Grip on Sports: Take a day off and the M’s mountain gets harder to climb

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? Oh ya, wondering about the Mariners and their postseason chances. Isn’t that the summer raison d’etre around these parts? Read on.

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• Once again the M’s reached the .500 mark. Heck, this time they rose above it. Then, once again, they’ve fallen back. After ascending to two games over the break-even level during Hoopfest, the Mariners are 2-7 since.

Tuesday’s second consecutive loss to the Royals dropped Seattle to 41-44. There are just five games until the All-Star break. The rollercoaster ride of a season is in one of the fast downhill slides.

It doesn’t look good right now.

The worst part of this tough stretch is it is coming at home, a place that was safe for the M’s up until recently.

Now they have lost six consecutive times at Safeco.

And are three games back in the wild-card chase, part of eight teams within three-and-a-half games of the promised land.

One hot streak and everything changes. Then again, another cold streak and the number of teams in the way would make the long climb back nearly impossible.

• More than 30 years ago, when interviewing for a job at The Spokesman-Review, I was asked the “why” question. As in “why do you want to come here?”

My answer was simple. The area. After living my entire life in Southern California, I – we, actually, as Kim and I made the decision together – wanted to try somewhere different, somewhere with recreational activities closer to home.

Spokane certainly has that, though it took me almost 30 years to really enjoy it.

Work, family, sports, they all conspired to put getting out on the backburner. But since retirement, I’ve tried to use my legs a bit more.

Yesterday Kim and I hiked to the Rocks of Sharon, an area less than five miles from our home but a world away.

Yes, the trail was almost straight uphill. And yes, my legs aren’t as strong as they were when we moved here. But the half-hour-plus of stair-master-like hiking yielded some of the best views of the Palouse I have ever seen, and they came with the extra-added attraction of sweat streaming down my back.

If you like to get out and about, it’s a hike well worth taking.

By the way, Kim took a phone-full of pictures at the top, panoramas of the view stretching all the way to Steptoe Butte. She then sent them to her relatives in California. Just a way of saying this is where we live.

And it’s different. Good different. Heck, great different.

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WSU: Riley Sorenson hasn’t had it easy the past few years, as Jacob Thorpe detailed in this story. But that wasn’t the end of them. They are still ongoing, as Sorenson deals with cancer once again. He’s not alone in his fight. … It’s that time of year when anyone and everyone ranks college football teams. … Around the Pac-12, Washington’s new basketball coach Mike Hopkins is off to a good start. … How should Oregon handle Darren Carrington’s latest misstep?

Gonzaga: This may be the most Mark-Few-is-just-a-normal-Spokane-guy story of all time. …  Zach Collins is officially a Trail Blazer.

Indians: Spokane returned home to face Vancouver and immediately had its three-game winning streak snapped. Whitney Ogden has the story of the 5-0 defeat in front of a sellout, Fourth of July crowd. … Around the Northwest League, Boise topped host Eugene in a 20-inning game and Everett dropped a home game to Tri-City.

Preps: Moses Lake star guard Jamie Loera has decided to attend Arizona State. Greg Lee has the story. … We can also pass along this week’s youth notebook.

Mariners: Though Felix Hernandez didn’t pitch all that well in the 7-3 defeat, the offense was more of a problem. The M’s haven’t had an extra-base hit in a while. … Hisashi Iwakuma has been shelved again as he’s had some more shoulder problems. … Hard work has gotten Nelson Cruz where he is. … Robinson Cano was passed over for the All-Star team and that hasn’t set well in Seattle.

Sounders: Seattle has played 13 matches on the Fourth of July in its history. And never played at home. Yet the Sounders have eight wins, the most recent of which came yesterday in Colorado. Clint Dempsey scored twice and Seattle won 3-1. … In other MLS action, Real Salt Lake went to Los Angeles and routed the Galaxy 6-2. … San Jose lost 4-2 in Atlanta.

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• No hiking today. A walk, yes, but no hiking. My partner has to work. Until later …