No complaints today
A GRIP ON SPORTS
I was going to begin today's post by complaining about the sun shining through the window and ruining my ability to see the computer screen. Then I caught myself. After all, in six months I will be moaning about the overcast, the cold, the lack of sunshine. So instead of ruing the way the day is starting, I decided to embrace it. And now I have an excuse for the typos. Read on.
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• One of the reasons I enjoy following the college World Series is how the present can connect with the past. Take this story on Arizona shortstop Alex Mejia (right), one of the best players on the West Coast. When I first heard the name a couple years ago, it struck me that I had played with and against a few Mejias when I was young, either in summers or during the college baseball season. However, I was too disinterested to research whether this guy's dad was one of them. Turns out he probably was, having played at Pepperdine in the mid-1970s. ... The story also illustrates the economic toll a parent of a college athlete can endure trying to see their child play. We have to remember that some scholarship athletes are only in college thanks to that scholarship. Without it, they probably wouldn't have been going to a university. It sounds like Alex Mejia was one of those kids. And now, as the Pac-12 player of the year, he's in line for a big payday, having been drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth round of this month's draft.
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• Washington State: Christian Caple posted a roundup of the recent football recruiting commitments on the blog this morning, as the Cougars have picked up quite a few – including one legacy – in the past few days. ... While Arizona rests, UCLA has to play a loser-out game this evening with Florida State. That's fine for the Bruins. ... Here's one ranking of this fall's Pac-12 non-conference football schedules. ... Stanford is once again going to have the best all-around athletic program in America.
• Preps: Greg Lee has his weekly youth sports notebook in today's S-R.
• Indians: The start hasn't been the best for Spokane. After a one-hit, 9-1 loss to Vancouver last night leaves the Indians 1-3 with one more game left tonight in the five-game season-opening series with the Canadians. Jess Brown has the game story.
• Mariners: Speaking of poor starts, Seattle's Hector Noesi had one against the Diamondbacks on Monday night. Noesi, who came over from the Yankees with Jesus Montero in an off-season trade, has trouble making good pitches when he's ahead of the count 0-2. But it wasn't just Noesi who faltered in the 7-1 loss, though Ichiro had no part in it, having been given last night off. Part of the problem was the Diamondback's Aaron Hill, who hit for the cycle. ... Roger Clemens was found not guilty of lying to Congress about PED use yesterday. Wondering how this will affect his hall of fame chances and the government's involvement in drug use in sports? So is this columnist.
• Seahawks: The evidence the NFL released concerning the bounty scandal in New Orleans shows the Saints targeted some Seahawk players. ... One of the Hawks' offensive lineman has slimmed down to 338 pounds. Yes, I just wrote slimmed down to 338 pounds.
• Sounders: What's wrong with the Sounders, earlier this season the best team in the MLS and now having endured a terrible five-game stretch? Missing players is one problem, though an important one comes back Wednesday for the home matchup with Sporting Kansas City. ... Seattle also travels to Portland on Sunday for a match with the Timbers.
• NBA: Kevin Calabro doesn't regret not moving to Oklahoma City. Who would? ... Seattle's budget director responds to a Seattle Times editorial.
• Golf: After the way the U.S. Open ended, I thought this column on Tiger Woods was worth passing along.
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• That's our report for today. We'll be back tomorrow, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel (and if you understand that reference, you're bordering on ancient). Until then ...
