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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Hey, sometimes a little jingoism isn’t a bad thing

United States forward Abby Wambach, right, has said today’s match will be her last in the World Cup. (Associated Press)
United States forward Abby Wambach, right, has said today’s match will be her last in the World Cup. (Associated Press)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The World Cup championship match is this afternoon. Seems like a good reason to put on a red, white or blue shirt, burn some meat on the barbecue and cheer for the U.S. women. Read on.

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• As the Fourth of July weekend nears its end, there should be a big jump in nationalism come about 4 PDT today. That’s when the U.S. women will meet Japan in Seattle-North (better known as Vancouver). The U.S. women will have revenge on their mind, dating back to the 2011 penalty-kick defeat at the hands of the Japanese in the last World Cup final. The Japanese team will also have the same motivation, though theirs dates only back to 2012 and the Olympic final. The U.S. has won two women’s World Cups, though the last one came in 1999. That means Abby Wambach, who has been the anchor of the women’s teams this century, has yet to win one. This is probably her final chance. But will is pay off? The thing I’ve liked about this U.S. team is how it has improved as the tournament’s progressed. The semifinal win over Germany was the team’s best match yet. As it should be. Coach Jill Ellis came under some heavy criticism early in the tournament as the U.S. women had trouble on the attack. But the defense, always solid, was nearly impenetrable, allowing the offense to find its footing and begin to click. Part of that came because Ellis found what was working and went with it, which included relegating Wambach to the bench at the start of recent matches. So be it. At this level it’s about winning and, if a player can’t deal with that, they don’t deserve to be on an international team. Wambach can. And has. And the team has begun to blossom. The Japanese team is tough, well-coached and fundamentally strong, all traits befitting a defending champion. For the U.S. to win, it will have to play its best. As it should be. No matter what, there will be a large contingent in Vancouver today cheering it on. And here in our house as well.

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• WSU: Lia Galdeira is still in the news, this time from her home state of Hawaii.

• Gonzaga: We wrote about this when it was announced, but Mark Few is getting a chance few college coaches get: Being the head coach of a team representing the U.S. John Blanchette talked with Few about his upcoming Pan Am Games assignment for this column.

• Indians: Trailing by six runs in the seventh inning isn’t usually conducive to winning a baseball game. But the Indians found a way last night and pulled out an 8-7 victory. Chris Derrick has more in this game story and blog post.

• Mariners: Another more-than-decent Felix Hernandez start wasted. That’s been the story for years, but it seems to hurt a bit more this season. The M’s failed to muster a run in support of their ace and lost 2-0 Saturday afternoon in Oakland. ... David Rollins joined the bullpen, threw a perfect eighth and then showed his contrition for a season-shortening drug suspension. ... Rollins wasn’t the only player called up yesterday, though James Jones is probably headed back down after today. ... The All-Star game starters will be announced today.

• Sounders: The excuses need to stop. Now. That's Sigi Schmid's message to his team. He also thinks the U.S. women will win. ... Despite playing a man up, Real Salt Lake could do no better than a draw with Orlando. ... San Jose and Portland face off today.

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• I put out a call here and on Twitter for the best semi-local spot for a milkshake and was rewarded with some great suggestions. Kim and I ended up taking a nice little car tour, stopping for lunch in St. Maries and having a shake at Bud’s Burgers. It was quite impressive. Then, to burn off the calories, we took a 3.3-mile hike, climbing about 700 feet in the process to an overlook high above Lake Coeur d’Alene. Did I mention it was more than 90 degrees? And did I also fail to mention sometimes I am an idiot? Until later ...



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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.