All those chocolate doughnuts come with a price
A GRIP ON SPORTS
Did you know it is possible to get a cavity in a fake tooth? I didn't either. But I found out recently it is and today I have to pay the price. Read on.
• Yep, I have a dental appointment today. A long one. Probably painful. Lucky for me my dentist is also one of my better friends. Though I did give him a hard time last week about something. That probably wasn't too wise. Maybe I should text him this morning and tell him how much I appreciate his friendship. Would that look too much like sucking up? But when a guy is standing over you with a dental instrument and all that is going through your head is that scene from "Marathon Man" ("Is it safe?"), then a little sucking up may have been in order. I'll let you know how it goes.
• As for the sporting aspect of the day, there is very little in the painful category. Heck, even the usually tooth-pulling M's are on a roll, having won nine of their last 11 games and are one game over .500 at 16-15. In Marinerville, that's greeted like World Series wins are feted in New York. Heck, folks are even tweeting out snapshots of the standings, with the M's in second place in the American League West. Where the heck is the champagne?
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• WSU: As the Pac-12 tried to decide if the conference's championship football game should be played in the 49ers' new stadium – with money available, I'm guessing it will be sold – during its spring meetings yesterday, the Cougars found out they had picked up another commitment from a player capable of helping get them there. All of a sudden Mike Leach is gathering in commitments from four-star-rated players, something that hasn't happened all that much at WSU recently. Jacob Thorpe has a blog post on the commitment along with another on Leach's new book.
• Gonzaga: Jacob also has his weekly college baseball notebook and he leads with Gonzaga's recent turnaround.
• EWU: The Eagles will be on Root Sports four times this fall, including both games against the Montana schools. Jim Allen has more in this story.
• Chiefs: Spokane began winnowing its roster yesterday, making a trade for a draft pick. ... Portland had a golden opportunity to basically seal the WHL championship last night, leading at Edmonton 2-0 early. But the Winterhawks couldn't hold on as the Oil Kings rallied for a 3-2 victory, cutting Portland's edge in the series to 2-1.
• Shock: The team confirmed yesterday quarterback Erik Meyer had surgery to repair a broken collarbone and would be out at least six weeks. Jim Meehan has more information in this story and blog post.
• Preps: The GSL baseball season wrapped up yesterday and Tom Clouse was at Mt. Spokane's win over Lewis and Clark and has this story. ... Jim Allen has the story of Central Valley's 1-0 win over Ferris in the 4A district title soccer match. ... Chris Derrick offers his weekly softball notebook.
• Seahawks: Draft news tends to dominate during the run-up to the NFL's annual event (which starts tomorrow), but there was one piece of information that dented the façade yesterday. The Hawks confirmed safety Kam Chancellor (pictured) was forced to undergo hip surgery recently. That's never a good thing. ... No matter how people mock out the draft, it always has its surprises, forcing people further down the line to make adjustments on the fly. It also is a chance for those who are good at adjusting – like the Hawks' brain trust – to shine. ... When the Hawks make a play for an undrafted free agent, they really make a play.
• Mariners: Yep, the M's are on a roll. Leading 4-3 going into the ninth, they exploded for four runs, using a combination of luck, hustle and timely hitting to put away the A's. Though Oakland is still atop the A.L. West standings, the M's are creeping up. ... Robinson Cano was classy enough not to comment too deeply when confronted with some statements Mariano Rivera has in his autobiography.
• Sounders: Didn't the Sounders play just the other day? Yes they did. So what's up with a game tonight in CenturyLink? It happens sometimes in the MLS. They do have midweek games. Tonight the Sounders face a beat-up Dallas team. ... As always, we pass along one man's power rankings.
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• Wish me luck. Light a votive candle or two if that's what you want. And, if you run into me this afternoon and my comments are slurred, I haven't been drinking. I promise. Until later ...
