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

Grip on Sports: Kevin Pangos can’t beat a woman in shooting contest? So what?

Friday: Kevin Pangos won the 3-point shooting contest last night. (I know, I know. Gonzaga fans everywhere on hearing the news Pangos had 23, 23 and 22 points in his three rounds vs. other men are wishing he could have hit one or two of those against Duke.)

That’s cool, but that’s not the best part of the story. Portland’s Cassandra Brown won the women’s division of the State Farm College Slam event at Butler’s historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. That means the two best outside shooters in their respective genders came from the WCC.

That’s cool, but that’s not the best part of the story. Brown and Pangos squared off to determine an overall champion with Gonzaga’s star scoring 20 points. But Brown scored 21 and won the competition.

That’s cool, but that’s not the best part of the story. No, the best part was Pangos’ reaction. He tweeted afterward that, yeah, he lost to a girl. But he also added it was no big deal. #Sorrynotsorry was one of the hashtags. And it isn’t a big deal. That’s the best part.

Thirty years ago it would have been a big deal. No more. Women have proven their game is different, but not better nor worse.

There are certain aspects of the game in which the women excel, shooting being one of them. Execution is another. And Pangos, whose dad coaches women collegiately, understands that.

The macho superiority complex of the past is just that, past. Among college athletes, there is a respect for each other, for the work ethic, for the skills, for the game.

That’s so cool. Why? Because it wasn’t all that long ago women’s sports were marginalized and dismissed, even by their peers. Sure, their popularity may never rival their male counterparts in attendance and ratings, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be celebrated. They are, especially by the people who count. The players.

Wednesday: I won’t be booking the Mariners in the World Series this season. They seem to be the trendy pick, nationally, and I think they’ve improved incrementally, but it’s foolish to think the next stop is Titletown, U.S.A.

The Seahawks, sure. The Sounders possibly. Maybe even Gonzaga some time down the road. But the M’s, baseball’s poster children of management ineptitude? No way.

They’ve spent some money, but they always seem to cut corners somewhere, trying to win a pennant on the cheap when the franchise is worth more than Zanzibar.