December 17, 2009 in Sports

I’ve had as much fun as athletes

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Recently discharged from the Army following a tour in Vietnam and just back from a trip with my brother to the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, I typed my first column at the Spokane Valley Herald.

Today, I submit my last with The Spokesman-Review after 41 years and two months of walking the sidelines and sitting under baskets at high school sporting events, clipboard in hand, and for many of those years with a camera around my neck.

This has not just been an occupation, but also my avocation, recreation and, literally, vacation. I met my wife, most of my …

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Six comments on this story so far. Add yours!

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  NC_Supporter on December 17 at 6:28 a.m.

  Thanks for all your hard work Mike. I have enjoyed reading your articles since I moved to Spokane in 1996.

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  rawkmandale on December 17 at 12:44 p.m.

  Thanks for the memories, Mike. You've been a real pro, and an advocate for many. I appreciated how you would take phone calls and pass on your deep knowledge of current happenings in the local sports scene. Thanks for the commitment to viewing local events with our own kids as more important than the national tripe.

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  Dave Cook on December 17 at 1:18 p.m.

  It's been an ABSOLUTE pleasure to get to work with Mike and read his work. All of the Spokesman-Review writers are underappreciated for the quality of work they do and the service they provide readers. We'll miss Mike a great deal, but I know Greg Lee and his “teammates” will do the best job possible considering all the staffing reductions they've had to face. Keep up the good work and best of luck to you Mike!

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  Theanticscontinue on December 17 at 4:47 p.m.

  Mike, my best to you and your family. It has truly been a pleasure knowing you over the years from back in the frontier league football days to softball games, to just last month along the sidelines. I am truly sorry you are leaving us, but somehow I know we'll meet in the stands on ocassion. Take a break, you deserve it.

  Good luck my friend!

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  celeste on December 18 at 11:54 a.m.

  Mike,
  I first met you in 1983. I played softball for West Valley High School with your niece Adetta and your wife as an assistant coach. I knew my husband well when I met him from reading your wrestling coverage. Over the years I have seen you at so many sporting events. I think to myself how nice that some things don't change. Now, my youngest son is in high school and wrestling at University and I think how things have gone full circle. I'll miss seeing you and reading your take on the events you cover. Good Luck.
  Celeste Gabel

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  fatoldcatcher on December 23 at 8:05 p.m.

  Mike,
  I have read your work for over 30 years. As an athlete you covered I can tell you how much your stories meant to me and my teammates at CV. Your work with the Spokesman has been essential to fans of high school sports. You have served us well.
  Thank you for caring about our passions.

  Clete Nielsen

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