What part of a fool and his money don’t people understand?
A GRIP ON SPORTS • About once a week or so, something happens that proves P.T. Barnum was way ahead of his time. And right. Read on.
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• O.K., so no one is sure P.T. ever uttered the phrase “There’s a sucker born every minute,” but history has attributed it to him. And really, it’s true or really close to it. That was proved again yesterday, when a little note I had in this column about a GoFundMe site took on a life of its own. No, I phrased that poorly. The note didn’t take on a life of its own, the fact there is a spot created by a Spokane man on the fund-raising site, to help the Patriots pay their “Deflategate” fine, took over this blog and was featured in this story by Rachel Alexander. Which surprised me a bit. GoFundMe is just another of those amazing developments available through the magic of the Net. People have used it to raise money for such noble enterprises as Nepal earthquake relief, Boston Marathon bombing survivors and, locally, Jace Malek, the West Valley High football player and wrestler who is battling cancer. It’s what the website was designed for, though it is owned by a company that takes a cut of the money to host the fund-raising activity. But lately the noble goals have been pushed to the background, overshadowed by such things as the Patriot fund. Heck, do you know you can contribute to a fund that purports to help the Seahawks pay Russell Wilson? And, no, my buddy Rick Lukens didn’t put it up. So now that fund-raisers to help double amputees have become yesterday’s news, we’re supposed to get all excited to contribute to help a billion-dollar company pay a miniscule fine or another billion-dollar company pay its millionaire quarterback? Really? Talk about redundant. We already pay Russell Wilson’s salary. We pay with our interest, and not the kind banks pay. I’m talking about our eyeballs glued to our TVs, our hands reaching for the products advertised on NFL games and our feet as we walk into CenturyLink. That’s the fuel behind the NFL’s money-making machine. Every dime the NFL makes comes in some way from its fans. So why chip in more? Because there is one born every minute.
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• WSU: The Cougar baseball team picked up a non-conference win over Portland in Pasco yesterday. ... Rick Neuheisel really likes the way Mike Leach runs a practice.
• Gonzaga: The Zags weren’t as successful, falling at Oregon in another non-conference baseball game.
• EWU: Jim Allen has a feature on a trio of Eagle steeplechasers who hope to achieve big things at the Big Sky track championships.
• Preps: Speaking of big, the big week of prep playoffs continued yesterday with golf tournaments on both sides of the border – Jim Meehan has the coverage – and softball and baseball playoffs. Chris Derrick has a feature on Deer Park’s star junior pitcher as well as coverage of North Central’s 3A District 8 win. ... Jim Allen has Mt. Spokane’s remarkable comeback story in 3A soccer. ... We can also pass along a baseball roundup.
• Seahawks: The Hawks lost some free agents over the off-season so that means they’ll get a trio of extra draft picks next year. ... A position change is just what this former defensive back was looking for. ... The Hawks also made some roster moves yesterday. ... There is always more on Frank Clark. ... The fellow who conducted the Tom Brady investigation took to the offensive yesterday. ... Olivia Munn’s boyfriend was the big winner in Celebrity Jeopardy. Guess that Butte College education paid off.
• Mariners: There was a lot of good things happening for the M’s yesterday and one bad thing that might overshadow them all. Hisashi Iwakuma is just not bouncing back from his lat strain, so the M’s are shutting him down for another 10 days to two weeks. Don’t expect to see the veteran on the mound until mid June at the earliest. ... OK, the good news is easy: The M’s hit six home runs last night and pounded the Padres, 11-4. James Paxton picked up the win but wasn’t especially sharp. The bullpen wasn’t lights out either.
• Sounders: Seattle decided to pass on making any changes during the early season transfer window. ... This week’s opponent, Vancouver, sits atop this MLS power ranking.
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• If you have contemplated giving money to one of these sites just as a joke, please re-think your contribution. Instead, click on the Malek site or send a check to the local food bank or something. That way you can still have your chuckle and earn a nice warm glow in your chest. Until later ...
