Jim Allen

Sports reporter Jim Allen's primary coverage areas are Eastern Washington University football and men's basketball, Whitworth University men's basketball, and college and high school soccer. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.

Contact Jim

Email: jima@spokesman.com
Phone: 509-459-5437
Fax: 509-744-5655

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Follow @srjimallen

Recent stories by Jim

Shock stress defense entering 2013 season

March 13, 2013 in Sports on Page B1 For the Spokane Shock, the journey back to the Arena Football League playoffs better have a few stops along the way. That wasn’t the case last year, when the Shock …
Eagle top freshman

March 12, 2013 in Sports on Page B5 In almost every respect, American basketball was an unknown quantity for Venky Jois. The same could be said of Jois himself, who on Monday was named the Big Sky Conference …
Shock fans get only preseason glimpse of Shock

March 11, 2013 in Sports on Page B1 Call it Shock Lite. Sunday’s Orange and White Game at the Arena was a low-voltage affair for almost everyone: coaches, players – even the P.A. announcer, who finally got the …
McCargar leads Pirates into next round of D-III

March 10, 2013 in Sports on Page C1 The Whitworth players fed off the emotion of the crowd Saturday night. Then they fed the ball to Colton McCargar. When the frenzy was over, the Pirates had earned an …
Whitworth host to Emory Saturday night

March 9, 2013 in Sports on Page C5 Whitworth has been catching a few breaks this month from the NCAA, which is far better than the Pirates’ men’s basketball team catching another plane flight. That’s something the rest …
Whitworth turns to McCargar for scoring punch

March 8, 2013 in Sports on Page B1 Warming the bench never felt this good. Not that it stays warm for long, the seat Colton McCargar leaves behind before he puts the heat on another team at Whitworth …
EWU’s Hayford to coach 400th game

March 7, 2013 in Sports on Page B5 Coaches made a lasting impression on a young Jim Hayford, and he’s trying to do the same for others. “I wanted to get into coaching because the people who had …
Shock begin practicing with playoffs in mind

March 6, 2013 in Sports on Page B1 The Spokane Shock players were back in full pads Tuesday morning, but not in their comfort zone. That was stripped away last season, the first one in franchise history that …
Basketball players’ tattoos share lives, feelings

March 3, 2013 in City, Sports on Page A1 No stain, no gain. Basketball player Sam Dower got the message during his freshman year at Gonzaga University from Robert Sacre, the big man on campus with an outsized personality … 31
EWU men lose to North Dakota, posteseason hopes likely dashed

March 3, 2013 in Sports on Page C4 A season of growing pains hurt even more Saturday afternoon at Reese Court. With the postseason hanging in the balance in the final home game of the season – and …
Eagles cling to hope for Big Sky berth

March 2, 2013 in Sports on Page C9 There’s already plenty on the line today at Reese Court, including the last home game for four Eastern Washington seniors and a chance for guard Jeffrey Forbes to equal the …
EWU suffers critical loss

March 1, 2013 in Sports on Page B3 Eastern Washington lost its grip on the basketball Thursday night, and perhaps the season. The Eagles lost the ball 22 times in a costly 88-80 overtime defeat against Northern Colorado …
Eagles’ Jois quickly picked up American game

February 28, 2013 in Sports on Page B5 The education of Venky Jois in the ways of American basketball began last fall. In Canada. The stamps on his Australian passport were barely dry when Jois joined his new …
Trendsetters

February 27, 2013 in Sports on Page B1 REARDAN, Wash. – Sometimes it’s good to go against the grain. Eastern Washington wheat towns have been taking a hit for years, but Reardan has bucked the trend. The population … 1
Seiferth, Forbes reach milestones in EWU’s victory

February 24, 2013 in Sports on Page C4 Going into the weekend, Saturday afternoon’s BracketBuster men’s basketball game at Reese Court looked like more of a momentum-buster. Instead, Eastern Washington made the most of its only game over …
Conference all-sports trophy named for former CCS athletic director

February 22, 2013 in Sports on Page B4 Maury Ray left a mark of excellence during three-plus decades as athletic director at the Community Colleges of Spokane. Now he’ll do the same for Northwest Athletic Association of Community …
Local commission examines new sports complex

February 21, 2013 in Sports on Page B7 The concept of a new multiuse sports complex is getting a positive reception from Spokane businesses and sports groups. For now it’s only a concept, but the Spokane Sports Commission …
Eagles show well-rounded effort in victory over Southern Utah

February 17, 2013 in Sports on Page C7 By any measure, Eastern Washington earned a benchmark win Saturday afternoon at Reese Court. The Eagles’ 86-72 Big Sky Conference men’s basketball victory over third-place Southern Utah was fashioned by …
CdA, LC will face off for state boys basketball berth

February 16, 2013 in Sports on Page C5 The Coeur d’Alene boys basketball team found its comfort zone Friday night. Trailing most of the night, the Vikings switched their defense to a 2-3 zone and shut down Lewiston …
In EWU’s case, NCAA sees red over uniforms

February 15, 2013 in Sports on Page B5 The NCAA made a fashion statement Wednesday, and Eastern Washington was quick to pick up the fabric of the conversation. The NCAA tackled the issue of uniforms, specifically requiring teams … 1