Kevin Blocker

This article is in no way intended to jinx the Washington State women's volleyball team. It's just an informational note about NCAA tournament possibilities for WSU. The first round of the 48-team tournament will be played Nov. 29 at to-be-determined sites. First-round winners will advance to play other first-round winners, while some round-one winners will move on to play the top eight teams - as ranked by the NCAA Tournament Committee - which will have earned byes by virtue of their performance this season.

Whitworth goalie Jennifer Peterson has helped her team settle into first place. Photo by Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

And all this time it was thought that No. 13 was the unlucky one. Not so, for the Whitworth Pirates have turned No. 14 into a maelstrom of misfortune. The Pirates football team is 1-3 this season. And that's because the Pirates have posted the numbers 14, nine and six in three key categories. In four games, the Pirates have fumbled 14 times with nine of those recoveries made by the opposition. Also Whitworth quarterbacks have thrown six interceptions.

Eastern's David Lewis breaks upfield against the Idaho State defense. Photo by Molly O'Hara/The Spokesman-Review

WSU's Shannon Wyckoff drives a shot over Stanford defenders. Photo by Craig Buck/The Spokesman-Review

There were those who tried to say race wasn't an issue in the O.J. Simpson case. Probably they also believe it doesn't rain in the Pacific Northwest. The predominantly black, female jury sent a loud, clear message when it acquitted Simpson of murder. The message was, "Take that - white America!"

WSU's Jenny Herndon passes ball with Shannon Wyckoff's encouragement. Herndon made 11 kils, Wyckoff nine. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

Maybe it's fitting that Whitworth, a small Christian College, is led by a young man named Joshua as its football team prepares to do battle with a nationally-ranked rival. Freshman Josh Parbon will be at the helm of the Pirates offense for at least the next three weeks because senior starter J.J. Green is battling mononucleosis. Whitworth (1-1) travels to Bellingham to take on Western Washington (2-0) Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Western, ranked a school-best No. 4 in the NAIA Division II poll for the second straight week, beat Puget Sound 52-7 at UPS last week.

Sarah Silvernail has helped WSU bump off four straight top-20 opponents. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review

By the end of the first quarter against Central Washington on Saturday, two of three Whitworth football players pictured on the Pirates media guide weren't playing. As a result of a lot of misfortune, the Wildcats went on to win 27-10. Friday, Whitworth senior quarterback J.J. Green was diagnosed with mononucleosis so he never suited up. His status for the Western Washington contest at Bellingham on Saturday remains in doubt.

For the Central Washington Wildcats last year, the avalanche started in their 28-27 home loss to Eastern Oregon and it was a downhill ride from there. Although EOC forfeited that contest for using two ineligible players, irreparable damage had been done to Central. And maybe one of the lowest points came when Whitworth smashed the Wildcats 44-36 at Ellensburg.

Whitworth head football coach John Tully and his 1995 Pirates kick off the season Saturday as the Pirates will take on Eastern Oregon State College at La Grande, Ore., at 1:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast in Spokane on radio station KSBN 1230 AM. This year, Whitworth will be competing in the Mount Hood League with Lewis & Clark, Linfield, Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound and Willamette. Eastern Oregon is in the Mount Rainier League with Central Washington, Simon Fraser, Southern Oregon State, Western Oregon State and Western Washington.

Tom Hilbert takes time to listen. Opposing fans aren't always so lucky. Photo by Kristy MacDonald/The Spokesman-Review

As the Spokane Amateur Softball Association and Franklin Park prepare to serve as hosts for the Women's Modified National Softball Tournament this weekend , there is a wide-eyed excitement being felt by some local organizers and players. However, some folks will be blinking - most likely from the dust in their eyes. You see, Franklin Park is to softball fields what the old Spokane Coliseum was to modern athletic arenas.

The most noise made by fans at Seafirst Stadium Monday night occurred after 3-1/2 innings when the Spokane Indians' team mascot, "Otto," the blue dinosaur, and members of the marketing department, fired hotdogs from the field into the audience of 2,767. Otto's performance was more impressive than the team's. Eugene beat Spokane 8-3. Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth, the Indians had the bases loaded with no outs. But in typical Spokane fashion, only one run crossed the plate.

The Spokane Indians' assault on Mount Five Hundred was put on hold Sunday night at Seafirst Stadium as the Eugene Emeralds beat Spokane 6-1. Eugene put an end to Spokane's two-game winning streak, and the Indians fell to 29-34, five games below the .500 mark. The last time Spokane had won as many as it had lost, its record was 0-0. So maybe it isn't so much an assault on a plateau as it is trying to get to sea level. Even though Sunday was a temporary setback, Spokane has won 10 of its last 13 games. Going into last night's contest, the Indians were 8-2 in their last 10.

On a wall in the office of Whitworth College athletic director Kevin Bryant hangs a picture of Portland, with Mount Hood standing majestically in the background. In his new office, Bryant may only need to pull up the shades to see the real 11,000-foot peak. Bryant announced Thursday that he will resign from Whitworth on Aug. 31 to become the associate athletic director for external affairs at Portland State University on Sept. 1. Bryant, who served as Whitworth's athletic director since July 1993, will be part of wholesale changes in the PSU athletic department.

The Spokane Indians thanked pitchers Steve Prihoda, John Albrecht and Brent Kaysner for keeping them in Tuesday night's game against Everett. Then the Indians nearly high-fived Mark Melito to death for breaking the game wide open. Melito's bases-loaded triple in the bottom of the seventh inning propelled the Indians to a 7-3 win at Seafirst Stadium.

The Spokane Indians had early five- and six-run leads against Everett Monday night, and the Aqua Sox knew they had the Indians right where they wanted them. Although Spokane won the Northwest League baseball game 9-8 in the bottom of the ninth inning, it was the second straight night in which the Indians failed to protect early leads. For the past couple of nights, the Indians have resembled someone whose lover has given them too much attention and affection early on.

The Mead Panthers baseball team, better known as M&L; Construction in Spokane's American Legion Baseball League, is headed to the state playoffs. Better late than never. M&L; defeated Chapter Eleven/ Longhorn BBQ (Shadle Park) 3-2 Saturday night at Shadle Park's Al K. Jackson Field to win the best-of-three series 2-0. M&L; is 26-3. Chapter Eleven/Longhorn BBQ finished the season at 23-6.

Brenda Gildehaus holds a trophy she won in BMX competition this year. Photo by Shawn Jacobson/The Spokesman-Review

All F&F; Foundation shortstop Rachelle Watson could think about was the number of times her father, Ron Watson, told her she had to eat her vegetables before she could get dessert. After Rachelle helped her team beat Ron's Drive-In 17-13 for the 16-and-under Valley Girls Softball League title, Watson took a set of electric clippers and shaved the first bald strip in her dad's head. Ron Watson coaches the F&F; team. At the start of the season, he told his team that he would dye his hair blue if the team won its division.

This year's Greater Spokane League all-star basketball team will have life a little bit better when it travels to Tempe, Ariz., for the Basketball Congress International tournament this week at the Arizona State University campus. Yeah, they'll be provided with sneakers from Adidas, but when it comes time to put their feet up at the end of a long day, instead of four players to a hotel room like last year, just two will have to shack up this time around. Hey, it's the little things in life that count.

Drew Bledsoe's New England jersey is a hot item. Photo by Dan McComb/The Spokesman-Review