Labor Day is a holiday for most but not those in the "next-game" industry
A GRIP ON SPORTS • The day after for most of us usually consists of a hangover and/or regret. For college football players it’s about getting ready for the next game. Read on.
MONDAY, SEPT. 5, 2016
SUNDAY, SEPT. 4, 2016
Eastern 's happiness is overflowing today while WSU has a patch job ahead
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Sometimes the glass is overflowing. And sometimes it is cracked and leaking badly. It’s not how you look at it, it’s reality. Just ask the players from Washington State and Eastern Washington today. Read on.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 3, 2016
WSU, EWU help kick off the college football season
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Wake up. It’s a college football Saturday. The first college football Saturday of the year. And, quite possibly, the best opening Saturday ever. Here and everywhere. Read on.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 2, 2016
It's about to begin pouring college football, which is just great
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Any of you have a meteorological background? Maybe you can explain to me why it always seems to rain around here on the first weekend of college football season, or as it’s known to non-football fans, Labor Day weekend. Read on.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 1, 2016
Better carve out some time this morning if you want to stay up-to-date on the football news
A GRIP ON SPORTS • The great ones always know when to just get the heck out of the way. Let the content talk. Vin Scully. Tom Hanks. Jerry Seinfeld. Heck, even the so-so ones know that lesson. Read on.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 31, 2016
College football kicks off around here tomorrow and it will be accompanied by something special
A GRIP ON SPORTS • If you are reading this, it’s easy to assume you are a sports fan. Either that, or need something to put you to sleep after working the night shift. If you are the former, this time of year you are starting to get excited about football, right? Well, tomorrow there will be something to get extra-excited about. Read on.
TUESDAY, AUG. 30, 2016
One of the hardest parts of the NFL experience is dealing with the knock on the door
A GRIP ON SPORTS • If you have ever watched “Hard Knocks,” you know the pressure cut days have on professional football players. Twice during preseason camp the players on the bubble have to wait and see if their bosses have decided they aren’t good enough. Read on.
MONDAY, AUG. 29, 2016
The last week has brought a lot of Mariner fans back to reality
A GRIP ON SPORTS • The thud you heard yesterday afternoon may just have been Mariner fans coming back to earth. After a season of exceeding expectations – and outplaying their roster – the M’s lost three of four in Chicago and saw their wild-card hopes seemingly disappear. Read on.
SUNDAY, AUG. 28, 2016
SATURDAY, AUG. 27, 2016
If sports was asked to write a "what I did in the summer" essay, what would it come up with?
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Walked through one of the big box stores the other day. The back-to-school supplies had been picked over like last Thanksgiving’s turkey. We have to admit it is time to turn the page on summer. So where did it go? Read on.
FRIDAY, AUG. 26, 2016
Seahawks sharpen up at just the right time while M's take another dull defeat
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Opposites attract, right? Yin and yang. Kim and Kanye. And, in the case of Seattle’s two major professional sports teams last night, sharp and dull. Read on.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 24, 2016
The dart board received a workout this morning
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s time. Time to make some picks. To try to figure out the un-figure-out-able, so to speak. Who will win the Pac-12? Read on.
TUESDAY, AUG. 23, 2016
Don't panic, but college football season is closer than you think
A GRIP ON SPORTS • You may not be ready, but the college football season begins Friday. It may be a billion miles away – California and Hawaii face off in Sydney, Australia – but still, it begins Friday. Hide your valuables. Read on.
MONDAY, AUG. 22, 2016
We all know how Robinson Cano felt in the ninth inning last night
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Want to know why being a Mariners’ fans is so frustrating? Look no further than yesterday’s ninth inning. And the look on Robinson Cano's face. Read on.
SUNDAY, AUG. 21, 2016
Honestly, why the heck would they say that?
A GRIP ON SPORTS • There were a few odd things said yesterday. Odder than normal, I mean. And it is our job to point them out. Read on.
SATURDAY, AUG. 20, 2016
When sports reaches beyond the wins and losses, it can touch us
A GRIP ON SPORTS • It is easy to love the competition aspect of sports as displayed in the Olympics. Or lack of same (thank you, Usain Bolt). But what it really easy to love are the stories behind the stories. Read on.
FRIDAY, AUG. 19, 2016
The Hawks fall but did the thump make a sound?
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Are preseason NFL games important? It’s a question as old, seemingly, as the one about trees falling in the forest. And just as hard to answer. Read on.
THURSDAY, AUG. 18, 2016
In a couple weeks college football will be with us – and there will be changes
A GRIP ON SPORTS • There was a lot of news from Pullman yesterday. None of it earth-shattering but it did have a tendency to add up. Read on.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 17, 2016
Every loss means something, it's just some mean more than others
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Every loss means the same in the standings. But they don’t all count the same. Last night’s Mariner loss has to mean something more. Read on.
TUESDAY, AUG. 16, 2016
Winter seems a long way off but it's never too early to look ahead
A GRIP ON SPORTS • When you mow your lawn, what do you think about, other than not cutting off any toes or whatnot, of course? Sometimes my thoughts drift toward the months ahead. And the thought of what’s coming before winter gets here. Read on.
MONDAY, AUG. 15, 2016
No one is faster ... or playing as well ... or moving the ball better
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Let’s start this week with a few items from Rio to Oakland and on through Lewiston. Read on.
SUNDAY, AUG. 14, 2016
The Olympics work as a metaphor in some cases
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Sorry, but the Olympics brings out the patriot in me. If you can’t abide a little national pride for the next few hundred words, skip down to the links. We're about to get a smidgen jingoistic. Read on.
SATURDAY, AUG. 13, 2016
It would be nice if everyone could show class in defeat but it's a hope that's not always going to be fulfilled
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Win. Win. Win. Win. Lose. Say something dumb. Such is the usual cadence of the Olympics. Read on.
FRIDAY, AUG. 12, 2016
In an already crowded month, nightly Olympics viewing means morning comes much too early
A GRIP ON SPORTS • What will hold our interest this weekend? Let’s see. There is a real honest-to-goodness pennant race, an NFL game, preseason college football practice and a little competition going on in the Southern Hemisphere. Anything else? Read on.
THURSDAY, AUG. 11, 2016
Kristin Armstrong's question, and her reaction, just made our day
A GRIP ON SPORTS • “Did I win?” Kristin Armstrong asked the question yesterday. For the third consecutive Olympics, the Idaho graduate heard the same answer. Yes. Read on.
Vince Grippi is a freelance local sports blogger for spokesman.com. He also contributes to the SportsLink Blog.
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