Care to make it three in-a-row?
A GRIP ON SPORTS
For consecutive days we've had pretty spirited discussions here. The first was on my misbegotten thoughts – to some – concerning the women's basketball tournament. The second was about the best detective shows of the 1970s. Talk about eclectic. Read on.
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• You know, it never bothers me all that much if folks disagree with my opinions about sports. A good respectful spirited discussion is at the core of this nation's values, so far be it for me to get ticked off when someone feels my arguments are off base. But there are a few red lines no one should cross. Sprinkles on donuts – are you kidding, why ruin a perfectly good donut? Jeans over cords – no way in heck that flies, cords are classic. And Jim Rockford. Sorry, but saying anything bad about "The Rockford Files" is a ticket to my list. And you don't want to be on my list. I'm not going into a long-winded discussion about the greatest detective show in the history of television but I will pass along this salient fact. You love the Sopranos? Think it was the best television ever? You're not alone. And want to know where David Chase, the genius behind "The Sopranos," earned his TV chops? On "The Rockford Files" of course. Yep. Chase wrote some episodes – for some strange reason the ones with mobsters involved – and was an executive producer of the show. Enough said. Let's move on to sports.
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• WSU: Christian Caple and I got into a Twitter war last night. At least that's how I am going to represent it here. He tweeted something about the WSU equipment guys, I responded, as did a member of the Cougar radio broadcast team, Christian made fun of us, we both responded again. And that, my friends, is how, in 2013, enemies are made. Just kidding. Though I've now decided not to help Christian move. ... Christian did some moving around Pullman yesterday. He was running down this feature on running back Jeremiah Laufasa (pictured), whose older brother, Corey, I covered at WSU. Christian also has a post from after practice yesterday and one this morning with links. ... Bud Withers has a feature on the success Xavier Cooper is achieving on and off the field. ... More picks of this week's Pac-12 games.
• Gonzaga: Though Jim Meehan's story on the beginning of basketball practice covers all four local Division I colleges, it leads with Gonzaga. So we post it here. If you are wondering why schools are starting so early, the NCAA changed the practice rules – again. Schools now have a certain number of practice days allowed between now and the day games can begin. Basically, the days are stretched over a longer period, with more days off having to be mixed in – with the schools given discretion over when to take them. The women have followed this plan in the past and seem to like it.
• EWU: Nothing from the Eagles yet (I'm sure there will be), but there was a Big Sky game last night in Portland, won by visiting Cal Poly, 38-34.
• Idaho: Josh Wright has a can't-miss feature today about one of the Vandal assistant football coaches and the tragedy that shaped his life.
• Golf: Jim Meehan's weekly column features one of the greatest quarterbacks in Washington State history, the Golf Channel and Puerto Pico. To see how they all fit together, you'll have to read the column.
• Preps: The weekend football schedule kicked off at Albi last night with Lewis and Clark earning its first win and Ferris romping. Greg Lee has the story. ... Chris Derrick covered Mead's sweep of Mt. Spokane in volleyball action. ... We have a roundup of Thursday's soccer action as well.
• Mariners: Believe it our not, there's an argument to made Hisashi Iwakuma deserves the American League Cy Young Award. Geoff Baker makes it in this long blog post and summarizes it in this story. My take? It will never happen. ... If Eric Wedge is replaced as the Mariners' manager, he only has himself to blame. Really? We respectfully disagree. ... James Paxton is officially done for this season.
• Seahawks: Thursday is a big day around the Hawks' practice facility. It's the day quarterback Russell Wilson and cornerback Richard Sherman meet with the media. Wilson began his time yesterday showing off. No, that didn't sound right. He was showing off a wallet (pictured) a young fan made for him out of duct tape. How typical of Wilson. Sherman just talked about the Texans. ... There could be a rookie starting at tackle for the Hawks on Sunday in Houston. If Michael Bowie has to play, he says he'll be ready. But, really, have you ever heard anyone say, "I'll play, but I'm going to be in over my head?" Just wondering. ... Injuries are a part of the NFL and the Texans have some worries as well. ... It wasn't just Wilson and Sherman talking yesterday. Others took their turns in front of the microphones.
• Sounders: It's been a long, tortured road for Steve Zakuani to return to a place where he could help Seattle. ... There are other Sounders who have been getting back to past form as well. ... A huge season has lifted one Sounder to the top of the franchise career assist list.
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• Wow, did this week go by quickly. It seems like only yesterday I was sitting down to watch the new Robin Williams show. Wait, that was yesterday. Last night in fact. It didn't disappoint. It was very Robin Williams-ee. Or David E. Kelley-ee if you like. OK, enough television talk. We'll have none of it tomorrow. I promise. Until then ...
