Copa America’s VAR system seems akin to the way we used a protractor in middle school. Amateurishly.
Even if the call had been adjudicated correctly, however, the U.S. would still not have reached its goal, moving on to the tournament’s quarterfinals. Panama’s 3-1 win over Bolivia would have trumped a scoreless draw in K.C.
Soccer can be a beautiful game to watch. If you don’t believe us, watch the Euros. It is ballet on grass. There are hard tackles and contact, sure, but it is kept under control. On this side of the world, for some reason, the game is still stuck in 1980s-NBA mode. There are a half-dozen Bill Laimbeers playing. The game is just officiated differently than, say, World Cup matches.
But to get to that promised land, teams on this side of the world must play a game of survival. Especially when the head official is unwilling or unable to control it. That was the case last night, though we suspect Kevin Ortega was more in the unable camp. When have you ever seen a match play on while the official is trying to book a player – and then he just lets it go? It happened last night. The rest of the world laughed.
It wasn’t funny though. Neither was the incredible contact Folarin Balogun had to endure. After 40 minutes, which included two bone-jarring collisions, one of the U.S.’s most-active goal scorers was on the bench, too beat up to continue.
And his teammates never really threatened to score without him.
• That wasn’t all that happened Monday.
We know for certain there are more than a few Washington State basketball fans who saw one of their most-prized possessions become obsolete early in the day. That Klay Thompson Warriors jersey that has done yeoman’s work over the years? Either it has to become a retro callback or it must be replaced with a Dallas one.
Thompson’s free-agent departure from the Bay Area for a fresh start with the Mavericks may have an impact in the Inland Northwest but it’s nothing compared to what’s happening in Northern California.
Lamentations. Gnashing of teeth. Rending of garments. The despair is almost biblical. A flood of emotions. Memories. The championship trinity – Thompson, Steph Curry, Draymond Green – breaking up? Impossible.
Possible. The end of a championship era? Likely.
For WSU-centric Thompson fans, it’s a change, sure. But to them he’s still Klay, the most iconoclastic and venerated of Cougar Hall of Fame hoopsters. Even if his move may mean spending another few hundred bucks for a new jersey.
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WSU: Greg Woods has some basketball news today. The Cougars have signed a seven-foot Serbian center, Dimitrije Vukicevic, in a move that seems to be designed to pay off down the road. The same can be said of the recent news about Eastern Washington transfer Casey Jones, who will head out on a two-year LDS mission. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, we linked two Jon Wilner stories yesterday when they appeared in the Mercury News. Both are on the S-R website today. … It seems appropriate as July dawns John Canzano’s Monday mailbag includes fireworks. Remember folks, they are illegal in the City of Spokane. My 12-year-old dog thanks you for following the rules. … Christian Caple returned from vacation and posts some thoughts on the Huskies recruiting surge. It continues, and it does for Oregon as well. … The football number stories continue in the Oregonian, with the No. 61 showing up for Oregon State and Oregon. We’re starting to feel a bit like Count von Count in “Sesame Street.” … Utah made it official once again. Defensive mastermind Morgan Scalley will replace Kyle Whittingham as head coach. Someday. … Arizona continues to earn accolades. … Colorado is trying to recruit off its recent NBA draft showing. … A Utah guard has a chance to play in the Olympics. Not for the U.S. For Finland, if it qualifies. … Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana is the school’s sixth unanimous baseball All-American. … The school also welcomes its 2024 Hall of Fame class. … Arizona baseball will play in a high-end series next season.
Gonzaga: Rui Hachimura has decided to play for Japan in the Olympics.
Idaho: The Vandal women’s basketball program has been in some upheaval recently, with two coaches in two seasons. Now the third one, Arthur Moreira, is in place. Peter Harriman talked with Moreira recently and has this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, basketball players from Montana and Montana State will have an opportunity to show NBA teams what they can do in the summer leagues.
Whitworth: Pirate men’s basketball assistant Elijah Gurash is moving on, having taken a similar position in Iowa at Buena Vista University.
Indians: Spokane continues its road trip with a visit to Tri-City this week. The series started on an up-note, with the Indians earning a 6-3 victory. Dave Nichols has this game story. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Everett traveled north and handed Vancouver its first second-half defeat, 5-4. … Hillsboro won the battle of the Oregon franchises, defeating visiting Eugene 4-3.
Mariners: We linked Matt Calkins thought’s on the M’s offense in the Times yesterday. His column is on the S-R website today. … June ended in a swoon. Can Seattle produce some fireworks in July? … The trade deadline will have passed this time next month. More than likely the M’s will have made some deals by then.
Kraken: NHL free agency is in bloom and Seattle has decided to spend a lot for a special bouquet. The centerpiece? Center Chandler Stephenson. But the Kraken added another bloom as well. … For the first time, Seattle will open its season at home.
Sounders: Pedro de la Vega is back from injury. But when he will be all-the-way back is a mystery. … We linked the Copa America stories above. The result seems tied into coach Gregg Berhalter’s future though. The World Cup in this part of the world looms in two years.
Sonics: The Celtics won the NBA title. They are now for sale. And they also signed their two stars to big extensions. It’s been a good few weeks.
Storm: The WNBA schedule is odd at time. For the second time in three days, Seattle played Dallas. And won again due to its defense.
Wimbledon: Andy Murray was set to make his final appearance this year. Then his body told him it couldn’t. He withdrew.
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• We have been struck recently watching the Euros in the morning with our soccer-loving son, then the Copa America matches at night. The difference in the games are striking. In many ways. Though many of the Euro matches are low-scoring affairs, there is more sustained excellence. It’s a better product. And much more enjoyable to watch. Until later …