Boom goes the thunder
A GRIP ON SPORTS
You know the term "under the weather?" Sometimes it means exactly that. Read on.
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• Last night's thunder boomers that rolled through town didn't just result in some incredibly picturesque (and dangerous) lightning strikes. They also caused yours truly to spend much of the night on the couch. Nope, no one was ticked at me, except maybe the big guy who created lightning in the first place. See, we have a less-than-year-old dog in the house. And last night was his first experience with the bright flashes of light and the loud bangs that followed. He didn't like it. Not one bit. So he complained. Loudly. Which meant yours truly had to try to quiet him down. The old dog slept through the show, as he's always done since he was young. The young dog? He got better as the night went on. He discovered the explosions of light and sharp sounds weren't going to hunt him down in his den – after more than enough petting and soothing – and he was able to calm down. Which allowed me to get a few winks before the day dawned.
• Before we get to the links, I want to pat myself on the back a bit. After Aaron Harang threw a two-hit shutout against the Astros about a week ago, I wrote this on the blog the next day: "But don't expect the same from Harang next outing. His arm will be a bit tired, the ball will be up and out over the plate a bit more and boom, he'll get hit pretty hard. Such are the variables of a depending on a veteran pitcher on the downside of his career." Harang's line last night against the Angels: Five innings, 12 hits, four runs in the 11-3 loss. And, yes, the bullpen was just as bad, if not worse.
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• WSU: Some news out of Pullman by way of Piscataway, N.J. It seems Rutgers and Washington State are about to announce a somewhat-home-and-home series in football for 2014 and 2015. According to New Jersey papers, the Scarlett Knights will play the Cougars in Seattle next year (Rutgers' first in the Big Ten) and WSU will head back east the year after that. ... Missed this yesterday, but Bill Moos spoke with Adam Lewis of SportspressNW. ... Jon Wilner has discovered some documents that detail ESPN and Fox's payout to the Pac-12 over the course of the television contract. ... Oregon State stayed alive in the college World Series with an 11-4 win over Louisville, eliminating the Cardinals.
• Gonzaga: This story out of Canada has Gonzaga connections throughout.
• Idaho: Basketball coach Don Verlin is in line for a contract upgrade if the Board of Education agrees. Josh Wright has the details in this blog post.
• Indians: After a tough start to the season, the Indians broke through with a win in Vancouver last night.
• Preps: It's Tuesday, which means we have our weekly youth sports notebook, courtesy of Greg Lee.
• Mariners: Anaheim hasn't been the happiest place on earth for the M's recently. In their last three games in the Angels' ballpark, Seattle has been outscored 30-4. Nice. ... Mike Zunino isn't in the big leagues to watch. He's up to learn – and to play. He's been doing a lot of the latter since he's arrived. ... Justin Smoak is on his way back to the bigs after rehabbing his injury. The team made it official this morning. ... DJ Peterson is beginning his road to the big leagues.
• Sounders: After a short break, the Sounders get back on the pitch this weekend at Salt Lake City. And they should be near full-strength for the first time in a while.
• NHL: Boston is back at home and now up 2-1 in the Stanley Cup finals after last night's 2-0 win.
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• I have one wish for the rest of the summer. No, not that it stay warm and dry so the golf courses will firm up, though that would be nice too (I can alway use a little more roll on my drives). I wish for no more lightning storms. That would make me happy. And allow me to sleep. Until later ...
