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

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It’s the last gasp for prep sports this school year

A GRIP ON SPORTS

If you love prep sports, this is the weekend for you. Read on.

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• If fall is given over to football and winter to basketball, then spring is dedicated to, well, you have your choice. Track and field. Baseball. Tennis. Golf. Softball. Soccer. You like it, you can watch it. At least you can today. There is prep track and field out at Eastern Washington University, softball on the North Side of town. Golf is, sadly, already over and soccer and baseball are mainly reserved, this year, for the West Side of the state. Still, this is the final weekend of prep sports and I'll give this to the high school folks: Every year they go out with a boom. So many sports, so little time.

• Hey, don't forget to send us your Father's Day memories. We want your memories your memories of your dad and sports. Of times good – and bad – you spent with your father playing catch, watching golf, running Bloomsday. Whatever. The time he yelled at an umpire or told you he was proud of you or embarrassed the heck out of your brother. We'll put them together and run them in their entirety here on SportsLink. Some might even be featured in the Review. Don't worry about polish, just share what's in your heart. Send them to me at vincegrippi55@yahoo.com. I'll take care of the rest. Make sure to include your name, as the newspaper needs it for confirmation purposes.

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• WSU: A warning. I'm heading down to Pullman on Tuesday for a tour of the new football operations building. It's a private tour. Only myself and a thousand other unrelenting media types. I'm sure we'll have hard-hitting questions like "where's the Italian marble?" and "did all the wood come from Washington forests?" or "OK, so where did you hide Mike Leach's escape pod?" Things like that. I'm also hoping to see some of my old friends as well, like Taylor, who works the McDonald's drive-through window, or Bill, the nice guy who lives behind the IGA. Good times. ... It's Saturday so I can pass along the mailbag from ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog.

• Preps: OK, we'll start with track and field. Greg Lee is in Tacoma cover Star Track XXXII, the 4A, 3A and 2A track and field meets. He has a story on the boys and another on the girls. ... Chris Derrick and John Blanchette are out at Eastern covering the smaller schools track meet, with John covering the boys and Chris the girls. Colin Mulvany took photographs of both. ...  Jim Allen traveled across the state to cover Ferris' 3-2 win in the 4A soccer semifinals. The Saxons will play for the title today. ... Tom Clouse is in the Tri-Cities, where Mt. Spokane fell in the 3A baseball semifinals, 4-3. ... Shadle Park is in the semifinals of the 3A softball tournament, the local teams lost in the 2A and Lakeside fell in the 1A. ... We also can pass along a roundup of the tennis and other softball action.

• Shock: The Shock needed a win in the worst way. Luckily, Portland was in town. Jim Meehan has the story of the Shock's 58-48 victory over the Thunder. He also has a blog post and Dan Pelle adds the photographs. ... Arizona can clinch its division with a win over San Jose tonight. And, yes, there are still about two months left in the season.

• Seahawks: The Hawks know there will be a target on their backs this season. So there doesn't need to be other distractions. That's why we're encouraging you to vote for Cam Newton. ... The Cardinals may be without one of their better defenders next season.

• Mariners: Hisashi Iwakuma (pictured) either didn't have his best stuff last night or the Tigers are much better than the Astros. Probably both. Anyway you look at it, the M's lost 6-3 to Detroit. ... Robinson Cano may be sick but he also has a hand injury that is keeping him from playing. ... The M's brought back the ancient Endy Chavez and stuck him at the top of the order last night. ... I just found this story on defensive alignments interesting. Yes, I am a baseball nerd.

• Sounders: Neither Seattle nor Real Salt Lake will be at full strength today at 1 p.m. when they meet at CenturyLink, due to injuries and World Cup commitments. RSL is the last undefeated team in Major League Soccer. Both teams are among the best the MLS has to offer. ... The Sounders should be a bit healthier than they were, however.

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• Foot golf. Ever heard of it? Ever play it? Yesterday, as part of the Patchin, Lukens and Osso radio show, I zipped over to the Eagle Ridge par-3 golf course on U.S. 195 and got to experience Foot Golf. Not play it, mind you. Oh no, I'm too old for that. But watch others play it. What's Foot Golf, you might ask? No, it's not kicking your ball away from the pine tree root for a better lie. It's golf played with a soccer ball and holes the size of the golf cups in my vision of heaven. It looks like fun. The course is open and Eagle Ridge will hold a grand opening event tomorrow, so check it out if you want. I think my sons are intrigued. 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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