You have to get up early to catch a glimpse of the British Open
A GRIP ON SPORTS • There aren't many major sporting events that are almost done for the day by the time we arise, but the British Open is one. But that doesn't mean there isn't a lot to watch. Read on.
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• Talk about irony. St. Andrews, the birthplace of golf and once derided as a sheep pasture by a U.S. pro, is so much greener than Chambers Bay, the Tacoma-area course on which the U.S. Open was played. But that's just a superficial difference. The rest of the tournament seems to be a re-do. There is Dustin Johnson atop the leaderboard after the early part of the first day. Jason Day had a good round, a shot behind Johnson. And Jordan Spieth, the guy with both majors this year in his back pocket? How about two shots back. Is that good enough for you? Oh, and one other similarity. Tiger Woods is four over and ahead of just three guys right now. Maybe there is so much deja-vu because this is the second of three links (links-like) courses for the four majors this year. Chambers Bay had quite a few links attributes, which means certain golfers have the correct game. Horses for courses if you will. Which is fine. The U.S. Open had one of the better Sundays in memory. If this Sunday can feature the same type of stretch run, we will all be fine with that, right?
• The All-Star break continues for a couple more days, which doesn't seem familiar at all. Oh, it's been that way for a few years but there was a real continuity to the three days off back in the day. The last games were on Sunday, the players traveled on Monday, the game was on Tuesday, the players traveled back to their teams on Wednesday and everyone got started again on Thursday. That's not the case anymore. Now no one plays on Thursday. There is a four-day break. And then, in about a month or so, everyone will decry how long the season runs and how no one wants World Series games in late October and early November. Sorry, but you can't have it both ways.
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• WSU: A couple of Cougars made football awards preseason watch lists. Jacob Thorpe covers it in this blog post and this story. ... The Steve Gleason Act has passed Congress and awaits the president's signature. ... ESPN.com's Pac-12 blog takes a look at the defensive backs in the North. WSU doesn't fare too well. And if you don't get sarcasm, you might think that is too understated. ... Mike Leach receives the hottest hot-seat rating among North coaches from the ESPN blog. No worries. The Cougars have a lot of starters back.
• Shock: It isn't difficult to see why the Shock are struggling. Jim Meehan's notebook uses statistics to explain it.
• Indians: The Indians are in a full-blown slump. Last night's 8-4 loss at home to Tri-City just extends it. Chris Derrick has the game story and the history of the recent tough streak in this blog post.
• Golf: The pro-am element of the Rosauers Open Invitational brought us a course record and a winner.
• Preps: A couple of North Idaho baseball coaches were fired recently and they aren't happy about it. Greg Lee has more in this story.
• Seahawks: Pete Carroll actually spoke a little about Russell Wilson's contract negotiations.
• Mariners: Our buddy Christian Caple has a story today on how Edgar Martinez and the M's are melding. ... Ryan Divish tries to explain how a season of such great hope has morphed into another season of frustration. ... Safeco Field is old enough to drive.
• Sounders: Though L.A. is signing stars from all over the world, the Sounders are still one of the MLS' best teams. And, according to Larry Stone, they should forget about their slump and just get ready for the stretch run.
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• John Daly is wearing pants today that look as if they were made in 1977. After a windstorm in a fabric store. In which paint cans exploded all over the place. Wow. Until later ...