Grip on Sports: The weekend was so jammed the television remote overheated
A GRIP ON SPORTS • The weekend that was must have left us all a bit hungover. Not necessarily from adult beverages, mind you, but from an orgy of sports that is unmatched at other times of the year. Read on.
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• OK, the adult beverage part might have been understated, but we digress. We want to focus on what happened on the fields and courts and whatnot.
You like diversity? Every major sport had games over the weekend. Pro football, college football, high school football. The World Series. The NBA. College basketball. Hockey. The MLS playoffs. Heck, I’m sure tennis and golf was being played somewhere, and could be found on your 60-inch screen if you so desired.
To top it all off, it was nice enough in Spokane during October’s last weekend to go outside and play everyone one of those sports yourself if that was your desire. Maybe not hockey, but you get the picture.
It was a perfect sports weekend.
• Well, not perfect. Not considering last night’s World Series Game Five in Houston. The “wrong” team won.
Actually the game was exciting in a look-at-that-wreck sort of way.
My wife thought attending a World Series game was on my bucket list. It wasn’t, but it was a cool experience. For the record I’ve never put one of those together but if I do, I do know one thing that will be on it: watching a baseball game that is umpired electronically.
Major league games will improve markedly when computers adjudicate balls and strikes, bringing a level of consistency that hitters, pitchers and fans have been seeking for more than 100 years.
• Dodger manager Dave Roberts made two moves last night I still don’t understand. And I’m usually pretty understanding.
The first was having his cleanup hitter, Kiki Hernandez, bunt with no outs and a runner at second base in a 7-7 tie.
He had moved Hernandez into the four hole for Sunday’s game because he was hitting so well. And he was. So why have Hernandez give up an out? Why not just trust him? Instead of moving Justin Turner to third, Hernandez bunted back to the mound and Turner was nailed trying to advance.
The out also derailed an inning that could have been bigger, as the Dodgers strung enough hits together to take a one-run lead. A lead that would last only until the second hard-to-fathom decision was made.
It may have been forced upon Roberts by Clayton Kershaw’s less-than-stellar outing but it still felt knee-jerk and not thought out. Before the game, the Dodger manager assured everyone reliever Brandon Morrow was unavailable. The hard-throwing ex-Mariner had pitched two consecutive nights and never in his career had he thrown in three.
And yet here was Morrow striding to the mound in the seventh with the Dodgers leading 8-7.
The results were predictable. Morrow didn’t have his usual stuff – didn’t have diddly actually – and the Astros pounded him for four hits, four runs and two home runs, all of which ultimately were the difference in a 13-12 10-inning game.
Roberts knew before the game Morrow wasn’t going to have it; in the seventh inning he hoped he would. Hope can’t get a major league hitter out.
• How crazy was the end of the Seahawks’ 41-38 win? So crazy that Jimmy Graham was able to saunter down the middle of the Texans’ defense in the final minute uncovered for an 18-yard touchdown catch.
Uncovered is putting it mildly. The entire middle of the field was exposed. It didn’t matter if the Hawk tight end had been Graham or Luke Willson or Nick Vannett or Michael Bennett, for that matter, they were going to be the hero of the game.
And Houston is left wondering what happened.
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WSU: Theo Lawson’s trip home from Tucson seemed a little roundabout, flying back to Spokane through Sacramento and Boise. But at least it gave him time to put together this analysis of what happened Saturday night at Arizona. … The Cougars didn’t practice yesterday but they did find out they are playing Stanford on Saturday in the daytime. Though, if the weather reports are to be believed, there is a 50 percent chance there will be snow on the ground. … WSU also dropped to 25th in the latest Associated Press poll. … USC swept the volleyball team in Pullman. … The Register-Guard has a season preview of the WSU basketball team.
Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the final polls were released prior to Tuesday playoff rankings. It doesn’t look good for the conference right now. And were not just talking about the polls, power rankings or the playoffs. … Now that the Huskies have a win over Oregon, there seems to be a bit of luster off the rivalry. Washington is favored by almost four touchdowns. … Colorado made some practice changes that paid off. … Maybe Utah should make the same ones. The Utes are at a crossroads. … Or maybe an impromptu meeting is the answer. USC had one last week. … UCLA wishes it had a run defense. … Arizona State would like to have last Saturday back. … Arizona, ranked 23rd, has a bright future. It is one of the youngest teams in the nation.
Gonzaga: Former GU standout Kyle Wiltjer is putting his NBA dream on hold and heading to Greece to play. Jim Meehan has the story.
EWU: The Eagles traveled to Portland to open the Shantay Legans era and they did it with a 76-70 exhibition basketball win over the Pilots.
Preps: Halloween night will feature a three-way tiebreaker at Albi for the Greater Spokane League’s final 4A football playoff berth. Dave Nichols has a preview.
Seahawks: Throughout the second half yesterday afternoon, I pounded out about seven takes from the game. After that final scoring drive, I threw most of them away and settled on the beauty that is Russell Wilson in a hurry-up offense. … Trailing by four, Wilson told his teammates to have no fear. Did he follow that with “Underdog is here?” I sure hope so. … Earl Thomas’ hamstring is acting up again. Maybe it was strained trying to cover up for others’ mistakes. … There was a report yesterday Graham was being offered in trade talks. The Hawks denied it.
Mariners: You want World Series coverage? Go somewhere else. I’m pouting. No, I can’t be that unprofessional. Here are a few stories and columns.
Sounders: The MLS playoffs put a premium on road goals. So Seattle went to Vancouver yesterday and exploded for zero. A scoreless draw that is actually, in the MLS canon, a win for the home team. Now the Sounders have to win the second leg at CenturyLink if they want to advance. At least Clint Dempsey will be back. … Portland begins the first leg of its two match series with Houston tonight in Texas.
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• After the late-night Cougar game Saturday, an early wake-up call Sunday and a rundown feeling that had all the trappings of a cold, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy much about the day. And then the games happened – and proved me right. I didn’t enjoy them, especially not the World Series game. Until later …