John Blanchette

1. Players and coaches remember ex-WSU coach Jack Friel as a thoughtful gentleman. File/The Spokesman-Review 2. Jack Friel stood for innovation on the basketball court. File/The Spokesman-Review

Georgetown won't play George Washington. Arkansas State never gets a sniff from Arkansas. Alabama doesn't do Alabama State. This is why: Washington State 72, Gonzaga 67 - overtime.

Brett

The working definition of a Husky fan? He's the one who wanted Jim Lambright fired last year - and the year before that - because he couldn't coach the University of Washington into the Rose Bowl. As if being on NCAA probation was any sort of an excuse.

What's the best way to kick off Apple Cup week? How about a campaign speech for the Cotton Bowl? University of Washington coach Jim Lambright strayed rather boldly from the football coach's one-game-at-a-time tunnel vision Monday in an attempt to upgrade his Huskies into a New Year's Day bowl.

What if you go to dig up a little dirt and find something already growing in it? Something already in Leaf?

For a newspaperman to suggest someone keep his mouth shut is either hypocrisy or a death wish, or both. If too many people do, we're out of business.

Hometown hero John Stockton leads the Utah Jazz into Spokane tonight to meet the Seattle Sonics in the Arena. Photo by J. Bart Raynaik/The Spokesman-Review

Make that hitless for Seattle. That's Edgar Martinez. After bludgeoning New York Yankees pitching over the course of the best-of-five Division Series, the American League batting champion has gone strangely silent against the Cleveland Indians.

Fear and loathing in Cleveland: the Indians now get their crack at Randy Johnson in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. So is Albert Belle cowering in the corner of the Tribe locker room? Has Manny Ramirez been fitted for a brace to keep his neck from swiveling? Will Jim Thome come down with Wade Boggs disease?

Peter Suthrie, 2, adds his voice to the din in the Kingdome. Photo by Associated Press

Never mind the roster switch. If there was one move it seemed like Seattle manager Lou Piniella had to make, it was benching Mike Blowers. Seattle's power-hitting third baseman has been in a dismal slump since getting sick on an August road trip to Boston and losing "a bunch of pounds." From Sept. 1 on, he hit just .226 with four homers and 12 RBIs and in the five-game Division Series against New York, he had just three feeble singles in 18 at-bats, a .167 average.

His Seattle Mariners teammates have a special affection for Edgar Martinez, center. Photo by Associated Press

Would you believe Randy Johnson one more time? Lou Piniella would. Not as a starter, mind you. But the Seattle Mariners manager allowed that if his club managed to win Game 4 of the American League Division Series on Saturday, he wouldn't have a problem with using his ace in a relief role in today's deciding game.

(From For the Record, Monday, October 2, 1995): A Nebraska fan in a Sunday photograph was Jeff Kuhnel, not Bob Parker as the caption implied. Sharry Parker of Spokane attends a tailgate party with husband, Bob. Sharry Parker is originally from Shelby, Neb., and had divided loyalties. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Time out for a little provincialism. In choosing up teams, "who?" matters and "where?" doesn't. But with football drills beginning at Washington State this weekend, we couldn't help but notice something. Spokane.

For the Seattle Mariners, it doesn't get much better than this. This past week alone, the M's have: Put together a five-game winning streak; Climbed to two games above .500 in the standings;

On the court, Stockton and Malone are inseparable. That goes for the Olympics, too. File/The Spokesman-Review

The Mariners have their fingers crossed after acquiring Andy Benes, left, for Ron Villone, right and Marc Newfield. Photo by Associated Press

Baseball's new speed-up rules are now in effect and - sorry, that's all the time we have for today's column. You wish.

There are several different premises for the building of a new baseball stadium here, but for the moment let's consider the mythical one: If you de-roof it, they will come.

A soccer question: who knows what level works in the art of attendance? The Shadow knows. OK, it was a stretch. Sorry. Just had to try it.

Jason Cromer graduated from Eastern Washington University this past spring in international affairs, a course of study requiring 140 credits in government, history and economics, plus a foreign language. EWU's all-time leading kicker even studied at the University of Guadalajara. But by the reckoning of the NCAA, he's persona non graduata. Geoff Goss and Matt Stanford started 108 games for Gonzaga University's fine basketball teams of recent vintage and took degrees in finance and political science, respectively, a scant few weeks after their final game.

Schmidt