Is the sun still shining?
A GRIP ON SPORTS
There are a lot of reasons this morning post very nearly became an afternoon post. One is I was up well after my usual bed time last night, pretending for some reason to be 48-years-old or something. But the main reason is the interweb in my hotel is amazingly slow. If the web access at your work is a cheetah and at my home an antelope, the best analogy for here is maybe a guinea pig. On Quaaludes. Read on.
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• As I write this, I have opened a few tabs of links I want to pass along. They are loading. Slowly. But they are loading. Stories about the Mariners, stories about the BYU passing offense. Stories about Gonzaga basketball. All loading. Slowly. But I know sooner or later they'll be ready for me to read, to decide if they are worth passing along. I just hope it happens before I need a new prescription for my glasses. Or before I throw the computer against the wall in frustration. At least my email is still working. I see I just received my daily Groupon coupon. For teeth whitening. I wonder if it works on dentures.
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• Washington State: As I've said many times before, I love Sunday morning newspapers. There is always something different to read. Today, we head to Salt Lake City, where the Tribune spent some time this Sunday morning to examine the BYU football passing tree (no, not a passing tree as in the receivers' patterns; a passing tree as in a family tree of descendants of Lavell Edwards, shown at left). A member of that family tree is WSU coach Mike Leach, who brings his first Cougar team to Provo in less than two months. ... Speaking of Leach, his hiring is part of this story on looking for college coaches. ... We've mentioned this before, but Abe Lodwick's academic award leads our weekly achievement column this week. ... More on the Utah/BYU rivalry taking a hiatus. ... I really didn't know where to pass this along, but it is college sports so I'll put it here. The Caltech athletic program is on NCAA academic probation. Yep, the same Caltech who produces guys who can say "it isn't rocket science" and know what they are talking about. The best part of the probation: The school will vacate all its baseball wins during a period it went 0-112. Yep, it cheated. And lost every game anyway. Now that's impressive.
• Gonzaga: It must be a conspiracy. Somehow, the cabal that is the "liberal media" got together at its secret clubhouse this week and decided to flood America with stories about former Gonzaga players in the NBA summer leagues. I'll have to ask correspondent Steve Hunt, who wrote about Micah Downs, why I wasn't invited. The snacks at those meetings are great. ... The other Zags covered include Adam Morrison, who is taking one more shot at the NBA, and Robert Sacre, who is in his first go-round.
• Indians: Nothing pithy to write here. The Indians lost. Again. Jess Brown has the story. Move along.
• Shock: Though the Shock won't be in the playoffs, they will finish at least with a .500 record. Though the 49-48 victory at Kansas City didn't come easily despite the Command having one of the AFL's worst records. ... San Jose ended its season with a win over Iowa.
• Mariners: There is one shining light in the dark, dank season that is Mariners' baseball, 2012. It is the halo that surrounds Felix Hernandez on the mound. The big fella live up to his nickname again last night, reigning over the Texas Rangers with 12 strike outs in a dominating, 7-0 win. Ranger rookie Yu Darvish may own the rest of the American League, but he sure doesn't have the light-hitting M's number. These guys did, though. ... Jeff Datz admits a mistake. ... Franklin Gutierrez is getting closer to returning. (I need a hot key for that sentence.) ... Is it time for new ownership? Steve Kelley says yes. Maybe Clay Bennett has a few extra bucks (wait, don't go nuts; that was a joke). ... It's Sunday so Larry Stone has his column, a notebook, the rankings of all the major league teams and awards. ... First-round draft pick Mike Zunino made his pro debut.
• Sounders: New York, New York. Or New Jersey, New Jersey to be more accurate. The Sounders and Eddie Johnson are in the metro area to face the Red Bull today.
• NBA: Jerry Brewer would like NBA fans included in the new Seattle arena discussion. If they have questions, here are some answers.
• Golf: The Rosauers Open at Indian Canyon is coming down to its final day with a handful of golfers in contention. Jim Meehan has the story.
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• Once again, sorry for this post being so late. One good thing, though. I may have missed breakfast, but it's almost time to hit the buffet line for dinner. Until later ...
