A Grip on Sports: It’s time to add to the library, to lean into pitches, to toast the Pac-12 and to watch pros compete
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Let us start the work week with a quick spin around the sporting dial, shall we? A little of this, a little of that. You know, notes. And we’ll start with some summer reading.
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• Bill Walton was a voracious reader. Eclectic in his tastes, the UCLA grad was as aggressive a champion of unknown books and writers as he was of the Pac-12. Which makes his passing last month a perfect time to re-dedicate ourselves to expanding our reading list.
Using Walton’s own suggestions. For that, we can thank John Canzano, who shared a list of books Walton recommended during the pandemic.
It’s a lengthy list. The Bill Walton of book lists, if you will. Maybe even the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of lists. It’s that tall. What amazes us, though, is how many of the books we’ve read over the years. Some because we were an English major four decades ago. Some because we have our favorite authors, and a few align with Walton’s. And some are just coincidental.
If you don’t have a subscription to Canzano’s website, it’s worth getting one just to access the list. We have one. We are going to pick 10 books and try to read them all before October.
• Getting hit by a pitch is one way to get on base. A painful way, sure, but baseball is a painful game at the best of times. There is one danger, though. Even when a pitch makes contact with a seemingly safe part of a hitter’s body, a solid object traveling upward of 100 miles per hour can cause injury.
This weekend the M’s Ty France was struck in the right heel. It was a franchise-record 90th time he was hit by a pitch. He shook it off. Walked to first base. Now Seattle’s first baseman, finally swinging the bat in a manner befitting that power position, has walked to the bench. For at least 10 days. Probably more.
The ball didn’t just bruise him. It fractured his heel. A hairline fracture, to be specific, which should heal somewhat quickly, but a break nonetheless.
Prospect Tyler Locklear took France’s place on the roster and in Sunday’s lineup. Drove a ball to the fence for an RBI and his first big league hit. He will get a chance to show what he can do.
But is this a Wally Pipp situation? Probably not. For one thing, Locklear isn’t Lou Gehrig. For another, with the amount of money invested in players these days, organizations such as the M’s are loathe to bench a veteran after an injury.
But you never know.
• That’s it. That’s the end. The Pac-12, as we have known it our entire life, is finished competing. The final two baseball programs holding the ancient banner fell yesterday in the NCAA’s Super Regionals.
Oregon gave away its shot, walking seven Texas A&M hitters in one inning and losing to the Aggies 15-9. The Ducks were swept in College Station, and contributed to their demise in a myriad of ways.
On the other end of the spectrum, at least by score, was Oregon State.
Late Sunday night, the Beavers lost to second-seeded Kentucky 3-2 and were also swept from the tourney. What turned out to be the winning run scored in the seventh inning on a strike out with a runner on second. The pitch was in the dirt, got past OSU catcher Grant Smith and pitcher Nelson Keljo didn’t cover home.
A not-so-fitting end to what once was the best baseball conference in America. But an end, nonetheless. At least as it has been constituted for decades.
• The Boston Celtics are the gold standard of the NBA. Historically. No one has won more titles (they are tied with the Lakers – Minneapolis and L.A. – overall with 17). But only one has come since 1986. Which makes their ascendance this season special. For Boston. The rest of the nation?
Not sure if it is rooting for Dallas or just not interested. Either way, the Celtics look inevitable. Their 105-98 Sunday night win – and 2-0 series lead – came despite a pretty average effort. Meanwhile, Luka Doncic is nursing a sternum issue and Kyrie Irving, the other half of Dallas’ dynamic duo, is struggling.
If – or when, you pick – Boston wins No. 18, the Celtics will be back on top of the champions’ list. Alone. But don’t worry Los Angeles fans. The Lakers still hold one record. No one has lost more finals. Nope. No one is even close to their 15 runner-up finishes.
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WSU: Around the Pac-12 and the nation, we’re not sure we passed along the results of the women’s 100-meter hurdles at the NCAA meet. The Cougars’ Maribel Caicedo finished second. … We already mentioned the baseball losses. Oregon’s offense was just fine. The defense and the pitching left a lot to be desired. Well, it’s the Big Ten’s problem now. … Oregon State will remain in the Pac-12, albeit just with Washington State. Though not in baseball. It will play an independent schedule next season instead of competing in the West Coast Conference. … The Beavers will join WSU in the Mountain West for football, the subject of the Oregonian’s continuing uniform countdown. … There is also an Oregon story. … Is Utah really a contender for the fall’s Big 12 title? Heck yes. … Tommy Lloyd is a hemisphere champion. The former Gonzaga assistant and current Arizona head coach led the U.S. U18 team to the AmeriCup gold medal.
EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, basketball is a year-round sport in college. The Northern Colorado men are back on campus working out. … It wasn’t a bad NCAA track and field meet for the Northern Arizona women.
Preps: Jim Meehan has covered the WIAA’s State golf tournaments the past decade or so. Today, in his golf column, he shares what has to happen for the tournaments to take place. An interesting subject.
Indians: A series split at home isn’t the best for a team like Spokane who would like to win the Northwest League’s first half and clinch a postseason berth. But when the Indians awoke Sunday, a split was the best they could do against Hillsboro. Connor Staine made sure it would happen with seven shut-out innings and Spokane grabbed an 8-0 victory – and stayed in first place by a game. Dave Nichols has the story. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Eugene scored two runs in the top of the ninth and edged host Tri-City. … Vancouver got back to .500 with an 8-3 win at Everett.
Hoopfest: The pandemic dip seems to be done. The 3-on-3 tournament downtown in a couple weeks will have about 500 more teams competing than last year. Garrett Cabeza has all the numbers in this story following the end of registration.
Mariners: Even without France in the lineup, the M’s figured out a way to win Sunday, though it wasn’t pretty and caused us to say some bad, bad words. They came out in the bottom of the ninth when M.J. Melendez tied the game at three with a two-run, two-out home run off Mike Baumann. But Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh, the two guys you probably most expect to come through, did just that in the top of the 10th and Seattle held on for a 6-5. … We found the results of this Athletic player survey interesting.
Kraken: Edmonton will try to get a few shots past Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky tonight as the NHL final series continues in the Miami area.
Sonics: As the NBA finals roll on, the Lakers should find out today if Dan Hurley will leave Connecticut and accept the well-paid challenge of trying to lead the franchise to its 18th title.
Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz did something Sunday no one else in tennis history has ever done. He won his third grand slam on his third different surface – clay, grass and hard courts – before he turned 22. His five-set win in the French Open cemented that for the Spanish player.
Reign: A 5-2 loss in Kansas City extended Seattle’s losing streak to four matches.
Storm: Seattle had been on a roll. But a tough second half in Minnesota led to the Storm’s six-game winning streak being snapped. … Caitlin Clark said all the right things Sunday about the Olympic roster hubbub.
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• Woke up this morning, about two weeks after our hernia surgery, feeling much better. Something akin to normal. Maybe third cousin, once removed from normal, but in the same genetic pool anyhow. In other words, swimmingly. At least compared to a week ago. It’s time to get back to our walking regime. Until later …