Avert your eyes if you want to win
A GRIP ON SPORTS
For some reason lately I've been thinking about a character in an old comic strip. I'm sure he had some elements of humor that wouldn't be considered politically correct these days, but that's not the reason he's sprung to mine. No, the reason is simple: Everywhere he went, a black cloud followed him around and rained on him. Hit him with lightning occasionally as well. I understand the joke these days. Read on.
• I just turned off the Ryder Cup. I haven't watched a Mariner game in a couple days. I clicked off the TV Thursday night in the first half of UCLA's rout over Arizona State. I know there is no correlation, but I just can't stand watching the teams I'm pulling for struggle. And that's been the case lately. I'm sure we've all been there. We turn on the TV and within seconds, the guys in the black hats score. We click it off, get a bite to eat, take a walk, whatever, and, when we return, the white-hat fellows have retaken the lead. But not for long. It gets to the point where you believe you have some sort of reverse golden touch. Either you suffer through the stretch or you quit watching. Last week, I went with the latter. I was excited about the M's chances of earning a wild card berth. They were on the road, sure, but they've played well on the road. So I watched. And they lost. And lost again. I'm not so egocentric I believe there really is a correlation between my eyeballs being glued to the TV and the defeats, but let's just say I haven't had the courage to watch the last two games and leave it at that. Courage or good sense? See, even if there isn't a correlation, why should I watch when all I see is, well, crud. Want another example? My sister and her husband went to UCLA. I like my sister and her husband. So I root for UCLA. Thursday night they were playing crappy. I turned the game off. The Bruins won by 100 points or something. All I saw was the crappy part. Need more? The only part of the Ryder Cup I was able to really watch yesterday was when the Europeans were kicking our collective butts. I go up this morning to the news we had rallied, so I turned on the TV as I collected links. Great shot, long birdie putt, chip in, OK, I've had enough great European shots. Since I've turned it off, I'm sure the guys in the ugly flag sweaters have rallied. To make myself feel better, I'm considering it my patriotic duty not to have the TV on. You can thank me later.
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• WSU: A warning: I have to watch the Cougar game tonight. It's part of the job. ... Jacob Thorpe will be watching as well, though from the press box in Salt Lake City. Of course, to get ready, he put together this advance featuring the pressure on WSU's offensive line tonight. He also had keys to the game, as well as a blog post this morning with links. Finally, we pass along the expected starting lineups from Washington State and Utah. ... The Cougar soccer team began the Pac-12 season with a road win. ... Back to football, we found a couple links out of Utah, looking at how the Utes will defend WSU's passing game and an advance of the contest. ... There are a few things from ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog worth reading, including the weekly mailbag, a viewer's guide to today's games and a father/son duo at Arizona State that has a strong WSU connection. ... California finally may tighten its admission standards for athletes.
• EWU: The Eagles are on the road again this week, in Northern California for a battle with UC Davis. Jim Allen is there and has this advance. He also has a morning post with links.
• Chiefs: Spokane has its home opener tonight when it hosts Tri-City. Chris Derrick's advance focuses upon a couple of local players who have made the team. And, oh ya, they have happen to be brothers.
• Preps: Another busy night in the prep football ranks, with stories from all over the area. Greg Lee, back from his cross-country road trip, was at Gonzaga Prep, where the Bullpups held off Mt. Spokane, 28-25, in a non-league game. Jesse Tinsley was also there and has these photographs. ... Jim Meehan was in Coeur d'Alene, where second-ranked Cd'A fell inches short of defeating top-ranked 5A foe Highland, 13-10. ... Tumwater crushed Lake City 49-24 on the West Side. ... University rolled over North Central 56-0. ... Mead did the same to Rogers, 49-0.... Post Falls had little trouble with Lakeland, 41-21. ... Adam Thompson's last-second field goal lifted Lewis and Clark past Ferris 24-22 in the South Hill rivalry game. ... Finally, we can pass along the roundup of other football action and another from the other sports.
• Seahawks: If the NFL title was decided by polls, the Hawks would be in the driver's seat right now. ... Percy Harvin may be one of Seattle's better receivers, but he also runs like a running back at times.
• Mariners: Though I didn't see a second of the action – you're welcome – the M's stayed alive – barely – in the wild card chase by defeating the Angels, 4-3. Hisashi Iwakuma rediscovered his command just as the M's are about to be eliminated. They have to hope Oakland loses twice and they win twice just to force a single-elimination playoff game at home Monday. Kansas City is out of the equation after clinching the top wild card spot last night. ... The M's handed out awards last night to the usual suspects.
• Sounders: With the playoffs looming, Sigi Schmid and the Sounders know they must rediscover the midseason magic if they want to win the MLS title. It starts tonight at CenturyLink when they face Chivas USA, probably for the final time ever. The L.A.-based franchise is more than likely going to fold.
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• It's Saturday. With no golf to watch this morning (at least I am not going to watch it), I think I may have time to get something done around here. We'll see. ... Don't forget, I'll be on the radio tonight with Dennis Patchin following the post-game show if you want to talk about the Cougar game. It's available on the Cougar radio network's Inland Northwest stations. ... By the way, the character? Joe Btfsplk (pictured) in the Li'l Abner cartoons. I supply the name in case you are ever asked for it in a trivia contest. Don't ask me how to pronounce it, though. Until later ...
