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

SportsLink

Labor Day is the right name for every day of the football season

A GRIP ON SPORTS

It's a holiday, right? Which means I don't have to plug the parking meters if I go downtown. That's how I can always tell. Working in the world of sports, sometimes that's the only way. Because sports folks never take a day off. Read on.

••••••••••

• At least that's what they would have you believe. During football season I get it. Each game piles upon itself like a cheerleader pyramid. This area's no different. There are no days off when Green Bay is on tap for a Thursday night opener. No rest when there's a Friday game in Reno, a Saturday game at suddenly vulnerable-looking Washington, a Sun Belt opener. Nope, this time of year there is no pause for anyone connected to football.

•••

• WSU: Certainly there is no rest for Jacob Thorpe, who not alone has his first look at Nevada in today's paper, also has a feature on DaVonté Lacy's trip to China with a Pac-12 all-star team. ... Jacob keeps you up-to-date on happenings around the conference in football as well with his morning post. ... Speaking of happenings around the conference, Jon Wilner looks back at the first weekend of games (hint: WSU is in a lot of bad categories). ... The Cougars played just two true freshmen against Rutgers. That was the second fewest in the conference. Guess which school played fewer. I will admit I missed. ... I pass along this John Canzano blog post without comment. Other than to say: really?

• Indians: Well, Spokane's first playoff opponent is determined. That happened last night when Vancouver defeated the Indians 5-3 and assured the two teams will match up in the first round of the NWL playoffs, which start Tuesday.

• Chiefs: The Chiefs continued preseason play in Everett with a 1-0 victory over Seattle.

• Seahawks: The Hawks filled eight of the 10 spots on their practice squad yesterday, all with folks who have been in camp. With a game Thursday, it's the easiest way. ... Are you tired of talking about the ending the last time Green Bay was in Seattle? Let's look forward instead of back. ... There were some worries concerning Percy Harvin because he hadn't been around for a day or two, but he was back Sunday. ... Steve Schilling is happy to be with his hometown team. ... As usual, there were a couple of undrafted free agents who made the Hawks' opening roster. How does that happen? ... So another 49er was arrested, this time for the NFL's new point-of-emphasis crime, domestic violence. The San Francisco Chronicle's Scott Ostler thinks Jim Harbaugh has to live by his words of a few years ago.

• Mariners: If it weren't for Dustin Ackley (fill in the blank). Yep, Ackley saved the Mariners' bacon yesterday on a day when Hisashi Iwakuma proved Lou Pinella's adaga that solo home runs don't beat you. Iwakuma gave up three but Ackley equaled those with a single blow. And that came after he drove in the Mariners' first run a couple innings earlier. ... Brad Miller started at shortstop, hit ninth, had three hits and basically keyed the rallies in the 5-3 win.

• Sounders: Once more we look back at Saturday's 1-0 win over Colorado.

•••

• It's a holiday, so I rested. I didn't take the day off, per se, but I really didn't go into depth on any one subject. So, in a sense, I took a holiday. Until later ... 



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

Follow Vince online:






Looking for a Grip on Sports?

Vince Grippi's daily take on all things regional sports has been moved to our main sports section online. You can find a collection of these columns here.