A Grip on Sports: Preparing for the heat is as important in sports as dealing with it

A GRIP ON SPORTS • How much water flowed into the lower decks of the Titanic? We did a Google search and were unable to find an answer we trusted. But we do trust this: No matter how much it was, we’ll need to drink more to get through the next few days.

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• One of my more vivid memories of the time spent covering Washington State football concerned Oklahoma State. No, not the butt-kicking the Cowboys put on Paul Wulff’s third team (the year the Cougars were supposed to “turn it around”). We’re referring to the lead-up to that 65-17 debacle in Stillwater to open the 2010 season.

The game was scheduled for Sept. 4 in Oklahoma. It was going to be hot. And muggy. To prepare, the WSU training staff wanted the players to drink plenty of water. For a week or so prior, every time we saw a Cougar player walking around campus, they were carrying a plastic gallon milk jug full of water. We’re still not sure how much they were supposed to ingest (maybe it depended on weight or something) but they were all drinking a lot.

It was preventive medicine of a sort. Did it work? Well, another memory we have of the game is just as many Cowboy players hit the turf with leg cramps and the like as Cougars, so the answer must have been yes.

Heat is always a factor in summer sporting events. Anyone who has ever played Hoopfest – usually the final June weekend – will tell you that. Some years the warmth radiating off the downtown streets was enough to melt your shoes. At least it seemed that way.

As we aged, however, we had a temperature formula was wanted for Hoopfest every year: A nice cool Saturday followed by a much warmer Sunday. That way, our old muscles were given the benefit of nature’s free Ben Gay during those early morning loser-out – oops, we’re not supposed to use the term “loser.” We better stick with consolation – games. If it got really hot Sunday afternoon, we didn’t care. We were already done and sitting in the backyard drinking Diet Coke and enjoying a Hebrew National hot dog.

Why are we strolling slowly down this block of memory lane today? According to those who know, we are about to embark into a week of heat so intense as to break Spokane-area temperature records. Not just for the date, but if we hit 109, as the Weather Channel app predicts we will on Tuesday, the hottest day in Spokane ever.

Well, at least since Jurassic was a period and not a park. Spokane’s record high currently is 108, which equates nicely to the number of points Wulff’s team yielded to Baylor and Oregon in 2008.

What’s that going to do to sporting events in the area? It certainly will cut into attendance. Who wants to sit around and watch a game while your ice-cold beverage turns into a lukewarm one in a matter of minutes? Of course parents will have to, but as a voluntary experience? No thanks.

For the players it actually could be a blessing. Back in the mid-1970s, we once drove from Fresno to Huntington Beach – a more than four-hour trip – to catch both ends of a doubleheader. The temp hit the high 90s that day and our second-game pitcher, my roommate, was wild. All I can remember is flying around behind the plate, trying to block errant curve balls and change-ups. And that we won – both games.

Oh yeah. One other thing. After the twinbill, I drove the hour back to my parents’ house, drank Lake Superior, took a cold bath and slept for the next 16 hours.

Heat will do that to you.

• If you do have a sporting event you’ll be attending in the next week or so, start prepping now. You don’t have to carry around a milk jug full of water (unless you want to) but drinking a lot of fluids now, staying hydrated, will pay dividends when you start sweating like Affirmed down the Belmont stretch. That way your body has a reservoir – literally – of fluid to draw upon.

But my advice is simple. Skip the long runs or outdoor hoops or softball games for a while. Grab a book. Find someplace relatively cool. Sit. Read. Fall asleep. Repeat until the high temperature recedes below 100. If it ever does this summer.

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WSU: John Blanchette presents a story of living on the edge this morning. The subject is Washington State runner Paul Ryan and his quest for Olympic glory. OK, Olympic trial glory. Don’t miss John’s column. It’s worth your time. … So is Theo Lawson’s appearance with Larry Weir on Tuesday’s Press Box podcast. Of course I somehow skipped right over it yesterday. Don’t you make the same mistake. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college sports, it’s good to see Larry Scott is staying consistent as his tenure ends. … Mayhem is favored over the NCAA by a touchdown. It should be more. … Stanford is trying to return to its roots this fall. Can you say smash-mouth? … Utah always has standout defensive linemen. …The Holiday Bowl has a new home. … In baseball news, there will not be a Pac-12 NCAA champion this year. Stanford was eliminated Wednesday in heartbreaking fashion by Vanderbilt, which also handed Arizona a loss earlier. … Speaking of the Wildcats, their coach might be poached by LSU.

Gonzaga: Former Zag standout Nigel Williams-Goss has a new contract in a new place. Jim Meehan has a new story on Williams-Goss’ (and other former GU players) new home. … Larry Weir has a new conversation with Alyssa Charlston, even after she’s left the Spokane area. It’s part of the latest Press Box podcast.

EWU: The Eagles have named a new soccer coach. It’s Spokane native Missy Strasburg. Jim Allen has the story.

Preps: John Mires had huge shoes to fill when he became Mead High’s head track coach as the 21st Century rolled around. Now, some 20 years later, someone else will have to attempt to fill Mires’ hall of fame-worthy shoes. Justin Reed has this story on his retirement.

Indians: Spokane’s four-game winning streak ended in Hillsboro, thanks to a 5-2 defeat at the hands of the Hops. Dave Nichols has more in this story.

Shock: When Spokane visits the Arizona Rattlers tomorrow night, kicker Sawyer Petre will be seeing a lot of old friends. Ryan Collingwood has this feature on Petre, who got his indoor football start with the Phoenix-based team.

Chiefs: The WHL schedule for next season still isn’t back to normal – no long road trips through the heart of Canada – but it’s closer. Dan Thompson goes through the Chiefs’ schedule, spurred on by its official release yesterday. One weird note: Spokane won’t have any home games on Sundays.

USL: If you have been looking forward to pro soccer coming to Spokane – at the soon-to-be-constructed downtown stadium – then you won’t be disappointed in the news announced Wednesday. There will be two USL teams in the city, with a women’s franchise starting in 2023 and a men’s version beginning the next year. Jim Allen has all the information in this story.

Mariners: The M’s winning streak is over, victim of a 5-2 loss to the Rockies to end the long homestand. … Despite the new enforcement of the sticky-substance rule, the Mariners don’t seem to be playing a part in all the drama.

Sounders: Raul Ruidiaz could score in a phone booth, if such things still existed. His second-half penalty-kick goal lifted Seattle to a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake last night. The Sounders not only extended their unbeaten streak to a franchise-record 10 matches but also still have yet to give up a run-of-play goal. … Portland rallied for a draw against host Dallas.

Storm: The Seattle trio of Loyd, Bird and Stewart has another chance to add to their law-firm-like legacy. The three – Jewel, Sue and Breanna – have a stellar one already but the Olympics can add a bit more shine. … There is another Storm player hoping to be in the Olympics.

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• We can remember when Tony Kornheiser was the morning voice of ESPN radio. Then EWU’s Colin Cowherd. And Mike and Mike, Greenberg and Golic. But we don’t listen to radio must anymore. Podcasts are the new thing. And yet, we still found this story on Mike Golic and ESPN interesting. Of course it is based off a podcast interview. … Stay cool my friends. Until later …