Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

FRIDAY, AUG. 25, 2006

Hard to find

There's no doubt about it. If you want news about the Idaho Vandals and the Eastern Eagles, there are very few places either to get it (as in the case of the Eagles) or to get it for free (Vandals).While we were away, Dave Trimmer…

Continue reading this post »

TUESDAY, AUG. 22, 2006

The return of the head Silvertip

OK, so I lied.As I was looking for college football stories, I came across these two stories concerning the Everett Silvertips Back to The Future-like changing of the guard.Doug Soetaert, who built the current WHL U.S. Division champions before leaving for an NHL job prior…

Continue reading this post »


Time to weigh in

After reading all the stories mentioned below about the Mariners, I feel like something of an expert. Well, I feel something.Sick is more like it.Sick of the Mariners falling apart. Sick of the management in the dugout and above. Sick of paying mucho bucks to…

Continue reading this post »


How long will Sigfried stick?

We will start this fine Tuesday with a tough question.Will Chris Siegfried leave the Shock? Jim Meehan examines that question in today's paper. An interesting fact I didn't know, but I should have surmised: Coaches in arenafootball2 also have a salary scale, just like the…

Continue reading this post »

MONDAY, AUG. 21, 2006

The professionals

So what are people saying now about the Seahawks after their second exhib … sorry, preseason game?Mike Sando, writing in today's News Tribune gave the Hawks a passing grade for their 30-17 Sunday night win.The P-I's Clare Farnsworth highlighted the game-turning plays of defensive lineman…

Continue reading this post »


About halfway there

Let's discuss college football.Glenn Kasses looks at the Cougs at the halfway point of fall practice. Here is his story today about the Cougs' coaching staff backing off a little Sunday and Monday. There are only about two weeks before the opener at No. 4…

Continue reading this post »

SUNDAY, AUG. 20, 2006

Sunday morning musings

One last Shock blog entry this morning. After sitting in the Spokane Arena last night, I woke up with a noise-induced headache – ya, it was the noise, that's the cause. Maybe it was the dog down the street barking away at 6:48. Either way,…

Continue reading this post »

SATURDAY, AUG. 19, 2006

On to Puerto Rico

The Shock run out the clock by actually running the ball. The Twisters don't call time out and the game ends 48-30.Spokane, in its expansion year, will play for the af2 title.

Continue reading this post »


Trufant's great play and an injury

Trufant makes the defensive play of game dominated by the Spokane defense. With a little over 6 minutes left in Arkansas’ season, Church sends his No. 1 receiver, Williams, deep down the middle. Williams turns Trufant around and gets separation – what looks to be…

Continue reading this post »


A hit to end a quarter

The award for the best form tackle goes to Shock kicker Jon Koker.OK, that’s an exaggeration, but Koker does make a tackle on the ensuing kickoff, and the form is good – especially for a kicker.But it was nothing like a hit by Peaua, who…

Continue reading this post »


Building the lead

For most of the game, it’s almost as if the Shock have one receiver – Frederick. Then Beard lets you know that’s not the case, making a seemingly impossible one-handed catch to give Spokane a first down deep in Twister territory.The Shock cash in on…

Continue reading this post »


At the half

The Shock play the last minute with a quick front, but it doesn’t stop the Twisters from moving to the Shock 3. They have more trouble with the crowd, as a false start moves them back to the 8.Which just gives Williams more room to…

Continue reading this post »


A stop for Arkansas

The matchup between Ratliff and Ta’amu is worth watching, and is starting to get ugly. On a pass play, Ratliff’s right hand connects with Ta’amu’s head in what suspiciously like a punch. It’s not called, but a couple of penalties are against the Shock. This…

Continue reading this post »


Penalties? Big deal

The penalties start to even out, with the Shock hit with another holding, this time on the offensive end. That’s followed by an illegal procedure, but an extra 15 yards in arena ball is nothing – at least it is this night. A third-down pass…

Continue reading this post »


Dropping in

It’s obvious the Twisters decide they have to attack up front, with some guy named Arnold, wearing number 50 but not in the program, even attacking one-time after losing his helmet. (Found him in the media guide. His name is Clay).The third Arkansas penalty helps…

Continue reading this post »


The first score

For the second week in a row, Frederick has a big opening kickoff return, this time to the Arkansas 12. When it looks like the Shock might be in trouble, Rowley’s attempt for Savage results in pass interference and a first down on the 3.…

Continue reading this post »


The introductions

The introductions are serving their purpose. The Arena is rocking. And the Shock isn’t on the field yet.This reminds me a lot of the Rubber Chicken, when both Ferris and LC are good. But even then, I don’t think the Arena gets this loud.And the…

Continue reading this post »


The last time they met

When the Shock doubled up the Twisters in Little Rock on July 1, 46-23, they fell behind 3-0 less than 3 minutes in. But quarterback Kyle Rowley, making his first start for Spokane, led the Shock to scores on every possession in the first half…

Continue reading this post »


How is golf like surfing?

I stayed up until after 1 p.m. watching a) the PGA (did you know six hours of hi-def will take up most of your DVR space?) and b) a documentary on surfing.The latter was actually a heck of lot more interesting. Though Phil Mickelson’s Friday…

Continue reading this post »

FRIDAY, AUG. 18, 2006

Noble claims bronze medal

Rebekah Noble is coming home from Beijing with a bronze medal from the 2006 World Junior Championships.Noble, the Rogers High product who is a sophomore at the University of Oregon, finished third in the 800 meters in 2 minutes, 4.90 seconds."I'm very happy with my…

Continue reading this post »


The rest of the day

I'm away from my computer for the rest of the day, so this evening I'll make a swing through the blogs and see if there is any interesting Cougar, Eagle, Vandal, Husky or Seahawk news to report –we all know there is nothing interesting coming…

Continue reading this post »


From the good to the injured

Where to start? Well, let's begin in Cheney, where there was good news, in the form of the Eastern scrimmage, and bad news, in Jerramy Stevens' knee injury.First the bad. As I linked to below, Mike Sando of the News Tribune, writing on his blog…

Continue reading this post »

THURSDAY, AUG. 17, 2006

Stevens suffers knee injury

An interesting day for the Seahawks (see post below, which I corrected around 1:30) got a little more so with an injury suffered by tight end Jerramy Stevens. According to the Associated Press story, the Seattle Times Seahawk blog and the Tacoma blog, Stevens went…

Continue reading this post »


A road trip for the Seahawks

Here's the most interesting Seahawks news of the day. No, it's not that Grant Wistrom was practicing Wednesday. No, it's not that Jerry Rice was in camp (low in notebook). No, it's not the great play of Jordan Babineaux.No, the big news comes out of…

Continue reading this post »


A kickoff to the prep's season

The first subject we are going to conquer today is Washington State high school football (old habits are hard to break). Practice kicked off Wednesday for most schools, with the first games in the state starting Aug. 31 and Sept. 1.If you are a college…

Continue reading this post »

SportsLink is your portal into sports news around the Inland Northwest and beyond. You'll find updates, notes and opinions, and plenty of reader feedback.






Looking for a Grip on Sports?

Vince Grippi's daily take on all things regional sports has been moved to our main sports section online. You can find a collection of these columns here.


Blog Archives

Dec. 2006 Nov. 2006 Oct. 2006 Sept. 2006
Aug. 2006