A Grip on Sports: From a letter of intent to a baseball argument, it’s actually a fun Thursday

A GRIP ON SPORTS • As we move closer to Jackie Robinson Day, we will have some baseball thoughts. But others as well. It’s that type of Thursday.

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• We’ll start with what yesterday was to many high school athletes. Wednesday was decision day, though it’s better known as the first day of the NCAA’s letter-of-intent spring signing period.

Football players get their days in the sun in late fall and late winter. Basketball players have a day to (pretty much) their own in fall as well. But the April signing day encompasses all sports. Though, as per usual, college basketball signings are the most important.

One senior in our area signed yesterday, fulfilling as Dave Nichols so eloquently puts it, a family legacy.

Central Valley’s Dylan Darling will be playing in Pullman next season, following in the shoes of his father, James. Not really, though. James wore cleats as a Cougar, dominating the middle 1990s as part of the Palouse Posse before heading off for a 10-year NFL career. He was a linebacker on a mission every play, and that mission was to get to the ball.

It’s an attitude his son displays as well.

When we first saw Dylan play hoops at 13, he was more of a defensive nightmare for his opponents than an offensive one. He was, to put it plainly, a pain in the neck for anyone he faced.

But he was as driven on the court as his dad was on the turf. His offensive game developed each year as he grew with the game, culminating this high school season. He was, quite honestly, the most explosive offensive player in the history of the Greater Spokane League. The numbers showed it. Our eyes saw it. And that development led him to impress Kyle Smith’s staff enough he was offered by Washington State.

Wednesday he made it official.

• There was a kerfuffle yesterday in the major leagues. Yes, another one. At least this one didn’t revolve round unwritten rules.

The Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw threw 80 pitches. He pitched seven perfect innings. He didn’t come out for the eighth. And fans gasped, especially those of my generation.

Unless they can’t do math, they shouldn’t have.

Kershaw has been around a long time. Fourteen seasons, actually. He’s 33 years old and been hurt a lot lately, including last season when he was unavailable for the postseason. The Dodgers need him. He was on a pitch count, with an eye on keeping him healthy through the expected World Series. It wasn’t 80 pitches. But he was already close. The upper limit going in was 85.

Send him out for the eighth and he throws, say, a dozen pitches. Or 15. And gets three consecutive outs. Now he’s at 95 pitches, but he’s, you know, just three outs from perfection. How do you take him out then?

You can’t. He walks out for the ninth, throws another 10-to-15 pitches and becomes the owner of the game’s 24th perfect performance. And, after a truncated spring training, he’s put 110 tough pitches on his left arm.

Or even worse, he puts 105 on it before he walks a guy. Or there’s an error. Then he has nothing except wear and tear.

Just let it go. It was the right decision.

• You know the most right decision I’ve ever made? Yep, it was spending my life with my wife Kim. She, on the other hand, might still be regretting saying yes. After all, I’m sure she’s been a lot more successful at her career then I ever was. If anything, I held her back.

Let’s recap.

She put herself through nursing school when we were first married by waitressing and working at a bank.

She followed me to Spokane right after graduation, where she went to work at Sacred Heart Hospital. As our children came into our lives, she worked part-time as I explored the magical world of being an editor (or as it’s known in other businesses, a mid-manager).

The boys grew more self-sufficient and she went back to full-time work, earning the trust of her bosses and peers. She was a floor nurse, a charge nurse and then an assistant nurse manager. Finally, she became the manager of Sacred Heart Medical Center’s Cardiac Intensive Care unit. The person in charge of the hospital’s flagship floor.

By then I was in Pullman covering the Cougars, so we were often apart, most times for six days a week. It was a taxing time for her.

Anything that happened to or at our home, she had to deal with. The boys, who were now young men? She was their rock. And then there was her work, which not only meant managing the hospital’s busiest floor but also included a three-plus-year task of rebuilding the CICU, bringing it into the 21st Century, facility-wise. The staff, some of the best nurses anywhere, were already there.

Then came COVID-19 and the worst years of nursing in a century. Through it all, she stood tall. Led the way. Always available. Took the brunt of the blows and kept working for her staff and patients. For her unit.

People ask me all the time what is my favorite aspect of covering sports. The answer is simple. I love highlighting offensive-line play. Offensive linemen do the most important work on the field – any field – and get the least amount of glory.

They are what everyone should be: folks who do their job not for recognition but because it is important for their society to have success.

The same can be said of the work Kim and her staff has always done. Nursing is one of, if not the most, selfless professions. And running a hospital floor is even more so. Which is why Kim has been so good at it.

She is, without a doubt, the most selfless person I’ve become acquainted with in my 65 years.

Tomorrow, Kim will pack her bag for the last time. The day we’ve been working toward together for 42 years is finally here. She is retiring. Leaving a profession, and a position, she loves.

Is she still physically and mentally capable of doing her job? Certainly. But she’s giving it up so we can spend more time together. So we can ride off into sunrises and sunsets together. So we can be we more.

I am blessed. Heck, anyone who has ever passed through her orbit has been blessed. And the rest of the time we have together – hopefully many, many years – will be a blessing. Thanks to her.

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WSU: We mentioned Dave’s story on Darling’s LOI signing yesterday. We linked it above. We link it here again. … Colton Clark turns his sights on the baseball team, which is coming off the high of taking two-of-three at Arizona. They face California at home this weekend. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, a high-stakes trial began Tuesday in Oregon. It is about football, health and how the NCAA and its member schools ensure their players’ safety, if they do. … Meanwhile, the Ducks continue spring practice under first-year coach Dan Lanning. It’s not a surprise defense is an emphasis. … Washington has lately been enticing a few Seattle athletes to return home. … ESPN has a list of what it believes are the top 100 running backs in college football in the past 60 years. … The new UCLA defensive coordinator is making an impression. … USC’s running game will make one as well, especially since the Trojans are still considered an Air Raid team. … Utah does not throw the ball all that much. … Colorado has standouts on both sides of the ball. … In basketball news, the Pac-12’s player of the year, Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, is headed to the NBA. … Utah has filled out its staff, taking back a legacy from BYU. … A Colorado player is ready to return from an injury. … Finally, we want to share this gymnastics story from Oregon State. It is worth your time.

Gonzaga: Around the WCC, BYU will have to replace Chris Burgess on the basketball staff as he’s left for Utah.

EWU: Rodney Stuckey was a high flyer while he was at Eastern. While he was in the NBA as well. And he is trying to be in business, though the pandemic held him down a while. Dave Cook has this story about his attempt to rise up once more. … Around the Big Sky, UC Davis is building a strong quarterback room. … There is more churn on the Montana State basketball roster. … Two brothers will be playing for Montana next season.

Preps: It’s Thursday so there are prep feature stories to be found. We start with Keenan Gray’s piece on Rogers High junior Ellabelle Taylor, a multi-sport athlete who does multiple events on the track. … Justin Reed highlights the long journey of Ridgeline’s Landon Coddington. … Dave adds a roundup of Wednesday’s action.

Indians: The rain dissipated in Eugene and Spokane’s bullpen held up in a 5-2 victory. Dave has that story.

Mariners: It was so wet in Chicago yesterday salmon could have spawned in the first base line, as Ryan Divish noted humorously on Twitter. The M’s offense, however didn’t show a rebirth and their defense slipped from them in one key rainstorm of an inning. The White Sox won 6-4 as the Mariners have lost four consecutive times. … Who are the best rookies in baseball? … Sergio Romo is on the injured list. … T-Mobile will look different next year, with more high-end spots for rich folks. And a new look press box.

Seahawks: Baker Mayfield thinks the only place he may end up, if Cleveland decides to get rid of him, is Seattle. … The Hawks’ roster certainly doesn’t look like one of a team built to win now.

Sounders: Seattle is off to the CONCACAF Champions League finals after its 1-1 draw was enough to eliminate New York City FC. The Sounders moved on thanks to a 4-2 aggregate score after the two-match series.

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• It’s funny how different our dogs are. There is, after all, almost a hundred pounds of difference in size. But there is more. That was illustrated this morning in one of their forays into the backyard. Junior, the Dane mix, ignores the birds that like to feed in the grass. They are, to him, akin to lint on the pants of life. Donut, however, sees them differently. He feels they are a threat to his (non-existent) authority. How dare they land on his grass? As Donut flies around the backyard, trying to rid it of their unwanted presence, all 18 pounds in zoom mode, Junior serenely watches and waits for the real threats: Thirty-something mothers pushing strollers past the back fence. Until later …