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

SportsLink

Hey, a little wind would be nice

Andrew Finley and Cameron Donough play the par 5 10th hole at Palouse Ridge on Monday, Aug. 2, 2010. (Christopher Anderson / The Spokesman-Review)
Andrew Finley and Cameron Donough play the par 5 10th hole at Palouse Ridge on Monday, Aug. 2, 2010. (Christopher Anderson / The Spokesman-Review)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • When is the weather too nice? When you are the Washington State University men's golf team and you are hosting the Pac-12 Championships at Palouse Ridge. Read on.

••••••••••

• Never thought I would see the late April day when I would be rooting for rain, wind and, possibly, only a bit of sunshine. But that was the case heading into today. Like usual, however, the weather never grants my wish. See, WSU is hosting the Pac-12 men's golf championships today, tomorrow and Wednesday at Palouse Ridge. As good as the course is, and it is easily in my top 10 of courses I've played in the Inland Northwest, it's better when the weather is worse. And more of a home-course advantage. For the uninitiated, Palouse Ridge is a links-like course set in the wheat fields between WSU and the Pullman airport. Long (it will play more than 7,200 yards this week) and lean (most landing areas aren't nearly as spacious as the runway-wide fairways found at many modern courses), the Ridge is still pretty accessible to the above-average golfer. And Pac-12 players are way above average. When I played a recent round their, we were joined on the back side by a member of the WSU team, who shall remain nameless. (I don’t want anyone hunting him down to dig up dirt on my less-than-stellar golf game.) Anyway, this golfer, who we will call "Nick," played from as far back as possible, the "tips" of the course using the vernacular of the game. And he shot a neat and tidy 30, four under on the side. That included a two on a 230-plus-yard par 3 on which "Nick's" tee shot came up about six inches short of a hole in one. So the course can be had. But local knowledge is a real help in taking it down. The Cougars have that. Not many other Pac-12 schools do. But course knowledge built on a nice sunny day is one thing. Course knowledge built on days when the wind is howling and the greens are slick with rain, that's a whole other animal. WSU's players have played Palouse Ridge when that was the case. And they were kind of hoping that would be the 15th club in their bag today. But, alas, it's going to be in the high 60s, with little wind and no precipitation today. Tomorrow is going to be even nicer. So if the Cougars are going to compete for the conference title, they will have to do it without the help of Mother Nature.

• We'll explore this in more depth if the mediocre play continues but we have to ask: How much rope does Lloyd McClendon get? The M's have been built to win this season. The money has been spent. The starting rotation strengthened via trade, the lineup via free agency. If the M's continue to struggle due to mental errors, physical errors and struggling pitching, will the pressure mount to make a change? Probably. Though Seattle isn't New York and there is no Steinbrenner among the M's management group. But it's worth watching even if the M's performance yesterday when folks got on base wasn't.

•••

• WSU: Jacob Thorpe has an advance of the Pac-12 golf tournament available in today's paper.

• Idaho: The Vandals are the best in the Big Sky in tennis, and they proved it over the weekend.

• Whitworth: The new NWC postseason baseball tournament proved kind the Pirates, who won the darn thing and punched their ticket to the NCAA Division III playoffs.

• Seahawks: Less than a week until the NFL draft and, of course, no one knows who the Hawks will take. Without a first-round pick, it's hard to find much in the way of speculation, though we always try. ... We know the Hawks need help on the offensive line and don't need much at linebacker.

• Mariners: Listening to the final five innings on the radio yesterday, you could tell the frustration in Rick Rizz's voice. He actually wasn't as upbeat as a member of Up With People for once. The cause of the frustration: The M's inability to hit with runners in scoring position. Wait, I know I've written that sentence before. Yep, at least 12 times last season. And that's how many times the M's had a chance to drive in the game winner in a contest they lost 4-2 in 11 innings. ... McClendon wasn't there to see most of it as he was tossed early in this one. The call he was ultimately ejected over may have cost the Mariners the win. ... Hey, here's the answer. ... To make matters worse, the weather is so bad in the Dallas area, the M's charter had to be diverted. ...It's been 20 years since the last major strike in baseball. And those who were involved still remember it well. ... I'm just passing this story on because it's a good read. And because not only Jackie Robinson played baseball for Muir High. So did my father.

• Sounders: Nothing ugly about getting a 1-0 win over your rivals, though the goal that led to the victory – Clint Dempsey's rebound in the 77th minute – wasn't a thing of beauty. ... Portland decided to play a bit of a different style yesterday and that surprised the Sounders a little. ... The Timbers were heartened by their play. The Sounders were happy to get the three points.

•••

• Funny, I mowed, fertilized and had the lawn punched Thursday. Over the weekend, the sun and sprinklers did their thing and, viola, green grass again. Isn't the circle of life grand? 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.