NBA takes a backseat
A GRIP ON SPORTS
The biggest news today, other than what's coming out of Washington, D.C., of course, is the NBA draft. You would think that David Stern has enough pull in Washington to get the Supremes to put off announcing something as big as the health care decision until after New Orleans takes Anthony Davis, wouldn't you? Read on.
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• Nope, Stern isn't that powerful. Maybe the Jim Rome faceoff really got John Roberts mad. Who knows, maybe the Chief Justice is a closet Rome fan. Anyhow, the draft will go on and Davis (right) will be the No. 1 pick. After that, it's anyone's guess, including whether there will be trades or not. That's what makes the day so interesting and makes most mock drafts obsolete less than a few hours after they are published. Despite that, we wanted to pass along two or three of the West Coast-based mock drafts, just to give you a taste of what tonight may bring. The one thing I would say about this draft is Davis should be thanking his stars the Portland Trail Blazers don't have the first pick. A big guy going to Portland doesn't have a chance.
• If you live in the Inland Northwest, say hello to summer. It seems as if the season finally arrived today and will be with us, off and on, for the next few weeks at least. We are going to celebrate the arrival by hitting three or four drives into the water at a local golf course. It's our sacrifice to the golfing gods designed to ensure you will see good weather for your upcoming rounds. You are welcome.
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• Washington State: The Pac-12 is by far the best conference in the nation when it comes to wide receivers. And WSU has some of the conference's best, according to ESPN.com's Ted Miller. ... Bud Withers feels the new playoff system has a thrown-together aspect. And we're only stuck with it for more than a decade. ... Tonight's draft is a big deal for UW's Tony Wroten and his family. And for Terrence Ross. ... Utah announced its basketball schedule for the upcoming season and the non-conference portion been called Charmin-soft by one commentator. ... There is no quarterback controversy at BYU.
• Gonzaga: John Blanchette caught up with former Zag point guard Jeremy Pargo, who will be in Spokane this weekend for a charity game in the Arena on Saturday night. ... If you want to know one reason why basketball coach Mark Few is still in Spokane after all the offers over the years, this column by Rich Landers may just explain part of it. Landers, the S-R's Outdoor writer, talks about the depth and variation of the fly fishing around the town.
• Indians: There is no hotter team in the Northwest than the Indians, winners of four consecutive games. Jess Brown has the story of last night's 6-2 win over Boise.
• Mariners: Let's see. In the three games against the A's, the Seattle pitching included two starters striking out 10 each, but neither getting wins, and a combined two-hitter that also didn't result in a victory. That latter game came last night when Kevin Millwood had to leave early with a reoccurrence of his groin problem. He had already yielded one solo home run and the bullpen gave up another in a 2-1 defeat to Oakland. Sounds like the offense is in mid-season form. ... What if Millwood has to miss a start, who will throw? ... Eric Wedge isn't ready to throw anyone under the headed-to-Tacoma bus. ... Larry Stone looks at Ichiro's days off.
• Sounders: Are they thugs or just tired of being pushed around? The Sounders have been involved in more than their share of problems recently and coach Sigi Schmid isn't all that happy about it. ... The match with Portland drew a big television audience. Well, large for an MLS game at least.
• Hoopfest: Spokane's amazing basketball-worshipping weekend is almost upon us and today's print version of the S-R includes a special section. Here is the lead story about one successful team.
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• Enjoy the sunshine. Around here, no matter what the weatherperson says, you are always looking over your shoulder for the clouds in the silver lining. Until later ...
