It’s time to make noise
A GRIP ON SPORTS
It's a quiet day on the links front today, though not so quiet a day on the links. Read on.
• What do I mean by that? There isn't a tremendous amount of links for a Friday, especially on the professional front. For that, I blame the Seahawks' bye week. As for the second half of the sentence, I will just say this: It's Ryder Cup weekend. The only time golf acts like football or baseball or a real spectator sport. The weird thing about golf is watching an event in person isn't nearly as cathartic as watching it on television. You can't yell and cheer and cleanse the soul in person. There is a reason old golf fans have ulcers. A golf clap is quiet and understated. Being a fan at a golf event is the opposite of being a Seahawk fan at CenturyLink or a Red Sox fan anywhere. Except at the Ryder Cup. It's the one time golf fans get to cheer and whoop and holler. To chant jingoistic sayings. To wave flags and act like an idiot. To be completely un-golf-fan-like. If you hate watching golf, then tune in and watch a bit this weekend. You might actually like it.
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• WSU: The fans will be making a lot of noise Saturday night in Salt Lake City as the Cougars travel to Utah. Jacob Thorpe is on his way but before he left he put together a story on the newest youngster to join WSU's youthful secondary. Jacob also has a practice report from last night and a morning post with links. ... It seems it was write-about-WSU day in Utah, with a story on backup quarterback Luke Falk and one on Mike Leach. ... Want picks? Jon Wilner had his yesterday as did Jacob, though he put them on the blog this morning.
• EWU: Tevin McDonald has found a home in Cheney. It's a bit different than his first collegiate home, Westwood. Jim Allen has more in this story. ... Jim also held a live chat yesterday and he posted a transcript. He also has a morning post with links.
• Idaho: John Blanchette has a feature – and a blog post – on a Vandal player who wasn't going to see the field at his favorite position, so he switched spots. ... It was opening night in conference volleyball play for many of the local schools, including Idaho, back in the Big Sky.
• Whitworth: The Pirates have veterans all over the lineup, but it's been some newcomers that have added a spark. Tom Clouse has more in this feature.
• Preps: There was a shootout at Albi last night as Shadle Park outlasted Central Valley, 47-33. Chris Derrick was there and has the story while Jesse Tinsley adds a photo report. ... We can also pass along a roundup of other sports from around the area on Thursday night.
• Seahawks: If you watched the NFL game last night you might think the Hawks had back-to-back bye weeks. Next Sunday they will face Washington, which played terribly in a 45-14 loss to New York.
• Mariners: Baseball is all about math (or some folks would have you believe), so it's no surprise the fact the M's are still "mathematically" alive is a great comfort to those folks. For us fans who rely more on the eye test, yesterday's losing-streak-breaking 7-5 win over Toronto seemed to just have delayed the inevitable. ... Taijuan Walker's start on Wednesday might just be a springboard to future success. As could pitching a bit this fall.
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• And that, my friends, is today's report. I'm getting back to golf. "U-S-A, U-S-A." Until later ...
