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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Spanning the globe on a Sunday morning

A GRIP ON SPORTS

Some Sunday mornings have little in the way of excitement. This isn't one of those Sundays. Read on.

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• The M's took down the mighty A's for a second consecutive day yesterday. There might be some big news coming from Pullman. And it's a pretty big day in the soccer world. Let's get right to it.

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• WSU: Late last night Britton Ransford of WazzuWatch, citing an anonymous source, tweeted sophomore quarterback – and Connor Halliday's immediate backup – Tyler Bruggman (pictured) would be transferring from Washington State. Jacob Thorpe passed on the report in a blog post early this morning. If it proves out, this is a big blow to the Cougars. They weren't all that deep at the position to begin with – another backup, Austin Apodaca, transferred early this year – so another defection would leave only incoming freshman Peyton Bender as a recruited scholarship quarterback behind Halliday. Either he or well-regarded walk-on Luke Falk would have to serve as the Cougars' signal-caller if anything happened to Halliday.

• Gonzaga: The school has been upgrading its athletic facilities consistently lately, with the most recent its soccer stadium.

• Golf: The Lilac Invitational wraps up today in the heat on the West Plains. Two are tied atop the leaderboard going into the final round.

• Shock: The Shock's showdown with Arizona last night at the Arena couldn't have started mush worse. A couple turnovers early helped the Rattlers build a 21-point first-quarter lead. But Spokane, behind quarterback Erik Meyer, roared back, scored 50 points in the second half and won, 73-66 over the West-leading Rattlers. Jim Meehan has the game story and blog post and Colin Mulvany has a photo story. ... Portland is closing in on a playoff spot following a win over the L.A. Kiss.

• Indians: The Northwest League's first half is almost over and the Indians' magic number is shrinking daily. It dropped to six after a 7-3 win at Tri-City last night.

• Seahawks: Bruce Irvin's hip is feeling better already. The linebacker has off-season surgery. ... Next up in the News Tribune's schedule examination is the Denver Broncos.

• Mariners: Last year Hisashi Iwakuma was one of the two or three best pitchers in the American League. This year, not so much. But Iwakuma, who started the season on the disabled list, is rounding into form. He came oh so close last night to throwing a complete game shutout, which would have been his first in the major leagues. Only a tow-out, two-run home run in the ninth ruined that as the Mariners chipped away at the A's AL West lead with a 6-2 win at Safeco. ... Fernando Rodney learned before the game he was designated an injury replacement for Tuesday's All-Star Game. Better late than never I suppose. ... Who is the King of Seattle? In baseball terms, that would be Felix Hernandez, correct? The Times takes a look at the reigning pitching monarch from many different angles.

• Sounders: Yep, the big news around the globe in soccer is tonight's matchup between Northwest rivals Seattle and Portland. What, that's not it? The World Cup final today between Germany and Argentina takes precedence? Well, OK. But after that's over, then it has to be the Cascadia Cup game, right? ... DeAndre Yedlin's life has changed quite a bit recently.

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• We have a busy Sunday planned. Part of it will include a drive across the state. I'm always excited for that. Until later ... 



Vince Grippi
Vince Grippi is a freelance local sports blogger for spokesman.com. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.

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