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

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It seems like basketball season

A GRIP ON SPORTS

I'm about to send out an all-points bulletin, if those things are used any more. The sun is missing and I want it back. It's time to be outside, swinging a golf club, running the lawn mower or taking a long walk with the dog. The time for being indoors is January, February, November. Not June. Heck, even some of the stories I've found this morning remind me of winter, just like the clouds outside. Read on.

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• This time of year, besides expecting to see the sun on a regular basis – I know, early June is usually cool and rainy in the Inland Northwest, but I still believe we are owed sunny days after dealing with winter – I also know what I'm going to find in my morning run through the Internet. Baseball stories. And yes, we have baseball stories this morning, from game coverage to draft coverage to the minor leagues and colleges. But we also have college basketball stories, three, in fact, with ties to local schools. And that is pretty awesome for this time of year. Not awesome enough to make up for the lack of warmth (it is 44 degrees outside and the Weather Channel website says it feels like 38; when I went out to put the trash can to the curb, it felt a lot like winter though maybe that's because I did it – I admit this is stupid – barefoot), but awesome nonetheless.

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• Washington State: There are even a couple of Pac-12 basketball stories, with Stanford hiring former power forward Mark Madsen as an assistant coach and Utah professing the transfer of seemingly half its team won't destroy its APR. OK. If that's the case, then the APR system is flawed. Wait, we already knew that. ... When you read this story from the Salt Lake Tribune, don't get too upset. Even if the player featured was in Pullman for a while but didn't stick it out. ... A former Colorado head basketball coach, who won more than he lost in Boulder, is now coaching high school in Tennessee. ... Kent State will take a revamped, and successful, pitching staff into its Super Regional at Oregon. ... And the rich just get richer. UCLA, needed to replace hall of fame coach Al Scates, steals UC Irvine's volleyball coach, offering a lot more money to get it done. As an Anteater, I'm offended beyond words.

• Gonzaga: Jeff Goodman takes time out this week to examine the West Coast Conference for CBSSports.com. He sees Elias Harris (at left) and his Gonzaga group as the team to beat, with the depth of the conference improved enough that as many as four teams might make the tournament next spring. ... Speaking of BYU (one of the WCC teams that should be in the running for an NCAA berth next season), the Cougars are trying to build a Fab Five recruiting class. ...  Though Mark Few is only mentioned briefly in this ESPN.com story, the subject – college coaches who did not play the game in college – is pretty interesting. ... Marco Gonzales makes the final five for the John Olerud award. Seems fitting a guy from this area should win the award named after the WSU standout.

• Eastern Washington: Weber State is losing quite possibly the best player to ever wear its uniform, but coach Randy Rahe thinks its possible to keep recruiting players like Damian Lillard.

• Indians: Though the draft is not done, the Spokane Indians roster is starting to take shape. Jess Brown has the story.

• Mariners: Last night was not the M's best night of the season. The Angels' rookie pitcher, Garrett Richards (left), threw it by them all night (expect Michael Saunders, who had three hits) while the M's youngster, Blake Beavan, had trouble getting Mark Trumbo and his teammates out. It all added up to a 6-1 Angel win. And Felix's next start seems to be getting farther away. But all is not lost. Miguel Olivo is hitting better, which led to this long Geoff Baker blog post. ... There is always the future, as represented by the draft. The M's went a different direction during the second day after taking a polished player in the first round. ... Here are all the Washington players taken yesterday, with the list including two WSU players and a Gonzaga standout. ... Kyle Seager's family had a busy couple days. ... A former M's general manager passed away.

• Seahawks: Though no one is saying what the exact violation was, the Hawks will lose two days of OTAs due to over-zealous workouts recently. Pete Carroll is not excited. Ya, I know. Not excited. It's got to be bad. ... Should the NFL have full-time referees?

• Sounders: For most of the first 50 minutes or so of the U.S. Open Cup game with Cal FC last night, all I heard from the family room – where a group of my sons' friends had gathered to watch – were moans and groans. But over the next 20 minutes or so there were cheers, cheers and more cheers. Five in fact, including a loud roar for the final, amazing goal (the celebration of which is shown in the picture above) in the Sounders' 5-0 win over the amateur team. The three-time defending champions move on in the tournament.

• Shooting: Believe it or not, Spokane will send two shooters to the London Olympic games. Actually, one home in Spokane will send two shooters to the London Olympic games. Jim Meehan has the story.

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• That's our throw-back report for this Wednesday morning. Until later ...



Vince Grippi
Vince Grippi is a freelance local sports blogger for spokesman.com. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.

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