Give and Take: Letters to Sports

Olson needs to go in order to keep fans

Season-ticket holder since Day One … literally.

I understand why (Chris) Siegfried left. Our best coach (Adam Shackleford) was let go for the “fan favorite” Rob Keefe. Now we have Andy Olson. It goes from good, to the best, to OK, to the worst.

Olson is in over his head. Whether it was the coin flip in overtime that we won despite him, to the goal-line play-calling that we should have scored and didn’t.

I have had enough of his clipboard-throwing antics. We had (quarterbacks Nick) Davila, (Kyle) Rowley, and (Erik) Meyer. Now we have “fill in the blank.” We went from the best in AFL2 to the best in the AFL to this.

Brady Nelson got out at the right time. The West Coast owner may want to take his new team to the West Side. It would save me money. I only go to about half the games, and I can’t give the other tickets away.

Social media crushes what the Shock have done in the last four or five years. I am fed up. Now they want me to pony up for season tickets for next year.

Fire the coach. It may be the only way that I re-up.

Mike Larson

Spokane

ESPN should have asked Everett to Hoopfest show

Spokanites are confused. 

Neil Everett, one of ESPN’s top sports journalists, and fellow Spokanite, was not here to host ESPN’s first Hoopfest. 

Neil attended Wilson Elementary School, Sacajawea Middle School, and Lewis and Clark High School. He was a gritty 5-foot-8 155-pound offensive lineman that was first-team All-GSL as the “captain.”  He grew up with, competed against, and graduated the same year as the legendary John Stockton. He annually donates to the Spokane Eastside Basketball Camp and is also the guest speaker for Gonzaga University’s “Coaches vs. Cancer” banquet. Oh, did I mention that he speaks for free?

 Neil knows the streets of Spokane, the vibe of Spokane, the hot spots of Spokane, as well as the love that Spokanites bring to the table. He knows Spokane street ball as well as its organized basketball tradition; which is one of the hidden secrets regarding the success of Spokane ballers. … His father? Dave Robertson, the greatest high school basketball coach in the history of Spokane. His mother? An English teacher for the Spokane Unified School District. Neil is Spokane.

Let’s remind ESPN of who we really are. We are family. We are Spokane. Next year, let’s see to it that we bring Neil home. I give ESPN props for bringing anchor Jaymee Sire home. Why? Because she too, represents us!

Glenn Dumas

Moreno Valley, Calif.

Letters policy

We welcome letters of up to 200 words on all sports and outdoors topics. All letters are subject to editing. Writers are limited to one letter every 30 days. Please include your street address and telephone number where you can be reached for verification.

Send to: Letters to the Sports Editor, The Spokesman-Review, 999 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane, WA 99201.